"Before there was an oven, there was bread." (from "The Essentials of Classic Italian Cooking", Marcella Hazan) Index Pain Without Pain: One Simple Recipe, a Squillion Variations French Bread Herb Bread Egg Braid Tomato Herb Bread Pull Apart Loaf Orange Fruit Loaf Cinnamon Swirl Light Rye Bread Medium Rye Bread Swedish Orange Rye Bread Dark Rye Bread Oat Bread Pumpernickel Wholemeal Bread Dark Mixed Grain Bread 50% Bread Crunchy Grain Bread | |||
"When I am so hungry that my knees shake, what I crave is a large thick slice of chewy, solid bread. Bread of substance, of rye or unbleached flour, with olives and rosemary possibly, bread that one can tear from a large loaf, often floury and preferably one day old." (from "Stephanie's Feasts and Stories", Stephanie Alexander) Bread is one of the oldest foods known to humankind, so there is no need to be nervous - or to be a slave to it! It requires no great skill, no mystique. It is all a matter of flour and leaven, and a little elbow grease. It is one of my bugaboos that convenience food manufacturers are always looking for a food to mystify, another way to make you fearful, inadequate or stressed. Otherwise, why the sudden popularity of bread mixes and bread machines? Baking bread from a mix is no quicker and no easier than making it from scratch, but lots of people have been brainwashed into thinking this isn't so. Bread machines have their place - just not every place. Recently at a class I taught on Italian breads, a participant said, "And I suppose you're totally opposed to bread machines?" Well, actually, no. Anything that helps people re-discover baking at home, and re-trains their palate away from the cotton wool on supermarket shelves is a fine thing. However! An old Jewish woman once staunchly told Stephanie Alexander that it is always best to make a recipe totally by hand before you start employing machines to help you out. Good advice. It is most important to have hands-on experience making bread before turning to a machine. It would be ironic if you felt you can have home-made bread only if a machine can do it for you. Machines are convenient, but the convenience can also be had in hand-made bread. For example, one of the perceived conveniences on a bread machine is the "delay cycle". On average, making loaf from scratch takes about 2-3 hours. Most of this is rising time rather than mixing or kneading. This isn't long, considering that while the dough rises you can be doing other stuff. But what if you can't be home when the dough is finished rising? Simple. Use less yeast. Many bread experts are emphatic about the fact that bread nowadays uses too much yeast. Sure it rises quickly, but the taste is overpoweringly yeasty. Dough can rise with surprisingly small amounts of yeast, and you can drastically reduce the amount of yeast you use in a recipe, and simply increase the rising time, to suit your schedule. Supposing you're a person who works outside the home. You can make the dough before going to bed with only 1/4-1/2 tsp. yeast, and let it rise overnight at room temperature; you can form, prove and bake the bread before going to work. Or you can similarly make the dough before going to work, and form, prove and bake the loaf when you get home, just before dinner. And if you're not ready to bake in any case, you can just knock it down and give it another rise, or refrigerate it, until it is convenient. Bread made with just a little yeast tastes of itself, of the grain, rather than the yeast. The Flour. Good flour is essential. If using white flour, that means plain unbleached flour. It is less refined, and "strong" - that is, high in gluten. Gluten is a protein found in wheat flour; its structure is long, elastic strands. They develop the framework for the work of the yeast, stretching the dough as the yeast ferments and produces carbon dioxide. Gluten also gives bread texture - chewy rather than crumbly. Do not use light or cake flour, which is purposefully low in gluten. Other flours add flavour and character to bread - see the notes on dark bread variations, below. The Yeast. Make sure your yeast is fresh. Yeast is available in compressed, dried, and instant forms. The best instant yeast in my opinion is Fermipan. This wonderful product can be mixed with the dry ingredients, does not need to be "started", can take colder or hotter liquid than usual, and requires no sugar to become active. You also need to use a lot less: half as much as regular dried yeast, and a quarter of the amount of fresh compressed yeast. Unless otherwise stated, the recipes in these pages are made with ordinary dried yeast: when using fresh compressed yeast, double the amount stated below, and when using Fermipan, halve the amount. Yeast requires warmth to become active quickly. Cold will retard it, but excess heat will kill it. Start off the process by making sure the liquid is at the right temperature (44oC-60oC) - it should feel warm on your wrist; when you put the dough into its rising bowl, warm it first by filling it with hot water, draining, a wiping dry. If you're in no hurry to rise the dough, use cold water and a cold bowl. The Shortening. Shortening is called that because it shortens the strands of gluten - therefore, the higher the amount of shortening, the more tender the product. Shortening is optional, particularly in loaves where the chewy element is vital. If the loaf is too rich, however, it will have quite a cakelike texture (though this may not be undesirable, as when making brioche). Fat also improves the keeping quality of a loaf - which is why many commercial breads are quite high in fat. The Salt. On no account, ever, omit the salt from a bread recipe. Salt regulates the yeast, so that it does not overferment and spoil the bread's texture. A loaf without salt will be quite crumbly and tasteless. If you are worried about salt for your health's sake, rest assured that the amount in each slice is minimal. The Rising. Rising your bread will take between 1 1/2 hours - 2 hours, depending on the warmth of the room, and how much yeast you have used. Dough containing dense flours will take longer to rise, and will not rise as high as when white flour is used. Good places to rise your dough are the kitchen sink (fill it with hot water to come halfway up sides of the bowl), a really low oven, or near the fire or heater. If you want to increase rising time for flavour and convenience, reduce yeast to 1/4-1/2 tsp., use cold water, put dough in a cold bowl, and allow to rise at room temperature for about 8 hours. Playing Around with Texture. The texture of bread is determined by protein and fat content. A bread made with water rather than milk, and no oil or butter, will be crisp, crusty, and chewy - like French bread. If you want tenderness, increase protein by using milk, even adding an egg, and oil or melted butter (never more than 1/4 cup). Brushing Before Baking. Brushing loaves and rolls with water before baking gives you crusty bread; milk gives soft bread; egg or eggwash shiny bread. For a bread with a very crispy, deep crust, you can use a cornflour (ie. cornstarch) glaze: dissolve 1 tsp. cornflour in 1/2 cup water, and cook, stirring constantly, until it boils and thickens. Brush this on before, and twice during, baking. Storing. You can store your risen and knocked-down dough in the fridge. When you are ready to bake, pull off the amount of dough you need, shape, cover with a teatowel, and let it recover until it's doubled in bulk. Then bake. This was my Mama's trick and it was a beauty because any of us could have freshly-baked bread when we wanted it. It is better to freeze baked loaves, but you can freeze the shaped, unbaked loaves and rolls for no longer than two weeks. Allow the loaves and rolls to thaw out and double in volume before baking.
"The result was a perfectly nice loaf of bread, but after spending an entire day in its service, I expected something a little more heroic." (from "Home Cooking", Laurie Colwin) | |||
| PAIN WITHOUT PAIN: ONE SIMPLE RECIPE, A SQUILLION VARIATIONS Ingredients: 2 1/4 cups warm milk 1 package yeast, active dry or compressed, or 3 tsp. Fermipan yeast 2 tbsp. oil, or melted butter or margarine 2 tsp. salt 2 tbsp. sugar 6 - 6 1/2 cups unbleached plain flour Method: 1. Combine first five ingredients in large ceramic or glass bowl. Stir until well blended. 2. Stir in 3 cups of flour, one cup at a time. Add fourth cup of flour, and beat until smooth and elastic. Mix in 5th cup to make dough. 3. Sprinkle about 1/2 cup of flour onto board or bench. Turn out dough onto it and sprinkle another 1/2 cup on top. Keep a coating of flour on the dough as you begin to knead. 4. Knead dough, adding extra flour as you go, until it no longer sticks. Kneading is finished when dough is non-sticky, smooth, satiny, and elastic. Put dough in an oiled ceramic or glass bowl, oil top of dough, and cover with teatowel. Place in a warm place to rise until almost doubled - about 1 1/2 to 2 hours. 5. Knock down dough, squeezing out air bubbles with your hands. Divide dough into two, shape it, and place in oiled bread tins, or carboard trays sprinkled with cornflour. 6. Cover with a teatowel, and let rise again until almost doubled. If desired, brush with milk, egg wash, or water and sprinkle with poppy or sesame seeds, or cracked wheat, or rolled oats, or whatever you fancy. If baking in a very hot adobe oven, cook about 25 minutes; if a moderate oven, about 45 minutes. Be prepared to check your bread and trust your judgement, rather than the clock. Bread should be nicely browned and pulling away from sides of pan, and sound hollow when tapped on the base. * When making rolls, allow 5-10 minutes in a very hot oven, and 15 minutes in a moderate oven. VARIATIONS FRENCH BREAD As above, with these changes: Replace milk with water; omit shortening; reduce sugar to 1 tsp (sugar can be omitted if using Fermipan yeast). After knocking down, form into two oblong loaves; let rise on cardboard trays sprinkled with cornmeal. Slash tops, squirt or brush with water, and place in a very hot oven. Squirt with water two or three times during baking. HERB BREAD As above, but knead in 2 tbsp. dried herbs (or 1/4 cup chopped fresh herbs) when kneading dough. EGG BRAID As above, with these changes: Break 2 eggs into a 2-cup measure, and beat lightly. Beat in enough milk to make 2 cups, and use this mixture in place of all milk. Divide dough into six parts, and roll into ropes. Make two braids of 3 ropes each. Proceed from step 6 above, brushing with egg before baking. TOMATO HERB BREAD As above, with these changes: Replace milk with equal amount warm tomato juice; add 1/4 cup chopped fresh herbs and some chopped black olives if you like. Divide dough in four, and form each into long, thin sticks. Proceed from step six above, brushing with egg and sprinkling with Parmesan before baking. PULL-APART LOAF As above, with these changes: After knocking down loaf, pinch off bits of dough and form into balls 1" in diameter. Melt 4 tbsp butter, and measure 1/4 cup poppy, sesame, or caraway seed, or herbs, or crunchy bacon bits, cinnamon sugar, chopped nuts, or whatever you fancy. Dip top of each ball first into butter, then into poppy seed (or other ingredient). Pile all the balls, seed side up, into a lightly-greased, 1-" tube pan. ORANGE FRUIT LOAF As above, with these changes: Replace milk with 2 cups warm orange juice; add 1 tbsp. grated orange peel, 1 cup raisins or mixed fruit, and 1/2 cup chopped walnuts. CINNAMON SWIRL LOAF As above, with these changes: After knocking down dough, roll out dough into two 6"x16" rectangle. Mix 4 tbsp. sugar with 4 tbsp cinnamon; sprinkle half evenly over each rectangle. Beginning with narrow side, roach each tightly into a loaf. Pinch ends sealed. Proceed with second part of step 5. VARIATIONS FOR DARK LOAVES You can substitute other flours for the plain unbleached flour specified above - just some are wholewheat, buckwheat, corn, and rye. However, when subtituting, plain wholewheat flour is the only flour in the only one suggested for the entire amount of flour. All other flours are best if not more than 3 cups are used - the other 3 cups can be whole wheat or plain unbleached flour. LIGHT RYE BREAD As above, with these changes: use 1 cup rye flour and 5 cups plain unbleached flour. MEDIUM RYE BREAD As above, with these changes: use 2 cups rye flour and 4 cups plain unbleached flour. SWEDISH ORANGE RYE BREAD As above, with these changes: use 2 cups rye flour and 4 cups plain unbleached flour. Add 2 tbsp grated orange peel and 1 tbsp caraway, anise, or fennel seeds. DARK RYE BREAD As above, with these changes: use 3 cups rye and 3 cups plain unbleached flour. In step 1, omit sugar; instead of all milk, use 1/2 cup molasses with 1 1/2 cups milk. OAT BREAD As above, with these changes: use 4 cups plain unbleached flour and 2 cups oat flour (whirl some rolled oats in the blender until fine). PUMPERNICKEL As above, with these changes: for flour use 1 cup All Bran, 2 cups rye flour, and 3 cups wholewheat flour. In step 1, add 1 tbsp caraway seeds and 1 tbsp. Caro, Ecco, or some other roasted cereal beverage. To make each loaf subsequently darker, grind what's left over from the previous loaf and roast it until quite dark, and add it to the flour at step 2. WHOLEMEAL BREAD As above, with these changes: use all wholewheat flour. In step 1 omit sugar, and substitue with 1/2 cup honey, molasses or maple syrup with 1 1/2 cups milk instead of all milk. DARK MIXED GRAIN BREAD As above, with these changes: For flour use 1/2 cup wheat germ, 1/2 cup buckwheat flour, 1 cup rye flour, and 4 cups wholemeal. Omit sugar; use 1/2 cup molasses with 1 1/2 cups milk instead of all milk. 50% BREAD As above, with these changes: use 3 cups any of these flours, with 3 cups plain unbleached flour. If desired, use brown sugar instead of white. CRUNCHY GRAIN BREAD Soak 2 tbsp each soy grits, bourghoul, linseeds, rolled oats and sunflower seeds in boiling water until soy grits are tender. Reduce flour by 1/2 cup, and add soaked grains at Step 2. |
Recipes - basic bread
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