SOURDOUGH ENGLISH MUFFINS: A SWEET BEGINNING

Posted in Breads, Vegetarian-friendly by sallybr

Our nano-kitchen is no longer a bread virgin! This morning I baked a batch of English muffins, my favorite breakfast item. I used a recipe found in Susan’s Wild Yeast blog, that calls for a mixture of whole wheat and regular flours, and baked them on our electric griddle. It was wonderful to feel the smell of freshly baked bread in our new home.

WHOLE-WHEAT SOURDOUGH ENGLISH MUFFINS
(adapted from Wild Yeast blog)

For the sponge (make the day before baking)
110 g sourdough starter (at 100% hydration)
160 g bread flour
100 g whole wheat flour
276 g milk

for the dough
all the sponge
75 g bread flour
3/4 tsp salt
1 tsp baking soda
1.5 tsp honey

Combine all the ingredients for the sponge in a medium bowl, cover and keep at room temperature for 8 to 12 hours.

Add the dough ingredients and mix to combine. Let the mixture sit for 10 minutes, then knead by gently folding a few times in the bowl. Cover and repeat this minimal kneading two more times over a 45 minute period. Do not add more flour, it will be a little sticky, but with time it will gain body and be easier to handle.

Flour the counter, pat the dough gently over it, cut in 8 pieces and form each one very gently into a flat circle. Place them over a floured parchment paper (dusted with semolina flour or cornmeal if you like), sprinkle flour on top and cover. Allow them to rise for 1 hour.

Cook them on a very hot griddle (450F) slightly coated with oil. Cook them 7-8 minutes per side, but make sure to flip them in the beginning every 2 minutes, this will ensure nicely shaped muffins. Cool completely before splitting them (preferably using a fork).

ENJOY!

to print the recipe, click here

Comments: I’ve been on a quest for the perfect sourdough / whole wheat muffin, and tried 4 different recipes in the past few weeks. My only change to Susan’s recipe was modify it for minimal kneading, and slightly increase the proofing time. I tried it with a higher proportion of whole wheat in the final dough, but that compromised the texture. This variation gave me the best crumb and still a hearty taste from the whole wheat flour.

I am sending this post to Susan’s Yeastspotting, my first submission straight from the nano-kitchen! So exciting! 😉

ONE YEAR AGO: Kaiser Rolls

22Aug2010

WHEN A KING MAKES A PROMISE…

Posted in Breads, Vegetarian-friendly by sallybr

HE DELIVERS!

Normally, I would shy away from baking a bread using exclusively whole wheat flour, because often they turn out dry, heavy, and not too flavorful. But those folks at King Arthur Flour know their bread extremely well, and recently highlighted in their blog their most popular recipe, a 100% Whole Wheat Bread. They promised that it would produce “a moist, close-grained, nutty, and rich bread, that slices as a dream.” They did not lie: this is a deliciously hearty loaf, not heavy at all, with a hint of sweetness from the honey, perfect to start your day on a very “good carb-note.”

CLASSIC 100% WHOLE WHEAT BREAD
(from King Arthur website)

8 to 10 ounces lukewarm water
1 + 3/4 ounces vegetable oil
3 ounces honey
14 ounces whole wheat flour
2 + 1/2 teaspoons instant yeast
1 ounce dried milk
1 + 1/4 teaspoons salt

In a large bowl, combine all the ingredients and stir till the dough starts to leave the sides of the bowl. Transfer the dough to a lightly greased surface, oil your hands, and knead it for 6 to 8 minutes, or until it becomes smooth. Alternatively, knead it in a KitchenAid type machine (I did that for about 7 minutes at speed 2).

Transfer the dough to a lightly greased bowl or large measuring cup, cover it, and allow the dough to rise till puffy though not necessarily doubled in bulk, about 1 to 2 hours (mine doubled in a little over 1 hour).

Transfer the dough to a lightly oiled surface, and shape it into a loaf. Place it in a lightly greased 8 1/2″ x 4 1/2″ loaf pan, cover the pan loosely with lightly greased plastic wrap, and allow the bread to rise for about 1 to 2 hours, or till the center has crowned about 1″ above the rim of the pan (mine took only 1 hour to reach that point). Towards the end of rising time, heat your oven to 350F.

Bake the bread for 35 to 40 minutes, tenting it lightly with aluminum foil after 20 minutes to prevent over-browning. The finished loaf will register 190°F on an instant-read thermometer inserted into the center.

Remove the bread from the oven, and turn it out of the pan on a rack to cool. If desired, rub the crust with a stick of butter; this will yield a soft, flavorful crust (I omitted this step). Cool completely before slicing.

ENJOY!

to print the recipe, click here

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Comments: The variable amount of water given in the recipe accommodates for differences in humidity and temperature in each kitchen. Start with 8 ounces and see how the dough behaves. It is very important not to add too much flour, or it will be too heavy.

Instead of using my regular oven, I baked this loaf on our Breville toaster/convection oven, and it performed very well. It is a fantastic appliance, one that will be used more and more in the near future. 😉

I am submitting this post to Susan’s Yeastspotting…

ONE YEAR AGO: Basic French Bread

13Aug2010

PAIN RUSTIQUE

Posted in Breads, Vegetarian-friendly by sallybr

Make this bread! Even if you’re yeast-0-phobic, even if you think you can’t bake a bread to save your own life, …PLEASE make this bread. I’ll hold your hand throughout, and toast your success at the end!

PAIN RUSTIQUE
(from Hamelman’s Bread)

For the poolish
1 lb bread flour (3 + 5/8 cup)
1 lb water (2 cups)
1/4 tsp instant dry yeast

For the dough:
all the poolish made the previous day (about 2 lb)
6.1 oz water (3/4 cup)
1 lb bread flour (3 + 5/8 cup)
0.6 oz salt (1 Tbs)
0.17 oz yeast (1 + 1/2 tsp)

Make the poolish the day before: add water to a bowl, sprinkle the yeast on top, add the flour and mix until smooth with a large spoon. Cover with plastic wrap and let it stand at room temperature for 12 to 16 hours (ideal temperature: 70 F).

This is what the poolish will look like the next day….

Prepare the dough: add the flour, water and fermented poolish to the bowl of a Kitchen Aid-type mixer. Don’t add the yeast or the salt yet. Mix on first speed (or by hand) until it all comes together in a shaggy-looking mass. Cover the bowl and let this mixture rest for 20 to 30 minutes.

Add the salt and the yeast over the dough, turn the mixer to the second speed and mix for 2 minutes. Ideally, the temperature of the dough should reach about 76 F. If kneading by hand, then work the dough until it’s smooth, about 6 minutes.

Cover the bowl and let it rest for 25 minutes. Give a quick couple of folds to the dough (as shown here), let it rest 25 more minutes. Fold the dough a couple of times again, and let it rest 20-25 minutes more, undisturbed.

Gently divide the dough into two pieces, trying not to deflate it too much, and place them over lightly floured kitchen towels. Cover, and let them stay for 20 to 25 minutes at room temperature, for a final quick proofing. No need to shape the loaves in any particular way.

Invert the dough over parchment paper, so that the floured side is now up. Slash the bread quickly with a single stroke of a razor blade or sharp knife.

Bake the loaves in a 460F oven, with steam (add ice cubes to a baking pan placed at the bottom of the oven, or use any method of your choice to add steam in the initial baking time). The bread will be ready in about 35 minutes. Let them cool completely on a rack before slicing.

ENJOY!

to print the recipe, click here

Comments: My expectations were not too high for this bread when I first made it: no wild yeast, no involved kneading and shaping. When the loaves were ready to go into the oven, they seemed too flat, with a tendency to spread. However, they had nice oven bounce, and the simple slash perfectly coached them into the final shape. Each loaf was light as a feather, with a nice crumb and subtle sour flavor, thanks to the poolish.

Even though this recipe comes from Hamelmn’s book, I did not make it as part of the Mellow Baker’s Challenge. I had to take a step back and turn into an avid observer of the group instead of a participant. But make sure you jump over there to see what they are baking, some great breads for the month of August, including baguettes… 😉

I am submitting this post to Susan’s Yestspotting…

ONE YEAR AGO: A Souffle to Remember… Julia Child

31Jul2010

CINNAMON TURBAN BREAD

Posted in Breads, Vegetarian-friendly by sallybr

King Arthur all purpose flour and instant yeast: $11

Penzey’s Ceylon cinnamon: $4

Sugar, oil, salt: $2.50

Baking Noon Rogani just in time to join this party: PRICELESS!

NOON ROGANI
(from King Arthur website)

19 ounces all purpose flour
1 teaspoon instant yeast
10 ounces warm water
2 teaspoons salt
1 tablespoon sugar
1 tablespoon vegetable oil

filling
2 ounces melted butter, divided
2 to 4 ounces sugar to taste
2 teaspoons cinnamon

In a large bowl mix the flour, water and yeast to a thick shaggy mass. Let rest for 10 minutes. After 10 minutes add the salt, sugar and vegetable oil to create a dough that is not sticky to the touch but still slightly tacky. Knead by hand, mixer or bread machine until the dough is smooth and elastic.

Place the dough in a greased bowl and cover. Let rise until puffy, about 30-40 minutes.

Turn out the dough onto a well floured surface. Gently deflate and shape into a square pillow. Roll the square to approximately 23″ square and 1/8th” thick.

Mix the cinnamon and sugar in a small bowl. Brush the dough with half of the melted butter and generously sprinkle on the cinnamon sugar mixture. Use more or less sugar to taste.
Roll up the dough tightly, pinching the seam well, and continue rolling and stretching the rope until it reaches a length of 5 feet. Twist the entire length of the rope similar to wringing out a towel, but much more loosely.

On a greased baking sheet or parchment paper, coil the rope into a round spiral, turban style. Don’t wrap too tightly, keep the coil slightly loose to aid in the final rise. Brush with the remaining melted butter and set aside, covered, to rise until puffy 40-45 minutes.

Bake the loaf in a preheated 400°F oven for 30-45 minutes or until deeply golden brown. Cool slightly on a rack before serving. Makes one 10-12″ spiral.

ENJOY!

to print the recipe, click here

Comments: This was a fun bread to make, the dough was easy to handle, it would be a great baking project for kids. I decided to halve the recipe, but should have taken that in account during baking: 35 minutes was too long, and my bread did not turn as soft and tender inside, as others described. Live and learn, right? It still tasted great, like a giant cinnamon roll, minus the icing.

Note to self: If halving the recipe reduce baking time to 25 minutes!

I am submitting this post to Susan’s Yeastspotting.

ONE YEAR AGO: Summertime Gratin

5Jul2010

MELLOW BAKERS: BEER BREAD WITH ROASTED BARLEY

Posted in Breads by sallybr

Taking the Mellow Bakers Challenge in the mellowest possible way, I made the last bread of June in the first week of July… 😉 This was a slightly more complicated recipe, as it required roasted barley – not just the grain, mind you – but “malted barley“, not very easy to find, unless you have access to a beer brewery. Following the footsteps of other bakers, I decided to make my own, and it was a fun (and successful) project! I highly recommend that you read Susan’s article about malt and its uses in bread, she did a great job explaining it all.

For Hamelman’s Beer Bread, you need a poolish (made the day before), roasted barley, beer, flour and commercial yeast. The malted barley gives the bread a beautiful reddish tone, and the beer a flavor that is surprisingly delicate for such a hearty-looking bread. To allow me to bake it early in the morning, I retarded the dough overnight after the final proofing.

Comments: Making malted barley seems intimidating at first, but once again I asked the help of an expert, and brought Dan Lepard to the rescue. His book, The Handmade Loaf, has clear instructions on how to do it. Here is a quick summary of it…

THe process starts by soaking the grains in water, for 2 to 3 days, keeping them in a cool place..

Then, the grains are rinsed, spread over a damp paper, covered, and kept for 4 days in a cool place, until the sprouted portion is twice the size of the grain. Aren’t they cute? 😉
(click to enlarge)

Finally, the sprouted barley is thoroughly dried (for 12 hours or so), and either roasted for a few minutes and ground (to make this bread), or dried at 50 C for several hours and ground into a powder (to make malt powder, and use in any bread that benefits from it).