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Bread-making and -breaking

Bread-making and -breaking
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  • Post #211 - April 13th, 2024, 3:18 pm
    Post #211 - April 13th, 2024, 3:18 pm Post #211 - April 13th, 2024, 3:18 pm
    lougord99 wrote:
    jilter wrote:I have never made bread. I want to know how and am fearful of the process. Going to take bread making 101 this weekend at Bettie’s Chicago. I hope it tempers my anxiety around kneading and proofing.

    Remember that the absolute worst thing you can do is make a bad loaf of bread and learn something. There is nothing to be fearful about.

    I agree with Lou. Really curious how this went. Please, let us know.

    Earlier today I made my first attempt at Japanese-style milk bread . . .

    Image
    Milk Bread
    Compared to what I've bought in the past and seen online, it looks pretty close. Smells great. Won't know for sure until I cut it open later.

    =R=
    Same planet, different world
  • Post #212 - April 14th, 2024, 4:00 pm
    Post #212 - April 14th, 2024, 4:00 pm Post #212 - April 14th, 2024, 4:00 pm
    Milk bread turned out really well, especially for it being the first time. I used 50/50 bread and AP flour. The result was nice mix mix between tender/fluffy and pull-apart. The innate sweetness of the bread was a perfect foil for the sharpness of some pimento cheese we made as part of our annual Masters golf tournament tradition . . .

    Image
    Masters Weekend Pimento Cheese Sandwiches
    Home-baked milk bread. This bread is definitely going in the rotation.

    =R=
    Same planet, different world
  • Post #213 - April 22nd, 2024, 7:38 pm
    Post #213 - April 22nd, 2024, 7:38 pm Post #213 - April 22nd, 2024, 7:38 pm
    I tried a new English Muffin recipe today - I'm pretty happy with these! We will see how they stand up in a sandwich tomorrow :)

    This is Tom Douglas' recipe from the Dahlia Bakery cookbook. They are baked entirely in the oven. These are great, but I think I may try a recipe that's cooked on the stove top before I abandon this project.

    After shaping - before rising:
    Image

    Fresh out of the oven:
    Image

    First slice (yum):
    Image
  • Post #214 - April 22nd, 2024, 9:00 pm
    Post #214 - April 22nd, 2024, 9:00 pm Post #214 - April 22nd, 2024, 9:00 pm
    zorkmead wrote:I tried a new English Muffin recipe today - I'm pretty happy with these! We will see how they stand up in a sandwich tomorrow :)

    This is Tom Douglas' recipe from the Dahlia Bakery cookbook. They are baked entirely in the oven. These are great, but I think I may try a recipe that's cooked on the stove top before I abandon this project.

    Wow, those look great. Seems every English muffin recipe I've seen lately calls for griddle cooking but the color and texture on your oven-baked batch looks perfect.

    =R=
    Same planet, different world
  • Post #215 - April 24th, 2024, 9:20 am
    Post #215 - April 24th, 2024, 9:20 am Post #215 - April 24th, 2024, 9:20 am
    For those who are interested and don't have the book, Dahlia Bakery's English muffins are featured on many a recipe blog. Here's one with a Chicago connection: https://www.lottieanddoof.com/2013/03/english-muffins/

    Perhaps the most interesting and unique thing is that they are potato breads.
  • Post #216 - April 24th, 2024, 1:30 pm
    Post #216 - April 24th, 2024, 1:30 pm Post #216 - April 24th, 2024, 1:30 pm
    I agree on the potato - they are the only English muffin recipe I've seen that is a potato bread. While I was working with the dough I had serious doubts about leaving the potato unpeeled - but the bits of peel aren't noticeable in the finished muffins.

    The other thing I thought was interesting is that they didn't call for any fat (neither butter nor oil) or milk so they are leaner then the other recipes I've seen.

    I don't get the shaping instructions from the recipe (even after trying it).

    I think I may try either the King Arthur, or Peter Reinhart's recipe next to satisfy my curiosity - but I like these a lot. They make an excellent egg sandwich!
  • Post #217 - April 24th, 2024, 1:36 pm
    Post #217 - April 24th, 2024, 1:36 pm Post #217 - April 24th, 2024, 1:36 pm
    OK - I just noticed that my book says to leave the potato unpeeled and the first step in the blog post linked above says to peel the potato! :)

    The blog post also doesn't have the confusing shaping instructions that are in the book.
  • Post #218 - April 24th, 2024, 3:29 pm
    Post #218 - April 24th, 2024, 3:29 pm Post #218 - April 24th, 2024, 3:29 pm
    tjr wrote:For those who are interested and don't have the book, Dahlia Bakery's English muffins are featured on many a recipe blog. Here's one with a Chicago connection: https://www.lottieanddoof.com/2013/03/english-muffins/

    Perhaps the most interesting and unique thing is that they are potato breads.

    i might try this as the recipe that came with my english muffins rings is not worth making again...i was able to send this to myself as a text message, but as an email there was no text....dont know what that means...
  • Post #219 - May 14th, 2024, 2:29 pm
    Post #219 - May 14th, 2024, 2:29 pm Post #219 - May 14th, 2024, 2:29 pm
    justjoan wrote:i might try this as the recipe that came with my english muffins rings is not worth making again...i was able to send this to myself as a text message, but as an email there was no text....dont know what that means...


    I'd love to hear how it goes if you try it!

    I've decided to try English Muffins at least one more time. The current plan is to try the Peter Reinhart recipe from 'The Bread Baker's Apprentice'; his recipe starts in a pan and finishes in the oven. I'm hoping to get to it next week.
  • Post #220 - May 14th, 2024, 2:42 pm
    Post #220 - May 14th, 2024, 2:42 pm Post #220 - May 14th, 2024, 2:42 pm
    I made this Anadama bread for Sunday morning breakfast. Apparently Anadama bread is from New England. It's a white yeasted bread with cornmeal and molasses. I found recipes for kneaded and shaped bread and batter bread recipes. I made two kneaded and shaped loaves:

    Image

    The bread turned out nice and soft in the middle with a distinct molasses taste. The cornmeal didn't come through as much as I thought it might, but it is definitely there. It toasts beautifully. It seems like it would be the perfect bread for some type of sandwich, but I'm not just sure what type of sandwich that would be :)
  • Post #221 - May 15th, 2024, 9:30 am
    Post #221 - May 15th, 2024, 9:30 am Post #221 - May 15th, 2024, 9:30 am
    zorkmead wrote:It seems like it would be the perfect bread for some type of sandwich, but I'm not just sure what type of sandwich that would be :)
    Peanut butter? Other nut butter? My recollection is that Anadama is both fairly sweet and not particularly durable.
  • Post #222 - May 25th, 2024, 8:30 am
    Post #222 - May 25th, 2024, 8:30 am Post #222 - May 25th, 2024, 8:30 am
    tjr wrote:Peanut butter? Other nut butter? My recollection is that Anadama is both fairly sweet and not particularly durable.


    Thanks - peanut butter Anadama toast was a win.

    I have a whole loaf frozen - I think I may use it to make overnight French toast with peanut butter, but it will have to wait until more people are around to help eat it. I think the version I made has enough substance to work in a dish like that.

    - zorkmead
  • Post #223 - May 27th, 2024, 1:02 pm
    Post #223 - May 27th, 2024, 1:02 pm Post #223 - May 27th, 2024, 1:02 pm
    After reading a few different recipes and considering what I was looking for in my English muffins, I decided to try out the recipe published on Kitchn's website (the author is Emma Christensen):

    https://www.thekitchn.com/how-to-make-e ... hen-106360

    I let the starter sit for about 12 hours, then made the dough and let it rise overnight in the fridge - it was in there about 15 hours.

    After shaping and rising:
    Image

    In the pan:
    Image

    Most of mine browned on the stovetop before they got to 190, so I finished them in a 350 degree oven for about 5 minutes.

    The interior:
    Image

    The verdict - these are very good - they have a nice bready flavor and are great toasted with butter and jam. They puffed up a lot in the pan and I pressed them down slightly to keep the classic shape, but are thick enough to pull apart with a fork.
  • Post #224 - May 27th, 2024, 1:15 pm
    Post #224 - May 27th, 2024, 1:15 pm Post #224 - May 27th, 2024, 1:15 pm
    I promise this is my last post on English muffins - but I did a little comparison and wanted to share the results.

    I kept a single frozen Tom Douglas English muffin around and compared it to a muffin (also frozen) from the Kitchn recipe I tried last week.

    Outside: the Kitchn English muffin is on the right - it is definitely more photogenic!

    Image

    Interior: Tom Douglas's muffin brought the tunnels to the party:

    Image

    Taste (no pics :) ): Tom Douglas won on taste and chew. I think we prefer whatever the potato and whole wheat flour add over what the butter adds to the flavor. The salt level was right, the texture was what we wanted - somehow the Kitchn English muffin, while definitely chewy, was 'breadier' in comparison.

    I would make either again. Tom Douglas's seems like more of a project (dealing with the potato, taking the temperature of the dough, etc) so the other recipe might get made more.

    It's cool that you can make these at home without any special equipment - and worth it IMO.

    - zork
  • Post #225 - June 3rd, 2024, 9:22 am
    Post #225 - June 3rd, 2024, 9:22 am Post #225 - June 3rd, 2024, 9:22 am
    A bread blunder:Image
    Looks ok for bread machine white bread, right? But it was supposed to be pitas!

    Saturday was a hectic day, planned to make gyros for dinner. So I put the pita ingredients in the bread machine and hit "Knead" then left for some errands. While out, a friend called and we decided to meet at Crandall's for chicken instead. Came home a few hours later and there's this yeasty smell at the back door. Hmm, I thought, that dough must have really fermented! Nope, I found an almost baked loaf of bread instead. Seems I had hit "Start" instead of "Knead". Good thing about that phone call and Crandalls.

    The bread wasn't bad - sort of Italian style with a soft crust. Recipe from The Bread Bible with slightly less water. We used it last night for sorta-gyros by cutting thin slices and wrapping them around the fillings.
  • Post #226 - July 14th, 2024, 7:24 pm
    Post #226 - July 14th, 2024, 7:24 pm Post #226 - July 14th, 2024, 7:24 pm
    I've been on a focaccia kick lately

    Plain focaccia (Carol Fields recipe) with pimento cheese spread and prosciutto
    Image

    Fred Plotkin Ligurian focaccia with onions--next time I will add the onions later in the bake--I'd like the top to get a little more brown.
    Image

    Kristin Dennis/Full Proof Baking focaccia with a roasted garlic, rosemary, red pepper flake topping (the worst picture but actually my favorite recipe of the bunch)
    Image

    I also tried Nancy Silverton's recipe but it didn't work out that well for me.
    Paul Wade's Rye focaccia from the Bread Head cookbook was pretty great though.
  • Post #227 - July 18th, 2024, 2:43 pm
    Post #227 - July 18th, 2024, 2:43 pm Post #227 - July 18th, 2024, 2:43 pm
    Oh wow - that rosemary focaccia sounds delightful. Also, I never thought of it, but I really want to try Rye flour in focaccia now!

    Thanks for making me hungry (in a good way).

    - zorkmead
  • Post #228 - September 8th, 2024, 1:17 pm
    Post #228 - September 8th, 2024, 1:17 pm Post #228 - September 8th, 2024, 1:17 pm
    Gotta love BLT season

    Image

    Image

    Also, tomato season in general...
    I tried the Milk Street TV tomato olive focaccia recipe (I didn't use olives in mine, just doubled the tomatoes) and it came out great. This may be my favorite focaccia recipe even though the technique seems strange (lots of yeast, long proof).

    Image
  • Post #229 - September 9th, 2024, 6:41 pm
    Post #229 - September 9th, 2024, 6:41 pm Post #229 - September 9th, 2024, 6:41 pm
    That focaccia is beautiful and inspiring - I like the idea of just doubling the tomatoes too!

    I found this recipe (which I'm guessing is the same) which is available without an account (and it's now linked in my very long list of breads to try):

    https://www.wskg.org/episodes/2021-01-1 ... pes-ep-416

    - zorkmead
  • Post #230 - September 9th, 2024, 8:11 pm
    Post #230 - September 9th, 2024, 8:11 pm Post #230 - September 9th, 2024, 8:11 pm
    Yeah, that tomato focaccia looks darn good! And thanks, zorkmead, for finding a free source for Milkstreet recipes. Notable for being Italian sans allium, I've seen that general idea for a poured focaccia before but I can't find it back tonight - chewy with gigantic bubbles.
  • Post #231 - September 29th, 2024, 1:01 am
    Post #231 - September 29th, 2024, 1:01 am Post #231 - September 29th, 2024, 1:01 am
    Tonight was crumpets from The Bread Bible. They look good, but I wound up with 3 thick crumpets rather than 6 thinner ones. The batter didn't pour and flow out quite as well as expected. We'll see how done the middles are at breakfast tomorrow.Image
  • Post #232 - October 1st, 2024, 6:52 am
    Post #232 - October 1st, 2024, 6:52 am Post #232 - October 1st, 2024, 6:52 am
    thaiobsessed wrote:I tried the Milk Street TV tomato olive focaccia recipe (I didn't use olives in mine, just doubled the tomatoes) and it came out great. This may be my favorite focaccia recipe even though the technique seems strange (lots of yeast, long proof).


    I baked this focaccia yesterday and I agree - it is really good. I did use olives, but substituted jarred green garlic stuffed olives for the Castelvetrano (I just removed the garlic). I suspect my substitute was saltier and I might dial back the salt at the end if I use the same olives, but really the focaccia was wonderful anyway.

    This is at the top of the make again list - thanks for writing about the recipe!

    - zorkmead
  • Post #233 - October 1st, 2024, 6:55 am
    Post #233 - October 1st, 2024, 6:55 am Post #233 - October 1st, 2024, 6:55 am
    tjr wrote:Tonight was crumpets from The Bread Bible. They look good, but I wound up with 3 thick crumpets rather than 6 thinner ones. The batter didn't pour and flow out quite as well as expected. We'll see how done the middles are at breakfast


    How did they turn out? They look yummy. I thought you had to use rings for crumpets - did you use rings on the first side?

    - zorkmead

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