Posts tagged ‘homemade bread’

Sep 3

Wild Yeast, Fruit Water Yeast Bread

I follow Elaine@foodbod’ both her blog and other social media outlets like Instagram, lately she has been cultivating her own wild yeast and making the most amazing bread, I have been so intrigued and inspired to try her recipe. You make wild yeast simply by putting fruit, in water and let it sit until it ferments it only takes a week sometimes less. My first attempt I used raisins which for some reason didn’t work so I tried apple and that worked perfectly.

The bread did not have a tremendous rise, it was modest. When making the semolina bread I did add a very small amount 1/4 tsp of instant yeast, I did that because I felt the semolina is pretty heavy and it might need a little bit of a boost, I’m sure it would be fine without it, so that is optional of course. Elaine’s bread is beautiful and the crust is amazing, I’ve made this a number of times and my crust just doesn’t have the same look as hers, it’s still good mind you, but her crust is crusty looking for lack of a better word and meant in a really good way! I have asked her about this and she thinks it could be the difference in flour or some other factor, she is in England and I must say has this down pat. Check Elaine out both on her blog and Instagram.

The first loaf turned out beautifully and you can find the recipe on her blog by clicking on the link in the first paragraph, I was so pleased at the rise and the flavor was delicious.

fruit water bread

The second loaf I made was from date water, I saw Elaine’s beautiful loaves on Instagram and wanted to give that a go. I deviated a bit on the bread recipe using semolina and adapting a recipe I found on King Arthur Flour site. The biga/preferment or poolish is Elaine’s recipe.

Dates after a week see the bubbles

Date water semolina bread

adapted from a recipe by Elaine at Food Bod and King Arthur Flour

Biga or Poolish

10 oz fermented date water (150 grams)

1 1/2 cup bread flour (150 grams) (add more if the dough is too wet, by the spoonful) It should be soft but not runny. Use equal parts flour and water pretty much.

Mix together and let sit overnight covered in plastic wrap and a tea towel. In the morning it should be bubbly.

Bubbly biga

The Bread

1 1/2 cup flour

1 1/2 cup + 1/4 cup semolina flour

1/4 tsp instant yeast

1 scant tbs salt

1 cup cool water

Put all the ingredients in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the dough hook. Mix on low speed for about 5 minutes, it will become a cohesive dough. Turn the mixer off, cover with plastic and let sit for 30 minutes. Turn the mixer back on medium speed and knead for another 5 minutes. Remove dough to a clean lightly oiled bowl, cover with plastic wrap and a tea towel and put in the refrigerator overnight.

The following morning take it out of the refrigerator and let it come to room temperature. Shape into desired shape (I made a boule), place on parchment lined baking sheet.nCover with oiled plastic wrap loosely and a tea towel and let rise for approximately one hour. When you press your finger in the dough it should leave an indent.

Heat oven to 475 degree’s. Slash the dough with a razor, knife or lame, dust with some flour and place in the oven, throw a few ice cubes at the bottom of the oven. Immediately reduce the temperature to 425 degree’s and bake for approximately 35-40 minutes. Bread when tapped will sound hollow and it will be a golden brown. You can also place a parchment round in a dutch oven and bake covered in the pot. You will need to bake a little longer using this method. Elaine gives instructions in her recipe.

King Arthur’s recipe offers a great idea for keeping the bread, place cut side down on counter or cutting board, don’t cover it with anything. The crust will stay pretty crisp and the inside of the bread stays soft. It works.

Stand the bread on a counter cut side down the bread stays soft the crust fairly crisp. This loaf was made with a little more yeast than the one below. You can see the difference.

I did experiment with the semolina bread the first loaf I added a half tsp of instant yeast, the second loaf 1/4 tsp. There is a marked difference in the texture of the bread and I think both are good.

Jan 8

108 Comments

Recipe Redux Bread From The Solitary Cook

Next Week it will be 4 years since I started the blog and I want to feature just a few recipes from my first week of blogging, this recipe was posted on January 22 of 2012, Rustic Italian Bread, the recipe comes from my friend Cynthia whose lovely blog The Solitary Cook has been around about as long as mine, we have known each other longer through Food52 which is where we met. I have linked the recipe and did not copy it into this post, Cynthia is a teacher, a chef and a real artisan, her recipe explains everything involved in making a loaf of bread, it’s a tutorial so click on the link above to see the recipe on her site. Before Cynthia, making bread scared me. Her gentle and comprehensive recipes helped me overcome my fear of failure when it came to yeast breads. Note: Here is the link for the preferment which will need to made before you make the actual bread dough.

I love this bread, it’s simple to make and the result is a lovely loaf with crisp crust and soft pillowy inside. It’s delicious!!

One of my favorite ways to enjoy a slice of this crusty delicious bread is so simple. Good butter, watermelon radishes, sea salt and honey. I get most of my produce which is sourced locally from Farmigo, I have talked about them before, it’s an a la carte CSA, love it!! The radishes and butter are from local farms and the honey was a gift from a friend it is sourced in Manhattan, Hells Kitchen, there is actually a bee keeper in a community garden there. The honey is amazing.

Love local food

Or for breakfast, fried bread, lightly buttered pan fried in olive oil, oven roasted gold tomatoes and a medium soft egg. Quick and easy and hey who doesn’t love fried bread.

Nov 26

69 Comments

Potato Dinner Rolls

Just out of the oven

Who wouldn’t want a soft, warm flavorful dinner roll with their Thanksgiving meal.I started making this recipe several years ago and it has become a staple on the Thanksgiving table. It’s a really simple recipe and is pretty much foolproof. Adding potatoes to a bread recipe is like magic, it results in a lovely soft texture. I make these the day of, the rise times are pretty long which works well for me since I am doing so many other things, first rise is 90 minutes and the second is about 2 hours. The recipe makes approximately 16 large rolls and they freeze well so bake them, wrap well and freeze. This recipe is from King Arthur Flour under the title Amish Dinner Rolls.

Ingredients:

2 Large eggs lightly beaten and at room temperature

1/3 cups sugar

1 1/2 teaspoon salt

6 tablespoons Butter at room temperature

1 cup unseasoned mashed potatoes

2 1/2 teaspoons instant yeast

3/4 cups potato water (from the potato you boil ) cooled to room temperature

4 1/4 cups all purpose flour

In the bowl of your stand mixer fitted with the dough hook combine all of the ingredients. Mix until the dough starts to leave the sides of the bowl, approximately 6 minutes. The dough should be smooth and shiny, its a very soft dough and you might be tempted to add more flour, don’t do it that is the way it is supposed to be. Place the dough in a lightly greased bowl, turn the dough so that its coated with the oil. Cover the bowl in plastic wrap, then cover with a kitchen towel and let it rise until its doubled in bulk in a warm place for 90 minutes.

Ready for first rise

After almost 2 hours doubled in bulk

Once the dough has risen, remove from the bowl and on a lightly floured surface divide the dough into 16 pieces (if you want larger rolls like a sandwich roll you can make larger balls), each piece should be about the size of a handball. Gently roll the dough in your cupped hands until it forms a nice round ball.

Place the dough balls onto a parchment lined baking sheet leaving about 2 inches between each (You will have to use 2 sheet pans) Cover with well oiled plastic wrap and place a kitchen towel over them and let them rise again for 2 hours, the dough has risen sufficiently when you gently press with your finger and the indent stays. Alternatively you can refrigerate the dough balls overnight and continue the rise in the morning.

Pre-heat your oven to 350 degrees.

After the rolls have risen for 2 hours place in your pre-heated oven and bake for 20-25 minutes. They will be golden brown and when you tap them with your finger there will be a hollow sound. Brush the tops of the rolls with melted butter,

Jan 22

5 Comments

The Mission – Lets Bake

The mission should I choose to accept it (ok, its corny but I just saw the new Mission Impossible flick) is to bake an Italian Boule or loaf, the call to arms or I guess whisks came from “The solitary Cook” and we all are to bake a loaf or boule of her fabulously delicious Italian bread. Truth be told since she posted this recipe I have already made 8 loaves (see an earlier post on my site) and no one has to twist my arm to make more, its just that good. Visit The Solitary Cook at her wordpress website: thesolitarycook.wordpress.com and Lets Bake!!

Preferment on it’s way to the fridge to rest overnight

I took the preferment out of the fridge this morning, let it come to room temp and made the dough. It came together so nicely, I just love this recipe. Just took the finished loaf out of the oven. Tomorrow, with the rest of the dough I will make two boule. Here is a link to the recipe:

http://thesolitarycook.wordpress.com/2012/01/22/rustic-italian-bread/