SOURDOUGH STENCIL FUN

Posted in Breads by sallybr

I got a new gadget, in fact a set of four cute gadgets to help decorate sourdough bread. It comes from Sourdough Fever, and you can get your own set here. Three different sets with four stencils included. I must say the set with heart shaped pattern ones is calling my name, and I might get it at some point. Before Valentine’s Day says hello.

SMALL BOULE SOURDOUGH BREAD
(from The Bewitching Kitchen)

240g water
70g starter at 100% hydration
7g salt
270g white bread flour
80g whole wheat flour

Make the levain mixture about 6 hours before you plan to mix the dough. It should be very bubbly and active.

When you are ready to make the final dough, place the water in the bowl of a KitchenAid type mixer and dissolve the starter in it, mixing with a spatula briefly, then add the two types of flour, and the salt. Turn the mixer on with the hook attachment and knead the dough for 4 minutes at low-speed all the time. If the dough is too sticky, add a maximum of 1/4 cup flour, you want the dough to start clearing the sides of the bowl, but still be sticky at the bottom.

Remove from the machine, and transfer to a container lightly coated with oil, cover lightly with plastic wrap and allow it to ferment for 2 hours, folding every 30 minutes or so. After the fourth folding cycle, let the dough sit at room temperature for another 2 hours. Shape the dough as a ball, and place, seam side up, in a lightly floured banetton. Place in the fridge overnight, from 8 to 12 hours or even longer, if you prefer.

Next morning, heat the oven to 450F. Invert the dough over parchment paper, carefully place the stencil on top, and dust with flour. Make sure to rub the flour well into the design, a small brush is helpful. Lift the stencil and place the dough in a Dutch oven.

Bake at 450F for 45 minutes, preferably covered for the first 30 minutes to retain steam. Cool completely over a rack before slicing.

ENJOY!

to print the recipe, click here

Comments: I love the way these stencils work. They lay nicely on the surface of the bread, but do not stick too badly, so you can easily lift it and preserve a nice image. In the set I got, you can have the four styles shown below.

For my second loaf, I used the same recipe, but sprinkled regular white flour instead of tapioca on the surface. The contrast is a little less dramatic, but still visible.

If you like to decorate your sourdough loaves, consider these plastic stencils as a nice option. The company is locate in the UK. I bought them long before the tariffs were in place, so I am not sure how things are working at the present time.

ONE YEAR AGO: Il Pane de Vincenza

TWO YEARS AGO: Gruyere Cheese Biscuits

THREE YEARS AGO: Incredibly Simple Korean Chicken Thighs

FOUR YEARS AGO: Zucchini with Quick-Pickled Vegetables and Peanut Sauce

FIVE YEARS AGO: Nha Benta (Brazilian candy)

SIX YEARS AGO: The Best, The Very Best Hummus

SEVEN YEARS AGO: Chicken Katsu

EIGHT YEARS AGO: Whole-Lemon Marinade: Long Overdue

NINE YEARS AGO: Tomato and Cucumber Salad with Almond Vinaigrette

TEN YEARS AGO: Eggplant Tomato Stacks

ELEVEN YEARS AGO: The Couscous that Wasn’t

TWELVE YEARS AGO: Apple-Cinnamon Bread

THIRTEEN YEARS AGO: Blueberry Galette

FOURTEEN YEARS AGO: In My Kitchen, August 2011

FIFTEEN YEARS AGO: Journey to a New Home

SIXTEEN YEARS AGO: Friday Night Dinner

22Aug2025

GLUTEN-FREE RED LENTIL BAGELS

Posted in Breads, Breakfast & Brunch, Small Dishes by sallybr

And now for something completely different… Do I need to avoid gluten? No. Do I like experimenting with recipes that cater to that need? Big yes. Haniela is my guru cookie decorator, as you might know if you follow my baby blog (can you call a blog a baby when it is 4 years old?). But she is also a fantastic cook and her blog covers a whole range of recipes, from cakes to breads and savory stuff. Check it out by clicking here. She bakes these bagels often, and I had them on my list of things to try for quite some time. Here I am to share her recipe and urge you to make them. Simple and very delicious! They freeze well too…

GLUTEN-FREE RED LENTIL BAGELS
(from Haniela’s blog)

2/3 cup dry red lentils (150 grams)
1 ¼ cup boiling water to soak lentils (300 ml)
1 tbsp lemon juice
scant ¼ cup psyllium husk (20 grams)
2 tbsp olive oil (20 grams)
1 tbsp lemon juice (15 ml)
¼ cup almond meal (30 grams)
1/3 to 1/2 cup water for the dough (120mL)
¼ tsp baking soda
1 tsp baking powder
½ cup mixed seeds ( pumpkin, sunflower, sesame)

Pour 1¼ cup( 300 ml) boiling water over red lentils, add 1 tablespoon lemon juice, stir it and soak for 12 hours. Rinse soaked red lentils well under running water.

Into the food processor add rinsed, soaked red lentils, about 1/3 cup of water for the dough (reserve the rest of the water in case the dough is too stiff). Blend for about a minute or two, until lentils are broken up into a somewhat runny paste.

Into the blended red lentils add psyllium husk, almond flour, lemon juice, 2 tablespoons (20 grams) olive oil and 1 teaspoon table salt. Blend until well combined and thick, somewhat sticky dough forms.
If the dough is too dry add a little more water. Lastly add 1 teaspoon baking powder and 1/4 teaspoon baking soda, give it about 5-10 pulses.

Invert the slightly sticky dough onto the work on a plate. Lightly wet your hands and shape the dough into a ball, flatten it slightly. Cut it into 4 equal parts. Shape each piece into a ball, flatten slightly, dip both sides into the seeds and place buns onto a baking sheet lined with parchment. Repeat for other balls of dough. Make a hole in the middle of each bun. Use a back of a wooden spoon. Make the hole bigger than you think it should be, dough will spread a little in the oven. Bake red lentil bagels at 375F for 30 minutes or until golden brown. Allow to cool before serving.

ENJOY!

to print the recipe, click here

Comments: The only thing to remember is to soak the lentils the day before you want to make the bagels, other than that it is a very fast and straightforward recipe. They are hearty without being overly heavy, and perfect with toppings such as smoked turkey, or ham and a little mustard. Smoked salmon with cream cheese would be great too, or a simple spread of avocado, drizzle of olive oil and lemon juice. Salt. Definitely salt.

The recipe makes only four, but it can be doubled, so keep that in mind.
Check Hani’s blog for variations, I will try them soon.

ONE YEAR AGO: Sourdough Bubble Bread

TWO YEARS AGO: Watermelon Salad

THREE YEARS AGO: Kashmiri Chicken Thighs

FOUR YEARS AGO: A Vegan Trilogy

FIVE YEARS AGO: The Mystifying Hurricane Roll

SIX YEARS AGO: Pop-Tarts with Strawberry Balsamic Jam

SEVEN YEARS AGO: Ptichye Moloko, a Russian Dessert

EIGHT YEARS AGO: Cheesy Low-Carb Zucchini Tarts

NINE YEARS AGO: Blogging Hiatus

TEN YEARS AGO: Apricots, Three Ways

ELEVEN YEARS AGO: Up Close and Personal with Kale

TWELVE YEARS AGO: Black Berry Cherry Sorbet

THIRTEEN YEARS AGO: Asparagus Pesto

FOURTEEN YEARS AGO: Chocolate and Chestnut Terrine

FIFTEEN YEARS AGO: Under the spell of lemongrass

SIXTEEN YEARS AGO: Greens + Grapefruit + Shrimp = Great Salad!

28Jul2025

SOURDOUGH FEAST

Posted in Breads by sallybr

A few ideas for decorating your sourdough bread, no matter the recipe. My default favorite is this one.

RAZOR BLADE + SCISSORS + CHOPSTICKS

I love how you can mix different methods to score the surface. The steps for this one are shown below. I use a string to mark the four quadrants, the straight lines and leaf pattern are made with a razor blade. Scissors come to made the cuts on the crossed lines, and finally chopsticks make small holes to finish the decoration.

It is simple and effective….

Another version relying on razor blade + scissors…

The scoring is quite straightforward, following the steps in the diagram below…

.

STAR SHAPE + LEAVES

For this one only a razor blade was used, after marking the different sections with a string.
Steps are shown below.

STENCIL + AIR-BRUSHING

I had a little problem with the air-brushing. The stencil was small and some of the edges of the bread were hit with a little spray of red. Something to keep in mind if you use this method, make sure to protect the surface before applying color. You can see the problem more clearly before baking.

LACE DESIGN

After proofing the bread overnight in the fridge, I inverted it and placed a lace fabric on top, showered with tapioca flour, made a central slit and baked it.

SIMPLE SLITS

Super simple design, not even dusted with flour, just cut some slits all over the surface and bake….

I hope you enjoyed this little series, and found something to inspire your next sourdough baking adventure!

ONE YEAR AGO: Cake Pucks, my New Adventure

TWO YEARS AGO: Rolled Buttercream

THREE YEARS AGO: Miso-Ginger Turkey Meatballs with Cabbage “Noodles”

FOUR YEARS AGO: Smoked Shrimp Tacos with Roasted Jalapeño Salsa

FIVE YEARS AGO: Corn Fritters

SIX YEARS AGO: Minnie Macarons

SEVEN YEARS AGO: Air-Fried Mexican Meatloaf

EIGHT YEARS AGO: Mimi’s Sticky Chicken, a Call from my Past

NINE YEARS AGO: Perfect Soy-Grilled Steak

TEN YEARS AGO: The Devil’s Bread

ELEVEN YEARS AGO: Heart of Palm Salad Skewers

TWELVE YEARS AGO: Potluck Frittata and Lavoisier

THIRTEEN YEARS AGO: Home-made Corn Tortillas

FOURTEEN YEARS AGO: Whole-Wheat Spaghetti with Peanut Sauce

FIFTEEN YEARS AGO: Brigadeiros: A Brazilian Party!

SIXTEEN YEARS AGO: Lemony Asparagus

13Jul2025

MEXICAN CONCHAS

Posted in Breads by sallybr

This recipe has been waiting for a long time in that list of “To Make Soon”. Better late than never, I actually made it twice, because I wasn’t totally happy with my first attempt. This is a classic Mexican sweet bread, with a colorful coating that is sweet and addictive…

for the concha press I used, click here

MEXICAN CONCHAS
(from The Bewitching Kitchen)

makes 8 large conchas

4 cups (550g) all-purpose flour
1/2 cup (100g) sugar
2 tsp ground cinnamon
1 tbsp instant yeast
1/4 tsp salt
6 tbsp (85g) butter at room temperature
3 eggs at room temperature
1 tbsp vanilla extract
3/4 cup warm milk

Topping
1 1/2 cups (185g) all purpose flour
1 1/2 cup (180g) powdered sugar
1 cup butter, softened
1 tbsp vanilla extract
1 tbsp coco powder
1 tsp freeze dried strawberries, ground
Food coloring (optional)

In the bowl of a KitchenAid type mixer, add the flour, sugar, cinnamon, salt, yeast, and butter cut into pieces. Using the hook, mix for a few minutes until the butter is fully incorporated. Add one egg at a time, mixing for a minute after addition. Slowly add the milk, and once the mixture is smooth, knead it for a full 15 minutes, until the dough is super smooth and elastic.

Transfer to a buttered bowl, and let it rise until doubled. About 2 hours.

Make the topping by kneading (by hand is fine) flour, powdered sugar and butter until a dough is formed. Divide it in four pieces, add cocoa powder to one of them fourths, strawberry powder to the second half, vanilla to the remaining pieces. Add food color of your choice, if so desired. You can leave one of the vanilla pieces plain. Place in the fridge to set while the dough rises.

Punch the risen dough down, divide in 8 pieces and form little balls. Place them over parchment paper, four per baking sheet. Divide the colored dough into two, so you have a total of 8 pieces, 2 of each color. Use a tortilla press to roll them out, placing parchment paper squares on top and bottom to make it easy to move the dough around. Place the dough over the little rolls, and cut around to make it neat. Use the concha press to make the design on top. Cover, let them rise for 30 minutes and bake at 350F for about 25 minutes. Add a baking sheet with ice at the bottom of the oven to generate steam. You can also spray some water lightly over the dough after 2 minutes during baking.

Cool on a rack before eating.

ENJOY!

to print the recipe, click here

Comments: Talk about a fun baking project, this is definitely it! When I made it the first time, I did not cover the breads fully with the colored dough, and later learned that the traditional way covers them fully. They get a more polished look that way. Below you see my first attempt, I used a heavier hand with the colors also…

When I make them again, I will either make half the recipe and form 6 little breads, or make the full recipe and shape 12 because I think these turned out slightly too big. Also, I think it would be fun to gather the different colors of topping and knead them slightly together to make a fun marbled topping. I just love the look of the bread as it goes through the final proofing.

I donated the whole batch, but of course had to ‘test taste” one. Love the cinnamon flavor, the bread is soft, tender, moist. And the topping, yes, addictive!

ONE YEAR AGO: Red Velvet Sugar Cookies, Three Ways

TWO YEARS AGO: Lemon Macarons

THREE YEARS AGO: Thai Chicken with Peanut Sauce

FOUR YEARS AGO: Baharat Flower Sourdough

FIVE YEARS AGO: Biscoitinhos de Canela

SIX YEARS AGO: Salmon Tacos

SEVEN YEARS AGO: The Chignon

EIGHT YEARS AGO: Rack of Lamb Sous-Vide with Couscous Salad

NINE YEARS AGO: Focaccia with Grapes, Roquefort and Truffled Honey

TEN YEARS AGO: Moroccan Carrot Dip over Cucumber Slices

ELEVEN YEARS AGO: White Chocolate Macadamia Nut Cookies

TWELVE YEARS AGO: Cilantro-Jalapeno “Hummus”

THIRTEEN YEARS AGO:A Moving Odyssey

FOURTEEN YEARS AGO:Hoegaarden Beer Bread

FIFTEEN YEARS AGO: Ancho-Chile Marinade: Pleased to Meat you!

8Jul2025

PAN DE CRISTAL

Posted in Breads by sallybr

For a long time I’ve fllirted with the idea of working with a sourdough at 100% hydration. What’s the big deal, you might ask? First of all, in bread lingo, the hydration level reflects the amount of water in relation to total flour. Total flour then becomes the amount considered as 100%, and all ingredients are listed in proportion to that amount. If a bread calls for 500g of flour and 250g of water, it is at 50% hydration. Usually, if you look at recipes for sourdough bread, that level sits at 65% to 70%. If you want to see what increasing the level of water from 65% to 100% does to a dough, simply mix 100g of flour with 65g water and play with it. Now do the same with 100g flour + 100g water. It is a totally different reality… Anyway, without further ado, this is my first adventure with a sourdough bread containing 100% water. The famous “Pan de Cristal”.

PAN DE CRISTAL
(from The Bewitching Kitchen)

makes four loaves

400g strong flour
400g water (divided in 350g + 50g)
10g olive oil
10g salt
100g starter (at 100% hydration)

Mix the flour with 350g of water in a bowl. Use a dough whisk or your hand to mix it until no dry bits of flour remain. Let that sit for 45 minutes at room temperature. Mix the salt with the 50g water and reserve.

Add the sourdough starter, incorporate by kneading into the flour/water mixture. Add the remaining water/salt in 3 additions spaced by 10 minutes, mixing with your hand. After the last amount of water is added, wait 10 minutes and add the olive oil .

The dough is ready for bulk proofing. Place it in a square pyrex dish sprayed with olive oil. Perform coil folds every 45 minutes. You should do five to six cycles of folding, as shown in the video. Transfer the dough to the fridge overnight

Next morning, place parchment paper over your countertop, and flour the surface of the dough, as well as the parchment paper. Flip the dough onto the floured paper, then divide it with a bench scraper in four pieces. Each piece should go into a separate piece of floured parchment paper for easy moving into the oven. Cover the pieces and let them proof at room temperature for 45 minutes.

Heat your oven to 450C with a baking stone over the rack. Bake the bread with steam for 10 minutes, the reduce the temperature to 425F and bake for 20 minutes more.

Let it cool completely over a rack before slicing.

ENJOY!

to print the recipe, click here

Comments: Below you can watch a video of the last cycle of “folding” before placing the dough in the fridge for its overnight beauty sleep.

It was quite a challenging dough to work with, but I am pretty happy with the outcome. Make sure to flour the surface quite a bit before diving the dough into four pieces.

The crumb was very open and airy, the bread is delicious and was perfect for pulled pork sandwiches on the 4th of July… If you like to have a little bread baking challenge, I highly recommend this recipe!