polenta

Submitted by rjerden on February 25, 2011 - 1:50pm

Nutrimill for grinding polenta

What's the experience using the newer type Nutrimill on its coarsest setting to grind corn for polenta?

Unless I go to an Italian store, or buy on-line at exorbitant prices, I can't find the real thing. Most polenta made in the U.S. is ground from dent corn, and it's usually a coarser grind than than Italian polenta, which is ground from yellow or white flint corn. I really like the white flint corn that they use in the Friuli region to make polenta, and I was considering trying to grind white popcorn (which is a type of very hard flint corn), but I don't know what kind of results to expect from the Nutrimill.

The other possible issue is that I might get an uneven grind, with some very fine granules, like corn flour, and some very large granules, like grits. This would then require an additional step of sieving out the fine and coarse granules. However, it also might be OK even with an uneven grind.

I'm interested in doing my own milling for bread primarily, probably be white wheat only, likely a mixture of soft and hard for the type of breads I make, which are lower gluten artisan breads. I would also grind durum wheat. It's important that I get as fine a grind as possible in order to reduce the size of the bran particles to get the extensibility I need, so the Nutrimill looks like a good possibility. However, I would also like the flexibility to grind corn evenly for polenta.

Anybody have experience with the newer Nutrimill, which has some adjustment capabilities?

Submitted by freerk on November 28, 2010 - 2:10pm

morphing three breads into one very festive buttermilk cluster, with pics

Hey guys, I need your help!

So my brother saw my breads and now he wants in on it :-)

He wants me to make him and his wonderful family my variation on a traditional regional Dutch currant-bread associated with the holidays. At Xmas, New Years, but also at Easter, in the East and North of the Netherlands a lot of people eat this traditional "krentenwegge" (a heavy currantbread with an almondpaste filling). This is what the original loaf looks like...

You'll have to imagine the almond paste filling in the middle, I could not find a very satisfying pic.

There are numerous traditional recipes going around on the net, BUT.....

I never really liked these breads as a kid. I'm not too big on currants, but a big lover of almond paste, so as a kid I always found myself in a dilemma; I want the almond paste, but do I really need to eat ALL those currants to get it...? After getting too old to eat the almond paste and feed the rest to the dog, I just left the bread for what it was...

Until now! I want to make a lighter version of this bread. I want it to look like a buttermilk cluster (fresh out of the oven here today :-)

and preferably with the sweet taste of polenta dough, where I replace the currants with a decent amount of dried candied cranberries (also fresh out of the oven here today):

The idea is to fill each individual roll in the cluster with a little almond paste whilst forming the rolls. I'm not at all certain about the polenta dough, but somehow I feel it could give me the crumb that I'm looking for (light, airy, yellowy...). Also the sweetness of the polenta could taste great with the almonds and cranberries. That is; if I manage to get it as light and airy as I have it my mind's eye :-)

Before embarking on this triple-fusion baking experiment I would like to hear your input on what dough to choose for this sweet bread. I've also been thinking about the dough for the cream cheese braid. Could that be a viable option?

Thanks to the members here who originally posted these two recipes here. I can't really find out anymore who posted the originals, but you guys know who you are; Thanks a bunch!

I'd love to hear from you guys

Freerk

Submitted by Franko on October 29, 2010 - 3:45pm

Savoury Polenta Levain

This summer our garden provided us with a bumper crop of little cherry tomatoes , so many in fact that we, or rather my wife Marie, ended up putting a large portion of them in the dehydrator so we could make use of them through the winter time. The tomatoes were cured briefly in a mix of salt, olive oil and fresh oregano before going into the dehydrator. When they were finally ready to eat we were amazed at how well the pure tomato flavour had been retained. I've eaten a lot of the sun dried type that you can find at the grocer or deli over the years, but I've never had any with quite as intense a flavour as these little gems. At last count we had just over a half pound of dried cherry tomatoes , which made me think that we could spare a few to make a bread with. The idea of using them in a loaf with polenta came from remembering an excellent grilled polenta with a sun dried tomato, garlic, parmigiano and olive oil dressing that I'd had years before at a pot luck BBQ with some friends.

Searches on TFL and the web in general didn't turn up much that I was interested in as most them called for eggs and milk or other ingredients I wasn't keen on, so I thought a little experimentation was in order to make the bread I had in mind. It had to be made with natural yeast, polenta -(more accurately, a hot cornmeal soaker), and the dried tomatoes, other than that I was pretty open to using whatever I felt would help compliment the flavour of the tomatoes. Thinking about the grilled polenta dish that I'd had, I decided to just go with some roasted garlic and parmigiano as the flavour additions and see how that worked. Well it worked just fine! The tomato flavour came through as the main player, the garlic and cheese offering subtle support, and the polenta adding a soft texture to the overall loaf. The sour sort of plays around in the background, which is what I was hoping for since I wasn't going for a tangy or sharp flavoured bread. The polenta gives it a soft crumb, and the wheat provides a good chewy crust, making for a pleasant contrast while you're eating it. This bread is great for panini sandwiches and toasts up quite nicely as well, but to me this is what I call a 'cocktail bread' , or something that you might make to take to a friends for dinner, or to have with some olives and cheese and a glass of wine as your waiting for the main course to finish cooking. There are a number of other things you could add to it such as toasted pine nuts, various herbs, or a different type of cheese but if you're looking for the taste of the tomato to shine through I'd recommend using a light hand. The recipe is included below as well as some photos. If any TFL'rs are interested in giving this one a whirl, I'd be interested to hear your thoughts on it.

All the best,

Franko

SAVOURY POLENTA LEVAIN

Ingredients	%	Kg

Levain
Mature liquid Culture	13	10
Bread Flour	100	78
Water	125	100

Polenta
Water-144 F	100	300
Yellow Cornmeal	33	100
Butter/olive oil *	5	15

Final Dough
Bread Flour	100	600
Polenta	69	415
Honey	2.5	15
Roasted Garlic/ Shallots	6	36
Parmigiano Cheese	10	60
Levain	31	188
Salt	2	12
Water	25	150
Dried Tomatoes *	10	60
Total		1305.5

Notes:

*drizzle a little olive oil over the tomatoes to soften before starting the mix.

sundried tomatoes packed in oil and drained can be used as well -all or in part

* either butter or olive oil work well, use butter if a richer flavour is desired

Procedure:

Mix the levain 16-18 hrs before making the final dough and keep at room temp.

Make the polenta at the same time as the levain. Pour boiling water over the cornmeal and butter/oil and stir well then heat in microwave on high for 1 minute, stir until it begins to thicken, then heat for another minute or less and stir again till the polenta is very thick. Pour into a shallow container and let cool overnight. The polenta should be soft and slightly granular, not gelatinized or rubbery.

Break the polenta up in the mixer using the paddle attachment on 3^rd speed for 1 minute, then add and mix all the ingredients except the salt and tomatoes on 1^st speed until combined in a rough mass. Add the salt and mix on 1^st speed for 3-4 minutes then on 2^nd speed for 7-8 minutes. Adjust the water if needed to attain a medium soft dough. The dough should be soft enough to incorporate the dried tomatoes easily.

Mix in the dried tomatoes on 1^st speed until thoroughly combined. Knead the dough by hand on the counter for 4-5 minutes using minimal dusting flour and a scraper until it's developed and the dough is smooth and elastic.

1^st stretch and fold after 1 hr, then again after the 2^nd hr.
Retard at 45F or less for 18 hrs. Allow the dough to come to room temp of 70-75F for 1-1/12 hr before shaping.
Lightly round the dough, cover and rest for 15-20 minutes, then shape as desired and roll the loaf in semolina. Try to tuck any tomatoes poking through the suface back inside or underneath the loaf to keep them from scorching. Let rise for 2-1/2 to 3 hrs, then slash and slide on to a stone in a preheated 500F oven with normal steam and lower the oven temp to 460F. Bake for 15 minutes then rotate the loaf for even baking if using a non convection oven and bake an additional 20-25 minutes, rotating the loaf once more.
Cool the loaf on wire racks for 8hrs wrapped in baker's linen

Submitted by junebugEnon on October 14, 2009 - 2:31pm

The recipe for Struan bread includes polenta. Does this mean a particular grain/dry ingredient, or the polenta I've seen described as "cornmeal mush" which is wet? Where can I buy it? Sorry, I'm clueless :(

2 comments

Submitted by pumpkinpapa on March 17, 2007 - 6:27pm

Spelt Sourdough Struan

I really like the Multigrain Bread Extraordinaire or Struan from the BBA and have been modifying since I first made it with the hope of using sourdough as the main leavening, since Struan is an old Scottish bread I thought it would be good to have it all sourdough.

So with my Spelt starter in hand I changed the recipe once again:

My soaker was: