PISTACHIO-WALNUT SOURDOUGH BREAD

Posted in Breads by sallybr

The goal: to make a sourdough bread loaded – and I mean loaded – with nuts, a crumb not as open as my usual loaves, to enjoy with an assortment of cheeses, from French Brie to Italian Gorgonzola, passing by Spain with its awesome Manchego. My starting point was a recipe from Maggie Glezer’s Artisan Baking, adapted to include whole pistachios, and small pieces of walnuts. I wanted the pistachios to be the main textural component in the bread, and the walnuts to impart mainly their flavor throughout the crumb. According to my dear husband, I hit the jackpot with this bread, he absolutely loved it. It reminded us of a bread we used to buy in a street market in Paris on Saturdays, except for the fact that the French version included a lot of sunflower seeds. Now, that’s an interesting idea for a future baking adventure… 😉

PISTACHIO-WALNUT SOURDOUGH BREAD
(from the Bewitching Kitchen)

Levain (you will use only half of it):
1 Tbs firm sourdough starter
45 g warm water
75 g bread flour

Dough:
300 g bread flour
25 g rye flour
25 g whole wheat flour
228 g warm water
8 g salt
80 g walnuts, lightly toasted, in small dice
50 g whole pistachios, roasted

Make the levain by mixing all the ingredients and kneading lightly to form a smooth dough. Keep at room temperature for about 12 hours (it should at least triple in size).

Make the dough by combining the three types of flour with the water. Cover and let the mixture rest for 30 minutes. Add the salt and the levain (half of it only!) and knead a few times until it forms a shaggy mass. Add the nuts and knead briefly to incorporate them. Let it rest for 30 minutes, knead for about 10-20 seconds, and let the dough rest for another 30 minutes. Knead (or fold) a few times, and let the dough rest for 1 hour. Knead (or fold) a few times, and let it rise undisturbed for 2 hours.

Pre-shape the dough as a round ball, let it rest for 15 minutes, then shape it in its final form, placing it in a banetton or another appropriate, well floured container, with the seam side up. Cover and let it rise for 3 hours. Invert the dough on parchment paper, slash the surface, place on a baking stone on a 425 F oven, covered for 30 minutes, then uncover and bake for 15 minutes more, until dark brown and the internal temperature is at least 205 F.

Let the loaf cool over a rack before cutting.

ENJOY!

to print the recipe, click here

Comments: Making this bread was a labor of love, because I shelled the pistachios myself. My finger tips had quite a workout, so next time I will buy shelled pistachios to make life a little easier, and I advise you to do the same. At any rate, this bread is a nut-lover’s paradise. The pistachios shine like little jewels, and the walnuts become almost sweet during baking. I could not be happier with it, as it turned out exactly as I hoped. Plus, it was another successful performance by our Breville toaster oven!

Who could resist having a second slice? 😉

I am submitting this post to Yeastspotting…

11Mar2011

HOME IS WHERE THE HEARTH IS

Posted in Breads by sallybr

We spent last week in Oklahoma, which gave me the opportunity to bake bread in a normal oven. After some severe brainstorming over the recipe, I settled on a country rye from Tartine, one of my favorite bread books. It calls for a sourdough starter with a 50:50 mixture of white and whole wheat flours, and the dough itself has a small amount of rye. Usually I’d retard the loaf overnight in the fridge (as recommended), but this time I baked it just 3 hours after the final shaping. The oven rise was impressive, the bread almost exploded out of the slashes! It’s a vision that makes me so happy… 😉

COUNTRY RYE
(adapted from Tartine)

For the leaven (8 hours before making the dough):
1 Tbs sourdough starter, very active
140ml water
70g white bread flour
70g whole wheat flour

For the dough:
100g of leaven (save the rest)
400ml water at 75 F
415g bread flour
85g rye flour
10g salt

Pour the water in a large bowl, add the leaven (only 100g of it) and mix to dissolve. Add the two different flours, mix with your hands to form a shaggy mass. Cover and let it sit at room temperature for 40 minutes. Sprinkle the salt on top of the dough and knead to mix it.

Let the dough go through a bulk rise of 3 hours, folding the dough at every 30 minutes. Pre-shape the dough as a ball, let it rest undisturbed for 20 minutes, then shape it in its final round shape, place it in a round container with the seam up for 3 hours (you can also retard the dough in the fridge for 12 to 16 hours).

Bake for 45 minutes in a 450 F oven, with steam during the first 25 minutes. Allow it to completely cool before slicing.

ENJOY!

to print the recipe, click here

Comments: For the first time I baked this type of bread without weighing the ingredients, because my balance stayed in the nano-kitchen. I was a bit nervous, but I used a conversion table and it worked just fine. The more I bake with wild yeast, the more convinced I am that technique trumps the proportions of ingredients. For example, folding the dough enough times during fermentation, and creating proper surface tension in the final shaping have a huge impact on the final product. My advice is to practice, practice, and practice some more. I still struggle with scoring the bread, never feeling confident with the razor blade in my hand. What bothers me is that the scoring is so… final! Once you slash the surface, you can only hope you did it right. 😉

The crumb was a little less open than that of a bread exclusively made from white flour, and the taste reminded me of a Poilane miche, but less dense. It’s a bread for a ham sandwich, or one with which you can mop up the juices of a hearty pot roast, or perfect to toast and enjoy with a little Brie cheese.

I am submitting this post to Susan’s Yeastspotting event… make sure to stop by and amaze yourself with all the tempting breads.

ONE YEAR AGO: My New Favorite Tomato Sauce

20Feb2011

CORNMEAL ENGLISH MUFFINS

Posted in Breads by sallybr

Or, as Dan Lepard described them, “traditional English muffins with a neat twist.” They have the exact same look of the regular English muffin, similar texture, but a slightly more complex taste due to the addition of cornmeal to the dough. Since they are leavened by commercial, fast acting yeast, you can have these tasty treats ready for brunch in less than 3 hours. Making bread first thing in the morning always makes me feel good, and gets the weekend started with a great vibe!

CORNMEAL ENGLISH MUFFINS
(detailed recipe found at The Guardian website)

The dough is made with soaked cornmeal, bread flour, yogurt, vinegar, and commercial yeast.

One important modification: I used only 350ml of water instead of the 425ml called for in the original recipe, after the advice of two friends (Celia and Joanna) who recently made these muffins and felt they did not hold their shape well if the full amount of water is added.

After three cycles of quick kneading, the dough rises undisturbed for an hour and a half, then is rolled 1/2 inch thick, and cut in circles. Initial cooking on a very hot griddle, 4 to 6 minutes per side, produces a beautifully golden crust on the surface…

They go into a 400F oven for 10 more minutes to make sure the crumb is fully set, and after patiently waiting for them to cool down, the baker might be lucky enough to hear her partner saying “can I make a little sandwich for you”?

I am submitting this post to Susan’s Yeastspotting….

ONE YEAR AGO: Cornish Hens for a Sunday Dinner

2Feb2011

TIDY SOURDOUGH

Posted in Breads by sallybr

This bread closes a personal saga with a long-awaited happy ending. Since we moved to LA I’ve been searching for a way to bake the bread we enjoy the most: the rustic sourdough boule. When you only have a small electric (toaster) oven, baking this bread becomes tricky, to say the least. After 11 unsuccessful attempts, I finally conquered my virtual Mt.Everest and stuck my flag in the summit!

BREVILLE SOURDOUGH
(from the Bewitching Kitchen, adapted from several sources)

235 g active sourdough starter (75% hydration)
275 ml water at room temperature
400 g bread flour
65 g whole wheat flour
10 g salt

Pour the water into a bowl, add the sourdough starter and dissolve it. Add the flours and the salt, then roughly mix all the ingredients together to form a shaggy mass. No need to incorporate it as a smooth dough at this point. Cover the bowl and let it stand for 20 minutes at room temperature. Remove the dough from the bowl and place it on a smooth surface rubbed with a small amount of vegetable oil. Quickly knead the dough for 20-30 seconds, incorporating all the dried bits of flour that are clinging to it . Wash the bowl or transfer to another, clean bowl, cover with a plastic wrap and leave at room temperature for 45 minutes.

Remove the dough from the bowl, add to the kneading surface (slightly coated with oil if needed), knead for 20 seconds (second kneading cycle). Place the dough back in the bowl, leave it resting for 45 minutes more. Proceed with a third kneading cycle, place the dough in the bowl for 1 hour.

Remove the dough from the bowl, shape roughly into a ball, let it rest 15 minutes, and form it into the final shape, making sure to generate good surface tension. Place the ball, seam side up, in a well floured round basket and let it rise at room temperature for 3 hours. Forty-five minutes before baking, heat your oven to 450F with a round pizza stone inside.

Invert the dough over a piece of parchment paper on a peel or cookie sheet, slash the top with a razor blade, and place in the oven. Position a Dutch oven inverted on top of it (fill it with very hot water, then dump the water and use it to cover your bread). Bake covered for 35 minutes, then CAREFULLY uncover the bread and bake for 25 to 30 minutes more (or until internal temperature is over 200F). If the top browns too much lower the temperature to 425F, and cover the surface with aluminum foil.

Cool for at least one hour before slicing and…

ENJOY!

to print the full recipe, click here

to see my timetable for this bread, click here

to print your own timetable for future use, click here

Comments: I’ve baked many breads in the past 3 years, but none gave me the thrill of this one, because it was my very last attempt! I was ready to throw in the towel and conclude that a rustic sourdough cannot be done in the nano-kitchen. What made it possible was creating the correct enclosure to bake the bread for the first 30 minutes. For our Breville, a round pizza stone and a Le Creuset-wannabe (found at a Ross store a couple of months ago) served the purpose quite well.

Normally I’d add a small amount of rye flour to the dough, but I couldn’t find it last weekend, so I used only regular whole-wheat. This is probably the largest bread you can bake in a Breville, and I intend to try a slightly smaller version in the near future. I used regular kneading for this bread, but made a second loaf a couple of days later folding the dough instead, with similar results. You can use whatever technique you feel most comfortable with.

Variation: Follow this recipe to the point of the final shaping as a “boule,” then retard it in the fridge overnight. Next day, bring it to room temperature 2 hours before baking.

I am excited to send this post to Susan’s Yeastspotting…

ONE YEAR AGO: Vienna Bread

15Jan2011

WEEKEND PITA PROJECT

Posted in Breads by sallybr

I grew up enjoying one of my favorite breads, pita, on a weekly basis. In Brazil it’s called “pao sirio” (Syrian bread). As I’ve mentioned before, Middle Eastern food is very popular in Sao Paulo, so my weekends often included visits to a particular spot that sold bags of freshly baked flat bread. It was similar to what we call “pita” here in the US, and usually associate with Greek food. The current bagged stuff at grocery stores pales in comparison to freshly baked pita, and it’s so easy to make that once you master this technique, I doubt you’ll go back to the commercial versions. Unless, of course, you’re lucky enough to have a Middle Eastern bakery right in your neighborhood… 😉

This recipe comes from Dan Lepard, and you can find it by clicking here. You can also read a discussion about it in his forum by following this link.

Dan’s method involves a simple dough (flour, yeast, sugar, olive oil, a little salt) prepared with his minimal kneading procedures, divided into 8 portions, and each one rolled into an oval or circle about 5mm (1/4 inch) thick. The flat breads bake over a blazing-hot baking sheet for a few minutes, until they puff (or not, depending on how well you hit the correct thickness) and acquire a hint of color.

When you hit the jackpot – the slightly elusive, “just-right” thickness, you’ll be rewarded with a beautifully puffed up balloon in your oven!

Comments: Whenever I succeed in baking bread with my electric oven, I wear a smile and walk on top of the world for a few days! Baking 8 pita circles took some patience and fiddling with the oven. Besides baking one at a time, I had to start with the rack in the center, and as the bread puffed up I quickly moved it to the lower position. Against all odds, I didn’t burn myself! It took me more than an hour to bake the full batch, which told me that the dough can sit at room temperature for a long time and still produced great pita! 😉

By the way, if your pita doesn’t inflate as a balloon, it will still be delicious. In fact, I like to roll a few slightly thicker, because they produce a softer bread, with more crumb and a chewy texture. It’s a nice change from the “pocket” version, that also re-heats a little better next day.