Finally the weather is starting to turn and actually feel like Spring after one of the longest and coldest winters we have had in a long time. It was time to fire up the grill and make some hamburger and hot dogs to really make it feel like a new season.
One of my good baking friends from "Brot & Bread" and The Fresh Loaf posted her version of the Plotziade challenge which is to use the same exact %'s of flour and salt to build a bread. The kicker is you can use yeast, a starter, biga, etc. and any hydration you would like. You can see Karin's amazing bread here, Below is some more information I borrowed form Karin's post (I hope she won't sue me for plagiarism :))
It doesn't get much better than this. A pretty simple ingredient list....for me at least put together with TxFarmer's amazing 36 hours method and you have an amazing loaf of bread. When you can just eat the bread without anything else, you know you have done something right.
Just in time for St. Paddy's Day I figured I would make another bread using beer along with some freshly milled flours. I had bought some Farmers Cheese meaning to make pierogi again but have not had a chance to do so yet, so into the cauldron it went :).
This is my second and third attempts at making this bread. I really love the sweetness the dates impart to this bread so I've been meaning to make it again for a while. Version 2 I made last week and I rushed the dough into the oven and it was definitely under-proofed. It had some nice fissures and the crumb was much tighter than it should have been. It still tasted good but I had to make it again the right way.
The third time it came out much better and was worth making it again.
I've added cocoa to bread before and it gives the final product a nice dark complexion with a subtle chocolate flavor that resides in the background. I also added some chocolate infused olive oil and chocolate flavored balsamic vinegar to make it interesting.
I used a mix of freshly milled flour along with some French Style flour from KAF and added some left-over mashed potatoes to round out the formula.
I love using this 36 hour method to make bread. It takes a little planning but once you figure that part out it's pretty easy. I have yet to have a bad result from this method unless you count the baguettes that got stuck to my peel and fell into my oven, but we won't go there!
I actually baked this bread on Monday but since this week has been a blur due to me starting a new job on Monday and adopting a new apprentice on Sunday I've had my hands full!
I've made similar breads before, but this is the first time I used a Durum/Kamut starter as well so almost all of the flour in the final product was a combination of both flours. I also am loving the freshly milled Kamut in my recent bakes. If I can find a reasonable price for Durum Wheat I would love to try that as well, but the shipping is prohibitive. If anybody has a good source please let me know.
I've made German Pretzel Rolls many times now and they are always a hit at parties and just one of the best types of breads to make. I usually make the original version using yeast and bread flour but I've made them with some dark rye and sourdough starter before as well.
This time I wanted to push the envelope a bit and used beer instead of water and added some caramelized onions to really kick it up a notch.
To get that authentic pretzel color and crust you must use Lye but if you really are afraid you can use baking soda.
