FALL LEAVES PANCH PURAN SOURDOUGH

Posted in Breads by sallybr

PANCH PURAN SOURDOUGH
(from the Bewitching Kitchen)

500g bread flour
350g water
75g starter at 100%
9g salt
1 tsp pinch puran spice mix

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 flour, salt and spice mixture. Turn the mixer on with the hook attachment and knead the dough for 4 minutes at low-speed all the time. You will notice the dough will gain quite a bit of structure even with just 4 minutes in the mixer. Remove from the machine, and transfer to a container lightly coated with oil, cover lightly with plastic wrap and allow it to ferment for 4 hours, folding every 45 minutes or so. Because the dough is already a bit developed from the initial time in the mixer, you should get very good structure after 3 and a half hours, or even sooner than that.

After four hours bulk fermentation, shape the dough as a ball, and place, seam side up, in a lightly floured banetton. Leave at room temperature one hour, and then place in the fridge overnight, from 8 to 12 hours.

Next morning, heat the oven to 450F.Place a parchment paper on top of the dough, a flat baking sheet, and invert the dough, flipping it out of the banneton. Flour the surface of the dough, score with a razor blade, and 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 yin-yang feel of this design which is quite popular for batard-shaped loaves, you can see examples everywhere in social media. Coupling razor blade with small scissors is all you need to get this simple look going.

Before I leave, let me share a few more designs of the recent past…

For the above look, a very simple grid is the initial scoring, then just a few extra touches in the center of each square.

Another batard shape that is super simple and effective, relying on a central deep cut and a few decorating light touches with the blade…

A little stencil adventure…

And a festive scoring coupled with a slightly heavier coating with tapioca flour…

That’s all for now, folks, stay tuned for more soon!

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12Nov2024

BARBARI BREAD AND HUMMUS

Posted in Appetizers, Breads, Breakfast & Brunch by sallybr

A match made in heaven!

Barbari Bread originates in Iran, formerly known as Persia, a name that evokes beautiful things in my mind. Barbari is a flatbread with ridges and a dark golden color provided by a glaze that often contains baking soda. I share a recipe that makes one small flatbread, fitting in a quarter sheet pan.

BARBARI BREAD
(adapted from cookingorgeous)

160 ml water (lukewarm)
250 g all-purpose flour
4 g instant yeast
5 g salt
3 g sugar
10 ml olive oil

For the Topping (you won’t need the full amount)
1 teaspoon olive oil
1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
½ cup water
½ teaspoon baking soda
2 tablespoon Sesame seeds

In the bowl of a KitchenAid type mixer combine the flour, salt, sugar, olive oil, and yeast. Add warm water gradually, stirring to form a sticky dough. Knead at low-speed for about 5 minutes. Place the dough in a lightly greased bowl, cover it with a damp cloth, and let it rise in a warm spot for 2 hours.

Make the glaze: in a small saucepan, combine flour, water, olive oil, and baking soda.
Cook over low heat, stirring continuously until it thickens into a smooth paste. Set aside to cool.

Shape the Dough: Flatten the dough into an oval or rectangular shape on a parchment-lined baking sheet. If the dough resists too much, form into a ball and allow it to rest for 15 minutes. The dough should end as 12 inches long and 5 inches wide. Using your fingers, gently press lines into the dough from top to bottom to create the signature ridges of Barbari bread. Brush the glaze mixture over the surface, covering the dough evenly. This will help to keep the bread moist and create that golden crust during baking. Sprinkle on sesame seeds.

Second Rise and Baking the Bread: Cover the shaped and topped dough with a damp cloth and allow it to rise for one hour.

Heat the oven to 390F. Bake the bread for about 20 minutes or until it turns golden brown with a crisp crust.

ENJOY!

to print the recipe, click here

For the hummus, I used a fantastic recipe from Milk Street, which is available online (click here). I advise you to halve the recipe because it would feed an army. I am not too fond of freezing hummus, so half the recipe was perfect for us. Can you tell how luscious and creamy it is?

Comments: Barbari bread is definitely one to consider adding to your rotation, because it is super easy to make and absolutely delicious. As to the hummus, Milk Street recipe is pretty involved, but worth it. Thick, intensely flavored, a real hit of sesame with each bite.

I hope you try both this recipes, they were perfect together. Hummus is often a breakfast item in Israel, consumed warm with Kawarma (spiced ground meat) spooned all over it. We took the less authentic route by enjoying it as a dip. If you have The Milk Street Cookbook that goes along with the TV show, both recipes are there.

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7Nov2024

BOLO DO CACO, A BREAD FROM MADEIRA ISLAND

Posted in Breads by sallybr

Think of an English muffin, but richer, more tender and with the most beautiful color offered by orange-fleshed sweet potatoes. Very easy to make and thanks to instant yeast, pretty quick to have at the table. Some recipes call for cooking it exclusively on a griddle, but I find it almost impossible to bake it fully without getting the surface too dark. I prefer to start them on a griddle and finish baking in the oven. They turn out much better this way.

BOLO DO CACO
(from The Bewitching Kitchen, adapted from several sources)

2 sweet potatoes (enough to have 250g cooked flesh)
2 tablespoons butter, softened
1 tablespoon honey
2 tsp instant yeast
1 tsp salt
400g bread flour (about 3 cups)
2/3 cup water (adjust depending on softness of the dough)

My favorite method to cook sweet potatoes is low and slow. Prick the potato skin with a fork and bake it at your favorite temperature until soft. Remove the skin and rice or cut the flesh in small pieces, measure 250g for this recipe. While warm, add to the bowl of a KitchenAid type processor and mix with the paddle attachment until soft. Add the butter, honey and salt, mix well. Allow it to cool until lukewarm. You can cook the potato in advance and reserve it.

Mix the yeast with the flour, add to the potato and work with the dough hook, adding water until a dough forms. It should not be dry, it is best if it clings a bit to the bottom of the bowl. Do not add all the water at once, go a bit at a time, as the moisture in potato might differ.

Transfer to a slightly oiled bowl, and let it rise at room temperature for 90 minutes. Cut the dough in 8 pieces, form each one into a ball, flatten it and place on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Cover with plastic wrap and let it rise for 30 minutes.

Heat oven to 375F.

Heat a griddle until water evaporates quickly on contact with the surface. Cook each side of the little buns for a couple of minutes, until a golden crust forms. Place them all in the oven for 20 minutes to finish baking. Internal temperature should reach 200-205F.

Place them on a rack to fully cool before slicing.

ENJOY!

to print the recipe, click here

Comments: I honestly don’t know how some recipes would advise to cook them on a griddle and call it a day. No way it would cook all the way through, unless you rolled them out super thin, but I believe they are better as “muffin” creatures, a bit on the plump side.

The crumb is very delicate, they have a slight sweetness, and go superbly well with some Roquefort cheese. Or many other tasty things you can think of. They also freeze well, I like to freeze slices in half as they will defrost quicker.

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16Oct2024

SEMOLINA SOURDOUGH

Posted in Breads by sallybr

OCTOBER 16th
WORLD BREAD DAY!

The key to this bread is to use fine semolina, I highly recommend this brand if you find it where you live, or if you don’t mind supporting the so-called Evil Empire aka amazon.com… The dough is soft, a pleasure to work with, the crumb develops a light yellow tone, and has great texture and taste. I am sold.

SEMOLINA SOURDOUGH
(from the Bewitching Kitchen)

300g white bread flour
225g fine semolina flour
355g water
50g sourdough starter at 100% hydration
9g salt

Mix all ingredients in the bowl or a KitchenAid type mixer fitted with the dough hook. Knead on low speed for about 4 minutes, adjust dough with flour is needed (I like to have it still glueing to the bottom of the bowl as it spins).

Transfer to an oiled bowl and ferment for 5.5 hours total. Perform a set of folds at 45 minutes intervals five times, which should take you about 3 hours and 45 minutes. Let the dough alone for the remainder of bulk fermentation. Shape as a batard, keep at room temperature for 1 hour and retard in the fridge.

Score and bake at 450F in a Dutch oven with the lid on for 30 minutes, remove the lid and bake for additional 15 to 20 minutes. Cool completely before slicing.

ENJOY!

to print the recipe, click here

Comments: I used tapioca flour for the scoring because I like how it stays super white during baking, but you can use regular bread flour or rice flour if you don’t have tapioca. The central scoring was made with a razor blade in a series of V cuts and then I pulled the bottom part of the V shape and twisted backwards. The rest of the design was just razor blade and holes made with a chopstick.

I hope you give semolina sourdough a try, we absolutely loved this simple bread!

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10Oct2024

MJUKKAKA, A SWEDISH SOFT FLATBREAD

Posted in Breads, Breakfast & Brunch by sallybr

Totally in love, I must admit… Huge thank you to Mimi, a food blogger and friend I’ve been following and learning from for so many years! Check her detailed post about it clicking here. If you want to make the real authentic version, a special rolling pin is a must, but you can probably get by with a dough rolling docking gadget of even the tines of a fork. I have a tough time resisting gadgets, as you may have noticed, so I got one (amazon is your friend, I suppose).

MJUKKAKA
(from Chef Mimi’s blog)

2 cups bread flour plus an extra tablespoon or two if necessary and more for rolling the dough
3/4 cup barley flour
1 1/2 teaspoons instant yeast
1 teaspoon fine sea salt
1 teaspoon granulated sugar
1 cup water room temperature
1/4 cup plain whole-milk Greek yogurt
1 tablespoon canola oil plus more for oiling the bowl and cooking the flatbreads
2 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
Flaky sea salt for sprinkling

Whisk bread flour, barley flour, yeast, salt and sugar together by hand in the bowl of a stand mixer. Add water, yogurt and 1 tablespoon oil to the dry ingredients.

Fit a stand mixer with the dough hook and begin mixing at medium-low speed until dough just comes together. Increase mixer speed to medium and knead dough for three minutes. If dough is sticking to the sides or the bottom after the first 3 minutes of kneading, add an additional tablespoon of bread flour before continuing the kneading process. Continue kneading at medium speed until the dough is tacky but not sticky and clears the bottom and sides of the bowl, approximately 2-3 more minutes. Add an additional tablespoon or two of bread flour if dough continues to stick to the sides or bottom of the bowl during the kneading process.

Transfer the dough to an oiled bowl. Cover and let rise for an hour at room temperature or until doubled in size. Transfer dough to a clean countertop and divide into 8 equal pieces, about 80 g each. Roll each piece into a rough ball. Cover with plastic wrap.

Working with one piece of dough at a time, use a rolling pin to create a thin circular flatbread (like a thin tortilla). If the dough sticks to the rolling pin, sprinkle a little flour on top. It’s okay if the dough is sticking to the work surface. Finish by rolling the flatbread a couple of times with a deep notched rolling pin. Brush off any excess flour from the top of the dough.

Using a dough scraper and your fingers, gently release the flatbread from the countertop. Add to a skillet with a little oil heated over medium heat. Cook the first side for 1 to 2 minutes, flip and cook the second side. Remove the flatbread from the skillet and transfer to a plate. Brush lightly with melted butter and sprinkle with coarse salt, if so desired (I omitted the butter).

Repeat the process with the remaining portions of dough. Eat immediately or wrap tightly and freeze once the flatbreads have cooled to room temperature

ENJOY!

to print the recipe, click here

Comments: I love the pattern that the rolling pin makes on the dough, and also how it prevents the bread from puffing too much during cooking. I used a dosa flat pan to cook it over the stove, but you can use cast iron and probably a griddle might work too. As to oiling the pan, what worked better for me was brushing oil right on the bread after rolling and brushing the excess flour off. I used a silicone brush and added a very light coating. I did not add more oil to the other side before flipping the bread, it was not necessary.

We had it for a weeknight dinner with several different goodies: smoked salmon with yogurt dill dipping sauce, ham, prosciutto, mortadella, mustard, hummus… It was simple and fun at the same time. I placed all flatbreads wrapped in foil in a very low oven (used our Breville small oven for that), and the bread stayed soft and warm through the whole meal. We did not bother slathering the bread with butter, but feel free to do so.