STAR-SHAPED SUNDRIED TOMATO BREAD

Posted in Breads by sallybr

This is a type of bread we see often this time of the year, because it looks so festive, but it is actually quite simple to make. The filling can be sweet (think Nutella, caramel, raspberry jam) or savory. My version used sundried-tomato and cheese. You can take it in different directions, and it will always turned out great, with that visual impact we love so much, particularly during the holiday season.

STAR-SHAPED SUNDRIED TOMATO BREAD
(adapted from King Arthur Flour)

for the dough:
3/4 cup lukewarm milk
2 teaspoons active dry or instant yeast
360g all-purpose flour, divided
1 large egg
3 tablespoons olive oil
1 teaspoon salt

for the filling:
¾ cup shredded mozzarella
½ cup oil-packed sun-dried tomatoes
1/2 tsp herbes de Provence
½ teaspoon salt

1 egg for egg wash

To make the dough, place the milk, yeast, and 120g all-purpose flour in a large mixing bowl and stir to combine. Cover and let rest for 15 minutes.

Add the egg, olive oil, salt, and the rest of the all-purpose flour. Mix to make a soft dough, then knead for 6 to 8 minutes, until smooth and supple. Place in an oiled bowl, cover, and let rise for about 1 hour, until doubled.

Mix together minced sun-dried tomatoes, salt and herbes de Provence. Reserve.

Divide the dough into four pieces and shape into balls. Cover and let rest for 10 minutes.

Place one piece of dough on a piece of parchment. Roll it into a 10″ circle. Spread ⅓ of the sun-dried tomato mixture on the first layer of dough in an even layer. Sprinkle ⅓ of the cheese, leaving ½” around the outside edge uncovered. Roll out the second ball of dough to the same size as the first. Place it on top of the first circle and repeat the three layers of filling. Again, repeat with the third ball of dough and the last ⅓ of filling. Roll out the last ball of dough and place it on top.

Place a 2″ round biscuit cutter or drinking glass in the center of the dough to serve as a guide. Using a sharp knife, cut the larger circle into 16 equal strips, from the outside edge to the cutter/glass in the center, through all the layers. Using two hands, pick up two adjacent strips of dough and twist them away from each other twice, so the top side is facing up again. Repeat with the remaining strips of dough all the way around the circle. Remove the cutter/glass.

Pinch the ends of adjacent strips together all the way around the bread to create eight star-like points. Transfer the star on the parchment to a baking sheet. Cover with plastic wrap and let rise for about 45 minutes. Dough should look expanded and airy.

Heat the oven to 400F. Remove the plastic wrap and brush the star with a thin coat of the egg wash. Bake for 25 to 30 minutes, until nicely golden. Remove the bread from the oven and cool for 10 minutes before serving.

ENJOY!

to print the recipe, click here

Comments: This is a very rich dough, and a pleasure to work with. Even if you are a beginner at bread baking, the whole process is pretty forgiving. The circles of dough do not have to match precisely, it is all going to get twisted and any little gaps won’t affect the final product.

There are many videos available on youtube to show you how to shape the bread, like this one.

If you are still searching for a nice bread as a centerpiece for your holiday festivities, this is truly a great option…

ONE YEAR AGO: Cranberry White Chocolate Tart

TWO YEARS AGO: I dream of Madeleines and a Tower of Cheesecakes

THREE YEARS AGO: Dominique Ansel’s Chocolate Mousse Cake

FOUR YEARS AGO: Slow-Roasted Eye of the Round Beef

FIVE YEARS AGO: Steam-Roasted Indian-Spiced Cauliflower

SIX YEARS AGO: Creamy Zucchini-Mushroom Soup

SEVEN YEARS AGO: Ken Forkish’s Pain au Bacon

EIGHT YEARS AGO: Carrot and Cumin Hamburger Buns

NINE YEARS AGO: Potato Galettes a l’Alsacienne & Book Review

TEN YEARS AGO: Caramelized Carrot Soup

ELEVEN YEARS AGO: Miso-Grilled Shrimp

TWELVE YEARS AGO: Pain Poilane

14Dec2021

PECAN-CRANBERRY BREAD

Posted in Breads by sallybr

Absolutely perfect for this time of the year, this is a bread that does not require a sourdough starter, but uses a sponge instead, so you will need two days to make it happen in your kitchen. The recipe comes from a cookbook I am quite fond of, Pastry Love, by Joanne Chang. It is available online, so I will share that link and give you just a brief overview of the recipe.

CRANBERRY-PECAN BREAD
(from Joanne Chang’s Pastry Love, published in The Modern Farme r)

For the sponge, you will need to mix 140g flour with 1 cup water + 1/8 tsp yeast, leave 2 hours at room temperature then refrigerate overnight. Use that to make the dough as described in the site (it is the third recipe shared, scroll down to find it).

I made only half of the recipe, but the bread turned out so delicious, I regretted not going for the two loaves that it makes. It freezes super well also, so I strongly advise you to go for the full amount as published in the site I shared.

I don’t think the bread is particularly beautiful to look at, because all the goodies make for a rough, rustic look, but it compensates by far in the taste department. Absolutely wonderful with a little blue cheese.

I intend to make a sourdough version with the same flavors very soon, but for those who don’t keep a starter around, this bread has a very similar complexity of flavor, thanks to the sponge made the day before. Give it a try before the holiday season is over…

ONE YEAR AGO: Cookies for the Holidays: Macarons

TWO YEARS AGO: The Great American Baking Show

THREE YEARS AGO: Broccoli Souffle

FOUR YEARS AGO: Panettone Time!

FIVE YEARS AGO: How the Mighty Have Fallen

SIX YEARS AGO: Festive Night at Central

SEVEN YEAR AGO: The Perfect Boiled Egg

EIGHT YEARS AGO: Light Rye Sourdough with Cumin and Orange

NINE YEARS AGO: Homemade Calzones

TEN YEARS AGO: Plum-Glazed Duck Breasts

ELEVEN YEARS AGO: Holiday Double-Decker

TWELVE YEARS AGO: New York Deli Rye

17Nov2021

CHARCOAL PAINTED SPELT SOURDOUGH

Posted in Breads by sallybr

Something new that I’ve tried last week… Use any sourdough recipe you like, I am sharing my default version with a touch of spelt. Once the bread is ready to go into the oven, add some water to a little charcoal powder and brush the surface of the dough. While it’s still wet, place a stencil on top and shower it with white flour (all-purpose is fine). Rub it gently so that the design is as sharp as possible. Carefully lift the stencil, slash the bread and bake.

CHARCOAL PAINTED SPELT SOURDOUGH
(from the Bewitching Kitchen)

480g bread flour
20g spelt flour
10g salt
370g water
80g sourdough starter at 100% hydration
1 tablespoon activated charcoal powder
a little water
all-purpose flour for stencil detail

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 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 4 hours, folding every 45 minutes or so. 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. Invert the dough over parchment paper, make a paste with the charcoal powder and water, and paint over the surface. Immediately place a stencil on top, and shower white flour over it, rubbing it gently to get the design to stick well. Next, use a brand new razor blade to score around the design, to coach the bread into opening without ruining the pattern.

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 know that one should never complain about excessive oven-spring when bread baking, but for some designs it would be better to have a less “explosive” loaf… I intend to play with formulas with higher whole-wheat content to try and tame the loaves with patterns and more elaborate scoring. Still I like the way this turned out, and it is much better than rubbing the powder over the loaf.

You can brush the excess flour once the bread is cold. I need to play a bit with the placement of the stencil and the amount of flour to add to it, but overall I am quite pleased with the overall look.

ONE YEAR AGO: Lime-Ganache Bonbons

TWO YEARS AGO: The Dobos Torte

THREE YEARS AGO: Coffee-Caramel Entremet Cake

FOUR YEARS AGO: Fennel Soup with Almond-Mint Topping

FIVE YEARS AGO: Eataly

SIX YEARS AGO: Spaghetti Squash Perfection

SEVEN YEARS AGO: Skinny Eggplant Parmigiana

EIGHT YEARS AGO: Supernova Meets Wok

NINE YEARS AGO: 500 Posts and The Best Thing I ever made

TEN YEARS AGO: Back in Los Angeles

ELEVEN YEARS AGO: White House Macaroni and Cheese

TWELVE YEARS AGO: Korean-Style Pork with Asian Slaw

28Oct2021

SOURDOUGH FUN, THREE WAYS

Posted in Breads by sallybr

Today I share three recipes to put your sourdough starter to use. Opening with hamburger buns, moving on to a no-knead, no-fuss sandwich type bread (courtesy of Karen, from Karen’s Kitchen Stories), and wrapping the post with my favorite type, a rustic, spicy loaf.

SOURDOUGH HAMBURGER BUNS
(from the Bewitching Kitchen)

80 grams bubbly, active sourdough starter at 100% hydration
240 grams whole milk, warm
1 egg
6g salt
20g sugar
430g all-purpose flour, divided
45g butter, softened
egg wash (1 egg beaten with a little water)
sesame seeds, black and white

In the bowl of an electric mixer with the paddle attachment, mix sourdough starter, milk, 1 egg, yeast, salt, sugar and 300 grams of flour on medium speed until a loose, shaggy dough is formed. Cover the dough with a damp cloth and let rest in the bowl for 30 minutes.

Change to the dough hook, knead the dough for 7-8 minutes, gradually adding an additional 130 grams flour and the butter in small amounts. The dough should be soft and slightly sticky, but pulling away from the edges of the bowl as it kneads. Transfer the dough to an oiled bowl and keep at room temperature for the bulk proof for 4 to 5 hours. It will not double in size, but it should expand and feel “lighter.

Divide the dough into six portions (about 120 g each). Form into tight little balls and allow to proof at room temperature for 2 to 3 hours. Heat the oven to 375F, brush the surface of the rolls with egg wash and sprinkle sesame seeds. Bake for about 20 minutes, until golden brown and internal temperature of 190F. Cool completely on a rack before slicing.

ENJOY!

to print the recipe, click here

Comments: My only issue with the recipe is that the dough took a very long time to proof and did not seem to expand that much. The enrichment of the dough with added fat slowed things down a bit. However, they had excellent oven spring. I still want to do the tangzhong method with sourdough, so stay tuned for that. I see recipes that add a touch of instant yeast to speed things up, but I decided to go through a pure sourdough method this time.

Moving on, a recipe from my friend Karen, which I made right after she blogged about it, but as usual, it takes me a little time to make things show up in the blog. If you are in the initial steps of your sourdough journey, this is a very relaxing bake, I urge you to give it a try.

SOURDOUGH NO-KNEAD SANDWICH BREAD

for recipe, visit Karen’s site

Sometimes it is nice to have a bread in the traditional loaf format, perfect for sandwiches and also to make croutons, if you so desire. I want to bake another loaf again very soon. Thank you, Karen!

Finally, a sourdough with a lot of flavor, thanks to Penzey’s, my favorite online source for all things spice…

SOUTHWEST SPICE SOURDOUGH LOAF
(from The Bewitching Kitchen

385g white bread flour
16g whole-wheat flour
1 + 1/2 to 2 tsp Southwest Seasoning Mix (Penzey’s)
8g salt
280g water
65g sourdough starter at 100% hydration

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, the spice mix 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 1/4 cup flour, you want the dough to start clearing the sides of the bowl, but still be sticky at the bottom.

Next morning, heat the oven to 450F. Invert the dough over parchment paper, rub gently white flour on the surface. Score with the pattern of your choice using a brand new razor blade.

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 often run into the “problem” of excessive oven spring ruining my scoring. But I admit, it is not a bad problem to deal with, it just means your starter is doing its job. This was such a great bread, you can use other mixes if you like, or make your own, paprika, cumin, oregano, garlic, onion, are some of the components of Penzey’s mix.

I hope you like this trio of sourdough options. Now that the weather is turning cooler, it’s definitely time to bring the starter to play more often.

ONE YEAR AGO: Spooky Bakes, a Farewell

TWO YEARS AGO: Fall-Inspired Baking

THREE YEARS AGO: On a Halloween Roll

FOUR YEARS AGO: Pumpkin Macarons

FIVE YEARS AGO: Zucchini, Lemon & Walnut Cake

SIX YEARS AGO: Paleo Energy Bars

SEVEN YEARS AGO: Pecan-Crusted Chicken with Honey Mustard Dressing

EIGHT YEARS AGO: Mozzarella Stuffed Turkey Burgers

NINE YEARS AGO: Cashew Chicken Lettuce Wraps

TEN YEARS AGO: Clay-pot Pork Roast

ELEVEN YEARS AGO: Panmarino

TWELVE YEARS AGO: A Classic Roast Chicken

12Jul2021

BAHARAT FLOWER SOURDOUGH

Posted in Breads by sallybr

I am quite fond of adding Middle Eastern spices to sourdough bread, and this time I experimented with “baharat.” Interestingly, the word “baharat” means “spices” and a commercially available mixture might have different proportions of many kinds, depending on the origin. You can also make your own, using the formula suggested in this article. I went with a store-bought product, and chose this one. It has intense flavor, but it is not overly hot.

BAHARAT FLOWER SOURDOUGH
(from the Bewitching Kitchen)

385g white bread flour
16g whole-wheat flour
1/2 tsp baharat mixture
8g salt
280g water
65g sourdough starter at 100% hydration

optional for decoration:
egg white + a little water (egg wash)
sesame seeds (I used a mixture of white and black)
luster powder + vodka

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, the baharat 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 1/4 cup flour, you want the dough to start clearing the sides of the bowl, but still be sticky at the bottom.

Next morning, heat the oven to 450F. Invert the dough over parchment paper, rub gently white flour on the surface. Score with a flower pattern and paint the details with a bright color using luster powder diluted with vodka. You need it to be a bit on the thick side, and don’t worry about precision, it will more or less mix with any flour bits around it. Do not worry. Paint the center of the flower pattern with egg wash and gently press sesame seeds on it.

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: If you ask me which type of spice is my favorite for sourdough, I would have to politely decline to answer. I love them all. I tend to use curry more often than others but probably because I have two or three types of curry in the pantry and like to put them to use. The amount included gives just a hint of flavor and the bread is still good to enjoy with anything you want. Even plain with a little olive oil or butter.