From June 2007.
You know, when it's past midnight and I still have 35 minutes left on the bread's second proof before baking, I say to myself, "Marz told you yesterday she needed something for a potluck. Maybe you should'a started that challah dough around 6pm, not 9pm."
But I got to experiment. One I added both some cocoa powder and about 3 oz of melted semisweet chips to, the other I put in cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves and raisins. And for shorter baking time I did 5 half pound loaves of each rather than a single 2.5 lb loaf each, which reduces baking time from 40-50 minutes to about 20 minutes. And I'll be baking at a slightly higher temp for the smaller loaves, so the outsides brown better. Last time I baked at the big loaf temp, but with the shorter baking time the outside was a bit lacking and slightly sticky, so the small loaves clung together.
At some point I should see how hard it would be to bake a single 5 lb boule loaf. Maybe I'll plan that for later this week when the challah is all gone.
Monday, November 12, 2007
Purple challah twist braid
From June 2007
Just for the fun of it, I made a loaf of challah with some purple yam powder. It adds nothing to the flavor, but does make the dough purple. I did two half batches of dough, one purple, after proofing I divided each half of the dough into 3 strands, paired them up with opposing colors and twisted them together to form 3 bicolored ropes, then braided those together to make the loaf. The result tastes just like any other challah loaf, but looks real cool inside.
Just for the fun of it, I made a loaf of challah with some purple yam powder. It adds nothing to the flavor, but does make the dough purple. I did two half batches of dough, one purple, after proofing I divided each half of the dough into 3 strands, paired them up with opposing colors and twisted them together to form 3 bicolored ropes, then braided those together to make the loaf. The result tastes just like any other challah loaf, but looks real cool inside.
Chocolate challah
Again, from June 2007
For some fun I added a bit of powdered cocoa and some semisweet chips to my standard challah recipe. Besides being a bit more messy to knead after the first proof, it turned out pretty good. Maybe it could be a little sweeter. I'll play with it again someday. The kids sure did like it.
For some fun I added a bit of powdered cocoa and some semisweet chips to my standard challah recipe. Besides being a bit more messy to knead after the first proof, it turned out pretty good. Maybe it could be a little sweeter. I'll play with it again someday. The kids sure did like it.
flatbread stuff
Again, from June 2007
Interesting,while making flatbread for tonight's dinner I decided that instead of stretching out the last two like I do pizza dough and most of my flatbreads, I'd just smush them flat with my fingertips and see what happens. They inflated like balloons, and I have just discovered how to make hollow pita. I'll play around with it later and post pics when I have controllable results.
Interesting,while making flatbread for tonight's dinner I decided that instead of stretching out the last two like I do pizza dough and most of my flatbreads, I'd just smush them flat with my fingertips and see what happens. They inflated like balloons, and I have just discovered how to make hollow pita. I'll play around with it later and post pics when I have controllable results.
flatbread pizza
Again I'm updating this blog with ones from my personal journal. From June 2007, flatbread pizza.
Ok, I'm playing around with the flatbread recipe to make small pizzas for our lunch in a few hours. Step 1, take the recipe and play around with it. I eliminated the baking powder and reduced the rediculous amount of yeast from a tablespoon to a teaspoon. I suspect that whomever made the recipe had dead yeast and couldnt get it to rise well. Since I'm going for pizza I left out the powdered milk but added in a teaspoon of dried basil. I also did a preferment for some flavor, and high gluten yeast which makes good pizza crust. So far, this is what I have.
Flatbread Pizza Dough
Preferment (proof 24 hours in the fridge)
5 oz bread flour
12 oz water
2 teaspoons sugar/honey
1/4 teaspoon yeast
In a bowl, mix
13 oz high gluten flour
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon yeast
1 teaspoon dried basil
1/4 cup olive oil
Add in preferment, turn on dough hook for about 5 minutes. Put dough into an oiled bowl in a cold oven with a pan of hot water, set timer for 2 hours.
That is where I stand now. The preferment soaking up the water overnight and it being cold allows for a more cohesive dough than the same day flatbread recipe, an interesting variation already.
This turned out even better than I thought. Using the dough in my previous post, I divided it into two equal portions, half going back into the fridge for use tomorrow. The other half I quartered, each piece being about 3.5 oz. I rolled them into a round lump, flattened them, and covered while preheating the oven to 550. When the oven was heated, I stretched the dough out into a disc, 2 per baking sheet (the peel was just for the photograph). Top with a bit of sauce, cheese and pepperoni, bake 5 minutes until the edges are browned. There was adequate oven spring, and good taste.
My Basic Pizza Sauce
8 oz can tomato sauce
1.5 teaspoons sugar
1.5 teaspoons basil
1/2 teaspoon oregano
1/4 teaspoon pepper
1.5 teaspoon dried onion flakes
2 cloves garlic, minced
Mix and use to top pizza. it's a good default recipe with handy ingredients I usually have onhand.
Next time I'll either bake them on a pizza stone for the 5 minutes or give it an extra minute so the bottom is browned a touch more. When baking at 550, the difference between done and burnt is 1 minute or less.
Ok, I'm playing around with the flatbread recipe to make small pizzas for our lunch in a few hours. Step 1, take the recipe and play around with it. I eliminated the baking powder and reduced the rediculous amount of yeast from a tablespoon to a teaspoon. I suspect that whomever made the recipe had dead yeast and couldnt get it to rise well. Since I'm going for pizza I left out the powdered milk but added in a teaspoon of dried basil. I also did a preferment for some flavor, and high gluten yeast which makes good pizza crust. So far, this is what I have.
Flatbread Pizza Dough
Preferment (proof 24 hours in the fridge)
5 oz bread flour
12 oz water
2 teaspoons sugar/honey
1/4 teaspoon yeast
In a bowl, mix
13 oz high gluten flour
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon yeast
1 teaspoon dried basil
1/4 cup olive oil
Add in preferment, turn on dough hook for about 5 minutes. Put dough into an oiled bowl in a cold oven with a pan of hot water, set timer for 2 hours.
That is where I stand now. The preferment soaking up the water overnight and it being cold allows for a more cohesive dough than the same day flatbread recipe, an interesting variation already.
This turned out even better than I thought. Using the dough in my previous post, I divided it into two equal portions, half going back into the fridge for use tomorrow. The other half I quartered, each piece being about 3.5 oz. I rolled them into a round lump, flattened them, and covered while preheating the oven to 550. When the oven was heated, I stretched the dough out into a disc, 2 per baking sheet (the peel was just for the photograph). Top with a bit of sauce, cheese and pepperoni, bake 5 minutes until the edges are browned. There was adequate oven spring, and good taste.My Basic Pizza Sauce
8 oz can tomato sauce
1.5 teaspoons sugar
1.5 teaspoons basil
1/2 teaspoon oregano
1/4 teaspoon pepper
1.5 teaspoon dried onion flakes
2 cloves garlic, minced
Mix and use to top pizza. it's a good default recipe with handy ingredients I usually have onhand.
Next time I'll either bake them on a pizza stone for the 5 minutes or give it an extra minute so the bottom is browned a touch more. When baking at 550, the difference between done and burnt is 1 minute or less.
flatbread baking
I'm catching up on posts that I made to my personal blog about baking but started neglecting this blog. So here's a flatbread post and picture from June 2007.
This weekend I played around with flatbread. Basic recipe as follows
18 oz bread flour
4 Tablespoons powdered milk
4 Tablespoons sugar
4 Tablespoons oil
1 Tablespoon yeast
1 Tablespoon Baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
1 1\2 cups water
Dump into a mixer, turn on the dough hook for about 5-8 minutes until thoroughly blended into a wet dough. Spoon out into an oiled bowl, cover and let rise for 1 hour (I put it in the oven with a bowl of hot water). After first rise, dump onto a floured surface and knead a bit, divide into 8 equal portions. Now is a good time to turn the oven to 550 (remove the water bowl if you used one), with the oven racks either centered or spaced for 2 sheet pans. Roll the dough into 8 balls and let rest for about 10-15 minutes (the amount of time it takes for my oven to preheat.) Press/roll the dough into flat discs about 6-8 inches across, and fit 2 per sheet pan. Bake for about 4-5 minutes, if doing two sheet pans at once you'll need to rotate them after 2 minutes. They go from almost done to brown quickly, so watch them closely. After baking the first batch, remove them from the sheets and put the second batch on, being careful not to burn yourself (I have enough sheet pans to do all of them on different sheets, but who wants to wash 4 cookie sheets.) Using baking parchment makes it easy to unpan them.
These are great with gyro meat, dipped in hummus or even with pizza toppings. I must admit, these are my first real successful flatbreads, and I've made batches using amaranth flour as 25% of the total flour, but regular bread flour works great.
This weekend I played around with flatbread. Basic recipe as follows
18 oz bread flour
4 Tablespoons powdered milk
4 Tablespoons sugar
4 Tablespoons oil
1 Tablespoon yeast
1 Tablespoon Baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
1 1\2 cups water
Dump into a mixer, turn on the dough hook for about 5-8 minutes until thoroughly blended into a wet dough. Spoon out into an oiled bowl, cover and let rise for 1 hour (I put it in the oven with a bowl of hot water). After first rise, dump onto a floured surface and knead a bit, divide into 8 equal portions. Now is a good time to turn the oven to 550 (remove the water bowl if you used one), with the oven racks either centered or spaced for 2 sheet pans. Roll the dough into 8 balls and let rest for about 10-15 minutes (the amount of time it takes for my oven to preheat.) Press/roll the dough into flat discs about 6-8 inches across, and fit 2 per sheet pan. Bake for about 4-5 minutes, if doing two sheet pans at once you'll need to rotate them after 2 minutes. They go from almost done to brown quickly, so watch them closely. After baking the first batch, remove them from the sheets and put the second batch on, being careful not to burn yourself (I have enough sheet pans to do all of them on different sheets, but who wants to wash 4 cookie sheets.) Using baking parchment makes it easy to unpan them.
These are great with gyro meat, dipped in hummus or even with pizza toppings. I must admit, these are my first real successful flatbreads, and I've made batches using amaranth flour as 25% of the total flour, but regular bread flour works great.
Wednesday, November 7, 2007
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