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Baking with King Arthur

Baking with King Arthur
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  • Post #61 - November 16th, 2024, 6:13 pm
    Post #61 - November 16th, 2024, 6:13 pm Post #61 - November 16th, 2024, 6:13 pm
    Inspired by Ronnie's photos of his coffeecakes, I decided to try Crumb Coffeecake from The All-Purpose Baking Cookbook. It's definitely not the recipe Ron has been using but may be similar.

    For the crumbs:
    all-purpose flour
    sugar
    salt
    cinnamon
    butter
    vanilla extract
    almond extract

    For the cake:
    butter
    sugar
    eggs
    vanilla extract
    sour cream
    all-purpose flour
    baking soda
    salt
    baking powder
    powdered sugar, for dusting

    This came together easily.
    Image

    Audrey & I couldn't wait until tomorrow morning so decided to share a snack. Loved how moist the cake was in contrast to the crispy crumbs. I will likely dust with powdered sugar in the morning although it really doesn't need it. Just a visual thing.

    Image

    After it cooled I cut it into individual portions, wrapped in plastic and froze the majority. That way if someone wants it for breakfast the next day I just pull it out before bedtime.
  • Post #62 - November 16th, 2024, 10:50 pm
    Post #62 - November 16th, 2024, 10:50 pm Post #62 - November 16th, 2024, 10:50 pm
    Looks great, Lynn! From the recipe and your pics, I'd say the primary difference between the two cakes is a center layer of filling in the recipe I've made. In the original, it's a mix of cocoa powder and cinnamon. That's not my thing, so I've modified it a bit, taking out the cocoa, and subbing in toasted/chopped pecans, along with an occasional thin layer of fruit jam. Great idea to portion, wrap and freeze for grab and go, too.

    =R=
    Same planet, different world
  • Post #63 - January 4th, 2025, 8:05 pm
    Post #63 - January 4th, 2025, 8:05 pm Post #63 - January 4th, 2025, 8:05 pm
    One of my unofficial New Year's resolutions is to bake more bread (lol @ myself, we'll see how long that lasts). In any event, King Arthur recently uploaded their recipe of the year for 2025, Big & Bubbly Focaccia, and given the success I've had with some of their other "Of The Year" recipes, I figured I'd give it a try. Lacking the recommended 9x9" dark metal pan, I decided to simultaneously try it two other ways -- one in a Smithey 10" cast iron skillet and the other in a Made In 9x9" porcelain square . . .

    Image
    Big & Bubbly Focaccia
    Not too big and somewhat bubbly, the bread was very nice. Tender, moist crumb and a delicately crisp crust. In the end neither baking vessel really reigned supreme over the other. The bottom of the cast iron loaf *maybe" got a touch browner than the porcelain but there were too many variables to confidently attribute that to the baking vessel.

    Image
    Slice
    Here's a better look at the crumb. Really nice stuff -- rich, tasty and tender. Not sure but I think I can do better in the future. Our kitchen is cold and maybe I could have been more patient on the rise or taken measures to help it along. In any case, it's a relatively simple recipe (mostly passive, no mixer required, no-knead) that's ideal if you plan on being around the kitchen anyway. So far, it's my recipe of the year too but it only being January 4th, that's not saying a whole lot. :lol:

    =R=
    Same planet, different world
  • Post #64 - January 4th, 2025, 9:40 pm
    Post #64 - January 4th, 2025, 9:40 pm Post #64 - January 4th, 2025, 9:40 pm
    Hey Sue just made one of those today too!

    Very soft, the previous focaccia Sue baked was a little crustier - I may have liked that a little better. But I did like how high it rose.
    What is patriotism, but the love of good things we ate in our childhood?
    -- Lin Yutang
  • Post #65 - January 4th, 2025, 11:51 pm
    Post #65 - January 4th, 2025, 11:51 pm Post #65 - January 4th, 2025, 11:51 pm
    JoelF wrote:Hey Sue just made one of those today too!

    Very soft, the previous focaccia Sue baked was a little crustier - I may have liked that a little better. But I did like how high it rose.

    What kind of pan did she use? Which olive oil? Curious about variables now. I think I'll use an unfiltered evoo next time, like Frantoia.

    My loaves had ideal crustiness and I did like the rise -- it was quite pillowy -- but I think I could/should have let it proof a bit longer. That would have helped the rise even more and likely resulted in a more complex flavor. I might even hold it overnight in the fridge. Next time.

    =R=
    Same planet, different world
  • Post #66 - January 5th, 2025, 11:55 am
    Post #66 - January 5th, 2025, 11:55 am Post #66 - January 5th, 2025, 11:55 am
    Thanks for the “push”!
  • Post #67 - January 5th, 2025, 12:30 pm
    Post #67 - January 5th, 2025, 12:30 pm Post #67 - January 5th, 2025, 12:30 pm
    ronnie_suburban wrote:
    JoelF wrote:Hey Sue just made one of those today too!

    Very soft, the previous focaccia Sue baked was a little crustier - I may have liked that a little better. But I did like how high it rose.

    What kind of pan did she use? Which olive oil? Curious about variables now. I think I'll use an unfiltered evoo next time, like Frantoia.

    My loaves had ideal crustiness and I did like the rise -- it was quite pillowy -- but I think I could/should have let it proof a bit longer. That would have helped the rise even more and likely resulted in a more complex flavor. I might even hold it overnight in the fridge. Next time.

    =R=

    9x9 steel pan that once upon a time was non stick, but is seasoned bare metal now. Kirkland organic EVOO.
    What is patriotism, but the love of good things we ate in our childhood?
    -- Lin Yutang
  • Post #68 - January 5th, 2025, 1:48 pm
    Post #68 - January 5th, 2025, 1:48 pm Post #68 - January 5th, 2025, 1:48 pm
    JoelF wrote:
    ronnie_suburban wrote:
    JoelF wrote:Hey Sue just made one of those today too!

    Very soft, the previous focaccia Sue baked was a little crustier - I may have liked that a little better. But I did like how high it rose.

    What kind of pan did she use? Which olive oil? Curious about variables now. I think I'll use an unfiltered evoo next time, like Frantoia.

    My loaves had ideal crustiness and I did like the rise -- it was quite pillowy -- but I think I could/should have let it proof a bit longer. That would have helped the rise even more and likely resulted in a more complex flavor. I might even hold it overnight in the fridge. Next time.

    9x9 steel pan that once upon a time was non stick, but is seasoned bare metal now. Kirkland organic EVOO.

    Okay, thanks. I like that Kirkland evoo and it's in my rotation (along with Partanna, Lucini and Horio) but I just finished a bottle and now I'm onto the Bertolli. I'd never tried it before but it rated highly, so I decided to try it. It's just okay imo, and will not become part of the rotation.

    =R=
    Same planet, different world
  • Post #69 - January 5th, 2025, 6:38 pm
    Post #69 - January 5th, 2025, 6:38 pm Post #69 - January 5th, 2025, 6:38 pm
    ronnie_suburban wrote:
    JoelF wrote:
    ronnie_suburban wrote:Okay, thanks. I like that Kirkland evoo and it's in my rotation (along with Partanna, Lucini and Horio) but I just finished a bottle and now I'm onto the Bertolli. I'd never tried it before but it rated highly, so I decided to try it. It's just okay imo, and will not become part of the rotation.

    =R=

    The Kirkland Organic punches just a little above its weight. It's my every-day olive oil. I almost stopped buying it when olive oil prices peaked last year. Nothing special about it at all but consistently fine for almost anything.
    What is patriotism, but the love of good things we ate in our childhood?
    -- Lin Yutang
  • Post #70 - January 9th, 2025, 5:44 pm
    Post #70 - January 9th, 2025, 5:44 pm Post #70 - January 9th, 2025, 5:44 pm
    Getting there . . .

    Another attempt at the King Arthur big/bubbly focaccia recipe . . .

    Image
    Focaccia
    Square, 9" steel pan, unfiltered evoo, flaked sea salt.

    Image
    Slice
    Not particularly big or bubbly but a better rise this time, and more uneven holes in the crumb to confirm it. Nice crispiness on the crust and a tender, moist crumb. Keeping a warm bowl of water in the oven during the proof helped the rise but I don't think it helped the flavor (the slower the proof, the better the flavor). I plan on making this recipe one more time before moving on to some others -- next time with an overnight cold-ferment and -- possibly -- a pan of hot water in the oven to help produce some steam. That may improve the bloom but I'm not sure how it might impact the crustiness of the exterior.

    =R=
    Same planet, different world
  • Post #71 - January 9th, 2025, 6:33 pm
    Post #71 - January 9th, 2025, 6:33 pm Post #71 - January 9th, 2025, 6:33 pm
    Humidity in the oven will usually increase the crispiness of the crust.
  • Post #72 - January 9th, 2025, 7:07 pm
    Post #72 - January 9th, 2025, 7:07 pm Post #72 - January 9th, 2025, 7:07 pm
    lougord99 wrote:Humidity in the oven will usually increase the crispiness of the crust.

    I know it allows the bread to bloom higher before the crust sets, which is why I thought of maybe trying it here on a future attempt.

    The exterior of a focaccia essentially fries in the evoo while it's baking. Not sure how steam might affect that. I've watched several videos by seasoned bakers and none recommend it for focaccia. I just know from my previous bread-baking days that it's something that's routinely done when baking many other types of breads. While this focaccia seems 'shorter' than the one in KA's video, it looks about on par with many others (including Claire's and many I've bought and eaten over the years).

    =R=
    Same planet, different world
  • Post #73 - January 11th, 2025, 6:15 pm
    Post #73 - January 11th, 2025, 6:15 pm Post #73 - January 11th, 2025, 6:15 pm
    Third attempt at KA's Big & Bubbly focaccia . . .

    Image
    Focaccia
    A little bit of leoparding this time, as I decided to broil the top for a minute after the bake. That ended up tasting delicious, so while it wasn't intentional (or particularly attractive), I'll take it. ;)

    Image
    Slice
    24-hour cold ferment, 9" square steel pan, unfiltered evoo, flake salt. Excellent crust, a moist, open crumb and great flavor.

    Other notable adjustments this time:

    1) Baked at 450F instead of 475F
    I did find a credible source that added steam to the bake (Craig Kominiak via Baking With Julia) but decided it was too much to deal with this time around, so instead, I baked it 25 degrees cooler. I think that helped the spring a bit before the crust set.

    2) Overnight ferment
    This helped considerably, mainly in the way of flavor, which was -- not surprisingly -- greatly improved. I left the dough, in the baking pan, in my garage for about 24 hours. It was ~45F out there and the dough rose very slowly. About 2 hours before baking, I brought it inside, let it warm up, then dimpled, oiled, salted and baked it.

    This will probably be my last attempt at this recipe (for a while). While it's definitely easy, the adjustments I've made have made it less easy, and also led to considerable improvement in the final product. That reminded me, especially with bread-baking, that you get what you pay for, so to speak. So, I'm looking forward to trying a few other methods that require a bit more time/effort by default but also produce better results. I think Claire Saffitz's recipe/method will be next.

    The bottom line is that a longer ferment almost always leads to better flavor, so without it, there's just going to be a ceiling on quality. But, I'm glad the ease of this recipe got me baking bread again. It's been well over a decade (maybe 2?) since I baked my way through Nancy Silverton's Breads From The La Brea Bakery. That experience changed my life (truly) and it was fun to get back into it a bit with this KA recipe.

    =R=
    Same planet, different world
  • Post #74 - January 11th, 2025, 6:29 pm
    Post #74 - January 11th, 2025, 6:29 pm Post #74 - January 11th, 2025, 6:29 pm
    That looks so good, Ron!

    Super-impressed that you baked your way through Nancy’s book. I aspire to do something like that. I contemplated doing it with The Nordic Baking Book. Time is an issue though right now. Maybe when I become an empty-nester….
  • Post #75 - January 11th, 2025, 7:35 pm
    Post #75 - January 11th, 2025, 7:35 pm Post #75 - January 11th, 2025, 7:35 pm
    LynnB wrote:That looks so good, Ron!

    Super-impressed that you baked your way through Nancy’s book. I aspire to do something like that. I contemplated doing it with The Nordic Baking Book. Time is an issue though right now. Maybe when I become an empty-nester….

    Thanks, Lynn. Yeah, serious bread-baking can easily become a full-time hobby. It's a deep, inviting and immensely rewarding rabbit hole. My Silverton adventure was fun, educational and life-changing.

    Thinking about it, it had to be a looong time ago because I vividly remember many times when I was holding Lucas in one arm and kneading dough with the other, and he's nearly 28 now! :shock: And back then, more practical ways ways of feeding and maintaining starter were not well known (and weren't covered in the book). I must have gone through a couple pallets of flour during that time. But, those breads were the best I ever baked and some of them were among the best I'd ever had (or still have ever had).

    When I met Nancy Silverton in person at an event a few years later, I literally cried. I think she thought I was insane. :lol:

    =R=
    Same planet, different world
  • Post #76 - January 11th, 2025, 11:01 pm
    Post #76 - January 11th, 2025, 11:01 pm Post #76 - January 11th, 2025, 11:01 pm
    I have a couple of Nancy Silverton stories…

    I first met her in Hawaii when I was there working a “Cuisine’s of the Sun” event. I was with Monique King, chef of Soul Kitchen (I was pastry chef). David Leibowitz’s partner at the time, Fred, took a liking to me and I found myself hanging out with him, David, and Nancy. Her husband at the time, Mark Peel, was also there but it was mostly the four of us. Fred was a beautiful, kind person who recognized how green and insecure I was. I was 26 at the time. He really took me under his wing and boosted my confidence at this event. I was very surprised at how approachable and easygoing Nancy was.

    Fast forward 2 years, I was working as pastry chef at 312 Chicago. The James Beard awards were being hosted in town and Nancy was assigned to work out of our kitchen. She recognized and acknowledged me from our previous meeting in Hawaii. I’ve been around many “celebrity “ chefs and she is a true gem - a real person with a kind heart and genuine passion for her craft.
  • Post #77 - January 11th, 2025, 11:13 pm
    Post #77 - January 11th, 2025, 11:13 pm Post #77 - January 11th, 2025, 11:13 pm
    LynnB wrote:I have a couple of Nancy Silverton stories…

    I first met her in Hawaii when I was there working a “Cuisine’s of the Sun” event. I was with Monique King, chef of Soul Kitchen (I was pastry chef). David Leibowitz’s partner at the time, Fred, took a liking to me and I found myself hanging out with him, David, and Nancy. Her husband at the time, Mark Peel, was also there but it was mostly the four of us. Fred was a beautiful, kind person who recognized how green and insecure I was. I was 26 at the time. He really took me under his wing and boosted my confidence at this event. I was very surprised at how approachable and easygoing Nancy was.

    Fast forward 2 years, I was working as pastry chef at 312 Chicago. The James Beard awards were being hosted in town and Nancy was assigned to work out of our kitchen. She recognized and acknowledged me from our previous meeting in Hawaii. I’ve been around many “celebrity “ chefs and she is a true gem - a real person with a kind heart and genuine passion for her craft.

    Awesome! Thanks, for sharing. She certainly seemed like a kind person during our brief meeting. Glad to know it wasn't an anomaly. :)

    =R=
    Same planet, different world
  • Post #78 - January 13th, 2025, 2:22 pm
    Post #78 - January 13th, 2025, 2:22 pm Post #78 - January 13th, 2025, 2:22 pm
    This discussion on focaccia is really interesting - reading along has made me think about what I want in focaccia (oily (rich), chewy, salty, flavorful, open crumb . . .) and how different the recipes I've tried have been.

    It was also super fun to read about the personal encounters with Nancy Silverton!

    ronnie_suburban wrote:The bottom line is that a longer ferment almost always leads to better flavor, so without it, there's just going to be a ceiling on quality. But, I'm glad the ease of this recipe got me baking bread again. It's been well over a decade (maybe 2?) since I baked my way through Nancy Silverton's Breads From The La Brea Bakery. That experience changed my life (truly) and it was fun to get back into it a bit with this KA recipe.

    =R=


    I have a lot less baking experience to offer, but I will say that my favorite self-made focaccia is from the Milk Street recipe that thaiobsessed posted about on the Bread-making and -breaking thread (I'm not sure how to link a particular post?) which calls for a 4.5 - 24 hour ferment.

    When you compare it to King Arthur the two seem really different (you can find the MS recipe here: https://www.wskg.org/episodes/2021-01-1 ... pes-ep-416 ). It's really surprising to me that the recipe with the slower rise has so much MORE yeast. Also remarkable to me is that it has a much higher water to flour ratio.

    - zorkmead
  • Post #79 - January 13th, 2025, 2:43 pm
    Post #79 - January 13th, 2025, 2:43 pm Post #79 - January 13th, 2025, 2:43 pm
    zorkmead wrote:I have a lot less baking experience to offer, but I will say that my favorite self-made focaccia is from the Milk Street recipe that thaiobsessed posted about on the Bread-making and -breaking thread (I'm not sure how to link a particular post?) which calls for a 4.5 - 24 hour ferment.

    When you compare it to King Arthur the two seem really different (you can find the MS recipe here: https://www.wskg.org/episodes/2021-01-1 ... pes-ep-416 ). It's really surprising to me that the recipe with the slower rise has so much MORE yeast. Also remarkable to me is that it has a much higher water to flour ratio.

    - zorkmead

    The yeast part doesn't entirely surprise me -- it makes some sense to me that a longer ferment would require more yeast -- but the nearly 1:1 water to flour ratio in the MS recipe is a bit different from the KA (which is about 1.3:1 flour/water). At a glance, the other big difference is that the MS recipe calls for bread flour. The KA recipes calls for AP.

    =R=
    Same planet, different world
  • Post #80 - February 4th, 2025, 8:15 am
    Post #80 - February 4th, 2025, 8:15 am Post #80 - February 4th, 2025, 8:15 am
    Hi,

    For the Dessert Exchange, I made a double-batch of the KA Focaccia bread per their instructions. I really liked the technique of removing the bread from the pan (including parchment paper lifts) and returning to the now turned off oven for 5-7 minutes to crisp the bottom and sides. That is an idea useful for other baking adventures.

    I have some of the flaked salt somewhere and could not find it. I used Brazilian hand collected sea salt crystals instead. It was a gift from sometime ago, not something I would usually buy. It was clear some people thought it was just too salty though it was easy to identify and pull off the chips.

    I saw an idea about how to use this bread for making sandwiches: make a horizontal cut and the interior softer bread is the exterior of the sandwich. You keep the crusty texture and have the opportunity to make a grilled cheese variant.

    Very pleased with this recipe, though it would be fun to do a side-by-side with Chouxfleur's Rose Levy Beranbaum inspired focaccia with the whole garlic cloves poached in olive oil dotting the surface. That has been my gold standard for homemade focaccia.

    Regards,
    Cathy2
    Cathy2

    "You'll be remembered long after you're dead if you make good gravy, mashed potatoes and biscuits." -- Nathalie Dupree
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