Acme Bakery in Berkeley, CA, makes the best walnut bread I ever tasted. Unfortunately I now live thousands of miles away. Does ANYONE know where I can find the recipe?
1 cup Guinness or dark ale, just warm 1/2 cup less 1 tablespoon walnut oil 1 1/2 cups strong white flour 1 1/2 cup strong whole wheat flour, home ground hard wheat kernels 1 1/2 teaspoon sea salt 2 teaspoons sugar 2 teaspoons yeast 1 cup toasted loosely chopped walnuts 1/4 cup toasted loosely chopped walnuts
Make a dough in food processor with all but walnuts. You may have to add a little more flour or a splash of water to get right texture. Change blade to plastic one, add 1 cup of walnuts and buzz just enough to blend in nuts. Proof, shape, rise, paint top with a little egg white and water mixed well, sprinkle with 1/4 cup walnuts. Bake35/40 minutes at 380º.
This bread was apparently made on one episode of the Baking with Julia television series. I believe the series had a cookbook published, and perhaps that cookbook contains the recipe. I do not own it, but perhaps you do, or you can check with your local liabrary.
I have Bakig with Julia, and it has a mixed starter walnut bread, but it's not the ACME recipe. Glaser's "artisan baking" has a couple of acme recipes, but not a levain.
BBA mentions the proportion of walnuts to a naturally risen bread, and Bread Alone has a "Paun au levain with walnuts" recipe that I've made and is very good.
The next morning, pop 1C + 3T walnuts into the toaster oven on medium Then Mix the following on low with a dough hook 3 minutes:
21.2oz AP flour 1.8oz rye flour 1.8oz whole wheat flour 16oz lukewarm water
Let that rest for 30 minutes, then mix in with the dough hook on medium 4 minutes:
.6oz salt all of the fermented levain from the night before
Then knead in the toasted and cooled walnuts by hand, put it in a bowl, spray with pam, cover with plastic wrap and let rise for 2 hours
Turn the loaf (fold like a letter along one axis, turn 90 degrees and fold again like a letter), place seam down in a bowl, and let rise 2-3 hours
Round the loaf on a board and cover with plastic, let rest for 15 minutes
take the plastic wrap off, flour the loaf a bit, cut two slashes in the top, and proof for 3 hours. I like to fold up two lengths of parchment paper (lengthwise), and set them on the board under the loaf, to serve as trusses when I put them into the pot to bake (I bake it a la the no-knead bread, in a dutch oven, so I need a method to transport the somewhat floppy loaf to the pot without completely deflating it).
After 2.5 hours, I cut out an oval of parchment paper the size of the inside bottom of my dutch oven (5 quart, cheap at Ikea), then put the dutch oven (without the oval -- it gets brittle if in there with nothing on it) into the oven and preheat it to 500 degrees, with the lid on, for 30 mintues. After 30 minutes, I pull out the dutch oven, take the lid off, place the parchment oval inside, and then use my parchment paper trusses to lift the loaf into the pot, put the lid on, and bake at 500 for 25 minutes, take the lid off and finish the crust for about 5 minutes.
So far it is not Acme, but it's very good; the toasted walnuts are buttery, and the bread really needs nothing on it. I think Acme may use more whole wheat flour than my recipe, and no rye. My flavor, consistency, crust, etc. are good, but the inside of the loaf is white, not that grey-purple that you always get with the walnut levain at acme.
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walnut and Guinness loaf
GUINNESS WALNUT BREAD
1 cup Guinness or dark ale, just warm
1/2 cup less 1 tablespoon walnut oil
1 1/2 cups strong white flour
1 1/2 cup strong whole wheat flour, home ground hard wheat kernels
1 1/2 teaspoon sea salt
2 teaspoons sugar
2 teaspoons yeast
1 cup toasted loosely chopped walnuts
1/4 cup toasted loosely chopped walnuts
Make a dough in food processor with all but walnuts. You may have to add a little more flour or a splash of water to get right texture. Change blade to plastic one, add 1 cup of walnuts and buzz just enough to blend in nuts. Proof, shape, rise, paint top with a little egg white and water mixed well, sprinkle with 1/4 cup walnuts. Bake 35/40 minutes at 380º.
YIELD: 1 loaf
Walnut Levain
Thanks, but I am looking only for the Acme Bakery recipe, a levain made with an aged starter.
Regards,
Michael
Baking with Julia
This bread was apparently made on one episode of the Baking with Julia television series. I believe the series had a cookbook published, and perhaps that cookbook contains the recipe. I do not own it, but perhaps you do, or you can check with your local liabrary.
Checked the book
I have Bakig with Julia, and it has a mixed starter walnut bread, but it's not the ACME recipe. Glaser's "artisan baking" has a couple of acme recipes, but not a levain.
BBA mentions the proportion of walnuts to a naturally risen bread, and Bread Alone has a "Paun au levain with walnuts" recipe that I've made and is very good.
Good luck finding the original!
Walnut levain recipe
Here's the recipe I've been using:
The night before, combine:
.5oz starter
1.6oz lukewarm water
2.6oz AP flour
knead till smooth, cover & ferment 12 hours
The next morning, pop 1C + 3T walnuts into the toaster oven on medium
Then Mix the following on low with a dough hook 3 minutes:
21.2oz AP flour
1.8oz rye flour
1.8oz whole wheat flour
16oz lukewarm water
Let that rest for 30 minutes, then mix in with the dough hook on medium 4 minutes:
.6oz salt
all of the fermented levain from the night before
Then knead in the toasted and cooled walnuts by hand, put it in a bowl, spray with pam, cover with plastic wrap and let rise for 2 hours
Turn the loaf (fold like a letter along one axis, turn 90 degrees and fold again like a letter), place seam down in a bowl, and let rise 2-3 hours
Round the loaf on a board and cover with plastic, let rest for 15 minutes
take the plastic wrap off, flour the loaf a bit, cut two slashes in the top, and proof for 3 hours. I like to fold up two lengths of parchment paper (lengthwise), and set them on the board under the loaf, to serve as trusses when I put them into the pot to bake (I bake it a la the no-knead bread, in a dutch oven, so I need a method to transport the somewhat floppy loaf to the pot without completely deflating it).
After 2.5 hours, I cut out an oval of parchment paper the size of the inside bottom of my dutch oven (5 quart, cheap at Ikea), then put the dutch oven (without the oval -- it gets brittle if in there with nothing on it) into the oven and preheat it to 500 degrees, with the lid on, for 30 mintues. After 30 minutes, I pull out the dutch oven, take the lid off, place the parchment oval inside, and then use my parchment paper trusses to lift the loaf into the pot, put the lid on, and bake at 500 for 25 minutes, take the lid off and finish the crust for about 5 minutes.
So far it is not Acme, but it's very good; the toasted walnuts are buttery, and the bread really needs nothing on it. I think Acme may use more whole wheat flour than my recipe, and no rye. My flavor, consistency, crust, etc. are good, but the inside of the loaf is white, not that grey-purple that you always get with the walnut levain at acme.