Category Archives: Bread

Best Sandwich Since Sliced Bread

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Yesterday we bought some sliced turkey for a nice sandwich today. This morning I realized I didn’t really want turkey on white, so as there was some whole wheat flour left over I decided to make a loaf of bread before we went to vote at 9am. Paul Hollywood’s simple recipe uses only one bowl (the stand mixer bowl) and it extremely easy.
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As I started to build the sandwich Fran asked for sliced tomato on it too. It was then I realized I also had some romaine lettuce ready to be harvested from out winter garden, so I went out and selected some from several of the plants. Ultimately, we ended up home made bread, home grown lettuce and store bought tomatoes and turkey. Not bad for Election Day 2016.

 

Ingredients

  • 2/3 cup white bread flour
  • scant 2 1/2 cups whole wheat flour
  • 1 1/2 teaspoons sale
  • 1 oz yeast
  • 1/2 stick butter, softened
  • 1 1/2 cups water

Directions

  1. Mix flours, salt, yeast and butter in the stand mixer bowl
  2. Slowly add the water, mixing on slow with the dough hook
  3. Once the ingredients are mixed knead with the dough hook for about 7 minutes
  4. If after 7 min the dough is still sticky add more flour, a tablespoon at a time, until it is smooth and no longer sticky.
  5. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and a tea towel and put in a warn, draft free place, like the microwave. It was a little cool this morning so I heated a mug of water to boiling and left it in, with the microwave off, for the one hour rest.
  6. As we were making sandwiches I form the dough into a loaf shape instead of the typical round loaf that Paul prefers.
  7. Preheat the over to 450 F, line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
  8. Cut a slash down the middle of the loaf and dust the top with flour.
  9. Bake 30-45 min until brown and sounds hollow when tapped on the bottom
  10. Transfer to a wire rack to cool.

Soft, Chewy Pretzels

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After about 4 months I may finally be getting the hang of retirement. The winter veggie garden is in and growing, little todo projects are either underway or completed. I drew the plans for a new display shelf and front entry way table, I just need to pick up the wood to start construction.  I am now pretty familiar with our new kitchen so am comfortable baking a few things, both tried and true and new and exciting.

Early this morning I made the cheesy soda bread which turned out very well. I was invited to watch the 49ers play tomorrow at a neighbors and wanted to bring something along for a nosh that will go well with a nice stout. Let me be clear, the 49ers are not playing at my neighbors, I am going to my neighbors to watch the 49ers on TV. Oh yeah, I almost forgot, there is a batch of London Porter fermenting nicely too. After lunch I decided to do a practice  batch of pretzels. You may know I do practice everythings if what I bake is to be made public. I actually made 4 cakes for Grace’s baptism cake. Anyway,  I saw a YouTube video on how to make pretzels (not to different from bagels) plus I have two other recipes so decided to merge the three and see what happens.

Final Pretzels cooling
Final Pretzel Closeup
Final Pretzels

The following directions are adapted from a recipe by Diane Kometa and some techniques from Emma Christensen of the Kitchn.

Ingredients:

  • 1 cup water
  • ½ cup regular milk (not fat-free milk)
  • 4 ½ tsp. white sugar – regular table sugar
  • 1 ½ tsp. salt
  • 1 package active dry yeast – ¼ ounce or 2 ¼ teaspoons
  • 5 ½ cups flour – poured & leveled – not scooped flour!
  • 3 ½ Tbs. unsalted butter, melted – cooled slightly
  • Vegetable oil
  • 8 cups water
  • 1 Tbs. light malt powder
  • 4 Tbs. baked baking soda
  • 1 large egg yolk
  • 1 Tbs. water
  • Kosher salt

Directions:

  1. Heat the water in the microwave for 20-30 sec to achieve a temperature of about 120-130 deg then combine with the cold milk in a large measuring cup for a resulting solution temperature of 110 to 115 degrees F. Add the sugar and salt to the warmed water and milk and stir to combine. Sprinkle in the yeast and mix with a fork. Allow the mixture to sit for about 5 minutes or until it becomes foamy.
  2. Pour the foamy mixture into the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a dough hook and add the melted, cooled, unsalted butter and flour. (I add the flour a cup at a time to be sure it mixes well.) Mix on low speed for until combined and no dry flour remains in the bowl. Scrape the bowl as needed. Continue to mix for about another 7 minutes or until the dough pulls away from the sides of the bowl and is smooth. Scrape the dough from the hook if it comes up to far. Note: The dough may begin to pull away from the bowl after only 2 minutes, but may look a bit pulled or shaggy and still be sticky. It is not done kneading until it is smooth to the touch and no longer sticky.
  3. Remove the dough from the bowl and form into a ball. Wipe out the bowl, if necessary and grease it with 1-2 tablespoons of oil. Place the dough ball back into the bowl and turn over a couple of times to coat thoroughly with the oil. Cover the bowl with a dish towel or plastic wrap and place in a warm area , free from drafts or cool air (a microwave, turned off is a good location), for about 1 hour, until the dough has risen and doubled in size.
  4. When the dough is ready, preheat the oven to 450 degrees F and position the oven rack in the upper third of the oven. Line a large (15″ x 20″) baking sheet with parchment paper and spray with Bakers Joy. Set aside. Note: You may need 2 baking sheets to avoid crowding the pretzels. If only one small, puny sheet is available, make one batch of pretzels and keep the remaining dough covered, so it does not become dry. Between batches, allow the baking sheet to cool, before filling with remaining pretzels.
  5. In a large, wide pot (6-8 quarts) add 8 cups of water, baked baking soda and malt powder. Stir to combine and bring to a full boil. Place a plate lined with paper towels nearby, as well as the kitchen spider or slotted spoon.
  6. In the meantime, dampen a kitchen towel with water and set aside. Lightly grease a clean work surface with some vegetable oil (spraying with Bakers Joy worked well too). Remove the dough from the bowl, place it on the work surface and divide into 8 equal pieces. Cover the pieces that you’re not rolling with plastic wrap or a damp kitchen towel, so they don’t become dry. Using the palms of your hands, roll each piece of dough to a 24-30 inch long rope and then shape into a “U”. Grab the ends of the rope and cross them over each other once or twice and then bring the ends down to the bottom of the ‘U” and press them down to seal, forming the shape of a pretzel. Place the pretzels onto the greased parchment-lined baking sheet and cover with a damp kitchen towel to prevent the dough from drying out, while you continue to roll the remaining dough. You can also cut some of them into 1 ½” logs to make nuggets
  7. In a small bowl, whisk together the egg yolk with 1 tablespoon of water (egg wash). Set aside.
  8. One at a time, lower each pretzel into the boiling water mixture for about 30 seconds. I push them down underwater a few times to assure the top is treated as well. The pretzels will puff up while boiling. Using a kitchen spider or slotted spoon, carefully remove the pretzel from the water, blot slightly on paper towels and then place back onto the parchment lined greased or sprayed baking sheet a few inches apart.
  9. Using a pastry brush, brush the top and sides of each pretzel with the egg wash and then sprinkle with coarse salt.

Place the pretzel filled baking sheet on the upper oven rack and bake for about 7 minutes. Open the oven and quickly rotate the baking sheet so that the pretzels that were facing the front are now facing the rear of the oven. It may seem like a pain, but it’s quick and easy and will ensure even baking. Continue to bake for another 7 minutes or until pretzels are dark golden brown. Remove sheet from oven and place pretzels on a wire rack to cool slightly before serving. Outrageously good if served warm. Mildly spectacular if served later.

Cheesy Soda Bread

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Fran and I watch a lot (meaning every episode) of The Great British Bake Off on BBC. I made a few recipes from the show, and learned many more tips and techniques, especially from the master class episodes.

This morning I made Paul Hollywood’s Wholemeal (whole wheat in the USA) Soda Bread, but with cheddar cheese. It only takes 15 minutes to make the dough and 45 min to bake. Don’t be afraid to bake the full 40 minutes. I found less leaves the center a little underbaked. Like Paul, I mixed everything with my right hand thereby requiring only one bowl to clean. I kept my left hand clean to measure and move stuff as needed.

The end result was a crunchy crusted, chewy, cheesy moist bread.  (How is that for alliteration Mr. Buley?)

Ingredients

Method

  1. Preheat the oven to 200C/400F/Gas 6.

  2. In a large bowl, mix together the two types of flour, bicarbonate of soda and salt.

  3. Add the buttermilk and mix until a sticky dough forms.

  4. Add and mix the cheese into the dough

  5. Lightly flour a work surface and tip the dough onto it.

  6. Gently roll and fold the dough a couple of times to bring the mixture together. Do not knead.

  7. Shape the dough into a ball. Flatten the ball gently with your hand. Score the dough with a deep cross dividing it into quarters. Cut the dough all the way through then push back together. Dust the bread with flour. ( I actually used corn meal.)

  8. Place onto a baking tray lined with baking parchment and bake for 40 minutes at 200C/400F/Gas 6. The loaf should be golden-brown.

  9. Leave to cool on a wire rack. This is best eaten on the day of baking.

Chefsteps Bagels

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An obscure passage in Genesis states “And God said: let there be bagels, and there were. And it was good.” I found and joined the website Chefsteps.com this weekend. One of their detailed recipes describes how to make homemade bagels. Go to their website and search for bagels for the procedure. While making bagels at home is a relatively long process much of it is waiting for the dough to rise, or cool or knead in the mixer. I estimate it required 1-2 hours of actual man (person) time to make them. It required about 20 total hours with all the resting, rising and cooling, most of it being overnight.

I had to make one substitution and one modification to the published recipe. I did not have malt syrup to add to the boiling water. Instead I used molasses. I could have used honey, but the comments said this produces more of a “Montreal” bagel. The molasses was spot on. Also, to increase the pH of the water I used baked baking soda.  Baking baking soda (I could have worded this differently, but this was more fun to write) drives out water and carbon dioxide, reducing the positive charge, thereby making the baking soda more alkali and more similar to lye. This enhances the maillard reaction which provides the crunchy, slightly blistered brown bagel surface.

 

Pao de Queijo (Brazilian Cheese Bread)

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A friend posted a website displaying this “Brazilian cheese bread” indicating they are kosher for Passover. My problem is the website, from Brazil, is in Portuguese. Sleuthlike, I found the recipe for Pao de Queijo (cheese bread) in several of my usual suspect sources.723deb77-6193-4bd9-a5d6-2fd75ffa1f04
The first recipe used a combination of sweet manioc (Polvilho Doce) and sour manioc (Polvilho Azeri) flour, found at your local Brazilian market (Seabra Market, Military Rd and Sample.) This flour is made from tapioca or yucca which is used in place of wheat flour in Northern Brazil where wheat is almost impossible to grow. The sour manioc is made by fermenting the plain manioc. The recipe also called for minas cheese, freshly grated. Minas cheese is sorta a softer Parmesian, maybe mixed with a little 15f394c4-d35b-424a-be73-f4ac51835c9bProvolone. Amazingly, Seabra had this cheese, also amazingly, when baked, these rolls puffed up as if they were a yeast based bread.

The second recipe only used tapioca flour (found at Fresh Market) or Polvilho Doce, and butter instead of vegetable oil. Both versions are good but the second was definitely sweeter, perhaps more “American.”

AMERICANIZED BRAZILIAN CHEESE ROLLS

INGREDIENTS

  • 1/2 cup butter
  • 1/3 cup water
  • 1/3 cup milk
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 2 cups tapioca or povilho doce flour
  • 2 teaspoons minced garlic
  • 2/3 cup freshly grated Minas or Parmesan cheese
  • 2 beaten eggs

DIRECTIONS

  1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C).
  2. Pour butter, water, milk, and salt into a large saucepan, and place over high heat. When the mixture comes to a boil, remove from heat immediately, and stir in flour and garlic until smooth. Set aside to rest for 10 to 15 minutes.
  3. Stir the cheese and egg into the tapioca mixture until well combined, the mixture will be chunky like cottage cheese. Drop rounded, 1/4 cup-sized (I used an ice cream scoop) balls of the mixture onto a parchment paper lined baking sheet.
  4. Bake in preheated oven until the tops are lightly browned, 15 to 20 minutes.

TRADITIONAL BRAZILIAN CHEESE ROLL RECIPE

INGREDIENTS

  • 2cups finely grated fresh Parmesan (or Pecorino Romano)
  • 2large eggs
  • 2large egg yolks
  • 1 1/4cups sour manioc starch (povilho azedo; see source in headnote)
  • 3/4cup manioc starch or sweet manioc starch (povilho doce; see source in headnote)
  • 2teaspoons kosher salt
  • 1/2cup whole milk
  • 1/2cup water
  • 1/4cup plus 3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
  • Pinch of ground nutmeg
  • Pinch of cayenne pepper
  • Pinch of black pepper

DIRECTIONS

  • Place the Parmesan in the bowl of a food processor. Add the eggs and yolks and blend until you have a smooth paste, about 1 minute.
  • Place the two types of manioc starch and salt in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment.
  • Place the milk, water, and oil in a small saucepan, and bring to a boil. Immediately pour the milk mixture into the starch mixture, all at once, and turn the machine on at low speed. Mix until the dough is smooth and the starch is completely incorporated, about 2 minutes.
  • Pause the machine and add the cheese-egg paste, scraping it directly into the manioc starch mixture. Add the nutmeg, cayenne, and black pepper, and mix the dough at low speed until it turns a pale yellow, about 10 minutes. You are trying to develop the structure of the dough by kneading it slowly. The dough should feel a bit sticky and moist.
  • Transfer the dough to a bowl, cover it with plastic wrap, and refrigerate for at least 2 hours, or overnight.
  • Preheat the oven to 350°F (175°C). Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
  • Lightly coat your hands with olive oil (or flour them with manioc starch), pinch off walnut-size pieces of dough, and roll them between your palms. Alternately, you can use an ice-cream scooper to make 1-inch balls. Place them on the parchment, leaving 1 1/2 to 2 inches between the rolls.
  • Bake the cheese rolls in the oven until they puff up and are lightly golden brown, 12 to 14 minutes. To ensure even cooking, rotate the pan once during baking time.
  • Remove the baking sheet from the oven and place the rolls in a basket lined with a napkin. Serve immediately, while they are still at their warmest and chewiest.

Read more at http://leitesculinaria.com/32757/recipes-brazilian-cheese-rolls.html#2KPPv5drEZfamtKo.99