Hi, this is Daniel Rios (Beyondthebread).  Here is a photo from my latest blog entry using a pan au lait (milk bread) recipe.  I used the dough to make monkey bread, shown here, and will be posting Friday and Monday with 2 more uses for the same dough.  Here is the recipe I used --> http://beyondthebread.com/?p=1061 . I hope to find bakers who love to talk bread and can add their expertise to my posts.  Come check out the recipes and pictures on www.Beyondthebread.com.  Let me know what you think and share your stories of baking.

I have been a professional baker for over 7 years now and have now started my own website to share everything that I can about my experiences and whatever experiments I decide to try out.  You will be seeing me on this site more often, now that I have found it.  I hope to meet other professional or baking enthusiasts who share my love for all things baking. 

Hey everyone,

I was just wondering if anyone else used the "Vitamin C Method" that I use for all my pizzas.  The ascorbic acid of the Vitamin C creates a reaction with the yeast that speeds up the rising process dramatically, cutting it down to only one short rise. 

Just curious.

joel

Hi,

First, I want to mention I'm not talented enough to be able to claim I created this recipe.  I found it on another forum and I really don't know who the original author is, but whoever it is, created a WINNER!  This bread has a soft crust and interior (somewhat like store bought white but much tastier with a nicer texture) so for those of you who only want to tackle a crusty bread, this one is not for you.   The crust also does not get very dark, but you could probably mist it with a bit of water if you want it darker.

But, if you're even a little like me in that you desperately want to be successful in making ANY kind of bread, you will LOVE this recipe!  After I struggle for days to get a more complicated recipe to work for me, this one is a RELIEF to work on.  I have never had a failure, even when I threw it together in a hurry.  And EVERYONE here loves it!   My grandson, who never asks for seconds of anything, asked me for a second slice of this tasty bread.  My husband, who is difficult to please to say the least, is very happy when I use it to make his sandwiches to take with him to work in the morning.  He's actually so proud that I can make it that he shares his sandwiches from time to time so his associates can sample it.

This is the recipe:

Combine in the slightly preheated bowl from your stand mixer (you can also do this entirely by hand, but it's a lot more work):

2 cups of 110-112 degree water

1 tablespoon plus one teaspoon instant yeast (a total of 4 teaspoons)

1 tablespoon sugar

Cover and let rise in a warm place for 5 minutes (to create warm place, I put my oven on 350 degrees for about 10 seconds and shut it off)

Add to the yeast mixture:

¼ cup oil

5 cups bread flour (I find the best way to measure flour for this recipe is to scoop it, as recommended by the America's Test Kitchen Family Baking Book.  I have tried weighing it--which really should work--and spooning into the measuring cup, as recommended by the King Arthur Flour Baker's Companion, but with both methods the dough was too slack and I had to add flour.)

2 teaspoons salt

Knead until smooth and elastic.  I use the dough hook to combine it for a couple of minutes (while scraping down the sides to help combine the ingredients) and knead for at least an additional 5 minutes on speed 2.

Place the dough (sometimes you have to aid it with a scraper to release it from the bottom of the mixer bowl as it doesn't seem to hold the ball shape on the hook each and every time) in a greased bowl, turn it, and cover it with plastic wrap that has been sprayed with a nonstick coating, such as Pam.

Cover and let rise in a warm place for 20-25 minutes.  I use the minimum time for both the first and second rise.  Punch the dough down and divide it into two equal portions.  Then roll each piece into two rectangles that each measure approximately 10" by 14".  Starting from the long end, roll each rectangle up in jelly roll fashion and tuck in the ends slightly.  Pinch the seam together and place each loaf with the seam to the bottom on a greased 12" by 16" (or similar size) cookie sheet or shallow baking pan.  I find the two loaves work fine on one pan.  Diagonally slash each loaf about 3 times with a sharp, floured knife.

Lightly spray the loaves with nonstick spray and cover with plastic wrap. Let the loaves rise for 20-25 minutes in a warm place.  Since I will have to preheat my oven while these loaves are rising, I cannot let the loaves rise in there and I turn on my toaster oven and leave it on for several minutes.  After I shut if off, I check to see how hot the top has become and layer the appropriate amount of kitchen towels on top of it so that the bottom of the cookie sheet I will be placing on it doesn't get too hot.  I then place the loaves on top of the towels on the toaster oven, making sure they are situated to the back (under the cabinets), where I believe the most heat would be trapped.  Your situation may be different so I am only offering this as a suggestion.

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees and bake the bread for 20-25 minutes.  I use the maximum time as this bread does not get a very dark crust.  Let the bread cool for at least 10 minutes before slicing--it will still be warm.

ENJOY!  (Bread is pictured below)

If you want moist homemade chocolate cake that's super easy, you really need to give this one a try! 

Seriously folks, this is mouth happiness!

http://www.brightbakes.wordpress.com

Love,

Cathy B. @ brightbakes

Grissini are pencil-thick bread sticks, 14 to 16-inches long, and easily made in a few hours.  The dough is mixed, bulk fermented for an hour, then divided, rolled, and baked at 380F.

I tweaked Jeffrey Hamelman’s formula from Bread by using garlic infused olive oil and adding two ounces of freshly grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese. 

Some Grissini were plain; some were rolled in sesame seeds, and some were rolled in a mix of Parmesan and sesame seeds.  Before starting, I removed both the stone and my steaming pan from the oven as the Grissini are baked on a baking sheet without steam.

Place the following ingredients in your planetary mixer bowl:

507 grams, bread flour

263 grams, water

60 grams, olive oil (garlic infused)

51 grams, unsalted butter

2 tsp, salt

1/2 tsp, instant yeast

57 grams, Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese, freshly grated

Mix at speed one until the ingredients are well mixed (about three minutes). Increase the mixer speed to two and mix another four or five minutes.  Dough temperature should be 76F.  The dough will have a lovely scent from the infused olive oil and is very easy to handle. 

Bulk ferment for one hour, then divide the dough into 24 squares, each weighing  37-grams.  Set the divided dough on a very lightly floured surface, cover with plastic, and allow to rest for around 10 minutes.  Place parchment on your baking sheet(s).

Roll each 37-gram square of dough into a thin log measuring 14 to 16 inches long.  You do not need to flour your bench: the dough contains butter and olive oil and is not at all sticky.

Once you have rolled to the length you wish, you can scatter more grated cheese and sesame (or other) seeds along the length then do a final roll over the seeds to cover the dough.  Or leave them plain, as shown in the photo.  Your call.  

(Yeah, I got carried away with that long one!)  Continue rolling until you have filled the sheet, allowing sufficient space between each bread stick, then place the pan into the preheated oven and bake at 380F for 20 minutes.  The bottoms are going to be a deeper brown than the tops, which provides a nice contrast.

While the first batch is baking, continue forming the remaining portions and cover them with plastic until they’re ready to go into the oven.

Allow the Grissini to completely cool, to allow the flavors to develop.  They have a lovely taste of cheese with a hint of garlic, are crunchy, and wonderful with dinner, as a snack, or with your favorite dip.  Keep them in an airtight container for up to five days.  

I have had several people ask about this recipe so here it is. Sorry for taking so long.

Nicho Bread (Named for my grandson)

19.25 oz Good quality AP flour    
10.65 oz Milk
3 Tablespoons Sugar
3 Tablespoons Butter
1.5 tsp Salt
1.5 tsp Instant Yeast

This makes up about 2 pounds of dough, I bake it as a single loaf and it makes a TALL loaf. That's the way we like it around here but you could easily make 2 smaller loaves with this recipe.

Place the Flour, Salt, Sugar, and Yeast in a Large mixing bowl and stir to combine.
In a small sauce pan heat milk until very warm. (I do this in the microwave, about 90 seconds) add the butter to the warm milk. Stir until the butter melts. This gives the milk time to cool if you got it too hot.
Dump the milk/butter on the flour mix and stir with a big wooden spoon until it has absorbed all the liquid. Dump onto your counter top and begin kneading by hand for about 1 minute, Just trying to incorporate all the flour at this point. Cover and let the dough rest/hydrate for 5 minutes.
Continue to knead by hand for another 5 minutes. It should not be sticky. If it is, use a little flour to help make it workable. It should form a smooth, soft dough that is not sticky.
Place dough in lightly oiled bowl and cover with plastic. Let rise until doubled, usually takes about 60 to 90 minutes but let the dough dictate the time.
After doubled, deflate and form into a 5 x 9 loaf pan. Cover and let rise until doubled. Again, let the dough set the time.
Bake on the lower rack of a 325° oven until done. I use a thermometer at between 195° and 200°
You may need to place a sheet of aluminum foil over the top of the loaf to keep the crown from burning.

Notes____________________________________________________
(I often have to cover with aluminum foil for the last 10 minutes to prevent burning the top crust)
(You can use bread flour if you want, Also, I sometimes use 30% WW flour)
(I use 2% but have used whole, skim and even buttermilk, I have also made this with water in a pinch)
(I have used Honey, brown sugar, Lyle's Golden syrup and molasses)
(I have used margarine, Vegetable oil and olive oil, and lard)

Lets make some bread, No fancy Kitchen Aid required

First the dry.

Now the wet

10.65 Ounces is about 1 and 1/4 cups

Nuke it to get it warm. But be careful not to get it too hot.

3Tbsp butter

Melt it in your warm milk, Should look something like this.

Now, Everybody into the pool. and mix with a spoon until the liquid is absorbed.

Dump onto the board and work just enough to get it incorporated.

Then let it rest 5 minutes and then knead for 5 minutes

You should end up with a lovely smooth, soft, not sticky ball of dough.

Proof it

Deflate and pan.

Can you see where I poked it with my finger. It's ready.

Slashed.

Surface tension causes the dough to open at the cut. Can you see the crumb structure even in the raw dough?

Nothing left but to put in a 325° oven. It bakes for about 25 minutes but I don't watch the clock, When it looks done I check it with a thermometer.

This loaf is so tall that I have to cover it with foil for the first 10 minutes to keep it from burning on top. Maybe if I had a bigger oven, but even with the rack on the lowest setting it still will burn if I am not careful.

Wow, Talk about oven spring!

and the requisite crumb shot...

I am finally settling into a pattern of baking 3-4 loaves every weekend for our daily use-WWsandwich, fruited morning toast, french and maybe 1 extra as experimental,giveaway or to perfect a recipe.

It occurs to me their are many little things I can do to streamline the process of making the repetetive loaves such as pre-measuring out my flour into ziplocs and even adding all the dry ingredients to it.

I thought I'd ask the collection of experts here what they do to streamline their process? I have learned so much from this forum. I'm sure there are many great ideas as to procedure and supplies that make it easier and faster. After all, it will leave more time to bake NEW breads!

Hi Everyone!

I'm Flo Makanai, French "author" of the (in French, sorry...) blog Makanai (http://makanaibio.com/). I love bread baking, especially sourdough baking, and I've been doing it for about 15 years.

As I always have many obligations other than baking bread (who does'nt?!) AND lots of sourdough to use (I hate throwing it away once it has reached maturity), I eventually came to "invent" a formula that works for me in France (Janedo from http://aulevain.fr/, whom you certainly know, has also tested that formula and it works for her too).

Here it is:

I weigh the liquid (100%) mature sourdough I have on my counter. It gives me a weight which I shall call weight 1.

I then multiply "weight 1" by 2 to obtain the quantity of liquid (water, rice milk, milk...) I'll need. So the liquid will weigh twice as much as the sourdough.

Then, I multiply "weight 1" by 3 to obtain the quantity of flour(s) (always organic for me) that I'll need. So the flour(s) will weigh 3 times the sourdough. 

I mix those 3 ingredients, I let the dough rest 30 minutes and then I knead my dough, adding 1.8% to 2% of the flour(s) weight of salt.

So "1" = sourdough weight

"2" = liquid weight, which is "1"x2

and "3" = flour(s) weight, which is "1" x3

Example : with 125g sourdough, I'll bake bread with 250g liquid and 375g flour + 6 to 7g salt

The reason I'm writing today on TFL is that I wonder if that formula works in the States, where flours are so different from the ones we have in France. Is anyone interested in trying and then posting a comment on TFL? That would be interesting.

I posted this formula (in French, but you can use the Google translator, even if the result is quite ... unusual!) on Makanaibio yesterday (here: http://www.makanaibio.com/2008/10/123-pain-au-levain-une-formule-qui.html), if you can read French or if you'd like to see a few pictures of some of my breads.

(And please excuse my english, I certainly made mistakes I'm not even aware of...)

I hope to read you soon!

Flo Makanai

Just hear me through on this. I know the idea of baking bread or I guess it would be "cooking" is never going to produce artisan loaves. But, here is the situation---

Hello,