Baking with Peppers!!!
I am thinking of making some hamburger buns this weekend to eat with grilled Portabello Mushrooms. I usually serve these with a roasted red pepper mayo and thought it would be a nice contrast to make the buns with some spicier peppers. (I have some Jalepeno and Serrano on hand) Does anyone have experience incorperating hot peppers into your bread? I'm really fishing for how well the flavor comes through and how much to use. I would hate to make a lovely batch of buns just to find out they were too hot to handle. We like things spicy but I want it to enhance the flavor of the roll and contrast the sweetness of the roasted red pepper and the earrthiness of the mushroom without being overwhelming. Any ideas or suggestions would be very welcome!
Thanks :)
Be careful about the juice from inside the peppers, if you don't have enough gluten development, or tight shaping, the peppers will break down your dough and it'll have no volume.
--Chausiubao
Try using a dash or two of powdered chiles, instead. I use powdered chipotles in my cornbread; a sweet burger bun dough with a little fine-ground cornmeal in it should go great with with chiles too.
I've made bread with a jar of Italian stewed peppers, I don't know where you are but around here we can get great local stewed peppers, the one I use is labeled Crazy Hot, so I call it Crazy hot pepper bread. Makes wonderful grilled cheese sandwiches, go for it!!
Thanks for all the suggestions. The Italian stewed peppers sound great but I haven't seen them around. We live in Missouri right now. I think I will try some powdered chili this time round. I have a ton of cayenne on hand so that will do, and maybe I will work on drying and powdering other peppers to try in the future. Thanks again for all the help. Especially the confirmation on the pepper juice being a problem, I know I didn't ask specifically but I was wondering. I probably wouldn't have even thought about it but I just finished reading the "Pineapple Solution" article and it was talking about Ph and I wondered about the peppers...
Try using this formula which has worked well for me:
per loaf
1 tbs dried red chilie flakes (like you see in a pizzeria)
1/2 tsp of fresh ground black pepper
1 tsp diced fresh rosemary
taste great when dipped in olive oil by itself, would certainly make nice rolls.
You can certainly add diced fresh peppers too.
Thank you to everyone who offered wisdom on this project. I wanted to share my final results!
This recipe is based on the Tomato rolls in Carol Field's "the Italian Baker" but I made some changes.
Pepper Buns
This recipe calls for biga.
Biga (makes 2 1/3 cups)
¼ tsp active dry yeast
¼ cup warm water
1 ¼ cup plus 2 tbsp water room temperature
3 ¾ cups flour
Stir the yeast into the warm water and allow to sit for 10 minutes. Stir in the remaining water and then the flour 1 cup at a time. Mix for 3-4 minutes. Place in a lightly oiled bowl and allow to rise at a cool room temperature for 6-24 hours. The starter should triple in volume. Refrigerate until ready to use.
Pepper Rolls
2 ½ tsp active dry yeast (1 Pkg)
1 tsp sugar
1 cup plus 3 tbsp warm water
2 Tbs Olive Oil
½ cup Biga (125 g)
3 ¾ - 4 1/4 cups (500-550 grams) unbleached flour
2 tsp salt
20 oz (2 Tbsp) dried onion
1C Roasted Red pepper (pureed 150G)
1 Ancho Chile Chopped fine (10G)
Stir the yeast flour and sugar together and allow to sit for 10 minutes. Add 2 tbsp of oil and starter. Stir vigorously breaking up the starter. Add the salt, stir in the flour 1 cup at a time until the dough comes together. Knead 8-10 minutes until silky and elastic. Place in a lightly oiled bowl to rise for 45 minutes.
Turn the dough out, cut into 12 pieces and shape into round balls, allow to rise for 45 minutes. Prior to baking baste with an egg wash and dust with dried onions and cornmeal. Bake in oven that has been preheated to 400 degrees F. Bake approximately 20 minutes. Cool on a rack.
These are wonderful with rich flavors like the grilled Portobello, with Brie by itself, or with a dash of Horseradish and some roast beef.