I've been making some killer waffles by replacing the AP flour in the King Arthur Belgian waffle recipe with Graham flour. I also only use 1 tsp yeast,as 1.5 was too yeasty tasting.

The recipe can be found at http://www.kingarthurflour.com/recipes/belgian-style-yeast-waffles-recipe.

In our quest to balance taste and fat intake, this morning I replaced half the butter with canola oil, using a replacement ratio of .75 by weight (I used 45 g butter and 30 g oil).

The result? A chalkier, noticeably less flavorful waffle.

Any thoughts here for future tinkering?

I know butter has some water content and that shortening has not.  I usually substitute butter for shortening and not worry about the water.  I'm wondering if the butter was heated until the water evaporated (like making clarified butter) and the resulting butter cooled, would this give nearly identical results to shortening?  If not, why not?

Thanks!

What are your favorite butters for slathering on top of fresh-baked loaves? I personally enjoy Kerrygold for its rich, fatty flavor, though one could easily argue that the flavor overwhelms the subtle fragrances in the bread. Also, does anybody know of a good internet source for French butters (such as Bordier)?

Hey all,

Made my first brioche today and I haven't posted in a while so here it goes.

The formula is from Advanced Bread & Pastry by Suas.

Sponge:

Bread Flour                       100.00%

Water                                65.00%

Instant Yeast                       0.10%

Mix and ferment 12-16 hours at RT.

Final Dough:

Bread Flour                        100.00%

Milk                                      7.00%

Eggs                                   72.00%

Osmotolerant Instant Yeast     1.60% *I used instant yeast but added 30% more

Salt                                       2.60%

Sugar                                   22.00%

Butter                                   65.00%

Sponge                                 54.00%

Mix all except butter until well developed. Add butter gradually until fully mixed.

First fermentation 1 hour

Preshape, rest 30 mins in fridge.

Shape, proof 1.5 hours.

Bake 400f ~15mins.

Very light and tender. Think I'll try txfarmer's 100% butter brioche next time.

Matt

Today, I made Peter Reinhart's Rich Man's Brioche from BBA. I've never made such a rich, buttey bread, but it was delicious. I could only eat one slice, but with raspberry jam, it made the best breakfast.

I posted this on the blog my brother and I share ( http://bakingacrosscountry.wordpress.com/ ) We're both trying to complete the Bread Baker's Apprentice challenge, and also, I'm completing a high school project about artisan breads.

Anyway, here's the post!

Nowadays, we know brioche as a rich bread, enriched with enormous amounts of butter and eggs. The name brioche is derived from the Norman verb, "to pound." The Norman region of France was well known for the butter which they produced, and excessive kneading was required to incorporate all the butter into the dough.

Brioche came to Paris in the 1600s as a much heavier and far less rich bread than the one we know today. Supposedly brioche became well known with Marie Antoinette's famous quote, "qu'ils manget de al brioche" during the 1700s, which translates to "let them eat cake." This referred to the peasants who rioted because there was a lack of bread. The different butter contents of bread were baked for different classes-even the food reflected the social-class divides in 18th century France.

In the Bread Baker's Apprentice, Peter Reinhart provides three different recipes which vary in the butter content. Rich Man's Brioche has about 88% butter to flour ratio, Middle-Class Brioche has about 50%, and Poor Man's Brioche has about 20%. Since I had never made brioche, I splurged and made Rich Man's-why not? The recipe makes three loaves- In my head, the idea of three loaves somehow justified the pound (?!) of butter in the bread.

Traditionally, brioche is baked in molds as brioche a tete, which are formed with two balls of dough. Served with jam, brioche makes a perfect breakfast, and topped with meats and cheese, it can be served for lunch or dinner, thus making brioche a truly versatile bread.

I began the brioche with a sponge of flour, yeast, and milk. After the sponge rose and collapsed, I added five eggs. Next, incorporated the dry ingredients (flour, salt, and sugar), and mixed until the flour was hydrated.

After a few minutes, I mixed in a stick of butter at a time, making sure they were fully incorporated before the next addition. The dough looked smooth, and almost icing-like, because of the butter. I had never worked with such a fluffy, light bread dough, so I felt kind of intimidated in new waters.

After all the butter was added, I mixed for a few more minutes until the dough was soft, and tacky, but not sticky. I spread the dough onto a cookie sheet and put it in the refrigerator to firm up and retard overnight.

Since I don't have brioche molds, I used three loaf pans. I cut the dough into three even pieces, and with a rolling pin, I formed a rectangle. Like sandwich bread, I rolled the dough up, and placed them seam-down in the pan, and let it rise for about two hours. After it had risen for the second time, I brushed it an egg wash, to form a shiny crust.

In a 350 degree oven, I baked the bread until it was golden brown, and the internal temperature reached 190 degrees. However, when I tried to take the bread out of the pan, it kind of stuck to my not-nonstick pans, which I didn't grease. With some slight prying, I got the bread out, but slightly crushed and deflated a loaf. Also, when forming the loaves, I didn't seal the seam well, and when baked, it split on the sides.

Once cooled, I cut the bread, which flaked like a croissant, and tasted so rich and delicious. Since there is so much butter, one slice is more than enough, but every bite was so delicate and smooth. I'm glad I splurged for Rich Man's brioche, but I'm not sure how often I'll make it because of it's richness. With raspberry jam, it honestly made the best breakfast.

For thanksgiving we decided to make our own homemade butter. I found a recipe, and it's almost as easy as making icecubes. If you haven't tried it, definately give it a whirl... it's literally way too easy!

Ingredients: heavy cream, refridgerator cold (we found that 1 quart of cream will give you 12 oz of butter)

Process: Whip the heavy cream on high (kitchenaid/blender/etc) until it hits the stiff peaks stage. Then turn the blender/kitchenaid/etc down to low and wait to watch the magic. (If you have guests over for thanksgiving/dinner, this would be the time to get them to sit patiently and watch this!) After about 10 minutes the whipped cream begins to seperate and gets liquidy, then suddenly within literally 30-60 seconds it suddenly seperates fully into buttermilk and butter! Drain the liquid (save for buttermilk recipes), spread some of the butter on hot bread with a sprinkle of salt, store the butter in the fridge/freezer, voila la beurre!

Hi, TFLers,

It's autumn again and my thoughts have turned to baking baking baking.  But I looked at my grocery and KAF bills and could not believe how much I have spent on butter alone in the past several weeks, much less the other pricey stuff. 

So, I decided I had to find a good more economical source for some of the products I use~~

1. potato flour

2. baker's dried milk

3. vanilla

4. other flours

5. european style butters (and what about Kirkland butter~~any good?)

and other stuff (who knows anything about the Kirkland brands at Costco?)

I'd like to know where others shop for their ingredients and if they have found a good source for an enthusiastic home baker who doesn't want huge quantities, but maybe more than KAF offers in their catalog (and better prices, too).

Pleases tell us what you do?!

I bought some cultured Vermont butter a few weeks ago. It was delicious, but expensive. So I came up with a recipe of my own, which yields 12 ounces of butter and, as a bonus, about 2 cups of buttermilk.

http://gaaarp.wordpress.com/2010/07/18/recipe-cultured-butter/

The two whole-wheat breads I've made recently, both from Reinhart's Whole Grains book, were his Whole Wheat Anadama bread and Transitional Cinnamon Raisin Bread. Both breads had crumbs that were much dryer than I would like. I'm trying to figure out what I should have done differently. I make Reinhart's Oat Broom Bread frequently, with the same whole wheat flour, and that bread always turns out moist. Comparing the recipes I am wondering how much butter vs oil affects the moisture of bread. The Oat Broom bread calls for olive oil, which I use, but the other two breads call for either melted butter or oil. When I made them, I used melted butter both times. Could using butter make the bread more dry than using oil? I thought I would try using oil next time I make a whole wheat bread, but I figured I'd ask here first to see if anyone already knows. Thanks.

I've been following the discussions about croissants and butter content and moisture levels in butter.  And then I saw a container of ghee at the supermarket and said "Hmmm." 

Ghee is something that I have never used.  Since it is clarified butter, I suspect it's moisture content would be much lower than ordinary butter but have no clue what the analysis might be.  Nor do I know how the melting, followed by separation of the solids, would affect flavor or handling characteristics.

Have any TFLers used ghee in baked goods that are dependent on butter?  I'm thinking croissants, puff pastry, brioche, etc.

My oven is on the fritz, so I can't experiment.  But I'm still curious...

Paul