On the way to making 108 different types of breads I have discovered a few breads that I am making over and over because they taste wonderful and are easy to fit into a working - I spend the day at the office - schedule. These will be so popular that you will receive requests, perhaps even from family and friends who questioned why you would produce your own bread to begin with.
My favorite repeats
- drum roll, please ...
Rye bread - No surprise because I am from Brooklyn. You can't do better than a good rye. The New York genes in my children have made the recipe for bread #27 a big favorite.
Whole wheat sandwich bread - The secret ingredient in bread #32, a 100 percent whole wheat bread, is coconut oil. Make in a loaf pan. It is easy to slice.
Spelt bread - I am a spelt lover. It's not just me. Everyone adores breads made from the recipe for bread #34. This 100 percent spelt bread is not heavy at all.
and ... one more drum roll, please ... the new entrant -
White bread - Bread #38 comes out so well every time, is so perfectly matched to a busy schedule, and so amazing with its bubbling sponge and miraculously rising dough that I made it three times in rapid succession. Now I understand why bakers extol the virtues of white flours and white breads. I've already started to make variations on this recipe.
[I have now made a few variations of bread #38 (breads #40 to 42) and whole wheat-dominated variations do well. We did not care so much for the partial spelt variation.]
Celebrating the 40 mark
For Chanukah, my husband gave me a few bread-related gifts. Perhaps the best one is a 108 breads apron. I feel so established and professional wearing it. Already the apron is another talisman for good fortune in baking. The other gifts were an oblong la cloche, which I must figure out how to use, and a book, the Art of Fermentation, which threatens to turn me into a fermentation maniac. A review soon. Even though it is not a bread book per se, it is related. From a read through, the directions are less than thorough. I like a nice detailed instruction on anything that I have not tried before.I am contemplating homemade sauerkraut and other fermented vegetables. Brad and I have been talking about a sauerkraut endeavor for over a year. If I het as far as making tempeh at home, I have gone a bit off of the deep end. Of course, it was not all that long ago I felt similarly about growing and maintaining a sourdough culture.
I doubt I will get past the sauerkraut, however, as I do work for a living. Going beyond sauerkraut would mean going into business to teach people and sell the fermented goodies. Something about the word fermented does not go with goodies, unless you are beer lover, but that's a whole other story.
I received a covered baker for Christmas. So far I've made 2 loaves of French bread that were wonderful. Here's my recipe:
ReplyDeleteFrench Bread in Covered Baker
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Makes one 2-lb loaf. (I used a Sassafras Superstone 14.5" Covered Baker). The sourdough starter is used to add flavor, not sour, with the short rise times in this recipe.
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1 1/3 cups - 10.6 oz (300 g) Warm Water
3/4 cup - 7 oz (200 g) Sourdough Starter - 100% hydration, cold from the fridge
2 teaspoons - 0.28 oz (8 g) White Granulated Sugar
2 1/4 teaspoons - 0.25 oz (7 g) Instant Yeast, or 1 packet
2 teaspoons - 0.43 oz (12 g) Table Salt
4 cups - 17 oz (480 g) All Purpose Flour and Bread Flour (2 cups of each)
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You may have to adjust the water or flour slightly, depending on the hydration of your starter. I bake by weights (grams), so the volume measurements are a close approximation.
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Attach bowl and whisk attachment to Kitchen-aid mixer.
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Add water to mixing bowl.
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Weigh out starter and add to water in mixer bowl.
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Dissolve yeast in water in mixer bowl. Add sugar.
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Mix on Speed 2 for 1 or 2 minutes until well mixed.
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Remove whisk attachment and add dough hook to mixer.
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Mix table salt into dry flour.
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Add flour to mixer bowl. Turn to Speed 2 and mix about 1 minute, or until well blended.
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Knead on Speed 2 about 4 minutes longer. Dough will be slightly sticky, but the dough should not stick to the bowl, to any great extent.
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Remove dough from bowl, form dough into a ball and allow to rest on breadboard 10 minutes.
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Perform stretch and fold on dough. Form a ball. Cover with a bowl and allow to rest 10 minutes.
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Perform second stretch and fold on dough. Cover with a bowl and allow to rest 10 minutes.
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Perform third stretch and fold on dough. Let dough rest 5 minutes.
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Coat inside of covered baker (inside top and inside bottom) with cooking oil. Sprinkle bottom with cornmeal.
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Form dough into long loaf, place in covered baker.
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Cover. Let rise in warm place, like an off oven, about 1 hour, or until doubled in bulk.
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With sharp knife, make 3 diagonal cuts on top of loaf, 1/4" deep. Replace lid. Place in oven.
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Start in a cold oven. Set temperature at 425°F and bake, covered, for 40 minutes.
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Remove covered baker lid. Bake, uncovered, 10 more minutes (for a total of 50 minutes) or until golden brown and center of loaf reaches 205°F.
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Remove from oven, remove loaf from covered baker and allow to cool before slicing.
Thank you for the recipe. I will try it. Something you suggested I have never seen recommended before. You advise placing the covered baker - unheated - into a cold oven, heating the oven, the baker and the dough at the same time. I am curious to see the results. Thanks again and stay warm!
ReplyDeleteI was concerned about thermal shock breaking the ceramic baker if I heated it to 425-F and then put room temperature dough in it. I also was concern about disturbing and deflating my risen dough by moving it. The cold start worked fine. My gas oven takes 10 minutes to get up to temperature. I read about the cold start on The Fresh Loaf, where someone used the same technique with a cast iron dutch oven.
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