The Bread Topic (2009 – 2014)

[Anna N]

Here's the result of the bread I was talking about in the last post

....

That looks amazing. Did you use instant yeast and white bread flour? Any steam in the oven? Thanks.

[Big Mike]

I use the jarred bread machine yeast, which is basically just instant yeast so you don't need to proof it. I steam the oven for about the first 10-12 minutes. I use an enamel cast iron pot on the floor of the oven with 2 cups of water in it. The steam matters, the crust seems to not brown nicely without it. I generally don't care how long the first rise takes but the second proofing rise seems to need at least three hours.

I'm still eating it three days later and it still tastes as good great. I take the foil I covered the bowl with during the long rise and use that to cover the cut end of the bread and that will keep it from going stale for a good long time.

Edited November 21, 2010 by Big Mike (log)

[Anna N]

I use the jarred bread machine yeast, which is basically just instant yeast so you don't need to proof it. I steam the oven for about the first 10-12 minutes. I use an enamel cast iron pot on the floor of the oven with 2 cups of water in it. The steam matters, the crust seems to not brown nicely without it. I generally don't care how long the first rise takes but the second proofing rise seems to need at least three hours.

I'm still eating it three days later and it still tastes as good great. I take the foil I covered the bowl with during the long rise and use that to cover the cut end of the bread and that will keep it from going stale for a good long time.

Thank you. Are you using high-protein bread flour or A/P flour? Thanks again.

[Big Mike]

I normally use A/P flour, bread flour is a splurge. I use Gold Medal because I can buy that in bulk 10lb bags at BJs.

[robirdstx]

Today I made Texas-style Savory "Kolaches" with sausage, cheddar cheese and jalapenos.

[Pierogi]

Today I made Texas-style Savory "Kolaches" with sausage, cheddar cheese and jalapenos.

*THOSE* look amazing....any chance at a recipe or technique outline?

[robirdstx]

Today I made Texas-style Savory "Kolaches" with sausage, cheddar cheese and jalapenos.

*THOSE* look amazing....any chance at a recipe or technique outline?

Thanks Pierogi. This was my first time trying this recipe and I was very happy with the results. I have adapted the recipe posted here on the Homesick Texans Blog. Here is what I did:

Savory "Kolaches"

Adapted from the Kolache recipe on the Homesick Texan's Blog.

2 1/4 tsp active dry yeast (1 package)

1 cup warm milk (about 115F)

1/4 cup granulated sugar

3 to 4 cups all-purpose flour, 120 grams/cup (divided use)

2 large eggs

3/4 cup melted butter (divided use)

1 tsp table salt

24 2-inch sausage links

1/2 cup shredded cheddar cheese

12 pickled jalapeno slices, diced

3 Tbs olive oil, for oiling rising bowl and sheet pans

1. Combine yeast, warm milk, sugar and one cup of the flour in bowl of stand mixer with a wire whisk. Cover with plastic wrap and let it rise in warm place, like microwave, until bubbly and double in size.

2. When the yeast mixture has doubled, lightly beat together the eggs, 1/2 cup of the melted (but not hot) butter and salt in a medium bowl. Add this mixture to the yeast mixture and mix (stir speed 2 on Kitchen Aid stand mixer) with the paddle until the dough mix is smooth.

3. Change to the dough hook and add flour (1/2 cup at a time) to the dough mix. Knead (stir speed 2) after each addition and continue until the dough pulls away from the sides and just sticks at the bottom of the bowl. Depending on humidity, etc, you may only use 2 cups or up to all 3 cups of flour.

4. Put dough on a lightly floured surface and knead dough for about a minute to form a smooth ball.

5. Put dough ball in a lightly oiled bowl, rolling dough to cover with a thin film of oil and let rise, covered with plastic wrap, in a warm place for about an hour, until doubled.

6. After dough has doubled, turn it out onto your work surface and lightly punch it down. Divide the dough into 24 equal size pieces with a knife or pastry scraper.

7. Working with one piece of dough at a time, flattened the piece into a rectangle about 3 inches by 4 inches, sprinkle with a large pinch of cheese, half a dozen diced jalapeno pieces, and top with a sausage link. Roll it up like a little burrito, being sure to pinch all the edges to seal the filling inside.

8. Place each filled piece on an olive oil greased sheet pan. Leave about an inch between each piece. When the pan is full, brush the pieces with melted butter, cover with waxed paper and a kitchen towel. Let rise again for another half-hour to an hour, until well puffed up and almost touching each other.

9. Bake in oven at 375 degrees for 12 to 15 minutes, until light golden in color. Serve warm.

Servings: 24

[Pierogi]

Cool, robirdstx, thank you so much for posting that. Looks fairly straight forward, and definately looks like something on my menu in the near future.

[ChrisTaylor]

Reading through this thread made me hungry for bread. What else can I do, aside from maybe damper, if I want instant bread gratification?

Chapatis.

[Ciao Ling]

I like to see that this thread stays active. I haven't posted for a while as my bread baking goes through cycles. Even though I am not always baking bread, I am certainly always eating bread. I was stimulated to start baking again as I just made a new batch of sourdough starter that was free when I bought some products from The New York Bakers (which I have found to be a good resource for mail-order flours) and I was reading about other people's efforts with recipes from the bread book from Tartine Bakery. I made a basic country loaf. I followed the baker's percentages, but not the timing as I did put in a retard in the refrigerator so it would work with my schedule. I also used the cast iron Le Creuset pot for the bake like Jim Lahey's no knead. It's a high hydration dough and the crumb is not uniform, but for a first effort with this recipe, I liked it a lot. Great texture and taste.

[ChrisTaylor]

White bread

[Anna N]

One of the best breads I have made in a long time. Here's the recipe. Snagged some starter from another bread baker so was able to make it within a couple of days.

[Kerry Beal]

Same loaf as Anna's in the last post.

Thos loaf baked in the oven - on a pizza stone, covered with a stainless bowl for the first 20 minutes.

These two baked in the Big Green Egg.

The crumb.

[Ciao Ling]

Glad to see others trying Tartine bread with great success (Kerry and Anna). This weekend, I tried Chad Robertson's baguettes. The crumb wasn't very airy/holey which could have been for two reasons, I added an overnight refrigerator retard for the bulk fermentation to his recipe as again I didn't time things well with my schedule. I also didn't pay attention to the recipe and added the salt to the dough at an early stage and not after the dough was already rising in the bulk fermentation. The flavor was great and the caramelization of the crust was also good. Will try it again. I am still a fan of Sam Fromartz's award winning baguette recipe.

[emilyr]

Here's my first attempt at no-knead bread. It's part rye and part white. I'm not sure if I'm convinced about the recipe yet. I'm not a huge fan of the texture, and the crust doesn't stay crispy for very long.

I did try it a few days later plain and as a cinnamon swirl. I added a tablespoon of sugar to the dough of the cinnamon bread, and I think I liked it better. It seemed to make the bread softer.

[Ciao Ling]

First attempt at No-Knead Ciabatta from Lahey's My Bread. I like a darker crust and it caramelized well. Great textured crust and open crumb. I like it a lot and it really is not much fuss. I didn't use Lahey's technique of an inverted clay cover over a baking stone. Similar to steam generation for other breads I make, I adopted rolled up kitchen towels in loaf pans with boiling water. Putting these high hydration loaves on parchment also really prevents sticking with the loading and removal.

[Cass]

My latest Ciabatta:

[Blether]

My latest Ciabatta:

Nice finish - crust, slash & dusting. Is that a special knife stroke ?

[Cass]

Nice finish - crust, slash & dusting. Is that a special knife stroke ?

Thank you!

Actually, no real score.

I did a bulk preshape, then carefully cut the dough into two and proofed on a couche for a few hours. The slashes are along my cut lines.

[Blether]

Another batch of no-knead wholewheat, the first with flour from a new source:

Exactly 2/3 hydration (the flour is 13.5% protein). Mixed, shaped, allowed 3 hours at room temp, baked at 190C for 40 minutes, with a further 10 upside down, turned out of the tins.

Good crust & texture, and a really excellent nutty flavour - a result. I might reduce the in-pan baking time a little next time (with the previous kind of flour, the bottom crust came good in only 5 minutes, so I didn't expect I'd need 10).

Edited April 19, 2011 by Blether (log)

[Pierogi]

A couple of recent efforts....

First up, a focaccia topped with caramelized onions, pear slices and bleu cheese. YUM ! (recipe's on my *new* blog....)

And a "natural" sourdough. No yeast. Just starter I've had going since December. I finally found a method that gives me a small enough batch to work with, without throwing away half of the starter each time you refresh it. It could be a touch more *sour*, but it's still a pretty darned good loaf.

The loaf....

And the crumb....again, no yeast....

Edited April 19, 2011 by Pierogi (log)

[Panaderia Canadiense]

So, what's in the oven?

For me, it's 7-herb and sundried tomato Foccaccia.

[Jenni]

What are the 7 herbs?

[Panaderia Canadiense]

Parsley, Oregano, Thyme, Rosemary, Sage, Celery leaf, and Chive.

[glennbech]

Hi,

It's been a while since my last visit here, but I still bake all the bread we eat (and has since 2005) The batch for the next week. Our small family of four need about 4 big loaves to get by. I mostly bake pre-fermented doughs with instant yeast nowdays.

As you probably see slightly under proven and broke during oven spring.

Poolish pre-ferment

300g Rye whole grain

300g Barley whole grain

640ish g of water

1 tsp instant yeast

The rest;

40g salt

1400g White AP wheat flour

700g water (65% hydration total)

Yummy!

Edited June 13, 2011 by glennbech (log)