Super Sourdough Refrigerator Bread

This bread is so good that you will have a hard time resisting the urge to nibble on it before it is fully cooled after it comes out of the oven!

Super Sourdough Refrigerator Bread

1 pkg. active dry yeast
1 3/4 cups warm water (about 110 degrees)
1 tsp sugar
1 cup sourdough starter, room temperature
1/3 cup each sugar and oil
1 T salt
2 eggs, well beaten
about 8 cups flour

     In a large bowl, combine yeast, 1/4 cup of the warm water and the 1 tsp of sugar. let stand until bubbly (about 15 minutes). Stir in remaining 1.5 cups water, the starter, sugar, oil, salt and eggs. Beat in 4 cups of the flour, 1 cup at a time, beating well after each addition. With a heavy duty mixer or wooden spoon, gradually mix in as much of the remaining flour as dough will absorb. Place dough in a greased bowl, turn over to grease top. Cover and refrigerate for at least 4 hours or up to 24 hours.
     To continue, punch dough down and divide in half. With greased hands, shape each half into a smooth loaf. Place each in a greased 9 x 5 inch loaf pan; cover and let rise in a warm place until loaves rise 1 inch about pan sides (about 2 hours). Bake in a preheated 350 degree oven (325 degrees for glass plans) for 30 to 35 minutes until well browned. Turn out onto a rack to cool. Makes two loaves.

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Pumpkin Butterscotch Bread

Mmm... now that the weather is getting a bit colder, it is time to break out the sweet breads! This is my own twist on a classic and I must say, it is now at the top of my list of yummy sweet breads that I have tasted. Who would have thought butterscotch could make such a big difference?

INGREDIENTS:
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp nutmeg
1/2 tsp ginger
1 15 oz can pumpkin puree
1 cup sugar
8 T unsalted butter (one stick), melted and cooled
2 large eggs
2 tsp vanilla extract
1 cup butterscotch chips (or you could follow the traditional recipe and add toasted pecans or walnuts)

1. Adjust an oven rack to lower middle position and heat the oven to 350 degrees. Generously coat a 9x5 inch loaf pan with vegetable oil or spray.

2. Whisk the flour, baking soda, baking powder, cinnamon, salt, nutmeg and ginger together in a large bowl. Whisk the pumpkin, sugar, melted butter, eggs and vanilla together in a separate bowl until frothy.

3. Gently fold the pumpkin mixture into the flour mixture with a rubber spatula until just combined. Fold in the butterscotch chips. The batter will be very thick.

4. Scrape the batter into the prepared pan and smooth the top. Bake until golden and a toothpick inserted into the center comes out with just a few crumbs attached, 45-55 minutes.

5. Let the loaf cool in the pan for 10 minutes before unmolding onto a wire rack to cool for 1 hour.

From the America's Test Kitchen Family Cookbook, p. 588.

Buttery Sourdough Dinner Rolls

We had dinner at our new neighbor's house last week and he is a bread man. He bakes two loaves of bread every week to be used for their sandwiches and then makes additional rolls, sweet breads and additional breads as needed. I was impressed. For dinner that night he made these rolls and they were divine.... Honestly, I know I have been throwing around the term "the best" liberally, but these were the best rolls I have ever eaten. Mr. E. and I were lucky enough to enjoy them with dinner tonight as our generous neighbor shared his cookbook with me as well as a jar of his valuable sourdough starter. For more information about sourdough starters check out this website http://www.io.com/~sjohn/sour.htm One of the main differences between a lot of starters I have seen and mine is that mine was made with milk. Enjoy!

2 packages dry active yeast
½ cup warm water (about 110 degrees)
4 cups all purpose flour
¼ sugar
1 teaspoon salt
10 T butter, melted and cooled
1 egg
1 cup sourdough starter, at room temp
½ cup warm milk (about 110 degrees)

In a small bowl, dissolve yeast in warm water. In a large bowl, stir together 2 cups of flour, the sugar and salt. Then add yeast mixture, 6 T of the melted butter, the egg, starter and milk.

Beat with a heavy-duty mixer for about 5 minutes until well blended and smooth. Gradually beat in the remaining 2 cups of flour. Cover and let rise in a warm place until doubled (about 45 minutes).

Pour 2 T of the remaining melted butter into a 9 13 inch baking pan, tilting pan to coat bottom. Stir dough down and drop into pan by large spoonfuls, making about 15 rolls. Cover and let rise in a warm place until light and puffy (about 30 minutes).

Drizzle the remaining 2 T melted butter over the rolls. Bake in a preheated 425 oven 400 for a glass pan for 15-20 minutes or until browned. Turn out onto a plate and serve hot. Pull rolls apart to separate.

Stecca or small baquette in Italian

The pictures in the bread making book were too pretty to pass up.... I had to attempt these baquettes--our favorite was the olive baquette!

Ingredients:

3 c. bread flour
1/2 tsp salt
3/4 tsp sugar
/14 dry active yeast
1.5 c water (55-65 degrees F)
1/4 c. EVOO
3/4 tsp coarse sea salt
Extra Flour for dusting
whole pitted olives (about 8-10)

1. In a medium bowl, stir together the flour, table salt, sugar and yeast. Add the water and using a wooden spoon or your hand, mix until you have a wet, stick dough, about 30 seconds. Cover the bowl and let sit at room temp. until the surface is dotted with bubbles and the dough is more than doubled in size, about 12-18 hours.
2. When the first rise is complete, generously dust a work surface with flour. Use a rubber spatula to scrape the dough out of the bowl in one piece. Fold the dough over itself two or three times and gently shape it into a somewhat flattened ball. Brush the surface of the dough with some of the olive oil and sprinkle with 1/4 tsp of the coarse salt.
3. Place a tea towel on your work surface and generously dust with wheat bran, cornmeal (my choice!) or flour. Gently place the dough on the towel, seam side down. If the dough is tacky, duct the top lightlt with cormeal. Fold the ends of the tea towel loosely over the dough to cover it and place in a warm, draft-free spot to rise for 1-2 hours. The dough is ready when it is almost doubled. If you gently poke it with your finger it should hold the impression. If it springs back, let it sit for about 15 minutes.
4. Half and hour before the end of the second rise, preheat the own to 500 degrees with a rack in the center Oil a 13x18x1 inch baking sheet.
5. Cut the dough into quarters and gently stretch each piece evenly into a stick shape appr. the length of the pan. Place on the pan, leaving at least 1 inch between the loaves. Brush with olive oil and sprinkle with the remaining coarse salt.
5. Bake for 15-25 minutes until the crust is golden brown. Cool on the pan for 5 minutes then use a spatula to transfer the stecca to rack to cool thoroughly.

NOTE: The stecca may become a bit soggy in just a few hours because of the salt on the surface--if that happens, reheat the loaves in the oven until crisp.

VARIATIONS:
Push 10 large pitted olies or 10 cherry tomator halves or 10 lightly crushed garlic cloves into each formed stecca. Brush each stecca with enough olive oil to create a thin coat on the surface of the dough. For the tomato stecca, top each tomato half with a very thin slice of garlic and a couple of fresh thyme leaves (it is winter here so anything fresh is nonexistent so I skipped this variation) and sprinkle with salt. SPrinkle the garlic stecca with salt and freshly ground black pepper. Do not salt the olive stecca--it is already salty from the olives. I also think another interesting addition would be sundried tomatoes only you would have to watch that they do not burn in the oven. Enjoy!

Lahey, Jim. My bread: The Revolutionary No-Work, No-Knead Method. 2009.

Focaccia

I think focaccia can make any sandwich taste delicious. When Mr. E. and I were in Italy this summer we ever had pizza (not very similar to American pizza) that was made on focaccia bread.. delicious! Focaccia topped with pesto... Focaccia topped with sliced tomatoes and fresh mozzarella! Yum... so when I received the new cookbook I mentioned in my last blog post, I was happy to read how easy focaccia is to make at home. There is also a recipe for focaccia dulce that I may attempt in the coming weeks...

Focaccia

Ingredients:
peeled Yukon gold potato cut into 1 inch chunks (about 1 cup)
2.5 cups water (55-65 degrees F)
4.5 cups Bread flour
2.5 tsp instant or active dry yeast
1 tsp sugar
1.5 tsp salt
1/4 cup EVOO or grapeseed oil (you can find this at a Wegmans, World Market and sometimes TJ Maxx)

1. Cook the potato until the chunks fall apart when pierced with a fork or knife (I cooked it in the microwave for 7 minutes)

2. Use a food processor to puree the potatoes and water until smooth. Bring the water and potato mixture to 120 degrees (once again, in the microwave for about 1.5 minutes).

3. In a large bowl, stir together the flour, yeast, sugar and half the salt. Add the potato puree and using a wooden spoon or your hands, mix until you have a wet stick dough, about 1-2 minutes. Cover the bowland let sit at room temperature until the dough is tripled in size, 2-3 hours.

4. Lightly oil a 13 x 18 inch rimmed baking sheet. Use a bowl scraper or rubber spatula to scrape the dough onto the baking pan, it will still be loose and sticky so if put some EVOO on your hands to keep from sticking. Gently pull the dough and stretch it across the surface of the pan, then oil your hands and press the dough evenly out to the edges. Drizzle with 3 T of the oil and sprinkle with the remaining salt. Use your fingertips to create dimples all over the surface of the dough. Let the dough rise in a warm draft-free spot until it has risen just over the edges of the pan, about 45 minutes to an hour.

5. 30 minutes before the end of the second rise, preheat the oven to 400 degree with a rack in the center.

6. Gently place the focaccia in the oven on the center rack (the risen dough is delicate; a bump going into the oven could collapse it) and back for 30-45 minutes until the top is evenly golden brown. Transfer the pan to a rack to cool and give it at least a few minutes before slicing and serving warm or at room temperature.

I ended up making a sandwich with fresh avocado and bacon on the focaccia... delicious!

Basic No Knead Bread

One of my goals for the New Year is to learn to make my own bread. In our small town, the local grocery store has the best bread but unfortunately it is brought in from San Francisco and it is quite pricey. We LOVE the sourdough bread in particular. However, I would like to learn to make all kinds of bread at home without a bread machine. I would also like to grow my own starter (which will continuously be fed) so that I have a constant supply in the refrigerator for sourdough bread! To begin... Mr. E's grandmother gave me the cookbook "My Bread" by Jim Lahey. This week I made my first batch and it was delicious!

Ingredients:
3 c. bread flour
1.25 tsp table salt
1/4 tsp instant or actie dry yeast
1 1/3 c. cool water (55 to 65 degrees F)
cornmeal or flour for dusting

1. In a medium bowl, stir together the four, salt, and yeast. Add the water and usin your hand, mix until you have a wet, sticky dough, about 30 seconds. Make sure its really sticky to the touch, if its not, add water 1 T at a time. Cover the bowl with a plate, tea towel or plastic wrap and let sit at room temperature for 12-18 hours and dough is doubled in size.

2. When the first fermentation is complete, generously dust a work surface with flour. Use a spatula to scrape the dough onto the work surface in one piece. When you begin to pull the dough away from the bowl it will cling in long, thin strands and it will be quite loose and sticky-do not add more flour. Use lightly floured hands to lift the edges of the dough in towards the center. Nudge and tuck the edges of the dough to make it round.

3. Place a linen tea towel on your work surface and generously dust the cloth with wheat bran, cornmeal or flour. Fold the ends of the towel loosely over the dough to cover it and place it in a warm draft free spot for 2 hours until the dough is almost doubled. The dough is ready when it is almost doubled. It you gently poke it with your finger and make an indentation about 1/4 inch deep, it should hold the impression. If it doesn't, let it rise for 15 more minutes.

4. 30 minutes before the end of the second rise, preheat the oven to 475 degrees with a rack in the lower third position and place a covered 4.5 t0 5.5 qaurt heavy pot (Le Creuset works great!) in the center of the rack.

5. Using pot holders, carefully remove the preheated pot from the oven and uncover it. Unfold the towel and lightly dust the dough with flour, lift up the dough and quickly but gently invert it into the pot, seam side up. Cover the pot and bake for 30 minutes.

6. Remove the lid and continue baking until the bread is a deep, chestnut brown but no burnt, around 15-30 minutes. Carefully lift the bread out of the pot and place it on a rack to cool thoroughly. Don't slice or tear into it until it has cooled, which usually takes about an hour.

MMMM, enjoy! We savored this bread in the form of a cuban sandwich with homemade aioli, roasted pork, ham, and gruyere cheese!

Lahey, Jim & Flaste, Rick (2009). My Bread: The Revolutionary No-Work, No-Knead Method.