Sing to me my bread & crackle sweetly in my ear

Every now and then you run across a gem. You know you’re onto something because it just resonates inside of you. It’s not something you can really explain, but you just know it when it happens. Well, it happened to me this past weekend.

I didn’t go to the Asheville Bread Festival and I was really bummed, but I had been pushing myself too hard recently, and I just had to rest. Instead of fighting it like I normally do, I took a break from everything and spent time catching up with myself. It rained most of the weekend so it was a good time to just hibernate.

While I was sitting there trying to relax (which if anyone knows me, is a feat in and of itself), I picked up a bread book that I had gotten recently. The book is called Flour Water Salt Yeast: The Fundamentals of Artisan Bread and Pizza by Ken Forkish. Note: They are not paying me to say this and they did not send me a free copy of the book. I bought it myself, and I just love it.

 

Mr. Forkish’s method is inspired by the processes of Jim Lahey (My Bread) and Chad Robertson (Tartine Bread). I think that’s one of the reasons I like this book so much. All of his formulas are based on 1000 grams of flour which makes it so easy to follow and adapt. In fact, he provides tips on how to adapt his recipes. Nothing is left to chance.  

I was so inspired by the book that of course I had to bake some bread. I chose a bread that utilized an overnight poolish so it didn’t require much hands-on time the first day. I finished it Sunday afternoon and it totally lifted my spirits.

I fell in love with this bread the minute I took it out of the oven. I placed it on the wire rack to cool and as I was taking photos, it started to sing. It was a delightful melody. It crackled ever so lightly like a lover whispering in my ear.  I don’t know if I was just so spacey from exhaustion or what, but all I could think at the time was “I’m in love.”

 

White Bread with overnight Poolish

Adapted from: Flour Water Salt Yeast: The Fundamentals of Artisan Bread and Pizza by Ken Forkish

Makes: One Loaf

Poolish:

Ingredient	Quantity
White bread flour	250 g	1 7/8 cups +1 tbsp.
Water	250 g 80 degrees F.	1 1/8 cups
Instant dried yeast	0.4 g	scant 1/8 tsp.

 

Final Dough:

Ingredient	Final Dough Mix Quantity
White bread flour	250 g	1 7/8 cups + 1 tbsp.
Water	125 g 105 degrees F.	1/2 cup
Fine sea salt	10 g	~1 3/4 tsp.
Instant dried yeast	1.6 g	1/2 tsp.
Poolish	500 g	all of the above

 

Baker’s Formula:

Ingredient	Quantity in Poolish	Total Recipe Quantity	Baker’s Percentage
Bread flour	250 g	500 g	100%
Water	250 g	375 g	75%
Sea salt	0	10 g	2.0 %
Yeast	0.4 g	2 g	0.40 %
Poolish			50%

 

Process:

1) Make the Poolish

The night before you plan to bake the bread, whisk the flour and yeast together in a large bowl and add the 80 degrees F. water. Mix by hand or with a wooden spoon until it is thoroughly blended. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and let it sit at room temperature (65 to 70 degrees F.) for 12 to 14 hours.  When the poolish is ready, it should be bubbly and almost tripled in volume.

 

2)  Mix the Final Dough

The next day, after the poolish is fully mature, whisk together the flour, salt and instant yeast in a large bowl.  Pour the water (105 degrees F.) around the edges of the poolish to loosen it from the bowl. Then using a wooden spoon, pour the water/poolish mixture into the flour mixture.

 

For the next part, you’ll need to get your hands wet. Using wet hands, mix the dough by folding it to thoroughly incorporate all of the ingredients (refer to my post on making Tartine Country Bread) The dough should be around 74 - 75 degrees F.

 

3) Bulk Fermentation

Let the dough rest for 2 to 3 hours after mixing.  During this time, do two or three folds during the first hour after mixing the dough. I forgot to use 105 degrees F. water when I mixed the dough so I extended the bulk fermentation another hour to compensate for the overall temperature of the dough being lower.  I did several folds and turns during the first hour, then I let the dough rest for the remainder of the proof.

 

4) Shaping the loaf

Mr. Forkish has a slightly different process because he bakes his loaf in a Dutch oven and he shaped his loaves into a fendue shape. I shaped my loaf differently and baked it in my combo baker so this is the process I used.  If you choose to use a different baker, you might need to adjust the shaping/scoring part so you don’t burn yourself when inverting the dough into the pot.

I only made one loaf so I didn’t need to divide the dough. I removed the dough to a lightly floured surface.

 

Then I shaped it into a medium-tight ball and placed it seam-side up in a floured banneton basket.

 

5) Proof the loaf

I lightly floured the top of the loaf and covered it with a kitchen towel.  Then I let the loaf proof in the basket for an hour.  Use the finger-dent test to know when the dough is fully-proofed and ready to bake. This just means you press your index finger lightly into the dough and if the indention remains, the dough is ready.

 

6) Prepare the oven for Hearth baking

While the loaf is proofing, at least 45 minutes before it’s time to bake, preheat the oven to 475 degrees F. with the combo baker or Dutch oven or other bread baker on the bottom rack.  There’s no need to place a steam pan underneath because the covered pot will provide it’s on steam.

 

7) Scoring the loaf

For this part, be very careful that you don’t burn yourself because you’ll be working with a very hot pan. Keep your fingers, forearms and anything else away from the hot pot. I large heat-resistant oven mitt works great for this.

Carefully remove the preheated combo baker (using gloves) and invert the proofed loaf onto the bottom of the baker.  My loaf didn’t plop exactly centered in the pan so I shook the pot a little bit to even it out but it was still a bit uneven.

 

Then I carefully scored the loaf using a lame.  Even though the rings of flour were a bit off in the pan, I thought the scoring turned out pretty well.

 

8)  Bake the loaf

Cover the combo baker with the lid and place it on the bottom rack to bake. Bake the loaf for 30 minutes, then uncover the baker and bake the loaf for an additional 20 to 30 minutes. This is what the loaf looked like when I removed the lid.

 

The finished loaf should be at least medium dark brown all around the loaf. This has always been the hard part for me because I don’t like to burn my bread, but I was a good girl and left the loaf in for the suggested amount of time. However, if your oven is hot like mine, you might want to check the loaf sooner.

 

9) Cool the Loaf

Carefully remove the combo baker from the oven and gently tilt it to remove the loaf. I just reached in using my oven mitt and lifted it out. Place the loaf on a wire rack and let the loaf rest for at least 20 minutes before slicing.

 

After I let the loaf cool, I just couldn’t bring myself to slice it just yet. I wanted to look at it a bit longer. It’s very photogenic don’t you think?  I placed the cooled loaf in a paper grocery bag and let it sit overnight.

 

10) Slice and Enjoy!

The next day, I sliced the loaf and sampled it.  I was not disappointed.  It tastes great with butter or dipped in oil and particularly good toasted with sharp cheddar cheese. It also makes a great sandwich bread.  I’ve been enjoying it all week.

 

And so, my love affair with bread begins anew with this White Bread with Poolish.

I hope you enjoy this bread as much as I did.

 

This bread has been YeastSpotted in the weekly bread roundup hosted by Susan of Wild Yeast.

 

Happy Baking!

Cathy

Celebrate Spring with Sourdough Coffeecake

It’s Spring!  I’ve been anticipating this day for weeks. I was so ready for warm weather, beautiful flowers, going hiking and planting my garden, but then on the first day of Spring, it turned cold again. What’s up with that! 

Well, we have a saying in Atlanta, “if you don’t like the weather, wait a day.” We’ve had ice storms in late March before so you just never know around here. That’s what I love about this city.

The first day of Spring also happened to fall on the day of the month that we reveal our sourdough surprise. The Sourdough Surprises challenge for March was to make a cake using our sourdough cultures. I almost made a chocolate cake or cupcakes, but since this is a blog about bread and not cake, I decided to make a sourdough coffeecake which has a consistency that is more like bread than cake. 

 

This coffeecake is really easy and versatile. You can use the dough to make crumb cake, cinnamon rolls, or sticky buns. You can make the dough with all-purpose flour or a mixture of flours as I did.  I used all-purpose and bread flour because I had a little bit of both but not enough of either for this recipe. I also included some white whole wheat flour for good measure.

 

Sourdough Coffeecake with Crumb Topping

Inspired by: Peter Reinhardt’s Coffee Crumb Cake from Artisan Breads Everyday

Makes: 1 Sheet Pan Coffeecake or three 9-inch round Coffeecakes

Ingredients:

Dough:

• 1 cup (240 mL) fed sourdough starter (refer to this process)
• ~3 1/2 cups (17.5 oz/490 g) all-purpose flour or bread flour (I used a mixture of both)
• 1 cup (4 1/2 oz/3 g) white whole wheat flour
• 1 tablespoon (.5 oz/14 g) kosher salt
• 6 tablespoons (3 oz/85 g) sugar
• 1 cup (240 mL) lukewarm milk (I used almond milk)
• 1/2 cup (3 3/4 oz/110 g) olive oil
• Zest of 1/2 lemon

Crumb Topping:

• 1 cup (4.5 oz/128 g) all-purpose flour
• 1 cup (8 oz/113 g) light brown sugar
• 1/8 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 -1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1/8 - 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg (or other spice of your choice such as allspice, cloves, ground ginger, or cardamom), optional
• 1/2 cup walnuts, or other nuts, optional
• 1/2 cup (4 oz/113 g) melted butter, unsalted

 

Directions:

1) Activate (feed) your starter

I had fun experimenting with this one. I used my original sourdough starter which I’ve been keeping alive (sometimes barely) since 2007. I reactivated the starter using this process which takes about 12 to 16 hours, then it was ready to use in the recipe. My starter was quite bubbly and happy after being reactivated.

 

2) Make the dough

To make the dough, whisk together the dry ingredients, then add the starter, lukewarm milk, and oil and mix on the lowest speed on your mixer.  Switch to medium-low speed and continue mixing.  Add more flour or milk as needed.  Increase the speed to medium and mix until the dough is soft, supple and slightly tacky, but not sticky.  You can also do this with a wooden spoon if you prefer.  It will just take a little bit longer.

 

3) Let dough rest in refrigerator

Remove the dough to a lightly floured surface and knead it lightly for a minute.  Form it into a ball and place it in a clean, lightly oiled bowl big enough for the dough to double in size. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap, and place it in the refrigerator overnight or for up to 4 days.  Make sure the plastic is tight to keep the surface of the dough from getting hard.

 

4) Form the coffeecake

Remove the dough about 3 hours before you plan to bake the coffeecake.

 

Line your baking pan with lightly oiled parchment paper. Dip you fingers in some olive oil and use your fingers to dimple the dough and spread it evenly in the pan. Cover the pan as evenly as you can. If it starts to shrink back, let it rest for 20 minutes, then continue to dimple and spread again until the dough covers the pan completely. It may take a few tries to spread it fully.

 

5) Proof the coffeecake

Cover the pan loosely with plastic wrap and let the dough rise for about 2 hours, until it is doubled in size and about 1 inch to 1 1/2 inches in height.

 

6) Make the crumb topping

Whisk together the flour, sugar, salt, cinnamon, spice, and nuts then pour in the melted butter. Begin stirring with a large wooden spoon, then finish mixing with your fingers to form a streusel-like mixture.

 

Sprinkle the crumb topping over the dough.

 

7) Bake the coffeecake

About 15 minutes before you plan to bake, preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

Bake the coffeecake for 15 minutes, then rotate the pan and let it bake for another 10 to 20 minutes, until the crumb topping is golden brown and the dough underneath is springy.  The total baking time will vary based on the type of pan you use so you’ll need to watch it closely. I baked mine a bit too long so be careful.

 

8) Cool the coffeecake

Remove it from the oven to a wire rack and let it cool in the pan for 30 to 45 minutes before cutting it into squares and serving.

 

9) Slice and enjoy!

This sourdough coffeecake has an interesting flavor.  I liked it. It has just a bit of a sourdough tang to it but the crumb topping provides a good balance of flavor.

 

This was a nice treat for a chilly Spring day.  As the name suggest, this goes well with coffee, but it would also taste good with tea.

Happy Baking!
Cathy

I enjoyed baking along with the Sourdough Surprises baking group. 

Making Soda Crackers because you can

Instead of making Irish Soda Bread on St. Patrick’s Day, I decided to do something totally out of the ordinary.  I made soda crackers. You might ask why anyone would want to make soda crackers when it’s so easy to just pick them up at the grocery store or specialty market.  Because you can, that’s why. 

Awhile back, one of my visitors asked me if I would add a crackers’ section to my site. Since then, I’ve had soda crackers on my list to bake every month. After months and months of adding crackers to my list and then moving them to the next month, I finally got around to making some. Now that I’ve made this basic version, I plan to try different flours and flavor combinations.

These soda crackers are not your everyday run of the mill crackers, mind you. They are made with soda, but also include yeast, which is something you don’t usually find in soda crackers.  In addition, the dough requires an overnight rest in the refrigerator. This overnight rest enhances the flavor and the texture of the crackers.

 

Although on most any given day, you can find shelves filled with all types of crackers at the grocery store and specialty markets, there’s just something about homemade. Not only is it fun to make your own crackers, but you can feel good about eating them because you know what’s in them. 

These crackers are really easy to make. You can use a variety of salts. I wanted to start with the basics so I used kosher salt to top my crackers, but you can use your favorite fancy salt or other seasoning if you prefer. I put a bit too much salt on mine so next time, I’ll use a lighter hand when I’m sprinkling on the salt.

 

These soda crackers make a great snack, but they can be addictive. It’s easy to keep popping them in your mouth. Since you know what’s in them, that’s not such a bad thing, but do try to share some.

When wrapped tightly, the crackers will keep for a while if you don’t eat them all at once.

 

To make these crackers, refer to the recipe and instructions for King Arthur Flour’s Gourmet Soda Crackers. 

For a variation on a theme, refer to my post on Einkorn Soda Crackers.

 

Happy Baking!

Cathy

 

Cheesy Scones taste great as an afterthought

As I mentioned in my previous post, I attended an Irish Potluck last weekend.  I wish I could say I went to great lengths to make these Cheesy Scones, but they were sort of an afterthought.

The chocolate chip scones were so easy and tasted so good, but I only made one batch. I decided I should bring some savory scones to balance things out. The recipe for the cheesy scones happened to be right underneath the Buttermilk Scones recipe so nothing magical about how I came to make these, but the flavor, oh the flavor… that’s the special part. Maybe not magical, but delicious nonetheless.

These scones remind me of the cheese biscuits you get at some restaurants. The flavor is exceptional!  Although I think almost anything with cheese tastes great, there is a special ingredient in these scones that adds to the flavor and makes them delightful. For an afterthought, I was quite pleased with these scones.

The main problem I have with these scones is it’s hard to eat just one. Of course I had to try one (or two) to make sure they tasted okay before I brought them to the luncheon. They were so good. I had to stop myself from taste testing too many or there wouldn’t have been any left for the luncheon.

 

Cheesy Scones with spelt

Makes: 8-10 Large Scones or 16 Small Scones

Adapted from: The Best of Irish Breads & Baking from Georgina Campbell

These scones have a higher fat content (cheese and butter) so you’ll need a little more baking powder to make sure you get a good rise out of them.  I used all-purpose Spelt flour, but you can use regular all-purpose flour if you prefer.

Ingredients:

• 2 cups (8 oz/225g) all-purpose Spelt flour
• 1 1/4 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/2 stick (2oz/50g) butter
• 1 1/2 cups – 1 3/4 cups grated cheddar cheese or other hard cheese
• 1 1/4 teaspoon mustard powder or crushed mustard seeds
• a little salt
• grinding of fresh black pepper
• 1/2 cup (4oz/100mL) almond milk, approx.

 

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F. Grease a baking sheet.

1) Sift the flour and baking powder in a mixing bowl.  Cut in the butter and rub it until the mixture is crumbly.

 

2) Add the grated cheese, ground mustard and seasoning and mix with a whisk or wooden spoon.

 

3) Make a well in the center of the mixture and add the milk. Mix to form a soft dough. You may need to add more or less milk.

 

4) Turn the dough out onto a floured surface and knead it gently.

 

5) Roll the dough out into 3/4” thick circle and mark into triangles. You can make 8-10 large triangles or smaller triangles.  Or, if you prefer, cut the dough into rounds and make cheese biscuits.  I rolled my dough out a little thinner than 3/4” so I ended up with more wedges.

 

6) Brush the wedges lightly with milk and place them on the greased baking sheet.

 

7) Bake the scones in the preheated oven for 10-15 minutes, until they are well-risen and golden-brown in color. Remove to a wire rack to cool slightly before serving.

 

These scones were received really well at the luncheon.  They were gone in a flash.  They are best eaten the day you make them, but they are still good the next day. I don’t know about after that because they didn’t last that long. I’ve been fighting the urge to make more all week. I may have to give in soon.

 

Happy Baking!

Cathy

 

Chocolate Chip Scones for an Irish Luncheon

I attended an Irish Potluck this past weekend. I wanted to bring something different so I searched through all of my bread books and even went on Pinterest to find inspiration. The luncheon was on Sunday, and I was down to the wire Saturday afternoon when I finally found my inspiration on the Irish Breads Board on Pinterest. 

I saw so many wonderful Irish breads, but I wasn’t in the mood to make Irish Soda Bread or Irish Freckle Bread or Barm Brack. I didn’t have any potatoes to make potato bread so my options were dwindling. I finally happened upon these Skinny Chocolate Chip Buttermilk Scones from Gina of SkinnyTaste.com. Chocolate chips and scones; what a great idea! 

 

Although I used her idea as my inspiration to make scones, I didn’t use the recipe. I adapted a different Buttermilk Scones recipe to suit my tastes. My version is made with soured almond milk instead of buttermilk and includes a mixture of Spelt and Einkorn flours instead of all-purpose flour.

If you prefer, you can substitute all-purpose flour for the Spelt and whole wheat flour for the Einkorn pastry flour. Or you can do half all-purpose and half whole-wheat. You can also add raisins instead of the chocolate chips.

 

Chocolate Chip Scones with Spelt & Einkorn

Makes: 12 Large Scones or 18 Smaller Scones

Adapted from: The Best of Irish Breads & Baking from Georgina Campbell

Ingredients:

• 3 cups white all-purpose Spelt flour
• 1 cup Einkorn pastry flour
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 1/4 teaspoons baking soda
• 1/2 stick butter, room temperature
• 1 1/2 tablespoons sugar
• 1 egg, slightly beaten
• 1 cup (approx.) almond milk, soured with 1 tablespoon lemon juice

 

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F. Grease two baking sheets.

1) Sift the flours, salt, and baking soda in a mixing bowl.  Cut in the butter and rub it until the mixture is crumbly. Add the sugar and mix well.  Make a well in the center and add the egg and the sour milk or buttermilk and mix to form a soft dough.  You may need to add more or less milk so adjust accordingly.

 

2) Turn the dough out onto a floured surface and mix in the chocolate chips while kneading it gently.  Roll it out to about 1/2” thick. Cut out 12 large or 18 small scones.  I used a pizza wheel to cut my scones. I ended up with 16.

 

3) Arrange the scones on the baking sheets. Be sure to leave space between the scones so they have room to rise while baking. Brush them with almond milk.

 

4) Bake the scones for 15-20 minutes, until they are well risen and golden-brown in color.  Turn the baking sheet partway through baking to ensure even baking.

5) Remove the scones to a wire rack to cool slightly before serving. 

6) Cool completely before storing. I wrapped them in plastic wrap and transported them the next day to the luncheon. I served them at room temperature because there wasn’t anyway to heat them up. These scones definitely taste better warm, but they were actually pretty good at room temperature. 

 

I really liked these scones and they went over well at the luncheon.  I forgot to mention that these scones were made with Spelt and Einkorn flour, but nobody seemed to notice. Someone commented that they liked the texture of these scones better than some others that they had tasted because these weren’t as dry. All I know is that I liked them and I’m glad there was a couple left over for me to enjoy.

 

Happy Baking!

Cathy

 

German Sourdough Rye Bread

When I reactivated my rye sourdough starter to make Kontinenbrot, I ended up with extra culture. As you’ve probably heard me say, I have a hard time discarding sourdough so I decided to make another rye bread with the extra starter.

Many, but not all, German breads contain rye flour. This German Rye Bread would be considered a Krustenbrot. Don’t you just love those brots!  Krustenbrot means just what it sounds like, a crusty bread. This version is baked in a regular loaf pan or freeform, but typically this type of bread is baked in a square pan and would be scored using the cross-hatched pattern. Source: Bread: the breads of the world and how to bake them at home by Christine Ingram and Jennie Shapter.

 

This German Sourdough Rye is made with a blend of rye and wheat flours and utilizes a long fermentation process. It is also made with a sourdough so it has a noticeable, but mild, sourdough flavor. It makes a good sandwich bread. I particularly enjoyed it as a grilled cheese sandwich. I think it would also go well with sausages if you enjoy that sort of thing.

 

German sourdough Rye

Adapted from: Classic Sourdoughs by Ed and Jean Wood

Makes: 2 Medium Loaves

Ingredients:

• 2 cups (480 ml) rye culture (see process below)
• 1 cup (240 mL) almond milk
• 2 teaspoons salt
• 2 tablespoons molasses
• 2 tablespoons oil
• 1 cup (115 g) rye flour
• 4-5 cups (560g - 700g) unbleached all-purpose flour
• 1 egg, beaten (for egg wash)
• Caraway seeds, optional

 

Process:

1) Making the culture proof

Begin by activating the culture and creating the culture proof. Use 2 cups of the culture proof in this bread. Put the remainder of the culture proof in the refrigerator to use as your new starter going forward.

2) Mixing the Dough:

Add the rye culture, milk, salt, molasses, and oil to a large mixing bowl and combine. Mix in the rye flour and the all-purpose flour, one cup at-a-time until it is too hard to mix by hand.  Transfer the dough to a floured work surface and knead it until it is smooth and elastic. 

 

3) Proofing the Dough

Place the dough in a greased bowl and cover it with plastic wrap. Put it in proofing box if you have one. Let it proof overnight for 8 to 12 hours at room temperature, about 70 degrees F.  After it proofs, remove the dough gently from the bowl onto a floured work surface and let it rest for 30 minutes. If the dough flattens a lot during the rest, add in a little more flour to give it structure before shaping.

 

4) Shaping the Loaves

Divide the dough in half and shape into two rough balls.  Let the dough balls rest seam side up for 5 minutes.

 

Flatten one dough ball slightly and shape it into a rough rectangle. Fold the top third down and the bottom third up and gently press the edges together.

 

Bring the sides in to form an envelope shape and gently press the edges down.

 

Turn the loaf seam side down. Repeat the shaping process with the other dough ball.

 

Place the loaves in greased loaf pans and cover with plastic wrap.  I used 8 1/2” x 4 1/2” glass loaf pans.

 

5) Proofing the Loaves

Proof the loaves for 2 to 4 hours, until almost doubled in bulk.  The dough should be almost level with the tops of the pans.  Proof the loaves for the first hour at room temperature. Then let them rise in a proofing box, if you have one, at 85 degrees to 90 degrees F.

 

6) Scoring the Loaves

Brush the loaves with an egg wash and sprinkle with caraway seeds if you like. I omitted the egg wash and caraway seeds because I didn’t have any. Make diagonal slashes on the tops of the loaves using a lame or serrated knife.

 

7) Baking the Loaves

Places the loaves in a cool oven, then set the temperature to 375 degrees F. Bake the loaves for 70 minutes.  Partway through the baking cycle, rotate the loaves for even baking.

 

8) Cooling the Loaves

Remove the baked loaves to a wire rack to cool. If you’re using glass loaf pans, let them cool for 10 minutes before removing from the pan.  

 

Remove the loaves from the pans and cool 15-20 minutes before slicing and serving.  Since I didn’t use an egg wash, I brushed the loaves with a little bit of olive oil after I removed them from the baking pans.

 

I enjoyed these rye loaves. They are slightly tangy due to the sourdough, but not overly so.  The texture is a little lighter due to the inclusion of the all-purpose flour. 

 

Happy Baking!

Cathy