Tag: bread

Whole Wheat Baguette

by Pam on October 2, 2012

If you read my blog then you know I am intimidated by yeast. There, I’ve said it, baking bread scares me. It has been awhile since I last made bread and I had a craving for a baguette and a pot of soup for dinner. I pulled out my trusty bread machine and grabbed the ingredients to make a whole wheat baguette. I let the bread machine do the work and crossed my fingers that it would turn out. After the bread machine was done with it’s part I rolled up the dough and let it rise… so far so good. It was looking like I would succeed and I was so excited! I then carefully brushed it with an egg wash and all was well until I tried to cut slits into the top… the problem was the knife I chose was not sharp enough so my poor little baguette deflated a bit. Note to self: SHARPEN KNIVES! I was so bummed! I decided to proceed and bake it to see how it would turn out. Thankfully, it rose a little while baking and it turned out just fine. The kids slathered slices of the baguette with butter for their after school snack and LOVED it. They didn’t care that it wasn’t as full as it was supposed to be. Instead of making a pot of soup I decided I was done cooking for the day and we headed out to dinner – I didn’t want to push my luck.

Place the water, salt, white sugar, flours, and yeast into a bread machine pan in that order. Turn the bread machine to the dough setting and push start.

Once the dough cycle has completed (mine lasts 1 1/2 hours). Deflate the dough and turn it out onto a lightly floured surface. Roll the dough into a rectangle then fold in half and seal the seam firmly with the side of your hand. Roll up dough jelly roll style very tightly and pinch the seam closed really well. Place the loaf onto a silpat mat that has been sprinkled with cornmeal. Cover with a cloth and let rise, until doubled in size, about 40 minutes.

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Combine the egg with the water and beat until thoroughly mixed. Brush the egg mixture on the top of the loaf. Carefully slice three diagonal slits across the loaf with a very sharp knife. Place the silpat mat onto a baking sheet.

Place into the oven and bake for 17-22 minutes, or until golden brown. Remove from the oven and let it cool on a rack before slicing and serving.

Print^[1]

Whole Wheat Baguette

Yield: 1 loaf

Prep Time: 1 hour 30 minute

Cook Time: 15 minutes

Total Time: 1 hour 45 minutes

Ingredients:

1/2 cup of warm water
1/2 tsp salt
1 1/2 tsp white sugar
3/4 cup of whole wheat flour
1/2 cup of all purpose flour
3/4 tsp bread machine yeast
Corn meal
1 egg + 2 tsp water, mixed

Directions:

Place the water, salt, white sugar, flours, and yeast into a bread machine pan in that order. Turn the bread machine to the dough setting and push start.

Once the dough cycle has completed (mine lasts 1 1/2 hours). Deflate the dough and turn it out onto a lightly floured surface. Roll the dough into a rectangle then fold in half and seal the seam firmly with the side of your hand. Roll up dough jelly roll style very tightly and pinch the seam closed really well. Place the loaf onto a silpat mat that has been sprinkled with cornmeal. Cover with a cloth and let rise, until doubled in size, about 40 minutes.

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Combine the egg with the water and beat until thoroughly mixed. Brush the egg mixture on the top of the loaf. Carefully slice three diagonal slits across the loaf with a very sharp knife. Place the silpat mat onto a baking sheet.

Place into the oven and bake for 17-22 minutes, or until golden brown. Remove from the oven and let it cool on a rack before slicing and serving.

Recipe and photos by For the Love of Cooking.net

References

^{^} Print Recipe (www.gordon-ramsay-recipe.com)

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Bread & Butter Pickles – One of the Great Depression’s Greatest Hits

During the Great Depression, sandwiches weren’t quite what they are today. Forget about choice of aioli, or did you want roast tri tip or smoked turkey; back then it was more like, “Did you want cucumbers in your sandwich, or nothing in your sandwich?” Okay, cucumbers it is.

At the end of summer, the excess “cuc” crop was sliced, salted, pickled, and put up in jars for the cold, lean months ahead. If you thought summer Depression-era sandwiches sucked, it was much worse in winter, when you couldn’t even find a bland vegetable to slap between your slices of buttered bread.

I can just imagine what a treat it must have been to fill a sandwich with these sweet crunchy coins, or “bread and butter pickles,” as they came to be known. I’m sure it was a wonderful break from what must have been a fairly flavorless existence. Happily, times are a bit better now, and we only make these because they taste really good.

So, make a batch, experience a little piece of American culinary history, and as you’re tossing them on that burger, think back to what those days must have been like. I mean, especially with no YouTube! I hope you give these bread & butter pickles a try soon. Enjoy!

Ingredients for about 2 pints:
2 lbs pickling or other firm, little cucumbers

1/2 yellow onion, sliced

2 red jalapeno pepper, sliced

3 tbsp kosher salt

2 cups sugar

2 cups white distilled vinegar

1/4 cup water

1 tbsp mustard seeds

1 teaspoon celery seeds

1/8 tsp ground cloves

1/2 teaspoon turmeric

1 tsp black peppercorns
2 cloves garlic, sliced

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Focaccia – Surprisingly, Not Italian for “Fingers”

Some younger foodwishers may not realize this, but there was
a time, before the Internet, when not everyone knew everything about everything.
These days, if you’re wondering what “focaccia” means, you Google it, and
all is revealed. In case you’re wondering, it comes from the Latin word for
“hearth,” but that’s not what pre-Wikipedia Chef John thought.

Nope, I figured focaccia meant, “fingers.” Since the
signature characteristic of the bread is the deeply dimpled surface, and those
holes are created using well-oiled fingers, it made perfect sense. Plus,
fingers starts with an “f,” as does focaccia, which reinforced my brilliant
theory. Anyway, now we know.

This is such a fun and versatile bread to make. I went with a
simple, but classic rosemary and sea salt topping, but a
web search for focaccia will turn up more than just the definition. You’ll see dozens of
different and delicious toppings with which to accessorize your slab.

A few of my favorites would be chopped olives, caramelized
onions, and sliced grapes. You can add pretty much anything to the top when you
do the old finger poke, and proceed as demonstrated. Of course, depending on
your garnishes, you may have to cook it a little longer, but I’m sure you’ll
figure that out. No matter how you customize it, I hope you give this classic
flat bread a try soon. Enjoy!

Ingredients for 6 large portions:

– Combine:

1 package (.25 oz) active dry yeast

1 cup warm water (105 F.)

2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil

3/4 tsp salt

1/4 cup semolina flour

2 tsp minced fresh rosemary

2 3/4 cups *bread flour (don’t mix in all the flour in this
step; reserve about 1/4 cup for the kneading)

*As with all dough recipes, you may need a little less or
little more flour. The total weight I added was about 12 oz.
*This will work with just all-purpose flour, but I prefer the bread flour and semolina

– Mix in bowl until a sticky dough forms, then knead with
reserved flour and 2 additional tablespoons of olive oil, for about 7-8
minutes, until you have a smooth, elastic, but slightly sticky dough.

– Let rise until doubled, flatten on oiled pan, let rest 15
minutes, drizzle with olive oil, poke dough with finger tips, let rise
45 minutes or until doubled, brush lightly with olive oil, top with more
rosemary and sea salt.

– Bake at 475 degrees F. for 14-15 minutes