The Bread Topic (2014 –2015)

[Ann_T]

Mixed up two 750g (70%) batches of dough on Monday.

 

Took one out of the fridge to bake last night.

 

 

Used some of the dough in a pizza and the rest in two baguettes.

 

Sliced this morning.

[Shelby]

I wanted a nice, soft white bread for making BLT's and tomato and bologna sandwiches.  I haven't cut into this yet, but I think it fits the bill.  I used the same recipe that Anna used a while back from King. A. Flour.

 

[bethesdabakers]

Well, Shelby, from the sublime to ...







The theme for my neighbour's 40th birthday party was Haiwiian. Plenty of crappy recipes on the net for Kings Haiwaiian bread but the basics (pineapple juice and vanilla) were easy to substitute in a basic poor man's brioche.

 

Silly baking can be fun.

 

Mick

[Ann_T]

Double batch at 750g flour , 75% hydration.

 

 

Four smaller baguettes,  one dragon tail baguette

 

and two with cheese.

[kayb]

 

Got an early start, before it got too hot, and made New Best Recipes' Sandwich Bread. There are tomatoes waiting!

 

 

[Anna N]

Two loaves of ordinary white sandwich bread. Each individually weighed out. Each individually processed on the dough cycle in the Zoji. Each separately baked for the same amount of time at the same temperature. Cannot account for the difference in size. Should have been as alike as two peas in a pod. OH sweet mystery of life or is that of bread?

[rotuts]

""  Each individually weighed out ""

 

not to find fault when there is none, but I do machine bread all the time.

 

Im as carful as i can be.  although they are 'all machine' breads, they end up a little different every time.

 

not this much though.

 

it they didn't look the same when you put them in the oven, then its the weigh-out.

 

if they did look the same when they hit the oven ....................................

 

[Anna N]

""  Each individually weighed out ""

 

not to find fault when there is none, but I do machine bread all the time.

 

Im as carful as i can be.  although they are 'all machine' breads, they end up a little different every time.

 

not this much though.

 

it they didn't look the same when you put them in the oven, then its the weigh-out.

 

if they did look the same when they hit the oven ....................................

 

Yeah they looked the same. Suspect it has more to do with shaping than anything else as that's the only variable.

[Fernwood]

Are the baked weights closer than the appearances?  

We have a family bread recipe that used to be executed by my DH but I always make it now.  His loaves used to be almost flat on top with "ears" drooping over the sides of the loaf pans.  I shape the loaves and they rise up beautifully, similar to your "bigger" loaf. 

[Anna N]

Are the baked weights closer than the appearances?  

We have a family bread recipe that used to be executed by my DH but I always make it now.  His loaves used to be almost flat on top with "ears" drooping over the sides of the loaf pans.  I shape the loaves and they rise up beautifully, similar to your "bigger" loaf.

The baked weights differed by less than 2 ounces. I know shaping is extremely important and I think I took a shortcut here I should not have done but I also suspect that the small loaf might have cooked longer. I was multitasking and the timer on the oven is not very loud. It is absolutely not terribly important. The larger, nicer looking loaf went home with my son and I will eat the other one.

[Shelby]

Anna, how do you shape your loaves?

[Anna N]

Anna, how do you shape your loaves?

Easier to show you than tell you

http://youtu.be/yGb-hwg2OaU

[kayb]

Wisconsin beer-cheese bread from the New Artisan Bread in 5 Minutes A Day.

 

I thought it wanted more salt. Good, moist bread, though.

 

 

 

[cyalexa]

Foccacia using a modified Tartine country dough and the oil and water emulsion technique I learned on this site. Sorry I forgot a crumb shot.

 

 

[Anna N]

This loaf was born of a minor tragedy. Kerry Beal and I were in a reuse center in Burlington when we came across a West Bend "Just for Dinner" bread machine. This machine promised a tiny three-quarter pound loaf of bread in 45 minutes. In Its time it was very popular and I recalled that member Marlene once owned one. It was marked five dollars and I thought it would be an amusing toy. Unfortunately after I had loaded it with ingredients I discovered it was FUBAR. Undaunted I thought I could add additional ingredients and put the lot into my Zoji. Apparently my math failed me and I watched the dough attempt to climb out of the Zoji.

So I took the dough out, formed into a boule, let it have a final rise and baked it on the stone in my oven.

Anyone who thinks that bread baking requires precision please take note!

[cyalexa]

hot dog buns

 

 

[Shelby]

Those buns look perfect!

[cyalexa]

Thanks.They would be prettier if I did an egg wash and seeds but I don't bother. They are therefore not perfect (plus some are not shaped perfectly) but they are very good and I can no longer eat a store-bought hot dog or hamburger bun. After they are completely cool I wrap them individually in foil and freeze. Ten minutes in the toaster oven and they are almost as good as they are the day they are baked. 

[Shelby]

I'd love to have the method of shaping and the recipe when you have time.

[cyalexa]

I'd love to have the method of shaping and the recipe when you have time.

 

The original recipe is on the King Arthur website, http://www.kingarthurflour.com/recipes/beautiful-burger-buns-recipe. I have changed it slightly to incorporate some whole wheat flour and slightly decrease the amount of yeast and salt.

 

The picture I posted was a double batch. Note that the orientation of the buns in relation to the pan is different than when making a single batch in a quarter sheet pan. 

 

Hamburger/Hot Dog Buns

modified from Moomie’s buns on the KA Flour website

Makes 8 hamburger buns or 10 hot dog buns

 

1 cup boiling water

2 TB soft butter

1 egg

280g bread flour

120g whole wheat flour

48g sugar

1 tsp fine sea salt

2¼ tsp instant yeast

 

Pour boiling water over butter in metal bowl of mixer. Stir to melt butter. When cooled to a yeast-safe temperature, add all the other ingredients. Start kneading with dough hook on low speed until combined then at a slightly higher speed until a soft, somewhat tacky dough is formed.

 

Place the dough in a lightly greased bowl and let it rise until doubled, about 45 minutes.

 

For hamburger buns, transfer the dough to a lightly greased work surface, and pat/roll it into a 12" x 17" rectangle. Starting with a short (12") end, roll the dough into a log, sealing the ends and side seam. Cut the log into eight slices. Place the buns on a lightly greased or parchment-lined baking sheet. Flatten the buns till they're about 3" wide.

 

For hot dog buns, divide dough into 10 (75g) portions. Shape each into a 4”x1” mini-loaf (see below) and arrange in 2 rows on a quarter sheet pan (long axis of the roll parallel to the long axis of the pan).

 

Cover the shaped buns and allow them to rise till they’re very puffy, about 1 hour. Towards the end of the rising time, preheat the oven to 375°F.

 

Uncover the buns, brush them with beaten egg white/water, and sprinkle with seeds, if desired. Bake the buns for 25 to 30 minutes, until they’re brown and feel set when you poke them. Remove them from the oven, and cool on a rack. 

 

Hot dog shaping notes: I shape the mini loaves much like the video recently posted. Cut all the portions then shape. Pat each portion into a rectangle, about 4x3 inches. Fold the top of one of the 4 inch edges down about 1/3 of the way and push down on the edge a bit to seal it. Rotate the rectangle 360 degrees and fold the new top down to meet the old top. Press to seal. Fold in half at the crease and seal the new edge tightly. Push the ends towards each other if the mini loaf is too long. Place in the pan with the seal on the bottom. The biggest problem I have is getting them evenly spaced on the pan. I should probably draw lines on the underside of the parchment. 

[Panaderia Canadiense]

Spiralled quinua-herb with blue-corn/amaranth pumpernickel.  I've been producing this for orders for about 6 months, but this was the first loaf that I actually had surplus to taste (I do know what the two breads involved taste like separately - I wouldn't sell something completely untested!).  It made delicious jaffled sandwiches.

 

[Shelby]

The original recipe is on the King Arthur website, http://www.kingarthurflour.com/recipes/beautiful-burger-buns-recipe. I have changed it slightly to incorporate some whole wheat flour and slightly decrease the amount of yeast and salt.

 

The picture I posted was a double batch. Note that the orientation of the buns in relation to the pan is different than when making a single batch in a quarter sheet pan. 

 

Hamburger/Hot Dog Buns

modified from Moomie’s buns on the KA Flour website

Makes 8 hamburger buns or 10 hot dog buns

 

1 cup boiling water

2 TB soft butter

1 egg

280g bread flour

120g whole wheat flour

48g sugar

1 tsp fine sea salt

2¼ tsp instant yeast

 

Pour boiling water over butter in metal bowl of mixer. Stir to melt butter. When cooled to a yeast-safe temperature, add all the other ingredients. Start kneading with dough hook on low speed until combined then at a slightly higher speed until a soft, somewhat tacky dough is formed.

 

Place the dough in a lightly greased bowl and let it rise until doubled, about 45 minutes.

 

For hamburger buns, transfer the dough to a lightly greased work surface, and pat/roll it into a 12" x 17" rectangle. Starting with a short (12") end, roll the dough into a log, sealing the ends and side seam. Cut the log into eight slices. Place the buns on a lightly greased or parchment-lined baking sheet. Flatten the buns till they're about 3" wide.

 

For hot dog buns, divide dough into 10 (75g) portions. Shape each into a 4”x1” mini-loaf (see below) and arrange in 2 rows on a quarter sheet pan (long axis of the roll parallel to the long axis of the pan).

 

Cover the shaped buns and allow them to rise till they’re very puffy, about 1 hour. Towards the end of the rising time, preheat the oven to 375°F.

 

Uncover the buns, brush them with beaten egg white/water, and sprinkle with seeds, if desired. Bake the buns for 25 to 30 minutes, until they’re brown and feel set when you poke them. Remove them from the oven, and cool on a rack. 

 

Hot dog shaping notes: I shape the mini loaves much like the video recently posted. Cut all the portions then shape. Pat each portion into a rectangle, about 4x3 inches. Fold the top of one of the 4 inch edges down about 1/3 of the way and push down on the edge a bit to seal it. Rotate the rectangle 360 degrees and fold the new top down to meet the old top. Press to seal. Fold in half at the crease and seal the new edge tightly. Push the ends towards each other if the mini loaf is too long. Place in the pan with the seal on the bottom. The biggest problem I have is getting them evenly spaced on the pan. I should probably draw lines on the underside of the parchment. 

Awesome.  Thank you so much for taking time to do this.  I will be making these.

[cyalexa]

I just noticed the hot dog buns shaping directions say to rotate 360 degrees. It's 180. 

[am4290]

Wholewheat and oatmeal bread with honey and molasses! Such a nice smell and flavour!

[Smithy]

I had a rainy day in which to mess around with two different bread formulas: the white bread sandwich loaf from Peter Reinhart's Craftsy class and my attempts at developing a sourdough olive oil and rosemary loaf.  Amongst the other variables, I'm trying to get size and shaping right.  Reinhart says that 3 oz. is the right size for, say, a hamburger bun.  I keep thinking it should be easy to cut and shape uniformly.  So far, it isn't uniform for me.

 

Two different formulas were divided into loaves and rolls.  The rolls varied from 3 to 6 oz in mass, and the loaves were about a pound each (the white bread loaf collapsed and isn't in the photo). 

 

 

The oven doesn't get as hot as I'd like, and the crusts aren't as brown or crisp as I'd like, but I'm basically happy with the results.  The other human in the household is ecstatic: we've finally established that he prefers a soft crust, and my attempts at a crisp crust are easily overdone for his tastes.  The darker brown gloss is due to an egg wash, but all crusts were soft.

 

 

I still need to work on timing, shaping and temperature, but I'm really very pleased!  Our picnic lunch today was quite satisfactory...except that I forgot the lettuce. :-(