The Fumbling Foodie

Any Port in a Storm

I miss baking. Unfortunately, almost all my baking stuff is packed up for the move to the new house. In a couple of months, we'll be in the new house with the new BIG kitchen. Brioche is number one on my list of things to make the instant everything is unpacked. I am already salivating.

In the meantime, I've had to satisfy my yearnings any way I can. I was at the Apple store in the BIltmore the other day and this wonderful smell eminated from WilliamsSonoma as I walked past. Even my decrepid olfactory sense was able to lead me to some Spiced Vanilla Quick Bread stil warm from the oven. I grabbed a package, paid for it, and brought it home.

It's hard to call it baking really - the mix, a couple of eggs, and some water. Oh well. soon. very soon.

Pain a l'Ancienne Part III

I think my third try at Pain a l'Ancienne turned out pretty well. I did three things different this time:

1. Slightly less hydration. I used slightly less water that it initially looked liked it needed. At the end of the mixing session however it was just right: the dough was clearing the sides of the bowl but sticking to the bottom.
2. Slightly shorter rise time. I went for 3 hours instead of 3.5 as I did with the previous two batches. The hole structure wasn't quite as nice, but unnoticable unless you compared side-by side photos. I think 3.5 hours may have been pushing it a litle two far.
3. Correct oven temperature. My oven control is off by about 25 degrees. If I want 475 I have to set it at 500. I forgot this on the previous attempt.

With the dough a little dryer my slashes turned out fine. I also noticed that the loaves rose better in the oven this time. Previously, with the dough so wet (like ciabatta) the stuff kinda just migrated down and I ended up with baguettes that were slightly flat. These are nicely shaped.

Sandwich Bread

I consider this to be my first successful attempt at a pullman loaf. It was a recipe off the Fleischmann's Yeast website.

I have been struggling to get a plain ol' pullman loaf to come out OK and now I've finally done it. Whith the knowledge I've gained, I think I can go back to my earlier recipe (which was very tasty but the crust was too tough) and probably get it right this time.

Pain a l'Ancienne Part II

This was the second time I have made Pain a l'Ancienne and this time I think I hit it right. After removing the dough from the refridgerator, I let it warm/rise for an additional 30 minutes, for a total of 3 1/2 hours.

And oven time, I've learned is critical to the characteristics of the crust. One batch was pulled from the oven just as the dough's internal temp hit 205. It had a very thin but crunchy crust - exactly the way I like it. The second batch was left in the oven until the dough's internal temp was about 210-213. The crust was noticably thicker. (maybe this is a clue to my crust problems with the pullman loaf.)

As you can see, the extra 30 minutes rise time allowed a beautiful whole structure to form.

Whole Wheat Bread

This is my first experience making whole wheat bread, made using King Aurther Flour's Classic 100% Whole Wheat Bread recipe, and it was very different.

The dough remained wet. It never got to that 'plastic' state like doughs made from white flour. Fortunately, the recipie's wording gave me the hint that would be the case: "knead it for 6 to 8 minutes, or until it begins to become smooth and supple."

The second thing is that it didn't rise very much. It did rise the amount proscribed by the recipe, but my wife warned me that whole wheat doughs don't have same rise.

It all turned out well though. Upon first bite my wife was ready to marry me ll over again :-)

Pullman Loaf, Try Number 2

this was my second attempt to make a classic pullman loaf from Charles Van Over's book The Best Bread Ever.

The taste was excellent. It wasn't quite so dense this time and my wife enjoyed it. The crust was still way to thick and tough for me though.

One thing I notice about Van Over's recipe is that he spcifies the bread is done at an internal temperature of 205-210F, while The Bread Bakers Apprenticetends to use 190, so perhaps this is the reason for the thick tough crust. I'm going to try a couple of other pullman loaf recipes and see what happens.

My wife is after me to make some whole wheat so that's probably what I'll do next weekend.

Pain a l'Ancienne

My first attempt at Pain a l'Ancienne from Bread Bakers Apprentice.

This recipe was interesting and very different. Rather than two rises, you make the dough using ice cold water, put it in fridge overnight, take it out the next day, and then let it rise 2-3 hours. After that you shape it into six baguettes and slide them into the oven.

These were much better than my first baguettes. The crust was crunchy but thin and tender.

I need to work on my slashing technique The dough is very soft and wet when it goes into the oven, and needs deeper, more prominent slashes than what I gave it.

Italian Peasant Boule

I made this Boule yesterday in the bread-making class I took at Plate It Up!. The recipe was given to us by the instructor, Chef Pat Smith who is a pastry chef and operates her own catering company, Patty's Cakes.

The taste and texture were excellent. It is fast and easy to make. Some interesting things about this recipe:

• While the recipe calls for active dry yeast, it is not proofed. You simply mix the yeast with the rest of the dry ingredients, get the mixer going, and then dump in the warm water.
• About half of the normal amount of yeast is replaced with baking powder. (hmm. It would be interesting to understand why)
• The rise times are short.

Italian Peasant Boule

3 1/3 cups all purpose flour
2 1/4 teaspoons active dry yeast
2 tablespoons sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
1 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1 1/2 cups water at 155F - 120F

Combine the flour, yeast, sugar, salt, and baking powder in the bowl of the stand mixer. Add the water and mix until combined. The dough should be very soft and a little sticky. Add more water if needed. Mix until the dough is smooth and pulls away from the sides of the bowl.

Turn out onto a floured surface and knead until no longer sticky, about 10 minutes. Use no more flour than necessary. Place in a buttered bowl and cover with plastic. Allow to double in size, about an hour.

Preheat the oven to 375F. Turn the dough onto a board and punch down gently. Without too much handling, shape into a round about 7 inches wide and place it smooth side up in a buttered 9-inch round cake pan. Generously brush with butter.

Allow to rise uncovered until doubled in size. The risen dough to completely cover the bottom of the baking pan and its crown should protrude above the rim of the pan a bit and will be light and airy to the touch.

Brush with more butter. slice the top surface of the loaf in a crosshatch pattern, kinda like a tic-tac-toe symbol. Place the pan on the middle rack of the oven. Bake for about 40 minutes until the internal temperature is 200F.
Remove form the oven and take the loaf out of the pan. If the bottom is not browned, then place the loaf (minus the pan) directly on the oven rack for 3-5 minutes.

Remove from pan and allow to cool a few minutes before serving.

Biscuits

Adam at Men In Aprons wrote a great post today about rolls vs biscuits and it reminded me of something new I learned the other day from reading The Bread Baker's Apprentice by Peter Reinhart.

The things us Americans call biscuits get their leavening not organically from yeast, but chemically from the baking powder. Our dough rises because agents in it release carbon dioxide. Organic leavening creates carbon dioxide through fermentation. Chemical leavening creates it through a chemical process called neutralization. When an acid and an alkaline react - neutralize each other - the by-product is carbon dioxide.

Baking powder contains two pairs of of acid and alkaline ingredients in a stable base. One pair reacts when it gets wet, the other when it gets hot. The first pair does its job during the mixing process when the liquid is added to the remaining ingredients. The second pair is heat-sensitive but not water sensitive and activates when it reaches about 150F.

Which points out another interesting difference between these 'quick breads' and yeast breads: The yeast gets killed off at about 145F, which means that our yeast breads stop rising after about the first five minutes in the oven, while quick breads are just getting statred at that point.

Interesting, eh?

Breaducation

While Curt's recipe for Grandma's Bread tasted OK, I believe it should have made two 8-1/2 inch long Pullman-style loaves. Mine did not come out looking like that.

I've been doing some reading, and so far have noticed two things:

1. I think my rise times were too short. I think these loaves should have had a 60-90 minute rise time and I did not wait that long. That would also account for the somewhat bland taste.

2. Most recipes I am looking at call for about 3 cups of flour per one-pound loaf, so I am a little curious about the dynamics of getting TWO loaves out of the same three cups of flour.

Boy do I have a lot to learn!