Bread!

[Duchess]

We need a thread full of delicious bread recipes. 

 

Thanks to immigrating, I’m currently enjoying not being allowed to work yet (at first I thought I’d hate not working, then I discovered the joy of sleeping in every day for a month), so I’ve been indulging in all the baking I haven’t gotten to do in years. Top of my list was learning to bake really good bread, so I thought I’d start a bread thread! Whose got good recipes they want to share? Bonus points if you can work in some protection spells for the family.  

 

So far my most successful has been honey-glazed challah (recipe below) and the wee beginnings of a sourdough starter (which I’ll try to share later).

 

Challah:

1 cup of warm water                                                                       

¼ cup + 1 tsp sugar

1 pkg (or 2 ¼ tsp) yeast

½ oil

2 tsp salt

3 eggs

4ish cups of flour (plus more for kneading)

 

Glazing:

¼ cup water

2 Tbsp honey

 

Dissolve ¼ tsp of sugar in ½ cup of water, than add the yeast and let it dissolve. Add in the oil, rest of the water, rest of the sugar, 2 eggs, and salt and beat until you feel like it. Slowly add in the flour until nice and sticky. Let it rest for 10 minutes than knead for 10 minutes.

 

Next let it rise for about 1 ½ - 2 hours, punch down, and let it rise double again, this time about 45 minutes. Divide the dough into 3 parts (or 6, if you’re super fancy and good at braiding), and braid nicely. Place this on a lightly greased baking sheet and let it rise double one last time (about another 45 minutes). Should look something like this before the final rise :

 

Preheat oven to 400 F. Beat the remaining egg and brush it over the top of the challah. Bake for about 30 minutes. While this is happening, make the glaze. Bring the water and honey to a gentle boil about medium heat, and stir constantly while the honey dissolves. The minute you take the challah out of the oven, brush it with the glaze and let it cool. (And stick a tray underneath unless you want a honey-covered counter).

 

[TobaccoFlower]

Uhhnnnnnnnnn this looks delightful!

[Solanaceae]

It does indeed look delightful. My husband has been whining that I don't bake often enough. He has been watching Martha Stewart and has zero nack for it himself.

Perhaps I will try this out and shut him up for a while.

 

So Duchess, you bake and sew like a Goddess, how do you do it? I actually love to do both but I usually talk myself out of starting when I think about the time and effort required.

Edited March 20, 2018 by Solanaceae

[citoyenne]

I love to bake challa, it's one of those things that while roughly the same effort as any leavened bread gets oooohs and ahhhs. I love the eggy flavour, it's just richer and tastier. You left out a vital ingredient however... sesame seeds in your honey glaze. I guess this is forgivable this once ;)

 

All I have time for these days is soda bread and even that I'm not able to do often. It's such a lovely crumbly carrier for all the herbal goodness. I'll dig out the recipe.

As Mr.citoyenne has been going crazy with his brewing, I should try out using his lees to see what can be made of it; I have heard of people having great success using lees and others ending up with dough shaped rocks.... I finally have a weekend off coming up. Maybe I will make him rack off some wine so I can have his sludge  and do some experimentation.

:stirring:

 

Sol, I am also a lover of baking and sewing. I do a lot of sewing and not as much baking as I would like. Rather than the time and effort involved I think of the mess I'll be making and all the cleanup (I am a very messy baker). Insofar as time and effort though, I guess the thing to think of would be the cliche of it's not the destination it's the journey, if you like doing something just the act of doing it should be it's own reward. This is what I tell myself anyway... for all the unfinished projects I have around despite constantly working on things. Too many ideas, not enough time.

[Solanaceae]

 

 

This is what I tell myself anyway... for all the unfinished projects I have around despite constantly working on things. Too many ideas, not enough time.

 

 

Hehe, ya. That is me as well.

[Duchess]

So Duchess, you bake and sew like a Goddess, how do you do it? I actually love to do both but I usually talk myself out of starting when I think about the time and effort required.

 

:blush: Thanks, Solanaceae. I find the secret is to never, ever post my failures. That attempt at a sourdough loaf that was so hard and dense you could have used it in the foundation of a house? No pictures, never happened.

 

 

I love to bake challa, it's one of those things that while roughly the same effort as any leavened bread gets oooohs and ahhhs. I love the eggy flavour, it's just richer and tastier. You left out a vital ingredient however... sesame seeds in your honey glaze. I guess this is forgivable this once ;)

 

Cit, it pains me that witch as intelligent and sexy as yourself shows such terrible taste on such important matters as food, music, and Zelda games. But I still love you, so please post your soda bread recipe.

Edited March 20, 2018 by Duchess

[Solanaceae]

Lol! I do miss this banter in the chat!

[citoyenne]

I also miss the chat!

 

So, Duchess I'm not sure if you have such deviant senses of what is good (sesame) and what is bad (not sesame... seriously my heart, I thought you were my friend :o ), that you will truly be able to appreciate this lovely soda bread but hopefully we still share some common ground...

 

Ingredients:

3 1/5 C flour

1 tsp salt

1 tsp baking soda

Between 3/4 C + 2 Tbsp buttermilk to 1 1/4 C buttermilk

 

(options- 1 tsp to 1 tbsp sugar / small handful dried fruit / herbs / spices - as it pleases you, but probably not sesame in this case so you will be relieved Duchess but if you feel daring and want to try it out I won't tell your secret)

(Substitutions - up to 3/4 C other flours in place of the same amount of all purpose such as whole wheat, oat, millet etc... you won't get the same rise so it will be more dense but more flavourful / if you don't have buttermilk there are ways to sour milk, google it. Also if you don't want to sour milk you can use the same amount of regular milk but add 1/2 tsp baking powder to the dry ingredients to help it rise)

 

Preheat your oven to 475*f (500*f is better but my smoke detector is thoroughly convinced we are all going to die if the oven is on that high) and pop in a heavy lidded, cast iron dutch oven to preheat also. After 20-30mins of preheating start mixing your dough then, you want the oven+pan roaring hot to toss your bread in ASAP.

 

Thoroughly sift together your dry ingredients, a few times (or whisk it a lot if you're lazy like me) just make it's all together good.

Make a well and pour in your buttermilk starting with the minimum, and inch your way up. You may not need all the buttermilk, add a bit at a time. You want a ragged dryish looking but very soft dampish dough when pressed. I don't know if words can describe. A slightly wetter dough is OK but a too dry dough is bad news. Getting used to what works for you is best.

 

Don't Knead! Take the dutch oven out of the oven and dump the shaggy mess in, put the lid on and back in the oven 10mins at 475*/500*, reduce to 375* for 20mins, then take off the lid and bake another 20min at the same temp (50mins baking total) Take it out let it sit a few minutes before turning it out to cool. If you like crustier crust cool on a rack, if you like softier crust wrap it up in a clean dishtowel before putting it on the rack. Softier is a word.

 

No dutch oven? You should have one BUT preheat to 450*, mix dough as before but knead for like... maybe 10 seconds, no more than 8 kneads. form a nice mound on a baking sheet, slice a deep X in the top put it in the oven be very gentle so as not to knock it down; 10mins at 450* and 35mins at 400* (45mins total), cool on a rack or with tea towel etc as above. You can also apparently do this in a skillet to make farls, no experience here ask google lol!

 

As with all breads, a properly baked loaf will sound hollow when tapped on the bottom fresh out the oven.

 

And uh, yeah. I like to bake but I am not a recipe writer... my recipe cards are just a list of ingredients and times/temps. I think I covered all the bases, I hope you could follow along.

 

 

(I was going to bake today and post pictures but.. hell+handbasket SO another day maybe)

Edited March 22, 2018 by citoyenne

[Duchess]

Thanks to you, Cit, I’ve just splurged on a Dutch oven. I’m going to attempt sourdough with my new starter and Dutch oven tomorrow. 

[Duchess]

To continue this thread, and try to get more people to post bread recipes, here’s the recipe I used to make my sourdough starter.

 

Things you need:

·         Rye flour

·         Whole wheat or white flour (depends on what kind of starter you want)

·         Non-chlorinated water (if your tap water is chlorinated, stick it in an open jug for 24 hours to let the chlorine off-gas. It also means you’ll have room temperature water to use, which is good.)

·         A scale

·         Non-metal containers (I use glass jars)

·         Non-metal mixing spoons

 

Day 1

Mix together:

• 150 grams of water
• 100 grams of rye flour

Stir that puppy up good, make sure to get all the clumps out. It should feel roughly like pancake dough.

 

 I like to mix I in a separate bowl, and then pour it into my jar, just to keep the sides clean, so I can watch the rise and fall of the starter.

 

Place the lid on loosely, or cover with a towel, so the wee yeasties can get air, and then place it somewhere warm. My kitchen is usually warm enough, and I’ll move it around so it stays in the sun on a good day. 80f is generally a good temperature.

 

Day 2

Mix together:

• 75 grams of your starter (discard the rest)
• 125 grams of water
• 50 grams of rye flour
• 50 grams of white or whole wheat flour (which ever one you want to end up baking with)

Depending on the flour you are using, temperature, will of the cosmos, you may or may not see activity at this point, don’t worry either way.

 

Days 3 and 4

Mix together:

• 75 grams of your starter (discard the rest)
• 125 grams of water
• 50 grams of rye flour
• 50 grams of white or whole wheat flour (which ever one you want to end up baking with)

 

You should start to see activity now; at least a few bubbles, and a rise and fall of the starter. If you don’t, don’t worry, just keep to the schedule, it just may take longer than 7 days to be ready.

 

Days 5 and 6

Mix together the same as you did in the previous days, but now you’re going to do it twice a day, so every 12 hours or so:

• 75 grams of your starter (discard the rest)
• 125 grams of water
• 50 grams of rye flour
• 50 grams of white or whole wheat flour

 

Day 7 and into the future

Now you can start feeding it just the flour you want to bake with. Give it a couple of feedings to really switch over, but it should be ready to start baking with. 

 

If a recipe calls for a lot of starter, you can bulk it up by adding more but sticking to the ratio, I usually use:

• 150 grams of starter
• 250 grams of water
• 200 grams of flour

If you’re going to bake a lot, keep it out on the counter and feed it once or twice a day (depending on what kind of bread you want). If you’re not going to be using it for a while, you can keep it in the fridge and only feed it once a week, just be sure to pull it out a couple days before you bake, to get it going again.

[Duchess]

To follow up the starter, here is my favorite sourdough recipe. Don’t be put off by the fact it takes three days to make, it’s one of the easiest sourdough recipes I’ve come across. While you get to brag that your bread takes three days to make, you only actually have to do something for maybe an hour total.

 

Evening of day one:

Mix together:

200 grams of water

120 grams of sourdough starter (mine is whole wheat)

236 grams of whole wheat flour

 

Stir it up good, and let it sit out overnight on the counter. It will turn into a huge sponge-like substance by morning, that looks like it’s possibly considering eating its container, the counter, and maybe you if it gets ambitious.

 

Morning of day two:

Mix the previous day's ever-growing lump with:

274 grams of water

85 grams of rye flour

250 grams of all-purpose white flour

170 grams of whole wheat flour

13 grams of salt

 

I like to dissolve the salt in the water before mixing it in with everything else. Mix everything together and knead it on a well-floured surface for 10-12 minutes. Place it in a greased bowl with room to expand, loosely cover it with plastic, and stick it in the fridge for 24 hours.

 

Morning of day three:

By now it should be about twice the size. Scrap it out of the bowl and start shaping it. Lightly pat it into a round, and then gently slide your hands down the sides and turning the whole thing on your counter. You want to create tension on the top, while closing any seams on the bottom. Do that for 30 seconds to a minute, then place it upside down in a bowl with a well-floured towel. Let it rise and warm up for 4-5 hours.

 

After that preheat your oven with your Dutch oven to 485f. When it’s ready, carefully flip your dough straight from the bowl into the Dutch oven. Score the top into the pretty pattern of your choice, cover, and bake for 30 minutes. Remove the lid, and bake for 10 more minutes with the lid off. Let it cool for a couple hours, then enjoy.  

[Phagos]

Have you got any special baking planned for Easter Duchess? I'm fantasizing about a giant Hot Cross Bun at the moment lol I guess a HCB counts as a cake though.

[Duchess]

I’ve never actually made hot crossed buns. Recipe? If its got "bun" in the name, it totally counts as bread. 

 

I’m about to take off to buy the rest of the ingredients for German chocolate cake. We just got a ton of snow, and it is striking me as a good weekend to stuff my face with cake and tea.

[Phagos]

Every weekend is good to stuff your face with tea and cake haha

 

My Dad has actually been perfecting his Hot Cross Buns, so I'll steal the recipe from him tomorrow for you!

 

(When there's a cake/biscuit thread, I'll be all over it lol)

[Solanaceae]

Anyone here use a bread maker? Or is that cheating?

 

Also, do dumplings count?

Edited March 30, 2018 by Solanaceae

[Duchess]

Bread makers are cheating, dumplings are delicious and always count. 

[Phagos]

HOT CROSS BUNS

 

INGREDIENTS

Makes 12 buns

450g unbleached white bread flour
3ml salt
7g easy blend dried yeast
36ml ground mixed spice, or to taste
55g sugar
150g mixed dried fruit, such as sultanas, raisins, currants and chopped mixed peel
215ml water, lukewarm
55g butter, softened
1 egg, beaten
extra flour for dusting

TOPPING:
36ml plain flour
9ml sugar

GLAZING:
l egg, beaten with 18ml milk

 

Mix the flour, salt, yeast, mixed spice, sugar, mixed dried fruit, butter and the beaten egg together in a large mixing bowl and gradually add the water.
Work the mix in the bowl to make a very soft but not sticky dough. If the dough appears too dry, work in a little extra water, 1 tablespoon at a time. If it is too sticky, work in a little extra flour, 1 tablespoon at a time.
Turn out the dough on to a lightly floured work surface and knead for 10minutes until smooth and elastic. Return the dough to the bowl, cover with a damp tea-towel and leave to rise at warm room temperature until doubled in size, 1 to 2 hours.

Knock back the risen dough. Turn out on to a lightly floured work surface and knead gently for 5 minutes until very smooth and elastic. Divide the mixture into 12 equal portions, then shape into neat rolls. Arrange fairly close together, but not touching, on the baking tray. Cover with a damp tea-towel and leave to rise at warm room temperature until the buns are almost doubled in size and have joined up, approx. 1 hour.
While the buns are rising, make the topping. Mix the flour and sugar with a small amount of water (1 to 2 tablespoons) to make a thick, smooth paste. Spoon into a piping bag fitted with a small, plain tube. With the back of a knife, mark a cross on the top of each bun, then brush with the egg glaze. Pipe a cross of flour paste in the indentation on each bun.

Preheat the oven to 250C (Gas 10). Put the tray into the oven, then immediately lower the oven temperature to 200C (Gas 6) and bake for 15-20 minutes until the buns are golden brown and sound hollow when tapped underneath. Transfer to a wire rack to cool. When the buns are completely cool, pull them apart.

[witchinplainsight]

Such good recipes here. Hot Cross buns are especially enticing! Khundekling I've always wondered how they got the cross on the top.

 

Do any of you use herbs for magical purposes when you bake? I've made herbed cookies before and they were delicious. I like the idea of making 'vitality' bread for a sick relative, with health giving herbs. In fact, must actually do it instead of just thinking about it!

[Duchess]

Khundekling, those sound amazing, I am definitely going to have to try that recipe soon. 

[citoyenne]

Hurray spring time! Hurray bread! I was a little slow in getting this reply up but there we have it.

Only pictures, because I used a recipe from AllRecipes and while the bread turned out good enough, it wasn't stellar and I really wasn't a fan of the approach (no proofing say whut?) and some things were needlessly complicated. So I did my own thing.  :)

Since there was about a third a loaf left which was rock hard by the next day, bread soup my lovely which was superior to the bread itself in every way.

I will share my recipe for bread soup, though like any soup Do As You Will, I never make the same soup twice.

 

In your pot over medium low-medium heat:

-1/4 cup olive oil

-1 or 2 tablespoons paprika

-1 or 2 tablespoons thyme

-1/2 or 1 tablespoon sumac

heat until fragrant being very careful not to burn

 

Add:

-diced Cured meats (salamis, cured sausages, dry hams... optional but YUMM)

-2 medium onions diced

-minced cloves of garlic to taste (I am heavy handed but it mellows out so lets say half a head to a head)

-pinch of salt

-hearty grinds of black pepper

sauted until alliums are soft and translucent and meats are rendering but not crunchy.

 

Add:

-2 cups cubed stale bread (I cube mine about a cm to keep the household happy over the texture, but left to my devices would rather 3cm cubes)

Toss to coat in all the lovely fats and oils and flavours. Let it saute like this shortly just to absorb.

 

Add:

-1 liter veggie stock (can top up with water if you find it too thick)

Let come to a simmer. Don't Skim The Oil, under any circumstances. I am watching you!

 

Add: (optional, but this completes all my soups and to me essential)

-teaspoon of sugar

-2 capfulls of wine/cider/malt vinegar (anything but white, maybe balsamic is not the best for this either)

-Couple splashes of fish sauce (doesn't end up tasting fishy at all, just richer)

Taste for seasoning. When all heated up serve and be happy :D

 

In this soup, since I had the cooked eggs from the bread already, I chopped them up and threw them in instead of the meats and it was light and lovely.

 

 

[Ozman]

Am writing down every recipe, I love the variety of breads they all look and seem delicious.