Birthday and Bread

So this is my adorable great-niece London.
Yikes I need a hair cut. *Why did no one tell me I looked like this?*

My nephews wife Toni (not London's mother)
My father and Me at London's first birthday party.

My beautiful daughter Jordan holding her second cousin.

My nephew Jacob his wife Mandy and their darling children London and Isaiah.

It would be remiss of me not to show what is going on in my kitchen. This is a lovely loaf of bread I baked not too long ago. I have been using the book by Zoe Franciois and Jeff Hertzberg MD. Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day I swear by this main Boulé Bread Recipe. I have learned to use less yeast and then add sour dough starter to this and it makes incredible pitas, pizza dough, bread and even bignets. It really does only take 5 minutes to do. Look at the gluten cloak on this bread! I love how the interior is so moist that the crust crackles (sings) even after you pull it out of the oven.

Beignets from Brioche Dough

Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day by Jeff Hertzberg and Zoë François, (who is a fellow Daring Baker), is one of the best books I have ever owned. I have already made several of the breads with great results. The theory behind the book is to make an easy, no knead, no fuss dough. Put it in the fridge and pull it out when you want to bake it with only a 5 minute prep + rising time. And yes, it does only take 5 minutes to have artisan bread.

Brioche is my most recent creation. The recipe in the book makes enough dough for 5 loaves of bread. I made a delicious loaf of this fortified bread and it was splendid. Rich buttery, flaky bread was a given with this easy method.

I divided the dough into 5 portions
I rolled one portion into a rectangle and then cut it into pieces.
this was super easy. I didn't even have to look at the book.
I fried them 3 at a time in my wok.
Then I liberally applied powdered sugar to them.
Voilà Beignets. Just like that!

Get started with this Brioche dough (approx 4 loaves)

1 1/2 cups lukewarm water
1 1/2 tablespoons granulated yeast (I used Instant SAF yeast)
1 1/2 tablespoons salt
8 eggs, lightly beaten
1/2 cup honey
1 1/2 cups Yikes 3 sticks of butter, melted
7 1/2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
egg wash

1.Mix the yeast (see step two for SAF yeast), salt, eggs, honey, and melted butter with the water in a 5 quart bowl, or a lidded (not airtight) food container.

2. If using SAF instant yeast withhold the yeast in the first step and whisk it into the flour now. Then mix in the remaining ingredients quickly using a sturdy wooden spoon. The dough will be loose,but will firm up when chilled; don't try to work it before chilling. (you may notice lumps in the dough but they will disappear in the finished products.)

3. Cover (not airtight) and allow to rest at room temperature until dough rises and collapses or flattens on top. Approx 2 hours.

4. The dough can be used as soon as it's chilled after the initial rise. Refrigerate in a lidded (not airtight) container and use over the next 5 days. Beyond 5 days, freeze the dough in 1 pound portions for up to 4 weeks. When using the dough allow it to thaw in the fridge for 24 hours, then allow the usual rest and rise times.

5.Defrost the dough overnight in the refrigerator if frozen. On a baking day, grease a 9x4x3-inch nonstick loaf pan. Dust the surface of the refrigerated dough with flour and cut off a 1-pound (grapefruit-sized) piece. Dust the piece with more flour and quickly shape it into a ball, by stretching the surface of the dough around to the bottom on all four sides, rotating the ball a quarter-turn as you go.

6. Elongate into an oval and place in the prepared pan. Allow to rest for 1 hour and 20 minutes.

7. Twenty minutes before baking time, preheat the oven to 350 F. If you are not using a stone in the oven, 5 minutes is adequate.

8. Using a pastry brush, brush the top crust with egg wash.

9. Place the bread near the center of the oven and bake for 35 to 40 minutes, or until a medium golden brown. Due to the fat in the dough, brioche will not for a hard, crackling crust.

10. Allow to cool before slicing or eating.

I have two buckets of bread in the refrigerator right now

Bran Enriched White Bread and Boule' bread. Enough for about 10 loaves.

More to come.

Almost No-Knead Bread

Okay, so I am a foodie. I cook, bake, eat and create. I sent Dave to the store last night so I could have the ale to make this bread. He bought this really fancy "boutique" beer. He had to buy the whole six pack when I only needed one can. He gave the cashier at Walker's the other 5 bottles of beer. Basically we paid 9 dollars for this bottle of Cutthroat Pale Ale. I should have read the recipe instructions more clearly; not until I looked at it further did I notice any old can of beer would do... even mild non-alchoholic beer. But, kids, the purpose of the beer is to get a really awesome crust, ahem...it is awesome indeed. I had enough beer to make 4 batches of bread.

The Cook's Illustrated recipe also calls for a 6 Qt Le Crueset Enamel Coated Cast Iron Dutch Oven. Mine below is only 2 quarts. I can't afford to run out and pay 280 dollars for a bigger pot.
So I remembered I had this old Pampered Chef La Cloche Baker, that did an equally stupendous job.


Almost No Knead Bread

Makes 1 large round loaf. Published January 1, 2008. From Cook's Illustrated.

An enameled cast-iron Dutch oven with a tight-fitting lid yields best results, but the recipe also works in a regular cast-iron Dutch oven or heavy stockpot. (See the related information in "Making Your Dutch Oven Safe for High-Heat Baking" for information on converting Dutch oven handles to work safely in a hot oven.) Use a mild-flavored lager, such as Budweiser (mild non-alcoholic lager also works). The bread is best eaten the day it is baked but can be wrapped in aluminum foil and stored in a cool, dry place for up to 2 days.

3	cups unbleached all-purpose flour (15 ounces), plus additional for dusting work surface
1/4	teaspoon instant or rapid-rise yeast
1 1/2	teaspoons table salt
3/4	cup plus 2 tablespoons water (7 ounces), at room temperature
1/4	cup plus 2 tablespoons mild-flavored lager (3 ounces)
1	tablespoon white vinegar

1. Whisk flour, yeast, and salt in large bowl. Add water, beer, and vinegar. Using rubber spatula, fold mixture, scraping up dry flour from bottom of bowl until shaggy ball forms. Cover bowl with plastic wrap and let sit at room temperature for 8 to 18 hours.

2. Lay 12- by 18-inch sheet of parchment paper inside 10-inch skillet and spray with nonstick cooking spray. Transfer dough to lightly floured work surface and knead 10 to 15 times. Shape dough into ball by pulling edges into middle. Transfer dough, seam-side down, to parchment-lined skillet and spray surface of dough with nonstick cooking spray. Cover loosely with plastic wrap and let rise at room temperature until dough has doubled in size and does not readily spring back when poked with finger, about 2 hours.

3. About 30 minutes before baking, adjust oven rack to lowest position, place 6- to 8-quart heavy-bottomed Dutch oven (with lid) on rack, and heat oven to 500 degrees. Lightly flour top of dough and, using razor blade or sharp knife, make one 6-inch-long, 1/2-inch-deep slit along top of dough. Carefully remove pot from oven and remove lid. Pick up dough by lifting parchment overhang and lower into pot (let any excess parchment hang over pot edge). Cover pot and place in oven. Reduce oven temperature to 425 degrees and bake covered for 30 minutes. Remove lid and continue to bake until loaf is deep brown and instant-read thermometer inserted into center registers 210 degrees, 20 to 30 minutes longer. Carefully remove bread from pot; transfer to wire rack and cool to room temperature, about 2 hours.

Just be sure to give some away...