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Tag Archives: whole wheat flour


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Red Pepper Coques ~ BBB

Red Pepper Coques

Red Pepper Coques

Feta makes it dinner!

Yes it may be pizza like in vision but this is crunchy very unlike a pizza crust.  Like pizza it comes from the Mediterranean but from Spain.
So it’s different than pizza altogether but then it’s decidedly just as enthralling in flavor and interest.
It’s simple to mix, the only special thing is an overnight in the fridge and that’s easy.
This fits in my favorite category of mix it days ahead of time and put it together like a magic trick for company.  That’s what I did with half the dough, I made this for a big family dinner.  “The Littles” (two girls under 10) said that was really good bread … but then so did all the adults. 

Two nights later, I baked a quarter of the dough and served it with a salad and called it a light dinner.  Four nights later, I served the last quarter dough round with fresh veggies and a guacamole hummus dip and called it dinner.   The dough that keeps on giving!

Yes, Karen (Karen’s Kitchen Stories) our kitchen of the month, this is very simple to do by hand, no food processor here.

Red Pepper Coques

Dough
268 grams bread flour
200 grams white whole wheat flour
30 grams ground flax seed
2 teaspoons sugar, omitted
1/2 teaspoon instant yeast
10 2/3 ounces ice water
3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1 1/2 teaspoons table or fine sea salt
Red Pepper Topping
1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil
2 large onions, peeled, halved, and thinly sliced
2 cups jarred roasted sliced red peppers
3 tablespoons sugar, omitted
3 cloves garlic, thinly sliced
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
2 bay leaves
3 tablespoons sherry vinegar, Fini Reduction of Balsamic
1/4 cup pine nuts
1 tablespoon minced fresh parsley, fresh basil

1. Dough
In the bowl of a food processor, pulse the flour, sugar, and yeast about 5 times. Turn the processor on, and slowly pour in the ice water and process for about 10 seconds. Let the dough rest for 10 minutes.

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2. Add the oil and the salt to the dough and process for 30 to 60 seconds, until the dough forms a ball. Remove the dough from the the processor, and knead by hand for a few seconds, and form it into a ball. Place it into an oiled bowl, cover, and refrigerate for at least 24 hours, and up to 3 days.

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3. Topping
Heat three tablespoons of the olive oil in a 12 inch non stick frying pan over medium heat. Add the onions, red peppers, sugar, garlic, salt, pepper flakes, and bay leaves. Cover the pan and cook for 10 minutes over medium low.
Remove the lid and continue to cook, stirring regularly, for another 10 to 15 minutes, until the onions are golden brown. Remove the pan from the heat and discard the bay leaves. Transfer the mixture to a heatproof bowl and stir in the vinegar. Cool completely before using. You can make the mixture in advance and refrigerate overnight.


4. To Make the Coques:
Deflate the dough and divide it into four equal sized pieces. Shape each piece into a tight ball and place, seam side down on your work surface, and cover with oiled plastic wrap. Let rest for an hour.
Place oven racks in the upper and lower third positions and preheat the oven to 500 degrees F. Brush two half sheet pans with 2 tablespoons of olive oil each.

5. Place one dough ball on your work surface, and roll it out to a 15 inch by 5 inch oval. Place it on the baking sheet, lengthwise. Repeat with the rest of the dough balls, two per baking sheet. If the dough springs back, let it rest for another 10 to 20 minutes, and re-roll. Dock each about 15 times with a fork. Brush each oblong piece of dough with the rest of the olive oil.

6. Bake the dough for 8 minutes, switching the pans at the four minute mark.
Remove the pans from the oven, and spread them with the red pepper and onion mixture. Sprinkle with the pine nuts. Place the baking sheets back into the oven, and bake for 16 minutes, switching and rotating the pans at the 8 minute mark. Continue to bake until the flatbreads are golden and crispy.
Remove the pans from the oven and let cool on the pans for about 5 minutes. Sprinkle with the parsley, and transfer to a cutting board to slice and serve.

Red Pepper Coques

Feta makes it dinner!

There is simply no way you should not bake this … it is just delightful. Too good to pass up and so simple to put together.
If you want to bake along, email Karen your photo or blog link to karen.h.kerr@gmail.com and she’ll feature you in a follow up post and send you a really cool badge.


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BBB – Lariano -Style Bread

Here’s the thing people: Some things you can hurry.   Two things you hurry at your peril: small children and natural sourdough breads … I rapidly learned long ago when I had my own young toddlers, hurry is not in their repertoir. Just doesn’t happen. The glory of being a Grandparent is we generally move at toddler speed naturally.

Then there is the natural slow process of leavening sourdough breads … yeah, I don’t fully appreciate that slower speed yet. It just don’t happen to speed up sourdough.  I thought I had a starter … probably it was slightly underdeveloped but as I was getting down to the wire on time, I went with it.  Then I was on the wire and baked it.  I should have waited.  Still, as is often the case with home made, it’s excellent bread.  I’ve just had 4 slices and look forward to toast in the AM and sandwiches for a picnic tomorrow.

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Elizabeth is our Kitchen of the Month.   And the bread – oh goodness!  And the book it’s from, my heart be still. Back in the mists of time, I came across a NYT article by Mark Bitteman featuring a baker named Jim Lahey and a No Knead Bread recipe.  The recipe became a blogging hit.  It intreged me so without fully reading the recipe as I am still prone to do, I went at it.  Unbeknown to each other, Karen (BakeMyDay) had started the same recipe just hours different from me.  So we “internet baked” together.  My bread came out of the oven about the same time Karen’s did but she was in the Netherlands where it was mid-day … I was in Texas where it was not (it was OH-dark-thirty, middle of the night).  The bread was gorgeous, incredible crust AND it’s been the only bread I’ve ever had sing to me!  I was underwhelmed by a rather moist crumb but was delighted with the entire experience.

The Sullivan Street Bakery Cookbook is the first Jim Lahey book I’ve bought … and his writing is as lyrical as my singing bread.  This man loves baking bread.  The recipes are gorgeous.  I don’t believe there is fault in his book or recipes, the fault is my going to fast with the BBB Lariano Style Bread.  A few days after I got the book, I baked the Pane Di Lino and Gorn continues to ask when am I going to bake it again.  It really was heavenly and I will be baking it again soon.

I followed Elizabeth’s recipe as on her blog … except I cut too many hours at each step.  This takes days, really days. But you are never spending more than a few minutes at each step.  You do have to keep watch as to when the dough is ready to move on to the next step.  Just keep peeking.  Have patience.

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We would love for you to join in as a buddy baker this month! You don’t have to have a blog to participate, a picture will do.  Just send a picture or a link to your post of your finished bread to the host kitchen by the 29th of this month.  You will receive a Bread Baking Buddy graphic to keep or add to your post, and be included in our Buddy round up at the end of the month.  New recipes are posted every month on the 16th.  Check out our Facebook group to see the participants’ baking results during that time.

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Tomorrow I have dough in the fridge to bake the Pizza Bianca Alla Romana, Version 1.  I think I’ve taken my time with this one, maybe mainly because I was trying to rush getting this bread baked for the Babes.


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Nazook – Gata ~ BBB

Nazook, Gata ~ BBB 

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What makes it bread? If it has yeast, does that make it bread? How big does bread have to be before it’s a roll or a bun?  Bread can be sweet, most would agree? Is this bread or pastry?
If the Babes are baking it, it’s bread. That’s my story and I’m sticking to it. I think these will stick with you too.
Kelly is our kitchen of the month! As she notes, it maybe an odd name and it does have many names from various places but whatever you call it and whatever you stuff it with, these are utterly delicious.  Hooray for cookie like yeasted sweet bread. I thank you for these small gems.  Gorn thanks you for each one of the 15 he’s placed in his mouth in the last 2 hours. I only rolled two logs because I just had a feeling these were going to be way too big a hit. So the dough is back in the fridge and I’ll bake more tomorrow and take some to the library girls.
Changes? Oh but very small. I added my usual ground flax meal, used more vanilla, added lemon zest to dough (because if you’re going to juice a lemon why waste the zest) and since I found maple roasted walnuts I used those in place of plain. So maybe my changes were more than small but whatever they were, they worked well.
Regret: I didn’t think of using coconut flour until after I mixed the filling.

Kitchen of the Month:  Kelly blogging at A Messy Kitchen

Nazook, Gata ~ BBB 

Recipe By: Mom’s Authentic Assyrian Recipes
Yield: 48 yeasted sweet breads/pastries

DOUGH
2 1/4 teaspoons (7g) active dry yeast
1 cup (227g) sour cream – quark
3 1/4 cups (390g) White Whole Wheat flour
30 grams ground flax seed
1/2 teaspoon (6 g) salt
1 cup (226g) chilled unsalted butter
1 egg
1 tbsp (12g) vegetable oil
zest from 1 lemon
1 teaspoon (5g) lemon juice
FILLING
1 cup (226g) butter melted (+ 3tbsp melted, optional)
2 cups (240g) White Whole Wheat flour … coconut or almond meal/flour!
1 cup (198g) brown sugar
1 cup (113g) maple roasted walnuts finely chopped
1 teaspoon (5g) vanilla
1 teaspoon (2g) cardamom
1/8 teaspoon Malib optional but I have some
1/8 teaspoon Nutmeg optional
Cinnamon
GLAZE
2 egg yolks beaten
1 teaspoon (5g) yogurt OR quark (water?)

DOUGH:
Combine yeast, flour, salt and butter and blend with your fingers until crumbly.
Add egg, oil, lemon juice & zest, and sour cream. Mix until incorporated.  Knead the dough on a floured surface for 5 minutes, or until no longer sticky.  Add more flour if necessary.  (I  added some more flour).
Form into a ball, and to follow tradition, mark with a +, symbolizing a cross. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate 5 hours, or overnight.

FILLING:
Mix flour, brown sugar, walnuts, and cardamom. Add vanilla to melted butter and pour slowly into flour mixture while stirring.  Stir until the mixture is smooth.  (Mine ended up a beautiful streusel consistency, at first a paste and then nice and crumbly as it cooled.)

PREHEAT oven to 350°F.

ASSEMBLY:
I omitted brushing the dough with more butter as I thought there was already plenty of butter.
Remove dough from refrigerator and divide into 8 equal portions. (I weighted the dough and divided by 8 then cut off that amount to shape.)  Roll each dough ball into a 10 x 6” rectangle.   Spread 1/8th of the filling over each rectangle, leaving a ½-inch border.  Cover with a piece of parchment paper.  Press down lightly with your hands, so that the filling adheres to the dough.  Fold the edges in ½-inch over the filling.
Roll into a cylinder.  Gently flatten with the palms of your hands. (Do this because they puff quite a lot in the oven.)
Cut each roll into 6 pieces and arrange on 2 parchment lined cookie sheets.  Brush liberally with the egg glaze.
BAKE for 30-35 minutes, or until golden brown.  Excellent with coffee or hot tea.  Not too sweet, just sweet enough!

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Notes for future baking:

This dough would make terrific mincemeat cookie shaped like this, would need to make it drier – maybe more nuts or coconut flour.
Fruit Filling: DATES, FIG, mixed with the nuts, this could be fairly dry.
Savory Filling: This dough begs for any number of savory fillings.  Spinach, feta or goat cheese, red chili pepper- perhaps oat bran would dry/thicken.

I would have no hesitation to brush the flattened dough with a mix of cinnamon and brown sugar roll them and bake…even just brushed with butter and rolled plain these would be lovely.  Since you get 8 rolls, it seems to me you have 8 opportunities to play in the sandbox.

Note that vanilla, cardamom, (and cinnamon for that matter), enhance the perception of sweetness, so if you don’t use both the vanilla and the cardamom, they may want a tiny bit extra sugar.  As it is, there is only 1 tsp sugar per pastry and they are super satisfying because they are so rich.

These are actually fairly simple and easy to knead and assemble.

We would love for you to bake along with us!  Just bake your version of this bread by March 30th and send Kelly a note with your results and a picture or link to your post at eleyana(AT)aol(DOT)com with Buddy Bread in the subject line and you will be included in our buddy round up at the beginning of next month. You’ll also get your Buddy badge graphic to keep and/or add to your post.  You don’t have to have a blog to participate, a picture is fine!

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So much better than anything from the store!


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BBB ~ English Muffins

Holidays … a full house … chaos … something special … make ahead … fun … hassle free … simple but brilliant … food … wait did you say food, as in feed this full house with chaos full strength and make it special.  And you expect to make it ahead, have it be fun, hassle free and brilliant. 
You are living in an alternate universe and not in this one.
No, truly, our Kitchen of the Month, Pat – Feeding My Enthusiasms, at least has a part of breakfast for us.  Even if you don’t have a crowd you can so two small batches over 2 days and have fresh homemade English muffins to be extravagant with honey, butter, maple syrup and jam … maybe even a peanut butter and cream cheese in the afternoon.
You may ask, why corn meal?  Over the years I’ve seen English muffins with corn meal on the bottoms and I’ve seen semolina.  Is one better than the other or more authentic?  A quick internet search I did this morning, didn’t turn up a consensus.  The function of either is to prevent sticking to the pan, griddle or spatula and lend a crispness to the crust and bottom.  I can’t help thinking it may also be to pull some moisture out of the dough while they rise, seems logical that would result.  In different locations corn meal may be more readily available and cheaper than semolina and would so be more likely to be used.  Either will serve the same function and work well.
The only tricky part of these is getting them reasonably done without burning the bottom.  Elizabeth solved that for me because my copy of Rose Levy Beranbaum, Quick Breads, Little Quick Breads, Little Yeast Breads, and Batter Breads, The Bread Bible, p170 is still packed away and I wasn’t bright enough on my own to consider sticking my thermometer  into the center of one of these to see were it was.  Try for 190°.  Elizabeth finished her’s in the oven which I think I’ll try when I finish my remaining six this afternoon but it maybe just turning the griddle down and cooking longer would work as well.

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Recipe from: Pat “Feeding My Enthusiasms”  From:  SeriousEats

English Muffins
Yield: 12 – I got 11

245 grams bread flour
40 grams rye flour (originally this 40 grams was bread flour)
140 grams whole wheat flour
11  grams table salt or (11 grams kosher or 2 3/4 teaspoons)
4 grams instant dry yeast 1 1/4 teaspoons
340 grams ounces cold milk
100 grams honey, I used only 55 grams
1 large egg white, cold
fine cornmeal to cover muffins on two sheet pans with space around them – Elle), don’t skip this
bacon or butter or oil, for griddling

Make the Dough and Let Rise: 
In a large bowl, mix bread flour, whole wheat flour, kosher salt, and yeast together until well combined.
Add milk, honey, and egg white, stirring until smooth, about 5 minutes.
Cover with plastic and set aside until spongy, light, and more than doubled, 4 to 5 hours at 70°F.

Knee deep in corn meal.

For the Second Rise:  Thickly cover a rimmed aluminum baking sheet with an even layer of cornmeal.
With a large spoon, dollop out twelve 2 2/3-ounce (75g) portions of dough I only got 11 muffins none weighed more than 78 grams or less than 72 grams; it’s perfectly fine to do this by eye.
If you’d like, pinch the irregular blobs here and there to tidy their shape.  My dough was to sticky to do much shaping, I went with what fell on the pan.  They all came out looking like … English muffins
Sprinkle with additional cornmeal, cover with plastic, and refrigerate at least 12 and up to 42 hours.

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Rising on the griddle! Oolala!

To Griddle and Serve:  Preheat an electric griddle to 325°F or warm a 12-inch cast iron skillet or griddle over medium-low heat. When sizzling-hot, add half the butter and melt; griddle muffins until their bottoms are golden brown, about 8 minutes. Flip with a square-end spatula and griddle as before. Transfer to a wire rack until cool enough to handle, then split the muffins by working your thumbs around the edges to pull them open a little at a time. Toast before serving and store leftovers in an airtight container up to 1 week at room temperature (or 1 month in the fridge).

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Special Equipment:  Flexible spatula,  rimmed baking sheet, griddle (electric or cast iron) or 12-inch cast iron skillet, square-end spatula, wire rack

Must be toasted to finish cooking.

Seriously easy.  Oh and that photo reminds me: homemade slow cooker apple butter is an absolute winner on these too!

Go for it why don’t you. Bake with us. Check out Pat, FeedingMyEnthusiasms for all the scoop and be a Bread Baking Buddy.  Don’t forget all the other Babes, we all had different experiences.


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BBB ~ Pumpkin Cornmeal Bread

Judy from Gross Eats is our Kitchen of the Month for October.  This was a most interesting bake!

I was excited to try this one because 1.) I have baked many of Beth Hensperger’s recipes from this book and her other books and always enjoyed them, 2.) the seasonal timing appealed and 3.) because of the ingredient combo.
I was delighted to try something pumpkin right now and I really liked the rye and cornmeal combo.
Of course I added that little bit of flax. I also had a large bag of pepitas on the counter and they seemed super appropriate. Of course pumpkin just pretty much begged for cinnamon in my book. I used a combo of flours replacing the original bread or all purpose flour.

The dough was silky and lovely to knead.
If I weren’t already in the process of perfecting another recipe (for a rye) bread, I would take this one on because it has so much promise but ultimately both Gorn & I were slightly disappointed with this bake.  We enjoyed the texture and the crust on this loaf but even using terrific flavor ingredients (strong molasses, great flour, cinnamon, pumpkin) we both of us failed to get much flavor from a slice.  We both agreed a slice has a lovely pumpkin aroma.  We just didn’t get it on the tongue.
I would recommend using more pumpkin (reduce or even entirely replace the water) and going with more cinnamon and/or pumpkin pie spice.

I did half the recipe and baked in a smaller pullman pan without the lid.

Recipe From  Judy(Gross Eats)  adapted from Bread for All Seasons by Beth Hensperger

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Pumpkin Cornmeal Bread

HALF RECIPE what I baked
1 ½ teaspoons active dry yeast
123 grams warm water (105˚ to 115˚)
124 grams warm buttermilk (105˚ to 115˚)
40 grams melted butter or oil
50 grams light molasses
1/4 cup pumpkin purée (either canned or homemade)
1 teaspoon salt
100 grams fine- or medium-grind yellow cornmeal
130 grams medium rye flour
124 grams Hovis flour, because I had it
130 grams sprouted wheat flour
140 grams white whole wheat flour
20 grams flax meal

1. In a large bowl, combine yeast, ground flax, salt, cornmeal, and rye flour.   Whisk to mix well.

Add warm water, buttermilk, melted butter/oil, molasses, and pumpkin purée. Beat until smooth (1 to 2 minutes) using either a whisk or the paddle attachment on a mixer.

Add the unbleached all-purpose flour or bread flour, ½ cup at a time, until it becomes a soft dough. Knead until smooth and slightly tacky, either by hand or with a dough hook.

2. Place in a greased bowl, turning once to coat the top; cover with plastic wrap. Let rise at room temperature until double, about 1 ½ to 2 hours, depending on how warm it is.

3. Turn onto work surface and divide the dough into 2 or 3 equal round portions. Place on parchment-lined baking pan, cover loosely with plastic wrap, and let rise at room temperature until doubled, about 45 minutes.

4. To make dinner rolls, divide the dough into 24 equal portions and shape as desired.

Place on parchment-lined baking pan, cover loosely with plastic wrap, and let rise at room temperature until doubled, about 20 minutes, or place in refrigerator for 2 hours to overnight.

Twenty minutes before baking, heat the oven to 375˚, using a baking stone, if you wish. While the oven is heating, brush the tops with melted butter.

Bake in the center of the preheated oven until golden brown: 40-45 minutes for loaves or 15 to 18 minutes for rolls. Remove from oven, let cool on rack until completely cool.

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Since this was all whole grain, I baked this at 370° F (convection) for 50 minutes at which point it registered 199°F internal temperature.  It was baked through and not raw as can easily happen with all whole grains when I don’t check temperature of the bread.

Here’s hoping you’re all in the mood for some fall baking, and you give this delicious bread a try.  If you do decide to be a Buddy, please send your baking story and photos to Judy at jahunt22 dot gmail dot com by October 29th, and they will be included in the Buddy Roundup.

PS: Well now we’ve enjoyed this as our afternoon treat with apple butter!  Somehow that brings out the pumpkin in the bread for me.

 


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Swiss Rye Ring/Brasciadela/Kantonsbrot Graubünden ~ BBB

Cathy, Bread Experience, is our Kitchen of the Month and she has brought us a wonderful rye bread!

Cathy was super lucky to attend a conference and take a workshop with Stanley Ginsberg  http://theryebaker.com/swiss-rye-ring/#more-335  !  I’ve had his book, the Rye Baker, for quite some time and just drool over the cover.  Westphalian Pumpernickel.  I think I’ve had this or something very close in Austria once and was instantly in love.  What stops me from making this one … my stand mixer packed away in some box unidentifiable for the last 5 years.  Basically I refuse to unpack anything more for the kitchen until I have cabinets.  Cabinets maybe in the making this winter and would go in in the early Spring next year IF my latest cabinet maker comes through for me soon.  The clutter now is just too much, anything more would put me over the edge.

I’ve had plenty of success mixing by hand with recipes that “require” the stand mixer but none required kneading after pouring boiling water over flour. Sometimes I toy with getting some large rubber gloves and putting them on over 2 or 3 pairs of cotton gloves but so far I haven’t made that jump.

Straight off I’ll tell you Gorn & I are both Rye lovers. Here, I am always on the look out for the dark dense rye’s. When we’ve traveled in Europe, I always seek out the darkest ryes that I can find. Always flavorful and able to stand up to flavorful meats and cheeses, the tight crumb of rye breads makes them perfect for just about anything you can put between two slices.

This Swiss Rye Ring is a tight crumb with a mild flavor that we’re going through very quickly. This recipe bakes into a glorious loaf that even without the traditional caraway seeds, shines with the true spicy rye flavor. The first ring loaf was gone in a day and a half. The second ring loaf I fear will be gone today. The only thing wrong that I found with this bread was I was unable to find any smoked salmon to serve with it. I feel cheated while enjoying every bite of this wonderful rye. Thanks for this one Cathy.

Swiss Rye Ring/Brasciadela/Kantonsbrot Graubünden
Recipe From: Cathy (breadexperience) and adapted from Stanley Ginsberg
Yield: 2 rings 1 1/4 lb. each (575 grams)
Rye Sponge:
300 grams Medium rye flour (used pumpernickel)
200  grams Warm (105°F/41°C) water
20 grams Rye sour culture (see below)
Wheat Poolish:
200 grams First clear flour (used half whole wheal + half bread flour)
200 grams Cold water
8 grams Instant yeast
Final Dough:
520 grams Rye sponge
408 grams Wheat poolish
110 Medium rye flour (used pumpernickel)
210 grams White rye flour (used rye flour)
82 grams First clear flour (used half whole wheal + half bread flour)
170 grams Warm (105°F/41°C) water
20 grams Salt
Rye Starter/Culture ~ Day One
70 grams Organic whole grain Rye Flour
70  grams Warm water
Day Two – Seven
70 grams Culture from preceding day
70  grams Organic whole grain Rye Flour
70 grams Warm Water

1. Rye Sponge Combine the sponge ingredients by hand into a stiff dough, cover and ferment at room temperature (70°F/21°C) until doubled in volume 10-12 hours or overnight.
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2. Wheat Poolish Mix the poolish ingredients by hand, cover and refrigerate 10-12 hours or overnight.

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3. Final Dough In the mixer, combine the final dough ingredients and use the dough hook at low (KA2) speed to mix into a stiff, slightly sticky dough that leaves the sides of the bowl and gathers around the hook, 6-8 minutes. This is one of those recipes that says use a stand mixer and I did not.  I think it worked perfectly without the mixer by hand.

Cover the dough and bulk ferment at room temperature until doubled in volume, 60-75 minutes.
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4. Turn the dough onto a lightly floured work surface and divide it into two pieces weighing about 26 oz./750 g each. Form each piece into an oblong about 18 inches/45 cm long and 2 inches/5 cm in diameter. Shape each into a ring, wetting the ends to seal, and place on a well-floured peel, if using a baking stone, or parchment-lined sheet pan.

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5. Cover and proof at room temperature until the breads have visibly expanded and surface shows cracks or broken bubbles.

6. Preheat the oven to 480°F/250°C with the baking surface in the middle and a steam pan on a lower shelf. Dock the surface of each loaf thoroughly and evenly to a depth of at least ¼”/0.6 cm. with a fork, chopstick or docking wheel.

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7. Bake with steam 15 minutes, then remove the steam pan, reduce the temperature to 410°F/210°C and bake until the loaves thump when tapped with a finger and the internal temperature is at least 198°F/92°C, about 30 minutes. Transfer to a rack and cool thoroughly before slicing.

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8. RYE STARTER Mix the equal amounts (by weight) of organic rye flour and water.
Cover.
Allow to stand 24 hours at room temperature.
Dad Two – Seven:
Keep 70 grams of previous day’s culture and mix with equal amounts (by weight) of organic rye flour and water.

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Cathy is the host kitchen this month.  We’d love for you to join us. All you need to do is bake this bread and send an email to breadexperience at gmaildotcom and Cathy send you a Buddy badge.  If you don’t have a blog, no worries, just take a photo and post it to the BBBs Facebook group.  We look forward to seeing your lovely breads.

It is a very memorable delicious rye bread!


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Tootmaniks Gotovo Testo ~ BBB ~ Bake Me!

 


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BBB ~ Velvety Bean Bread

I don’t know about you but every once in a while I get smug and think “I’ve really baked a lot of breads.  No ALL breads but maybe I’m getting where I’m really comfortable I’ve got really good exposure to most things bread … but then there’s always another month and another Babe coming up with something just a little different.  This month it’sKelly (Hobby Baker) from A Messy Kitchen.

Always bake the original recipe before changing any thing … right?  And when have I ever done that …
So, I created an over nite soaker.
I considered the pros and cons of replacing bean liquid for water. In the end I tasted the bean water and rejected adding it because it had too strong a bean flavor.  Nothing wrong with bean flavor but it seemed wrong for bread.
Always I added flax.
I used all of the yeast because I only used whole grains.
My major failing was knowing this was whole grain and not having a thermometer.  In my Dad’s old house, I’m working with an oven that is over 45 years old, badly mistreated and scheduled for replacement on our next visit.  Between the oven and no thermometer, I way underbred these two small loaves.  The rye flavor was awesome but we could only enjoy a slice toasted so that it finished cooking. 
If you can forgive my excuses, this is a treat of a bread with the rye flour.  While the taste of this bread does not make one think “health food mediocre”, I have to think this is a super nutritious bread using the beans! 

Kelly (Hobby Baker) from A Messy Kitchen found this recipe in Home Baking: The Artful Mix of Flour and Tradition around the World
Yield: 2 small loaves

OVER NITE SOAKER
330 grams water (1.5 cup)
120 grams sprouted spelt flour
DOUGH
all of the soaker
2 cups drained cooked navy beans, room temp.
30 grams flax meal
120 grams sprouted rye flour
1 tablespoon olive oil
2 teaspoons salt
2 tablespoons caraway
130 grams white whole wheat flour
130  grams bread flour

1.  Mix water and flour in soaker and cover several hours or overnight.

2.  Process beans until smooth, transfer to a large bowl or stand mixer.

Add the sprouted flour and yeast and stir for one minute, in one direction, to develop the dough.
Add the oil, salt, and seasoning herb or spice, if using and stir them in.
Add 1 cup of the white whole wheat flour and stir in.
Add the remaining flour and knead in with a dough hook, or work in and knead by hand for about 5 minutes, until smooth.

3.  Place dough in a bowl, cover, and let rise for 3 hours, until almost doubled in volume. (There should be about 2.5 pounds of dough.)

4.  Turn out dough and divide in half. Butter two 8×4″ pans.
Form each portion of dough into a loaf and place seam side down in the pans.
Rolled each loaf in caraway seeds.
The directions say to let rise for 2½ hours. That was too long for my kitchen. The above loaf was baked after 1 hour 45 minutes. You’ll have to watch the dough for proper rise. Check at 1 hour and continue to proof if needed.

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5.  Preheat oven to 400ºF, have a spray bottle or small cup of water ready for steam. Slash each loaf lengthwise , place in oven and bake for 5 minutes, adding steam every couple minutes with the sprayer or cup.

Bake for 15 minutes, then reduce heat to 375ºF and bake for 25 minutes until rich brown with a matte finish.

Turn the loaves out and check for doneness. Finish cooling on a wire rack before slicing.

Here’s a great little article on the different white beans:
4 Types of White Beans: What’s the Difference?

The side note on this experience, very generic as it is and will be true of all dough I mix/knead in future: I bought a pastry non-stick mat.  If you want to save money or spend nothing more on kitchen/baking, skip this nest two paragraphs.  What you may ask is a non-stick pastry mat and why would I lay out any $$ for that.  Even though it’s very recently something prompted me to look these up, now I don’t remember what it was.  The first couple I found were super $$$ and I was losing interest rapidly.  Then I found one I think for under $30 and read the reviews.  It was the reviews that really sold me. 

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Now my review might sell you so you get a 2nd chance to stop reading here if you don’t want to get interested.  Always when I knead, mix or roll out anything on my counter, I clean it … and then I have to clean it again when finished.  Sometimes dough really leaves a funky residue to clean off and it can get tedious.  NOTHING sticks to the pastry mat AND it doesn’t slide.  Clean up is super simple.  When I roll it out, I know I left it clean!  The mat comes marked clearly with all sorts of measurements all over – along the edges and all those circles for rolling pie crust in the center.  Dream come true.  Yep, you want one now.
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I won’t say you have to or that you knead to run out and get a pastry non-stick mat but I would encourage you to bake the Velvety Bean Bread and make it with rye … assuming you enjoy rye.  I’m sure you have a better oven than I and you’re in your own kitchen with a thermometer. 

Join the Bread Baking Babes and bake up a unique little loaf that is high in protein but a little lower in gluten than normal.  This is a lovely little bread and we would love for you to bake along with us!  Just bake your version of this bread by July 30th and send Kelly a note with your results and a picture or link to your post at eleyana(AT)aol(DOT)com with Buddy Bread in the subject line and she will include you in our buddy round up at the beginning of next month and send you a Buddy badge graphic to keep and/or add to your post.  You don’t have to have a blog to participate, a picture is fine!


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Shubbak el-Habayeb ~ BBB

BBB ~ Shubbak el-Habayeb ~ Lover’s Window
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One of my tasters described Shubbak el-Habayeb in this way “Kept drawing me back.  Familiar but not.  Unidentifiable but I should know it.”  I found this to be a VERY compelling aroma and flavor.  If judgement didn’t intervene, you’d eat all 12 rolls at one sitting.

Yes, I have plenty of cookbooks and Yes, I have a multitude of bread books.  No, I do not NEED any more cookbooks or bread books.  YES, The Book of Buns by Jane Mason (Virtuous Bread) arrived in the mail today because it seems I do KNEAD another bread book! 
Who do I have to thank (blame) for this latest itch for another bread book?  BBB and Kitchen of the Month Karen of Karen’s Kitchen Stories.
When translated the name Shubak el-Habayeb means The Lover’s Window.  With a name like The Lover’s Window, you’d think there would be a story.  If there is I couldn’t find it. Now, as I think about how my taster described this and how I just wanted to keep eating this, that pretty much describes how you feel about a lover.  There’s your story.

Perhaps visually these might resemble some older factory windows I’ve seen but mostly they make me think of some oddly misshapen face with extra eyes. However, they seem to be sweet, kind eyes. I feel strange I’m having strange visions but these rolls are mysteriously exotic in all the right ways and pair well with elegant cheese and common peanut butter and jelly.
My crumb you can see on this is very tight.  I think that might be due to my using a majority of whole wheat flour and no sugar.  I’ll probably try adding a tablespoon of some sweetener next time (agave, honey or brown sugar) but I doubt I’ll reduce the whole wheat in fact I’m more likely to use all white whole wheat.
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Shubbak el-Habayeb ~ Lover’s Window
DOUGH
600 grams white whole wheat flour, 4 3/4 cups
1/2 teaspoon instant yeast
30 grams ground flax seed
100 g/1/2 cup sugar, omitted
1 cup buttermilk, scalded
2 large eggs
1/2 teaspoon orange blossom water
1/2 teaspoon rose water, omitted
1/2 teaspoon ground cardamom
1/2 teaspoon ground mahlab
1 tablespoon salt, cut this a little short
50 grams butter, 3 tablespoons melted and cooled
about 1/2 cup water, added to the dough by wetting you hands as you knead the dough.
For the Glaze
1 egg
1 tablespoon water
Pinch of salt
Pinch of sugar
Sesame seeds

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1. Pour the flour (I used 3 cups white whole wheat and 1 cup bread flour; held back 3/4 cup white whole wheat) into a bowl and whisk in the yeast.   Create a well in the middle and add the milk. Cover the full buttermilk with some of the flour from the sides. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap or a towel, and let rest for one hour. I used buttermilk because it was there, I didn’t scald it. I omitted the sugar on purpose: experience has taught me that adding cardamom to anything brings a sweetness that satisfies my taste. Next time I might, maybe add 1 tablespoon for the yeast but I was pretty happy with the rise on these.

2. Add the eggs, flower waters, cardamom, mahlab, and salt to the mixture in the bowl and mix with your hands to form a rough dough. Turn it out onto an unfloured counter, and knead for 10 minutes.

3. Add the butter, and knead for 10 more minutes. While kneading, if the dough is too stiff, dip your hands in the water, and continue to knead. Continue to dip your hands in the water until you have a supple dough. You can also do this with a dough hook, adding the water, one tablespoon at a time.
Since I held back the 3/4 cup white whole wheat, I didn’t really need to add extra water
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4. Place the dough into an oiled bowl and let rise in a warm spot, covered, for about two hours, until doubled.
I left mine two and a half hours to rise.

5. Turn the dough out onto a clean work surface. Divide the dough into 12 equal pieces and form them into balls. Cover with a towel or oiled plastic wrap, and let rest for 15 minutes.

6. Roll each ball with a rolling pin into a square that is about 1/2 inch thick. Cut the dough with a sharp knife to make short vertical cuts in each quadrant of the dough. Open the slits with your hands to make sure they are cut through.

7. Place the squares on baking sheets (you will need two sheet pans, prepared with parchment or Silpat), six squares per pan.

8. Cover each sheet pan with oiled plastic wrap, and let rise for one hour. In the meantime, preheat the oven to 425 degrees F (220 degrees C) with a rack in the middle of the oven.

9. Whisk together the glaze ingredients and brush the glaze over the rolls on one of the sheet pans. Sprinkle with the sesame seeds. Bake the first pan of rolls for 15 minutes, until golden. Remove them from the oven and cool on a wire rack. Repeat with the second pan of rolls.

http://www.virtuousbread.com
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The shape of these reminds me a little of Dhakai Bakharkhani/ Baqeerkhani (Crisp Flatbreads from Dhaka, Bangladesh) that we baked when Aparna was kitchen of the month but there the similarity ends.

If you make this recipe by the end of this month and send Karen a photo or a link to your blog post (if you don’t have a blog, just send a photo), you will be featured in a round up on her blog. She’ll even send you a fancy Buddy Badge! Send your contribution to her at karen.h.kerr@gmail.com, with the subject line, BBB. Please visit all of the Bread Baking Babes and check out their versions of this month’s recipe:

Come On! You KNEAD to bake these.


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BBB ~ Cinnamon Raisin Struan Bread, the Babes will Swirl with this one!

Sing Praises here to Pat “Feeding My Enthusiasms”, who went on a year end cookbook clean out of her book cases and found our bread this month in Sacramental Magic in a Small-Town Cafe by Br Peter Reinhart.  Somehow bread just doesn’t go out of date.

Cinnamon Raisin Bread, you think you’ve enjoyed cinnamon raisin bread but this recipe has now taken top honors in our house.  I’ve baked hundreds of cinnamon raisin bread loaves.  When we sailed the Atlantic, I baked two loaves every other day.  Two loaves of Oatmeal Bread from James Beard on Bread.   One was a plain loaf and one was Cinnamon Raisin loaf.  It was terrific bread but this recipe is terrific bread and is filled with whole grain health goodness.  

In the past I’ve always made my Cinnamon Raisin Bread with the raisins in the swirl.  Gorn and I both like this with the raisins mixed into the dough much better.

This makes three full sized loaves. You may think you shouldn’t make the full recipe … you’d be wrong if you think you wouldn’t be able to use all the bread … I don’t think you’ll be able to stop eating this bread.  When I make this again I will try using 4 cups white whole wheat and 3 cups bread flour.

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Rising …

Cinnamon Raisin Struan Bread

4 cups high-gluten bread flour

3 cups whole wheat bread flour

1/2 cup uncooked polenta (coarse ground cornmeal)

1/2 cup rolled oats

1/2 cup brown sugar

1/3 cup wheat bran, used wheat germ

4 teaspoons salt

40 grams ground flax seed

3 tablespoons yeast

1/2 cup cooked brown rice

1/4 cup honey

3/4 cup buttermilk

3 cups water, should have stopped at 2 cups 2/3 had to use extra flour

3 cups raisins

SWIRL

1/2 cup cinnamon sugar (1 part cinnamon to 2 parts brown sugar)

4 tablespoons butter, softened

1. In a large bowl, combine all the dry ingredients, including the salt and yeast (unless you are using active dry yeast, which should be activated in warm water and added with the wet ingredients.)

2. Add the cooked rice, honey, and buttermilk and mix together. Then add 1 cup of water, reserving the rest to add as needed. With your hands, squeeze the ingredient together until they make a ball. Sprinkle some flour on the counter and turn the ball out of the bowl and begin kneading. Add small quantities of water as needed. *****Adding the full 1 1/2 cup of water was no where near enough. I added another full cup … and then another half.  See 5.

3. Because Struan has so many whole grains, it takes longer to knead than most breads. Allow at least 15 minutes, but be prepared to knead for 20. The dough will change before your eyes, lightening in color, becoming gradually more elastic and evenly grained. The finished dough should be tacky, not sticky, lightly golden, stretchy and elastic, rather than porridge-like. When you push the heels of your hands into the dough it should give way but not tear. If it flakes or crumbles, add a little more water.

4. When the dough seems ready, add the raisins and knead for 2 more minutes, until the raisins are evenly distributed.

5. **** I added too much water too fast and had a VERY wet dough, too heavy and wet to kneed.  So, after trying to kneed adding extra flour, I either pretended to be an expert bread maker or made an executive decision – I’ll let you decide – I switched to a lift and fold technique.  I did a lift and fold  four times.

6. Wash out the mixing bowl and dry it thoroughly. Put in the dough and cover with a damp towel or plastic wrap, or place the bowl inside a plastic bag. Allow the dough to rise in a warm place for about 1 hour, until it has roughly doubled in size.

7. Cut the dough into 3 equal pieces (or more if you want to make smaller loaves). With a rolling pin, roll out each piece into a rectangle. Sprinkle about 1 tablespoon of cinnamon sugar over the surface, spreading it evenly. ******I used about 3 tablespoons cinnamon sugar. I have used brown sugar to make cinnamon sugar for forever now because we both just like the extra caramel flavor.

From the bottom of the long side, roll up the dough into tight loaves, tucking and pinching the seams into one line on the bottom. Put the loaves, seam side down, in greased bread pans (for full-sized loaves your pan should be around 9 x 4 1/3 x 3 inches). Cover and allow the loaves to rise until doubled in size.

8. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. When the loaves have risen, cresting over the tops of the pans, place on the center shelf and bake for about 45 minutes. The loaves should be nicely domed and dark gold. The bottom and sides should be a uniform light gold and there should be an audible, hollow  thwack when you tap the bottom of the loaf. If the loaves are not ready, remove them from the pans and place them back in the oven until done. They will bake quickly when removed from the pans.

9. When done, brush a little butter over the tops, then sprinkle with the remaining cinnamon sugar, coating each loaf with a layer of cinnamon crust.

***** I forgot the cinnamon sugar topping but would like to have done that.

Allow the breads to cool on wire racks for at least 40 minutes before slicing. This bread makes exceptional breakfast toast and French toast!

Which way will you Swirl?
Shall we Swirl this way or that?

Bake.  Bake Cinnamon Raisin Straun Bread.  Tell the Kitchen of the Month, Pat at FeedingMyEnthusiasms!  You’ll be thanking her for years to come.  You know you want to Swirl.