It's not November people, it's DOUGHVEMBER!

Sourdough, that is.

For the whole month of November Linda Nicholson of Salty Seattle and Nicole of Pinch My Salt challenged people to bake with sourdough. Sourdough has this tang to it that pulls you in and it's like a dance track for your taste buds. I really can't remember the first time I tasted sourdough, but I'm sure it was a commercially made piece of bread. Since I love baking bread and have made sourdough before, I jumped at the chance to join this challenge. I have been learning so much about sourdough, that it won't stop with just November. This is a life long LOVE!

These lovely pancakes below are courtesy of Joy the Baker's blog with the addition of a little pumpkin and cinnamon. Not realizing how many pancakes the recipe would make, I froze some for breakfasts of convenience. Gosh, how I love the freezer. Who needs frozen food from the grocery store when you can make and freeze your own? And, you know what's in it and when it was made.

SOURDOUGH

Dough A: Pinch My Salt's Recipe
Starter: Overflowing like a volcano, very active
Starter dough: 8 hours to rise, no refrigeration
1st rise: 1 1/2 hours
2nd rise: 1 1/2 hours
Misted the oven 3x every 30 seconds in the beginning






Dough B:Peter Reinhart
Starter: Bubbling, but no over activity
Starter dough: 4hours, then refrigeration
1st rise: 3 hours
2nd rise: 2 hours
Misted the oven 4x every 30 seconds in the beginning




Dough C: Pinch My Salt
Starter: Bubbling, no over activity
Starter dough: 8 hour rise on counter, refrigeration overnight
Final dough: Left on counter 1 1/2 hours before making
1st rise: 3 hours
2nd rise: 2 hours
Misted the oven 3x every 30 seconds in the beginning



Learned lesson: Just bubbles isn't enough, over activity makes beautiful bread.

My re-found love of yeast

My mother needed me to make her a challah for a Jewish get together with classmates since they were learning about Judaism in class. Normally, I made Martha Stewart's challah from her Baking Handbook because I always had yolks on hand. This time I wanted to try a different recipe. I was on the hunt for Peter Reinhart's book just for this purpose.

Online, I checked the library catalog and yes they carried it. Shucks, it had been checked out...what to do? I called Barnes and Noble, but they couldn't find it on the shelves. Since Borders had closed, I was at a loss of how to get one without waiting for it to be shipped. I googled bookstores in Virginia Beach and up comes Books A Million, a store I had completely forgotten about. Lucky for me, they had one in stock. I'm generally an Amazon type of girl, but I needed this book ASAP!

Since purchasing this book and a scale, I have been a yeast bread making fool. His recipes are so yummy.

The cinnamon rolls you see below were so soft you would have thought they came from a "chain" or a "tube".

And, the white bread....made twice already and I've only had the book for 2 weeks. Needless to say, I've re-found my love of yeast.

Butter and eggs working together

Brioche is this buttery and dense French bread that screams "Eat Me!". It's a perfect bread for breakfast or a dessert with berries and sauce.

This recipe was a little off to me because the 4 tablespoons of milk was not enough to make a soft dough. I had to add a little more milk to get a workable dough and my cook time was more like 45-55 minutes. I know that depending on what type of utensils or oven you use and how you measure your ingredients it may affect a recipe, so others may not have the same problem I had. Other than those two issues the bread turned out great.

I think I will buy some fresh fruit and make some dessert tonight with the rest of the brioche.

Until next time,
Bake bread, be happy

French Brioche
The Practical Encyclopedia of Baking by Martha Day

Makes 1 Loaf
3 cups white bread flour
½ teaspoon salt
½ ounce fresh yeast
4 tablespoons lukewarm milk
3 eggs
¾ cup butter, softened
2 tablespoons sugar
For Glaze
1 egg yolk
1 tablespoon milk

1.Sift the flour and salt together into a large bowl and make a well in the center. Put the yeast in a measuring cup and stir in the milk.

2.Add the yeast mixture to the center of the flour with the eggs and combine to form a soft dough.

3.Using your hand beat the dough for 4-5 minutes, until smooth and elastic. Cream the butter and sugar together. Gradually add the butter mixture to the dough, making sure it is incorporated before adding more. Beat until smooth, shiny, and elastic.

4.Cover the bowl with lightly oiled plastic wrap and let the dough rise, in a warm place, for 1-2 hours or until doubled in bulk.

5.Lightly punch down the dough, then re-cover and place in the refrigerator for 8-10 hours or overnight.

6.Lightly grease a scant 7 cup brioche mold. Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface. Cut off almost a quarter and set aside. Shape the rest into a ball and place into the prepared mold. Shape the reserve dough into an elongated egg shape. Using two or three fingers, make a hole in the center of the large ball of dough. Gently press the narrow end of the egg-shaped dough into the hole.

7.Combine the egg yolk and milk for the glaze, and brush a little on the brioche. Cover with oiled plastic, wrap and let rise, in a warm place, for 1 ½-2 hours or until the dough nearly reaches the top of the mold.

8.Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 450°F. Brush the brioche with the remaining glaze and bake for 10 minutes. Reduce the oven temperature to 375°F and bake for another 20-25 minutes or until golden. Turn out onto a wire rack to cool.

Kwason

Success!

First time making croissants

Other than the fact that you have to turn, rest, roll, rest, turn, roll, rest...whatever, you know what I mean...these buttery treats bring you such joy. I had been wanting to make croissants for so long and the first time I made them was a bust. I wasn't sure what I had done wrong, but they turned out looking more like a rolled up piece of puff pastry(See above picture).

Making them this time I feel they came out a lot better. I'm really not sure what a real French croissant is supposed to taste like, but these sure were tasty. I also made some ham and cheese croissants using Canadian bacon and slices of provolone and swiss. These were perfect little breakfast or lunch sandwiches. Look at it, doesn't it look like a face...lol.

Until next time,

Bake bread, be happy

Croissant
100 Great Breads by Paul Hollywood
*Paul uses fresh compressed yeast, if using dry or instant use 25% less than recipe states

1 package yeast
Generous 4 cups white bread flour, plus extra for dusting
1 ½ teaspoons salt
Generous 1/3 cup superfine sugar
Water to mix
4 ½ sticks butter, chilled
1 egg, beaten, for eggwash
Makes about 40 croissants
Dilute the yeast with a little warm water and put with the flour, salt, and sugar into a large mixing bowl. Using a wooden spoon, slowly mix in a little water until the dough becomes pliable. Tip the dough out onto a lightly flour counter and knead well until it feels elastic. Put the dough back in the bowl and let stand in the refrigerator for 1 hour.
Turn out the chilled dough onto your floured counter and roll it into a rectangle 24 x12 inches/60 x 30.5 cm. Flatten the chilled butter into a rectangle about ½ inch/ 1 cm thick and lay it over 2/3 of the dough. Bring the uncovered third of the dough into the center, then fold the covered top third down, so that your dough is now in three layers. Give the dough package a quarter turn so that the fold is on the right. Return the dough to the refrigerator to chill for 1 hour.
Scatter some more flour over the counter and roll out the dough to the same size rectangle as before. Repeat the folding process, one side on top of the other, and turn the dough again, then place the dough back in the refrigerator for 1 hour. Repeat this whole process twice more, then let the dough rest, wrapped in plastic wrap, overnight.
Line a baking sheet. Using a rolling pin, flatten the dough to 1/8 inch/3 mm thick and cut into 8 x 8 inch/20.5 x 20.5 cm squares. Cut each square diagonally, making two triangles. Lay the triangles on a lightly floured counter with the narrow points away from you, then roll each piece up from the edge nearest you, toward the point, ending with the tip underneath. Bend the ends round to make the traditional croissant shape. Put the croissants on the baking sheet and let rise for 1 ½ hours.
Preheat the oven to 400F/200C. Brush the croissants lightly with the eggwash and bake for 10-15 minutes, or until golden brown, then transfer to a wire rack to cool.

Onion and Bacon Fougasse

This bread is one of those that you look at and say, "Hey, I want to try that"! And try I did. And love I do. And will do again....definitely! I decided to put shredded cheddar in mines. There was no measurement, just throw in as much as your heart desires.

This is an easy bread to put together and makes a perfect accompaniment to any dish you like. Personally for me, it's perfect all alone. There is this almost buttery flavor even though there isn't a lick of butter in it. Try this bread tonight and I'm sure you will feel the exact same way.


Onion and Bacon Fougasse
100 Great Breads by Paul Hollywood
*Paul uses fresh compressed yeast, if using dry or instant use 25% less than recipe states

2 2/3 cups white bread flour
1 ounce/30 grams yeast
Generous ¾ cup water
1 ½ teaspoons salt
1/3 cup olive oil
1 onion, peeled, finely chopped, and fried until translucent
3 strips of Canadian bacon, finely chopped and fried
Makes 3 loaves

Line three baking sheets. Put 1 1/3 cups of the flour with all the yeast and about ¾ cup of water into a bowl and beat together for about 3 minutes into a thick batter. Let rise and fall—this should take 3-4 hours.
Add the rest of the flour and water (enough to make a workable dough) along with the salt, ¼ cup of the oil, the fried onions, and bacon and knead well for 5 minutes. Put back in the bowl and let rise for 1 hour.
Divide the dough into 3 pieces. Using a rolling pin, flatten each piece to about 2.5 cm/1 inch high, then shape each roughly into a circle. Using your knife, cut two diagonal slashes down the middle of each circle and three diagonal slashes on each side. Brush lightly with the remaining olive oil, then place on the baking sheets and let rise for 1 hour.
Preheat oven to 450F/230C. Bake the bread for 15 minutes, or until golden brown, then transfer to a wire rack to cool.