Baking with Myhrvold's "Modernist Bread: The Art and Science"

[PositiveMD]

On 11/24/2017 at 2:38 PM, Chris Hennes said:

Ha! It's not even the weekend yet, I'm just getting warmed up!

 

Today's real project was pretzels, in an attempt to get a more even coating. Here's that attempt:

 

How were you able to get the coating so even? @Chris Hennes I've tried the preztel recipe a few times and mine never look as dark or as even as the book. 

 

Do I need to make a stronger lye solution than the book specifies?

Edited November 21, 2020 by PositiveMD
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[Chris Hennes]

1 hour ago, PositiveMD said:

How were you able to get the coating so even? @Chris Hennes I've tried the preztel recipe a few times and mine never look as dark or as even as the book. 

I follow the book recipe exactly, though I ignore the time they give for baking to set the lye: I just bake until they look right. The evenness I think is just a function of how you dip them, and how you handle them (or don't handle them) coming out of the dip.

[Chris Hennes]

Landbrot with Pressure-Caramelize Cherries and Almonds (KM p. 223)

 

I've posted about the Landbrot before: it's a very high-hydration "Farmer's Bread"-style loaf with a very large quantity of white flour levain, plus a relatively small amount of whole wheat flour and medium rye flour. In this ingredient variation you make 800g of that dough, then add 180g of pressure-caramelized dried cherries and almonds. The inclusion is delicious: in fact, my only objection is that I would have like more almonds. Like, a lot more. Next time I'll probably make something like 4x the quantity of almonds the recipe calls for, they have a great flavor and texture.

 

[Objective Foodie]

For today's festival of Epiphany in Spain and the South of France, it is very common to eat Roscón de Reyes (King's bread). They are not easy to find in the UK, so we made it ourselves following a recipe from Modernist Bread (which is available for free online).

There are many different styles of Roscón. This time we decided to fill it with chestnut based cream since it pairs very well with orange blossom. 

 

Edited January 8, 2021 by Objective Foodie
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[heidih]

Just now, Objective Foodie said:

For today's festival of Epiphany in Spain and the South of France, it is very common to eat Roscón de Reyes (King's bread). They are not easy to find them in the UK, thus we made it ourselves following the recipe from Modernist Bread (which is available for free online).

There are many different styles of Roscón, we decided to fill it with chestnut based cream since it pairs very well with orange blossom. 

I like the chestnut/orange pairing. Baby or bean inside?

[Objective Foodie]

57 minutes ago, heidih said:

I like the chestnut/orange pairing. Baby or bean inside?

Hehe! Both! If one gets the baby/figurine, he/she becomes (figuratively) king/queen. But if you get the bean you must pay for next year's Roscón.

[heidih]

Did you get one of them? Here in US many are more familiar with the tradition from New Orleans that starts at Carnaval beginning 6 Jan to Mardi Gras. You might find this older topic amusing. Picture of a slice would be nice - of yours. https://forums.egullet.org/topic/37261-kingcakes/page/2/

 

[Objective Foodie]

On 1/6/2021 at 9:33 PM, heidih said:

Did you get one of them? Here in US many are more familiar with the tradition from New Orleans that starts at Carnaval beginning 6 Jan to Mardi Gras. You might find this older topic amusing. Picture of a slice would be nice - of yours. https://forums.egullet.org/topic/37261-kingcakes/page/2/

 

It's fascinating to see how food and culture travel and adapt in different countries. Thanks for sharing that post @heidih ! I didn't know that there was a cinnamon and sugar variation and had never heard of cream cheese being used as a filling! 

In Europe King's cakes' main flavour is orange blossom and/or candied fruit (similar to panettoni). Citrus fruits are in season in January and they are used in many traditional Christmas dishes.

 

We did not take a photo of a slice unfortunately! However, we enjoyed it so much that will be making a smaller bun with the same brioche-like dough following a recipe from the famous Basque chef Martín Berasategui this weekend. We will certainly post a picture!

 

[Mutleyracers]

Hi everyone. Been a long time since I was last here. Hope you are all OK. Last time I was here I was asking for help on yeasted breads. Now, like a lot of people I am making only sourdough. Which has turned my attention to the Chocolate and Sourdough bread that is on the modernist cuisine website. I tried to make it using a Dutch oven but it burnt. I am not sure how it is supposed to go into the oven. It just says cold retard, 45 minutes covered and 10 minutes uncovered. Has anyone got any experience of this bread? Do I cook it straight from the fridge and bring it to room temperature, do I preheat the Dutch oven? I did preheat for an hour like a lot of breads ask for and I put it in the oven straight from the fridge. The oven spring was great, texture great but just burnt on the outside.

 

If anyone has any advice that would be great. Unfortunately I cannot afford the Modernist bread book as of yet.

 

Regards Lee

[Chris Hennes]

I've made the chocolate & cherry sourdough many times: it's a fan favorite at my office. I don't really treat it any differently than any other sourdough in terms of rise time, proof time, etc., and it bakes the same. Any protruding cherries and bits of chocolate do tend to burn, but actually no one has yet complained about them, I supposed they just let the bits fall off and don't eat them. You could get fancy and do a sort of "bread-in-a-shirt" thing to prevent it, but I haven't tried it.

[Mutleyracers]

Just now, Chris Hennes said:

I've made the chocolate & cherry sourdough many times: it's a fan favorite at my office. I don't really treat it any differently than any other sourdough in terms of rise time, proof time, etc., and it bakes the same. Any protruding cherries and bits of chocolate do tend to burn, but actually no one has yet complained about them, I supposed they just let the bits fall off and don't eat them. You could get fancy and do a sort of "bread-in-a-shirt" thing to prevent it, but I haven't tried it.

Hi Chris. Thanks for the reply and advise. Did you do a YouTube video on making this bread? I am sure someone of a similar name has if it wasn't you. 

[Chris Hennes]

Yes, I did, just a quick one.

[Robenco15]

Giving serious thought about getting Modernist Bread for Xmas. I have a modern double oven with convection and everything, but I don’t have a steam oven. Is not having a steam oven a deal breaker with these books? Are there serviceable work arounds they recommend?

Edited November 12, 2021 by Robenco15 (log)

[Chris Hennes]

12 hours ago, Robenco15 said:

Giving serious thought about getting Modernist Bread for Xmas. I have a modern double oven with convection and everything, but I don’t have a steam oven. Is not having a steam oven a deal breaker with these books? Are there serviceable work arounds they recommend?

There are plenty of workarounds for not having a steam oven: I almost never bake bread in one, and a quick glance through this topic will show that my results are reasonably respectable. Steam is most beneficial for French lean bread: if you're worried about it, there are other recipes in there to try .

[Robenco15]

1 minute ago, Chris Hennes said:

There are plenty of workarounds for not having a steam oven: I almost never bake bread in one, and a quick glance through this topic will show that my results are reasonably respectable. Steam is most beneficial for French lean bread: if you're worried about it, there are other recipes in there to try .

Thank you, thank you, thank you. I can't tell you how nice it was to receive this reply. I greatly appreciate it! I CANNOT  wait to get these books. This is going to be a good winter!

[rotuts]

yes , you do not need a steam oven to bake bread

 

any bread

 

if you want the ' spring ' during initial baking

 

a pan in the oven , under the baking rack will do the trick

 

toss an ice cube or two into it when you start baking your loaf.

Edited November 12, 2021 by rotuts (log)

[Robenco15]

37 minutes ago, rotuts said:

yes , you do not need a steam oven to back bread

 

any bread

 

if you want the ' spring ' during initial baking

 

a pad in the oven , under the baking rack will do the trick

 

toss oin an ice cube or two when you stark baki9ng your loaf.

Thank you! Great tips!

[Kerry Beal]

7 hours ago, rotuts said:

yes , you do not need a steam oven to bake bread

 

any bread

 

if you want the ' spring ' during initial baking

 

a pan in the oven , under the baking rack will do the trick

 

toss an ice cube or two into it when you start baking your loaf.

Remember when we used to do that?

[heidih]

24 minutes ago, Kerry Beal said:

Remember when we used to do that?

or the ice cubes

[BetD]

I certainly remember breaking the glass on my oven door when I spilled some of my “steam water” on it   😯

[Robenco15]

33 minutes ago, BetD said:

I certainly remember breaking the glass on my oven door when I spilled some of my “steam water” on it   😯

…could you elaborate? I’d like to not do this to my oven…

[BetD]

I put a pan full of “lava rocks” (for use in gas grills)  on the shelf  below my stone and they all preheat for a good long time while the bread is rising. When you put the bread in, add a cup of boiling water to the pan of hot rocks (carefully!!)  and get the oven door shut before you get steamed as well.  

 

After the fiasco with the oven door glass, I always set a cookie pan over the glass before I add the water… it may sound awkward, but it is all a pretty quick process.  

[Duvel]

27 minutes ago, Robenco15 said:

…could you elaborate? I’d like to not do this to my oven…

Do not splash cold water onto a hot oven door made out of glass. Depending on the glass quality the thermal shock can lead to cracks.

 

This is not an issue with steam, as it is already hot, thus not leading to thermal differences on the materials.

[Robenco15]

Just now, BetD said:

I put a pan full of “lava rocks” (for use in gas grills)  on the shelf  below my stone and they all preheat for a good long time while the bread is rising. When you put the bread in, add a cup of boiling water to the pan of hot rocks (carefully!!)  and get the oven door shut before you get steamed as well.  

 

After the fiasco with the oven door glass, I always set a cookie pan over the glass before I add the water… it may sound awkward, but it is all a pretty quick process.  

Oh ok that’s Keller’s hack from Bouchon Bakery I believe. I’m curious what hacks Modernist Bread may have. The bread I’ve done is in a dutch oven so I spray it with water before putting the lid on and baking. Ice cubes seem to be another clever way of introducing steam. 

[Duvel]

For loaves (at least the “simple” ones I prepare regularly) I bake in a preheated dutch oven in the -well - oven without added water.