Bread Baking Babes : Carrot Bread

Heather, the Bread Baking Babe of the month, found this great tasting orange bread for us to bake, she chose it because it was a bit challenging due to: hard to find ingredients and more steps than usual in preparation.

Our host adapted it from :Artisan Breads: Practical Recipes and Detailed Instructions for Baking the World's Finest Loaves . You can enjoy her post here.
The crust on the bread it's pure joy, the colour it's fantastic and the toasted seeds are addicting !!  Really loved it toasted and my mum even more....she finished it when she came for lunch !!

RECIPE

by Heather Schmitt-Gonzalez

Prep Time: 28 hours (mostly unattended)

Cook Time: 45 minutes

Keywords: bake bread vegan dairy-free soy-free carrots flour

Ingredients (3 loaves)

for the Poolish:

• 3/4 teaspoon active dry yeast
• 1 cup lukewarm water + more as needed
• 2-1/2 cups (13 ounces / 364 grams) stone ground rye flour

for the Dough:

• 1/3 cup toasted sesame seeds
• 3/4 cup toasted sunflower seeds
• 2-1/2 teaspoons active dry yeast
• 1 cup carrot juice, lukewarm
• 1-1/4 cups grated carrot
• 1/2 cup chopped parsley
• 6-6-1/2 cups (29.4-31.8 ounces / 823.2-890.4 grams) bread flour
• 2 tablespoons + 1 teaspoon golden syrup (or honey or maple syrup)
• 1/4 cup sunflower oil
• 4 teaspoons sea salt

for the Crackle Glaze:

• 1 teaspoon active dry yeast
• 3/4 cup + 2 tablespoons lukewarm water
• 3/4 cup + 1-1/4 tablespoons (4.7 ounce / 131.6 gram) rice flour
• 2 teaspoons sugar
• 1-3/4 teaspoons sunflower oil
• 3/4 teaspoons sea salt

Instructions

Day 1: Make the Poolish

Dissolve the yeast in the water, and let sit a few minutes to bloom. Whisk in the flour until smooth - if it is very thick, continue whisking in more water until it is the consistency of a thick batter. Cover with plastic wrap and let sit at room temperature for 24 hours; at this point it should be a bit bubbly.

Day 2: Baking Day

In a large bowl (or bowl of a stand mixer fitted with dough hook attachment), dissolve the yeast in the carrot juice, let sit a few minutes until it looks creamy (bloomed). Add the grated carrot, parsley, the lesser amount of bread flour, golden syrup, and the poolish to the bowl. Knead on low speed for 3 minutes. If the dough doesn't seem too sticky, then don't add any more of the flour; it will firm up as it is kneaded (plus you have more to add to it).

Add the oil to the bowl and knead for another 8 minutes. Add the salt, increase the speed, and knead until elastic, about 7 more minutes. At this point, the dough will not be sticky any longer. Use the extra flour, a tiny bit at a time, to remedy the dough if it is. Add the toasted seeds, and gently mix in.

Place the dough into a large, lightly oiled bowl or container and cover. Let sit for 60-90 minutes, *knocking the dough back halfway through. To knock the dough back, remove it from the bowl and set it on a work surface. Use your hands to knock the air out of it. Fold the edges towards the center to form a cushion. Replace in the container, seam side down.

make the Crackling Glaze:

While the dough is rising, dissolve the yeast in the water in a medium bowl. Whisk in the remaining ingredients. It should be spreadable, but not runny. Cover with plastic wrap and allow to sit for at least 30 minutes before using.

shaping and baking:

Turn the dough out onto a lighty floured work surface and divide into 3 equal parts (approximately 78 ounces of dough to equal three 26 ounce portions).

Form the portions into three round balls, and cover them with a clean tea towel. Let rest for 10 minutes.

Shape each circle of dough into an oblong loaf, by gently pressing ball down into a circle and then tucking/rolling into shape. Set loaves, seam side down, onto a lightly floured bread peel or thin cutting board. Glaze the loaves generously with the crackling glaze (you'll have a lot of leftover glaze), and leave to rise at room temperature for 60-75 minutes, or until the dough has doubled in size and the the surface is crackled.

Place a baking stone into the oven, and preheat to 475° F during last 20 minutes or so of rise time.

Slide the loaves onto the stone (let them rise directly on a baking sheet or two if you don't have a stone - slide that into preheated oven) and spray generously with water. Close oven door. Lower the temperature to 400° F after 5 minutes. After another 10 minutes, open the oven door to let in a little air. Repeat two more times (every 10 minutes). Total baking time will be 45 minutes.

Remove bread from oven and cool on a wire rack.

Bread Baking Day # 58 Apple, Mixed Flakes and More Bread

This Month Cinzia of Cindystar is the Host of Bread Baking Day the event created by Zorra.

The theme chosen is Breads with seeds and flakes, and what's more delicious then finding flakes and seeds in your bread ? I still remember the first time I had real german Bread with sunflower seeds : how delicious !

In the late months before, during, and after moving I didn't have access to my loved cookbooks so I almost always used the Millers Loaf recipe from Bourke Street Bakery . This is a recipe that allows to many variations that follow in the next pages of the book and in this case the Apple and Oat Loaf adding raisins and a few seeds.

Since I got this book I almost only used its sourdough recipes but it's filled with many different recipesI should try...

Apple and Oat Loaf

From Bourke Street Bakery

(makes 2 loaves)

70 g organic rolled oats

40 ml water

715 g sourdough dough (see later)

185 g apples, peeled, cored and cut into 2-3 cm pieces

80 g raisins

100 g mixed seeds

Method

Put the oats in a bowl and cover with water. Leave to saok for five minutes, cover with plastic wrap and refrigarate if not using right away.

After you reach the windowpane test mix in the oats and the apples until combined. Lightly grease a container and sit the dough inside. Cover with plastic wrap and st asid about an hour to bulk prove.

to knock back the dough, turn it on a floured surface  and press out into a rectangle, about 2.5cm thick. Fold one-third back onto itself, then repeat with the remaining third  can remember . Turn the dough 90 degrees and fold it over again into thirds. Place the dough back into the oiled container and prove again for another hour.

Divide the dough into two even-sized portions, weighing about 500g each. Working with one portion of dough at a time, shape the loaves into rounds.

Line a large baking sheet with baking paper and place the dough rounds, evenly-spaced, on it. Place in the refrigerator loosely covered with a plastic bag for 8-12 hours. 

Remove the loaves from the refrigerator and let them come to room temperature - this can take anywhere between 1 and 4 hours - until each loaf has grown in size by two-thirds.Preheat the oven to its highest temperature. Spray the oven with water and bake the loaves for 20 minutes, then turn the loaves and bake for a further 10 minutes, watching carefully to make sure that the loaves do not burn. Baking shouldn't take any longer than 40 minutes. If the oven temperature is too fierce, turn the heat down a bit.

Millers Loaf

from Bourke Street Bakery

(makes 1,5 kg so if you only want to bake the apple and oat loaf above , halve the recipe)

390g sourdough starter
440g organic plain flour
145g organic wholemeal flour
145g organic rye flour
360ml water
20g sea salt

In the bowl of an electric mixer with the dough hook attached, add the plain flour, wholemeal flour, rye flour and the water. Mix on low speed for about 7 minutes. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and set aside for 20 minutes.

Sprinkle the salt over the dough and mix on low speed for about 6 minutes, or until a smooth elastic dough forms, and you reach the windowpane test.

Lightly grease a container with oil spray and put the dough inside. Cover with plastic wrap and set aside at room temperature for 1 hour to prove.

Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface and press out into a rectangle, about 2.5cm thick. Fold one-third back onto itself, then repeat with the remaining third. Turn the dough 90 degrees and fold it over again into thirds. Place the dough back into the oiled container and prove again for another hour. 
Divide the dough into three even-sized portions, weighing about 500g each. Working with one protion of dough at a time, shape the loaves into rounds.

Line a large baking sheet with baking paper and place the dough rounds, evenly-spaced, on it. Place in the refrigerator loosely covered with a plastic bag for 8-12 hours. The cold and long fermentation in the fridge is for flavour development and volume.

Remove the loaves from the refrigerator and let them come to room temperature - this can take anywhere between 1 and 4 hours - until each loaf has grown in size by two-thirds.

Preheat the oven to its highest temperature. Spray the oven with water and bake the loaves for 20 minutes, then turn the loaves and bake for a further 10 minutes, watching carefully to make sure that the loaves do not burn. Baking shouldn't take any longer than 40 minutes. If the oven temperature is too fierce, turn the heat down a bit.

The Bread Baking Buddies : Pane Bianco

This lovely loaves are baked thanks to the Bread Baking Babe Natashya who chose their recipe as the recipe of the month.
Actually this is not any recipe: it's the winner of the National Festival of Breads so you can imagine how good it is.

The great part of this is that the bread is quite easy to put together and beautiful (please visit Natashya for beauty).
The changes I made to the recipe are a few: I used sourdough (one third of the total amount of flour) I used soy milk instead of milk and flaxseed flour instead of eggs.
For the fillings I used dried tomatoes and pesto in the one below and tomato sauce, pesto, dried tomatoes and capers in the one above.

Tomato, Basil, & Garlic Filled Pane Bianco

King Arthur Flour website
The winning recipe from the first-ever National Festival of Breads, this white bread filled with fresh basil, sun-dried tomatoes, garlic powder, and shredded cheese has a wonderful soft texture and is packed with flavor. The unique shape is simple to achieve and makes an impressive presentation. Congratulations and thanks to Dianna Wara of Washington, Illinois, for creating this recipe — it's a winner, for sure!

Ingredients by volume: 
* 1/2 cup warm water
* 1/4 cup sugar
* 4 teaspoons instant yeast
* 1 cup warm low-fat milk
* 1/3 cup extra-virgin olive oil
* 2 large eggs
* 2 teaspoons salt
* 6 cups King Arthur Unbleached Bread Flour
* 1 (8 1/2-ounce) jar oil-packed sun-dried tomatoes
* 3/4 teaspoon granulated garlic or garlic powder
* 1 1/2 cups shredded Italian blend cheese, divided
* 2/3 cup chopped fresh basil

 Ingredients by weight: 

* 4 ounces warm water
* 1 3/4 ounces sugar
* 4 teaspoons instant yeast
* 8 ounces warm low-fat milk
* 2 3/8 ounces extra-virgin olive oil
* 2 large eggs
* 2 teaspoons salt
* 25 1/2 ounces King Arthur Unbleached Bread Flour
* 1 (8 1/2-ounce) jar oil-packed sun-dried tomatoes
* 3/4 teaspoon granulated garlic or garlic powder
* 6 ounces shredded Italian blend cheese, divided
* 1/2 ounce chopped fresh basil

Metric
    113g warm water
    50g sugar
    4 teaspoons instant yeast
    227g warm low-fat milk
    67g extra-virgin olive oil
    2 large eggs
    2 teaspoons salt
    723g King Arthur Unbleached Bread Flour
    1 (241g) jar oil-packed sun-dried tomatoes
    3/4 teaspoon granulated garlic or garlic powder
    170g shredded Italian blend cheese, divided
    14g chopped fresh basil

Directions

1) Combine the water, sugar, yeast, milk, olive oil, eggs, salt, and flour, and mix and knead by hand, stand mixer, or bread machine until you've made a cohesive, soft dough. If you're kneading in a stand mixer, it should take 5 to 7 minutes at second speed, and the dough should barely clean the sides of the bowl, perhaps sticking a bit at the bottom. In a bread machine (or by hand), it should form a smooth ball. Place the dough in a greased bowl, and turn to grease the top. Cover and let rise in a warm place until double, about 45 minutes.

2) Meanwhile, thoroughly drain the sun-dried tomatoes; lay them on a paper towel to absorb any excess oil. Using kitchen shears, finely chop the tomatoes.

3) Line two baking sheets with parchment. Gently deflate the dough and divide it in half. Roll one piece into a 22" x 8 1/2" rectangle. Sprinkle on half the garlic, cheese, basil, and tomatoes.

4) Starting with one long edge, roll the dough into a log the long way. Pinch the edges to seal.

5) Place the log seam-side down on a baking sheet. Using kitchen shears, start 1/2" from one end and cut the log lengthwise down the center about 1" deep, to within 1/2" of the other end.

6) Keeping the cut side up, form an "S" shape. Tuck both ends under the center of the "S" to form a "figure 8"; pinch the ends together to seal. Cover and let rise in a warm place until double, 45 to 60 minutes. Repeat with the remaining dough.

7) While the loaves are rising, preheat the oven to 350°F.

8) Bake the first loaf for 35 to 40 minutes. Tent the loaf with foil after 15 to 20 minutes to prevent over-browning. Bake the remaining loaf.

9) Remove loaves from their pans; cook on racks. Store any leftovers well-wrapped, at room temperature.

Yield: 2 loaves.

Bread Baking Buddies : Dan Lepard Garlic Bread

I know that some of you get scared when they read garlic, some are even allergic to it BUT this bread is magic : it is so wonderful you would want to live only on it forever !

It's a recipe from Dan Lepard chosen by the great Garlic Ambassador Natashya for the Bread Baking Babes and I really urge you to try it, you won't regret it for a second.

I made it almost as soon as it was posted because I had some garlic confit hanging around, but you know what ? I'm going to prepare some garlic and bake it again today !

Dan's Garlic Bread
reprinted with permission from Dan Lepard
Exceptional Breads, by Dan Lepard
Dan has reworked the recipe to include a longer rise, less yeast, and less sugar.

for the pre-ferment
200ml water, at about 35C - 38C (95F - 101F)
1 tsp fast acting yeast
200g strong white bakers flour

for the dough
225ml water at 20C (68F)
325g strong white bakers flour
10g sea salt
75ml extra virgin olive oil

for the garlic filling
3 heads garlic, separated
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
50ml water
1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
2 tablespoons caster sugar
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
1 spring fresh rosemary, leaves picked and chopped

for the pre-ferment

To easily get the temperature of the water roughly correct measure 100ml of boiling water and add 200ml cold water, then measure the amount you need from this. Stir in the yeast then, when dissolved, stir in the flour until evenly combined.

Leave the mixture covered at about 20C - 22C (warmish room temperature) for 2 hours, stirring the ferment once after an hour to bring the yeast in contact with new starch to ferment.

for the garlic filling

Break the heads of garlic into cloves and place in a saucepan, cover with boiling water from the kettle and simmer for 3 - 4 minutes.

Then strain the garlic from the water, cover the cloves with cold water to cool then peel the slivery skin from the garlic. It's surprising how few cloves you get after peeling so don't be alarmed if "3 heads of garlic" sound like way too much.

Heat the olive oil in a frying pan then place the add the cloves to it and cook until they are lightly brown (not burnt) on the outside. If you burn the garlic the flavour is nasty and you will have to start again, or serve it to your friends with a straight face, so watch them carefully.

Measure the balsamic and the water then add this to the pan with the sugar, salt, pepper and rosemary. Simmer for 5 minutes until the liquid has reduced to a thick caramel.

Scrape into a bowl and leave to cool. The garlic cloves should be tender when pierced with a knife.

back to the dough:

After 2 hours the pre-ferment should have doubled and look bubbly on the surface. Measure the water into a bowl and tip the pre-ferment into it. Break it up with your fingers until only small thread-like bits remain (this is the elastic gluten you can feel in your fingers)

Add the flour and salt then stir the mixture together with your hands. It will feel very sticky and elastic. Scrape any remaining dough from your hands, cover the bowl and leave for 10 minutes so that the flour has time to absorb moisture before being kneaded. Be sure to scrape around the bowl to make sure all of the flour is incorporated into the dough.

Pour 2 tbsp olive oil onto the surface of the dough and smooth it over the surface with your hands. Now rub a little oil on your hands and start to tuck your fingers down the side of the dough, then pull the dough upward stretching it out.

Rotate the bowl as you do this, so that all of the dough gets pulled and stretched. You'll find that the dough starts to feel and look smoother. Leave the dough in a ball, cover and leave for 10 minutes.

Repeat the pulling and stretching of the dough, for no more than about 10 - 12 seconds. You may find that an oiling piece of dough breaks through the upper surface. This isn't a bad thing, but it is a sing to stop working the dough. Cover the bowl again and leave for a further 10 minutes.

This time oil a piece of the worksurface about 30 cm in diameter. Oil your hands, pick the dough out of the bowl, place it on the oiled surface and knead it gently for 10 - 15 seconds. Return the dough to the bowl, cover and leave for 30 minutes.

Uncover the dough, oil the worksurface once more and flip the dough out onto it.

Stretch the dough out into a rectangle, then fold the right hand side in by a third.

Then fold the in by thirds again so that your left with a square dough parcel. Place this back in the bowl, cover and leave for 30 minutes.

Lightly oil the worksurface again and stretch the dough out to cover an area roughly 30cm x 20cm. Dot the garlic over the 2/3rds of the surface and then fold the bare piece of dough over a third of the garlic-covered dough.

Then roll this fold of dough over so that the remaining garlic-covered piece is covered by dough. Then fold this piece of dough in by a third...then in by a third again. Finally place the folded dough back in the bowl, cover and leave for 30 minutes.

Wipe the oil off the worksurface and lightly dust it with flour. Pin the dough out again as above and fold it in by thirds each way. Replace it in the bowl, cover and leave for a further 30 minutes.

Pin the dough out again fold it in by thirds each way again as shown. Leave the dough for 10 minutes while you prepare the tray the bread will rise on.

Cover a large dinner tray with a tea-towel. Lightly dust it with white flour, then cut the dough into thirds with a serrated knife.

Place the dough cut side upward on the tray then pinch the fabric between each so that they stay separated.

Cover and leave for 45 minutes while you heat the oven to 200C (same for fan assisted)/390F/gas mark 5-6. I put a large unglazed terracotta tile in the oven and shovel the dough directly onto it with the back of a small cookie tray. It gives a much better finish and perhaps the bread is slightly crisper, but the bread will still be good placed on a tray just before baking. I also put a small tray of water in the bottom of the oven so that the heat is a little moist, which will help the bread to rise and colour.

Lightly dust the back of a cookie tray (if you have a stone in the oven) or the surface of a baking tray with semolina or flour. Carefully pick the dough up off the cloth, scooping it in from end to end with your finger then quickly lift it clear of the cloth and onto the tray.

Either shovel the dough onto the hot stone, or place the baking tray in the oven, shut the door quickly and bake for 20 - 30 minutes until the loaves are a good rich golden brown

Bread Baking Day # 88 : No Knead Bread - Sourdough Mixed Flours No Knead Bread

In italiano a seguire

This month the Bread Baking Day, an event created by Zorra, is hosted by the lovely Italian Blogger Cinzia of Cindystar.

The theme Cinzia chose is No-Knead breads and I'm really curious of all the wonderful breads that will be baked with this tecnique.

I'm a fan of sourdough so I made a No Knead with it and with different flours ( whole wheat, rye, durum wheat and all purpose) I must say I loved the result , but I would love to try again and again !

Please visit Cinzia to get more ideas.

Recipe

1 cup sourdough (mine is a 50 %)

3 cups flour ( I did a mix and match of what I had on hand)

1 1/2 cups water

1 1/2 salt

I briefly mixed all the ingredients and left them raise at 70 F for around 8 hours.

I turned on a very floured counter and gave it a business letter fold.

I covered with a floured towel and let rise until doubled.

I put it in a very hot oven in a very hot dutch pan covered.

I baked for about 30 minutes.

I uncovered and baked until it reached 200 F.

Questo mese il Bread Baking Day, un evento mensile creato da Zorra, è ospitato dalla fantastica Cinzia di Cindystar.

il tema che Cinzia ha scelto è il pane senza impasto ( No-Knead ) sono veramente curiosa di vedere tutte le possibiletà che ci sono con questo metodo, che è veloce e produce un pane veramente notevole.

Io amo molto il mio lievito madre, così l'ho usato anche per questo tipo di impasto. Avevo un po' di farine miste ( integrale, segale, semola rimacinata e 00). Il pane è venuto veramente fantastico ogni volta che apro la pentola (io ne uso una di ghisa)questo pane mi stupisce !

Visitate Cinzia per saperne molto di più.

RICETTA

1 tazza di lievito madre (il mio è al 50 %)

3 tazze di farina ( come dicevo integrale, di segale, semola rimacinata e 00)

1 1/2 tazze d'acqua

1 1/2 cucchiaini di sale

Ho mescolato velocemente gli ingredienti e li ho lasciati lievitare per circa otto ore.

Ho rovesciato l'impasto su un piano infarinato e ho dato le pieghe.

L'ho coperto con un canovaccio infarinato e l'ho lasciato lievitare fino al raddoppio.

Ho scaldato forno e pentola con coperchio al massimo.

Ho messo il pane nella pentola con la chiusura in alto e l'ho cotto per circa 30 minuti.

Ho tolto il coperchi e ho proseguito la cottura fino a che all'interno non raggiungeva i 200° F.

Bread Baking Buddies : Rewena paraoa (Maori bread)

This month we travel a long way with Lien our Bread Baking Babe Host : New Zealand !

She found this very interesting Maori bread that uses fermented potatoes as leavening.

You will see in the round-up how beautifully other bakers have decorated their bread ...I went for a simple NZ slashing !

Please visit Lien for more informations !

RECIPE

Rewena
100 g potato, peeled and thinly sliced
165 ml water
extra water
165 g strong bread flour
1 tsp liquid honey

Dough
400 g strong bread flour
1 tsp salt
20 g liquid honey
1/4 tsp instant active dried yeast
1 1/2 tablespoons fresh rosemary leaves, roughly chopped
150 ml water
330 g rewena, as above
additional flour, for dusting
4— 5 ice cubes, for creating steam in the oven

To prepare the rewena, place the potato and water into a saucepan and then boil until the potato is soft, leave the lid off. Mash the cooked potato in the water and add extra water until you have 250 g in total. Put into a bowl and cool until lukewarm. If the mashed potatoes are too hot, it will cook the starch in the flour. Mix in the flour and honey to make a soft dough. Cover with plastic wrap and set in a warm place until the dough ferments. After one day you'll see a few bubbles on the surface, after two days a lot. You can use it after two days or up to three, if you'll leave it longer it'll be over its strongest point.

To make the dough, put all the ingredients into a large mixing bowl and, using a wooden spoon, combine to form a soft dough mass. (You may need to adjust with a little more flour or water.) Knead the dough in the spiral mixer for 8 -10 minutes (starting on speed 1 or 2, halfway on speed 3) until the dough (almost) clears the sides and the dough is smooth and elastic.

Place the dough into a lightly oiled large bowl, cover with plastic wrap and leave in a warm place. Once the dough has almost doubled in size (this will take approximately 1 hour), tip the dough onto the bench dusted with flour and gently knock it back by folding it onto itself three to four times. Return the dough to the lightly oiled bowl, cover with plastic wrap and leave for a further 30 minutes in a warm place.

Fold the dough to form a large rectangle. This doesn't need to be exact, just as long as it's tight and compact. Place on a baking tray lined with non-stick baking paper and cover with plastic wrap. Allow to prove for approximately 60-120 minutes, depending on room temperature.

(optional) Cut a silver fern-leaf or Maori moko design stencil out of stiff paper. Remove the plastic wrap from the dough and place the stencil on the dough's surface (I sprayed the stencil with pan coating, otherwise it would have got stuck on the dough), then with a fine sieve filled with a little (white rye) flour, lightly dust flour over the stencil so you are left with a pattern on the loaf. Carefully remove the stencil. Using a sharp knife or razor blade, cut around the edge of stencilled pattern.

Preheat the oven to 220ºC with a baking tray or baking stone inside (the stone should really be hot!) and a small ovenproof dish on the bottom shelf. Place the loaf in the oven and quickly throw 4-5 ice cubes into the small ovenproof dish and close the oven door.

Bake for 10 minutes and then turn the tray around, reduce the oven temperature to 200°C and bake for a further 20-25 minutes, or until the crust is a dark golden brown and the bottom sounds hollow when tapped. Remove from the oven and place on a cooling rack.

(adapted from: “Global Baker” – Dean Brettschneider)

Sourdough Baking Wednesday: Italian Bread with Hazelnuts

Since I baked this bread the first time I made it lots of times using sourdough instead of biga, halving the recipe, ad using my bread machine for mixing and after waiting for some time, baking it.

I find this recipe fantastic, the bread is soft as my children like it and it uses lots of my sourdough that I always try not to waste.

This time I had 100 gr of ricotta hanging around and some toasted hazelnuts so I added them to the recipe, adding a little more flour.

RECIPE

Biga
Source: Peter Reinhart, The Bread Baker's Apprentice Page 107

Makes about 18 ounces

Ingredients
2 1/2 cups (11.25 ounces) unbleached bread flour
1/2 teaspoon (.055 ounces) instant yeast
3/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons to 1 cup (7-8 ounces) water, at room temperature

Directions
1. Stir together the flour and yeast in a 4-quart bowl (or in the bowl of an electric mixer). Add 3/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons of the water, stirring until everything comes together and makes a coarse ball (or mix on low speed for 1 minute with the paddle attachment). Adjust the flour or water, according to need, so that the dough is neither too sticky nor too stiff. (It is better to err on the sticky side, as you can adjust easier during kneading. It is harder to add water once the dough firms up.)
2. Sprinkle some flour on the counter and transfer the dough to the counter. Knead for 4 to 6 minutes (or mix on medium speed with the dough hook for 4 minutes), or until the dough is soft and pliable, tacky but not sticky. The internal temperature should be 77 to 80 degrees F.
3. Lightly oil a bowl and transfer the dough to the bowl, rolling it around to coat it with oil. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and ferment at room temperature for 2 to 4 hours, or until it nearly doubles in size.
4. Remove the dough from the bowl, knead it lightly to degas, and return it to the bowl, covering the bowl with plastic wrap. Place the bowl in the refrigerator overnight. You can keep this in the refrigerator for up to 3 days, or freeze it in an airtight plastic bag for up to 3 months.

Italian Bread
Source: Peter Reinhart, The Bread Baker's Apprentice Page 172-173

Days to make: 2
Day 1: 3 to 4 hours biga
Day 2: 1 hour to dechill biga; 12-15 minutes mixing; 3 1/2 hours fermentation, shaping, and proofing; 20-30 minutes baking

Makes two 1 pound loaves or 9 torpedo (hoagie) rolls

Ingredients
3 1/2 cups (18 ounces) biga (recipe above)
2 1/2 cups (11.25 ounces) unbleached bread flour
1 2/3 teaspoons (.41 ounces) salt
1 tablespoon (.5 ounce) sugar
1 teaspoon (.11 ounce) instant yeast
1 teaspoon (.17 ounce) diastatic barley malt powder (optional)
1 tablespoon (.5 ounce) olive oil, vegetable oil, or shortening
3/4 cup to 3/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons (7 to 8 ounces) water (or milk if making torpedo rolls), lukewarm (90 to 100 F)
Semolina flour or cornmeal for dusting

Directions
1. Remove the biga from the refrigerator 1 hour before making the dough. Cut it into about 10 small pieces with a pastry scraper or serrated knife. Cover with a towel or plastic wrap and let it sit for 1 hour to take off the chill.

2. Stir together the flour, salt, sugar, yeast and malt powder in a 4 quart bowl (or in the bowl of an electric mixer). Add the biga pieces, olive oil, and 3/4 cup water and stir together (or mix on low speed with the paddle attachment) until a ball forms, adjusting the water or flour according to need. The dough should be slightly sticky and soft, but not batter like or very sticky. If the dough feels tough and stiff, add more water to soften (it is better to have the dough too soft than too stiff at this point).

3. Sprinkle flour on the counter, transfer the dough to the counter, and begin kneading (or mixing on medium speed with the dough hook). Knead (or mix) for about 10 minutes, adding flour as needed, until the dough is tacky, but not sticky, and supple. The dough should pass the windowpane test and register 77-81 F. Lightly oil a large bowl and transfer the dough to the bowl, rolling it to coat it with the oil. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap.

4. Ferment at room temperature for approximately 2 hours, or until the dough doubles in size.

5. Gently divide the dough into 2 equal pieces of about 18 ounces each, or into 9 pieces of about 4 ounces each (for torpedo rolls). Carefully form the pieces into batards, or rolls, degassing the dough as little possible. Lightly dust with a sprinkle of flour, cover with a towel or plastic wrap, and let rest 5 minutes. Then complete the shaping, extending the loaves to about 12 inches in length or shaping the torpedo rolls. Line a sheet pan with baking parchment and dust with semolina flour or cornmeal. Place the loaves on the pan and lightly mist with spray oil. Cover loosely with plastic wrap.

6. Proof at room temperature for about 1 hour, or until the loaves or rolls have grown to about 1 1/2 times their original size.

7. Prepare the oven for hearth baking, making sure to have an empty steam pan in place. Preheat the oven to 500 F. Score the breads with 2 parallel, diagonal slashes or 1 long slash.

8. Rolls can be baked directly on the sheet pan. For loaves, generously dust a peel or the back of a sheet pan with semolina flour or cornmeal and very gently transfer the loaves to the peel or pan. Transfer the dough to the baking stone (or bake on the sheet pan). Pour 1 cup hot water into the steam pan and close the door. Repeat once more after another 30 seconds. After the final spray, lover the oven setting to 450F and bake until done, rotating 180 degrees in necessary, for even baking. It should take about 20 minutes for the loaves and 15 minutes for the rolls. The loaves and rolls should be golden brown and register at least 200F at the center.

9. Transfer the rolls or loaves to a cooling rack and cool for at least 1 hour before slicing or serving.

Mando questa ricetta a Zucchero & Canella per i suoi mercoledì.

Questo pane viene benissimo nella macchina del pane, faccio fare l'impasto poi aspetto un po' a seconda della temperatura e cuocio sempre nella macchina del pane.

Io sostituisco alla biga la pasta madre e dimezzo la ricetta, in questo caso ci ho anche aggiunto un etto di ricotta e un etto di nocciole tostate aggiungendo un po' di farina se serve.

Mellow Bakers : Challah

Lately I'm always late for everything so when I read this recipe I thought it could be a good idea to prepare it for breakfast even if it was already 6 pm.

It was so good I had to hurry up taking a poor picture of it before it was gone !!

I divided the recipe in thirds (using a single whole egg) and made just one single (I was sleepy..) braid.

Challah

(Jeffrey Hamelman's Bread)

1 lb, 5.4 oz bread flour (67%)
10.6 oz high-gluten flour (33%)
1.8 oz sugar (5.5%)
2.4 oz egg yolks (7.5%)4
4.5 oz whole eggs (14%) 2
2.4 oz vegetable oil (7.5%)
10.2 oz water (32%)
0.6 oz salt (1.9%)
0.26 oz instant yeast (0.8%)

Mix all the ingredients in your stand mixer with a dough hook on low for 3 minutes. Then on medium for 3 minutes. Then knead by hand until you have a soft, smooth, stiff dough.

Let rest one hour, covered.

De-gas and put in a covered bowl in the fridge for the night.

The next day - divide the dough into 3, form into balls and let sit, covered, for 10 minutes.
Each ball will be a loaf, divide and shape into as many strands as you like for braiding. I did two different types of 6-strand braids.

Enjoy this recipe and visit Roz at la bella vita for many interesting and various ideas !

World Bread Day 2010 : Ciambelle al Mosto di Marino

Few days ago while I was thinking about the World Bread Day I spoke with my friend Cinzia and she told me she was trying to reproduce the typical Ciambelle al mosto di Marino, a little town near Rome famous for its wine, that are made during the grape harvest using must.

I searched my books and the net and found a nice recipe on Gennarino an Italian recipes website, if you desire here is the original recipe. Cinzia is always changing the given recipes as a pose to me so here is my Stick to the recipe version.

The ciambelle are really simple as old fashion cooking is : no butter, milk or much else not even olive oil. A very simple bread dough made with must and sweetened with sugar, raisins and anise seeds.

RECIPE

(from Gennarino by tuCoque)

Bread Flour 250 gr
All Purpose Flour 250 gr
Must 250 ml
Yeast 4 gr
Sourdough 120 gr
Sugar 150 gr
Raisins 70 gr
Eggs 2 n°
Anise seeds 4 TBS
Confectioners Sugar 2 TBS
Salt 1 pinch

If you do not have must but have two bunch of grapes smash (!) them with your hands and let them ferment for a couple of days covered with a clean cloth. When you see it bubbling strain it and cook it for 15 minutes on a low flame.

Use a sourdough refreshed two hours before.
Activate dry yeast dissolving it in 40 grams of warm water (26 °). After some minutes, add two teaspoons of sugar and 50 grams of bread flour and let rise for a quarter of an hour.

In a bowl of an electric mixer, pour the must, the yeast, the sourdough, and the remaining bread flour (200 grams). Mix on low speed until it comes together then for about 4 minutes at medium speed, cover and let rise for fifteen minutes, then turn on the mixer for a few seconds and cover again do this three more times.

Meanwhile, soak the raisins in a little liquor and water.
Beat eggs with sugar, add a pinch of salt and aniseed.

At the end of the first rising, add all other ingredients, including remaining flour. Knead until the dough is smooth. Finally add the drained raisins .

If you have time and desire, refrigerate for 12 hours. Otherwise you may let rise at room temperature.

When the dough has doubled, cut from it pieces weighing 100 grams each. With floured hands, form each piece quickly in a tight ball, then drill it with a finger, and gently enlarge the hole without tearing. Place the buns on baking sheet. Cover with plastic wrap and let double in volume.

Meanwhile turn the oven to 180 degrees. Bake the buns for about 12 minutes (even less, depending on the oven). When still warm brush with a thick syrup made with icing sugar and very little must.

Few days ago I went to Amalfi and even if the wheather wasn't the best Costiera Amalfitana is always a great place to visit !

I went there for an estimate on a very precious piece which is kept in Amalfi's Museo del Duomo( in this link there is another picture of the mitre) .

Even from my photo you can see how beautiful this Mitre is !

Mellow Bakers : Roasted Potatoes Bread

This is my try with this recipe made subsituting sourdough for the preferment, my dough overriped so it is not the best looking bread but I loved it anyway !

Roasted Potato Bread
adapted from Jeffrey Hamelman's Bread

Pre-ferment - the night before
9.6 oz bread flour
6.2 oz water (left out overnight)
1 tsp fine sea salt
1/8 tsp instant yeast

Final dough
1 lb, 1.6 oz bread flour
4.8 oz whole wheat flour
13.3 oz water (left out overnight)
1 Tbsp fine sea salt
1¼ tsp instant dry yeast
Potatoes, roasted, cooled, and diced small (Yukon gold are best)
Pre-ferment (all)

Combine the preferment ingredients in a medium sized bowl. Cover and let sit at room temperature for 14-16 hours.

The next day, mix all of the ingredients, except for the pre-ferment, in a stand mixer on low. After 3 minutes, start adding the pre-ferment in small chunks. Correct the hydration by adding small amounts of water or flour if necessary. I needed extra flour. The dough should be slightly stiff.
Mix on second speed for 3-4 minutes.

Let rise 1.5 hours. Fold dough after 45 minutes.

Divide into two and make rounds out of each half. Let sit 10-20 minutes.

Create loaf shapes or fendu (pressing deeply into the rolling pin to bisect it) and let rise in floured bannetons (good side down) or on the counter, covered, for 1.5 hours.

Bake in a preheated oven at 450°F for about 40 minutes. Until the bread has darkened and cooked through. Let cool on racks.

Per i Sourdough Baking Wednesday di Zucchero & Cannella ho un ottimo pane con patate al forno, nella ricetta originale c'era un abiga che io ho sostituito con la pasta madre.