"The Bread Baker's Apprentice" by Reinhart

[Laura B]

Glossyp, I used King Arthur All-Purpose flour.

The craquelin was so delicious, but I think I may have cooked it a little too long. When we made it in class, the sugar cubes melted a little but left crunchy pockets of sugar that you could really bite into. In my home version, the sugar almost disappeared. There are oozy-sugary pockets but no chunks of sugar left. I think next time I will bake it a little less and see if I can get the sugar cubes to not completely melt. This one baked for about 50 minutes.

[Daniel]

Made the pizza dough.. It came out really well.. I think this is now my new dough.

[Behemoth]

Saturday: Four batches of Italian Bread torpedo rolls, for a party.

Slashing with a straight-razor or knife just wasn't working for me, the dough would pull and pucker. I ended up doing the rest with scissors. Looked kind of cool actually, but now I am thinking of buying a lame.

Today: English muffins. (And later a batch of poolish for tomorrow's Ciabatta. )

That split one didn't last very long. Yum.

[rcaffelle]

Behemoth,

How many ounces are your torpedo rolls?

Thanks.

Everything looks great, as usual.

rich

[Behemoth]

Behemoth,

How many ounces are your torpedo rolls?

Thanks.

Everything looks great, as usual.

rich

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Ounces? I have no idea, all that is left is a couple of stale ones I could weigh. The recipe has each batch making 9 -- I did 10 per recipe instead. You do the math

[FoodMan]

Laura-

Those pistures are outstanding. I have to make brioche pretty soon. I also love the Craquelin idea, I mean it is so simple and so...right. Just soak the cubes in some sort of syrup and wrap in broiche? Sounds like a great breakfast.

Elie

[Laura B]

Laura-

Those pistures are outstanding. I have to make brioche pretty soon. I also love the Craquelin idea, I mean it is so simple and so...right. Just soak the cubes in some sort of syrup and wrap in broiche? Sounds like a great breakfast.

Elie

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Elie, for the Craquelin, here is what I did. You just let the sugar cubes sit for about 15 minutes or so in a little vanilla and zest. You could use some rum instead of vanilla. Whatever you want really. Then, you take your dough and divide it just as you would if you were going to make brioche à tête, but make the smaller ball larger than you would for a "tête" . Take the main piece of dough and roll it out a little to flatten. Press the sugar cubes into it. Then form the dough into a ball, and try to fold the dough as you roll it so that the cubes are separated by each other with dough and not all clumped against each other. Then take the smaller piece of dough and roll it out into a thin circle, large enough to wrap the dough ball in. Wrap up the sugar-filled dough and seal the bottom edges together to prevent any sugar from leaking during baking. It makes a great breakfast! I am going to make some more this weekend. I will try to take some pictures of the process when I do it.

I want to do some craquelin and plain brioche again this weekend. But I want to make the plain brioche into dinner rolls for a party. I don't really want to make little brioches à tête, but rather something more like pull-apart rolls. This is probably a remedial question, but should I just plop some dough balls in a casserole dish to make pull-apart rolls?

Edited May 10, 2005 by Laura B (log)

[FoodMan]

I want to do some craquelin and plain brioche again this weekend. But I want to make the plain brioche into dinner rolls for a party. I don't really want to make little brioches à tête, but rather something more like pull-apart rolls. This is probably a remedial question, but should I just plop some dough balls in a casserole dish to make pull-apart rolls?

Sure, or even a large cake pan would do.

Thanks for the detailed instructions. Makes perfect sense.

Elie

[jgarner53]

I just got my copy of the BBA and can't wait to jump in here (albeit a bit belatedly). I do have a question, though.

My husband's coworkers are always eager to gobble up my sweets, but I'm not sure how enthusiastic they'd be about bread. I only have a limited amount of freezer space, and with just two of us, there is only so much bread we can eat. What suggestions do you have on how not to get overrun by bread?

[glossyp]

I just got my copy of the BBA and can't wait to jump in here (albeit a bit belatedly). I do have a question, though.

My husband's coworkers are always eager to gobble up my sweets, but I'm not sure how enthusiastic they'd be about bread. I only have a limited amount of freezer space, and with just two of us, there is only so much bread we can eat. What suggestions do you have on how not to get overrun by bread?

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This was/is a big challenge in our house since there are just two of us, we work at home and the dh is more of a rice person. My compromise is to make half-recipes of everything I bake (I measure by weight which dramatically increased my success with bread in general), freeze what is not eaten, give away what I can and, from time to time, our canine companions get bread as treats. Otherwise, I'd eat it all and then it would be a huge problem!

I'm betting though that your hubby's office mates will be more than happy to eat your bread.

[Behemoth]

We are also just two. If I don't think we will eat the second loaf in time, I double wrap it in plastic bags and put it in the freezer. Then, a day before I am ready for it I thaw it overnight in the fridge, leave it on the counter for about an hour, then re-bake it for about approx. 10 minutes at 350 or so. The crust ends up slightly more crusty, but is otherwise as good as fresh.

Quite frankly, usually we go through most of the two loaves: First day, just eat as is. Second day toasted slices. Third day as crostini, panzanella, in soups, etc. If I still have some left I make breadcrumbs for sprinkling on pasta and stuff.

Of course that is just for lean hearth breads. Enriched breads last linger, and can be made into stuff like french toast on the weekends.

I'm willing to bet your husbands coworkers would be happy to get fresh bread. This stuff is really freakin' good.

[Laura B]

With only myself and my husband, dealing with all of the bread and other baked goods I make can be a problem. We try to balance out eating it ourselves, giving it to neighbors, sending it to work, and just throwing away leftovers. I don't have much room to freeze things, but I do have some criossants and challah in the freezer right now.

[Richard Kilgore]

I have been intending to make pizza dough for a week, so I have had a bowl with 4 1/2 cups of flour sitting in the fridge for that long waiting for me to do something with it. It's been covered with plastic wrap. Will it still be okay, or should I dump it and start with new flour. I don't mind dumping it if there is a chance the time in the fridge will effect the flavor of the pizza dough.

[Laura B]

I have been intending to make pizza dough for a week, so I have had a bowl with 4 1/2 cups of flour sitting in the fridge for that long waiting for me to do something with it. It's been covered with plastic wrap. Will it still be okay, or should I dump it and start with new flour. I don't mind dumping it if there is a chance the time in the fridge will effect the flavor of the pizza dough.

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You can certainly store your flour in the fridge or freezer, the only question for me would be whether the bowl was tightly sealed with the plastic wrap. If it was well-sealed and you cannot smell any fridge odors or anything, I would definitely use it. Just bring it up to room temp before making your pizza dough.

[MightyD]

Laura B, how did you get your brioche a tete looking so perfect??!! mine always comes out a little lopsided ....

[Laura B]

Laura B, how did you get your brioche a tete looking so perfect??!!  mine always comes out a little lopsided ....

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That is the best looking one I've ever made! I was careful to make the hole dead center in the larger piece before sticking the tête on. And after I put it on, I poked my finger all the way down, all the way around it to kind of anchor it. I was taught to do that in my pastry class, and it actually worked this time. This dough was so beautiful to handle.

You should have seen the ones we made in class. Everyone's was lopsided. The smaller ones looked like little turtles or something!

[vengroff]

Laura B, how did you get your brioche a tete looking so perfect??!!  mine always comes out a little lopsided ....

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That is the best looking one I've ever made! I was careful to make the hole dead center in the larger piece before sticking the tête on. And after I put it on, I poked my finger all the way down, all the way around it to kind of anchor it. I was taught to do that in my pastry class, and it actually worked this time. This dough was so beautiful to handle.

You should have seen the ones we made in class. Everyone's was lopsided. The smaller ones looked like little turtles or something!

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For the smaller ones, I'm a big believer in not seperating the head from the body. Instead, you can roll them with your hands to form a small head and a large body connected by a thin strand of dough. Then you flatten the body, form a hole in it with your finger, and pass the head up through it. You get a lot more stability that way and the heads tend to remain well-formed and not fall over to the side. There are pictures of this technique in BBA, but unfortunately they aren't great.

[Richard Kilgore]

I have been intending to make pizza dough for a week, so I have had a bowl with 4 1/2 cups of flour sitting in the fridge for that long waiting for me to do something with it. It's been covered with plastic wrap. Will it still be okay, or should I dump it and start with new flour. I don't mind dumping it if there is a chance the time in the fridge will effect the flavor of the pizza dough.

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You can certainly store your flour in the fridge or freezer, the only question for me would be whether the bowl was tightly sealed with the plastic wrap. If it was well-sealed and you cannot smell any fridge odors or anything, I would definitely use it. Just bring it up to room temp before making your pizza dough.

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Thanks, Laura. The seal from the plastic wrap was fine -- it's just that odors will permeate the plastic fairly easily. I'll give it the sniff test, and give it a try if it passes. Actually, the recipe in the BBA calls for the flour to be chilled before making the dough.

[Laura B]

Actually, the recipe in the BBA calls for the flour to be chilled before making the dough.

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Oh, I didn't realize that!

[lexy]

I'm hoping I can get some advice on this thread. Since I have some time on my hands, I wanted to try a sourdough, and thought I'd try the recipe in BBA. With the sourdough starter, Day 1 was fine, Day 2 the starter doubled nicely, Day 3, it got foamy and rose a little bit, but it did not come close to doubling. I left it another 24 hours with no change, and then moved on to Day 4 (I figured since it was foamy and had a sort of yogurty smell, I'd take my chances). I've left it for 24 hours, and like on Day 3, it's foamy and sour-smelling, but it hasn't risen more than a centimeter. Should I leave it some more and hope it rises or just scrap it and start again? Thanks!

[FoodMan]

I made the brioch for breakfast yesterday. I don't have brioche molds so I normally use muffin cups or I bake them free form (I did both this time around). I also baked one in a loaf pan once. The funny thing is that I wanted to make brioche in order to try the craquelin variation but I forgot to make sure I actually have sugar cubes . The bread still turned out awsome even though not as nicely shaped as laura's, mine suffered from the lope-sided syndrome.

I served it with freshly made pear-chocolate spread, a breakfast fit for a king. Note how the big one in the back looks like a bunny, I fully intended for it to like like this .

[glossyp]

I'm hoping I can get some advice on this thread. Since I have some time on my hands, I wanted to try a sourdough, and thought I'd try the recipe in BBA. With the sourdough starter, Day 1 was fine, Day 2 the starter doubled nicely, Day 3, it got foamy and rose a little bit, but it did not come close to doubling. I left it another 24 hours with no change, and then moved on to Day 4 (I figured since it was foamy and had a sort of yogurty smell, I'd take my chances). I've left it for 24 hours, and like on Day 3, it's foamy and sour-smelling, but it hasn't risen more than a centimeter. Should I leave it some more and hope it rises or just scrap it and start again? Thanks!

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I have an ongoing love/hate relationship with sourdough starter so I can't offer much help but here is a link to the most helpful information regarding all things sourdough taught by eGullet's own Jackal10. Be sure to check out the Q&A as well.

Sourdough

[ALTAF]

WOW...Theey look delicious. Good Job

I am excited to finally join this thread!  Today I made the Middle Class Brioche with excellent results.  The interior of this bread is deleriously soft and fluffy.  I used half of the dough to make one large brioche à tête and the other half to make a craquelin.  Craquelin is brioche dough with sugar cubes (mine were soaked in vanilla and orange zest) inside and then wrapped with a thin layer of plain brioche dough.  It is to-die-for!

I wish the picture could convey how amazingly soft this bread is.

This is a shot of a slice of the craquelin.  You can see the gooey pocket made by the sugar.

I learned the technique for craquelin in an artisanal bread class at FCI that I took last month.  I made brioche in that class as well as in a pastry class I took there, but the brioche I made in those classes was not as rich as this one.  This one is so good.  I just cannot imagine what the Rich Man's Brioche must taste like!

I only let this rest in the refrigerator for the minimum four hours.  One weekend I will plan ahead better and give it an overnight rest and see whether I can taste a difference.

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[jackal10]

I'm hoping I can get some advice on this thread. Since I have some time on my hands, I wanted to try a sourdough, and thought I'd try the recipe in BBA. With the sourdough starter, Day 1 was fine, Day 2 the starter doubled nicely, Day 3, it got foamy and rose a little bit, but it did not come close to doubling. I left it another 24 hours with no change, and then moved on to Day 4 (I figured since it was foamy and had a sort of yogurty smell, I'd take my chances). I've left it for 24 hours, and like on Day 3, it's foamy and sour-smelling, but it hasn't risen more than a centimeter. Should I leave it some more and hope it rises or just scrap it and start again? Thanks!

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My guess is you are using a recipe that started with more than just flour and water - maybe added sugar or grapes or the like, or even additivies in the flour you are using - Some King Arthur flour has added diastic malt, for example. What has happened is the yeast varieties that feed on such sugars have flourished, then run out of food. They are not the sort of yeasts you need in sourdough, where you are trying to promote a lactcobacillus/yeast symbiosis that can utilise wheat starch These are also less active the their sugary cousins. However they will dominate the culture in the end, and the sugar eaters drop out. Just keep it at 85F, and keep feeding it every 12 hours or so.

I'm sure you can bake with your starter, it will just take quite a long time to rise at this stage. As time goes it it will improve as the desired strain gets more plentiful, and the flavour will adapt to your unique starter.

Edited May 14, 2005 by jackal10 (log)

[lexy]

My starter began with just flour (standard supermarket bread flour) and water. I read through the sourdough Q&A (thanks glossyp), and I think the problem was just that my house is too cold (61?F/16?C). I put it in a warm water bath, and it's rising nicely now. Thanks for the advice all