Yesterday I spent the day in "bread heaven" with a generous church friend--a Queen of Baking--who had offered to give me a breadmaking lesson. And so, with a bag of ingredients and an empty notebook, I showed up at her door as quickly as I could get there after the babysitter arrived. On tap: three homemade yeast breads, including Ricotta-Chive Bread, Buttermilk Bread, and Date, Prune, and Pecan Bread. We got started immediately and spent the next 6 hours making bread.
Of course, the actual time mixing and kneading and shaping the dough was only a small percentage of the overall time, but we a variety of rising times, and number of rises, and baking temperatures, it took all of the afternoon and some of the evening to produce 5 loaves (including one gigantic one!) of bread. In the lulls, I made a quick run to the store for an ingredient I'd forgotten (prunes), we had coffee and banana bread (which she'd whipped up, with Chinese 5 spice powder, that morning!), a tour of her stylish house with all of her fabulous projects from stained glass to knitting to gourd decoration, and even dinner with her husband (golden curry on veggies with spinach noodles!). And lots and lots of conversation, from baking information to church news, from politics to contemporary food issues, from personal histories to recent challenges. The time seemed to fly by!
And was amply rewarded with the amazing loaves of bread I pictured last night. The Ricotta-Chive was the one we started first--it doubled quickly and became this huge infant-sized loaf after resting. The chives were pretty in the white dough and not too strong, with the ricotta mainly providing moisture. Next we made the more traditional buttermilk loaf, which she shaped into round loaves and slashed on top as wells for melted butter. I thought these were the prettiest loaves, very artisanal looking, much better than if we'd put them in a plain old loaf pan. And the taste was mild with a tender crumb and an excellent crust (I'm thinking it would be great as breakfast toast with jam!). It was the last bread--the fruit and nut one--that took the longest, from beginning to end, with 3 hours of rising and resting overall. We were surprised with how little dough the recipe made --it's mostly fruity mix-ins! (And, mercy, that wheat dough was stiff!) We thought apricots would have been good, maybe with almonds, or cranberries with walnuts. Of all three, I can see returning to this bread to experiment with other flavors. It didn't get very big but the taste was--sweet, crunchy, chewy, nutty--hearty! I think it would be great with butter or cream cheese.
I came away from the lesson--with all of the practice kneading and shaping loaves, checking for elasticity and doneness--with confidence that I can make homemade yeast bread by myself. Except, with all these loaves--plus one of her banana bread and a bag of crunchy cookies!--I won't need to for awhile!
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Some notes I wrote beside the recipes, to remember what we were doing:
- proofing yeast: wait until cloudy and bubbly--no exact timetable
- humidity changes how much water the flour will take--add water or flour in small increments (teaspoons) to adjust
- while recipes are not extremely flexible, you can alter the mix-ins as long as the type and amount are similar
- knead times are approximate--knead until "elastic and smooth"
- "elastic"--when you poke it with your finger, the print will "pop" out
- two kinds of kneading we used: kneading with the heel of your hand, including grab with fingers (using other hand to hold), OR two-handed thumb knead when the bread was stiff; for both, knead a few times, turn it, shape it into a little log, do it again.
- to incorporate mix-ins, poke them in using the tips of your fingers
- tip: finish the kneading in the mixer with dough hook, especially if there are mix-ins
- rise times are approximate
- rise under a light for added warmth, or near stove
- always cover, either with non-fuzzy towel or plastic wrap
- shape doesn't really matter--we didn't use loaf pans, instead opting for more free-form loaves on parchment-lined baking sheets
- to get round shape, rock dough back and forth; place seam down
- you need a really sharp knife to cut the top
- butter makes a great crust (oil in rising bowl helps too)
- the bread is done when it sounds hollow when you tap on the bottom
- two storage options: in paper bag inside zipper bag in fridge or in foil in zipper bag in freezer
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Ricotta and Chive Bread
makes 1 loaf
4 cups bread flour
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
1 oz yeast (that's 3 tablespoons)
1/3 cup olive oil
1 1/4 cup water
1/2 cup ricotta
2 tablespoons chives
Put flour, salt, yeast, olive oil, water, and cheese in bowl. Mix 3 minutes by hand. Tip onto floured surface and knead 2 minutes. Add chives and knead 3 more minutes. Put in bowl and rest 1 hour.
Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Tip dough onto floured surface and shape into a sausage shape, tapered at each end. Place the bread on the baking sheet and let rise for 1 hour.
Preheat oven to 425F. Bake 25 minutes then turn out onto wire rack.
Paul Hollywood, 100 Great Breads
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Buttermilk Bread
makes 2-1 lb loaves
1/4 cup warm water
1 package active dry yeast (2 1/4 teaspoons)
1 teaspoon plus 1/4 cup sugar
1 1/2 cup buttermilk
1/2 cup butter, divided
2 teaspoons salt
4 3/4 cups flour, divided
In cup, combine warm water, yeast, and 1 teaspoon sugar; stir to dissolve. Let stand 5 minutes or until foamy.
Meanwhile, in 1 quart saucepan, heat buttermilk, remaining 1/4 cup sugar, and 6 tablespoons butter over medium low until warm (butter does not need to melt completely).
In large bowl, combine salt and 4 1/2 cups flour. Gradually add yeast mixture and buttermilk mixture and, with wooden spoon, beat until blended.
Turn dough onto lightly floured surface and knead about 10 minutes, until smooth and elastic, working in about 1/4 cup flour as necessary just to keep dough from sticking. Shape dough into ball and place in greased large bowl, turning dough over to grease top. Cover bowl adn let dough rise in warm place until doubled, about 1 hour.
Punch down dough. turn dough onto lightly floured surface and cut in half; cover and let rest 15 minutes. Grease two 8 1/2 x 4 1/2 loaf pans.
Shape each half into loaf; place seam side down in prepared loaf pans. Cover and let rise in warm place until doubled, about 1 hour.
Preheat oven to 375F. Melt remaining 2 tablespoons butter. Just before baking, with serrated knife or single-edge razor blade, slash top of each loaf lengthwise, cutting about 1/4" deep. Brush slashes with melted butter. Bake 25-30 minutes until loaves are golden and bottoms sound hollow when lightly tapped with fingers. Transfer loaves to wire rack to cool.
Good Housekeeping Great Baking
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Date, Prune, and Pecan Bread
makes 2-1 lb. loaves
1/2 oz. yeast (that's 4 1/2 teaspoons)
3 cups whole wheat flour
2 teaspoons salt
1/2 stick butter, softened
water
3/4 cup pecans, chopped
scant 1/4 cup soft, no-soak prunes, chopped
Dilute yeast in a little warm water then put in bowl with flour, salt, butter; mix well. Slowly add enough water, mixing all the time, until dough becomes elastic. Tip on onto floured surface and knead 5 minutes. Put dough back into bowl and let rest 2 hours.
Divide the dough into two pieces and incorporate half the pecans, dates, and prunes into each piece, pressing in firmly. Knead for an additional 5 minutes, then rest the loaves for 1 hour.
Preheat the oven to 400F. Grease two 1 lb-loaf pans. Flatten each loaf and roll into sausage shape. Place the seam underneath, then taper each end. Put each loaf into pan, seam side down, then dust with flour and using a knife, cut a zigzag pattern on top.
Bake 25-30 minutes, then turn out onto wire rack to cool
Paul Hollywood, 100 Great Breads
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