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The key to successful baking is ... not to misread the formula and add too much water. For the first try, I got a batter out of the 100%+ hydration "dough". Had to do some really intensive kneading to keep any kind of shape. After grated zucchini was added, it was even more wet and sticky. Turned out edible at the end, but not something I would recommend repeating.

The 2nd try was much better with ingredients correctly measured, phew...

bread flour, 283g
semolina flour, 100g
starter (100%), 135g
water, 245g
salt, 7g
grated parmesan, 100g
grated zuchhini, 150g, mixed in some salt and soak for 10min, squeeze out water as much as possible

2. Mix everything together but parmesan and zucchini, autolyse for 20 to 60min,mix @ medium speed for 3-4 min until gluten starts to develope.
3. Bulk rise at room temp (~75F) for about 3hrs. S&F at 30, 60, 90, 120min, 150min, 180min. At 60min, mix in parmesan and zuchini.
4. Shape, put in basketes smooth side down, put in fridge overnight. (I divided the 900g+ dough in two, the 650g one was shaped into batard, the other shaped into triangle.)
5. Next morning take the dough out to finish proofing, about 20min for me. Score.

6. Bake at 450F with steam(batard was put in preheated cast iron pot and cover with lid, the other triangle dough was put on preheated baking stone and pour water in another cast iron pan to create steam) for the first 15min, take out the pan with water, reduce to 420F keep baking for another 30-35min. Turn off oven and crack the door open a bit, and leave the breads inside for 10min before taking out.

Both the batard baked in pot, and the triangle loaf baked directly on stone, had good expansion.

Nice, moist, open crumb. Parmesan cheese really adds a lot to the flavor.

No idea why green zucchini became yellow specks in the bread

A lovely weekend on the North Coast of California. 

First, the Fauna.  Our yard seems to be the pasture of choice for our neighborhood herd of Mule Deer.  And the herd has grown in the last few weeks.  We’ve seen at least three new babies (we refer to them, collectively, as “The Fonz”).  And the young buckeroos were particularly rowdy this weekend.  After the pictures below were taken, a large group assembled not 20 yards from our porch (perhaps drawn by the smell of Focaccia buns baking; more likely by the dandelions in bloom).

Next, the Flora.  Cat and I pretend that our courtyard garden is a big pain to keep up, but the truth is we love working on it.  It’s been a while since I looked at it without making a mental list of the chores that need to be done.  But today, I was looking it over from the upstairs deck, and realized that it looks pretty great.  So I snapped a few photos.

And finally the Pane.  I saw an article in the food section of the SF Chronicle a week or two ago about the wonderful hamburgers at Bistro Don Giovanni in Napa (http://www.sfgate.com/food/chefssecrets/article/Secrets-of-Bistro-Don-Giovanni-s-burger-3674609.php#page-3).  The story included their recipe for Focaccia Buns.  So, with lots of good stuff around for sandwiches (leftover Salmon and Tartar Sauce; leftover chicken and barbecue sauce), I tried it out.  This is about the quickest bread I’ve made (LOTS of yeast).  It takes about two hours from mis en place to baked.  The buns are good—they are tender and tasty and hold up to saucy fillings.  I’m sure they would be great grilled for burgers.

Here’s the recipe (with my added weight measurements):

Bistro Don Giovanni’s Focaccia Hamburger Buns

Makes 12

These buns are adapted from the ones made at Bistro Don Giovanni.  The buns can be made ahead, wrapped well and frozen for a couple of weeks.

         2 1/4 cups (540 g) whole milk

         1/2 ounce (14 g) instant dry yeast, about 1 1/2 tablespoons

         1/4 cup (55 g) olive oil + more as needed

         5 1/3 cups (730 g) all-purpose flour

         4 teaspoons (25 g) salt

Instructions: Line two rimmed baking pans with parchment; set aside.

Warm milk to about 100°-110° and pour into the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a dough hook.  Add the yeast and the 1/4 cup olive oil. Whisk to dissolve the yeast, then add the flour and salt. Mix on low speed until all the flour is incorporated. Increase the speed to medium, and continue to mix for about 2 more minutes.

Put the dough in an oiled bowl; turn to coat all sides with oil. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and place in a warm place to rise until almost doubled, about 30-40 minutes. The dough should barely spring back pressed gently with your fingers.

Move oven racks to the middle and bottom third of the oven. Preheat the oven to 425° (400° if using a convection oven).

Divide the dough into 12 equal portions (about 4 ounces each). Shape each portion into a ball. Arrange balls on the prepared baking sheets, spaced well apart (about 6 per sheet). Brush each ball generously with olive oil and let rest 20 minutes.

After 20 minutes, oil the palm of your hand, then use your palm to gently flatten each ball until the top is somewhat flat and the balls are shaped like buns.

Bake for about 15 minutes, or until the buns are light golden brown. If needed, switch pans from top to bottom and back to front for during the last couple of minutes for more even browning.

Place the pans on a rack, brush each bun lightly with olive oil, and let cool completely before slicing. Wrap individually and freeze if not using the same day.

*********************

And may each of you have an enjoyable third fiscal quarter.

Glenn

Finally, I have made the videos I have been promising. I hope these will illustrate my process, and help those who have not yet been able to make this dough work for them. I have simplified the process, and made it easier on your beloved mixers!

First, to build the dough, you will need both your paddle attachment and your hook attachment. Here is the ingerdients list:

Flour: 450 grams (100%)

Water - at room temperature: 360 grams (80%)

Salt: 9 grams (2%)

Yeast: 8 grams (1.75%)

Mix all the water with half the flour on speed one for five minutes.

Add the yeast, stir to dissolve. Repeat with the salt.

Add 1/4 of the remaining flour, and mix on speed one or two for two minutes. Repeat with the rest of the flour, for a total of four incorporations (eight minutes mixing)

Scrape the dough off the paddle, then use the hook. Mix on speed eight or ten for five minutes. Keep a hand on your mixer; it will try to jump off the counter and run away.

Dump the finished dough onto a lightly floured counter. Stretch and fold, then place in an oiled bowl and cover. Bulk ferment for one hour.

Put your pizza stone on the bottom rack of your oven, and turn the oven on to the highest setting. Let it heat while the dough percolates.

Here is the video:

http://youtu.be/XW_kwQ48GKk

Now to shape: Dump the dough onto a lightly floured counter. Divide into two equal(ish) pieces. Fold the cut side over itself and seal. Form a ball(ish) shape. Press your hands onto the edge, about 3/4 to one inch in, to form the crust ring.

Simply use gravity to allow the dough to stretch itself, moving it constantly. When the dough stops being pliable, move to the second ball to allow the first to rest and relax its gluten.

Place stretched doughs onto parchment for easy sliding.

Here are the vides:

http://youtu.be/9FlM6KblEdk

http://youtu.be/9vHp43HbOUI

Finally, you will top the pizzas. Give each crust a thin coat of oil before applying sauces or toppings. Vegetables should be precooked before using to remove some of their moisture.

To cook, reduce the oven temperature to 475, and spritz the dough with water before sliding onto the stone. Cook four minutes, then rotate the pizza and remove the parchment. Cook another four to six minutes, until the crust is brown and the cheese is melted. Let the pizza cool on a rack while the second pizza bakes. Enjoy!

Here is the video:

http://youtu.be/LbGD7C5iiYc

I love everything and anything that has pecans in it.  While I was at a local market called Wild by Nature which is similar to Whole Foods I stumbled on some pecan butter, and a couple of new grains I have not seen before.

These were Millet and Amaranth which you can find out more information at this neat website I found: http://www.wholegrainscouncil.org/whole-grains-101/whole-grains-a-to-z/.

I made a soaker with the Millet, Amaranth and some Rolled Oats and let it sit for about 1 hour.

I wanted to get a nice tender crumb so I used som 00 Italian style low protein flour and added some White Whole Wheat, White Rye, Wheat Germ and to make it even more nutty, I added some Hazelnut flour.  Oh, and I added some chopped pecans to round off the final bread.  If you don't like pecans feel free to substitute your favorite nut.

This dough ended up very moist especially due to the added water absorbed in the soaker but ended up rising very nicely in the refrigerator and ended up with some nice oven spring as well.

I decided to try one of my new baskets I found at Good Will so I formed the dough into 1 nice size Miche with the final bread weighing in at 3.5 lbs.  The bread ended up with a nice crunchy crust and open crumb.  The pecan flavor is not overwhelming and combined with all the other ingredients this bread has  nice mulit-grain, nutty flavor as expected.

Procedure

For the starter, I refreshed my standard AP white starter the night before and used most of it in this bake.  I have also included the ingredients to make the exact amount of starter needed from your seed starter.  Mine is kept at 65% hydration so adjust yours accordingly.

Soaker

100 grams Amaranth

100 grams Millet

50 grams Rolled Oats

276 grams Boiling Water

Mix boiling water in a bowl with other ingredients and let sit covered at room temperature for 1 hour or longer.

Starter

71 grams Seed (Mine is 65% AP Flour Starter)

227 grams AP Flour

151 grams Water (85 - 90 degrees F.)

Mix seed with water to break up for a few seconds and then mix in flour until the starter form a smooth dough consistency.  Put it in a lightly oiled bowl and loosely cover and leave at room temperature for at least 10 hours.  The starter should double in volume.  Put the starter in the refrigerator for up to 1-2 days or use it immediately.

Main Dough

Ingredients

425 grams Starter from above (all of the starter)

250 grams Soaker (all of soaker from above)

250 grams 00 Italian Style Flour (KAF)  (You can use AP Flour if you don't have 00)

100 grams White Whole Wheat Flour (KAF)

50 grams White Rye (KAF)

30 grams Wheat Germ

50 grams Hazelnut Flour

26 grams Pecan Butter

53 grams Chopped Pecans

400 grams Water (85 - 90 degrees F.)

18 grams Sea Salt (or table salt)

Procedure

Mix 350 grams of the water with the levain and break it up with your hands or a spoon.    Next add the flours and mix on low for 2 minutes.  Let the dough rest for 25 minutes and then add the soaker, levain, pecan butter, remainder of water and the salt and mix on low for 4 minutes.  Add the chopped nuts and mix on low for 1 additional minute.  Transfer the dough to your work surface.  Resist the urge to add too much bench flour (I didn't add any) and use a bench scraper to do about 5-6 stretch and folds.  Put the dough into a lightly oiled container/bowl and let it sit for 15 minutes.  Do another stretch and fold in the bowl.  Cover the bowl and let it sit for another 15-20 minutes.  Do this 2 additional times waiting about 15 minutes between S&F's.  By the last S&F the dough should start developing some gluten strength.  Let the dough sit out at room temperature for around 1.5 to 2 hours.  Do one last stretch and fold and put in your refrigerator overnight for 12-36 hours.

The next day take the dough out of the refrigerator and let it sit out at room temperature for 1.5 hours.  After 1.5 hours you can form it into loaves and put them in floured bannetons and let them rise covered for 2 hours (note: make sure to watch the dough and depending on the temperature of your kitchen and the refrigerator adjust your timing as needed).

Score the loaves as desired and prepare your oven for baking with steam.  I use a heavy-duty baking sheet on the bottom rung of my oven and I pour 1 cup of boiling water into the pan as soon as I load the loaves in the oven.  Pre-heat your oven to 500 degrees F. before placing the loaves in the oven.

Once the loaves are loaded onto your baking stone and you add your steam turn the oven down to 450 degrees and bake until both loaves are golden brown and reach an internal temperature of 200 - 210 degrees F.  For an extra crispy crust once done baking turn the oven off and crack the door and leave the loaves in the oven for another 10-15 minutes.  Once done place on a wire cooling rack and resist the temptation to cut the bread until they are sufficiently cooled.

For some of my older posts you can search TFL site or visit my other blog at www.mookielovesbread.wordpress.com.

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