Isand66's blog

I really did intend to make one of the 100 recipes I have saved from assorted websites and blogs or one of the 1000 recipes from one of my bread books.....really...I did.  Well this recipe is kind of adapted from Peter Reinhart's The Bread Bakers Apprentice.  I started with the recipe for Italian Bread and changed the biga to using  my sourdough starter or levain and used European style flour, rye, barley and whole wheat flour instead of bread flour.  I also added some organic cracked wheat bran to make it interesting and used molasses instead of sugar.  Oh...and I used buttermilk instead of water...but other than that it's like I copied the recipe from the book!

The bread is rising in 2 bannetons as I write this, so I will let you know how it comes out at the end of this post....or if it doesn't turn out very well you may never read this  :).

Ingredients

15.5 ounces 65% Hydration Starter Refreshed

6 ounces European Style Flour from KAF (you can use bread flour in place of this)

3 ounces Medium Rye Flour

2 ounces Barley Flour

2 ounces Whole Wheat Flour

2 ounces Organic Cracked Wheat Bran

11 ounces Luke warm buttermilk, 90 - 95 degrees Fahrenheit

1  2/3 Teaspoons Sea Salt

1 Tablespoon Olive Oil

1 Tablespoon Molasses

Directions

Using your stand mixer or by hand, mix the buttermilk with the starter to break up the starter.

Add the flours, salt, olive oil, and molasses and mix on the lowest speed for 2 minutes.  Let rest for 5 minutes

Mix for 4 minutes more on medium speed, adding more flour if necessary to produce a slightly sticky ball of dough.

Remove dough to your lightly floured work surface and need for 1 minute and form a ball.

Leave uncovered for 10 minutes.

Do a stretch and fold and form into a ball again and cover with a clean moist cloth or oiled plastic wrap.

After another 10 minutes do another stretch and fold and put into a lightly oiled bowl that has enough room so the dough can double overnight.

Leave the covered dough in your bowl at room temperature for 1.5 to 2 hours and then put it in your refrigerator overnight or up to 3 days.

When ready to bake the bread, take the bowl out of your refrigerator and let it rest at room temperature for 2 hours.  After 2 hours shape the dough as desired being careful not to handle the dough too roughly so you don't de-gas it.  Place it in your bowl, banneton or shape into baguettes.

Let it sit at room temperature for 2 hours covered with oiled plastic wrap or a wet cloth.

Pre-heat oven with baking stone (I use one on bottom and one on top shelf of my oven), to 500 degrees F.

Slash loaves as desired and place empty pan in bottom shelf of oven.

Pour 1 cup of very hot water into pan and place loaves into oven.

Lower oven to 450 Degrees and bake for 25 - 35 minutes until bread is golden brown and internal temperature reaches 200 degrees.

Let cool on cooling rack and enjoy!

I do have to say the crust came out excellent on this bake and the bread had a nice flavor with a slight sour and nutty overtone.  The crumb could have been a bit more open but overall I would consider this one a success.

Please visit the Yeast Spotting Site here: http://www.wildyeastblog.com/category/yeastspotting/ for lots of cool recipes

This recipe is an adaptation from Veronika at http://eattheroses.wordpress.com.  It uses the no-knead method and allows the gluten which is very weak in rye breads to develop slowly.  I decided to add some dark beer to give it an extra kick and also used First Clear flour instead of Bread or AP flour.  I ended up keeping the dough in the refrigerator for an extended period since I ran out of time to let it rise completely at room temperature.  I think this ended up creating an extremely sour sourdough rye which is not for the faint of heart.  If you want a more mellow tasting bread, I suggest you follow the directions below.

All in all, the bread turned out fairly well with a nice crispy crust and chewy, moist crumb.  The beer definitely added another flavor profile which makes this bread ideal for a nice sharp cheese and beer.

Ingredients

Starter

5 oz. water (90 degrees F.)

3 oz. Rye Flour (I used medium grade from KAF)

2 oz. First Clear Flour (you can substitute Bread flour or High Gluten flour)

2 oz. Refreshed Starter (100 % Hydration White Starter or Rye or Whole Wheat)

Final Dough

7 oz. Dark Rye Flour

10.5 oz. First Clear Flour (or Bread flour or High Gluten)

2 Tsp. Salt

1 - 2 TBS Caraway Seeds (more or less depending on your preference.  I used 1.5 TBS)

12 oz. Dark Beer

Directions

Prepare the starter and let it sit out at room temperature for 5-8 hours until it is nice and bubbly and ripe.  You can use it immediately or put it in the refrigerator overnight until ready to use.

Mix the starter with the room temperature beer and break it up.  Next mix in the flours and salt until the dough comes together and is still sticky. You don't need to over-mix the dough as it will now sit covered with some plastic wrap for 18-20 hours at room temperature.  (This is the point where after around 8 hours I put it in my refrigerator).  After 18-20 hours the dough should be nice and puffy and ready to turn out on an either a lightly floured work surface or lightly oiled one.  Do several stretch and folds and then put the dough in your floured banneton or bakers couche for its final journey which should take around 1.5 - 3 hours.

When the final dough is nice and puffy and passes the finger poke test, prepare your oven for hearth baking.

Pre-heat oven with baking stone (I use one on bottom and one on top shelf of my oven), to 500 degrees F.

Slash loaves as desired and place empty pan in bottom shelf of oven.

Pour 1 cup of very hot water into pan and place loaves into oven.

Lower oven to 450 Degrees and bake for 25 - 35 minutes until bread is golden brown and internal temperature reaches 200 degrees.

Shut the oven off and leave the bread inside with the door slightly open for 10 minutes.  This will help dry the loaves out and keep the crust crunchy.

Let cool on cooling rack and enjoy!

This post has been submitted to the Yeast Spotting Site here: http://www.wildyeastblog.com/category/yeastspotting

I get a kick out of trying new types of flours and grains in my bread baking.  I frequently shop on-line at King Arthur Flour and like to try new and different products when I can.  I've read many recipes on The Fresh Loaf using soakers and have tried a few recipes from Peter Reinhart's Whole Grain Bread book with mixed results.  I decided the other day to try my own formula using a multi grain soaker from my baking supply bin and also used some of my existing refreshed sourdough starter mixed with some rye, whole wheat and first clear flours.  The results were surprisingly good considering I had no idea what to expect.  The final bread had a great nutty sour flavor with a nice thick crust and moist crumb.

Ingredients

Soaker

2 oz. Rolled Oats

2 oz. Malted Rye Berries

2 oz. Barley Flakes

1 oz. English Malted Wheat Flakes

1 1/2 Cups Boiling Water

Final Dough

15 oz. White Starter recently refreshed

3.5 oz. Whole Wheat Flour

3.5 oz. Medium Rye Flour

4 oz. First Clear Flour (you can substitute bread flour or High Gluten Flour)

2.5 Tsp. Salt

6 oz. Water, 90 degrees F.

Directions

Mix all ingredients for soaker in a bowl and add boiling water.  Let it sit for 2-3 hours covered until the grains are soft.

After 2-3 hours add the soaked grains along with the remaining liquid in your mixing bowl and add the flours, salt and remaining water and mix for 2 minutes.  The dough should come together in a shaggy mess and should be relatively moist at this point.  Let it rest for 5 minutes and mix for 4 minutes more on medium low-speed.

Remove dough from mixing bowl to work surface and do a stretch and fold.  You may need to wet or oil your hands and the work surface since the dough will still be very sticky at this point. Form the dough into a ball and let it rest uncovered for 10 minutes.  Let the dough rest uncovered for 10 minutes.  After 10 minutes do another stretch and fold and cover the dough with a moist lint free towel or plastic wrap sprayed with non-stick cooking spray.  Do another stretch and fold two more times letting the dough rest 10 minutes each time.  After the last stretch and fold put the dough into an oiled bowl and cover it tightly.

Let the dough sit in your bowl for 2 hours at room temperature.  It should only rise slightly at this point.  After the 2 hours are up put in your refrigerator for at least 12 hours or up to 3 days.

When ready to bake the bread take your bowl out of the refrigerator and let it sit at room temperature for around 2 hours.  After 2 hours shape the dough as desired being careful not to handle the dough too roughly so you don't de-gas it.

Place it in your bowl, banneton or shape into baguettes.

Let it sit at room temperature for 2 hours covered with oiled plastic wrap or a moist cloth.

Pre-heat oven with baking stone (I use one on bottom and one on top shelf of my oven), to 500 degrees F.

Slash loaves as desired and place empty pan in bottom shelf of oven.

Pour 1 cup of very hot water into pan and place loaves into oven.

Lower oven to 450 Degrees and bake for 25 - 35 minutes until bread is golden brown and internal temperature reaches 200 degrees.

Shut the oven off and leave the bread inside with the door slightly open for 10 minutes.  This will help dry the loaves out and keep the crust crunchy.

Let cool on cooling rack and enjoy!

This post has been submitted to the Yeast Spotting Site here: http://www.wildyeastblog.com/category/yeastspotting

The last time I made Ciabatta I made a sourdough version that came out quite good.  In my never-ending quest to try to create something new and hopefully great tasting I came up with the concoction below.

I decided to go with a straight forward yeasted version of Ciabatta but I wanted to get more flavor in the final product.  I happen to love onions, so I figured why not add some carmelized onions and to get some stronger wheat and nuttiness flavor in the bread I decided to use some spelt and rye flour along with a low protein French style flour from KAF.  This combination resulted in by far the best Ciabatta bread I have ever made or tasted in my not so humble opinion :).

I followed the standard operating procedures from Peter Reinhart's Artisan Breads Everyday for the Pain a L'Ancienne Rustic Bread and modified the ingredients as mentioned above.  The only thing I would change maybe is to add some cheddar cheese next time which would really put this one over the top.

You can really taste the onions and the rye-spelt mixture and the open crumb was nice and moist.

If you give this one a try I would love to hear what you think.

Here are the ingredients and procedure I followed:

Ingredients

13 oz. KAF French Style  Flour (you can use All Purpose if you don't have French Style)

4 oz. Medium Rye Flour

3 oz. Spelt Flour

16 oz. Ice Cold Water (55 degrees F.)

0.4 oz. Salt  (1 3/4 Tsp.)

.14 oz. Instant Yeast (1 1/4 Tsp.)

1 Tbs. Olive Oil

17.5 oz. Carmelized Onions

Directions

Cut up half of a medium size sweet onion and saute for 5-8 minutes on medium low in a frying pan or bake on a sheet pan in your oven.  Let the onions cool before adding them to the dough.

Add all the ingredients into the bowl of your mixer except the onions and stir for 1 minute on the lowest speed. The dough should be rather sticky and rough at this point. Let it rest for 5 minutes in the mixer bowl.

Add the cooled onions and mix on medium low using your paddle attachment for one minute. In my case I have a Bosch which only has one mixing/kneading attachment. The dough will still be very sticky but should very soft and much smoother. Transfer the dough to a lightly oiled bowl using a dough scraper or spatula. Cover the bowl and let it rest for 10 minutes.

After 10 minutes transfer the dough to a lightly oiled work surface. Make sure you oil your hands and do a stretch and fold on all sides of the dough and flip it over and form it into a ball. Put the dough back in the bowl and let it rest for another 10 minutes at room temperature. Do this stretch and fold process three more times over the next 30 to 40 minutes. You can do the stretch and fold in the bowl itself if you prefer. I personally like to do it on the counter.

After you do the last stretch and fold put it back in the bowl and cover it tightly and refrigerate overnight or up to 4 days. The dough should rise to almost 1 1/2 its size in the refrigerator.

Take the dough out of the refrigerator at least 3 hours before you plan to bake and let it sit at room temperature.  Around 1 hour after taking the dough out of the refrigerator, place a large piece of parchment paper either on your work area or the back of a baking pan and dust with flour to cover it completely. Using an oiled or wet dough scraper gently remove the dough to the work surface. You want to be very careful so you don't degas the dough and kill the big air holes you want to achieve.

Flour your hands and lightly dust the top of the dough. Use your hands and a metal dough scraper and form the dough into a 9" square and be very careful again not to manhandle the dough and degas it.

Next, cut the dough into either 3 small ciabatta or 2 larger size loaves. I opted to go with the 3 smaller size ones.

Gently fold the individual dough pieces into thirds like an envelope. Make sure to be very careful and not to apply any pressure. Roll the folded dough in the flour to coat it and lift it onto the parchment paper and roll it in the flour again. Rest the dough seam side down and repeat with the other piece(s) of dough.

Spray the tops of the dough with oil (I use a baking spray) and cover the pan with plastic wrap very loosely. You can also use a clean lint free kitchen towel.

After 1 hour of resting, roll the dough pieces very gently so the seam side is now facing up and lift them with your floured hands to coax them into either a 7" rectangle if making the larger size or 5" rectangle. Try to get them to be as close to a rectangle shape as you can when you put them back down on the parchment paper.

Let them rest covered loosely again for 1 hour.

About 45 minutes before baking, pre-heat oven with baking stone (I use one on bottom and one on top shelf of my oven), to 550 degrees F.

Place an empty pan in bottom shelf of your oven or a cast iron skillet.

Pour 1 cup of boiling water into pan and place loaves into oven. I also spray the side walls of the oven with water 2 to 3 times for added steam.

Lower oven to 450 Degrees and bake for 12 minutes and rotate the bread and bake for an additional 15 to 20 minutes until bread has a nice golden brown crust and the internal temperature reaches 200 degrees. The bread should have puffed up a little and should be hard when you tap it.

Let it cool on a wire rack for 45 minutes (good luck waiting that long!) and enjoy!

The bread should have nice large irregular holes and should be soft after cooling.

This post has been submitted to the Yeast Spotting Site here: http://www.wildyeastblog.com/category/yeastspotting

• This ain't your Momma's traditional cornbread, but if you want to try  a great tasting bread with a nice sourdough twang, and corn flavor then read on.

  I just returned from my trip to North Carolina to celebrate my Father-in-law's 80th birthday.  My wife and myself cooked up a storm but unfortunately I didn't have time to make any bread for the occasion so I'm itching to get back to my bread making.

  I decided to try adapting a recipe I found on the www.thefreshloaf.com  from Steve B. at www.breadcetera.com for a Corn Bread made with a poolish starter.  I used my sourdough starter in place of the poolish and also eliminated the yeast from the recipe.  I used my usual baking method borrowed from Peter Reinhart's Artisan Breads Everyday and the results were excellent if I do say so myself!

  Corn flour is used along with All Purpose flour and since the corn flour does not have the ability to form gluten the resulting bread has a pretty tight crumb.  I tried my best to copy the stenciling design done by Steve B. and I think it came out pretty close.

  

  Final Dough

  15.80 ounces Refreshed White Starter, 68% hydration  (approximately 6.8 oz. water, 10.5 oz. All Purpose Flour, 3.7 ounces starter)

  14 oz. Water (90 degrees F)

  16 ounces All-Purpose Flour (I used King Arthur's)

  8.95 ounces Corn Flour

  3 Tsp. Salt (sea salt or table salt)

  3 Tbs. Olive Oil

  Directions

  For the final dough, using your stand mixer or by hand, mix the water with the refreshed starter to break it up.

  Add the flours, salt, and olive oil and mix on the lowest speed for 2 minutes.  Let rest for 5 minutes.

  Mix for 4 minutes more on medium speed, adding more flour if necessary to produce a slightly sticky ball of dough.

  Remove dough to your lightly floured work surface and need for 1 minute and form into a ball.

  Leave uncovered for 10 minutes.

  Do a stretch and fold and form into a ball again and cover with a clean moist cloth or oiled plastic wrap.

  After another 10 minutes do another stretch and fold and let it rest again for another 10 minutes.  Do one last stretch and fold and then put it  into a lightly oiled bowl that has enough room so the dough can double overnight.

  Let the dough sit in your bowl for 2 hours at room temperature.  It should only rise slightly at this point.  After the 2 hours are up put it in your refrigerator for at least 12 hours or up to 3 days.

  When ready to bake the bread take your bowl out of the refrigerator and let it sit at room temperature for around 2 hours.  After 2 hours shape the dough as desired being careful not to handle the dough too roughly so you don't de-gas it.

  Place it in your bowl, banneton or shape into baguettes.

  Let it sit at room temperature for 2 hours covered with oiled plastic wrap or a moist cloth.

  Pre-heat oven with baking stone (I use one on bottom and one on top shelf of my oven), to 500 degrees F.

  If you want to make the fancy "Corn Stalk" design, cut a strip of paper and place it on the middle of the round dough and sift a light dusting of flour over the dough.  Next make 3 slashes on both sides of the "stalk" and then  place an empty pan in bottom shelf of your oven.

  

  Pour 1 cup of very hot water into pan and place loaves into oven.  I also prefer to use a water bottle and spray the sides of the oven 2 times at 3 minute intervals to add some additional steam.

  Lower oven to 450 Degrees and bake for 25 - 35 minutes until bread is golden brown and the internal temperature reaches 200 degrees.

  Shut the oven off and leave the bread inside with the door slightly open for 10 minutes.  This will help dry the loaves out and keep the crust crunchy.

  Let cool on cooling rack and enjoy!

  As you can see the crumb is very tight which is mainly due to the corn flour.  When I make this bread again I would try to add some fresh roasted corn to give it an added boost of corn flavor.

  

  

  This post has been submitted to the Yeast Spotting Site here: http://www.wildyeastblog.com/category/yeastspotting

• Please visit my other blog at www.mookielovesbread.wordpress.com for some of my older posts and be sure to let me know if you try this recipe.

I was in a creative mood the other day and decided to try something different.  I have made semolina bread before but this time I decided to convert the starter over to a semolina based concoction along with a little whole wheat flour as well.  My wife had bought a nice ball of fresh mozzarella so I figured why not incorporate some cheese and throw in some roasted peppers and roasted potatoes as well.

The dough ended up very wet due to the roasted red peppers I used from a jar had a very high water content, so you may choose to add some additional flour as you are preparing the final dough.

The final bread came out excellent with a nice reddish tint and a great open and crispy crumb.  You could really taste the roasted peppers and the dough had an excellent sour tang.   The only thing I would change would be to fold the cheese in before shaping the final dough rather than before putting it in the fridge for its overnight rest.

Starter

3.7 ounces White Starter, 68% hydration

8 ounces Extra Fancy Durum Semolina  Flour (do not use the course grade)

2.5 ounces Whole Wheat Flour

8 ounces Water (room temperature)

Final Dough

16 oz. Starter from above (you will have extra starter so you need to weigh this)

11 oz. Water (90 degrees F)

13 ounces French Style Flour (from King Arthur Flour-this has a 11.5% Protein level but if you don't have you can substitute with All Purpose Flour)

5 ounces  Extra Fancy Durum Semolina  Flour

2 1/2 Tsp. Salt (sea salt or table salt)

1.6 oz. Roasted Red Peppers

6.2 oz. Fresh Mozzarella

5 oz. Potatoes (I had some left-over roasted potatoes, but you can use left over mashed potatoes or make some fresh or use the equivalent instant potato flakes)

Directions

Make the Starter by adding the water to your existing starter amount and mix for a minute to break it up.  Add the flours and mix for 1 to 2 minutes until thoroughly mixed.  Put in a lightly oiled bowl and loosely cover.  Keep at room temperature for 5-6 hours until the starter becomes bubbly and doubles in size (I usually do this the night before and let it sit overnight).  You can either use the starter right away, or cover tightly and refrigerate until ready to use.  If you don't plan on using it that day, you will have to refresh the new starter before using in the final dough.

For the final dough, using your stand mixer or by hand, mix the water with the new starter to break it up.

Add the flour, potatoes, salt, red peppers (chop them up into small pieces) and mix on the lowest speed for 2 minutes.  Let rest for 5 minutes.

Mix for 4 minutes more on medium speed, adding more flour if necessary to produce a slightly sticky ball of dough.

Remove dough to your lightly floured work surface and need for 1 minute and form into a ball.  Flatten into a rectangle and add the cheese and form dough into a ball.  (You can also skip this part and add the cheese when you are ready to form the final loaves.)

Leave uncovered for 15 minutes.

Do a stretch and fold and form into a ball again and cover with a clean moist cloth or oiled plastic wrap.

After another 10 minutes do another stretch and fold and let it rest again for another 10 - 15 minutes.  Do one last stretch and fold and then put it  into a lightly oiled bowl that has enough room so the dough can double overnight.

Let the dough sit in your bowl for 2 hours at room temperature.  It should only rise slightly at this point.  After the 2 hours are up put in your refrigerator for at least 12 hours or up to 3 days.

When ready to bake the bread take your bowl out of the refrigerator and let it sit at room temperature for around 2 hours.  After 2 hours shape the dough as desired being careful not to handle the dough too roughly so you don't de-gas it.

Place it in your bowl, banneton or shape into baguettes.

Let it sit at room temperature for 2 hours covered with oiled plastic wrap or a moist cloth.

Pre-heat oven with baking stone (I use one on bottom and one on top shelf of my oven), to 500 degrees F.

Slash loaves as desired and place empty pan in bottom shelf of oven.

Pour 1 cup of very hot water into pan and place loaves into oven.

Lower oven to 450 Degrees and bake for 25 - 35 minutes until bread is golden brown and internal temperature reaches 200 degrees.

Shut the oven off and leave the bread inside with the door slightly open for 10 minutes.  This will help dry the loaves out and keep the crust crunchy.

Let cool on cooling rack and enjoy!

This post has been submitted to the Yeast Spotting Site here: http://www.wildyeastblog.com/category/yeastspotting

Please visit my other blog at www.mookielovesbread.wordpress.com for some of my older recipes.

We had some left over avocados that were getting very ripe so I decided rather than throw them out I would try to incorporate them into a bread.  I used 1 ripe avocado and mashed it up with a fork until it was the consistency of guacamole.   I've also been wanting to try to add some yogurt into one of my breads and figured this would be a good combination with the avocado as well.  Just to make it a little more interesting I decided to add some barley flakes and spelt flour.

I must warn you that the addition of the avocado and the yogurt ended up making this a very wet dough.  If you prefer you can add more flour or give this a go but be prepared to work with a sticky dough.

The final bread came out pretty good with a nice open and moist crumb and a good tangy flavor.  The only issue I have is that I left the final dough to rise too long and it ended up getting deflated slightly which caused the end result to be a little flatter than it should have been.  If you make this recipe and use bannetons to form your final loaves, be sure to use plenty of flour to prevent it from sticking.

Ingredients

15 ounces Refreshed Starter, 65% Hydration using All Purpose Flour

13 ounces Water (90 degrees F.)

14 ounces European Style Artisan Bread Flour (King Arthur Flour) or Bread Flour

3 ounces Whole Wheat Flour (I used KAF)

4 ounces Spelt Flour (adds a nice nuttiness to the bread--also from KAF)

1.5 ounces Barley Flakes (or rolled oats, etc.)

4 ounces Plain Greek Yogurt

4 ounces Avocado (very ripe, mashed with spoon or fork)

2.5 Tsp. Sea Salt or Table Salt

Directions

Using your stand mixer or by hand, mix the water with the starter to break up the starter.

Add the flours, salt, avocado, yogurt and barley flakes and mix on the lowest speed for 2 minutes.  Let rest for 5 minutes.

Mix for 4 minutes more on medium speed, adding more flour if necessary to produce a slightly sticky ball of dough.

Remove dough to your lightly floured work surface and need for 1 minute and form into a ball.  The dough will be very sticky so you may want to wet or oil your hands to help form it into a ball.

Leave uncovered for 10 minutes.

Do a stretch and fold and form into a ball again and cover with a clean moist cloth or oiled plastic wrap.

Wait another 10 minutes and do another stretch and fold.  The dough should start to become easier to work with at this point.  Let it rest 20 minutes this time and do another stretch and fold.

After another 10 minutes do another stretch and fold and put into a lightly oiled bowl that has enough room so the dough can double overnight.

Let it sit covered in your bowl at room temperature for 1.5 - 2 hours and then put in your refrigerator for at least 12 hours or up to 3 days.

When ready to bake the bread, let it sit out at room temperature covered for 2 hours.  After 2 hours shape the dough as desired being careful not to handle the dough too roughly so you don't de-gas it.

Place it in your bowl, banneton or shape into baguettes.

Let it sit at room temperature for 2 hours covered with oiled plastic wrap or a wet cloth.

Pre-heat oven with baking stone (I use one on bottom and one on top shelf of my oven), to 500 degrees F.

Slash loaves as desired and place empty pan in bottom shelf of oven.

Pour 1 cup of very hot water into pan and place loaves into oven.  I also spray the inside of the oven walls with water 2 times the first 5 minutes to add some extra steam.

Lower oven to 450 degrees and bake for 25 - 35 minutes until bread is golden brown and internal temperature reaches 200 degrees.

Let cool on cooling rack and enjoy!

This post has been submitted to the Yeast Spotting Site here: http://www.wildyeastblog.com/category/yeastspotting

Please feel free to visit my other blog for additional recipes at:  www.mookielovesbread.wordpress.com

It's been a while since I made my own pizza so I figured it was time to make a go of it again.  I have been reading many posts about using 00 style flour and how it really only works best when you can get your heat source over 700 degrees.  I don't have the ability to do that just yet, so I decided to combine 50% Italian Style Flour from KAF and 50% KAF Bread Flour and see what happens.

I adapted a recipe from Peter Reinhart's Artisan Baking Everyday and after a couple of days with the dough balls resting comfortably in my refrigerator I decided to bake a couple of pizzas for lunch this past weekend.

I recently read another blog by  Steve B. at http://www.breadcetera.com where he suggested to put your pizza stone on the highest shelf of your oven and set your oven to broil.  The purpose of this is to get as much heat as possible to be retained by the stone.  I have to say it worked perfectly so give it a try!

I decided to add some pepperoni and some parmesan cheese to add some extra flavor and I do have to say I was very happy with the end results.  My wife did complain that one of the pies was a little soggy which was due to my putting too much sauce on the pie, but I ate it all anyway!

Heres the recipe:

Ingredients

12 ounces Italian Style (00) Flour

12 ounces Bread Flour

2 teaspoons salt (sea salt or table salt)

1 teaspoon instant yeast

2 tablespoons sugar

17 ounces water (90 degrees)

2 tablespoons olive oil

Directions

Combine all the ingredients in your mixing bowl and mix on the lowest speed possible for 1 minute.  The dough should be rough and a little sticky.  Let it rest for 5 minutes so the flour gets fully hydrated.

Knead the dough on medium low-speed (or by hand) for 2 to 3 minutes until the dough is smoother.  Next put some olive oil on your work surface and your hands and transfer the dough to your work area.  Do a stretch and fold and form the dough into a ball.  Divide the dough into 5 pieces weighing about 8 ounces each and form into balls.  Spray the inside of a mini plastic storage bag with oil and seal each dough ball in the bags.  Put them in your refrigerator overnight or up to 4 days.  You can freeze them also for several months if desired.

About 90 minutes before you are ready to bake your pizzas take how many dough balls you plan on using out of the fridge and put them on your lightly oiled work surface.  Stretch the dough balls and reshape them into a tight ball.  Cover the dough balls with either plastic wrap sprayed with cooking spray or a clean lint free kitchen towel sprayed with some water and let them rest until you are ready to bake.

One hour before you are ready to bake pre-heat your oven to the highest temperature and put your pizza stone on the highest shelf possible in your oven.

Prepare your favorite sauce and get your cheese and toppings ready.  I used a simple fresh tomato sauce consisting of 1 can of diced tomatoes with red peppers, salt, freshly ground pepper, oregano, basil, 1/2 of a lemon and a dash of red wine vinegar.  I also used fresh mozzarella, grated parmesan and pepperoni.

Put some bench flour in a bowl and dip each dough ball in the flour as well as your hands.  Flatten the ball of dough on the work surface with your hands first and if desired either use a rolling-pin or pick the dough ball up and using both hands start stretching it out using your thumbs and the back of your knuckles.   Your thumbs should actually be doing all the stretching and not your knuckles.  you want dough to be fairly thin, but not too thin or it will end up ripping.

Turn your oven on broil 10 minutes before you are ready to bake your pizza and get the stone as hot as possible.  Assemble your pie and brush some olive oil on the crust if desired.  You can either sprinkle corn meal or flour on your bakers peel and place the pizza on your peel before putting the topping on it. Alternatively you can put your pizza dough on a piece of parchment paper and slide the peel underneath when ready to put in the oven.  The worse thing that can happen is for your dough to get stuck on your peel and make a mess in your oven, not to mention ruin all your good efforts.

Make sure you turn the oven off broil before you put the pie inside and turn it back to your highest setting.  Let the pizza cook until the crust is blistering and the bottom is nice and brown.

I strongly advise not to put too much sauce on this style of dough or you will end up with a soggy mess.  Less is actually more in most cases of making a good pizza.

This dough is also excellent for making calzones which I did a few days later.  I added some grilled chicken, mozzarella, ricotta cheese mixed with basil, oregano and garlic salt and parmesan cheese inside and baked at 400 degrees for around 25 minutes.  Just make sure you use a little water to seal the dough and cut some air slits on the top so the dough doesn't built up too much pressure.

I hope you give this recipe a try yourselves.  It is actually fun to make and relatively easy.

This post has been submitted to the Yeast Spotting Site here: http://www.wildyeastblog.com/category/yeastspotting

You can see some of my other posts at my other blog at www.mookielovesbread.wordpress.com

I just recently started following discussions and fellow blog entries on this great site.  One of the more popular recipes seems to be Dave Snyder's San Joaquin Sourdough I figured it was worth trying myself.  You can find the original recipe (and this was one of his variations), at the following link: http://www.thefreshloaf.com/node/14140/san-joaquin-sourdough-another-variation-produces-best-flavor-yet.  I do have to say this recipe lived up to all the hype and tasted excellent.  I did end up with some unexpected oven spring that ended up causing the bread to burst slightly but the crumb was excellent and the taste was tangy and nutty with a perfect bite.

The only thing I changed was to retard the dough for around 35 hours instead of 20 since I ended up going over to a friends to watch the Superbowl and didn't have time to bake the bread until yesterday.  I don't think it helped or impeded the final outcome.

Thanks again Dave for an excellent recipe!

This post has been submitted to the Yeast Spotting Site here: http://www.wildyeastblog.com/category/yeastspotting

You can see some of my old posts on my other blog at: www.mookielovesbread.wordpress.com

Crumb Shot

I have about 100 recipes and counting I want to try from old cookbooks as well as new cookbooks, not to mention all the recipes I have saved from various blog posts and websites.  Having said that I decided to experiment on my own instead and came up with a variation of Peter Reinhart's San Francisco sourdough using durum flour, stone ground barley flour and some roasted wheat germ as well.  I was very happy with the results with the exception that I didn't do a great job of shaping the loaves and they became slightly misshapen.  I do have to say though that the malformed shapes fortunately did not affect the taste.  The crumb was a little tighter than I would have preferred, but overall the bread had a nice nutty sweet flavor and went well with my wife's bow-tie pasta and chicken in a cream sauce she made tonight for dinner.

If anybody decides to try this for themselves, I would love to hear about your results.

Ingredients

15 ounces 65% Hydration Starter Refreshed

2.5 ounces Stone Ground Barley Flour (I use King Arthur Flour)

10 ounces European Style Flour from KAF (or Bread Flour)

5 ounces Extra Fancy Durum Semolina Flour (King Arthur Flour)

2.5 ounces Roasted Wheat Germ

14 ounces Luke warm water, 90 - 95 degrees Fahrenheit

2 1/2 Teaspoons Sea Salt

2 1/4 Teaspoons Instant Yeast  (you can omit the yeast if desired and let the dough sit for 1 1/2 hours to 2 hours before refrigerating)

Directions

Using your stand mixer or by hand, mix the water with the starter to break up the starter.

Add the flours, salt, yeast (if using), and mix on the lowest speed for 2 minutes.  Let rest for 5 minutes.

Mix for 4 minutes more on medium speed, adding more flour if necessary to produce a slightly sticky ball of dough.

Remove dough to your lightly floured work surface and need for 1 minute and form into a ball.

Leave uncovered for 10 minutes.

Do a stretch and fold and form into a ball again and cover with a clean moist cloth or oiled plastic wrap.

After another 10 minutes do another stretch and fold and put into a lightly oiled bowl that has enough room so the dough can double overnight.

Put in your refrigerator immediately for at least 12 hours or up to 3 days.

When ready to bake the bread, shape the dough as desired being careful not to handle the dough too roughly so you don't de-gas it. (If you did not use yeast, let it sit in your bowl for 2 hours before shaping).

Place it in your bowl, banneton or shape into baguettes.

Let it sit at room temperature for 2 hours covered with oiled plastic wrap or a wet cloth.

Pre-heat oven with baking stone (I use one on bottom and one on top shelf of my oven), to 500 degrees F.

Slash loaves as desired and place empty pan in bottom shelf of oven.

Pour 1 cup of very hot water into pan and place loaves into oven.

Lower oven to 450 Degrees and bake for 25 - 35 minutes until bread is golden brown and internal temperature reaches 200 degrees.

Let cool on cooling rack and enjoy!

This post has been submitted to the Yeast Spotting Site here: http://www.wildyeastblog.com/category/yeastspotting

Please feel free to visit my other Blog for older posts at: http://www.mookielovesbread.wordpress.com