Cashew coconut curry 1:2:3. Happy Diwali!
This one has been on my mind for awhile, so I needed to try it and get out of my system. It would have been a 1:2:3, except that I also decided to try Mini Oven's method of adding dry chia seeds to the flour and an extra 3x their weight of water to the final dough.
The dry
38g whole wheat flour
38g extra-fine semolina
299g T65 flour
30g chia seeds
1t garam masala
.5t turmeric
1T fresh curry leaves, finely chopped
9g salt
60g toasted cashews
Nigella seeds and toasted sesame seeds for coating
The wet
125g two-stages (100%) starter
125g coconut milk
125g inactive raisin yeast water
90g water (for the chia seeds)
Day 1
Mixed the whole-wheat flour with 75g water and let sit for an hour.
Added other flours, chia seeds, the 125g of RYW, the coconut milk and the remaining water.
Very, very sticky, wet goo, left to autolyse an hour.
Mixed salt with spices and curry leaves, pinched into dough.
Lost count of SLAFs, but there were alot of them to try and get the dough to come together.
After the last round of SLAFs, stretched dough out on the bench and added the cashews.
Placed dough in covered container, with STAFs every 20 minutes or so, which was a bit tricky because of the cashews. Dough was beginning to behave itself, but still terribly slack and sticky.
After four hours on the bench, gave one last letter fold and stuck the thing in the fridge, hoping dough would firm up a little.
After four or five hours, it had indeed firmed up and grown quite a bit. Dough still quite soft and very tacky.
Divided, preshaped, 15 minutes bench rest, shaped into seed-lined baskets and into the fridge after 15 minutes.
Day 2
Preheated oven to 230°C. Removed loaves from the fridge, spritzed, spinkled seeds, spritzed, slashed and spritzed again. Baked covered for 20 minutes (lowering temp to 220° after the first ten minutes) then uncovered another 12.
While they could have baked darker, they aren't nearly as anemic-looking as in the photo. This probably could have (should have?) risen a bit more, but at least it's not completely flat. And I got blisters!
I am extremely curious as to what this will taste like; I think I could have been a bit bolder with the spices and curry leaves, but we'll see. Can't wait to try this with a bit of mango chutney.
There. It's done, and now I can move on to other things!
Oh my goodness, they look amazing!
One more thing on my list of "What I want to do during my next holidays"!
Congrats
tsp
Tree Sparrow. Am waiting to taste before I tell you to give it a go ?
Happy baking.
Carole
Lovely indeed and you finally got to use that fine semolina. What a wonderful mix of add-ins. I'd love to use turmeric but I'm scared I'd end up with a yellow bowl, bench and banneton.
If you combine turmeric, some fat and black pepper you get a very healthy combo. I've been thinking of doing a "golden latte" bread which is basically those 3 ingredients in a drink. Perhaps you can pioneer a recipe.
I'm thinking the fat should be coconut oil as it traditionally is.
I'm pretty happy with this one, with the reserves that I expressed at the same time as you sent your message!
Oddly enough, my turmeric stained neither my hands nor bowl nor bench -- not even the linen in the basket. Which probably shows you how little I actually put in there. But since this was a first time out, I figured I'd play it safe rather than sorry. And too much turmeric can taste dusty or bitter.
I like the idea of the golden latte. Coconut oil would also work well as a vehicle for all the other flavors going on in the bread. Thanks for the suggestion!
Carole
and taste report.
I could definitely have upped the spices in the dough; my notes called for 2T of curry leaves and I chickened out and only put in one. Garam masala and curcuma could also have been ramped up. Maybe a bit of crushed fenugreek seeds? Coconut flavor not very present, but a subtle suggestion.
But it was yummy this morning with yogurt and sliced mango. For something that would stand up to a pumpkin soup, for example, I'd definitely be bolder with the spices.
EDIT: one mistake I made for sure was leaving them for a few minutes in the turned-off oven with the door open. Crust is on the thicker side of what I like.
to dough before. I have always soaked them in the 6 to 8 times water by weight and let them turn into a gel. Then autolyse the flour ans water and once the stretch and folds start after the initial slap and folds then add in the chia seeds. That way the dough gluten is properly developed and the chia seeds are properly hydrated and still easy to get into the mix with the stretch and folds. Otherwise the dough will be a sloppy mess while you are trying to get he gluten developed.- as you found out!
I have everything to make this bread but since I;m not making bread right now it will have to wait. It sounds delicious . Can't wait to see the crumb shots!
Happy baking DW
The dry chia seeds was a suggestion from Mini Oven, and it seemed like something worth trying. Next time out, I'll try it your way.
Don't tell me you've got a curry plant in your garden! I have to trundle up to the Indian neighborhood and hope that they've got some. Packaged, dried leaves just don't seem to have the same taste.
Crumb shot is posted. Taste is subtle, since I was a bit shy with spices. Maybe the next one could be coated with a mix of nigella and fresh grated coconut…
Hope you'll be back to baking bread soon!
Carole
Lee Lee's Chinese market has the best produce department when it comes to green leafy things that you can't find anywhere else except at the Mekong Vietnamese market . Any Asian, or Indian is no problem and the Hispanic markets have everything else we need to make our three favorite foods. Asian, Indian and Mexican! I picked up some more Prickly Pear Tunas this morning to make jam and Margarita sauce even though I'm not drinking margaritas right now either! Can't make real Indian or Asian without all the right ingredients. I thought Asifoetida would be hard to find but at Lee Lee's they had 3 kinds! I used to sell Patek's brand to the chains all over the country and like their prepared sauces too.
Now .....what to make for dinner......
You see? Mini's way looks like it worked. But I will also have a go at your method and smear the chia gel into SLAFed dough.
How long will it take the seeds to drink their water? I mean, is it something to prepare the night before, or can it happen during first mix, autolyse and SLAFs?
Now, what did you decide on for dinner? ? And what are prickly pear tunas?
Carole
Indian curries are one of the dishes types I make all the time. Vegetarians in India are known for pureeing soaked nuts to add creaminess to gravy. Rather than soaking the nuts raw, I always toast them in homemade ghee before soaking. This way, they add a ton of flavour to the dish!
The taste of toasted cashews goes extremely well with tomato-based curries. In fact, I plan to make one loaf with toasted then powdered cashew as well as tomato paste. Maybe I'll also throw in some toasted chana dal and fenugreek leaves into the dough... If you want to amp up the spiciness, you may consider tossing in some freshly ground spices like cumin, fennel, cardamon, cloves... to name but a few. The difference between stale and fresh spices is huge!
The crumb looks perfectly moist and springy! Nice bake!
Interesting idea to toast the cashews before pureeing. I usually soak and puree when making cashew cream.
I wanted fenugrec leaves for this loaf but couldn't find any. And found the fenugrec seeds after the loaf was in the oven.
When making curries, like you, I typically bloom whole spices in a bit of coconut oil first. The packaged powdered stuff all seems too bland and almost interchangeable. (However, I do confess to keeping a couple of jars Patak's pastes for nights that I'm short on time.)
I like the idea of cardamom and fennel. What do you think of mustard seeds?
It's all a question now of hitting on the right dosage of spices; I wasn't sure where I was going with this, just that I had to give it a go.
Happy baking!
Carole
for dough with 400+g flour. Dry-toast them whole then coarsely grind them. If you already stock whole spices in your kitchen, why not go a step further by toasting and grinding them fresh instead of using the commercial stuff? Even home-toasted and ground spices that have been stored for months are far superior to store-bought powders!
Mustard seeds are definitely welcome add-ins. I'd rather keep them whole for a bit of crunch though. Actually, I had put them in one of my past bakes.
Do try toasting cashews before pureeing them: you'll be amazed by the improvement they bring to curries!
Glad you think that mustard seeds could be a good addition: I know I've got yellow/brown ones, and probably have black ones hiding somewhere as well. Would you dry-toast them first? They pop all over like mad.
About the pre-ground commercial stuff: over the last year or so, I've been given at least 18 vials of "precious" spice mixes by Olivier Roellinger (I don't know if the name means anything to you, he's a big deal here). So I use them as best I can… But yes, I agree, keeping the whole spices makes so much more sense, since they keep better that way.
I also just rediscovered some dried galangal -- I'd even groujd some, which is no mean feat.
Will definitely be putting these ideas into play when I revisit this loaf; I've got about three others who've been patiently waiting their turn to be tried!
Happy baking.
Carole
Use a lid :) Simple as that.
Look forward to your revived spicy bread.
I have most of these things too. (the curry leaves are frozen though) I might give this a try, I bet it would be nice to use to mop up left over curry or with a bit of chutney. Looks great, thanks for the idea.
(Did I get that right?)
Yes, for mopping up leftover curry or spread with chutney, the light handedness of the spices here would work. For milder things, like a pumpkin soup or a goat cheese (or paneer) sandwich, you might want to be less timid with the flavors in the dough. Since my bread consumption is almost strictly at breakfast, this worked out ok. I just tasted a bit plain, untoasted -- and think I could go easier on the nigella seeds.
Have fun!
Carole
I was fortunate to be in India last year for Dewali - I have always loved the foods of India and as is usually the case, having the real thing was amazing. So nice to incorporate some of the flavors and ideas into the things we make.
fortunate, that must have been quite a scene. One of my dreams ?
Happy baking.
Carole