Does anyone have a recipe that approximates The Cheesecake Factory's honey wheat mini-baguettes? Years before TCF became ubiquitous, I was a big fan of their honey wheat bread. I don't even know if they make them anymore since I no longer eat there. But the bread had a soft texture, with a chewy bite, and was sweet that I would just eat it plain. I loved it, and I'm no fan of wheat bread.
A thousand years, a thousand more
A thousand times a million doors to eternity
I may have lived a thousand lives, a thousand times
An endless turning stairway climbs to a tower of souls
If it takes another thousand years, a thousand wars
The towers rise to numberless floors in space
I could shed another million tears, a million breaths
A million names but only one truth to face
A million roads, a million fears
A million suns, ten million years of uncertainty
I could speak a million lies, a million songs
A million rights, a million wrongs in this balance of time
But if there was a single truth, a single light
A single thought, a singular touch of grace
Then following this single point, this single flame
This single haunted memory of your face
...
I may be numberless, I may be innocent
I may know many things, I may be ignorant
Or I could ride with kings and conquer many lands
Or win this world at cards and let it slip may hands
I could be cannon food, destroyed a thousand times
Reborn as fortune's child to judge another's crimes
Or wear this pilgrim's cloak, or be a common thief
I've kept this single faith, I have but one belief
...
I still love you, I still want you
A thousand times these mysteries unfold themselves
Like galaxies in my head
On and on the mysteries unwind themselves
Eternities still unsaid
'Til you love me
"A Thousand Years" by Sting
Album: "All This Time" & "Brand New Day"
This bread was inspired by Sting's A Thousand Years.
My Formula
dough weight 792 g & dough hydration 76%
This morning I showed my son and daughter the fermented dough before their school; both of them turned up their noses without saying anything. My husband was more diplomatic.
Crumb ... and more crumb
Well, I have to say that I am very pleased with the result. My husband said the crumb was sensational (how supportive). The crust was thin and ultra crispy (to me, it is baguette crust standard).
top crust bottom crust
There was a very faint bitterness taste to the crumb, which I find adds to the depth of flavour. I asked my husband if he thought the bitterness was associated with the ink. He said, even if it was not, you would form that mental association because your senses subconsciously makes the linkage between black and bitterness.
Notwithstanding the faint bitterness, he likes the bread also because it is very moist; but he admits this inky bread is not his most favourite. For me, the inkiness is a strikingly sober colour that I like, at once ancient and modern. I once heard that many Americans like their first cup of coffee blace in the morning and why black? - because the bitterness provides counter-balance to their sweet diet. Your body actually craves for something bitter. Another example: why do pregnant women crave for sourness - their body needs Vitamin C contained in many sour fruits or food. I crave bitterness; not at all because this bread is bitter (it is not), it is the association that makes me welcome this bread.
My black abstract painting
Shiao-Ping
Almost all the breads I bake are sourdoughs, but there are two non-sourdough breads I really like – Cinnamon-Raisin-Walnut bread and a hearty 100% Whole Wheat sandwich bread. Whole wheat bread is my bread of choice for tuna salad or egg salad sandwiches and for nut butter and jam sandwiches. It's one of my favorites, toasted, to accompany eggs, although it has stiff competition from San Francisco-style Sourdough bread and un-toasted Jewish Sourdough Pumpernickel (with cream cheese).
My favorite whole wheat bread has been the “100% Whole Wheat Bread” from Peter Reinhart's “The Bread Baker's Apprentice.” It uses both a poolish and a soaker and is essentially identical to what Reinhart calls the “foundational bread” in his later-published “Whole Grain Baking” book. It incorporates what Reinhart calls “the epoxy method” in the later book.
These books are widely available, so I will not duplicate the formulas here. However, Reinhart offers a number of options, and I will tell you which I used for this bake.
The Poolish in Reinhart's BBA formula isn't really a poolish in the classic sense of a 100% hydration mix of flour and water with a little yeast. In the WGB book, he calls it a “barm,” and it's not really a barm either, as I understand the strict definition. I suppose you could call it a “sponge.”
The Soaker calls for “coarse whole wheat flour or other coarsely ground whole grains.” In the past, I've used bulghur (medium size). This time, I did have some coarse ground whole wheat flour on hand. I used 2 oz of the coarse whole wheat and 2.25 oz of bulghur, soaked overnight in 6 oz of buttermilk (One of Reinhart's options), rather than the water I had used before.
The final dough uses fine ground whole wheat flour, salt, honey and instant yeast. No additional water is added in the formula. An egg and 1 T of vegetable oil are optional. I used the egg but not the oil. The honey I used was Orange Blossom honey.
Using these ingredients, the dough was considerably drier than it had been when I had used water (rather than buttermilk) and all bulghur (rather than coarse ground WW and bulghur). I ended up adding about 3 T of additional water during mixing and still ended up with a rather stiff, barely tacky dough.
Fermentation to doubling and proofing to almost doubled took about 75% as long as the recipe specified. This was because my kitchen was 80F yesterday.
The dough made two 17 oz pan loaves which baked at 350F for 45 minutes.
This is a very flavorful, somewhat dense yet tender bread. The flavor of red whole wheat predominated, but the Orange Blossom honey flavor was very much “there,” too. If you pay attention, I think you can also taste a tangy overtone from the buttermilk. I tasted some just after it cooled and had more toasted with almond butter and strawberry jam for breakfast. It's still a favorite.
I am curious how I would like this bread made with white whole wheat, and I'll probably make it that way next time.
David
Submitted to YeastSpotting
Hello TFLers,
It's me again, poking my head out of the bakery again, just long enough to see if there's anyone out there interested in becoming a baking intern this fall. I need some of you skilled bakers to help out with the daily baking duties as things are quite busy here and my helper (that would also be my wife) is returning back to work after a short 'summer vacation'. Those duties will include all aspects of the bread and pastry baking process including mixing, stretch and folding, shaping, baking, packaging, and all of that other fun stuff like egg washing and selling too. This is definitely a hands on session, and not a 'watch Mark as he works' type-of-vacation. I'll be looking for individuals to work one week intervals for each week from the last week of August through September.
In one week we'll have 2 different farmers' markets to work at, plus the daily accounts and prep each day. It's tough work, but I'm quite sure you'll return home with some new ideas for your home baking, plus some polished baking skills too. These are the dates available:
Session #1: Aug. 23rd – Aug. 30th
Session #2: Aug. 30th – Sept. 6th
Session #3: Sept. 6th- 13th
Session #4: Sept. 13th – 20th
Session #5: Sept. 20th – 27th
Session #6: Sept. 27th – Oct. 4th
If you're interested, you can read a little about our June internship with Thomas here. If you'd like more info about the fall internships, download this PDF, ask some questions here, or I'd be happy to answer your individual questions via email at the bakery. Thanks a bunch and I look forward to hearing from you!
Edit Aug. 5: As of today, Session #2, Session #4 (possibly), and Session #6 are filled. If interested in one of the remaining time periods, contact me soon after you read the above PDF. Thanks.
-Mark
A couple days ago, I baked some baguettes with a new (to me) flour – Bob's Red Mill Organic Unbleached White Flour. The dough was much more elastic than I expected, and the baguettes had a thicker, crunchier crust and chewier crumb than expected from a flour that is supposedly 11.7% protein, the same as KAF AP flour. (The Nutritional Information on the BRM bag specifies 4 gms of protein in each 34 gm serving.)
The BRM flour acted more like a higher gluten flour than it's protein content would suggest. Now, the packaging does say it's made from hard red spring wheat. As Dan has been telling us, that's what bakers look for when they want the strongest flour. We've also heard that “protein content” is not the same as “gluten content,” and also there are differences in the “quality” of gluten in different wheats. Is that what I encountered?
I decided my next step had to be to make another bread with this flour, to be sure my baguette experience wasn't the result of something other than the flour. I wanted a recipe that I had made before and knew how the dough should be, and I wanted one that was meant to be chewy, unlike baguettes.
Today, I baked a couple loaves of Susan from San Diego's “Ultimate Sourdough.” Susan likes chewy bread, and her recipe calls for “High Gluten” flour. I used the BRM Organic Unbleached Flour, rather than the KAF Bread Flour or Sir Lancelot I had used for this bread before.
Again, the flour acted like a high-gluten flour. It absorbed more water than KAF Bread Flour. It made a very elastic dough that was dryer than usual – just barely tacky. I fermented the dough until doubled (7 hours) and formed two boules which were cold retarded overnight after proofing 45 minutes at room temperature.
This morning, I allowed the boules to warm up and proof for 3.5 hours to about 1.5X their original size before baking. I baked them on a pre-heated stone with steaming by pouring boiling water over lava rocks in a cast iron skillet. (Forgive me, Susan! No magic bowl.)
The result was indistinguishable in chewiness and flavor from the other loaves I've baked with this recipe. (And that is very good!) The crumb was okay but noticeably less open than usual.
My conclusion is that this flour, which has a protein content of 11.7% (by my calculation), acts like other flours I've used with 14+% protein.
If anyone else has more information about this flour or personal experience using it, I'd love to hear about it.
I also wonder if anyone knows if "hard red spring wheat" usually has higher protein content than winter wheat, or is it's gluten content a greater percentage of the total protein, or is it of higher quality.
David
This morning after my spinning class I stopped by the local farmers market. While I was there I picked up some beautiful dark green zucchinis and immediately thought of the wonderful spicy taste of fresh zucchini bread. This recipe has been in my family for as long as I can remember - a family friend shared it with my mother ages ago. Hope you enjoy!
Zucchini Quick Bread
This Recipe will make two good sized loaves. I have often doubled the recipe to make four and find that the bread freezes well.
Preheat oven to 350.
Ingrediants:
3 Eggs
2 Cups Granulated Sugar
1 Cup Vegetable Oil
1 Tablespoon Vanilla
2 Cups (loosely packed, coarsely grated) Zucchini *
2 Cups Flour
2 Teaspoons Baking Soda
1/4 Teaspoon Baking Powder
1 Teaspoon Salt
1 Tablespoon Cinnamon
1 Teaspoon All-spice
1 Teaspoon Ground Cloves
Optional - 1 Cup Chopped Nuts
* Do not peel! The color of the bread will vary depending on the color of the zucchini. The darker the zucchini, the darker the color of the bread. Personally, I prefer a darker loaf.
1. In a large bowl, beat the eggs until frothy.
2. Add the sugar, vegetable oil and vanilla. Beat the mixture until think and lemon colored.
3. Stir in the fresh zucchini.
4. Sift together and add the flour, spices, salt, baking soda and baking powder. Generally, I tend to ignore the spice measurements and just dump them straight in. I love a strong spice flavor. When I make this bread, the dry ingredient mixture tends to be a light brown and very fragrant.
5. Add the sifted dry ingredients in two portions. Fold in the chopped nuts if desired.
6. Pour mixture into 2 oiled and floured loaf pans and bake for about one hour or until cake tester comes out clean. Cool in pans for 10 minutes.
7. Invert the pans onto a cooling rack and allow the loaves to gradually fall as they cool completely.
![Finished =]](http://i56.photobucket.com/albums/g179/alliek13/DSCF2180.jpg)
Hi all, I would loke to post my take on bagels. I have been trying time and time again to get what I thiink is the perfect bagel. I have kept a log of all my attempts, and have narrowed it down to a couple key elements that have to be done to get the perfect bagel. Oh and sorry for my spelling...I just can't.....
1. First is hydration. Using King Aurther bread flour I have found that 55 to 57 percent works well. I have tried all three 55, 56, and 57, and they all have the same outcome, 57% is just a little easier to work with.
2. Over-proofing...My first couple attempts failed miserably, they were way too big, kind of wrinkley after baking..just not the shiney tight crust I wanted. I use an overnight ferment in the chill box just like the BBA recomends, but if they look like they are the size you want after the bake even before you boil them then they are way over proofed. In my experiance I have found that they will be almost the same size in the morning then when I put them in the the prior night. DON'T USE THE FLOAT TEST RECOMENDED BY THE BBA, THEY WILL KEEP PROOFING IN THE REFER AND BE TOO BIG WHEN YOU BOIL THEM. I have actually had some take on water because of the open interior structure from proofing.
3. All that being said, I use less then 1% yeast.
4. Go and get some malted barley syrup...you will be rewarded with flavor. I got mine at whole foods.
5. I used honey instead of sugar, I think it gives a better flavor and not only helps with color in the bake, but helps the very dry dough come together better, same with the malt syrup.
6. Boiling water. Less baking soda is better...more will give you a nice color, but it will taste just like a pretzle. I use 24 cups of water with 2 tsp of soda, and a half cup of brown sugar...I was putting 2 tbsp of malted barley syrup in, but it's too expensive. The brown sugar seems to work just as good at giving a nice flavor and color.
7. Use the rolling method of shaping, not the poking, you get a tighter skin and degass the dough if there is any in there. You can see a vid on you-tube about shaping
All that being said...here is my formula.
55% hydration. Makes 6 bagels....I had to cut it in half because of how many batches I was making.
496g KA bread flour
272g water
9.92g salt
4.50g yeast
24.8g malted barley syrup
12.4g honey...I used a light amber honey, nice dark color and a rougher flavor
1tsp olive oil....sorry I didn't convert that to grams
-Mix dry...add COLD water, and let autolyse for 20 mins. then add the honey, syrup, and oil and bring the dough together. Turn it out to your work surface and cover with a towel.
-After ten minutes divide to 4.5 oz portions and roll to a balls. cover and wait ten minutes.
-roll and shape the bagels, and put them on a sheet pan lined with parchment and sprayed with oil. cover with plastic wrap and put in the fridge overnight.
-next morning, pre heat to 450, get water ready, boil for 1 min each side, top and bake for around 20 mins rotating pan half way through.
I've read several places on TFL about hooking in an inline voltage thermostat to get the right temperature for proofing. Has anyone actually done this and if so how was it done? What i'm finding is that a heat (resistance) source has to be at least 2.0 amps. Is it any different than hooking in a light switch and is there a certain kind of digital thermostat.
Herb
Ciabatta rolls using Flo Makanai 1-2-3 formula. The hydration was so wet when I mixed the formula using King Arthur bread flour. I though it best to try making some Ciabatta rolls. I pre-heated the oven and stones at 485 and baked under a foil cover for 10 min. uncovered and continued till nicely browned. The rolls were a little warm when sliced to have with our dinner tonight..my husband said they had a delicious flavor...usually he says very little. They were very tasty. I mixed the dough and did stretch and folds with my hand. I also posted these in Flo Blog where she gives the 1-2-3 formula instructions.
A nice way to use up that left over starter!
Sylvia
I wonder why the recipes I see for baguette include a preferment, but, in general, not sourdough. Is a sourdough baguette an oxymoron?
After some experimenting, I now make a SD baguette that I think surpasses the flavor of a traditional baguette.
Diane