ENGLISH MUFFINS - IN HAMBURG

Hier geht's zur deutschen Version dieses Posts (folgt noch)

Visiting my hometown Hamburg, I didn't really expect to participate in the Avid Bakers' May challenge. But our nice little Airbnb apartment in Schanzenviertel, Hamburgs youngest and most colorful quarter, has a kitchen, and Ben Wadewitz, our musician host, obviously likes to cook. He owns a stand mixer, kitchen timer and even a scale! 

Therefore, rather than succombing to the uncontrollable shivers of baking withdrawal, I bought the necessary ingredients, unearthed the components of the mixer, and started mixing the dough for ENGLISH MUFFINS, from King Arthur Flour's website.

Ben's kitchen had everything to make English muffins

Since there was no way we could eat, or store, 16 large muffins, I made only half of the recipe. Do you know how to measure half of an egg? Crack it in a small bowl, beat it with a fork, and then spoon half of the amount into your dough. 

Out of habit, and to save tedious waiting time, I mixed the dough in the evening, and let it rise in the refrigerator overnight.

It was a bit tricky to handle the soft and stubbornly sticky dough, but oiling your work surface, hands and tools, and generously sprinkling your pan and baking sheet with semolina helps quite a bit.

The cooking was easy, every time it took about 15 minutes for one side, but only 4 to 5 for the other.

Nook-ed and crannied: English muffins taste best when toasted

The muffins split open into nice, nook-ed and crannied halves, toasted well, and we ate them with butter and raspberry rhubarb jam. According to my spouse they were "exactly as English muffins should be."

Just the right snack for a hungry, homecoming "school boy": Richard, the best of all husbands, goes to German classes every morning, "so that you can't say nasty things about me on the phone anymore!"

Richard wrestles with German, while I enjoy my leisurely mornings

ENGLISH MUFFINS  (16 large muffins) adapted from King Arthur Flour

1 3/4 cup/397 g lukewarm milk  (1 3/4 cup)

3 tbsp/43 g softened butter (3 tbsp.)

1 1/4 - 1 1/2 tsp salt, to taste (I used 1 1/2 teaspoon)

2 tbsp/25 g sugar

1 large egg, lightly beaten

4 1/2 cups/539 g King Arthur Unbleached Bread Flour (I used, of course, German 550 flour)

2 tsp instant yeast (6 g was plenty)

semolina or farina, for sprinkling the griddle or pan

German ingredients for English muffins

DAY 1

Combine all dough ingredients in bowl of stand mixer, fitted with paddle (to handle the very soft dough). Beat at medium-high speed, until dough starts coming away from sides of bowl, and is satin-smooth, shiny, and very stretchy (about 5 minutes.) 

Using a bowl scraper, transfer dough to a lightly oiled bowl, fold it from all sides to coat with oil, then cover bowl with plastic wrap, and place in refrigerator overnight. (Or, if you want to bake the same day, let it rise until it's nice and puffy, about 1 to 2 hours.)

Dough, risen overnight in the fridge

DAY 2

Sprinkle a large well-seasoned or non-stick pan or griddle heavily with semolina or farina. Also, sprinkle a baking sheet generously with semolina (or farina.) 

Remove dough from refrigerator, and scrape it onto an oiled work surface (it is quite sticky!) With oiled hands and bench knife or large kitchen knife (also oiled to prevent sticking) gently deflate dough, and cut it into 16 pieces. 

Roll pieces in your hands (re-oil, if needed) into fairly smooth balls, flatten until they're about 3" to 3 1/2" in diameter, and place the first 4 muffins on the prepared (cold) pan (or as much as fit, on the griddle,) the others on the baking sheet (they can be fairly close together.) 

After their 20 minute rest the muffins look a bit puffed, but not much different

Sprinkle all muffins with more semolina or farina, cover them with parchment or plastic wrap, and let them rest for 20 minutes. They won't rise much, but puff a bit.

Cook muffins over low heat for 7 to 15 minutes per side, until crust is golden brown, and interior cooked through, registering about 200°F. (If they are brow, before they're done, place them into preheated 350°F oven for about 10 minutes, or until they're thoroughly cooked.) 

English muffins, baked on a bed of semolina flour

Let baked muffins cool on wire rack, and cook remaining muffins in batches, until they are all done.

REMEMBER: use a fork to split, not a knife to cut. Fork-split muffins will have wonderful nooks and crannies; knife-cut ones won't.

First of May holiday in Schanzenviertel

Submitted to Panissimo:  Bread & Companatico

                                        Indovina chi viene a cena                                            

CROISSANTS - IN BUTTERY HEAVEN

Hier geht's zur deutschen Version dieses Posts














When my husband decided to open up a furniture store in Portland, ME, he found an big old garage in Fore Street. After spending a month with scrubbing, painting and cutting new panes for each of the high windows, he turned the dark and dirty place into a beautiful, light space, to showcase his contemporary furnishings.

Eventually Richard Parks Gallery moved to Commercial Street, and the first floor of the old store became Fore Street Restaurant, one of Portland's foodie temples.

The souterrain was turned into a bakery, and, instead of housing French sofas and bistro tables, it's now home of Standard Baking Co., maker of the best French breads and pastries in Maine!

Richard Parks Gallery on Fore Street in the early Nineties

Whenever we visit Portland, we get Pain au Levain, Seeded Fougasse, Croissants, or, on Fridays, Rugalachs.

Last time we came into the bakery, I saw a pile of books: Standard Baking Company had published "Pastries" with many of their recipes, including those of the croissants and rugalachs we were just about to buy. Of course I didn't hesitate one second, grabbed one of the little books, and, while driving home and munching on a walnut filled rugalach, studied the recipes.

Though I bake (and sell) lots of breads, I have little experience with French baking, and couldn't wait to try making one of those mouthwatering pastries myself.

I was also wondering whether Alison Pray and Tara Smith had dumbed down their formulas to make them "everybody's darling". Or, jealously guarding their secrets, changed them so that the home baked pastries would never taste the same as their professional counterparts at the store (try finding the original Sachertorte in Hotel Sacher's pastry book!)

Worth every penny!

To my utter delight neither was the case. Every piece of pastry I made so far was outstanding - and tasted as good as its sibling at the bakery. (No, I don't get a kickback for my gushing!)

Croissants, with their multi-layered, buttery dough, are the gold standard of pastry baking. I had made them only once before. Those had turned out quite nice, and I was curious how the Standard Baking ones would compare to them.

I found the formula easy to follow, with clear, detailed instructions and explanations for every step of the way. Involved as the process is, it's not rocket science, and you really can do it at home!

You have to plan ahead, though, because you'll achieve your best results when you allow the dough sufficient time to rest. As with most of my breads, time and the refrigerator are your friends, achieving three important goals: relax the gluten (readying the dough for the next turn), keep the butter cold (preventing it from seeping out) and develop the taste.

Therefore, make yourself familiar with the whole procedure before you start! This is your schedule for the 3-day process (no worries, the actual hands-on time is much less!)

Pure buttery, flaky goodness!

 TIME PLANNER

DAY 1 (Mixing the dough)
Hands-on time: 20 minutes mixing           Resting time: 1 hour plus 1 night

DAY 2: (Laminating the dough)
Hands-on time: 2 to 2 1/2 hour                 Resting time: 2 hours plus 1 night

DAY 3: (Shaping and baking)
Hands-on time: 30 minutes                       Resting time: 1 1/2 to 2 hours
            

If you don't want to use all the dough for regular butter croissants, use part of it for Pain au Chocolat or Ham & Cheese Croissants or Morning Buns. You can also freeze the laminated dough up to 10 days, thaw it in the refrigerator overnight before baking.)

And if you have leftovers, recycle them into utterly delicious Almond Croissants!


BUTTER CROISSANTS   (12)  (adapted with Alison Pray's permission from Standard Baking Co. "Pastries")

Dough
630 g all-purpose flour (4 1/2 cups)
    7 g instant yeast (2 1/4 tsp)
  50 g sugar (1/4 cup)
  14 g salt (2 1/2 tsp)
  28 g unsalted butter*) (2 tbsp), cool, cut in pieces
186 g water, at room temperature (about 70ºF) (3/4 cup)
186 g milk, at room temperature (about 70ºF) (3/4 cup)

Butter Roll-In
280 g/10 oz unsalted butter*), chilled

Egg Wash
1 egg
2 tsp. water
1 pinch salt

*) If you have the chance, get European style butter with a higher percentage of fat (like Cabot's European style butter or Plugra)

DAY 1
For the dough, whisk together flour, yeast, sugar and salt in a large bowl. Using your fingertips, rub butter into dry ingredients until it is evenly distributed and coated with flour mixture.

Rubbing the butter into the dry ingredients is easy

Using a stand mixer with dough hook: Combine water and milk in mixer bowl. Add dry ingredients on low speed and incorporate for 3 minutes, scraping down sides of bowl as needed.

Increase to medium speed, stopping mixer after 2 minutes to check consistency of dough. It should be medium-soft. (If it feels stiff, add more water, a tablespoon at a time.) Resume mixing for 2 minutes more. Dough will not be completely smooth, but hold together. (Don't over-mix, you don't want the dough to become tough!)

Using a food processor: Pulse for about 2 minutes, or until dough comes together in a ball. (Don't over-mix, otherwise dough becomes more difficult to roll out, and result in less tender croissants.)

Place dough in lightly oiled container, turn around to coat with oil, cover, and let rise in a warm spot (ideally 75ºF) for about 1 hour, or until it has grown by about half.

The dough has risen 1 1/2 times its original size

Transfer dough to a lightly floured work surface and pat it into a rectangle about 2 inches thick. Wrap it in plastic and seal it well to prevent it from escaping when it rises. Refrigerate dough overnight (or at least for a minimum of 4 hours.)

(I placed the dough on lightly floured cutting board, sprayed it lightly with baking spray,  put the whole thing first into an unscented garbage bag, and then in the fridge.)

DAY 2
About half an hour before rolling out the chilled dough, prepare butter roll-in: cut cold butter into large chunks, and place them in mixer fitted with dough hook. Beat butter on medium speed until completely smooth and pliable, but not warm (about 3 minutes.)

(You can also pound the butter with a French rolling pin until it is flat and pliable, but the mixer works great.)

After kneading the butter is pliable but still cold

Transfer butter to a piece of plastic wrap or parchment paper. Press it into a 6-inch square, 1/2 inch thick. (I measured and marked parchment paper at 6 inches, and folded it into a square, then closed it with the butter inside, and pressed on the package until the butter filled the edges.)

Chill butter square in refrigerator for about 15 minutes (it should be just firm, but not hard.)

Folded parchment paper helps pressing the butter into a square

And now the fun starts: you are about to create something absolutely wonderful, a tender, buttery, multi-layered (laminated) croissant dough.

Room temperature and work surface should be on the cool side, and each step should be done as quickly as possible, to prevent dough and butter from getting warm. Put everything you need (flour for dusting the work surface, roller pin, brush for excess flour, and ruler for measuring) within easy reach.

The butter square covers half of the dough rectangle.

If the chilled butter feels too firm, take it out of the fridge a few minutes before using. Dust work surface lightly with flour. Remove dough and butter block from refrigerator. Roll dough into rectangle twice the size of the butter square: 12 x 6 inches. Brush off excess flour from top of dough. Place butter square (unwrapped) on one half of rectangle, so that edges are neatly stacked.

Fold other half of dough over butter, and press open sides together to seal butter in. Lightly re-flour work surface, if necessary, and roll out dough rectangle into a square, about 1/2-inch thick and twice as long as it is wide (the long side should be facing you.) Brush dough surface to remove loose flour.

Roll out dough into rectangle twice as long as it is wide

Fold dough lengthwise in thirds like a business letter, always brushing any loose flour from the surface before you fold: first fold left third over center, then right side over left. Using a bench knife, straighten and square edges, so that layers are neatly stacked. Congratulations! You just made your first turn (aka envelope fold.)

Wrap the dough "envelope" in plastic wrap and refrigerate it for 45 - 60 minutes, so that you and the gluten can relax and cool down. In the meantime, clean your work surface from any remaining bits of dough, and dust it again lightly with flour.

After its workout the dough needs another break in the fridge

Unwrap cooled dough and place it on work surface, the long, folded side facing you. Roll out dough as before into a 1/2-inch thick rectangle. Fold it again in thirds, always brushing off excess flour between folds. The second turn is done! Re-wrap and re-chill dough again for 45 - 60 minutes.

Now you're already a pro, and know how to handle the third and final turn. Unwrap, roll out, fold, and use the brush in between! You don't want flour to keep the layers from adhering.

Brushing off any flour from the top of the dough is important

So, that's it for the day, wrap your (beautifully laminated) dough in plastic and place it in the freezer. Before you go to sleep, take it out, and put it in the fridge so that it can slowly thaw overnight. (Or, if your mouth waters too much, and you need to bake it the same day, give it at least 2 hours chill-out time before shaping.)

TO MAKE AHEAD: You can also freeze the dough up to 10 days, thawing it in the fridge overnight before baking.

DAY 3
Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper. On a lightly floured work surface, roll dough into 12-inch x 25-inch rectangle (1/4 inch thick.) Re-dust with a little flour, if needed, to prevent sticking. If dough springs back and is difficult to lengthen, let it rest a few minutes, before you continue. When desired length is reached, trim and straighten narrow ends with pizza wheel or chef's knife.

A same size piece of parchment paper with markings helps with the cutting

Cut rectangle into long, skinny triangles, 4 inches wide at base and 10 to 12 inches long on sides. (It's easier if you cut parchment paper into a same size rectangle, and measure and mark bases and tips of triangles on it. Place paper over dough, and then mark dough in the same way with little incisions.)

Make a 3/4-inch incision in the center of each triangle base (this notch helps to create the desired length in the final shape.)

To shape each croissants, pick up a triangle, holding base edge with one hand. With the other hand about 1 inch from base, pull dough gently to lengthen it slightly, without causing any tears. Place triangle down again, base towards you, and gently but firmly roll it up towards the tip. (If done properly, you should have 6 to 7 tiers.)

Leftover dough scraps: Place cut off half-triangles from both edges side by side, pinch the middle seam together, put any other small scraps on top, and roll this patchwork triangle up, too. It will be a little "malfatti" (badly made) as my half Italian spouse calls it, but nothing of your precious dough will be lost.

The triangles get a notch at the base to make lengthening easier

Put shaped croissants on prepared baking sheets, evenly spaced, the tips should be tucked underneath.

For the egg wash, whisk together egg with water and salt in small bowl until smooth. Brush croissants lightly with egg wash, carefully avoiding open edges, so that the egg can't glue them together and prevent tiers from rising. (Refrigerate remaining egg wash for the second application.)

The croissants need to proof for about 1 1/2 to 2 hours. Place baking sheets in the (unheated!) oven, then put a pan with hot, steaming water on the bottom to provide the ideal rising environment: humid, to prevent a skin from forming, and warm, but not too warm - you don't want the butter to melt, resulting in less flaky, greasy croissants.

Half an hour before baking, remove proofing croissants from oven. Position racks in upper and lower thirds, and preheat oven to 430º F.

Cover croissants, and continue to let them rise, until they have almost doubled in size, and dough springs back slightly when pressed gently with a finger tip, but the dimple should remain visible. Each tier should still hold its distinct shape. (Check croissants frequently after the first hour of rising, if they overproof, they will have loose their flakiness and have a bread-like structure. The room temperature should not be too warm.)

Proofed croissants (the "malfatti" on the upper right looks hardly different!)

A few minutes before they go into the oven, brush risen croissants again with a thin coat of egg wash, carefully avoiding the edges (you don't want to screw up now!)

Bake croissants for 10 minutes, then quickly rotate baking sheets from top to bottom and from front to back, for more even browning, taking care not to leave the door open too long. Continue baking for another 4 - 6 minutes, until they are evenly baked, with deeply browned, crisp edges.

Remove sheets from oven, and transfer croissants to wire rack, to cool a bit. They are best when eaten while still warm, or shortly after baking.

If you cant eat all of the croissants right away, you can wrap them individually in plastic wrap, and re-crisp them at 375ºF for a few minutes.

OR YOU TURN THEM INTO HEAVENLY ALMOND CROISSANTS!

There is no such thing as stale croissants when you recycle them into these!

Sorry, I know, this is a mean teaser, but I can only encourage you to buy the book. You won't regret it!

Submitted to YeastSpotting

                                              and Panissimo: Bread & Companatico 
                                                                       Indovina chi viene a cena)

GRUYÈRE-STUFFED CRUSTY MINI BREADS

French Quarter, New Orleans

Hier geht's zur deutschen Version dieses Posts

































Back from a mother-daughter trip to New Orleans, it's time for our monthly ABC baking again. Our April project could be right out of the French Quarter: cute little cheese stuffed loaves that look like mini volcanoes, overflowing with crispy bits of Gruyère.

And, like every bread we saw in New Orleans, they are all-white, without even a trace of whole grain.

This recipe, GRUYÈRE-STUFFED CRUSTY LOAVES, from King Arthur Flour website, was developed by the French Pastry School in Chicago (Chef Jacquy Pfeiffer also created the tasty Alsatian Beer Bread.)

Starting the evening before, you have to mix a starter from bread flour, water and yeast, and let it rise at room temperature overnight, so that it is puffy and spongy when you scrape it into the mixer bowl the next morning.

A well fermented starter shows a spongy structure

All ingredients are then mixed into a "smooth dough", no further specifications. After all flour was hydrated I gave it a 5 minutes rest for autolyse, and then kneaded the dough for 6 minutes, with a little more water added than the lower amount given in the recipe. The dough should feel a bit sticky first, but only tacky when fully kneaded.

I gave it one stretch & fold, placed it in an oiled container, set the kitchen timer for one hour, and walked the dog. When we came back, the dough had almost managed to escaped from its hold. Though my kitchen was not overly warm, it already had more than doubled!

"Almost" doubled? Slight understatement!

Patting and stretching the risen dough into a square is easy. It is then sprayed or brushed with water, and sprinkled with grated cheese.

Our supermarket had smoked Gruyère as this week's special offer, so I chose that for my filling. I had no garlic oil (optional ingredient), I sprinkled some garlic powder over the grated cheese. Instead of the (optional) pizza seasoning, I used my usual pizza enhancer, a teaspoon of Herbes de Provence.

Smoked Gruyère filling

You roll the square into a long log - no big problem - pinch the seam to seal, place it seam side down, and let it rise for 1 to 1 1/2 hours. It should have grown, but not doubled. Always use the finger poke test to gauge whether it's time to put it in the oven, never go just by looks or time.

You don't know what this is? Poke the dough gently, the dimple should not spring back, only fill a little bit, but remain visible. If it fills completely, the bread has not proofed enough, if the dimple stays just as deep as you poked it, it might be overproofed already (unless it is a very stiff dough with grains and seeds.)

Cut the log in 2 or 4 even slices, for larger or smaller loaves (I chose smaller ones.) Place the pieces on a parchment lined baking sheet, cut side up and spread open to expose the cheese. From the looks of it, I don't really know how you want to do that with the larger loaves (making chimneys?)

The mini loaves are placed on the sheet, cut side up, to show the filling

I had some egg wash leftovers, so I brushed the sides with egg. After 20 minutes the cheese bits on  top started to get dark, so I removed the breads from the oven. The crust could have been a bit crispier (and, also, softened rather quickly), I should have probably covered the loaves with tin foil and baked them a bit longer.

They tasted very good, especially when toasted. But they tended to fall apart, along the cheese filling lines. That's another reason why I would make them smaller next time.

COMMENTS:
These savory breads are great as a snack, and, with their attractive looks, would grace any party buffet. Since they tend to fall apart along the cheese filling, when sliced, I would make even smaller pieces, like pin wheels, cutting the log into 6 to 8 (instead of 4) slices.

The next time I would try to cut a bit down on the instant yeast (the dough rose very fast), from 2.5 grams to 2 grams.

I substituted 10% of the bread flour with white whole wheat (you could easily do 25%), used Herbes de Provence instead of the (optional) pizza dough seasoning, and sprinkled some dried garlic powder instead of the (optional) garlic oil over the filling.

Next time I would make them smaller, like pin wheels

Submitted to YeastSpotting
                                                    and to

                                                   Bread & Companatico
                                                   Indovina chi viene a cena

AROMA BREAD - A LOVE STORY

The perfect Aroma Bread

Hier geht's zur deutschen Version dieses Posts




















One of my most favorite cookbooks is "Ancient Grains for Modern Meals".

Award winning Author Maria Speck combines her German father's love for hearty grains, and her Greek mother's culinary talents in dishes that make you grab your shopping bag, hop on the bike or in the car, and drive to the next natural food store to buy those ancient grains, veggies and fruits for Maria's mouthwatering meals.

Normally I consider a cookbook worth its money, if it contains at least one recipe I really like to cook. "Ancient Grains for Modern Meals" has so many, that I still haven't prepared all the ones I want to try. (No, I DON'T get a commission!)

A few of the dishes are breads, among them the Aroma Bread. A no-knead bread by trade, its evocative name spiked my interest, and my love affair with the spicy loaf began.

"Ancient Grains" is very user friendly, with detailed, easy to follow instructions, no sophisticated culinary equipment needed.

No-knead breads meet these expectations, a mixing bowl, a wooden spoon, a clean kitchen towel, a Dutch oven, and you are all set.

These low maintenance breads don't want you to slave over them, they are free spirits, and perfectly willing to go and develop themselves, if you give them enough time (and a little bit of yeast.) They show their gratitude by rising eagerly, and tasting better than many other loaves that had been kneaded, slapped and punched into submission.

You have the choice between a crunchy, and an XX-crunchy Aroma Bread. If you opt for the super chewy, you need to soak whole grain berries for several hours, before mixing them into the dough. This is definitely no impulse bread, so plan to bake it 24 hours ahead.

Maria called her loaf "Aroma Bread" for a good reason. This truly aromatic loaf is not for the faint hearted! But in our old home country Germany breads are often flavored with coriander, fennel and caraway, these herbs are even commonly referred to as "Brotgewürz" (bread spices.) You can use them whole, or coarsely ground.

Bread spices fennel, caraway and coriander

As easy as no-knead breads are to mix, handling wet dough always remains a bit of a challenge. And here comes the sticky wicket: the dough has to be shaped into a loaf, and transferred from the mixing bowl to a place where it can rise. And, after that, it has to be turned out into a piping hot Dutch oven.

That leaves you with two choices: either to lower the bread gently into the pot, risking nasty burns (aka Baker's Badge of Honor). Or you let it drop from a secure height - and have your bread sigh and deflate!

Maria solves the problem by having you scrape the bubbly fermented mass onto a well floured countertop (flour is your friend, creating a barrier between the sticky dough and its surroundings), so that you can fold it into a round.

Then you place the loaf on a floured kitchen towel, fold the corners over it, and, voilà, you have a cozy proofing place. Of course, it takes a rather amorphous shape from being bundled in a kitchen towel. 

My first bread went into a large, oval Dutch oven (I didn't have a smaller one), and eagerly spread to fill the void.

My first Aroma Bread - shaped like a roly poly!

Baked into a rather flat loaf, it reminded me of those little things that scurry away when you lift a stone. But when I took the first bite, my eyes glazed over. My flat roly poly bread tasted awesome!

The next time I decided to set the bread more boundaries, changing its Armadillidiida appearance. Instead of proofing it simply in a towel, I used my pretty brotform to contain it.

Proofed in a rising basket, the bread is round but still...

It came out of the oven nice and round, but still... way too much room to spread during the baking.

Alas! My main source for discounted kitchen gadgets, Home Goods, was letting me down when I needed it most. Still without the right sized pot, I decided to experiment with a free-standing, self- contained sourdough version, made with pre-doughs à la Peter Reinhart's "Whole Grain Breads".

Aroma Bread made as free-standing loaf (with sourdough)

My hearth baked sourdough loaf turned out beautiful. Though I couldn't find much difference in taste, this method is a good alternative for people who either have no Dutch oven, love wild yeasts, hate wet doughs, or prefer to bake their bread as free-standing loaf.

The next time I visited Marshall's (another treasure trove for kitchen stuff) I found a snazzy turquoise cast iron pot in just the right size - for half the price! And soon was mixing the ingredients for my fourth Aroma Bread - again the no-knead version.

And out of the oven came (TATAAA!): the perfect Aroma Bread - looking just as good as it tasted!

The last task left to do for inquiring minds, was to try the sandwich version of Aroma Bread, baked in a loaf pan. A cold cut-friendly shape, and the easiest way to make this wonderful bread. And it has an additional benefit: you can bake more than just one loaf at a time. (My customers will be happy!)

Aroma Sandwich Bread - the easiest version

COMMENTS:

• If you use the optional whole grain berries (I made the bread with and without, both versions are great) add more salt: 9 g/0.3 oz instead of 7 g/0.25 oz. 

• Instead of sunflower seeds you can also take pumpkin seeds (or a mixture of both.)

• Toast the seeds, before adding them to the dough.

• For an easier, risk free transport of the proofed bread into the hot pot, use a large piece of parchment paper as a sling to lower the bread gently into the pot. You don't have to remove it.

AROMA BREAD  (adapted from "Ancient Grains for Modern Meals")
Makes 1 (2-pound) loaf

Grain Berries (optional):
1/2 cup whole wheat, rye, kamut, or spelt berries
cold water, for soaking

Dough:
340 g/12 oz whole spelt flour (3 cups)
107 g/ 3.75 oz whole rye flour (1 cup)
  57 g/2 oz coarse or medium stone ground cornmeal (1/2 cup)
  67 g/ 2.35 oz sunflower or pumpkin seeds, toasted (1/2 cup)
  35 g/ 1.25 oz flax or sesame seeds, toasted (1/4 cup)
   2 tbsp. aroma spice blend*)
    7 g/ 1 1/2 tsp fine sea salt (or 9 g/0.3 oz if using whole grain berries)
    1 g/ 1/4 tsp. instant yeast
     all soaked whole grain berries (if using)
475 g/2 cups cold water
cornmeal, for sprinkling

*) Aroma spice blend: mix 6 tablespoons whole coriander seeds with 3 tablespoons each fennel and caraway seeds (enough for 6 loaves).

DAY 1
In the morning, place whole grain berries in a bowl and cover with at least 1-inch cold water. Cover, and leave at room temperature to soak. Before using, drain them through a strainer (by the way, the soaking water is an excellent fertilizer for your plants.)

Mixed dough - I used black sesame seeds for a nice contrast

In the evening, whisk together all ingredients for the dough in a large bowl, except for soaked grain berries and water. Scatter grain berries on top, and add almost all the water. Stir with a dough whisk or wooden spoon until all flour is hydrated. (Dough will be wet and sticky, if not, add a bit more water.) Cover with plastic wrap, and let sit at room temperature to ferment for 12 - 18 hours.

Overnight the dough grows to a puffy, swollen mass

DAY 2
Use a rising basket, (or improvise by placing a clean kitchen towel over a basket or bowl.) Sprinkle with fine cornmeal (other flours work, too). Generously flour your work surface. Using a bowl scraper or rubber spatula, scrape the stringy, bubbly dough onto the work surface.

Scraping out the fermented dough you will see its spongy structure

With floured hands (or two oiled bench knifes or bowl scrapers), fold dough exactly 4 times, always towards the center, from the top, the bottom, the right and the left side. Turn the dough package around and place it, seam side down, into the towel lined rising basket. Sprinkle with cornmeal or flour, cover with a kitchen towel, and let it rise for about 1 hour.

After 30 minutes, position a rack in the bottom third of the oven, and preheat oven to 475ºF. Place a 4 1/2- to 5 1/2-quart cast iron pot or Dutch oven (with lid) on the rack to heat up.

When the dough has grown about 1 1/2 times its original size, poke it gently with your finger. The dimple should not fill up again (it can come back a little bit, but should remain visible). If not, wait another 15 minutes.

Fitting snugly in the Dutch oven, the bread will rise more than spread.

Remove hot pot from the oven and open the lid. Gently turn out the proofed bread from the rising basket into the Dutch oven, seam side up, guiding it with your hand, (or turn it out onto a parchment paper and, holding the paper on both sides, gently lower the bread into the pot (with paper).

Cover with the lid, and bake for 30 minutes. Uncover, and continue baking for 20 - 25 minutes, until the loaf is nicely browned, sounds hollow when thumped on the bottom, and an instant thermometer, inserted in the middle, registers 200ºF.

Remove bread from cast-iron pot and transfer it to a wire rack to cool.


AROMA SANDWICH LOAF

Grease a 9 x 5-inch loaf pan with oil, and sprinkle it with 1-2 tablespoons of flax- or sesame seeds. After folding the risen dough, place it, seam side up, right in the prepared loaf pan. (My suggestion: brush top with water, and sprinkle it with more flax- or sesame seeds.) Let it proof as described.

Preheat oven only to 425ºF, placing an oven proof pan or broiler tray for steaming on a the lowest level to heat up.

When loaf is proofed, place in the middle of the oven, pour 1 cup boiling water in the hot steam pan , and bake loaf for 30 minutes. Remove steam pan, rotate bread 180 degrees for even browning, and  bake it for about 30 minutes more, or until it registers 200ºF.

Let loaf cool in the pan for 5 minutes, than turn it out onto a wire rack (if it sticks to the pan, loosen it with a butter knife or spatula.)


AROMA SOURDOUGH BREAD 

Starter:
  64 g/2.25 oz rye mother starter (100% hydration)
205 g/7.25 oz whole spelt flour
124 g/4.4 oz lukewarm water

Soaker:
  57 g/2 oz coarse or medium ground cornmeal
  75 g/2.65 oz whole rye flour
  92 g/3.25 oz whole spelt flour
168 g/6 oz water
    4 g/0.15 salt

Final Dough:
   all soaker and starter
  43 g/1.5 oz whole spelt flour
    5 g/0.2 oz salt
    5 g/0.2 oz instant yeast
  67 g/2.35 oz sunflower- or pumpkin seeds, toasted
  35 g/1.25 oz sesame seeds, toasted
    2 tbsp. aroma spice blend (see original recipe)
182 g/6.4 oz water, add more as needed

DAY 1
In the morning, stir together all ingredients for soaker. Cover, and leave at room temperature.

Mix all starter ingredients at low speed (or by hand) for 1 minute, until all flour is hydrated. Knead for 2 minutes at medium-low speed (or by hand.) Let rest for 5 minutes, then resume kneading for another minute. Cover, and leave at room temperature.

In the evening, mix all ingredients for final dough for 1- 2 minutes at low speed (or by hand) until all flour is hydrated. Knead at medium-low speed (or by hand) for 4 minutes, adding more water as needed. Dough should be very tacky and not dry to the touch. Let dough rest for 5 minutes, then resume kneading for 1 more minute. (Dough should be tacky, but not sticky.)

Gather dough into a ball, and place it in a lightly oiled bowl, turning it around to coat it with oil. Cover well, and place it in refrigerator overnight.

DAY 2
Remove dough from fridge 2 hours before using, to warm up. (It should have risen nicely overnight.)

Preheat oven to 500ºF, with bread stone and steam pan.

Transfer dough to lightly floured work surface, and shape into a round. Place boule, seam side down, in a floured rising basket. Sprinkle with more flour. Cover, and let it rise for 45 - 60 minutes, or until it has grown 1 1/2 times its original size, and a dimple stays visible when you gently poke it with a finger.

Turn bread out onto a parchment lined baking sheet (or use a peel) and place it in the oven, pour a cup of boiling water in the steam pan and reduce heat to 475ºF. After 10 minutes, reduce heat to 425ºF. Continue baking for another 10 minutes, rotate bread 180 degrees, remove steam pan, and bake for about 30 minutes more, or until it is nicely browned, sounds hollow when thumped on the bottom, and registers 200ºF.

Cool on wire rack.

This Aroma Bread was made with whole kamut berries

You can also follow Maria Speck on facebook or on twitter (I do!)

(Reprinted with permission from Ancient Grains for Modern Meals by Maria Speck, copyright © 2011. Published by Ten Speed Press, a division of Random House, Inc.)

Submitted to YeastSpotting

CHOCOLATE CHERRY HAZELNUT BREAD

Hier geht's zur deutschen Version dieses Posts
















Time flies, and, before I could even turn the February leaf of my (heavily scribbled on) kitchen calender, we have March and a new Avid Baker's Challenge.

Hanaâ, whose choices we ABC bakers follow meekly, picked the No-Knead Chocolate Cherry Pecan Bread from King Arthur's website (our 2013 recipe source.) for our March project.

 

This bread is made with a so called no-knead dough - Jim Lahey's brain child, and an amazingly simple method. Instead of long kneading, enough time and a very small amount of yeast help the dough develop itself, while you sleep the sleep of the happy, lazy, baker.

Confusingly, our chosen March recipe comes in two slightly different versions, one listed on the KA website, the other on the KA blog. The blogger, P J Hamel, not only changed the procedure, but also made significant changes to the ingredients, trying to make it easier for newbies to prepare this (a bit challenging) bread.

Finding the dough too soft to work with, she reduced the water. To make sure the dough would rise fast enough, she cut down on the salt, and upped the yeast.

She also mixed the dough first without add-ins, kneading in chocolate, cherries and nuts only after the first rise. Adding the additional instant yeast to the (already risen!) dough - I really can't imagine why!

After reading both versions, I decided on the original recipe from KA's website. A regular bread baker, I'm not afraid of higher hydration doughs, and know from experience that even a pinch of instant yeast lets the dough rise just fine - if you give it enough time!

There are also a few tricks to make handling very soft doughs less difficult, and I'm going to share those with you.

If you follow the recipe on KA website (proofing the dough in an oiled bowl, and turning it out into the piping hot crock pot) you risk burns, and might deflate the bread in transit.

Letting the bread proof in the pan you bake it in (as suggested in the blog) wasn't too appealing to me, either. If you don't have the right sized pan, and it's not preheated, the bread will spread more than you like.

And then there was the complaint of other bakers that pieces of chocolate or cherries will stick out from the dough, and get scorched during the bake!

Flour is your friend - not only in the dough, but around it!

Well, there is a way to kill both birds with one stone: more flour! But not in the dough, but around it. Proofing your loaf in a towel-lined, well-floured rising basket (or bowl) makes turning it out a cinch, and prevents those peek-a-boo add-ins from burning.

"Cook's Illustrated", my sage adviser in all things cooking, came up with an (almost) no-knead bread, using a parchment paper sling to transport the bread into the Dutch oven with ease, and without a hazard to your health.

I love hazelnuts

I made one change to the ingredients: I love hazelnuts (the prevalent nut in Germany), especially in rye bread, so I chose those instead of pecans.

They are not as easily available in the US, but Trader Joe's offers them in good quality and for a very reasonable price.

I can recommend King Arthur's flours, I use them in my bakery, too.



CHOCOLATE CHERRY HAZELNUT BREAD (adapted from King Arthur Flour website)

363 g/12 3/4 oz unbleached all-purpose flour (King Arthur's has 12% protein) or bread flour
57 g/2 oz whole rye flour
 57 g/2 oz whole wheat flour
12 g/2 1/2 tsp. salt
1 g/1/4 tsp. instant yeast
399 g/14 oz cool water (1 3/4 cup)
93 g/3 1/4 oz dried cherries
85 g/3 oz semi-sweet chocolate chips
171 g/6 oz whole hazelnuts, toasted 


DAY 1
Mix flours, salt, yeast, and water in a large bowl. Add cherries, chocolate chips, and nuts. Stir well to make a very soft dough. Cover, and let rest at room temperature overnight (at least 12 hours.)

After 12 hours the dough is puffy and bubbly

 DAY 2
Turn bubbly and puffy dough out onto a floured surface, and, using two bowl scrapers, fold it from the outside to the middle a few times, until you have a round.

With floured hands or bench knife, transfer it to a well floured, towel lined bowl, or rising basket, smooth side down.

Sprinkle dough with flour, cover it with plastic wrap or kitchen towel, and let it rise at room temperature for about 2 hours, or until it has grown 1 1/2 times its original size, and a slight indentation remains when poked with a finger.

Preheat oven to 450°F and place a heavy, 4- to 4 1/2-quart Dutch oven in oven while it heats.

Parchment paper helps transferring the bread into the Dutch oven - no burns!

Turn proofed bread out onto large piece of parchment paper. Remove hot pot from oven, and lift bread with paper into the pot. Cover pot with lid, and return it to oven.

Bake bread for 20 minutes, then remove lid and continue to bake for another 30 minutes, or until bread is deep brown, sounds hollow when thumped on the bottom, and registers about 205°F.

Turn bread out onto a rack, and cool before slicing.

My bread looks a bit more rustic with the flour

When we tasted the bread (still warm, we couldn't wait) we loved it!  It had a nice crust, and offered a pleasant contrast between the hearty crumb and the sweetness of the cherries and chocolate, and the crunchiness of the hazelnuts.

Though this is a "dessert bread", and can't be eaten with cold cuts or cheese, I prefer it to an all sweet bread, like stollen or panettone, anytime!

Submitted to YeastSpotting