Sandwich Milk Bread

This is the second bread suggested for this month for the new baking event 'tame the yeast'. This bread was recommended by Mirelle. It is a simple sandwich milk bread. It has a lovely flavor and the sandwiches tasted great and were filling.

The bread has a unique shape as it is shaped by placing two rolls next to each other in the loaf pan. The bread baked to a beautiful golden brown without a wash. This is a great milk bread recipe that I will be baking again.

I switched all purpose flour for bread flour and used King Arthur white whole wheat flour. I had to add another 1/4 cup water than the original recipe called for to get a soft dough.

You will need
1 cup bread flour
1 3/4 cup white whole wheat flour
1/2 tsp. salt
1 1/2 tsp. instant dry yeast
1 tbsp. honey (I used sugar)
3/4 cup milk
1/4 cup water
1/4 cup butter

In a large mixing bowl sift the flours and add salt, yeast and sugar. In a bowl heat the milk, water and butter until the butter melts. Add the liquid to the flour and form into a soft dough. Knead until the dough is smooth and elastic.

Cover and keep aside until it doubles in volume, about an hour.

Grease a loaf pan and keep it ready. Transfer the dough to a floured surface and divide into two equal portions. Roll in a ball with a smooth top.

Roll one of the portion into a large rectangle. Start at the short side. Fold in the long sides such that the rectangle is the width of the loaf pan.

Roll in a tight roll and place on one side of the loaf pan. Repeat with the other portion and place it next to the first roll.

Cover and let it rise for another 30-40 minutes until it doubles in volume. In the last 15 minutes preheat the oven to 375 F.

Bake the loaf for 30-40 minutes until the top is golden brown and the loaf sounds hollow.

Cool on a cooling rack before cutting it into slices.

Enjoy!

No Knead Light Wheat Loaf

A group of friends decided to start a new baking challenge, 'tame the yeast'. I was tasked with providing a simple sandwich bread as the first challenge for the new group. Most of the sandwich bread I bake is in the form of boules using my sourdough starter. I decided to try this no knead light wheat loaf. It was the easiest bread I have ever made. It is a perfect bread to start with as no kneading is required. The long rise times ensure excellent flavor.

I made the bread with 50% all purpose flour and 50% whole wheat flour. I made the bread twice once using King Arthur whole wheat flour and a second time using the low protein/gluten chapati flour. I got denser crumb with the chapati flour as a result of using low protein flour. The crumb was more open with the stronger wheat flour. However, the end result in both cases was soft bread flavorful bread.

We loved the results and the bread was gone in a couple hours after I made these sandwiches. I think this will be my go to sandwich bread recipe. I found this recipe in an artisan baking group where Karen shared this recipe from her blog.

You will need
2 cups all purpose flour
2 cups whole wheat flour
3 tablespoons sugar
1 3/4 tsp. salt
3/4 tsp. instant yeast
2 cups + 1 tbsp. ice cold water
3 tbsp. oil

You can mix the flour at night and keep it overnight if your kitchen is cool or you are baking in winter. On hot humid days it would be best to mix the dough in the morning and watch the dough every few hours. Mine was done in 6 hours on a very hot and very humid day.

Sift the flour in a large mixing bowl. Add all the other dry ingredients. Pour the water and oil.

Whisk until all the ingredients are mixed together. Do not knead. Pour a few drops of oil on your palm and spread over the top. Cover with plastic wrap and keep aside.

Lightly spread oil on a 10 x 5 loaf pan. When the dough has risen to twice its original volume you are ready for the next step.

Stir the dough together gently.

Fold it over itself a few times. You start on one side, push your hand under the dough and pull up the dough all the way to fold over the top.

Now fold the dough in half, lift it out of the mixing bowl and place it in the loaf pan seam side down.

Smooth out and even out the top with oiled hands. Using a sharp knife cut the top of the dough three times to score. Sprinkle half a tablespoon of whole wheat flour over the top. Cover with oiled plastic wrap and let it sit for a couple hours until the dough rises a quarter of an inch over the side of the pan. Preheat oven to 375 F during the last 15 minutes of the rise.

Bake the loaf in the center of the oven for about 50-60 minutes. If the top browns too fast tent it with foil. Let the loaf sit in the pan on the counter for 10 minutes.

Take it out of the pan and place it out on a cooling rack.

Do not slice until it has cooled.

Enjoy!

Note:
* This is a wet dough and will be hard to handle. Moisten you hand with water to make it easier to handle.
* If you are baking on a hot day or your kitchen temperature is high, consider putting the dough in the refrigerator after an hour. Cold temperature retards yeast growth so you will be able to get the flavors from the long rise without over-proofing.
* If you are baking on a wet rainy day, reserve a couple tablespoons of water. Mix the dough and add the remaining water only if it is not too wet. Dough absorbs moisture from the air.

Braided Bread

I have always been fascinated with fancy braids. In my college dorm I used to braid my roommates long hair. My daughter has waist length hair but she would not let me play with it. Then I found braided bread. I really like the bread with 8 or 9 strands. Today I present braided bread with 6, 8 and 9 strands along with a 4 strand round bread.

The turtle was made by my daughter. She said the round braid looked so much like a turtle she had to give it a head, hands and feet. It was a lot of fun making these as my daughter was a very willing participant. Guess she loves braiding as much as I do.

You will need
Dough prepared using my basic dough recipe

To make the braided bread you need rolled strands. I find it it easiest to roll the dough in a flat rectangle, cut out strips and roll each one into shape.

This gives me ropes of the same size and diameter that are evenly finished. To start place all the ropes parallel to one another. Bring one edge together and squeeze together. Now you are ready to begin.

To make the 9 strand braid
Start on the right. Place the right most strand to the left over the next two adjacent strands and under the following two strands. Do the same with the left most strand.

Repeat this process and the braid will start to appear.

Continue to the end as far as you can go. Tuck all the strands together under the dough to finish. Cut off about a half inch at the end from which you started and tuck the strands under.

For the 8 strand braid
Before you begin arrange the 8 strands the same way you would for the 9 strand bread. Pick up the rightmost strand and place it over the top of all the other strands to the left. Repeat with the leftmost strand.

Now place the right strand in the middle of the remaining strands. Place the new rightmost strand over to the left. Place the leftmost strand in the middle of the remaining strands and place the new leftmost strand to the right.

Continue to the end. Finish similar to the 9 strand braid. The finished 8 and 9 strand braids look like this.

For the 6 strand braid
This is very similar to the 8 strand braid except you have 2 fewer strands to work with.

For the 4 strand round braid and turtle
The 4 strand round braided bread is a little different from the above. To start place the 4 strands as shown in the picture below.

Now twist the adjoining strands such that the one that went under goes over and vise versa as shown in picture below.

Continue this process until you reach the end. Pick up the braid in your hand, turn it over and tuck the end on the underside. For the turtle attach head, hands and feet. Add cloves for eyes if you like. Wash everything with a milk to egg white and milk wash.

Bake at 400 F for 15-20 minutes. I used leftover pizza dough to bake these breads.

Enjoy!

Gourmet Pizza with Caramalized onions and sundried tomatoes

This recipe is a family favorite. There is no sauce on this pizza, just a bunch of vegetables and a sprinkling of aged parmesan cheese. I first made it after we had something similar at a gourmet pizza joint and hence the name. I made it regularly as a Friday night special. We either had family Pizza and movie night or Pizza and game night. The crust is made of whole wheat flour.

What I really like about this recipe is that it is not loaded with cheese and sauce and yet it is delicious. Use sundried tomatoes that are not stored in oil. I get mine from Trader Joe's. You could also make your own. If you do not have sun-dried tomatoes you can use a regular tomato.

I use good quality parmesan cheese that I buy as a block from Costco when they have their annual imported cheese sale. Parmesan is aged cheese and stores well. Use in small amounts. A little goes a long way.

You will need
1 300-340 gm ball of pizza dough (recipe here)
1 onion
1 cup sun-dried tomatoes or 1 tomato
1 cup baby spinach
1 tsp. dried basil
Freshly grated Parmesan cheese

Prepare the pizza dough the night before as given in this recipe. The next day you are the ready to make pizza.

Chop the onions lengthwise. Place in a pan on low heat and allow it to be caramelized. It will take about 20-25 minutes. Keep aside to cool.

Preheat the oven to 475 F. Chop the spinach. If you are using a regular tomato, chop lengthwise and drain on a paper towel. If you are using sun dried tomatoes, soak them in warm water for a few minutes and drain on a paper towel.

Use a little all purpose flour on your hands. Now using gravity work the pizza dough into a flat disk. Place it on a pizza pan. Sprinkle the basil over the pizza. Now place the caramelized onions and tomatoes on the pizza.

Add the spinach and grate parmesan cheese over the top.

Place the pizza in the oven for about 12-15 minutes. Cut into wedges and serve hot.

Enjoy!

Hungarian Ring Bread

Hungarian ring bread is made for special occasions like weddings. There are seven rings, one on the outside and six on the inside, that intertwine with no apparent start or end. I have always wanted to try this bread and have had it on my wishlist for a very long time.

I made a decorative bread without sourdough after a long time. I am now used to sourdough and its long rise times. I let this bread rise a little longer than I should have before I shaped it. The end result was a delicious flavorful bread that was not exactly suitable for shaping. The dough kept rising. I am glad the shapes are still visible and did not blend into each other completely.

The bread was pretty easy to shape and I always have fun when I am playing with dough.

You will need
500 gm bread flour
40 gm sugar
37 gm egg yolks
70 gm whole eggs
37 gm vegetable oil
160 gm water
7 gm salt
15 gm fresh yeast

Combine the wet ingredients in a mixing bowl. Sift the flours and add all the dry ingredients. Combine to form a soft dough. Knead well until the dough is elastic and smooth. Cover and keep aside until it doubles in volume. Divide into 7 pieces, 6 small (~70 gm) and one large (~ 300 gm). If you want to decorate it put a little dough aside before you divide into above mentioned portions.

Prepare a baking sheet with parchment paper. Roll the large portion into a rope and shape as a ring. Place it on the prepared sheet.

Shape the other portions as ropes. Intertwine as shown in the picture.

If you want you can add a few decorations.

Cover in egg wash and let it sit for 20 minutes. Preheat oven to 375 F. Bake for 25-30 minutes. Cool on a rack.

Enjoy!

Whole Wheat Sourdough Pizza

I have made sourdough pizza before but this recipe uses whole wheat flour as opposed to all purpose flour. The pizza is heartier and tastes great.

Pizza dough is flat bread that is very versatile. I used a mix of mostly white whole wheat and all purpose flour for the dough. I fed my starter in the morning. At around 4 pm I mixed the dough. At night before going to bed I divided the dough and rolled it into smooth balls. I covered them and put them in the refrigerator.

The proportions I used
700 gm white whole wheat flour
200 gm all purpose flour
700 gm water
200 gm fresh fed starter
20 gm salt

The next day around noon, after 12 plus hours of refrigeration, I was ready to bake the pizza. Sometimes if I can, I keep the dough refrigerated longer; until dinner or maybe even lunch the day after. The pizza tastes better.

Today I made pizza topped with my favorite pizza sauce and shredded cotijo cheese. That was the only cheese I had on hand.

Preheat the oven to 475 F. If using a pizza stone and peel, place the stone on the top rack in the oven as it heats. If using a pizza baking sheet, place the sheet on the top rack. A hot oven and a hot cooking surface allow the pizza dough to cook quickly and puff up to create an open crumb. All you need is 7 minutes in the oven.

Meanwhile, on a lightly floured working surface place one of the portions of refrigerated dough. Using your knuckles punch down the center leaving a small 1/4 inch border.

Flour you hands. Pick up the flattened dough with your fingers and using the border as a guide run it through your fingers. Holding the dough up vertically will allow it to expand. You could throw it in the air to expand it too.

Remove the heated baking sheet from the oven. Working quickly place the prepared pizza dough on the sheet.

Cover with sauce and sprinkle the cheese. Return the sheet to the top rack of the oven for 5 minutes. If using a pizza stone, assemble the pizza on a pizza peel and slide it on to the hot stone.

After 5 minutes switch to broil and broil the pizza for 2 minutes. Serve hot. Be prepared to listen to how tasty the pizza is knowing the compliments are for the pizza base and not the toppings.