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ОглавлениеProject 5 :Baking Bread
Why would you want to do this? You want to eat better and exercise your creative side in the kitchen.
Why wouldn’t you want to do this? You don’t eat bread, or you don’t enjoy baking.
Is there an easier way? Bread machines have many benefits (they do all of the work for you, and you can wake up to freshly baked bread) but just as many drawbacks (they are expensive; they are big; in my family’s opinion, the crust isn’t great; you can waste ingredients on failed batches and not find out until it’s too late). The more you bake bread by hand, the more you’ll see how easy it can be and the more you’ll want to experiment.
Cost comparison: As with many homemade food products, the materials cost less and yield more than the packaged versions.
Skills needed: No special skills are needed. My mom taught me how to bake bread when I was still in grade school.
Learn more about it: Knead It! ( i-5 Press, 2013) by Jane Barton Griffith is a comprehensive guide to baking artisan bread, enhanced by interviews with and tips from accomplished bakers. The Bread Baker’s Apprentice (Ten Speed Press, 2001) by Peter Reinhart is one of the better books to help you advance and perfect your bread-baking skills. Check local community colleges, other adult-education centers, or cooking schools for bread-baking classes.
It makes so much sense to bake your own bread. Everything about homemade bread is better: it is much healthier, cheaper, and tastier than store-bought; it makes the house smell wonderful; and, believe it or not, once you get the hang of it, making bread can feel easier than going to the market.
Materials for Each Project:
• Mixing bowls
• Measuring cups and spoons
• Bowl scraper
• Mixing spoon
• Lightweight dishcloth
• Baking sheets or loaf pans
• Cooling racks
Bettina’s Recipe for Super-Simple Rolls or Bread
If you’re grinding your own flour (see Grinding Whole Grains into Flour sidebar on page 41) for baking bread, this is an easy recipe to start with. It uses half freshly ground whole-wheat flour and half unbleached all-purpose store-bought flour. As you get more comfortable with grinding and baking with your own flour, you can start to use less all-purpose flour and add more whole-grain flour (of different types) and groats, seeds, nuts, herbs, and dried fruits.
Ingredients/Additional Materials:
• 3½ cups whole-wheat flour or whole-spelt flour
• 3½ cups unbleached all-purpose flour
• 1 Tbsp salt
• 3¾ cups lukewarm water
• 2 Tbsp oil (canola, corn, or olive)
• 1½ Tbsp active dry yeast
• 1 tsp sugar (I use organic sugar)
• Parchment paper
Step 1: Dissolve the yeast and sugar in the water and then let it stand while you measure the dry ingredients into a bowl.
Step 2: Mix the dry and wet ingredients together. Knead the dough by hand for about five to ten minutes and then let the dough rise in the bowl for thirty minutes.
Step 3: Either form the dough into rolls and put them on a parchment-covered baking tray or make a loaf and put it in a loaf pan.
Step 4: Cover the dough with a lightweight dishcloth and let it rise in a warm place for twenty minutes (I put it on top of a heater vent).
Step 5: Put your rolls or bread in the oven and turn the oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit (do not preheat; you want to give the dough a little more time to rise). Once the oven reaches 400 degrees, bake the rolls for about twelve minutes or the loaf for about twenty-five minutes, rotating midway if your oven has hot spots.
Step 6: Remove the loaf or rolls from the oven when they are lightly browned and sound hollow when tapped underneath.
Jeff’s “Sand Wedge” Bread
This recipe comes from our friend Jeff, who has elevated the recipe and process to an art form. He got a scale for Christmas a few years ago and found that weighing ingredients (as Europeans do) makes all the difference in producing consistent results with any baked good. He can attest to the store-bought-like perfection and texture of these loaves, and he’s been through hundreds of practice runs and adjustments to get the recipe to this point. This yields four loaves of approximately 2½ pounds each.
Ingredients/Additional Materials:
• 1½ pounds whole-wheat flour
• 3½ pounds white flour
• 1½ Tbsp yeast
• 1 cup vegetable oil
• 2⁄3 cup honey
• ¼ cup molasses
• 3 egg yolks
• 1½ quarts water
• 2 Tbsp salt
• Stand mixer with dough hook
• Rolling pin
• 3-gallon stockpot or large mixing bowl
• Four standard loaf pans
• Plastic wrap
Step 1: Warm the oven to 175 degrees Fahrenheit for fifteen minutes and then turn the oven off but leave the oven light on.
Step 2: Combine the flours and yeast in the bowl of the stand mixer and mix well.
Step 3: With mixer on slow, add the oil, honey, molasses, and egg yolks. Next, add the water slowly and mix just until combined.
Step 4: Turn the mixer off and add the salt.
Step 5: Let the dough sit for twenty minutes before turning the mixer back on—this is the autolyze period, which allows the water and flour to blend and helps produce gluten during kneading.
Step 6: Turn the mixer on to medium and knead the dough for seven minutes.
Step 7: Turn out the dough onto a floured surface. Knead by hand until the dough is smooth, usually about four or five times.
Step 8: Place the dough in a well-oiled 3-gallon stockpot or large bowl and then turn the dough over so that the oiled side is on top.
Step 9: Cover the dough with a dishcloth and place it in the warm oven to rise for an hour.
Step 10: Punch down the risen dough and divide into four portions.
Step 11: Grease and flour four loaf pans.
Step 12: Roll out one portion of the dough into a large rectangle, about 12 inches by 18 inches, and fold it into thirds like you would a business letter.
Step 13: Roll the dough out into a rectangle again and then roll it up tightly, beginning at one of the narrow ends.
Step 14: Seal the rolled dough by pinching along the seam, turning it over, and karate-chopping the ends.
Step 15: Place the loaf into a prepared loaf pan, cover it with oiled plastic wrap, and return it to the warm oven to rise for about another hour.
Step 16: Repeat Steps 12–15 with the other three portions of dough.
Step 17: When the loaves have risen well above the pan rims but are not slumping down, remove them from the oven and preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
Let the dough rise well above the loaf pan.
Step 18: When the oven is ready, carefully remove the plastic wrap and slice a shallow groove, centered lengthwise, in the top of each loaf with a sharp serrated knife.
Step 19: Bake the loaves for forty-five minutes on the middle rack.
Step 20: Remove the bread from the pans immediately after taking them out of the oven and let them cool completely—for at least two hours—before slicing, or you’ll have gummy bread.
Store whatever you’re not using right away in the freezer in plastic bags; the loaves will keep in the freezer for about two weeks. Defrost for about three hours on the countertop before using.
Bettina’s Bread-Baking Hints
•You don’t need a thermometer for the water—if it feels warm, not hot, then it’s fine. Water above 110 degrees Fahrenheit will kill the yeast and will feel hot to the touch.
•If you like a crisper crust, brush the rolls or loaf with water or salted water before you put them in the oven or halfway through the baking time (or both)—experiment!
•If you don’t want the bread to split naturally during baking, cut the top with a sharp knife or scissors after forming the rolls or loaf. I usually make one cut in the middle of each roll and three cuts across a loaf, but variations to suit your personal preference are fine.
•When you’re kneading the dough, if it sticks to the bowl, add more flour. If you see dry flour in the bowl, add more water.
•You really don’t need to let a “light” dough (such as the one in Bettina’s recipe) have multiple risings.
•If you use more whole-grain flour or groats or whole kernels, then you would knead it and let it rise a second time before putting it in the pan.
•If you add groats or oats, soak them before you use them. Bring water or milk to a boil, pour it over the grains so that they’re just covered, and let them stand for at least thirty minutes. These grains add liquid to the flour-yeast mixture, so you likely won’t need additional liquid.
English Muffins
English muffins are very easy to make, and they don’t even require an oven. A griddle is good for consistent heating, but they can be done on the stovetop in a pan if you keep a close eye on the heat. Poke the prongs of a fork around the edges of the finished muffins for a “fork-split” texture. This recipe makes ten to twelve English muffins.
Ingredients:
• ¾ cup warm water (approximately 110 degrees Fahrenheit)
• 1 Tbsp sugar
• 2 tsp yeast
• 3 cups white flour
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 egg
• 1 Tbsp malt vinegar (no substitutes—malt gives the correct flavor)
• Cornmeal to dust baking pan
Step 1: Dissolve the sugar in the warm water. When the sugar is dissolved, add the yeast and stir to mix.
Step 2: In a large bowl, mix the flour and salt. When the yeast mixture is foamy, add it to the flour mixture along with the egg and vinegar. Mix well.
Step 3: Put the dough on a floured countertop and knead it several times. When it is smooth, return it to an oiled bowl, cover it with a cloth, and set in a warm place to rise for forty-five minutes.
Step 4: When the dough has risen, roll it out on a floured countertop with a rolling pin to about a ½-inch thickness.
Step 5: Cut out circles with a round cutter or tuna can. Reroll the scraps to get as many circles as possible.
Step 6: Put the circles on cornmeal-coated baking sheets. Turn them over to coat both sides with cornmeal.
Step 7: Cover the baking sheet(s) with a cloth and let the dough rise for about another thirty to forty-five minutes, until the circles have doubled in size.
Step 8: Heat an ungreased griddle (or pan) to 325 degrees Fahrenheit.
Step 9: When the griddle is hot, gently place (they can sink if dropped) the muffins on the griddle and “dry fry” them for about fifteen minutes.
Step 10: Gently flip them over (they’re less likely to sink now) and dry fry the other side for ten to fifteen minutes or until light brown. Griddle and pan cooking times may vary.
Step 11: Cool the fried muffins on a wire rack.
Serve the English muffins warm with butter or jam—the fork-split texture makes pockets for toppings to settle into. If you don’t eat them right away, you can freeze them in a plastic bag (ours don’t usually last!).
“Dry fry” the cornmeal-coated muffins on the stovetop.
Bagels
I got tired of buying expensive four-packs of bagels at the grocery store and realized that I must be able to be make them by hand. They’re not quite New York perfection, but they’re very tasty fresh from the oven (once they’re cool enough!). The price is right, and it’s a fun process to learn.
Ingredients:
• 2 tsp yeast
• 3 tsp brown sugar
• 1½ cups warm water (110 degrees Fahrenheit)
• 4 cups white flour
• 1 Tbsp salt
• 2 tsp baking soda
• Cornmeal to dust baking pan
Step 1: Dissolve the sugar in the warm water. When dissolved, add the yeast and stir to mix.
Step 2: Mix the flour and salt. When the yeast mixture is foamy, pour it into the flour mixture.
Step 3: Stir to combine and then knead the dough on a well-floured countertop for five minutes or until it is smooth.
Step 4: Roll the dough into an approximately 12-inch-long tube, lay it on a baking pan, cover it with a cloth, and let it rise for two hours.
Step 5: Place the risen tube on a flour-dusted countertop. With a serrated knife, cut the dough into equal portions of approximately 4 ounces each (I weigh the first one and eyeball the rest). Allow each piece to sit for five minutes.
Step 6: Here’s the fun part! Working with each portion, poke your index finger into the middle of the dough piece while it is still on the counter and then spin it around your finger until you create a hole of the desired size.
Step 7: Set each completed piece on a cornmeal-dusted baking sheet, cover the pieces with a light cloth or a piece of plastic wrap, and refrigerate overnight.
Step 8: The next day, preheat the oven to 450 degrees Fahrenheit. Dust another baking sheet with cornmeal and flour.
Step 9: Fill a large wide-mouthed pot or pan with water, add the baking soda, and bring it to a boil. The pot should be large enough so that the bagels won’t touch the bottom or each other when floating in the water.
Step 10: Drop the bagels in small batches into the boiling water—but don’t let the bagels touch, or they’ll stick together.
The bagels will float on top of the boiling water.
Step 11: Boil for two minutes and then turn the bagels over (kitchen tongs are good for this step) to boil on the other side for one minute. They should puff up and feel slightly firm.
Step 12: Remove the bagels with a slotted spoon and place them on a rack until they look dry.
Step 13: Put the boiled dry bagels on the prepared baking sheet and bake them in the oven for ten minutes.
Step 14: Turn the sheet 180 degrees and bake for another five to ten minutes or until the bagels are golden brown.
Step 15: Remove immediately and let the bagels cool on a rack—they’ll be hot!— before cutting them.
For cinnamon-raisin bagels:
•Reduce the salt to 1 teaspoon and add 1 teaspoon cinnamon.
•Before making your dough, bring ¾ cup raisins and ½ cup water to a boil. Remove from the heat, drain, and set the raisins aside to cool. Incorporate the raisins in the initial kneading (Step 3).
•Use flour instead of cornmeal to dust the baking trays.
Grinding Whole Grains into Flour
Store-bought flour is a highly processed food that has been ground, filtered, and often bleached. The best parts of the grain kernel are removed (and sold separately as bran and germ for much higher prices), and less expensive vitamins are added before it is bagged for our use. Why not buy the whole grains, grind them yourself, and get a healthier result from it?
I became a grain-grinding devotee when a German coworker of my husband moved his family nearby. The first time we had dinner at the coworker’s house, I noticed containers of whole grains and an interesting kitchen device, which turned out to be an all-in-one unit with various attachments, including a grain grinder. I asked his wife, Bettina, about the grains, and she looked at me as if I were from Mars. She couldn’t believe that I didn’t grind my own flour, and I couldn’t believe that she did.
This project can be done only if you invest in (or borrow) a whole-grain grinder; there’s no shortcut. Bettina convinced me that my stand mixer could use yet one more attachment, and I got my own grain grinder. I am not yet at Bettina’s level of baking, and I still measure obsessively, but I am a convert to grinding whole grains.
When you grind your own flour, grind only as much grain as you’ll need for your recipe, as the nutritional quality of the grain begins to deteriorate as soon as it is ground. One cup of whole grains translates roughly to 1¼–1½ cups of flour, depending on the grind you choose. Your flour will be coarser than the refined flour you may be used to, and your baked goods may have a grainy texture (but my chocolate-chip cookies still get eaten!). Freshly ground whole-grain flour lends more of a wheat flavor to the food, which is why it is good in breads and other savory baked goods. Sweet baked goods are usually made with lighter, more refined flours.
A grinder attachment on a stand mixer.
Bettina’s Advice
•You can grind the grains from rough (coarse) to fine, depending on what you want to do with them. The finest grind is flour, and the coarsest is groats.
•If your grain mill has a grinder made of steel, you can also grind sesame and flax seeds, but only coarsely. Grinding breaks up the seed differently than chewing does, and it makes the vitamins and minerals from the kernel more accessible to your body.
•Many grinders do not grind corn; check before buying.
•For bread, you can use all kinds of grain, but only wheat (and thus spelt, emmer, and other kinds of wheat) contains the gluten that acts like glue in the bread. I prefer wheat for at least half of the flour and whatever I like—oats, barley, rye—for the rest.
