Ever wondered how to cut an epi?

Just in time to impress your friends and family with a lovely epi, or sheaf of wheat, loaf at a holiday dinner, I posted a step-by-step lesson in how to cut an epi. It is actually simple once you have seen it done and it offers a less common alternative to the dinner rolls we have been baking here this month.

Technorati: Food | recipe | baking | bread | artisanal | artisan | bread baking | epi | kitchenMage

Continue...

Kevin: Holiday Rolls - Yeast Beer Rolls Recipe

No one in my family is a big bread eater. I probably eat far more bread than anyone else and that's mostly in the form of sandwiches (which I love — shut-up Beth). But the holidays seem to call for bread and, in particular, those soft dinner rolls your mother used to buy and finish baking.

I've made these slightly sweet, tender, and buttery rolls in the past. Unfortunately I had no idea what recipe I've used in the past, so I decided to use Rose Berenbaum's recipe from The Bread Bible. Rose let me down. Alternatively, I screwed up. At any rate, the dough was so soft I couldn't get any loft, it simply spread out like a pancake. The rolls tasted fine, but looked terrible. Not something I wanted on a holiday table.

Because I had other commitments I didn't have time to experiment, so I decided to fall back on a recipe I developed a couple of years ago. I knew these would look great and taste great — and besides, I hadn't made them in a while. Besides, they make great little turkey sandwiches.

I was trying to make a beer bread. I thought whole wheat would play well with the beer, but I didn't really want a whole wheat bread. I wanted the flavor as an ingredient. Besides it's sometimes tricky to get a good rise out of whole wheat (the fragments of bran tend to cut the gluten strands) and I certainly didn't want to repeat the pancake experience. I added honey because beer and whole wheat tend to be a somewhat bitter and I chose a dark porter to get a strong beer flavor.

Whole Wheat Beer Rolls
Makes 16 rolls.

Ingredient US Volume Metric Volume US Weight Metric Weight
instant yeast 1 1/2 tsp 7 ml -- --
honey 2 tbsp 30 ml -- --
porter beer warm, flat 1 1/2 c 255 ml 12 oz 337 g
bread flour 1 1/2 c 350 ml 7 1/2 oz 220 g
whole wheat flour 2 1/4 c 530 ml 11 oz 330 g
butter melted and cooled 1 1/2 tbsp 22.5 ml -- --
salt 2 tsp 10 ml -- --
egg 1 each
water 1 tbsp 15 ml -- --

Using the paddle attachment on a stand mixer, combine 1/2 teaspoon (2.5 ml) yeast and bread flour. Whisk the honey into the beer, then, with the motor running on low, add the beer. Cover with plastic wrap and allow to sit for 1 hour. This is called a poolish.

Combine 2 cups whole wheat flour and remaining 1 teaspoon of yeast. Sprinkle flour over over poolish, sprinkle salt over flour, and recover bowl with plastic. Allow to ferment for 4 hours. The poolish will break through the flour cover — not a problem.

Using the dough hook. Mix together the flour into the poolish then add melted butter.
Knead for four minutes at medium speed. The dough should be slightly sticky but should clear the bowl. Add additional flour if needed and knead for another 2 - 3 minutes. Dump dough onto a floured board and knead another minute or two until dough is fairly smooth and resilient. Allow to rest 5 to 10 minutes.

Clean and dry mixing bowl and spray with a nonstick spray. Shape dough into a ball and place seam-side down in bowl. Spritz top lightly with cooking spray and cover bowl with plastic wrap. Let rise until doubled in bulk — 60 to 90 minutes.

Punch down dough and turn out onto floured board. Lightly knead dough and form into a flattened ball. Allow to rest 10 minutes.

Using a dough scraper cut dough in four equal quarters. Set three quarters aside and cover. Shape remaining quarter into a flattened ball and divide into four quarters. Shape each quarter into a ball and place on a parchment-covered baking sheet. Repeat for remaining dough, cover, and allow to rise until rolls double in bulk.

Heat oven to 400F/205C.

In small bowl, beat together egg and water. Brush rolls with egg mixture and bake on middle oven rack for about 25 minutes. Watch closely to avoid overcooking.

Cool on a wire rack.

Technorati: Food recipe baking bread artisanal artisan bread baking rolls holiday thanksgiving kevin

Continue...

Susan: Holiday Rolls - Carrot Herb Rolls Recipe

When we were first creating A Year in Bread last January, I came up with a list of personal goals that I hoped to accomplish while being a part of this project. These included delving into the numerous unused bread books on my shelves, baking new breads I probably wouldn't have ventured to try on my own, and making much better use of all the beautiful herbs in my kitchen garden.

This month we decided to each bake some sort of rolls that would be appropriate for the holiday table, and I hit the personal goal jackpot with my recipe. It's a variation of the carrot bread in Bread:Artisan Breads from Baguettes and Bagels to Focaccia and Brioche by authors and cooking instructors Eric Treuille and Ursula Ferrigno (he's French, she's Italian). I've been reviewing this book, and my opinion of it can be summed up in one word: wonderful. Wait, make that two words: wonderful and inspiring. This is the second bread I've made from it, and the first one was as pretty as it was delicious.

Here's a little blurb from the book jacket, and it's all true:

Bread mixes delicious recipes with essential techniques to provide the home cook with practical reference and inspiration. From mixing and shaping to proofing and glazing--each stage of the bread-making process is clearly explained, with problem-solving tips and a complete illustrated guide to key ingredients and equipment to help you succeed. Bread's step-by-step demonstrations of the principles and practices of bread-making will give you the confidence and skills to try its tantalizing range of over 100 breads.

If you learn best by looking at pictures, then this is definitely the book for you because it's packed with gorgeous, full-color photos. While it's a perfect book for beginners (I already know at least one budding bread baker who will be receiving a copy for Christmas), I think most experienced bakers would enjoy it. I've already discovered all sorts of handy tips and useful nuggets of information, and there are several more breads I'd like to make, such as the Hungarian Potato Bread, Dark Chocolate Bread (1 1/4 cups of cocoa powder!), Swedish Dill Bread (made with cream cheese), and the Prune and Chocolate Bread ("a deeply indulgent loaf, chock-a-block with juicy prunes and melted chocolate"). There's also an intriguing recipe for a straight dough (as opposed to sourdough) Pane con Pomodori e Cipolle Rosse (Tomato and Red Onion Bread) which looks similar to the Fresh Tomato & Basil Whole-wheat Sourdough Bread I wrote about recently on Farmgirl Fare.

One of the nice things about it is that many of the recipes start with the same basic recipe and build on it, which means trying all sorts of different breads suddenly becomes much less daunting. Variations on the same recipe are also often given. For example, the pita bread recipe includes a whole-wheat version as well as instructions on how to make Lavash (Armenian Flat Bread).

The Carrot Bread I made is in the chapter called Flavored Breads, and I was intrigued by its use of raw shredded carrots. Other recipe variations included are: spinach bread, beet bread, chili bread, onion and caraway bread, and herb bread (which didn't include the carrots). First I made the plain carrot dough, shaping half into a round loaf and the rest into rolls. The second time around I dove into the herb garden first, emerging with fist fulls of fresh parsley, rosemary, and thyme, which I (hesitantly) tossed into the mix. I also substituted 1 cup of whole-wheat white flour for 1 cup of the bread flour.

The result? Flavorful, healthy, autumn-colored rolls that I think would be a welcome and interesting addition to any holiday table. They have a soft but substantial crumb and a chewy crust that crisps up nicely when reheated. They also freeze beautifully. As always, I urge you to use local and organic ingredients whenever possible. At around a dollar a pound, organic carrots are one of the world's best bargains.

Susan's Carrot & Herb Rolls
Adapted from Bread by Eric Treuille & Ursula Ferrigno
Makes 16 3-inch rolls

Ingredient US volume Metric Volume US weight Metric weight
whole-wheat white flour 1 c 235 ml 4-3/8 oz 125 g
bread flour 3 c 700 ml 15 3/8 oz 437 g
instant yeast 2 tsp 10 ml -- --
warm water 1 1/2 c 350 ml 12 oz 335 g
butter melted 2 tbsp 30 ml 1 oz 28 g
carrots finely shredded 2 1/4 c 530 ml 13 7/8 oz 380 g
parsley chopped 1/4 c 60 ml 3/8 oz 10g
fresh rosemary chopped 2 tbsp 30 ml -- --
fresh thyme chopped 1 tbsp 15 ml -- --
salt 2 1/2 tsp 12 ml -- --

Mix the whole-wheat white flour, bread flour, and yeast in a large bowl. Make a well in the center and pour in the water and melted butter. Stir until combined. Mix in the carrots, parsley, rosemary, and thyme and stir until a soft sticky dough forms.

Turn dough out onto a well-floured surface and knead 5 minutes, sprinkling on a little more bread flour if necessary to keep dough from sticking to your hands and the work surface.

Cover dough with bowl and let rest 20 minutes (this is the autolyse).

Sprinkle the salt over the dough and knead for 5 minutes, until salt is fully incorporated and the dough is smooth and still slightly sticky, adding more flour if necessary.

Put the dough in a clear, straight-sided plastic container with a snap-on lid and let rise until doubled in size, about 1 to 1-1/2 hours. Punch down, then let rest for 10 minutes.

Divide the dough into 16 pieces, about 3 ounces (84 grams) each. Shape into balls and place on a parchment-lined baking sheet. Sprinkle rolls lightly with flour and cover with a tea towel. Proof until doubled in size, about 45 minutes.

About 20 minutes before baking, heat oven to 400F/205C.

If desired, brush rolls with salt water. Bake in preheated oven until the tops are golden brown and the bottoms sound hollow when tapped, about 25 to 30 minutes. Cool on a wire rack. Store in an airtight container or freeze. If desired, reheat at 350F/175C for 5 to 10 minutes before serving.

Technorati: Food recipe baking bread artisanal artisan bread baking susan rolls holiday rolls

Continue...