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I made these loaves for Bread Baking Day #6.

When shaping freeform bread, I usually shape it in boules because that's what I know how to do. But there is a request for shaped breads, specifically NOT "batard, boule or baguette" for Bread Baking Day #6.

I took a look through our bread baking cookbooks to find some traditional shapes for bread. Lo and behold, there was that same sideways "S" shape in Pane Sicialano in The Italian Baker by Carol Field.

Considering the difficulties I've been having with our wild starter and bread making lately, there's no way I was going to try that particular recipe again right now!

Then I remembered reading (where WAS it?!) that any bread can be put into any shape. How handy is that?

So I mixed up our wild bread recipe, but this time, added just a little bit of dark rye flour and sprinkled sesame seeds on top of the loaves just after shaping the loaves. I also added a tiny bit (1/16 tsp) of active dry yeast to the bread, because I'm so nervous that our starter isn't strong enough.

I formed one of the loaves into a crescent and one into the sideways 'S' shape , one of the traditional shapes for Lucia bread.

Happily, the occhi shaped dough expanded nicely. I had to assume that the crescent shaped one was risen enough too. Both were rather flat when I put them in the oven. But I was very happy (read "very relieved") that both did get some oven spring and turned out to be relatively presentable.

The results? Delicious!

I'm amazed at how the flavour of the rye comes through. The bread was quite firm in the crust with lots of un-uniform holes. In the somewhat chewy crumb, there was just a hint of sourness.

Here is the recipe I used:

• Wild Yeast Bread with rye and sesame seeds

If you would like to participate Bread Baking Day #6

The deadline for BBD#06 is 1 February 2008. For complete details on how to participate, please go to:

• Sweet Sins: bbd #06 – shaped bread

And finally, if you haven't already, don't forget to read about

• The Dangers of Bread

This is my second time working with a significant amount of rye, my first being a 100% rye: Vollkornbrot. That was really fun since i had no idea what to expect, it wasn't too difficult, and the people i made it for (immigrated from Germany) said it was wonderful. This time however, I scaled it back and went for a 40% Rye with Caraway Seeds. 

I used Hamelman's formula and stuck to it pretty well I think. I don't have a lot to compare it to in terms of rye experience, but i think it was pretty good. I wasn't expecting an open crumb, I did get some pretty good spring and i bet i could have gotten some nice slashing if I put my cuts parallel, but i saw a picture of a rye with this slashing style, so i went this way. I put some seeds on top, and I think that might have been a bit too much caraway for my tastes. Other than that though, it was pretty good, the chewyness is something I like. One day soon, I might try a vollkornbrot again, and perhaps down the road, pumpernickel will make an appearance. 

Rye seems to have this mystique, and it's piqued my curiosity....I'll get you yet you little berry..... 

sliced brazadela

This is a sort of quick bread that is traditionally made in the Emilia-Romagna region of Italy. It is dense without being dry or crunchy, barely sweet and flavored with lemon zest. It is a rustic dessert that is part of the peasant cooking of the region and usually eaten at the end of festive meals, dunked in the local wine, Lambrusco. It is however very good dunked in milk or hot chocolate as well.

To celebrate special occasions such as weddings, there is still the custom in that region to bake several "brazadela" rings of decreasing sizes, packaging them together and giving them as presents to family and friends. It is shaped like a ring, and its name "brazadela" in the local dialect refers to its shape. The word brazadela in turn is the dialect correspondent of the Italian word "Ciambella" of the same meaning. Incidentally the word "ciambella" is the origin of the old English word "jumble" which used to indicate a ring-shaped cookie.

It should be made with Italian 00 flour, but I have made it successfully with American AP flour, unbleached, as well.

500 g Italian 00 flour

200 g granulated sugar + extra to decorate

100 g butter, unsalted, softened

3 eggs + 1 yolk

zest of 1 organic lemon

1/8 tsp salt

1/4 cup of milk, or as needed

1/4 tsp cream of tartar

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

Sift the flour with baking soda and cream of tartar. Add the butter, sugar, salt, the beaten eggs and grated lemon zest. Knead, adding milk little by little (you might need a little more or less than indicated) until you have a smooth dough that is a little less stiff then pasta dough, supple and workable withut being sticky. An electric mixer works fine (with the dough hook) but is not indispensable.

Let the dough rest for 1 hour in a covered bowl, in a cool place. The rest period is important for the final texture of the bread and should not be skipped.

Preheat the oven to 350F. Line a cookie sheet with parchment or foil (lighlty grease the foil). Shape the dough on the cookie sheet in a ring, about 2 inches wide and with a diameter of about 10 inches.

Mix the yolk with about 2 tsp milk and brush the ring surface. Sprinkle generously with coarse granulated sugar and bake for about 35-40 minutes, until golden and cooked through. Tiny cracks will appear all over the surface. Let the baked ring cool on a rack.

It keeps for a long time in an airtight container or can also be frozen in freezer bags.

A note on the sugar: the sugar traditionally used in Italy to decorate this and other baked goods looks like small nuggets that are soft and melt in your mouth. I have never been able to find it in the US, if it is avalaible here I do not know. However, coarse granulated sugar works as well. Another possible substitute is made by crushing sugar cubes in a small plastic bag until they look like small nuggets and then sprinkling them on top of the ring before baking.

I was tired of drooling over Zolablue's pictures of Dan Leader's "Pierre Nury's Light Rye" and decided to try it for myself.  This bread is *amazing*.  I sent the second loaf home with friends of ours that came for dinner.  It was a really nice addition to the cheese plate - and every piece was gone in about 15 minutes - there were only 4 of us!

Two days ago I started a buttermilk bread from Laurel's that I finished yesterday.  That was the softest whole wheat sandwich bread I have ever made.  It is amazing!  So much flavor and so tender.  Probably will be our regular sandwich bread in the house.   

The only changes that I made to Dan Leader's recipe were the following:

I didn't do the second rise before the retardation.  I did it after.  I couldn't stay up late enough waiting for it, so when I went to bed I threw it in the fridge.  Then took it out this morning and let it sit at room temp for hours... like 7 or 8.  Three hours to accomodate for the "before baking warm up" and another couple hours for the second rise that I didn't do last night.  I then shaped as directed and baked for the longer of the time range and the oven spring was tremendous!  The first loaf was not shaped nearly as nice as the second, but it was incredibly easy once I tried the first and figured out what he was describing us to do.  I'm finding that I'm departing more and more from the recipe's directions in order to fit my life.  I'm just trying to be less fanatic about the whole process.  Its refreshing :)

 For Laurel's Buttermilk bread, I didn't follow the recipe exactly, in that I did an overnight retardation that she doesn't call for.  I let it rise twice and then threw it in the frigerator overnight (forgetting to punch it down before hand).  When I got up in the morning I took it out and halved it, and shaped them into loaf pans.  Then I put those in the fridge all day while at work, then baked them when I got home.  They are really beautiful loaves.  I gave one as a gift today to a girlfriend that went with me to a whole grain baking class.  We had a ton of fun and got to try some great foodie samples.  Those classes always re-enerigize my love for whole grains.

 As you can see above, the loaf on the right isn't nearly as nicely shaped as the other.  But, before our friends got to the house, I cut that one up to put on the cheese plate and no one knew it wasn't such a pretty loaf to start with.  Then I was able to send our friends home with the pretty one.  I can't emphasize how great the bread was.  It was good that we got it out of the house because we would've continued eating it.  *gasp!*

The crumb is so open.  I was so happy with this loaf!  It was so chewy and the crust was so, well, crusty!  Just perfection...

The perfect pairing with Kalamata olive spread, strawberry preserves, Stilton and Brie... and a few pecans for accent.  I think I could have this as my dinner every night.  Not just an appetizer... wow.  

Not so chatty tonight... tired... will bake more tomorrow.  Hubby is off to see family and packing some bread along as gifts.  :)

This is a very simple yet very good traditional Italian jam tart, made with pastafrolla--Italian-style shortpastry. The original post is from my blog

From the original recipe by Pellegrino Artusi
In: La Scienza in Cucina e l’Arte di Mangiar Bene” , 1891–Italy

Ingredients

2 cups (250 g) AP flour, unbleached
1/2 cup (125 g) unsalted butter, diced
1/2 cup (110 g) sugar
1 medium egg
1 yolk
1 cup (260 g) fruit jam (such as apricot, plum, or sour cherry)

If the granulated sugar is coarse, it is preferable to process it briefly in a food processor or coffee grinder. Mix flour and sugar, then work the butter in with the tip of your fingers until the mixture resembles wet sand. Add the egg and yolk and work briefly until the dough just holds together.
It is important not to overwork the dough (do not knead it) or it will harden when baked.
A food processor works perfectly to make the dough: start by placing flour and sugar in the work bowl, process for a few seconds to mix, then add the butter and pulse a few times until the mixture looks like wet sand. Add the egg and yolk and process a few seconds more until the dough forms. Do not overprocess.

Wrap the dough in wax paper and let it rest in a cool place for at least 30 minutes.

On a lightly floured board roll 2/3 of the pastry dough to a 1/8-in (3 mm) thickness, and line with it the bottom and sides of a 9-in (23 cm) tart pan with scalloped edges and a removable bottom. The sides should be lined with a slightly thicker layer of pastry than the bottom, about 1/4-in (0.5 cm). Fold back in the dough that is hanging over the sides to make a thicker lining along the sides. Cut of excess. Prick the pastry bottom with the tines of a fork in a few places, then spread with the jam. Do not use a deep tart mold.

Roll the remaining pastry on a lightly floured board slightly thicker than 1/8-in (3 mm), then with a sharp knife or pastry cutter cut it in strips 1/4-inch (0.5 cm) wide and make a lattice on top of the jam layer. There might be some leftover pastry. I usually make a few cookies with it, or tartlets.

You can see how the lattice should look here.

Preheat the oven to 400°F (200°C) and bake the tart until golden, about 25 minutes. Unmold the tart as soon as it is ready and let it cool on a rack. If left in the pan it will turn irremediably soggy. It is great freshly baked but it definitely improves after a day or two, if kept in a closed container.

A note on the fruit jam: select a jam that is relatively low in sugar, 38% to 40% content of sugar is best; jams that contain a higher percentage of sugar tend to be adversely affected by the baking temperatures, turning sticky and ruining the final result.

I went on a whim googling for artisan bread classes seeing as there doesnt seem to be anything like KA here, that I have discovered yet.

My first stop...and this is WHERE I stopped because it just blew me out of the water!

The Artisan Bread School. *cries*

I found this course http://www.artisan-bread-school.com/location.htm

I want so bad to do it, but the money and time away from home is just too much to ask for.

bugger!

Hello Everyone, and happy Tuesday!

I was in Cancun over the weekend and brought with me a few bread books to read, and was really hyped to get back into the kitchen as soon as I could.  It only (only! ha!) took two hours to get through customs and immigration.  Woe to regular international travelers! 

I decided to make the Pain au Levain (with flax seeds) out of Daniel Leader's Local Breads, and I also made a sourdough off of Susanfnp's blog (wildyeastblog.com) which is the one I've been messing around with lately. 

When I got home I refreshed my 100% starter (and is now actually a 100% - not the 170% that I was stupidly keeping it at, and barely rising!  Weight, not volume, silly!) and mixed up the 50% starter that I would need for the pain au levain.  Both rose quickly and beautiful placed on a heating pad on medium in my chilly kitchen (~65F) overnight.  I mixed up both batters this morning, and let them both ferment at room temp for about 4.5 hours while I was out.  This is where I really deviated from Daniel Leader's recipe... I didn't turn the bread until I got home, and then shaped the loaves about 15 minutes later.  Then I let them sit at room temp for about another 3 hours, slashed and baked at the prescribed temp, with steam in a baking sheet rather than a cast iron skillet (I have one that has been passed down and don't feel like rusting that one out, and I haven't yet been by the store to grab a fresh one).  

My makeshift couche!  Water bottles instead of kitchen towels... laundry had yet to be done!  :) 

Wanted to practice my slashes... they look decent here but the straight line one just ballooned up!  

Yummy!!! 

 Looooving the crumb! And the texture was out of this world! 

I'm infatuated with the crumb!  The crust was really nice too.  I'm not sure that the flavor of it is my all time favorite, I think I'm just not used to the flavor of that much flax seed.  I use ground flax seed in the "broom bread" that I make from PR's WGB and that's only 1/3 cup... the flavor was much more pronounced.  My husband said that this was his favorite bread yet.  *pat on back*  I think I'll play around with a Kamut Pain au Levain next, of course after I try the Pierre Nury's Rye that I've been dreaming about since Zolablue had me mesmerized.

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Then I upped the oven heat to 475 for the sourdough.  It also had a 4.5hr room temp ferment, then folded, and then shaped about 15 min later.  Sat again at room temp for about 2 hours then into the fridge to retard for about 5 hours.  Went straight from fridge to slash to oven. 

The recipe I used was this:

(from Susanfnp's wildyeastblog.com, *verbatim*)

Norwich Sourdough
(adapted from Vermont Sourdough in Bread: A Baker’s Book of Techniques and Recipes by Jeffrey Hamelman)

Yield: 2 kg (four or five small, or two large, loaves) ---- I did only one loaf.

Time:

Mix/autolyse: 35 minutes
First fermentation: 2.5 hours
Divide, bench rest, and shape: 20 minutes
Proof: 2.5 hours (or 1.5 hours, then retard for 2 – 16 hours)
Bake: 35 minutes

Desired dough temperature: 76F 

Ingredients:

900 g white flour (I used Heartland Mills unbleached malted all-purpose)
120 g whole rye flour (I used KAF pumpernickel)
600 g water at about 74F 
360 g ripe 100% hydration sourdough starter
23 g salt

Method:

1. In the bowl of a stand mixer, mix the flours, water, and starter on low speed until just combined, about one minute.
2. Let the dough rest (autolyse) for 30 minutes.
3. Add the salt and continue mixing on low or medium speed until the dough reaches a medium level of gluten development. This should only take about 3 or 4 minutes. 
4. Transfer the dough to an oiled container (preferably a low, wide one so the dough can be folded without removing it from the container).
5. Ferment at room temperature (72F – 76F) for 2.5 hours, with folds at 50 and 100 minutes. 
6. Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured counter. Divide it into 400g – 500g pieces. I usually make four 400g loaves and refrigerate the rest to use for pizza dough later. Preshape the dough pieces into light balls.
7. Sprinkle the balls lightly with flour, cover loosely with plastic, and let rest for 15 minutes.
8. Shape into batards and place seam-side-up in a floured couche or linen-lined bannetons.
   
9. Slip the couche or bannetons into a large plastic bag or cover with plastic wrap and proof at room temperature for 2 – 2.5 hours. Alternatively, the loaves can be proofed for about 1.5 hours at room temperature, then refrigerated for 2 – 16 hours and baked directly out of the refrigerator; this will yield a tangier bread with a lovely, blistered crust.
10. Meanwhile, preheat the oven, with baking stone, to 475F. You will also need steam during the initial phase of baking, so prepare for this now. 
11. Turn the proofed loaves onto a semolina-sprinkled peel or parchment. Slash each one with two overlapping cuts that are almost parallel to the long axis of the batard.
    
12. Once the loaves are in the oven, turn the heat down to 450F. For 400g loaves, bake for 12 minutes with steam, and another 15 – 18 minutes without steam. I leave the oven door cracked open a bit for the last 5 minutes of this time. The crust should be a deep brown. Then turn off the oven and leave the loaves in for 5 minutes longer, with the door ajar, to help them dry. Larger loaves will need to be baked longer.
13. Cool on a wire rack. Don’t cut until the loaves are completely cool, if you can manage it!

I thought this had a nice crust to it... I'm still trying to get that "ledge"!  I really think I need to get a lame. 

Sorry for the sideways picture!  I tried messing with it, but there isn't a way to resize this pic on this computer (these were all taken with camera phone)

See... this crumb looks great above... but below its not open at all. 

*Much* happier with Pain au Levain than the sourdough today as far as appearance, but ***very*** happy with the taste of both.  

Can anyone give me some suggestions as to why the sourdough starts out with a nice (moderately) open crumb and then turns into more of a sandwich bread crumb? 

Also, has anyone else that has made a *primarily* flax loaf felt like it had a bit of an "unfamiliar" taste?  Maybe its just me... It was great, just different than what I was expecting.

~Melissa in Atlanta 

I wish now that I'd taken a picture, but I didn't think of it. I was too consumed with the thought that I'd lost Rhonda Rye, my rye starter. I'd been about a month since I'd used or refreshed her and, while she'd gotten pretty hoochy in the past, I'd never had any trouble with an invasion.

Wow. I opened her up yesterday to see a very, very healthy colony of bulbous looking gray mold all over the surface. For a moment, I thought my only recourse would be to throw her out and convert some of my whole wheat starter over to rye. But when I dug around a bit with a knife, there was a tiny patch underneath that seemed untouched.

Carefully, I took about a gram of that little patch, and refreshed it. At first, the stuff smelled like vomit, but overnight, it rose and started smelling like it ought to again. I won't fully believe I'm out of the woods until I make some rye this weekend, but it looks like I've succeeded.

Starter is amazing stuff.

I got a new 15x20' FibraMent stone, but Sunday was my first chance to temper/predry it. After slowly getting it up to 550 over 7 hours, I knew I'd want to bake something on it, so I made three slightly different loaves. I set up a poolish the day before, then split that into three doughs - 1 with no oil, 1 with a tbsp of butter, and 1 with a tbsp of olive oil (in that order in the picture).  I shaped them different so I'll know which is which.

My slashing wasn't quite deep enough, but they all taste great.

In an attempt to slow down fermentation and try the less-work-but-more-time approach, I made a simple sandwich loaf. I baked the bread after it fermented 3 full days (1 day preferment, 1.5 days full dough bulk rise, 1/2 day in the loaf pan) only working with it in the evenings after work except for quick folding in the morning and moving it to the loaf pan the last morning.

After baking it, I found it to have a slight sourness to it that I enjoyed (my wife, however, did not). I didn't set out to make a sourdough, but I guess I have.