Friday, March 21, 2008

Bagels!

I swear nothing is better than a great bagel. Since I started my bread adventure last fall, I have been curious about making bagels. Recently I have been attempting several methods and recipes. Out of all the recipes I tried only one worked well for taste. King Arthur Flour's Test Kitchen posted this recipe.

The reason why this recipe tastes so good is because it employs the use of a starter. Starters are usually made ahead of time. This recipe calls for almost equal parts of water and flour to be mixed with a pinch of yeast in a small bowl and let sit overnight covered. The yeast will start to eat the flour and break it down into sugars (not the sugar you are used to). The dough is not sweet but it gives it a great taste. I make the starter when I get home from work, which is usually after 11:30. It will sit all night till about 9 a.m. when I make the rest of the dough. This recipe also calls for non-diastatic malt powder. I had no clue what this stuff was, but I poked around the web and found out that it is an ingredient in home beer brewing. The info also said that if you have a local brewery around you that they would stock it. Well I don't have one of those, but there is a store called "The Weekend Brewer" just 3 miles up the road in Chester. They stock all the supplies to make homemade wine, beer, spirits, soda, whatever. So I went in the store and spoke with the owner (who is very very very passionate about his work). He said that bakeries buy his malt powder all the time just for bagels. So I was sold right there. He sold me 1 lb of Amber Malt for around $4 after tax. So if you have a local brewery or shop that sells brewing supplies then just call them and ask for this stuff. Worst case scenario you can buy it online but it will cost your more, plus shipping.

Back to the baking part. So I used this stuff in the recipe finally. In my Kitchenaid Pro Mixer Bowl (with Dough Hook in place) I combined flour, yeast, water, malt powder, salt, and the starter. Set it on speed 2 for 10 minutes and voila! The dough was perfect, it was soft and supple and tacky. I let that sucker rise for 1.5 hours at room temp. Then weighed it out and split it into 8 rounded pieces. I let them rise again for 30 minutes (covered with plastic wrap) sitting on the counter. Then I poked my finger through them one by one and gave them a twirl to make a 1.5 inch hole in the center. I placed them on two parchment lined baking sheets (parchment paper is great, buy some it will save you so much time and cleanup, Williams-Sonoma has some, Pampered Chef does also). I let them rise again (still covered with plastic wrap) for 45 minutes. Meanwhile I had my electric fryer out and placed a cooling rack inside of it with about 1 inch of water (the height of the water was just below the rack). I cranked it to 300F to get it to boil. I also pre-heated the oven t0 400F. When the bagels were done rising again, I placed 4 at a time on the rack in the frying pan and covered it. The boiling water created a lot of steam which cooked the outside of each bagel. This gave it that signature texture. The steaming process is only done for 90 seconds. After which I place the bagels back on the baking sheets and repeated with the remaining bagels. When this is all complete they go in the oven for 20 minutes. They will puff up even more in the oven and will get nice and brown. After they have baked then I pull the bagels out and let them cool off for about 1 hour.

Side Note: So many people will grab bread right out of the oven, butter it and then consume. That is fine if you are making quick dinner rolls or a pizza. However, if you took the time to put flavor in the dough (i.e. the starter) then you will want the bread to cool so you can enjoy the work of the yeast breaking down the flour. Now I have nothing against slicing your bagels and putting them in a toaster. That is just awesome.

In closing I have come to a conclusion that making bagels at home is easier and cheaper in the long run. You also get a satisfaction from doing it. You start with several different ingredients that on there own taste kinda odd. After this whole process you are left with something delicious. I call than effin Zen!

- The Chesterfield Bread Baker

Monday, March 17, 2008

Change of Plans

I know I said that the next adventure was to be tortilla making, but something else has come up. I decided to work on yeasted doughs for a little while longer. Tortillas can wait for a little while so that I can try different things. Tuesday night I am going to make Chicago Deep Dish Pizza (by Peter Reinharts Recipe in American Pie). I picked up some 10-inch cake pans and am ready to go! Also I have great news!!! Yesterday on QVC they had a special on a Kitchenaid Professional Mixer 5 quart 450 watts (12 cups flour power) for $272 (retail at $450). So Rash bought me one, she is great. It will be here next Monday and I am ready to rock with it. I really want to use it for lower hydration doughs that require intense kneading. Like Bagels for instance. I made some today (Cinnamon Raisin in fact). They were ok, but it was hard to develop the gluten with my hands. It took 20 minutes, but a mixer could produce a quicker and more even result. I will have to try many of my bread recipes in the mixer. Granted I will still make pizza dough by hand because it is just fun. I will post my review of this mixer after about 1 month of use. So for those of you who read this blog then just. Stay Tuned!

Tuesday, March 11, 2008

What Next?

I go through this a lot with baking. I try to think of something new to do. Sure there are many recipes and such, but it is hard to just pick one to do next. I sit at work sometimes and read books (when I have free time) about techniques on how to make a great "Artisan Loaf" or how to make the softest Challah. I usually make the same things over for two main reasons. One being that I want to perfect the recipe/formula and Two because people just want to eat them. I don't mind getting more practice at my previous endeavorers but I do want to try something different. I would like to give tortillas a shot again. I have tried in the past, but they did not come out right. Maybe its because I did not have a tortilla press to get them nice and flat. Granted this press is only $20, however they are hard to find. Unless you hit up a Mexican Grocery Store then you have to get it on the net. I don't mind buying stuff offline, but I would like to touch the thing first. Maybe I will have to just take a leap of faith on this one. I can get it from BB&B (Bed Bath & Beyond) for $20 plus shipping. They can ship it to the store. I can mess with it there and just return it if I don't like it. What I did read about this flatbread was that they store very well. You can keep them in plastic bags for months. We buy a lot of them, and if I can just make my own then it would be great. The next thing to use for tortilla making is called a "Comal", which is just a flat cast iron skillet. So I just need to get a small cast iron skillet. All and all, it will probably cost $40 for all the supplies (flour included). I am going to try this soon, I just need to wait for a nice payday to get all my new toys. I never used to buy anything, but since I have started baking I try and get new stuff all the time. Stay tuned to see how these tortillas come out!

Sunday, March 9, 2008

Me Love Pie

Another day another loaf? Not today because it is Sunday, that means its Pizza Day! Everybody loves Pizza, from deep dish to thin crust. There are infinite combinations of this awesome peasant food. Yes a peasant food I say, history class taught me something. The best part of Pizza is the crust, at least in my eyes. A lot of people I know leave the crust in the box or on their plate. That says to me that the crust was just there as a handle and not as a part of the dish. The crust should be the best part, if done correctly. If you know me personally then you know I like to cook Pizza. I have been testing out many different Pizza dough recipes from time to time. I have even come up with a few of my own. So far the best I have found was in Peter Reinhart's American Pie. This is a collection of recipes and stories from his travels in search of the perfect pie. I did like how he was so adamant about a Pizza crust from his local area. He said that when he went back years later that the crust had changed. He inquired with the owner about it and they said they had to change things around so anybody could make it. I guess you really do have to have a serious passion to make an excellent Pizza. Everybody has that one place that they think makes the best. It fills your childhood with memories of tasty food. For me it would be Vincenzo's Italian Restaurant on the Boulevard in Colonial Heights, VA. I have been going there for years and they know how to make an excellent pie at a great price. Its funny because I actually have "experience" in the biz. I worked for Pizza Hut for 2 years in Colonial Heights. In my time there I got a chance to make dough in the mornings. Granted that we had a giant mixer and prepackaged dry ingredients. We just added the water and set the mixer to medium for a few minutes. We did bench the dough and proof it for a few hours. Then we had to chill or "retard" the dough. It sat in the fridge until we topped it and sent it through the 450F oven for 10 minutes. That store actually made most of its dough. The pan/thin/new yorker were made everyday. The hand tossed (which we were not supposed to toss because it messed up the dough, per the Pizza Hut experts) was frozen. The experiences there got me interested in yeast and bread at first. However I was in college for computers at the time so I just brushed this new interest away and settled for the box of rocks called the computer. Now years later (with my interest in computers fading away) I am once again a student of baking. Armed with the right tools and teachers (through books, and the net of course) I am venturing out to try strange new breads, to seek out new sourdough cultures and fermentation, to boldly go where no amateur baker has gone before!

- The Chesterfield Bread Baker

(A Video of me working at Pizza Hut in 2001 - no sound)

Saturday, March 8, 2008

Monkey See Monkey Bake

This morning I made the dough for the monkey bread and today before lunch it came out. This recipe is excellent. The dough is very soft and the brown sugar/cinnamon just rock on it. I even put a sugar glaze on it for extra sweetness. The bread pulls apart so easily and is great when it is warm. Monkey bread does not usually keep well from what I have been reading but I think my family can take care of it quickly. I will type this recipe up soon and post it on this blog.

-Brandon

Wednesday, March 5, 2008

Monkey Bread

We had a nice storm roll through last night which cut our power out for a few hours. Nothing like sitting around with the family in candle light. Unless your oldest is sick and puking everywhere and your youngest is so congested he sounds like Lord Vader himself. After everybody fell asleep I was bored so I started brainstorming on what to bake next. Kelly (at work) had shown me a book of "Lost Recipes" from back in the day. Inside this book was a recipe for Monkey Bread. What makes this recipe special is that it actually calls for flour and yeast, not dumplings/biscuit dough. I have all the ingredients and a copy of the recipe in hand. I am going to make this concoction sometime within the next few days. Stay tuned!

Tuesday, March 4, 2008

My First Sourdough Loaf

I tried out my recipe for sourdough using Carl's starter and it came out pretty good. The taste was excellent and the crumb was very soft and slightly open. The only complaint I have is that this is not a good "loaf" bread. The crust is too soft to stay shaped like a loaf. However it would be most excellent in dinner roll format. Brush those little suckers with butter and its on.

I put together the ingredients the old fashioned way (using volume measurements such as cup, teaspoon, etc). I normally weigh ingredients and go by baking formulas, but I was just testing stuff out today. Next time I make this recipe (which will be made into dinner rolls) then I will weight the ingredients (in grams, because metric rocks) and write a formula for it.

The dough was allowed to rise twice. All and all it took 16 1/2 hours to complete this bread from proofing the starter to baking the loaves. It was well worth it. Like I said before the only complaint I have is that crust of the bread. Even though I used the "steam" method, it just does not see like it should be in "loaf" form. I will use this as a base recipe and tweak it till its perfect.

So what did I do with the loaves? How about Sourdough French Toast for Breakfast, it was boss.






Monday, March 3, 2008

Get Your Sourdough On!


I sent away for Carl's Sourdough Starter. I recieved it a few days ago and reactivated that sucker. I proofed it last night after a nice feeding and at 5:30am this morning it looks frothy, smells sour, and is just ready to go. I put together the following recipe to try today.

3 cups Bread Flour/High Gluten Flour
1 cup All Purpose Flour
1 1/4 tsp salt
2 tbsp unsalted butter (melted)
1 cup warm water
1 cup of proofed starter

I am seeing a lot of sourdough recipes that do not call for a second rise. That is mostly because people are going for a super open crumb and that boule shape. Myself, I am going to bench the dough and shape it into a loaf and put it in the pan. Why you ask? How about Sourdough French Toast for Tuesday's Breakfast! Anyways I will let everybody know how it goes.

Later peeps,
Brandon