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madbakerNext week's Resolution Recipe, which I'm posting now while I have the book and have recent excited memories of it. Both come from Josey Baker Bread, which apparently I have to go buy now.
Hearth Loaf with Yeast
1/2 tsp dry yeast
1 cup cool water
1 1/2 cups wheat flour (I used King Arthur White Wheat)
Toss together the above in a big bowl, and stir it up evenly. It'll be like a thick pancake batter. Cover the bowl with a plate or plastic wrap - just so the moisture can't sneak out of the bowl - and put it in a cool place (55-65 F) for about 12 hours or overnight.
Lift the cover and take a peek. There should be a bunch of bubbles on tip, and it should be giving a nice odor - a little tangy and nutty. If this isn't the case, be patient and leave it alone for another 3-4 hours. Then mix in:
2 c lukewarm water
5 c bread flour
4 tsp salt
Mix evenly, not kneading. If there is flour that won't mix in, toss in another 1-2 T water. Or add 1-2 T flour if the dough's too wet. Cover and let it sit for 3-4 hours, then stick it in the fridge. Leave it there for at least 3 hours, or up to a week. (I left it for a day or two; I can't remember.)
Sprinkle a handful of bread flour on the counter, and pour the dough out. Cut into equal-size pieces. Be gentle - it has gas in it, and you want to keep most of it there. Gently grab a corner of the dough and fold it up and over into the middle. Do the same thing around the entire piece of dough until you've folded in the dough around the entire perimeter, and you've just got a tight little seam on top. Flip the loaves so the seam is facing down, using a bench knife if it sticks at all to the table. Let it sit there for a few minutes, to encourage the seam you just made to stick together.
Flour a cloth and line your proofing baskets. Plop the loaves in, smooth side down. Let them sit out for 4-6 hours, until they've doubled in volume. Heat the oven to 475. Carefully plop the loaves onto the baking stone, slashing the tops quickly. Bake for about 35 minutes, giving another 5-10 if it isn't dark brown. Remove and let cool. Resist the very strong urge to eat it immediately - it's not done baking yet!
What worked: This is the best bread I have made in quite some time. It was airy/spongy with great crumb, with a dark yet chewy exterior. A very deep tangy flavor, even with just using commercial dry yeast. It also made fabulous toast.
What didn't: I didn't use a proofing cloth and the loaves stuck to the wicker proofing baskets ("bannetons") I use. Normally that doesn't happen, but the long slow rise and keeping in the fridge meant moisture weep. This meant that the loaves slumped and deflated a bit. They were still fabulous, though.
It's not a huge amount of effort but it does involve a lot of time and scheduling. Hard to make this during the week.
Will I make it again? Oh yes I will. After unfortunately having kind of mediocre bread in the house for a while, we ate one of the loaves within a couple days.
And...
Sourdough pan loaves
2 T sourdough starter
1 cup cool water
1 1/2 cups whole wheat flour
Mix these up, cover with a plate or plastic wrap, and leave it alone until morning. Go to bed and dream of the amazing bread you'll make tomorrow.
Uncover the bowl and take a big whiff. It should be putting off a pretty strong smell, nice and yummy, maybe a touch sour. Add:
2 c lukewarm water
5 c bread flour
4 tsp salt
Stir it up with your strong hands until it's good and mixed together. Cover with plastic wrap and let sit for 30 minutes to an hour. Go for a walk or read a book or talk to a friend. After it sits for a while, the dough is ready to be kneaded. Dip your hand in a bowl of water, then reach down into the side of the dough bowl, grab a little bit of it, and pull it up and push it down on top of the dough. Rotate the bowl a little bit and do it again, dipping your hand in water if it starts to stick. Be sweet and gentle yet firm with the dough. Do this to all of the dough; it'll probably take about ten folds. Cover the dough. And let it sit for half an hour.
This isn't kneading! It's weird! What the heck? Indeed, this is a little different from what most people think of as kneading - it's more like stretching and folding. Instead of putting the dough on your counter and using your muscles to rub the dough over and over for many minutes, all the while adding flour to keep it from sticking, and just getting all worked up and sweaty, we are going to let time do a lot of the work. For this style you never actually take the dough out of the bowl. You'll notice a huge change in the dough between the initial mix and the first time you come back to knead it - it will be much more cohesive, and you'll think to yourself, "Holy crap, how did that happen?" Magic, that's how.
Repeat this process 3 more times every half hour. Then leave the dough alone for 2-3 hours, until it has increased in volume by about half. Flour your counter and dump out the dough. Shape into a loaf and plop into a greased loaf pan. Oil the top and cover with tented aluminum foil. Let rise for 3-4 more hours.
Heat the oven to 475 and bake for 20 minutes. Remove the foil and bake another 20 minutes. (No slashing! I double-checked.) Remove, let it cool, and eat that sucker.
What worked: Beauty. The loaf was perfectly shaped, no crust liftoff or tearing and perfectly domed. An airy crumb (not as much as the dry yeast, which is to be expected). A deep tangy flavor, more so than the first recipe. Even better toast than the first batch - caramelizing the sugars intensified the tasty sour flavor.
What didn't: Harder to schedule than the dry yeast batch. It's a weekend-only project. But nothing didn't actually work. It rises much better with a 6-8 hour final rise; that may be my starter, or the house is cold, or something.
Will I make it again? The wife might shank me if I didn't.
Hearth Loaf with Yeast
1/2 tsp dry yeast
1 cup cool water
1 1/2 cups wheat flour (I used King Arthur White Wheat)
Toss together the above in a big bowl, and stir it up evenly. It'll be like a thick pancake batter. Cover the bowl with a plate or plastic wrap - just so the moisture can't sneak out of the bowl - and put it in a cool place (55-65 F) for about 12 hours or overnight.
Lift the cover and take a peek. There should be a bunch of bubbles on tip, and it should be giving a nice odor - a little tangy and nutty. If this isn't the case, be patient and leave it alone for another 3-4 hours. Then mix in:
2 c lukewarm water
5 c bread flour
4 tsp salt
Mix evenly, not kneading. If there is flour that won't mix in, toss in another 1-2 T water. Or add 1-2 T flour if the dough's too wet. Cover and let it sit for 3-4 hours, then stick it in the fridge. Leave it there for at least 3 hours, or up to a week. (I left it for a day or two; I can't remember.)
Sprinkle a handful of bread flour on the counter, and pour the dough out. Cut into equal-size pieces. Be gentle - it has gas in it, and you want to keep most of it there. Gently grab a corner of the dough and fold it up and over into the middle. Do the same thing around the entire piece of dough until you've folded in the dough around the entire perimeter, and you've just got a tight little seam on top. Flip the loaves so the seam is facing down, using a bench knife if it sticks at all to the table. Let it sit there for a few minutes, to encourage the seam you just made to stick together.
Flour a cloth and line your proofing baskets. Plop the loaves in, smooth side down. Let them sit out for 4-6 hours, until they've doubled in volume. Heat the oven to 475. Carefully plop the loaves onto the baking stone, slashing the tops quickly. Bake for about 35 minutes, giving another 5-10 if it isn't dark brown. Remove and let cool. Resist the very strong urge to eat it immediately - it's not done baking yet!
What worked: This is the best bread I have made in quite some time. It was airy/spongy with great crumb, with a dark yet chewy exterior. A very deep tangy flavor, even with just using commercial dry yeast. It also made fabulous toast.
What didn't: I didn't use a proofing cloth and the loaves stuck to the wicker proofing baskets ("bannetons") I use. Normally that doesn't happen, but the long slow rise and keeping in the fridge meant moisture weep. This meant that the loaves slumped and deflated a bit. They were still fabulous, though.
It's not a huge amount of effort but it does involve a lot of time and scheduling. Hard to make this during the week.
Will I make it again? Oh yes I will. After unfortunately having kind of mediocre bread in the house for a while, we ate one of the loaves within a couple days.
And...
Sourdough pan loaves
2 T sourdough starter
1 cup cool water
1 1/2 cups whole wheat flour
Mix these up, cover with a plate or plastic wrap, and leave it alone until morning. Go to bed and dream of the amazing bread you'll make tomorrow.
Uncover the bowl and take a big whiff. It should be putting off a pretty strong smell, nice and yummy, maybe a touch sour. Add:
2 c lukewarm water
5 c bread flour
4 tsp salt
Stir it up with your strong hands until it's good and mixed together. Cover with plastic wrap and let sit for 30 minutes to an hour. Go for a walk or read a book or talk to a friend. After it sits for a while, the dough is ready to be kneaded. Dip your hand in a bowl of water, then reach down into the side of the dough bowl, grab a little bit of it, and pull it up and push it down on top of the dough. Rotate the bowl a little bit and do it again, dipping your hand in water if it starts to stick. Be sweet and gentle yet firm with the dough. Do this to all of the dough; it'll probably take about ten folds. Cover the dough. And let it sit for half an hour.
This isn't kneading! It's weird! What the heck? Indeed, this is a little different from what most people think of as kneading - it's more like stretching and folding. Instead of putting the dough on your counter and using your muscles to rub the dough over and over for many minutes, all the while adding flour to keep it from sticking, and just getting all worked up and sweaty, we are going to let time do a lot of the work. For this style you never actually take the dough out of the bowl. You'll notice a huge change in the dough between the initial mix and the first time you come back to knead it - it will be much more cohesive, and you'll think to yourself, "Holy crap, how did that happen?" Magic, that's how.
Repeat this process 3 more times every half hour. Then leave the dough alone for 2-3 hours, until it has increased in volume by about half. Flour your counter and dump out the dough. Shape into a loaf and plop into a greased loaf pan. Oil the top and cover with tented aluminum foil. Let rise for 3-4 more hours.
Heat the oven to 475 and bake for 20 minutes. Remove the foil and bake another 20 minutes. (No slashing! I double-checked.) Remove, let it cool, and eat that sucker.
What worked: Beauty. The loaf was perfectly shaped, no crust liftoff or tearing and perfectly domed. An airy crumb (not as much as the dry yeast, which is to be expected). A deep tangy flavor, more so than the first recipe. Even better toast than the first batch - caramelizing the sugars intensified the tasty sour flavor.
What didn't: Harder to schedule than the dry yeast batch. It's a weekend-only project. But nothing didn't actually work. It rises much better with a 6-8 hour final rise; that may be my starter, or the house is cold, or something.
Will I make it again? The wife might shank me if I didn't.
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Date: 2014-06-24 03:13 pm (UTC)