HAPPY 4TH OF JULY!

Posted in Breads by sallybr

I’ve baked quite a few 4th of July inspired goodies in the past couple of weeks, but the only new recipe is the one I share today. Quite excited about this sourdough, not for the design, which is quite simple and easy, but for the formula: 2 egg yolks were added to the dough right at the beginning stage. I follow the bulk fermentation by removing a small amount of dough to a glass vial, and was amazed at the way it rose like a rocket. It doubled in size in 5 hours, which is definitely a first for me. Normally it takes 7 to 8 hours to get to that point.

DOUBLE-EGG YOLK SOURDOUGH BREAD
(from The Bewitching Kitchen)

475g white bread flour
25g spelt flour
70g sourdough starter at 80% hydration (you can use 100% if you prefer)
350g water
10g salt
2 egg yolks

for rubbing on surface:
red yeast powder (I used this product)
to paint:
blue luster powder + vodka
star shape cut from parchment or regular paper

Mix all ingredients in the bowl of a KitchenAid type mixer fitted with the dough hook. Knead gently for about 4 minutes (first or second speed maximum).

Transfer dough to a lightly oiled bowl and do a bulk fermentation with 4 to 5 folds made 45 minutes apart. Before you start the fermentation , remove a very small amount of dough to a small glass container (like those that hold spices), and mark where the level of the dough is with a permanent marker. Keep that at room temperature to monitor fermentation.

After the last folding cycle, keep an eye on the fermentation using the small vial. Ideally you want to let the dough ferment until it is double in size. The inclusion of egg yolks will considerably speed up the process.

Once bulk fermentation is over, shape the dough as a boule and place in a banneton. Move it to the fridge, covered, and leave it there overnight.

Next day, freeze the dough for 30 minutes in the banetton, to make it easier to score later. Invert the dough on a paper liner, place the piece of paper shaped as a star on top of the shaped dough, wetting it just lightly to make it glue to the surface. Sprinkle red yeast powder all over, rubbing it gently. Remove the paper, and paint that area with blue luster powder. Score with a sharp razor blade in any pattern you like.

Bake in a Dutch oven with the lid on at 450F for 30 minutes, open and allow the bread to brown for a further 15 minutes.

Cool completely over a rack before slicing.

ENJOY!

to print the recipe, click here

Comments: The dough is particularly smooth and nice to work with. I still cannot quite get over how much faster it rose during bulk fermentation. The temperature in our house does not change much during the year, thanks to air-conditioning and a bread proofing box for the winter months. The crumb has a slightly yellow hint, and the taste is a tad richer than your regular sourdough bread. I really liked it a lot, and so did the husband. If you are into sourdough baking, consider playing with this recipe.

I was ready to re-paint the bread once it was out of the oven, but much to my delight, the luster powder kept its intensity throughout the baking process! How cool is that?

I close this post with a few more bakes made to celebrate the 4th. Crinkle Sugar Cookies, Chocolate-Covered Oreos, Decorated Sugar Cookies and Red Velvet Cupcakes.

1 YEAR AGO: In My Kitchen, Summer 2025

2 YEARS AGO: In My Kitchen, Summer 2024

3 YEARS AGO: In My Kitchen, Summer 2023

4 YEARS AGO: In My Kitchen, Summer 2022

5 YEARS AGO: In My Kitchen, July 2021

6 YEARS AGO: In My Kitchen, July 2020

7 YEARS AGO: In My Kitchen, June 2019

8 YEARS AGO: In My Kitchen – July 2018

9 YEARS AGO: In My Kitchen, July 2017

10 YEARS AGO: Secret Recipe Club: Falafel and a Bonus Recipe

11 YEARS AGO: Chocolate Toffee Banana Bread

12 YEARS AGO: In My Kitchen, June 2014

13 YEARS AGO: Strawberry Frozen Yogurt

14 YEARS AGO: Baked Coconut and “The Brazilian Kitchen”

15 YEARS AGO: Honey-Glazed Chicken Legs

16 YEARS AGO: French-Style Rolls

17 YEARS AGO: Chicken Breasts, Coffee, and Serendipity

4Jul2021

HAPPY 4TH OF JULY!

Posted in Cake, Cookies by sallybr

In this post I share chocolate cookies and brownie cupcakes, all dressed up for the occasion. Recipe for cookies can be found here, and brownie cupcakes with a click here.

Four types of decorations, depending on how much icing and how much work you’d like to put into the cookies. The simplest is the chocolate star with the sprinkle border. All you have to do is pipe a little line of icing all around and then dip the cookie gently in sprinkles. The hexagons were featured recently on my baby blog.

These stars were inspired by Haniela. They started with a flooded white cookie, and then some were air-brushed with a combination of stencils (stripes and stars), and some were outlined with a three-color icing using a flat icing tip.

The 4th of July Hearts were inspired by something I saw on Instagram last year and saved for the future. And the future is now!

Cupcakes were made using 1/8 tsp of orange oil to flavor the cake batter. The icing was flavored with chai extract, as described in my post from a couple of months ago. Patriotic sprinkles complete the look…

I hope you are having a wonderful 4th, and please if you are into fireworks, think a little bit about all those pets getting terrified out there. If you can minimize your fun, or do it away from residential neighborhoods, please consider doing so.

ONE YEAR AGO: 4th of July Inspired Baking

TWO YEARS AGO: In My Kitchen, July 2019

THREE YEARS AGO: Brigadeiros for the 4th of July

FOUR YEARS AGO: Kaleidoscopic Macarons

FIVE YEARS AGO: Zucchini Noodles with Sun-dried Tomato Pesto

SIX YEARS AGO: In My Kitchen, July 2015

SEVEN YEARS AGO: Sous-vide Pork Chops with Roasted Poblano Butter

EIGHT YEARS AGO: Roasted Strawberry-Buttermilk Sherbet

NINE YEARS AGO: Amazing Ribs for the 4th of July!

TEN YEARS AGO: Baby Back Ribs on the 4th of July

ELEVEN YEARS AGO: Blueberry Muffins

TWELVE YEARS AGO: A Pie for your 4th of July

6Jul2018

BRIGADEIROS FOR THE FOURTH OF JULY

Posted in Desserts, Desserts, Sweets by sallybr

Brazil meets USA, big time! A traditional Brazilian delicacy dresses up in American colors for one of the biggest holidays celebrated here, Independence Day. We were invited for dinner and fireworks over at a friend’s home, and on a last-minute move, I prepared these babies to take with us. They are a departure of the classic Brazilian brigadeiros, made with cocoa powder. In this case, I flavored them with a touch of coconut extract, but probably should have added more than I did, the flavor was barely noticeable.

PATRIOTIC BRIGADEIROS
(from Easy and Delish)

2 (14-oz) cans sweetened condensed milk
1 1/2 Tablespoons unsalted butter
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract (or substitute 1/2 teaspoon coconut extract)
food coloring (Red and Blue)
red/white/blue sprinkles (optional)
white chocolate ganache to drizzle (optional)

ENJOY!

to print the recipe, click here

Comments: If you’ve never made traditional brigadeiros, or worse yet – have not even heard about them, please read my old blog post to fix this major gap in your culinary knowledge. It’s important. It was really fun to make these, I advise you to use two cans of condensed milk, so that you have enough to play with. With this amount, I made 26 brigadeiros. They are rich and sweet, so one or two is all you’ll need. But they bring me so many nice memories of my home country, I usually have a bit of a hard time stopping at two. So I accept my weakness, and move on. And jog on. Weight lift on. Kickbox on… you get the picture… damage control.

You can definitely use different colors to celebrate your favorite team, your school, your mood. Halloween Black and Orange brigadeiros might be the rage this year (wink, wink).