Braided Pumpkin Brioche for World Bread Day

Today is World Bread Day. The day for bread bakers around the world to showcase their breads and celebrate the staff of life.

Zorra of kochtopf started the event for bloggers in 2006 and each year, hundreds of bloggers from all around the world bake bread for this special day. This year, Zorra has a special wish to see a huge basket filled with at least 365 breads from all over the world. 

I’m doing my part by submitting this Braided Pumpkin Brioche for the 8th World Bread Day. What are you baking?

 

I saw the formula for this Pumpkin Brioche on the San Francisco Baking Institute’s site and knew I had to try it. I’ve been thinking about it for several weeks and waiting for the perfect opportunity to make it.

The main reason I wanted to make this bread is because it’s a great bread for Autumn. I’ve always loved making pumpkin bread. For me, pumpkin bread is the ultimate comfort food for Fall and when you combine that with a buttery smooth brioche, you get an awesome treat.

The other reason I was interested in this particular bread is that the formula is in pounds instead of grams or ounces. This was an opportunity to try something different since I hadn’t yet worked with a formula that presented all of the weights in pounds.  

I didn’t think this would be a big issue since my scales have settings for grams, ounces and pounds, but I’ve gotten so used to working in grams and ounces that I kept forgetting to change the setting on my scales. I ended up adding a good bit more flour so I think I need more practice.

---

To make the dough for this Pumpkin Brioche, click here to download the formula from the SFBI site.

---

I made the dough exactly by the formula (or so I thought), but as I mentioned earlier, I ended up using a good bit more flour than 3 1/4 cups (.867 lbs) because the dough was really sticky.  It was still tacky but workable after adding the additional flour.

My scales don’t go low enough to measure .002 lbs of cinnamon and .001 lbs of the other spices so I added 1 teaspoon of cinnamon, 1/2 teaspoon of nutmeg, and 1/4 teaspoon each of ground ginger and ground cloves. I think some new baking scales are in order, but for this experiment, the teaspoon measurements worked fine.  The spices provided a warm and comforting flavor without overpowering the bread.

I’m so glad I chose to make this bread this past weekend because my favorite taste testers (aka my sons) were home. I had a good bit of dough (about 3 pounds) so I was able to use some of the dough to make rolls for dinner (which I served with roast chicken) and the rest for the braided loaf.

 

How to Make Pumpkin Brioche Dinner Rolls:

To make the brioche rolls, I divided the dough in half and weighed out about 2 ounces of dough for each roll. I rolled each ball tightly and let them proof for about 30 minutes before baking.

 

Once the rolls were baked, I brushed them with melted butter. They were delightful. My taste testers really enjoyed them. My oldest son loves rolls and he took a bite and said, “oh, these are good!” 

 

I put the remaining dough in the refrigerator overnight and made the braided loaf the next day. Since I had a good bit of dough left, I was able to make a 4-strand braid.

 

How to make a 4-Strand Braided Pumpkin Brioche Loaf:

Divide the dough into 4 equal balls (by weight).

 

Roll each ball out to a strand of equal length.

 

Connect the strands at one end and spread the other ends out with the tips facing you.

 

Number the strands 1, 2, 3, 4 from the left.  Follow the pattern: 4 over 2, 1 over 3, and 2 over 3.  Repeat until you reach the ends of the strands, then pinch the tips together to seal.  Transfer the braid to a parchment-lined baking sheet, cover with plastic wrap, and let it proof for 30 to 45 minutes.

 

Right before baking, brush the braid with egg white and sprinkle with raw sugar.  I added some pumpkin seeds for added affect.

 

Let the braid cool on a wire rack before slicing.  Then slice and enjoy.

This bread tastes great plain, but it also makes great cinnamon toast.  I think it would also make awesome French Toast.  I’ll have to try that next.

 

I enjoyed participating in the 2013 World Bread Day. 

 

Every day is bread day as far as I’m concerned, but there’s something special about bakers around the world celebrating it on the same day.

Happy World Bread Day!

Cathy

 

I’m also sharing these loaves with:

BYOB - Il Cestino del Pane

Russian Mountain Braid with Sprouted Wheat

Today is World Bread Day. A day where bread bakers around the globe come together to celebrate the staff of life.

Throughout history, bread has played an integral role in feeding the masses and in commemorating important traditions and events. Each bread tells a unique story and carves a place in time. Some say bread (or the lack thereof) has been responsible for the rise and fall of kingdoms. All I know is that I like it and I’m happy to be celebrating it today.

As with all bread, there’s a story behind this braid.  It’s actually a story within a story. It all began when Tanya, one of the Bread Baking Babes, suggested that we make Caucasian Bread for World Bread Day.

I know what you’re thinking… what in the world is Caucasian Bread?  Well, it doesn’t have anything to do with white bread. It refers to the geopolitical region at the border of Europe and Asia which is situated between the Black and the Caspian sea. Home to the Caucasus Mountains. To alleviate any confusion with the name, Tanya renamed our version Russian Braid. I went a step further and named it Russian Mountain Braid. You’ll find out why in a minute.

This bread is a beautiful braided bread that is baked in a spring form pan to help hold it’s shape. It’s supposed to end up looking like a rose.

 

My son was home from college for the weekend and when I took the bread out of the oven, I asked him if he thought it looked like a rose. He said “I can see that, but I can also see mountains.”  My son is very witty and his analytical mom usually has a hard time keeping up with him. I thought he was making a joke because we had just been talking about the origins of Caucasian Bread. I immediately laughed, but he wasn’t joking. He really thought it looked like mountains. So I decided to go with that theme. I developed it further by drizzling a white glaze over the braid to form the mountain peaks.

 

So there you have it … Russian Mountain Braid.  You might need to use your imagination to see the mountain peaks. 

 

Some of the other Babes made a savory version of this bread.  It’s filled with pesto and parmesan cheese. Although that sounded divine, I went with the sweeter version. My version is made with sprouted wheat flour and filled with melted butter and cinnamon sugar and drizzled with a powdered-sugar glaze. 

My adapted recipe is below.  If you want to make the savory version, check out Tanya’s post.

 

Russian Mountain Braid

Makes: 1 Huge Braided Loaf

 

Adapted from: http://mykitcheninhalfcups.wordpress.com/2012/10/15/russian-braidrose/ which was adapted from http://www.thefreshloaf.com/node/19320/caucasian-bread

Ingredients:

Dough:

• 300 grams bread flour
• 300 grams sprouted wheat flour (I used Lindley Mills sprouted wheat flour)
• 3 tablespoons flax meal
• 2.25 teaspoons instant yeast
• 10 grams Sugar (0.35oz)
• 10 grams Salt (0.35oz)
• 50 grams Olive Oil  (1.7 fl oz) 
• 1 tablespoon White Vinegar
• 300 – 400 grams water (10+ fl oz)

Filling:

• 3-4 tablespoons melted butter
• Cinnamon sugar

 

Equipment needed: Baking Pan - 10" spring form (no bottom). Take a piece of parchment paper and crimp tightly around the bottom of the spring form, oil the sides.  Place on top of a baking sheet.  Set aside. I didn’t crimp the parchment paper.  I just place it on the baking sheet and placed the spring form on top of it.

 

Directions:

1) Mixing the Dough

Add all ingredients (except the water) in the bowl of a stand mixer. Add in the water gradually as you mix the dough.  You may not need all of the water or you may need more if you are using Einkorn.

 

Using the dough hook, mix 2-3 minutes on low speed and 2-3 minutes on medium speed.  The dough should be supple and not sticky to the touch.  Add water if dough is too stiff or  flour if the dough is too loose.

 

2) Bulk Fermentation

When dough is ready, spray a bowl with oil and gently put the dough in the bowl. 

 

Spray a little more oil on top and cover.  Let rise (80%) about 40 minutes to an hour.

 

3) Roll out the Dough

Lightly flour your work area. Flatten the dough gently with your hands.
Roll the dough as thin as you can using a floured rolling pin. When rolling out the dough, try not to lift and move it too much. 

 

4) Add the Filling

Apply a thin layer of your filling on top of the dough (leave the edge clear 1/4").  I brushed the dough with melted butter then sprinkled it heavily with cinnamon sugar.

 

5) Roll dough into a log

Slowly, tightly and very gently roll the dough into a log.  You will now have a very long log.

 

6) Shape the Braid

Take a sharp knife (not a serrated knife) and cut the log lengthwise. Try to keep the knife in the middle of the log so you end up with two equal parts.

Place the two halves crossing each other (open roulade layers facing up) to create and X shape.  Gently pick up the two ends of the bottom half, cross them over the top half, and place them back down.  Continue this process, taking the two bottom ends and crossing them over the top until all the roulade has been used.

You should now have a two strand rope shape.  If for some reason some of the open roulade layers are pointing down or sideways, carefully turn them so they are facing up.  Gently pinch the ends to seal.

Look at the braid.  If one end looks a little thinner make that your starting point.  If not, just start from either end.  Slowly and very gently, roll the braid sideways (horizontally) without lifting your hands from the table.  You should keep those open roulade layers facing up. Pinch the end delicately. The end result should look like a giant snail shell or a very large cinnamon bun.

 

7) Proof the Loaf

Carefully pick up the braid and place in the prepared spring form.  Keep it flat on the parchment.  The bottom of the braid should set nicely. You may want to sprinkle on more cinnamon sugar at this point, but keep in mind you don't want to cover up the effect of the shaping.

Cover. Let rise until the braid hits three quarters the way up the spring form.  Depending upon the temperature in your kitchen this may take from 20 to 40 minutes or longer.

 

8) Bake the Loaf

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.

Bake at 400F for 5-10 minutes, then lower the oven to 350F and bake for another 20-30 minutes. There should be a decent amount of oven spring.  The bread should rise above the spring form edge.

 

9) Cool the Braid

When the bread is out of the oven, drizzle it with the powdered-sugar glazer on top. Let cool on a rack.

 

10) Slice and Enjoy!

This bread is as about as good as it gets. My son and I had the same reaction. We took one bite and both said “Oh yeah! That’s I’m talking about!” He called it a toned down version of a cinnamon roll – a huge cinnamon roll!

 

Thanks to Tanya of the Bread Baking Babes for recommending this awesome braid!  And thanks to Zorra for creating the fabulous World Bread Day blogging event. Check out the previous World Bread Day Roundups.

 

Happy Baking!

Cathy

World Bread Day & Tartine Whole Wheat Bread

Happy World Bread Day!  World Bread Day was started by the International Union of Bakers and Bakers-Confectioners (IUB) as a time to talk about the importance of bread, as well as its history and future.

Zorra adopted World Bread Day as a (food)blogger event in 2006 and the event has been celebrated by bread bakers around the world every year since then. Take a look at the previous World Bread Day Roundups.  You’ll be amazed at the creativity of all of the bakers around the world.

I love to talk about bread so I jumped right on the bread-baking bandwagon. This is my third year participating in World Bread Day.

 

 

My contribution to World Bread Day 2011 is Tartine Whole Wheat Bread. This bread is a variation on a theme. It is similar to the Tartine Country Bread I submitted for BBD #37, but it uses a greater proportion of whole wheat flour to white all-purpose flour. And since I use a 50/50 blend of whole wheat and white all-purpose flour, my version has a bit more whole wheat than the original formula.

 

“My bread is sweet and nourishing, made from my own  wheat, ground in my own mill, and baked in my own oven.”

Tobias Smollett, Humphrey Clinker, 1771

 

 

Whole Wheat Bread

Adapted from: Tartine Bread by Chad Robertson

Makes: One 2-pound loaf

 

Ingredients:

• 400 grams water (plus a couple of tablespoons)
• 100 grams leaven
• 350 grams whole wheat flour (I used home-milled flour from hard red winter wheat)
• 150 grams all-purpose flour (I used a 50/50 blend of whole wheat and white all-purpose flour)
• 10 grams salt

 

Directions:

1. Making the Leaven:

   The night before you plan to mix the dough, take 1 tablespoon of a mature starter and feed it with 200 grams of warm (78 degrees F) water and 200 grams of a blend of 50 white bread flour/50 whole wheat bread flour. I used a tablespoon of my new apple starter. Cover with a kitchen towel (or plastic wrap) and let the starter rise overnight at a cool room temperature (65 degrees F).  This is the leaven.* 

   The next morning, the volume should’ve increased by 20 percent.  To find out if it’s ready, test to see if it floats in water.  Drop a spoonful into a bowl of moderate room-temperature water.  If it sinks, it is not ready to use and needs more time to ferment and ripen.

    

2. Mixing the Dough:

   Weigh 400 grams of 80 degrees F water and pour it into a large mixing bowl.  Add 100 grams of leaven and stir it to disperse.

    

   *You don’t use all of the leaven for this bread so save the leftover for your starter if you like or use it to bake more bread. Since I’m keeping my starters separate, I decided to bake another loaf with the left over leaven.

    

   Add 500 grams of flour – 350 grams whole wheat and 150 grams white – to the water and mix thoroughly by hand until you do not see any dry flour. 

    

    

   Let the dough rest for 25 to 40 minutes.  Don’t skip the rest period.  It allows the flour to absorb the water and then swell.  Then it will relax. 

    

    

   After the dough has rested, add the 10 grams of salt.  The original formula says to add 50 grams warm water at this point, but this whole wheat version didn’t mention adding any additional water.  However, I used freshly-milled whole wheat flour which  absorbs the water a little more so I added a couple of tablespoons of water and incorporated it along with the salt.

   Incorporate the salt into the dough by squeezing the dough between your fingers. Come on you know you want to get your hands in that dough…

   

    

   Fold the dough on top of itself and transfer to a clean bowl. I just washed out the same bowl and placed the dough back in it and covered it with plastic wrap. Let the dough bulk ferment for 3 to 4 hours or longer if necessary.

   

    

3. Turning the Dough:

   I didn’t take photos of this process. You can view the step-by-step process for turning the dough, including photos on the Tartine Country Bread post.

   Using this method, the dough is not kneaded on a counter, the development of the dough is achieved by a series of turns in the bowl during the bulk fermentation.

   To do a turn, dip one hand in water to prevent the dough from sticking to you and then grab the underside of the dough, stretch it up, and fold it back over the rest of the dough.

   Repeat this action two or three times so that all the dough gets evenly developed. This is considered one turn.

   During the first 2 hours of fermentation, give the dough one turn every half hour or so.  During the last hour or so, turn the dough more gently to avoid pressing gas out of the dough. If the dough seems to be developing slowly, you can extend the bulk fermentation time.

    

4. Shaping the Loaves:

   To view the step-by-step shaping process with photos, go to the Tartine Country Bread post.

   Transfer the dough to an unfloured work surface. Lightly flour the surface of the dough. Cut the dough into two equal pieces. Flip it so that the floured side rests on the counter.  Do this with the other piece of dough.

   Fold each piece onto itself so that the flour on the surface of the dough is sealed on the outside of the loaf.  The outer surface will become the crust, so you can use a little more flour if necessary.

   Work each piece of dough into a round shape. Let both rounds of dough rest on the work surface for 20 to 30 minutes covered with a kitchen towel to prevent the dough from drying on top.  I floured the loaves lightly before placing the towel over them.

   To form the final shapes, lightly flour the top surface of the dough rounds.  Lift both rounds off the work surface, being careful to maintain the round shape. Flip the round so that the floured side is now resting on the work surface.  What was the underside is now facing up.

   Perform a series of folds to build tension so that the loaf will holds it form and rise when baked.  First, you fold the third of the dough closest to you up and over the middle third of the round.  Stretch out the dough to your right and fold the right third over the center. 

   Stretch the dough to your left and fold this third over the previous fold.   Now, stretch out the third of dough farthest from you and fold it toward you, over the previous folds, and press it in place with your fingers.

   I folded both rounds as indicated above, then I pinched the seams together on top and placed the dough seam-side up in banneton baskets that had been floured with a 50/50 mixture of rice flour and wheat flour.

    

   

   At this point, you can let the dough rise at warm room temperature for 3 to 4 more hours or retard the dough overnight. 

    

5. Baking the Loaves:

   20 minutes or so before you plan to bake the loaves, place a Dutch oven combo cooker (lid and pot) in the oven and preheat the oven to 500 degrees F.

   

   Dust the surface of one of the loaves in the basket with rice flour.  When the oven reaches 500 degrees, carefully pull the shallow pan out of the oven and place it on top of the stove.  Leave the other pan in the oven.  Carefully inverting the basket, turn the dough into the hot pan.

   Score the loaf using a simple square pattern with four cuts. To make pronounced “ears,” make shallow cuts at a very low angle (almost horizontal) to the dough.  I’m still working on perfecting this process, but I was pretty pleased with the scoring on this loaf.

   

   Be careful not to burn yourself during this part.  This is why you use the shallow pan on the bottom instead of the deep pot.  It makes it easier to score the loaf without burning yourself.

   Return the shallow pan with the loaf to the oven and cover it with the deep pot.  This is sort of tricky.  The deep pot can be pretty heavy so be careful. 

   Immediately reduce the oven to 450 degrees F and bake the loaf for 20 minutes.  Then carefully remove the top pan.

   

    

   Let the loaf continue to bake (without the top) for about 15 to 20 more minutes, until the crust is a deep color. Remove the pan from the oven and transfer the loaf to a rack to cool.

   

    

6. Enjoying the Loaves: Let the loaf cool completely before slicing and serving.

   

    

    

   Thank you for joining me for World Bread Day.  Come let us break bread together.

    

   Happy Baking!

   Cathy

Crusty Cornstalk Rolls for World Bread Day #5

I chose Crusty Cornstalk Rolls for my submission to the 5th Edition of World Bread Day.  World Bread Day is hosted by Zorra of http://kochtopf.twoday.net. 

I wanted to make something different for this event. I had seen this bread last year in Gourmet Magazine and decided now was the time to make it.  It reminds me of an Epi, but it is a cornstalk rather than a wheat stalk and includes some cornmeal.  The bread is supposed to resemble a cornstalk, where each roll, or “ear of corn” is torn off the stalk and eaten as you would a roll.

 

As I mentioned in my Buttermilk Cornbread at the Mill post, I got some delicious freshly ground cornmeal when I visited the beautiful Old Mill at the Berry College Campus in Rome, Georgia. I’ve been looking for opportunities to use this cornmeal in breads other than cornbread.

 

Crusty Cornstalk Rolls

Makes: About 1 dozen rolls
Source: Gourmet Magazine, February 2009 Issue

These rolls have the hearty exterior of a French baguette, plus a yeasty, slightly chewy interior.

Ingredients:

1 1/2 teaspoon active dry yeast (from a 1/4-oz package)
1 1/4 cups warm water (105-115 degrees F), divided
1 teaspoon mild honey or sugar
2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour plus more for kneading and dusting
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons stone-ground yellow cornmeal, divided

 

Directions:

Stir together yeast, 1/4 cup warm water, and honey in a large bowl and let stand until foamy, about 5 minutes.  (If mixture doesn’t foam, start over with new yeast.)

Mix flour, salt, 1/2 cup cornmeal, and remaining cup warm water into yeast mixture with a wooden spoon or rubber spatula until a soft dough forms.

Turn dough out onto a well-floured surface and knead, dusting surface and your hands with just enough flour to keep dough from sticking, until dough is elastic and smooth, 6 to 8 minutes. 

Form dough into a ball. Put dough in an oiled large bowl and turn to coat. 

Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and a kitchen towel (or plastic wrap) and let dough rise in a draft-free place at warm room temperature until doubled, 1 1/2 to 2 hours.

Punch down dough (do not knead).

Fold into thirds like a letter (dough will be soft),

Then gently roll into a 12-inch-long log with lightly floured hands.

Sprinkle a large baking sheet evenly with remaining 2 tablespoons cornmeal and put dough diagonally in center. Alternating sides, make 3-inch-long diagonal cuts, about 1 1/2 inches apart, into sides of log using kitchen shears (ends of cuts should not touch; maintain a center “stalk”). 

Gently pull apart cuts to stretch dough, forming rolls that are separate (about 1 1/2 inches apart) but connected to the stalk.

Cover with a kitchen towel (or plastic wrap).  Let it rise in a draft-free place at warm room temperature until doubled, 1 to 1 1/2 hours. 

Preheat oven to 425 degrees with rack in the middle and a baking stone if using. Spray rolls with water, then bake, spraying into oven 3 times in the first 5 minutes of baking (to help form a crust), until golden, about 20 minutes.

Transfer rolls to a rack and cool at least 20 minutes.

Rolls are best the day they are made, but whole baked stalk can be frozen (cool completely, then wrap well) 1 month. Thaw, then reheat on a baking sheet in a 350 degrees oven until warmed through, 5 to 10 minutes.

Perfect bread for harvest time don’t you think?

I only made one stalk as the directions instructed, but if I make these rolls again, I will probably cut the dough into two pieces and make two stalks rather than one.  First of all, I think it would look more like a stalk and secondly, it would be easier to handle.  This stalk is a little heavy in the middle and could break really easily.  With that said, this was a fun and not too complicated loaf to make and I enjoyed it.

Be sure to check out Zorra’s site for the roundup of breads submitted for World Bread Day. Click on graphic below to get to her site.