Cannot make tasty onion bread- what's the secret?
I have general problems (which I shall probably elaborate on at some point) making bread that has much in the way of the taste, however, one particular sort of bread that has infuritatingly eluded me more than others, even, has been onion bread.
Onion bread or onion bagels I buy from the store have a rather lovely, rich flavour, with deep brown flecks of onion type substance through them.
I have tried several times to make onion bread, and never yet succeeded in making it taste anything like the tasty variety from stores.
I have tried simply filling the dough with uncooked onions- this results in a loaf that tastes of baked onions in a watery, extremely weak sort of way.
I have also tried using onion granules- that resulted in a bizarre tasting, over dense loaf nothing like what I was aiming for.It was also only really weakly onion flavoured.
I have tried using dehyrdated onions rehydrated, but this was only slightly different in results to using raw onion.
The closest I have managed to come to the onion bread flavour I crave was using an onion soup mix I bought in France. However, this still had a distinctly soup like flavour rather than a straight onion bread flavour. And more to the point, onion soup mix is not available in the UK (though I may be able to order it online).
Does anybody have any recommendations on how to make onion bread that actually tastes strongly onion-y and rich. Could anyone possibly recommend a soup mix that is available in the UK for making onion bread?
But, I usually use the dehydrated onions. Rehydrate them in hot water, then use the water in the recipe after it has cooled. This won't give you browned bits throughout the bread, maybe bake them off after rehydrated until they are brown?? But, using the rehydration liquid is a good idea.
Rick
Norm's Onion Rolls are a favourite on TFL. Read through the threads linked to in Floyd's post for ideas and encouragement.
http://www.thefreshloaf.com/recipes/normsonionrolls
lightly saute the chopped onion in a bit of olive oil. The pieces should at least get to the translucent stage. If you want a more caramelized look/flavor, you can cook them longer to your desired degree of darkness.
Advantage #1: the cooking drives off some of the moisture in the onions, which means they don't mess up the bread texture.
Advantage #2: flavor.
Paul
in a small kitchen machine or blender, then add as powder with the flour? It can be done to the roasted dried onions as well. If there isn't enough onion to get the mixer to powder it, try adding a tablespoon or two of the flour in the recipe being careful not to overheat the mixture.
Thanks folks, some good suggestions here. I already tried using the onion water when I made it with rehydrated onions- I didn't find it very flavoursome done that way. They weren't roasted dehydrated onions though, just ordinary ones. I find that the rehydrated onions taste rather watery- they are milder by far than raw onions in flavour.
I shall try tomorrow to fry the onions before adding them, that is something I have not tried yet.
Kosan- you say 'toast under a broiler', I'm from the UK, I am wondering now if that is the same thing as putting them under the grill! I am guessing so from the description.
I just use a raw coarsely chopped onion. A small one (about 60g / 500g flour) is enough. Soometimes you must slightly reduce the amount of water in the recipe. The baked loaf smells and tastes perfect!
I tried the method of frying the onions in a little oil yesterday, and it helped quite a bit- much nicer than just putting the onions in raw. The loaf seemed to absorb more of the onion flavour instead of the flavour just being in the onion pieces. Probably my most successful onion loaf to date!
I shall try toasting them next time and see if that improves things any.
I've had great luck in toasting dried onion flakes at 350 degrees for about 10 minutes until caramel brown. This gives the most intense onion flavor I've tried. I love to toast walnuts at the same time for my favorite Walnut Onion Bread.
Hrmm.. when you say toasting, do you mean under a grill (UK term, but this has a heating element above the things you're cooking) or in an oven?
And did you reconstitute them with water before toasting them or just put them in dried? I'm curious to try this but I am not quite sure on the method.
Just put plain, store bought, dried onion flakes (not rehydrated) in an oven at about 350F for 10 minutes until light brown. Watch them carefully as they can burn easily. This really does bring out the onion flavor.
Thank you! I shall try this.
Thanks very much for the suggetion about the toasted flakes- I tried that and not only did it taste very strongly of onion, it also had those same golden brown flecks of onion througout that the onion bread I love has. Looked and tasted like the ones I was attempting to emulate!
Thank you! I now have the secret of onion bread :)
A warning to anyone else doing this though- some of my onion flakes burned within about 4 minutes of being in the oven. You really need to watch them the entire time! 10 minutes and they'd have probably all been black.
So glad it worked out for you. You've inspired me to make Toasted Onion Multigrain Sourdough this weekend with walnuts and fresh rosemary. Better get that starter out and bubbling tonight. Cheers!
'try fresh shallots', in this recipe if you like onion breads, not only is it lovely to look at, it is also, mouthwatering, full of flavor from a great combo of the Shallots, poppyseed, parmesan cheese 'the cheese addition is so delicious', the flavors just chime in together, all tucked into a sourdough challah. I love onions and I've made bread with store purchased and homemade dried onions..IMHO none surpassed the flavor I had when I used this RECIPE.
Sylvia
Go to Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day and make the New York Style Deli Rye bread and add 1/4-1/3 cups dried onion flakes and you will have a caraway onion rye bread. I increase the salt to 2 Tbsp. and the caraway seeds to 2 Tbsp. and I reduce the flour to 5 1/4th., but, these are just my preferences, not errors in the text.
Stu B.
Hi,
Saute onions in olive oil- it is a good method.
Here is my recipe, which is basically Edna Staebler's bread recipe.
Rye Bread-Staebler
(based on Neil's Harbor Bread, Edna Staebler)
Saute
until tender;
then cool
48 gr finely diced onion (1/4 med onion?)
2 TB olive oil
Liquid
30 gr molasses (2 TB)
1.5 c warm water (___ gr water)
Leaven
1 TB SAF
or
3/4 TB SAF and 25gr rye sour (100% hydration)
Salt
1/2 TB salt
Flour
108 gr Kamut (or use whole wheat) (7/8 c)
124 gr Light rye flour (1.5 c)
248 gr KAF Bread flour (2.0 c)
Herbs/Spices
1 TB caraway seed
1 TB dried dill
Mix 8-10 min in Kitchen Aid
Let rise (80F) for 2 hours until doubled
Punch down and shape into greased loaf pans or buns (large muffin tins).
Let rise until doubled (80F).
Bake at 400F, 30 min for a large loaf. (Estimate for large buns-18min- until browned).
Internal Temp 206F(dark bake).