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My better half has been craving a hamburger for a few weeks now. As the resident bread baker who can guarantee that the bread will not have dairy (allergic), it falls to me to make sure we have the proper buns. She told me that we could just use normal bread but no, that just won't due. Instead I returned to a recipe I've done a few times now as it always provides consistent results, can be made in a mixer, and is easy enough to sub in vegan butter and oat or soy-milk to avoid any dairy. 

FULL RECIPE CALCULATIONS HERE

These rolls are super soft and fluffy thanks to the use of a tangzhong (precooked and gelatinous flour). They can easily be mixed in the morning and be ready for dinner. They are best served hot and fresh as they will become a little bit dry and more dense over time. This time I topped them with just a brush of butter and a sprinkle of everything bagel seasoning. I've also done the garlic butter topping and that is super amazing but it also makes me want to put the entire recipe in my mouth as quickly as possible. 

If you want to see the steps narrated by Josh you can see the video here:

My results even with the substitutions of ingredients are basically identical. Mine are a bit more orange in color because of the local eggs I get which have a rich dark orange yolk instead of the more pale yellow that is common in America/Canada. 

Sensei's Report Card

Tasting Notes: Soft and sweet. A perfect bread for dinner rolls or for a buger/hotdog if you want a soft bun. The variety of toppings can change the overall flavor profile of the bread and if you are making rolls the garlic butter flaky salt is highly recommended. 

Time/Effort: Takes about 4 to 6 hours from start to finish as it is a yeasted bread that is risen twice and baked the same day. Low effort as it can be made completely in a stand mixer other than shaping.    

Would I make it again: Well, given that I have made this recipe 3 or 4 times in the last year for burgers and rolls, yep this one will be made again without a doubt. 

My attempt at Hamelman’s Hot Cross buns from his Bread book. I made these on previous Easter’s and they were always well received. One of the reasons I like his version is because the crossing paste is extra tasty. It is made with butter, sugar, egg, vanilla, lemon zest and flour. I am not going to post his recipe so buy the book. The recipe makes enough paste for four dozen buns and since I was only making two dozen and I didn’t have a smaller tip, I piped it on thick. The other thing that made these better this time was making my own candied orange peel and using the leftover orange flavored sugar water to brush on the buns after they come out of the oven. I usually buy candied fruit at the market but could not find it in any store and after making my own I will never buy them again.  
Without further ado here are more Hot Cross Buns to throw on the pile. 

Happy  Easter 

Brioche Bread

Wonderful smell in the house - Happy Easter to everyone.

I’ve been baking a lot of milk breads for some time developing the formula to the point that I’m quite happy with it.  So now I’d like to see what I can do with a vegan version of a sourdough milk bread.  This is my first try at a vegan version of a 100% whole wheat milk bread.  My favourite non dairy milk is soy milk and I prefer the Asian soy milk rather than the North American ones as they are slightly sweetened without any added flavours like vanilla so it was easy to decide to use this.  I have a bottle of toasted walnut oil that I use when I make bread with walnuts in it to amp up the walnut flavour so I decided that I would replace the oil from the butter and the egg yolk with the equivalent amount of toasted walnut oil.  Finally for the egg yolks I decided to use ground flax seeds with water.  I initially planned to use aquafaba (chickpea water) however, I realized when my first test dough wasn’t rising that the can of chickpeas I used had a good amount of salt added that I hadn’t accounted for in the dough.  The high salt appeared to inhibit the microbes and there was very little rise over quite a long time so that first dough was binned.

Based on the information I could find 1 egg about 11% fat and the egg white is about equal to 1 tbsp of flax seeds ground and mixed with 2-3 tbsp of water. 

Butter in North America is about 80% fat.

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Instructions
Levain
Mix the levain ingredients in a jar or pyrex container with space for at least 300% growth.
Press down with your knuckles or silicone spatula to create a uniform surface and to push out air.
At a temperature of 78ºF, it typically takes up to 10-12 hours for this sweet stiff levain to be at peak. For my starter I typically see 3-3.5 times increase in size at peak. The levain will smell sweet with only a mild tang.
Tangzhong
Put about 1” of water sauce pan set on medium high heat. In the bowl of the stand mixer stir the milk and flour until blended. Then place the bowl on the sauce pan to cook the tangzhong (Bain Marie) for several minutes until well thickened, stirring regularly with a spoon or heat-resistant spatula. Theoretically it should reach 65ºC (149ºF) but I don’t find I need to measure the temperature as the tangzhong gelatinizes at this temperature. Let cool in the bowl and then refrigerate until the next morning.

Flax seed gel
Grind 1 tbsp of flax seeds and combine with 2-3 tbsp of water and stir to form a thick gel.

Cornstarch glaze
Combine ¼ tsp of corn starch and ¼ cup of water in a measuring cup and stir to dissolve. Microwave for 20-40 seconds in pulses until the cornstarch glaze thickens.

Dough
Into the bowl of a stand mixer with the tangzhong, add the soy milk (consider holding back 10 g of soy milk and adding later if this is the first time you’re making this), ground flax seed gel, salt, diastatic malt (optional) and levain. Mix and then break up the levain into many smaller pieces. Next add the flour. I like to use my spatula to mix until there aren’t many dry areas. Allow the flour to hydrate (fermentolyse) for 20-30 minutes. Mix on low speed and then medium speed until moderate gluten development this may take 5-10 mins. You may want to scrape the sides of the bowl during the first 5 minutes of mixing. Next drizzle in the toasted walnut oil a little at a time. Slow the mixer down to avoid splashing the oil at you. The dough may come apart, be patient, continue to mix until it comes together before drizzling in more oil. Once all the oil has been added and incorporated increase the speed gradually to medium. Mix at medium speed until the gluten is well developed, approximately 10 mins. You will want to check gluten development by windowpane during this time and stop mixing when you get a good windowpane. You should be able to pull a good windowpane, not quite as good as a white flour because the bran will interrupt the windowpane somewhat.

On the counter, shape the dough into a tight ball, cover in the bowl and ferment for 4-4.5 hours at 82ºF. There should be some rise visible at this stage.

You can next place the dough into the fridge to chill the dough for about 1.5 hours, this makes rolling the dough easier to shape. Remember, if you do so the final proof will take longer. Alternatively, you can do a cold retard in the fridge overnight, however, you may find that this increases the tang in your bread.

Prepare your pans by greasing them or line with parchment paper. I used a muffin pan oiled with walnut oil.

Lightly flour the top of the dough. Scrape the dough out onto a clean counter top and divide it into six. I like to weigh them to have equal sized bun. Shape each tightly into a boule, allow to rest 5 mins. Flatten each boule, divide it into three pieces shaping each into a small boule. Place each set of three small boules into the muffin tin to bake into a three lobed bun.

Cover and let proof for 3-5 hours at a warm temperature. I proof at 82°F. You will need longer than 3-5 hours if you chilled your dough for shaping. I proof until the top of the dough comes to within 1 cm of the top edge of the pan.

Preheat the oven to 350°F. Prepare your cornstarch glaze.

Bake 30-35 mins for rolls.

Apply cornstarch glaze when the bread is done, then place back in oven for just 1 minute.

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One change I would make next time other than adjust the timing which wasn’t great (I shaped far too early because I had to get out of the house) is that I would slightly reduce the milk by 5% or so as the dough was difficult to shape due to stickiness.  I wonder if the stickiness is in part from the flax seed gel used to replace the egg white.  I’d be curious to try this again going with my initial plan for aquafaba, but using a no salt added can of chickpeas.

In the end, these were delicious and had a great amount of nutty flavour.  It is impossible in my mind to replace the flavour from dairy fat, but these are delicious in their own way and much healthier using walnut oil, soy milk and flax seeds.  Someone might ask why I didn’t use vegan butter, the ones I looked at often had unhealthy fats in them such as coconut oil so I figured if I was going to make a vegan version of a milk bread it should be healthier if I was going to skip the dairy.  

My index of bakes

Isn't it nice when your baked goods smile at you? :p




These are my 'happier' hot cross buns this year

Tangzhong
100g milk
20g all purpose flour

Dough
All of the TZ
165g milk
1 large egg
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
70g SD discard
55g sugar
6g orange zest
445g all purpose flour
6g salt
3g instant yeast
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
A pinch of nutmeg & allspice
50g unsalted butter
15g light olive oil

Add-ins
50g cranberries
100g raisins  
Both were soaked in recently boiled water for 10 minutes, rinse and pat dry.

Cross / Smiley Paste
40g all-purpose flour
30g icing sugar
35g water or milk
1 tsp light olive oil

Glaze: 1 tbsp apricot jam + 2 tsp hot water - brush on freshly baked buns

Bake times at 180°C until the internal temperature reaches at least 93°C
70g buns 20-25 minutes
50g smaller buns 15-20 minutes

I've used the same dough above without the cinnamon, allspice and nutmeg as rolls too. For these, I baked them at a lower temperature 160°C for about 30 minutes.



Next, I made small sourdough paska loaves using my 6" cake pan. The fun part included the origami involved in making the liner for my cake pan. This loaf is another same day bake! :)



6" Sourdough paska loaf
50g starter (100% hydration, doubled in approx 8-10 hours at 20-21°C)
82 to 85g milk
1 large egg
200g all purpose flour
30g sugar
5g lemon & orange zest
3g vanilla extract
4g salt
45g unsalted butter
10g light olive oil
60g raisins & cranberries (soaked and rinsed)

Egg wash
1 large egg
2 tsp milk
A pinch of salt

Glaze
20g water
20g sugar

Mix on low speed every ingredient except salt and butter. Rest 30 minutes.

Add salt and butter, mix on low speed until absorbed. Then increase speed to 2 and mix for 15 minutes until the dough is smooth and elastic.

Remove about 100-120g of the dough for the decorative top. Shape this smaller dough into a ball and transfer to a small greased bowl.

To the remaining dough, add the soaked cranberries and raisins.  Mix on low speed for about 2 - 3 minutes until the fruits are incorporated evenly into the dough or, stretch and fold until the fruits are incorporated. Then, shape the dough into a ball and place it in a greased bowl.

Stretch and fold both doughs.  Cover and let them rest for 30 minutes at 24-26°C.

Stretch and fold the doughs. Cover and let it rest for 30 minutes at 24-26°C.

Stretch and fold the doughs. Cover and let them proof for the next 3 hours (24-26°C) or until the dough has increased 30-40% in volume.

Deflate both doughs gently. Form the larger dough into a boule and flatten with a rolling pin to about 5-inch in diameter. Place it in the lined 6” pan. Lightly press the centre to make a slight indentation. Then, brush the top of the dough with egg wash (this helps the decorative strands to stick and stay in place)

With the smaller dough, roll strands of dough to create patterns on the top of the main dough. Dust the strands of dough with flour to prevent overlapping strands from sticking and merging together. Place the desired design on the top of the dough.



Cover and let the assembled dough proof until the dome of the dough is about 2cm from the rim of the pan. This may take 3 - 4 hours at 24-26°C.

Preheat the oven to 190°C about 30 minutes before bake time. Brush the top of the paska with egg wash.

Place the paska in the oven and reduce the oven temperature to 180°C. Bake for 45 to 50 minutes or until the internal temperature reaches at least 93°C.

Prepare the sugar glaze: bring water and sugar to a boil. Stir until all the sugar has dissolved. Reduce heat to low and let the syrup simmer for 5 minutes. Remove from heat and brush the syrup over freshly baked paska.




Remove the loaf to a cooling rack and let it cool completely before slicing.


Happy Easter! ;)


- Christi

My sourdough Hokkaido milk bread dough is highly versatile, here is a 50% whole wheat version that I’ve spiced with cinnamon, allspice and nutmeg and added mixed candied peel and currants. These are soft, fluffy and not too sweet, they’ll be perfect for breakfast on the long weekend.  This formula uses a stiff sweet levain once again to avoid a sour tang to the bread.  The final pH measured from the baked bun is 5.02 which is remarkable especially considering the 20 hour long cold retard the dough received.

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Flour paste - mix as you preheat the oven
20 g lemon juice
50 g bread flour
1 tbsp sugar
60 g water

Instructions
Levain
Mix the levain ingredients in a jar or pyrex container with space for at least 300% growth.
Press down with your knuckles or silicone spatula to create a uniform surface and to push out air.
At a temperature of 78ºF, it typically takes up to 10-12 hours for this sweet stiff levain to be at peak. For my starter I typically see 3-3.5 times increase in size at peak. The levain will smell sweet with only a mild tang.
Tangzhong
In a sauce pan set on medium heat, stir the milk and flour until blended. Then cook for several minutes until well thickened, stirring regularly with a spoon or heat-resistant spatula. Let cool in the pan or, for faster results, in a new bowl. Theoretically it should reach 65ºC (149ºF) but I don’t find I need to measure the temperature as the tangzhong gelatinizes at this temperature. You can prepare this the night before and refrigerate it, ensure that it is covered \to prevent it from drying out.

Dough
Prepare the dried fruit (currants, raisins or blueberries) mist them with water then microwave for 15-30 secs. This will quickly plump them up without them later adding more hydration to your dough.

In the bowl of a stand mixer, add the milk (consider holding back 20 g of milk and adding later if this is the first time you’re making this), egg, tangzhong, salt, sugar, diastatic malt, zest and levain. Mix and then break up the levain into many smaller pieces. Next add the flour and vital wheat gluten. I like to use my spatula to mix until there aren’t many dry areas. Allow the flour to hydrate (fermentolyse) for 20-30 minutes. Mix on low speed and then medium speed until moderate gluten development this may take 5-10 mins. You may want to scrape the sides of the bowl during the first 5 minutes of mixing. Next drizzle in the melted butter a little at a time, or alternatively add room temperature butter one pat at a time. Slow the mixer down to avoid splashing the butter at you. The dough may come apart, be patient, continue to mix until it comes together before drizzling or adding in more butter. Once all the butter has been added and incorporated add mixed peel and dried fruit and continue to mix until well incorporated. Increase the speed gradually to medium. Mix at medium speed until the gluten is well developed, approximately 10 mins. You will want to check gluten development by windowpane during this time and stop mixing when you get a good windowpane. You should be able to pull a good windowpane, not quite as good as a white flour because the bran will interrupt the windowpane somewhat.

On the counter, shape the dough into a tight ball, cover in the bowl and ferment for 4-5 hours at 82ºF. There should be some rise visible at this stage.

You can next place the dough into the fridge to chill the dough for about 1.5 hours or overnight (but expect there to be a bit of sour tang if you do a cold retard), this makes rolling the dough easier to shape. Remember, if you do so the final proof will take longer. Alternatively, you can do a cold retard in the fridge overnight, however, you may find that this increases the tang in your bread.

Prepare your pan by greasing it or line with parchment paper. Lightly dust the top of the dough with flour and using a bowl scraper remove the dough from the bowl placing it on the counter. Next divide the dough into 9 equal pieces and shape each into a tight boule. Place each boule into the prepared 9” x 9” pan. Cover and start final proof at 82°F for 2-3 hours, the dough will start to almost fill the pan when final proof is complete and will pass the finger poke test.

About 30 mins before ready to bake brush your egg-milk wash onto the buns. Repeat this just before they go into the oven. Do this if using the lemon drizzle icing. If using the flour paste there is no need.

Bake

Preheat your oven, with a rack in the lower half, to 350°F (175°C). You should aim to start preheating your oven about 30-40 mins prior to the dough being full proofed. Once your oven is preheated, remove your pan from its bag, and apply the paste in a cross pattern on the buns. Slide it into the oven, and bake for 30 to 35 minutes.

The rolls are finished baking when the tops are well-colored and the internal temperature is around 195°F (90°C). Remove the rolls from the oven and let the rolls cool completely before piping on the lemon icing crosses otherwise the icing will melt if using icing cross. If using flour paste then heat apricot jam in the microwave and brush on the warm buns until they are nicely glazed and shiny.

When I eventually make these again I would use the flour paste piped on a bit more narrowly and then use an egg wash instead of the apricot jam.

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For years, I worked with various mixes of flour (bread, AP, spelt,  whole wheat, rye) and I used one starter, and it worked on all mixes. It was slow - about the speed indicated in the books on baking.

More recently, I have moved to all whole wheat (with 2% rye & 2% bean flour), all the time, and I have seen my fermentation/final rise times go way down (considering the dough temperature.)

I wanted some white sourdough for a party, and it turns out that my current sourdough starter is much slower on white flour than my old general purpose starter, that was often fed flour mixes containing white flour.

The bottom line is that starters adapt to what they are fed, and they need time to adapt to a new diet.

Am I going to start keeping 2 starters?  No! If guests want white bread, they can bring it. This will be a challange for my wife's concept of "hostess", but she knows some of our guests do not get enough fiber . . .  (We are doing this for our guest's health, and not my convenience!! -- I will put forth that argument. My wife likes the whole wheat bread, she just does not think it is "fancy" enough for guests. I assert that my sourdough whole wheat is as good as any bread available,  )

Still issues with acidity / pH. But it was easy enough to make!

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2 ½ Days later I made the cut.

Colomba and coffee.

Tastes good! Really good!!! 👍

Happy Easter!

Incredibly soft and delicious. It's slightly sweet, slightly acidic and very gently bitter from things that I used to make it.

Grandma style, which means non measuring or using volume units. With some normal and some a little weird add ons: old flour scraped from board and dried, old oats and poppy seeds that fell off a previous loaf, some roasted grains of rye, barley and wheat, a big handful of rye altus, dried apricots,  prunes and walnuts. Leavened with stiff rye preferment,  while store bought whole wheat (I think it was Gold Medal) is in the dough

The procedure can be summarized as follows:

Stiff preferment: (2 cups rye, 2 tablespoons old starter, enough water to make a stiff dough) let ferment 12-16 hours at rt

Old scraps: dried bits and pieces  scraped from the working board, burned flour from baking stone, also stuff that fell off of other loaves, like oats etc.,  kept  dry in a jar; ground roasted grains , add lukewarm water and a pinch of starter, let ferment 12-16 hours at rt

Altus (large handful of dried rye bread cubes) let soak in water until very soft, then squeeze and add to the dough 

Mix preferment, altus and fermented scraps together with their liquid,  add 4 cups of whole wheat flour, regulate hydration to your liking. Autolyse 20-30 min, then salt to taste. Let ferment some time then add chopped fruit and nuts (I don't laminate, I just knead them into the dough) Proof until nice and puffy, place in banneton,  wait until nicely expanded then bake

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I have a bottle of wine that isn’t my favourite so decided I’d try to make vinegar from it as a fun experiment.  Started on March 28/22.

The easiest method of making vinegar from wine is by using unpasteurized apple cider vinegar which has the mother in it.  Apparently it is Acetobacteraceae that metabolizes alcohol into acetic acid in an aerobic reaction.  If one uses unpasteurized apple cider vinegar the mother should be alive and well.  By adding this to the wine the Acetobacteraceae will convert the ethanol into acetic acid.  

I read a bunch of blogs that said you must use sulfite free wine.  The problem is that sulfites are apparently a natural part of the wine production even when they aren’t added to the wine so there isn’t really sulfite free wines.  However, using a wine low in sulfites, one to which no sulfites were added is apparently beneficial.  

Another factor is the alcohol content of the wine, if it is much above 8% then adding the mother to the wine may not work because over 8% the acetobacteraceae may not be able to function.  Since most wines are higher than 8% what one can do is blend the apple cider vinegar to the wine in a ratio that ensures that the alcohol is no higher than 8%.  

So with in mind I mixed the wine and the apple cider vinegar in a 1:1 ratio in two mason jars.  In order to provide the aerobic environment I placed medical gauze over the tops of each jar and then secured it with the lid without the center in place so the wine/vinegar could breathe.  This seems to be working because there is now a layer at the top of the liquid which I assume is the new growing mother and the mixture is starting to smell really good of vinegar.

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Index of bakes