My bedtime reading is typically gardening books or cookbooks. Both are bad ideas because gardening books make me think about my big gardening plans and I can't sleep. Cookbooks just make me hungry, and I can't sleep. So, I was reading The Modern Baker, skipping the parts about treats. For bread making, the author recommends mixing the ingredients, letting them rest for 10 minutes, then kneading. I had read that tidbit somewhere else specific to a recipe, which is why I tried it with my last batch of bread. I have to say that I think that's what made my last loaf of bread close to perfection. I fully endorse the method!
Tomorrow is bread baking day. I hope to confirm my prior findings.
19 January 2010
Day Old Dough
Sara and I made pizza for dinner on Saturday. I saved the half of the dough in the refrigerator to use another day. I read in the Big Sur Bakery cookbook that 1 or 2 day old dough is better than fresh. How so, I asked. So I thought I would try for myself.
I wrapped the dough in plastic and put it into the refrigerator. Believing that since it had risen, and the refrigeration would retard the yeast activity, I thought the plastic wrap was fine. When I went back into the refrigerator a few hours later, the dough had escaped it's confines! I tossed it into a plastic container, and hoped for the best.
We finally got to the dough THREE days later. It may not have been the freshest but it rolled out really well. Fresh dough is too elastic to roll. This dough rolled to the thinnest crust I have ever made! We made our usual half cheese, half whatever Mom wants. Sara noted that it would have been better with cornmeal on the crust. Oops. We saved a fourth of the dough for a chocolate dessert pizza. Sara loved it. It's a bit sweet for my tastes, but it was a great incentive to get through dinner and to get her excited about her lunch for tomorrow!
I wrapped the dough in plastic and put it into the refrigerator. Believing that since it had risen, and the refrigeration would retard the yeast activity, I thought the plastic wrap was fine. When I went back into the refrigerator a few hours later, the dough had escaped it's confines! I tossed it into a plastic container, and hoped for the best.
We finally got to the dough THREE days later. It may not have been the freshest but it rolled out really well. Fresh dough is too elastic to roll. This dough rolled to the thinnest crust I have ever made! We made our usual half cheese, half whatever Mom wants. Sara noted that it would have been better with cornmeal on the crust. Oops. We saved a fourth of the dough for a chocolate dessert pizza. Sara loved it. It's a bit sweet for my tastes, but it was a great incentive to get through dinner and to get her excited about her lunch for tomorrow!
17 January 2010
More bread sticks
I attempted another batch of bread. This time, I used the correct proporation of milk, and let the dough rest for about 10 minutes prior to kneading until smooth. The bread was terrific!
I made half of the dough into bread twists. I expanded the filling options. I used cocoa/sugar/almond powder filling, chocolate chips, nutella, peach jam, tomato sauce, and parmesan cheese. The big winners were the nutella, peach jam, and parmesan cheese. I added more cheese than the last batch, and sprinkled a bit on top before baking, which added more cheese flavor without obscuring the bread. The chocolate chip type just needs more chocolate, and maybe a sweeter bread.
More ideas for the next batch are dried fruit and nuts mixed into the dough, sweetened or flavored glazes before or after baking. The tomato sauce version may be more pizza like, with bacon twisted in and parmesan cheese on top.
I am looking forward to using the Rhubarb jam from the Big Sur Bakery Cookbook. I'm just waiting for the rhubarb in the garden . . .
11 January 2010
Daily Bread
I made my first loaf of bread yesterday. I read several cookbooks to see if I could glean technique. I selected a recipe from the Fanny Farmer cookbook and started. The recipe makes two loaves, and I decided to make a plain loaf and a cinnamon swirl loaf.
This experiment was about the process, although the results were key.
I was imagining the Zabar's chocolate babka and I decided to make a chocolate swirl bread by substituting cocoa powder and some almond meal for the cinnamon.
Sara thought it was the best bread she ever had, although she had to correct herself to cover the bread that daddy makes in the bread machine . . . Sara asked to have her lunch sandwich on the homemade bread.
Sara wanted to know why I didn't put pieces of the belgian chocolate bar in the bread. Good question.
Greg wanted to know why one loaf was finer than the other, and wouldn't bread flour make a better bread? Again, good question.
Keeping on with the experiment, I bought some bread flour and made another batch of bread, using honey as the sweetner. I didn't have a full cup of milk, so used more water than my recipe. Since some recipes don't call for milk at all, I thought this would be ok. This time, I made a plain loaf (for Greg's breakfast toast and Sara's lunch) and used the other half of the batch to make finger rolls. Instead of rolling the dough, I used the technique of making cylinder and slicing it into rounds. The rolls ended up being about 4 inches long and 1-1/2 inches in diameter. I made 3 plain rolls and 3 more sprinkled with Parmesan cheese for our dinner tonight. I made 4 with the sugar/cocoa mix and 4 with chocolate pieces. Sara and I shared one of each for after school treat. She liked the one with chocolate best.
For the next try with chocolate pieces, I may to try a sweeter dough - or just use the full quantity of milk, or try a sweet glaze or sugar sprinkle . . .
This experiment was about the process, although the results were key.
I was imagining the Zabar's chocolate babka and I decided to make a chocolate swirl bread by substituting cocoa powder and some almond meal for the cinnamon.
Sara thought it was the best bread she ever had, although she had to correct herself to cover the bread that daddy makes in the bread machine . . . Sara asked to have her lunch sandwich on the homemade bread.
Sara wanted to know why I didn't put pieces of the belgian chocolate bar in the bread. Good question.
Greg wanted to know why one loaf was finer than the other, and wouldn't bread flour make a better bread? Again, good question.
Keeping on with the experiment, I bought some bread flour and made another batch of bread, using honey as the sweetner. I didn't have a full cup of milk, so used more water than my recipe. Since some recipes don't call for milk at all, I thought this would be ok. This time, I made a plain loaf (for Greg's breakfast toast and Sara's lunch) and used the other half of the batch to make finger rolls. Instead of rolling the dough, I used the technique of making cylinder and slicing it into rounds. The rolls ended up being about 4 inches long and 1-1/2 inches in diameter. I made 3 plain rolls and 3 more sprinkled with Parmesan cheese for our dinner tonight. I made 4 with the sugar/cocoa mix and 4 with chocolate pieces. Sara and I shared one of each for after school treat. She liked the one with chocolate best.
For the next try with chocolate pieces, I may to try a sweeter dough - or just use the full quantity of milk, or try a sweet glaze or sugar sprinkle . . .
01 January 2010
Happy New Year!
We are spending this week at the cabin. We had guests and finally executed on the Christmas dinner plan - although the roast was covered with chopped garlic instead of pistachios. Everyone was quite happy with the results. For our New Years Dinner, we are again trying pizza without the stone and mixer. That means hand kneading (!) and cooking on parchment paper. Thank goodness this oven is much better than the home oven, so I anticipate excellent results. A great close to a day of playing in the snow!
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