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By Melania
It's one o'clock on a warm summer's day in Florence, I'm on my way to get ingredients for lunch. The sun is high in the sky, the cobblestones are warm under my feet and the aroma of something delicious is in the air. My mind starts to drift to the onions, celery and tomatoes I need for my pasta sauce, oh and don't forget something sweet for dessert...this truly is la dolce vita.
My thoughts are soon interrupted by an unwelcome "chiuso" sign on the door of my new favorite deli. The blinds are closed and the friendly owners are nowhere in sight. The reality of having my favorite pasta dish for lunch was slipping further and further away.
What a nightmare! How can this be?
A local passing by must have noticed my frustration. "Signorina, è riposo. Tutto è chiuso!"
Of course! How could I forget about the sacred Italian siesta?
A siesta or riposo, as most Italians call it, is a time of rest. This time is usually around midday, or the hottest part of the day (very inconvenient if you're craving a bowl of pasta.) No one can really say where the tradition of the siesta originates, but many say it's all about food (no surprises there really).
For many Italian families the main meal of the day is lunch. This heavy meal in the middle of the day is attributed to the standard Mediterranean diet: A minuscule breakfast of a coffee and pastry , a heavy lunch and an evening meal around 10 o'clock. The logic is that after such a heavy meal one would surely be drowsy and need to rest, no one can work efficiently on a full stomach!
Post offices, car rentals, supermarkets and even coffee shops (in some smaller towns police stations too) all close their doors for a riposo. Everything comes to a standstill as every Italian goes home to kick of their shoes, enjoy a homemade lunch with family and bask in the Italian sunshine for three to four hours. This is serious business. One would not dare work for 8 hours straight. After their riposo most businesses open again around 4 o'clock and stay open till 7pm. Its the perfect balance between work and play and does wonders for your digestive system!
"Grazie!" I thanked her for the reminder. The midday sun started to become unbearable. The streets had cleared with only a few tourists braving the midday heat still around. I thought about the strawberries I bought from the market earlier that week. Strawberries for lunch on my shaded balcony and maybe a nap afterwards sounded like my perfect riposo. The pasta will have to wait till 4.
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By curls
Couldn't find a topic devoted to sourdough discard cooking, so thought I would start one and see how much interest it would generate. Moderators, if there is a topic, please merge.
Recently I have begun making sourdough bread and am caring for a sourdough starter. Since there is currently some difficulty finding flour (due to COVID-19 related supply chain issues, etc.) I don't want to throw out any of my sourdough starter. I am also following guidance from King Arthur Flour and Cooks Illustrated for working with a small sourdough starter (10 g. flour | 10 g. water | 10 g. sourdough starter) and using recipes that use smaller amounts of sourdough starter or only building my starter up if called for by a recipe.
I have made the following recipes and would make them again:
- King Arthur Flour sourdough discard crumpets. https://www.kingarthurflour.com/recipes/sourdough-crumpets-recipe
- King Arthur Flour sourdough discard waffles. I used a mix of yogurt & milk instead of buttermilk but otherwise made the recipe as written. https://www.kingarthurflour.com/recipes/classic-sourdough-waffles-or-pancakes-recipe
What are you doing with your sourdough discard?
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By gsquared
Post your questions here -->> Q&A
A Sampling of North Indian Breads
Authors: Monica Bhide and Chef Sudhir Seth
Introduction
These breads are the taste of home for me -- wholesome breads prepared with simple ingredients and simple cooking methods. There are many different types of breads in North India. They can be prepared in the tandoor (clay oven, as is done in many restaurants), dry roasted, cooked on a griddle, or deep-fried. They can be prepared plain, or stuffed with savory or sweet filling, or just topped with mouthwatering garnishes.
In the recipes below we are merely attempting to scratch the surface, presenting you with a glimpse of these magnificent breads.
North Indian breads are prepared with various kinds of flours. The ones listed here use a whole-wheat flour known as atta and all-purpose flour. The dough is prepared in most cases without the use of yeast. (We have shown a special sweet bread here, called Sheermal, that is prepared using yeast.) Also, the tandoori breads are generally rolled out by hand not with a rolling pin. But in the recipes below, for ease of use for the home cook, we have used a rolling pin. As you will also see then, no special equipment is needed. We have prepared the breads in a traditional oven and in a non-stick skillet. (We have included some pictures towards the end of the lesson of a roti being prepared in a commercial tandoor.)
A few tips:
• Knead the dough well, adding only enough water or other specified liquid to make the dough the right consistency.
• A must for preparing these breads is to let the dough rest as indicated. This will ensure that the dough softens and moistens, making it more pliable and easier to stretch
• To prepare simple ghee (clarified butter) see below but for a in-depth discussion check out this wonderful thread in the India forum. (See the last few suggestions on preparing it by melting butter.)
• You can also purchase ghee or clarified butter at your local Indian grocer or from www. Namaste.com.
Clarified Butter (Ghee)
Yields: About ½ cup
½ lb unsalted butter
Heat a heavy pan over low heat. Add the butter, allowing it to melt. Once the butter has melted, increase the heat, bringing the butter to a simmer. The butter will start to foam.
Reduce the heat and simmer for about 15 minutes. Watch carefully as it may burn. The milk solids will start to settle at the bottom, and the liquid butter will float to the surface. When the liquid butter becomes amber in color, remove it from from the heat. Cool to room temperature.
Strain the amber liquid into a jar and discard the milk solids.
Cover and store, refrigerated, for up to 6 months.
Plain Naan Dough
Naans are traditional Indian breads prepared in clay ovens or tandoors. They are commonplace on most Indian menus. We have tried here to present a simple dough for Naans and then two of the more unusual preparations for it: the Peshawari Naan and the Onion Kulcha. .
• ½ cup milk
• 1 teaspoon sugar
• 1 cup warm water
• 1 tablespoon yogurt
• 1 egg
• 4 cups of all-purpose flour (labelled "maida" in Indian grocery store)
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1 tablespoon vegetable oil (for baking tray)
• 2 tablespoons clarified butter or ghee
In a bowl whisk together the milk, sugar, water, yogurt and egg.
Place the flour, salt and baking powder in a large shallow bowl. Mix well.
Pour the liquid onto the flour and begin to knead. Continue kneading until you have a soft dough. If you need more liquid, add a few tablespoons of warm water. Knead for at least 10 minutes, or until you have a soft dough that is not sticky.
Oil the dough.
Cover the dough with a damp cloth and place in a warm place for 1½ - 2 hours, or until the dough has doubled in volume.
Directions for plain naan:
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Lightly grease a large, heavy baking tray and set aside. Lightly dust the rolling surface and rolling pin with flour.
Knead the dough again on the floured surface for about 5 minutes. Divide it into 8 equal pieces and cover with a damp towel or plastic wrap.
Roll each piece into a ball and flatten it with your hands. Using a rolling pin, roll it out into an oval shape (about 8 inches). Using your hands, pull at both ends of the oval to stretch it a little. Continue until you have made 8 naans.
Brush each oval with clarified butter.
Place the naans on the baking sheet bake for 5 minutes. Turn on the broiler and broil for an additional 3 minutes or until golden brown.
Peshawari Naan
In this delightfully sinful recipe, the naan dough is stuffed with dried nuts and raisins and baked. Serve this warm right out of the oven for the best taste.
1 recipe prepared plain naan dough
For the stuffing:
• 1 tablespoon cashews (crushed)
• 1 tablespoon almonds (crushed)
• 1+1 tablespoons pistachios (crushed)
• 1 tablespoon raisins
• 1 teaspoon cilantro leaves, minced
• 1 teaspoon sugar
• 1 tablespoon Milk Mawa Powder (Dried whole milk powder)
• 1 teaspoon fennel seeds, ground
• 3 tablespoons melted butter or clarified butter
Prepare the Naan dough.
While the dough is resting, prepare the filling.
Set aside 1 tablespoon of pistachios and the raisins. In a mixing bowl combine all the other filling ingredients. Add a few tablespoons of water to bind them together to form a lumpy consistency.
Roll the dough into a log. Cut into 8 equal portions. Lightly dust the rolling surface with flour.
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Lightly grease a large, heavy baking tray and set aside. Lightly oil or flour your hands.
Take one portion of the dough and roll into a ball between the palms of your hands. Flatten the ball. Place it on the floured surface. Use a rolling pin to roll it out into a circle about 5 - 6 inches in diameter.
Add a tablespoon of the filling to the center. Bring the sides together and pinch them to seal and form a ball. Flatten lightly. Dust very lightly with flour.
Roll the flattened ball again on a lightly floured surface until about 5 - 6 inches in diameter.
Garnish with the reserved pistachios and raisins.
Continue until you have made 8 naans.
Brush each naan with clarified butter. Place the naans on the baking sheet and bake for 5 minutes. Turn on the broiler and broil for an additional 3 minutes or until golden brown.
Serve hot.
Onion Kulcha
We present this recipe by popular demand. Here the naan is stuffed with a spiced onion mix and baked to perfection.
1 recipe prepared plain naan dough
For the stuffing:
• 2 small red onions, finely chopped
• 1 tablespoon minced cilantro
• 1 tablespoon Chaat Masala (www.namaste.com)
• 1 teaspoon red chili powder
• Salt to taste
• 3 tablespoons melted butter or clarified butter
• 2 teaspoons cilantro, minced for garnish
• small boiled potato, grated (optional)
Prepare the naan dough.
While the dough is resting, prepare the filling.
First, using the palms of your hands, squeeze out all the water from the chopped onions. If the onions still appear to be watery, add a small boiled grated potato to your filling. This will prevent the filling from spilling out of the kulcha.
In a mixing bowl combine all the filling to form a lumpy consistency.
Roll the dough into a log. Cut into 8 equal portions. Lightly dust the rolling surface with flour.
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Lightly grease a large, heavy baking tray and set aside. Lightly oil or flour your hands.
Take one portion of the dough and roll into a ball between the palms of your hands. Flatten the ball. Place it on the floured surface. Use a rolling pin to roll it out into a circle about 5 - 6 inches in diameter.
Add a tablespoon of the filling to the center. Bring the sides together and pinch them to seal and form a ball. Flatten lightly. Dust very lightly with flour.
Roll the flattened ball again on a lightly floured surface until about 5 - 6 inches in diameter.
Dip your fingers in water and moisten the surface of the kulcha very lightly. Sprinkle with a few minced cilantro leaves. Continue until you have made 8 kulchas.
Place the kulchas on the baking sheet and bake for 5 minutes. Turn on the broiler and broil for an additional 3 minutes or until golden brown.
Serve hot.
Ande Ka Paratha
This is a unique addition to your recipe collection. A mild and flaky bread, it is a small kid’s favorite at our home.
Makes 8 parathas
• 2 cups Indian atta flour (whole-wheat flour)
• 1½ teaspoons table salt
• 2+2 tablespoons melted butter or clarified butter
• Water as needed
• 8 eggs
In a bowl combine the flour, salt and two tablespoons of clarified butter. Slowly begin to add the water, kneading the flour as you go. Make a dough, kneading for at least 10 minutes. The final dough should be soft and pliable. It should not be sticky or else it will not roll out well.
Cover the dough with a damp cloth or plastic wrap and let it sit for 30 minutes.
Roll the dough into a log. Cut into 8 equal portions. Lightly dust the rolling surface with flour.
Lightly oil or flour your hands. Take one portion and roll into a ball between the palms of your hands. Flatten the ball. Place it on the prepared floured surface. Use a rolling pin to roll it out into a circle about 5 - 6 inches in diameter.
Now fold the dough over itself.
Take the folded dough and roll it around itself into a spiral.
Tuck the end under.
Do this for all eight dough balls. (This folding and rolling will make the paratha very flaky.)
Now flatten the spiral and roll again on a lightly floured surface until about 5 - 6 inches in diameter.
Heat a griddle on medium heat. Brush it lightly with butter and add the paratha. Cook for about 2 minutes, or until the bottom of the paratha begins to blister. Brush the top lightly with butter and remove from heat. Put the paratha aside on a warm plate.
Grease the same griddle a bit and break an egg on it. Cook the egg sunny side up. Place the cooked side of the paratha on the egg. Press down gently to break the yolk. Let it cook for a minute. Brush the top of the paratha with butter, flip carefully and cook for another minute or two until the paratha is no longer raw.
Remove the paratha from the griddle and place on a serving platter. Cover with a paper towel. Continue until all the parathas are cooked.
Serve hot.
Indian Bread Stuffed With Spicy Potatoes (Aloo Ka Paratha)
This filled paratha is a very popular North Indian bread, served traditionally with homemade white butter and Indian pickles of your choice.
• 2 cups Indian atta flour (whole-wheat flour)
• 4 tablespoons semolina
• 1½ teaspoons table salt
• 2 tablespoons melted clarified butter or butter
• Water as needed
• 3 medium potatoes, peeled
• 2 Serrano green chilies, seeded and finely minced
• 1 tablespoon cilantro, minced
• 1 1-inch piece fresh ginger root, grated
• 1 teaspoon Chaat Masala
• 4 tablespoons melted clarified butter or butter
• A few tablespoons flour for dusting
In a bowl combine the wheat flour, semolina flour, salt and two tablespoons of clarified butter. Slowly begin to add the water, kneading the flour as you go. Make a dough, kneading for at least 10 minutes. The final dough should be soft and pliable. It should not be sticky, or else it will not roll out well.
Cover the dough with a damp cloth or plastic wrap and let it sit for 30 minutes.
While the dough is resting, prepare the filling.
Boil the potatoes in enough water to cover for about 15 minutes. Drain.
Put the potatoes in a bowl and mash them well with a fork. Add the green chilies, cilantro, ginger root, and chaat masala and mix well. Set this filling aside to cool.
Roll the dough into a log. Cut into 8 equal portions. Lightly dust the rolling surface with flour.
Lightly oil or flour your hands. Take one portion and roll into a ball between the palms of your hands. Flatten the ball. Place it on the prepared floured surface. Use a rolling pin to roll it out into a circle about 5 - 6 inches in diameter.
Lightly brush the surface with the clarified butter. Add a tablespoon of the potato filling to the center. Bring the sides together and pinch them to seal and form a ball. Flatten lightly. Dust very lightly with flour.
Roll the flattened ball again on a lightly floured surface until about 5 - 6 inches in diameter.
Heat a griddle on medium heat. Brush it lightly with butter and add the paratha. Cook for about 2 minutes, or until the bottom of the paratha begins to blister. Brush the top lightly with butter and flip over. Cook for 2 minutes.
Remove the paratha from the griddle and place on a serving platter. Cover with a paper towel. Continue until all the parathas are cooked.
Sheermal
A sweet bread, it is one of the few Indian breads that uses yeast. Keep the dough in a warm place to ensure that it rises. You can increase the amount of sugar if you like a sweeter taste.
• 1 packet dry yeast
• 1 teaspoon sugar
• ¼ cup water
• 1½ cups all-purpose flour
• ¼ teaspoon salt
• 2 tablespoons sugar
• 2 eggs (separate 1 egg and set the yolk aside) beat the whole egg and the white together
• 2 tablespoons melted clarified butter or butter
• Extra flour for dusting
• Pitted cherries/raisins for garnish
Mix yeast with the sugar and 1/4 cup water. Set aside until frothy, about 5 - 10 minutes.
Combine the flour, salt and sugar. Add the clarified butter, egg and yeast mixture. Knead until a smooth dough is formed. (You may need more warm water.) Set aside to rise until the dough doubles in size.
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Lightly grease a large, heavy baking tray and set aside. Lightly dust the rolling surface and rolling pin with flour.
Knead the dough again on the floured surface for about 5 minutes. Divide it into 6 equal pieces and cover with a damp towel or plastic wrap.
Roll each piece into a ball and flatten it with your hands. Using a rolling pin, roll it out into a disc. Continue until you have made 6 discs.
Beat the reserved egg yolk and brush a little on each sheermal. Place a few cherries on the sheermal for garnish. Place the discs on the baking sheet and bake for 5 minutes.
Turn on the broiler and broil for an additional 3 minutes, or until golden brown.
Tandoori Roti
We wanted to show how the tandoor is used to prepare breads. These pictures are of a special roti or bread, called Tandoori Roti, being prepared in the hot tandoor or clay oven.
The basic recipe entails preparing a dough of whole-wheat flour. (See the paratha dough prepared earlier.) The flattened rolled out discs are then cooked in the tandoor until the dark spots begin appearing on the surface of the bread.
Post your questions here -->> Q&A
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By eGCI Team
Post your questions here -->> Q&A
Sourdough Bread
by Jack Lang (jackal10)
Acknowledgements
Dan Lepard, for inspiration and and contribution.
Charles Lang, whose hands are in the photographs.
Brendel Lang for the painting.
The Members of the eGCI team for considerable labour and expertise.
Samuel Lloyd Kinsey (slkinsey) my fellow instructor.
Jill Grey, my partner, for putting up with the mess.
Introduction
The object of this lesson is to teach you to bake better bread— bread that will be the envy of your non-baking friends—bread so good that people will wonder where it came from!
The recipe is archived here.
Why sourdough? Because it tastes better. This is the real stuff; not some machine-made pap. You will make bread you just can’t stop eating, and that will spoil you for mass-produced bought bread. Once you have mastered basic white bread, you (or we) can go on to whatever variations you like or request. This is daily bread, fragrant with tastes of the yeast and the grain, and with a crisp crackling crust. Perfect on its own, or with good butter, or jam, or cheese and maybe a ripe tomato. It keeps (in a paper bag, not in the fridge) for close to a week, although you may need to toast it toward the end of the week. Toasted it makes magnificent bruschetta. You can bake weekly, or less often as the bread freezes well.
This recipe and technique may seem straightforward, but it contains the results of years of experimentation and optimisation. We’ll make plain, white bread. Once you have mastered that, you can go on to fancier loaves. However (unless you really need the bran) you will come back to this basic bread just because it is so good and so pure.
Bread comes in many shapes.
English bread shapes
European bread shapes
This lesson will teach the basic French boule or flattened ball shape. We will also look at baguettes. But you can make any shape you fancy. The same dough works well in a tin, too.
You can find more technical details regarding the history of sourdough bread and the composition of the starter by clicking this link. Reading this background history and science is not essential, but very helpful. It will give some insight into why as well as the how.
Where to get your starter
You basically have three options –
1. Buy a starter off the web or from a local artisanal bakery. One place is here.
2. Order the eGullet starter.
You can obtain the special egullet starter by sending a PM to jackal10 with your snail-mail address. The starter will be sent out free, although the cost of the starter and postage is about $10. Please donate at least that much to your favourite charity, and we would appreciate it if you could include the name of the charity and the amount in your PM.
Your egullet starter was collected originally in the vineyards of California, but has travelled extensively since. It produces a light, mild bread. When it arrives, it will look like raw dough in a plastic bag
How your starter will look when you unpack it.
You can leave it in the fridge until you are ready, or better, turn it into your own starter. To do this, add one cup of flour and 1 cup of water and mix to a smooth batter. You can do this by hand or in a food processor. Put the batter into a basin, cover and leave in a warm (80-85F/27-29C) place for 4-8 hours, or until you see bubbles on the surface. Ideally refresh it a couple of times, and you are ready. You can store the starter in a jar in the fridge.
3. Make your own.
You can make your own starter and harvest the local wild yeasts with some patience. The key is the remarkable stability of the yeast-lacto bacillus pairing. If you keep almost any fermentable mixture of flour and water at about the right temperature, and when it begins to bubble, feed (refresh) it regularly, you will get the right bugs.
Some people add grapes with bloom on them (yeasts live on the surface), rye (high in enzymes), or other things, but that is mostly superstition.
How to roll your own starter
a) Mix 1 cup flour and 1 cup water to a smooth batter.
b) Cover and leave in a warm (85F/29C) place until it starts to bubble (12 hours or so but it can take several days). Don’t worry about off smells or colours at this stage. Skim any obvious muck.
c) Refresh it by adding another ½ cup of flour and ½ cup of water and stir. If the volume gets too much for your container, throw some away. Cover the rest and put it back into a warm place.
d) Repeat the last step for 4 times at 8-12 hour intervals. The starter should be active, and smell wholesome.
Starters can be kept in a closed jar in the refrigerator for months. They may separate into two layers, but just stir them together before use. They will, of course, keep best if used and refreshed regularly. If the starter seems sluggish, refresh it a couple of times (step c above) before use.
Starter doesn’t freeze well, but can be dried for a reserve supply. If you need to ship it, make some into a lasagna sheet, or stiff dough.
For best results always use the same flour, so the bugs can get used to it. Some people keep separate starters for white, rye and for wholemeal (whole wheat). I use white unbleached flour, which has added Vitamin C as an improver. As mentioned above, if your flour does not already have Vitamin C in it, you can add 1/2tsp Vitamin C (Ascorbic acid) but it is not critical.
Recovering a sick starter
If your starter smells off (cheesy or of peardrops), or has gone sluggish you can recover it by following the procedure for a new starter above, but inoculate the initial flour and water mix with a tablespoon or two of the old starter.
Practical Section
A typical bread-making timetable is
Day 1:
09:00: Refresh starter
- Starter ferments -
13:00: Make dough
13:15: Dough kneaded (by hand)
-Amylisation-
13:45: Add Salt
14:00 Finished dough
- Bulk fermentation-
16:00: Shape
-Retard overnight –
Day 2
Pre-heat oven, and bake for 40 minutes.
Ingredients for 1 loaf or four baguettes.
To refresh the starter:
1 c sourdough starter
1 c Strong white bread flour
1 c water
For the dough:
1 c refreshed sourdough starter
3 c Strong white bread flour.
1 c water (you may need more -- see below)
2 tsp salt
The dough in the illustration is ordinary unbleached supermarket (Tesco) strong white bread flour, 11.7g protein, with ½ cup of spelt flour added for flavour. This supermarket adds Vitamin C and amalyse to their bread flour. Different flours may adsorb different amounts of water. This flour needs a bit more water. The object is to make a very soft dough -- one that has only just stopped being a batter and just holds together.
Sourdough Bread Instructions
A. Refresh the Starter
1. Mix together 1 cup starter, 1 cup strong flour and 1 cup of water. It should be the consistency of very thick cream.
Starter just mixed.
3. Cover, and allow to stand in a warm (85F/29C) place for 4 hours.
Starter after 4 hours.
After 4 hours or so, it should be bubbly. Temperature is fairly critical, as discussed above. Any hotter than 85F/29C and you start to kill the yeast; any colder and it will not be as sour and will take longer to rise.
What we are making here is a sponge starter or poolish. Starters (pre-ferments) can be roughly divided by hydration into wet, batter-like pre-ferments, often called poolish from their origin and dry, dough-like pre-ferments, often called biga, as the technique is typical of Italian bread. Some bakers call a poolish a sponge; others use sponge to refer to all pre-ferments.
B. Make the Dough
Assemble Ingredients as listed above.
The storage jar with the rest of the starter is at the back right, ready to go back into the fridge for next time.
The easiest way is to whizz together refreshed starter, flour and water (but not the salt yet) in a food processor for 20 sec.
Alternatively mix them in a large bowl:
Ready to mix
Dough after mixing.
Should make a softish dough. The wetter the dough the bigger the holes in the final bread. Different flours need different amounts of water – add more water or flour to get the right consistency. You may need to add up to another ½ cup of flour so that it just stops being a batter and holds together as a dough. On the other hand if it is too stiff then add more water. Plenty of loose flour will stop it sticking too much.
If you are making the dough by hand then knead for 10 minutes by the clock.
Be rough with it. Lose your temper with it. Take out your frustrations on it. Slam it about. When it is properly kneaded it should feel resilient to the touch. It has been described as feeling like an earlobe, but I describe it like feeling a soft breast or buttock. You should be able to take a pinch of dough and stretch it so thin you can see through it – called the “windowpane test”.
When kneaded the dough will stretch without breaking
You cannot over-knead by hand. It is possible (but quite difficult) to over-knead if you are using a mixer or a food processor, as the dough can get too hot, and if worked too long and hard the gluten will begin to break down.
Finished Dough
Gather it together, and wipe a little oil over the surface to stop it sticking, cover it and leave it in a warm place for 30 mins.
Resting
This pause, before the salt is added, is for several reasons:
- It lets the enzymes do their stuff. They begin breaking down starches into sugars to feed the yeast to make a better crust colour. Salt tends to retard this reaction.
- It lets the dough (and you) rest and relax after the exertions of kneading.
- It allows the flour to complete its hydration, High levels of salt can interfere with this.
- It allows time for you to prepare your “banneton” to receive the finished dough. See Preparing Your Banneton below.
After 30 mins add the salt and whiz for another 20 sec, or knead for another 10 mins. Oil, cover, and leave for 2 hours or so in a warm (85F/29C) place. The exact time is not critical – anything from about 90 minutes to 3 hours will work. Temperature is more critical than time.
Rested Dough
The dough will have expanded a bit. Don’t worry about whether it has doubled or not. A lot of nonsense is written in some cookbooks, resulting in much overproved dough. The dough will also have got a bit softer and wetter.
Turn out onto a floured board.
Dusting the board with flour
Now handle gently - don't knock all the air out. The time for rough handling is over. Take the sides and fold to the centre.
Folding the dough
Folding the dough like this (you can also fold top to bottom as well) gently stretches the gluten and the bubbles forming in the bread. Dan Lepard's technique for his wonderful bread is to repeat this folding operation every hour for up to 5 hours during an extended bulk fermentation phase, resting the dough between times. When the dough is ready for shaping bubbles are clearly visible if you cut a small slit
in the top of the dough with a sharp knife.
Turn the dough over and shape into a ball. As you shape it try and stretch the surface a bit so it is taut.
Shaping the dough
Put it upside down (on its stretched, taut surface) into a cloth lined basket (called a banneton). The top of the dough in the banneton will be the bottom of the finished loaf.
Preparing Your Banneton
Traditionally, bannetons are made of cane or wicker, lined with linen, but you can improvise from a basin or a basket and a tea-towel or a piece of muslin. Ideally they are porous, so the outside dries slightly to help in crust development.
Dough in the banneton
Don’t worry if the top surface of the dough in the banneton is uneven: it will even itself out. Put into the fridge, covered with a cloth, overnight.
In the fridge
The dough is soft and needs the support of the basket. You could bake it after letting it rise for a hour or so, but its easier to handle, and gives a better crust if you keep it in the fridge (retardation) for between 8 and 24 hours. The cold will practically stop the fermentation, and so timing is not critical, and it gives you back control in that you can bake the dough when you want, rather than when the fermentation dictates.
I’m lucky enough to have a brick bread oven that has a brick floor that holds the heat. The shell of this one I imported from France, from a company called Four Grandmere. If you are inspired to build your own, Dan Wing’s and Tom Jaine’s books are given in the references
My oven
Inside the oven
You can approximate a similar environment in a domestic oven by putting a pizza stone or a layer of quarry tiles or engineering bricks on the lowest shelf to provide bottom heat.
You are aiming for 440F/230C or even 500F/260C, as hot as most domestic ovens can manage. Heat the oven at least an hour before you want to bake to allow time to stabilise, and for the heat to soak into the tiles or equivalent. (If you have a wood fired oven you will need to light the fire about four hours before baking.)
My oven heating up
If you have an oven thermometer, check the temperature of the oven. You are strongly advised to do this as oven thermostats are surprisingly inaccurate.
Thermometer
When ready to bake, take the dough out of the fridge. Some advise letting the dough return to room temperature --a couple of hours or so, but I find I it better and easier to cook these very soft doughs straight from the fridge. The cold dough is stiffer, handles easier and spreads less.
The dough from the fridge
Again, don’t worry that it does not seem to have expanded much. Most of the expansion will be in the oven (called oven-spring). This will result in a lighter and better-shaped loaf than if the expansion is from proofing when some of the gas may leak out.
When ready to bake, turn the dough out onto a baking sheet and remove the cloth. (For the wood fired oven we use a peel, lightly dusted with dry polenta meal so the dough does not stick.)
Slash the top firmly with a very sharp knife. Professional bakers use a razor blade on a stick, called a “lame”. Slash quickly and decisively – it is a slash not a cut. Don’t mess the dough about. Spray the knife blade with cooking spray to prevent it from tearing the dough.
The slashes allow the dough to rise in a defined way, and lessen the resistance to expansion by making weak points in the crust. In ancient times the pattern of slashes identified whose bread it was in the communal oven.
Here a slightly careless slash has caught the dough on one side, so the finished loaf will be a bit uneven and rustic.
Into the oven:
Just loaded:
20 minutes later, and halfway through the bake. Most of the expansion has happened. Our loaf is the one on the left.
The pattern on the rye bread on the front right is created by using a banneton made from coiled cane. No cloth is used in that sort of banneton. Bannetons can be obtained from any good baking supplier. The ones shown come from Four Grandmere and the San Francisco Baking Institute.
Bake for 35-40 minutes, or until it is a good colour. You might need to rotate it after 30 mins.
Let the bread cool to warm before you slice it. Hard to resist the temptation to slice into the loaf too soon, but it needs time to finish cooking and for the structure to firm up as it cools.
I like an open texture, as it gives more room for the butter. The crust is a little thick as the bread was slightly over baked.
That completes the basic bread lesson.
Variations on the basic recipe/technique
I’d advise practicing plain white bread before trying variations. When you get that right you can get fancier. You might not get it completely to your satisfaction the first time, but as you go on your baking will improve. There are infinite variations possible.
Crust Variations:
My brother prefers a flour dusted crust. These were the other loaves in the bake:
To get this effect, lightly dust the banneton and the top of the dough with flour before putting in the dough.
The legs in the top of the picture are my sister-in-law, painting the scene. I’m the one sitting down; my brother is loading the oven.
The dough is slashed in a feather pattern. To achieve this, make alternate slashes from each side of the loaf to just over halfway across. This pattern was tought to us by Ian Duffy, then of the San Fransisco Baking Institute.
This is a loaf with 25% rye flour.
For a shiny, thinner crust, put an empty pan in the bottom of the oven and pour a cup of boiling water into it after you have put the bread in the oven (be careful of the hot steam), and shut the door quickly. The idea is to provide a burst of steam, which gelatinises the outside of the dough. Professional ovens have steam injection for this purpose. Alternatively (but not as good) you can paint the bread with water before it goes in the oven, or use a garden sprayer. (Be careful not to get cold water on the oven light or it might shatter.) The baguettes below are made like this.
Other crust variations you can try:
Brush with milk or cream
Brush with egg glaze (egg yolk+milk)
Toppings (stick on with egg-wash or water):
Porridge oats (oatmeal)
Muesli
Poppy seeds
Sesame seeds
Grated cheese
Flavours and additions
Add with the salt, but you might want to chop them and then hand-knead them in – the food processor chops them a bit too fine
Onions (soften in butter first),
Hazelnuts, walnuts
Olives,
Sun-dried tomatoes (oil-packed?)
Caraway seeds
Dill weed
Raisins
Smarties or M&Ms
Seeds: Pumpkin, sunflower, sesame
Flour variants: I’d recommend replacing only 1/3-1/2 of the plain strong white flour with:
Wholemeal (whole wheat) (will not rise as much)
Granary (has added malt)
Rye flour (makes a sticky dough)
For dark rye add 1 Tbs black treacle (molasses). Some like caraway seeds as well.
Spelt (ancient wheat) (Poilane is reputed to use 1/5th Spelt. This was the example bread).
“Mighty White” (steamed, corned grains)
For a sweet bread: add sugar and butter with the fruit. Saffron for Easter.
Baguettes
Baguettes, that typical French loaf, are long thin loaves made with a soft, white dough. Because they are thin, they are baked at a higher temperature but for less time. The dough is delicate, and needs supporting continuously during proof and baking. You can get special pans for this. I’ve now thrown away my tin baguette pans (the ones in these pictures) and instead use a silpat baguette form (from www.demarle.com). You can just see it in the crust variation photo. Much easier and no sticking.
To Make Baguettes from the Finished Dough
Divide the dough into four, at the shaping stage:
Roll and stretch into long cylinders, tucking the end in neatly. Cover, put into a large plastic bag, like a dustbin liner so that they do not dry out too much, and put in the fridge overnight. Next day take them out, and slash the tops.
Put them in the hottest oven you can, and throw half a cup water into a pan or onto the oven floor. Beware of the hot steam!
Bake until golden, say 30 mins
Let cool on a rack. Enjoy with cheese and a glass of wine, or maybe some good soup.
References
Dan Lepard Baking with Passion - Dan Lepard - A great book. Website: www.danlepard.com.
Joe Ortiz The Village Baker ISBN 0-89815-489-8 wonderfully evocative.
Bread Builders. Hearth loaves and Masonry Ovens - Daniel Wing and Alan Scott. The definitive book on building and using brick bread ovens.
The Bread Baker's Apprentice - Peter Reinhart
Breads from the La Brea Bakery - Nancy Silverton
Elizabeth David English Bread and Yeast Cookery ISBN 0-14-046791 is, like all her books, masterly for its time.
Tom Jaine, Building a Wood Fired Oven for Bread and Pizza. Prospect Books ISBN 0907325
Web resources
www.danlepard.com
www.fourgrandmere.com (Click on the Union Jack to get the English version).
www.sfbi.com
www.demarle.com
www.sourdoughhome.com
http://samartha.net
www.sourdo.com
www.faqs.org SLKinsey is a contributor- a good resource.
Post your questions here -->> Q&A
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By Terrasanct
Hi all, haven't been here for years, not since about the time Bourdain was stuck in Lebanon. It's been a while. But I knew it was the best place to ask a food question. On a trip to Seattle a year or so ago, we stopped at the Starbucks reserve at the headquarters. They sell Princi baked goods. There were so many things I couldn't figure out what to get, so I got a big round loaf of bread and a package of three huge crackers. The crackers were just so good, and we've been getting them on every trip. Since the apocalypse and everything, no traveling and lots of baking. I ordered some overpriced semolina, thinking those huge crackers must be semolina based. The crackers I baked were very good, but not quite the quality I was hoping for.
So here are the things I could do differently--I only have regular olive oil right now, not extra virgin. That might make a difference in the richness. The recipe calls for half semolina, maybe a higher percentage would be better? I was able to roll out really thin, so that's not a problem.
If anyone is familiar with those crackers and how they are made, I'd appreciate it. Maybe I'll stick around this time.
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