Posted on 01/21/2017 10:04:48 PM PST by CottonBall
Hello fellow cooks! This is Cottonball, your 2nd substitute thread poster for Jamestown1630, along with Yaelle.
I decided to indulge in one of my favorite hobbies for this week’s foodie thread - I LOVE making bread. Just like growing plants, making bread for me is an act of love and creation – the little yeasties making the flour and water into something magical always excites me and gives me a feeling of accomplishment. Seeing the dough rise and take shape is like giving birth (without the pain or medical staff).
I wasn’t always able to make edible bread – I spent probably 15 years making bread that had more in common with bricks than bread. At some point though, something clicked and I decided to ignore the directions on rising times, and instead focus on what the dough actually looked and felt like. Sometimes, my dough takes twice as long to rise as recipe directions say, and other times, half as long. The dough itself now decides when it is ready, and that has made all the difference to successful loaves, rolls, or pretzels.
I have 3 favorite and beloved bread recipes to share with you this week: a surprisingly light and fluffy 100% whole wheat bread, an easy no-knead holey and crispy loaf, and a beautiful marbled rye that gets lots of compliments.
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100% Whole Wheat Bread – patience is the key to this one, let it rise until puffy and jiggle, given it time – it will get there!
prepared pantry
The key to really great 100% whole wheat bread is to extract the best flavors from the whole wheat and temper the harsh tones that sometimes accompany whole wheat flour. Good whole wheat bread has an almost nutty taste without a bitter aftertaste. A long fermentation gives the yeast a chance to produce its own flavors and convert the starch to sugar. By refrigerating the dough overnight, you can make excellent 100% whole wheat bread.
This is one of our favorite bread recipes. Yeasts perform differently at low temperatures. In this recipe, the dough is mixed the day before and refrigerated. The acids and enzymes produced by the yeast at lower temperatures temper the harshness of the whole wheat and develop wonderfully complex bread flavors. It's no more work than other recipes; you just mix the dough the day before.
Bakers note: This bread should be very light and fluffy, not dense. The secret of making it so is to make sure that the dough rises fully both in the first rise and in the pans. The dough will fill two 5 x 9-inch loaf pans and should be very soft and puffy before baking. If you let it over-rise, you may see a blister or two in the dough. Poke the blisters with the point of a knife and hurry the bread into the hot oven.
5 to 6 cups fine-ground whole wheat flour
2 tablespoons wheat gluten (optional)
1 teaspoon dough conditioner
1 seven gram packet of instant yeast (or two teaspoons)
2 cups plus 2 tablespoons water
1/2 tablespoon salt
1/3 cup brown sugar
4 tablespoons melted and slightly cooled butter
1. Place about three cups of the flour in the bowl of your stand-type mixer. Add the yeast. Carefully measure 2 cups room temperature (80 degrees) water. The water should feel cool to the touch. Mix the water with the flour with a dough hook for 30 seconds or until the yeast is dissolved and the ingredients begin to combine.
2. Add the salt, sugar, and butter and continue mixing. Add most of the remaining flour, the wheat gluten, and dough conditioner and continue mixing at a medium speed for at least four minutes adding more flour as needed to reach a soft dough consistency. (It is important that the dough be mixed for at least four minutes to develop the gluten.) The dough should clear the sides of the bowl but will be soft, not firm, to the touch.
3. Once the dough is mixed, place it in a large greased bowl, turning once to coat both sides, and cover with plastic wrap. Refrigerate overnight or for up to three days.
4. On the day that you would like to bake your bread, remove the dough from the refrigerator and let it warm to room temperature--about three hours. The dough should rise to nearly double in size.
5. Once the dough has risen, form the loaves. Coat your hands with flour and gently form a loaf by pulling the dough around itself to create a slightly stretched skin. You may need to coat your hands several times if the dough is sticky. If necessary, pinch the seams together on the bottom of the loaf. Lay the loaf gently in a well-greased loaf pan and cover with plastic wrap. Repeat with the second loaf. Let double again in size, about 1 1/2 hours.
6. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Once the dough has doubled (the loaf should be very puffy), place the two loaves on a shelf in the top half of the oven, well-spaced so that air can circulate between the loaves. Bake for thirty minutes or until done. The interior of the loaves should register at least 185 degrees when an insta-read thermometer is inserted through the bottom crust. Remove the bread from the pans and cool on wire racks. Let it cool completely before cutting.
Variation:
SWEET WHOLE WHEAT BREAD RECIPE
- I wanted to make the loaf a bit more interesting for gifts and these additions make it a delightful loaf, wonderful with peanut butter or butter. It makes great toast too.
Add 1/3 c honey, and 1 T molasses, and ½-1 cup more flour
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Crusty No-knead Holey Bread – this one has a crusty, crackling crust and a soft, moist interior. I don’t know what they mean by a roasting pan, but I’ve made this in a Dutch oven and in a disposable foil 9” cake pan, with great results.
1 ½ tsp yeast
1 ¾ cups water (70 to 75°)
3 ½ cups + 1 tbsp all-purpose flour, divided
1 ½ tsp salt
1 tbsp cornmeal or additional flour
In a small bowl, dissolve yeast in water. In a large bowl, mix 3 ½ cups flour and salt. With a rubber spatula, add yeast mixture to flour mixture, stirring just until smooth (dough will be sticky). Do not knead. Cover with plastic wrap; let rise at room temperature one hour. Punch down dough. Turn onto a lightly floured surface. Pat into a 9 inch square. Fold dough into thirds, forming a 9 x 3” rectangle. Fold rectangle into thirds, forming a 3 inch square. Cover with plastic wrap; let rise at room temperature until almost doubled, about one hour. Punch down dough and repeat folding process. Return dough to a bowl; refrigerate, covered, overnight. Line bottom of the disposable foil roasting pan with parchment paper. Dust with cornmeal. Turn dough onto a floured surface. Knead gently eight times; shape into a 6 inch round loaf. Place into prepared pan; dust top with remaining 1 tbsp flour. Cover pan with plastic wrap; let rise at room temperature until dough expands to a 7 ½ inch loaf, about 1 ¼ hours. This will give good oven spring and bigger holes. If rise more, smaller holes. Preheat oven to 500°. With a sharp knife, make a ¼ inch deep slash across the top of the loaf. Cover pan tightly with foil. Bake on 2nd or 3rd lowest rack 25 minutes (on lowest bottom will burn). Reduce oven setting to 450°. Remove foil; bake 25 to 30 minutes longer or until deep golden brown. Remove loaf to a wire rack to cool. Variations: before kneading dough after taking out of the frig, sprinkle with 4 ounces diced sharp cheddar cheese. Or sprinkle with 1 cup dried cranberries & 4 tsp grated orange peel
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Marbled Rye – makes a lovely, impressive loaf that is great with club sandwiches. It’s not as complicated as you might think – after making it once, you’ll see that and want to make it again and again.
Light rye:
1 1/2 cups of white rye flour
3 cups unbleached bread flour
2 tsp salt
1 3/4 tsps instant yeast
2 Ts shortening
1 T molasses
1 1/3 cups water @rt
Dark rye:
Light rye recipe
2 tsp instant coffee granules
3 Ts cocoa powder
First, mix the light rye. Mix until the dough forms a loose ball, adding an additional T of water or two if necessary to bring the dough together. The dough should feel supple and pliable but not sticky. Lightly oil a large bowl and transfer the dough to the bowl, rolling to coat it all over. Cover and set aside.
Next, make the dark rye in the same way. Ferment both doughs at room temperature for about 1 1/2 hours, or until they double in bulk.
Next, turn each of the doughs out onto a lightly floured surface, and divide each color into 6 equal segments. Use a rolling pin to roll them out into rectangles approximately 8″ by 5″ in size. Layer the rectangles so that the colors alternate, making sure that the light rye is on the bottom, using 3 light and 3 dark for each loaf. Starting on the long side of the rectangle, fold about 1/3 of the dough towards you, pinching the dough down to form a seam. Next, take the other long edge of the rectangle, and fold it up and over the rolled-up dough, again pinching the edge to form a seam. The entire outside of the roll should be covered in the white rye, stretched around the inside layers. Repeat this shaping process with the other pieces of dough.
You can place them on a large baking sheet lined with parchment or into well-oiled loaf 8×5″ loaf pans. Mist the loaves with oil and cover with plastic wrap. Proof at room temperature for 60-90 minutes, or until the loaves double in bulk. (Alternatively, you can refrigerate the dough for up to 2 days before proofing and baking.) Preheat your oven to 350 degrees. In a small bowl, whisk one egg with 1 tsp of water, and lightly brush the loaves with this egg wash. Bake on the middle rack for about 30 minutes, or until the internal temperature of the bread is 190 degrees (you can use a meat thermometer or a fancy bread thermometer for this). Remove immediately from the pans and cool on a rack for 1-2 hours before slicing or serving.
I am very inspired now.
I’m between dentists. The old one was causing more problems than he was preventing. Talk to me about the book Cure Dental Decay.
Thank you. Will try. Rolls or bread, doesn’t matter.
Cardamom’s up there in price, near saffron, iirc.
You know what I found? Amazon has cardamom pods for a reasonable price. Whole cardamom will last a long, long time. So I just grind up what I need - and no waste. And it is amazing freshly ground!
Glad to hear it! Let us know how your adventures with yeastie things go.
“Cure Tooth Decay (sub titled Remineralize Cavities and Repair Teeth Naturally With Good Food)” by Ramiel Nagel.
I haven’t looked at it for over a year but the information was specific and very similar to the diet information in Sally Fallon’s “Nourishing Traditions”.
It’s too difficult/expensive to follow it perfectly with kids. Were it just me, I could do it-it’s not impossible and I would eat a similar diet anyway. We already eat differently from the Standard American Diet and my kids LOVE leafy green salads, eat it with meals and in between for snacks. Berries with cream is a common dessert here so we follow some of the recommendations.
The older kids went three years in between dental visits and when we went last month we were met with warnings that they would probably have several cavities. This was followed with a surprised look after none of them had a single cavity, even the six year old and it his first dental exam. My kids all had a good laugh over that.
Thanks.
Thanks.
Yeast Beasties Hour of Flour!
That’s the recipe I use too.
Do those have to all be eaten the day they are made or do they keep a day or two?
FAST CHEESE PUFFS
METHOD Roll thawed puff pastry sheet into 14x10" rectangle 1/8" thick on flour-dusted surface. Trim edges; pizza wheel is good; cut lengthwise 6-1 1/2" wide strips. Saran/chill on sheetpan 10 min.
FILLING Proc/blend smooth 1/2 c crumbled feta, tbl h/cream, 1/8 tea pepper, tbl egg; then form 21 balls on work surface.
ASSEMBLY Keep pastry covered, brush strip top w/ bit beaten egg. Starting 1/2" from end, leaving 1/2" at opposite end, evenly space 7 cheese balls down center; cover with 2nd strip, press ends together, then press between balls gently but firmly. Press pastry around each ball to seal top and bottoms; wipe away any leaky filling. Brush top only w/ bit egg; sprinkle with 1/2 tbl thyme. Cut between mounds to form squares and bake inch apart on parchmented sheetpan puffed and golden 425 deg 12 min. Make rest.
SERVE warm.
VARY Add olive paste, blue cheese brie, roasted pepper, chp scallions, tomato feta, tapenade.
Hour of Flour , I love it!
It’s about $25.00+ per pound. So, yeah, it’s not cheap.
I think it will keep nicely for quite some time.
BTW - It’s what is used to flavor Earl Gray tea..!
Good stuff..!
Not sure where you are in GA., but you prolly know you can get
fresh, quality spices at the DeKalb Farmer’s Market for about .25 cents (or less) on the dollar compared to the grocery stores.
I don’t shop there as much as I used to though I’m only a five minute drive away.
I do go there and there ONLY for spices.
You cannot beat their prices. Cannot!!!
CB - FYI - I see you’re in TN. Eventually, you’re going to have to go through the ATL airport. :-) Rack up on spices while you’re here.
http://dekalbfarmersmarket.com/index.html
Whereas, I think it's Sweden that is ~#2 world consumer of cardamom, behind India.
I hate flying, but might end up in Georgia sight-seeing some time. Thanks for the spice tip!
You are correct, it’s bergamot oil. Drinking an evening cup right now!
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