"Local Breads" - Czech Country Bread (Zitny chleba)

Well I had a HUGE day in the bread kitchen this weekend!  Made 4 different breads, have given them all away, and would love to do the same again tomorrow . . . . . too bad I have to go and earn my keep!

I made this first bread in the Czech chapter last weekend, and made it as per the recipe (including the yeast), docked the loaf instead of slashing . . and was very disappointed with the result.  The docking didn't allow for the big oven spring I usually get, so it split as well as being hampered by it's tight skin.  It tasted just fine, just didn't look very interesting.  So I decided to revisit it this weekend, leave out the yeast and slash to my heart's content!  And yes, I got a much better result!

So to the recipe:

STARTER:
Fed my rye starter at 10.30pm Friday night - 50g starter + 100g water + 75g rye flour.  Left it at room temperature overnight, and it ended up sitting there all day as well, as I left house to go for a walk with the dog at 10am, but didn't end up getting home until 8pm!  No I wasn't walking the dog the entire day, but ended up visiting friends, staying for dinner etc. so into the fridge the rye starter went at 8pm.

DOUGH:
150g rye starter, 300g tepid water, 400g bread flour, 100g rye flour (fine), and about 14g salt (recipe also calls for 5g yeast, but I gave that a miss) - mixed this all together in a bowl until formed a rough dough, then covered with a plastic bag and let sit for about 30mins to autolyse.

My day got interrupted yet again by a walk around Panmure basin with friends and dogs, so the dough only got a couple of 10sec kneads before I had to head out the door.  It rested about 15mins between kneads.  And got to relax in a bowl inside a plastic bag whilst I was out getting some air and exercise.

(Theses photos are from the first take making this bread last weekend.  Only the last couple of photos are from today.)

Dough fermenting

At 12.30pm on my return it got another knead, back in the covered bowl, folded about an hour later, then at 2.15pm I shaped it into 2 boules.  The dough hadn't risen that much during fermentation, but on slicing into 2, there were nice bubbles in the dough.  The boules rested in my couche at RT until about 4.30pm.

Shaped and ready to proof

Sprinkled with rye flour ready to bake

BAKING:
The oven was heated to 210C an hour prior to baking.  I slashed the loaves in a circle around the "shoulder", just for something a bit different.  I haven't yet found the ideal way to slash round loaves.  Last weekend I slashed a pain de champagne doing a sort of branched pattern down the loaf, but the slashes weren't big enough as the loaf burst through, and ended up a really ugly shape, so didn't want to try that again.  I have only slashed around in a circle when I made an Auvergne couronne, so was expecting a similar result.

Docked loaves from last weekend - see the splits/tears

The loaves were baked for a total of 40mins (with 5 ice cubes thrown in at the beginning for steam), with a rotate at half time.  This time around I got a fabulous oven spring and my loaves completely popped their tops!  I think they look super cute.

My popped tops from this weekend

You almost wouldn't think they were the same recipe.  Admittedly I did use quite a coarse rye flour last weekend and a fine one this weekend, so my dough was a bit of a different texture.  I haven't cut one of these open yet, so will how the crumb looks tomorrow morning.  One of them got given to a friend and I have kept one for myself to compare it to last weekends effort.

Today I also baked the 4 pain au levain I started last night when I got home - 2 had linseed, 2 plain.  This pain au levain is pretty much my favourite and most often baked bread.  All 4 loaves were given to friends tonight on a neighbourhood bread run at about 6pm.  I just love making bread!

Not a bad looking day's work!

PS. here is the crumb shot taken the following morning:

Decided to send this one off to Yeast Spotting on WildYeast.com - cheers Susan!

"Local Breads" - Baviarian Pretzels (Laugenbrezeln)

I haven't had a decent Brez'n since living in Munich, and the next bread in the book is this very thing!  Every bakery in Munich made Laugenbrezeln and they were part of the traditional breakfast in Munich - weisswurst, brez'n, sweet mustard and weizenbier.  I wasn't much of a weizenbier drinker, especially not for breakfast, but give me the rest anytime!  Brez'n are also great with a beer (and definitely a favourite when in a biergarten) the salted crust makes you want to drink more bier and then you want to eat while you're drinking  . . . . . . and so it goes on . . . . .

This recipe isn't sourdough, but I'm sure I could convert it for next time.  So first time round I made it as per the recipe provide by Mr Leader :)

DOUGH:
500G bread flour
40g cold butter (supposedly unsalted, but I don't stock that)
300g tepid water
5g instant yeast
15g salt

Rub the butter into the flour using your hands or paddle on stand mixer (I started doing it by hand then thought 'stuff this' and shoved it on the mixer!), until its nice and crumbly.  I soaked the yeast in the water until it softened then added this and the salt to the flour.  Kneaded it for about 10mins on speed #4 until it was smooth and pliable.

Once kneaded the dough was fermented in an oiled bowl covered with a plastic bag at room temp for about 1.5hrs.  I checked the dough after the prescribed 1hr, but it hadn't expanded sufficiently so I left for a bit extra.

SHAPING:

This shaping was a bit different to anything I'd done before so I decided it warranted some step-by-step photos.  First off though, prepare your baking sheet - I covered mine with baking paper and wiped over some oil.

Flatten out the dough into a rough rectangle and cut into 8 equal pieces.  I then weighed mine so they were all more or less the same (about 104g).  Once all the same I rounded them and let them rest for about 10 mins covered in the plastic bag.

Weighing and shaping the dough

Each ball is then rolled out like a snake to about 30cm long, following the photos below, cross it, twist it, then fold it over so it becomes the pretzel shape:

Once shaped, all the brezn were placed on the baking tray, covered with plastic bags and popped in the fridge to proof for a few hours.  I didn't write down what time I took them out, but the recipe says you can leave them there for 2-24hrs.  I would think at 24hrs they would be over-proofed as the yeast would get a bit carried away with itself, but maybe that's not so.  However mine were probably in there for about 3-4 hours at a guess.

 

BOILING:

 

Before I took them out of the fridge, I brought a preserving pan full of water to the boil and reduced it to a simmer then added 1/3 cup of baking soda to it (a bit at a time so it doesn't al boil over).  The pretzels were placed into the soda water one at a time (and only 4 in the pot at once), and simmered until they floated to the top (about 20 secs) then I turned them over for another 20 secs.  They inflated slightly whilst "bathing".  I retrieved them with a slotted spoon, drip dried them and put them back on the baking paper leaving at least a couple of cm between each one.

 

 Once they'd all been boiled I sprinkled them with sea salt and sesame seeds:

 

 

BAKING:

The oven was preheated to 180°C about 15 mins prior to baking and I then slid in my baking tray and cooked the brez'n until they were reddish-brown - about 35mins with a 180° rotate at half time.

They looked absolutely fabulous when cooked, and the smell drove me mental as I was taking them to a friends place for pre-dinner drinks.  I did manage to resist ripping one open and sampling it . . . until I got to Julie's house and then it was a mad scramble to eat them.  The kids liked them, the boys loved them with their beer, and us ladies enjoyed them with our wine (and soda in my case).

 

I'll definitely be making these again.  Will have to read up what the baking soda treatment does to them, clearly bagels must be treated in the same way.  YUMMO is all I can say to this recipe!! :)  Think I might also send it to Susan at YeastSpotting which is something I have only done about once before.

 

K.

Happiness is making bread!!

 

PS. So  I've just done some searches on the baking soda thing, traditionally in Germany they boil them in a lye solution prior to baking, but because of all the associated OHS issues around lye, baking soda is used instead.  It's still alkali, but not hazardous.  The alkali bath enables the brez'n to brown a lot faster at lower temperatures than would occur normally with baking - the colour is very important, plus it does alter the taste.  If you didn't alkalise the outside of the dough, and baked them long enough to brown, then the dough would dry out and be crunchy rather than the soft, chewy deliciousnesses that they are!

Here you go: http://www.finecooking.com/item/13510/baking-soda-and-pretzels

"Local Breads" - Whole Rye Berry Loaf (Volkornbrot)

I'm not entirely convinced I got the right "rye berries" for this recipe as they didn't become all that soft after soaking, but make the bread I did.

This is the second to last recipe in the Germany section of Daniel Leaders book "Local Breads" that I am working my way through.  I think Mr Leader left out part of the recipe as he mentioned in his preamble that he had included a refreshment step or "build" to make sufficient rye starter for the dough, but in fact he had not.  So I just made double the amount of rye sourdough preferment that he suggested in the recipe.

STARTER & BERRIES:
Starter - this is 1.5 times the amount mentioned in the book - 50g starter + 170g water + 225g fine rye flour - left to sit at room temperature for 16hrs.

Rye starter bubbling away after 16hrs

Soaked berries - 125g whole rye berries + 175g boiling water - placed in a bowl and also let sit for 16hhrs at room temp.  They didn't swell up that much and didn't soften, which makes me think they weren't quite the right think.  Or alternatively I guess, they could have been old and past their best?

Soaked rye berries

DOUGH:
Take out 50g of starter to keep for next time and then add the remaining starter (400g) into a mixing bowl along with 50g of water, your soaked rye berries, 200g fine rye flour and 10g salt.  I then mixed all of this on my stand mixer (#2 speed) for 2 minutes -it was supposed to form a thick, batter-like dough but wasn't quite battery so I added a touch more water until I was happy with the consistency.

 

I covered the bowl of dough with a plastic bag and let ferment at room temp for about 1.5hrs. It was lightly spongy and had only slightly risen.

 

I oiled a loaf pan (a fairly big one) and coated the oil with rye flour then scraped the dough into the pan with a spatula (yes it is the consistency of peanut butter!) and smoothed it over.  The loaf pan was popped inside a plastic bag and left at RT for just over 1hr to proof.

 

 

BAKING:

The oven was set at 160°C about 15 minutes prior to the loaf going in with a rack in the centre of the oven.  The loaf had formed a slight dome prior to going in the oven and was baked with steam for nearly 2 hours.  It had come away from the sides of the tin and didn't leave any wet dough on a skewer when poked.

 

 

I let the bread cool overnight before slicing it - this is recommended for high percentage rye breads.

 

 

The rye berries were a bit firm for my liking, almost a bit dry, but the bread had a really nice flavour.  As mentioned earlier in this post I don't know if the berries weren't right for the recipe or what, but next time I make this bread I think I'll use rye flakes (like coarse rolled oats) instead.

"Local Breads" - Spiced Rye Rolls (Vingchter)

A rainy day is a good day to make bread (although actually any day is a good day if I have to be completely honest!), because I don't feel guilty about spending the time indoors!  And the day I made these was especially awful!  I don't even think the dog got a walk.

The view outside!

These Vingchter are an Austrian roll seasoned with the alluring combination of ground fennel and cumin, that smell completely divine whilst proofing and especially during baking!  They aren't shaped but are left to fall into individual irregular rolls.  It is a wonderfully soft dark dough, but is sticky and wet to start so is best mixed by machine.

STARTER:
I fed my rye starter 15hrs prior to making my dough - 50g starter + 100g water + 75g rye flour - and let sit at room temperature fermenting.  Room temperature during this time was probably <18°C as  made them at the beginning of May.

Rye starter ready to roll

DOUGH:
I made this dough using my stand mixer as recommended.  380g water + 100g starter + 1/2tsp yeast + 380g rye flour + 120g high gluten bread flour + 10g salt + 1/4tsp each of toasted and ground cumin and fennel seeds. 

 

The dough was kneaded in machine using dough hook on low (#2) for about 10mins, then was left to sit for 10mins, then mixed on medium (#3) for another 10mins.  You should be able to see some strands of gluten at this time even though the dough will still be sticky and won't clear the sides of the bowl.

 

 

The dough was then fermented for about 2 1/2hrs at room temperature in an oiled bowl.  After this time it was much less sticky and had almost doubled in volume.

SHAPING:
I covered 2 baking sheets with baking paper and dusted them with some rye flour.  With oiled hands I scooped out palm-sized portions of dough (about 100g or so each) and let them "plop" onto the baking paper in free-form shapes with some breathing room between each.  The "plops" were sprinkled with rye flour and covered in plastic to proof.

BAKING:
After about 50mins the rolls had spread and looked nice and pillowy so into the oven they went (I had heated the oven to 230°C prior) with a rack near the top and one in the middle (no  baking stone) + 5 ice cubes for steam.  After about 10mins I switched the trays around and rotated them (I have a hot spot back left corner!), and baked them for a further 25mins.

I managed to wait until they were cool enough to handle before I ate one, and it was a wondrous thing!  Not only was the smell of them cooking enough to bring the neighbours out, but the taste was splendidly spiced and unctuous - just with a dribble of butter.  I have since eaten with cheeses, jams, marmalade, for lunch with soup, for breakfast, and for no reason at all!  They froze really well and were great popped in the microwave to heat up slightly!  YUM!

Roggen-bauernbrot

= Soulful German Farmhouse Rye (Local Breads, Daniel Leader)

I made this bread back in March, in fact it was Easter weekend.  The weather was still very warm, I kind of got a bit carried away in the garden and forgot about my bread fermenting in the kitchen!  Being a delicate mostly rye dough, with not much wheat, I think I should have been paying a bit more attention to what was happening inside rather than my planting!

Toasting and grinding the spices for the loaf was wonderful, such a great aroma from the coriander, cumin, fennel and anise combo - YUM!  I think these spices go with sour rye doughs just perfectly, although they aren't always to everyone's taste.

When I turned the dough out of the banneton, I thought perhaps all was well as it looked just gorgeous, but then when I slashed it tic-tac-toe style as stated in the recipe, it collapsed so was clearly over proofed - stink.

Proofed loaf (in bannetton)

Baked loaf

Loaf crumb

The baked loaf, while not as high as I would have liked, had a lovely moist crumb and fabulous flavour.

I need to make this one again, getting everything just right!

Swedish Cardamom Buns

Well I have just taken a batch of these out of the oven and the smell is heavenly!  I made them for the first time absolutely ages ago, and keep forgetting to revisit them.  Didn't have time last weekend, so today was the day.

My liquid starter (130% hydration) hasn't been fed for a while and after feeding it Friday night, it still smelt odd yesterday, so I gave it another refresh yesterday.  It wasn't as bubbly as normal this morning, it smelt a lot better and was starting to produce a nice foam on top, so I thought it was ready for an outing.

The recipe for these buns can be found on The Sourdough Companion website so I won't bother regurgitating it here.  But I will give your taste buds something to think about by posting some pictures of the makings from today.  If I could somehow attach the wonderful smell that is currently filling my house I would, but sadly we are a ways from scratch and sniff pc's :(

Here is the dough after rolling, filling, folding and cutting to strips, then tied in knots:

I made 1.5 x the recipe so baked them on 2 trays.  Here is one tray fresh out of the over:

I managed to let them cool down slightly before trying one, and OMG it was so light and scrumptious.  The cardamom flavour was fabulous.  They were D E L I C I O U S!!  I started thinking, you could make these every weekend, but NO becuase you'd end up the size of a house!!

So I wisely rang a couple of friends, packed buns into bags and did some neighbourhood deliveries just to get them out of my house - I swear if I'd stayed for too long with the fabulous smell of them, I wouldn't have been able to stop at eating just one!  So now some friends and their kids have a lovely sweet something for morning tea tomorrow, and I keep from turning into the Michelin woman :)

PS.  These are also absolutely wonderful made with cinnamon instead of cardamom!

Simple Milk Loaf

(from The Art of Handmade Bread, Dan Lepard)

Today is ANZAC day here in New Zealand, it's slightly windy, warm and I don't have to go to work.  After being unwell all week and not being able to eat much, the thought of a nice fresh loaf of bread straight out of the oven was enough to perk me up.  Per my recent form, I forgot to feed my any of my sourdough starters last night, so thought I'd break from tradition and make a yeasted loaf instead.

I have been working my way through Daniel Leaders "Local Breads" over the past couple of years, but my aforementioned unreliable memory (I'm blaming perimenopause!) often hampers my efforts as I simply forget to feed my beasts, and sourdough bread making does have a 12hr lead time.  Unfed beasts = no bread!

So after flicking through Mr Lepard's good book, I have settled on the soft looking simple milk loaf.  I selected this loaf for no other reason than it looked good in the picture and did not contain any levain.

I have made it as per the recipe, but replaced 40g of milk with yoghurt as I do not have any whole milk, used only one type of flour (bread flour), used golden syrup instead of maple and salted butter.  I often find I make at least one modification or ingredient swap with every loaf I make, only because I ever seem to have exactly what is required!

I'm writing this up while the loaf is proofing, so hopefully all goes according to plan.  I haven't made a yeasted loaf for ages, so I've got to remember things happen a lot faster with yeast than with SD!

Ingredients:

1.5 tsp fresh yeast (2%)

350g tepid whole milk (70%)

1 tblsp maple syrup (4%)

250g AP flour + 250g bread flour (100%)

1.25 tsp salt (2%)

2 tblsp melted unsalted butter

Method:

In a large bowl the yeast and syrup was added to the milk and mixed together.  The flours and salt were added and mixed together to form a dough.  The melted butter was poured over the dough and then worked in by hand.  The dough left to sit for 10 minutes covered then placed on a lightly oiled bench and kneaded for 10 sec (10 kneads).  The ball of dough placed in the cleaned bowl (now lightly oiled) and covered for 10 mins (with a plastic shopping bag).  The dough was given 3 more 10 sec kneads, 10 mins apart, then left to sit in the bowl for 30 mins.

The dough was split and shaped into 2 even balls (by weight), placed in a lightly greased and floured loaf pan,

covered with a tea towel, placed inside a plastic bag and left to proof at room temp for about an hour (or until it has almost doubled in height).

The oven was turned on (220C) and left to heat up for approximately 1/2hr prior to baking (ideally about 1 hr so my stone tile has sufficient time to heat evenly - I just forgot to turn it on earlier!).

The top of the loaf was brushed with milk (whilst brushing the dough did slightly collapse so I may have slightly overproofed it. The recipe did call for 1-1.5hrs proofing, but since I'm not used to making yeasted doughs, and it is quite warm today, maybe it got slightly over done. Perhaps shouldn't have brushed over the milk at all?!), and the loaf baked for 15mins (with 4 ice cubes in bottom tray), then the temp was lowered to 180C, and the loaf baked for a further 30mins (or until the top is a nice shiny dark brown, and it has come away from the sides of the pan).  The bread was tipped out of the pan and left to cool on a wire rack.

 

 

The loaf is unfortunately over proofed, just as I thought.  But the good news is, it only looks stink and it will taste just fine!!  Now I just have to wait for it to cool sufficiently before getting stuck in!  The crust with some honey is what I have running through my mind at the moment :)

 

As expected, the crumb is quite closed and soft with a thin crust.  And it's exactly what I felt like when I got up this morning.
 

 

Notes to self:

1. turn oven on earlier
2. check yeasted doughs at about 45 mins proofing especially on warm days
3. if you think the loaf is over proofed, don't brush the top with milk!