Pesto Swirl Bread

I love baking bread on the weekends, when I’m not doing too much and have plenty of time to wait for it to rise.  I stumbled upon the fantastic Joy of Cooking recipe for basic white bread and made a few loaves to cut up for stuffing on Thanksgiving.  I liked it so much I wanted to make some to eat with dinner tonight, but with a twist.  I put some of the pesto from a few days ago on a flattened-out piece of dough and rolled it up. It was a nice dressed-up version of regular white bread and a perfect accompaniment to a simple dinner of pasta and salad.  I will definitely be making this again!

(adapted from Joy of Cooking)

2 tbsp warm water (about 11o F)

1 tsp active dry yeast 

1/2 cup milk

1 tbsp butter

1 tbsp sugar

1 1/2 tsp salt

2-3 cup bread flour

about 1/4 cup pesto

Dissolve the yeast in the water and set aside.

Heat the milk, butter, sugar, and salt in a small saucepan, until it’s about 105 degrees.

Pour the yeast and the milk mixture into the bowl of a stand mixer and stir together.

Using a wooden spoon, stir in about 2 cups of flour and mix until a dough forms.  Switch to the dough hook and turn the mixer on to low speed (2).  Mix for about 8 minutes, adding flour a tablespoon at a time if dough seems especially sticky.

When the dough is smooth and elastic, form into a ball and place in a bowl covered with plastic wrap.

Let rise until doubled in size, about one hour.

Punch down, then let rise again for about an hour.

Preheat the oven to 400 F.  Grease a 5 x 9 loaf pan.

After the dough has risen, flatten it into a rectangle about 9″ by 9″

Spread the pesto evenly over the dough, then carefully roll it up.

Pinch together the seam and place the loaf seam-side down in the loaf pan

Bake for about 20 minutes, or until the bread is golden brown and sounds hollow when tapped.

Set on a wire rack to cool.

Soft Pretzels

These have been on my to-make list for awhile, but it wasn’t until I was standing in my kitchen, thinking about making some bread, that I realized I had all the ingredients and plenty of time to make pretzels.  I’m so happy I did, because these were HIGHLY addictive.  Like, so addictive I probably won’t make them again for a few months because they were gone way too fast.

They are best right out of the oven (with plenty of mustard, of course), but as my husband discovered, cold ones are easy to reheat in the toaster.

(adapted from Home Baking by Jeffrey Alford and Naomi Duguid)

1 cup milk, scalded and cooled to lukewarm

1 envelope active dry yeast

1 tbsp honey

1 cup bread flour

1 1/4 to 2 cups all purpose flour

1 tsp salt

2 tbsp unsalted butter, softened

1/4 cup baking soda

1 egg yolk

2 tsp milk

kosher salt

Place the scalded milk in the bowl of a stand mixer, and stir the yeast in until dissolved.

Add the honey and one bread flour, and stir until smooth.

Sprinkle on the salt, add the butter, and stir well to incorporate.  

Add 1 1/4 cups all purpose flour, and mix with the dough hook for about 5 minutes, until dough is smooth.  Add a little more flour if the dough is too sticky.

Transfer to a clean bowl, cover with plastic wrap, and let rise until doubled in bulk, about 1/5 hours.

Preheat the oven to 450 F.

Turn the dough out onto a floured surface and cut into 8 equal pieces.

Roll each piece out into a long skinny rope, 24-30″ long.  Pick up the ends, twist, and press into a typical pretzel shape.  

Let the pretzels rise for about 10 minutes under a clean kitchen towel while you boil 1 cup of water with the baking soda in a small saucepan (make sure one pretzel at a time will fit in the pan!)

Mix together the egg yolk and milk.

Carefully lift a pretzel with a spatula and place in the boiling water.  After 20 seconds, remove and shake off the water.  Place on a Silpat or parchment-lined baking sheet and repeat with the remaining pretzels.

Brush the egg yolk-milk mixture over the pretzels, then sprinkle with kosher salt.

Bake for about 12 minutes, or until deeply golden brown, then cool on a wire rack.

Conchas

The first time I visited a Mexican grocery store, some beautiful rolls with an attractive pink topping caught my eye.  I ADORE pan dulce, and can’t resist picking up at least a couple any time I go to a Mexican grocery store.  It didn’t occur to me until very recently that I should attempt to make my own.

The dough is incredibly easy to work with, and the flavor is superb.  The dough has a hint of cinnamon, and the pink topping (which is baked on) is sweet with a light vanilla undertone.  Not only will it make your kitchen smell glorious, if eaten when still warm there’s a good chance one of these will melt all your problems all away. Yep, all of them.  They’re just that good!

(adapted from allrecipes.com)

1 envelops active dry yeast
1/2 cup warm water
1/2 cup evaporated milk
3/8 cup white sugar
1 teaspoon salt
1/3 cup butter, melted
1 egg
4 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

2/3 cup white sugar
1/2 cup butter, softened
1 cup all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
4 or 5 drops red food coloring

In a large bowl, stir together the yeast and warm water. Mix in the milk, 3/8 cup sugar, 1/3 cup melted butter, salt, egg and half of the flour. Gradually mix in the remaining flour, and 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon.
Turn the dough out onto a floured counter to knead as soon as it pulls together enough.
Knead for 6 to 8 minutes, until smooth and elastic.
Place in a large greased bowl, and turn the dough to coat.
Cover, and let rise in a warm place until doubled, about 1 hour.
Make the topping while the dough rises.
In a medium bowl, beat 2/3 cup sugar and 1/2 cup butter until light and fluffy.
Stir in the flour until the mixture is the consistency of thick paste, then stir in the vanilla and food coloring.
When the dough is done rising, cut into 12 even-sized pieces.
Shape into balls, and place on a greased cookie sheet, spacing about 3 inches apart.
Divide the topping into 12 balls, and pat them flat. Place circles of topping on top of the dough balls patting down lightly.
Use a knife dipped in warm water (to prevent sticking) to cut grooves in the topping like a clam shell.
Cover and let rise until doubled, about 45 minutes.
Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. Bake for about 16 minutes, or until lightly golden brown.

Ciabatta

I was planning on making Kalamata Olive Ciabatta, because I’ve had it from a bakery before and I think it’s divine. However, I had some distractions while I was making the bread (there is a lot of folding – waiting – folding – waiting – shaping – waiting…so I didn’t stay totally focused the entire time) and I completely forgot to put them in. Next time, I guess! 

You will need to plan in advance when you want to make this bread.  The poolish must sit out for 3 or 4 hours, then in the refrigerator overnight.  Baking day, as I mentioned before, requires little work but sporadic attention.  The recipe looks long and complicated, so it helps to read through the whole thing a few times before baking so you know what is coming next.  I ended up with a denser crumb than I was hoping for, and I’m not sure why that is, but it still tasted great.

(from The Bread Baker’s Apprentice by Peter Reinhart)

Poolish:

2 1/2 cups unbleached bread flour

1 1/2 cups water, at room temperature

1/4 tsp instant yeast

Stir together the flour, water, and yeast in a mixing bowl until all of the flour is hydrated.  The dough should be soft and sticky and look like very thick pancake batter.  Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and ferment at room temperature for 3 to 4 hours, or until the sponge becomes bubbly and foamy.  Immediately refrigerate it.  It will keep for up to 3 days in the refrigerator.

Bread:

3 1/4 cups poolish

3 cups unbleached bread flour

1 3/4 tsp salt

1 1/2 tsp instant yeast

6 tbsp to 3/4 cup water, lukewarm (90-100 F)

Semolina flour or cornmeal for dusting

1. Remove the poolish from the refrigerator 1 hour before making the dough to take off the chill.

2. To make the dough, stir together the flour, salt, and yeast in a 4-quart mixing bowl.  Ad the poolish and 6 tbsp of the water.  With a large metal spoon, or on low speed with the paddle attachment, mix until the ingredients form a sticky ball.  If there is still some loose flour, add the additional water as needed and continue to mix.  Mix on medium speed with the paddle attachment for 5 to 7 minutes, or as long as it takes to create a smooth, sticky dough.  Switch to the dough hood for the final 2 minutes of mixing.  The dough should clear the sides of the bowl but stick to the bottom of the bowl.  You may need to add additional flour to firm up the dough enough to clear the sides of the bowl, but the dough should still be quite soft and sticky.

3. Sprinkle enough flour on the counter to make a bed about 8 inches square.  Using a bowl scraper or spatula dipped in water, transfer the sticky dough to the bed of flour and proceed with the stretch-and-fold method. (Dust the top of the dough with flour, patting the dough into a rectangle.  Wait 2 minutes for the dough to relax.  Coat your hands with flour and lift the dough from each end, stretching it to twice its size.  Fold the dough over itself, letter style, to return it to a rectangular shape.)  Mist the top of the dough with spray oil, dust with flour, and loosely cover with plastic wrap.

4. Let rest for 30 minutes.  Stretch and fold the dough again; mist with spray oil, dust with flour, and cover.  Allow the covered dough to ferment on the counter for 1 1/2 to 2 hours.  It should swell but not necessarily double in size.

5. Set up a couche. (Mist the surface of a heavy cloth with spray oil and dust with flour.) Carefully remove the plastic from the dough and use a pastry scraper that has been dipped in water to divide the dough in 2 or 3 rectangles.  Sprinkle the dough generously with more flour, and, using the scraper to get under the dough, gently lift each piece from the counter and then roll it on both sides in the loose flour to coat.  Lay the loaves on the cloth and gently fold each piece of dough, from left to right, letter style, into an oblong about 6 inches long.  Bunch the cloth between the pieces to provide a wall, the cover the cloth with a towel.

6. Proof for 45 to to 60 minutes at room temperature, or until the dough has noticeably swelled.

7.  Preheat the oven to 500 F.  While the oven is preheating, place an empty heavy-duty sheet pan or cast-iron frying pan on the top shelf of the oven.  Before putting the bread in the oven, have hot water standing by, the hotter the better.  Fill a mister or sprayer with room temperature water.

8. Generously dust a peel or the back of a sheet pan with semolina flour or cornmeal and very gently transfer the dough pieces to the peel or pan, using the pastry scraper if you need support.  Lift the dough from each end and tug the dough out to a length of 9 to 12 inches.  If the dough bulges too high in the middle, gently dimple it down with your fingertips to even out the height of the loaf.  Pour 1 cup of hot water into the steam pan and close the door.  After 30 seconds, open the door and spray the back and sides of the oven with water and close the door.  Repeat twice more at 30-second intervals.  After the final spray, turn the oven setting down to 450 F and bake for 10 minutes.  Rotate the loaves 180 degrees, if necessary, for even baking and continue baking for 5 to 10 minutes longer, or until done.  The bread should register 205 F in the center and should be golden in color (but the flour streaks will also give it a dusty look).  The loaves will feel quite hard and crusty at first but will soften as they cool.

9. Transfer the bread from the oven to a cooling rack and allow to cool for at least 45 minutes before slicing or serving.

Rosemary Focaccia

As a child, and I remember the first time I ever had focaccia.  It was my first foray into the wonderful world of bread beyond plain white sandwich bread and baguettes with crusts so tough I thought my teeth would break.  I fell in love on the spot with the chewy texture of the bread and the added flavor of salt and herbs on top.  When I got the indispensable Baking With Julia, Focaccia was one of the first recipes I tried. 

With the help of a KitchenAid, this recipe is quite easy – it just needs to be mixed for about 10 minutes (but would take much longer by hand).  The hardest part is waiting for the dough to chill a whole 24 hours between the first two rises and time it is baked.  

Inspired by the Pizza Bianca we had in Rome on our honeymoon, I brushed this with olive oil and sprinkled it with rosemary and sea salt before baking.  However  you can use infused olive oil, any herb you like, or even brush it thinly with pizza sauce.

Because I used a pastry brush, I’m submitting this to the July Tasty Tools blog event, which you can read about on Joelen’s Culinary Adventures

(adapted from Baking With Julia by Dorie Greenspan) – makes 2 rectangular loaves

1 tablespoon active dry yeast (this is one envelope plus a little extra – be sure to measure it out)

1 1/4 cup warm (90-95 F) water

3 1/4 cups unbleached all-purpose flour 

2 tbsp olive oil

2 tsp salt

Whisk together 1/4 cup of the warm water and the yeast in the bowl of a stand mixer, and set aside for 5 minutes.

Pour the remaining water into a glass measuring cup and stir in the olive oil.

Whisk the flour and salt together in a medium bowl.

Stir the olive oil-water mixture into the yeast and whisk gently.

Add half the flour mixture and stir with a rubber spatula.

Using the dough hook, add the rest of the flour and mix on low for about 3 minutes.  If the dough is very sticky, add flour one tablespoon at a time until the dough clears the sides of the bowl.  If it is overly dry, add a few drops of warm water and scrape down the sides of the bowl.

Turn the mixer up to medium-high and mix for 10 minutes, until the dough is soft and elastic.

 

Transfer the dough to a floured surface and form into a ball.

Lightly grease a bowl and place the dough ball in it.  Cover with plastic wrap and allow to rise at room temperature 1-1 1/2 hours (or until doubled in size).

After the first rise, fold the dough on itself to deflate it, then let it rise again, about one hour.

Deflate the dough gently and place on a floured surface.  Using a dough scraper, cut it in half and shape each half into a ball.

Pour a little olive oil into each of two gallon-sized bags, and place one ball of dough in each bag.

Refrigerate 24-36 hours.

1 1/2 hours before you plan to bake the dough, remove the bags from the refrigerator and each ball of dough out of its bag.

 

Place on a lightly-floured surface and dust the top of each piece of dough with flour.  Cover lightly with plastic wrap and allow to rest for one hour

Baking the bread:

cornmeal

1 tbsp chopped fresh rosemary

2 tbsp olive oil

1 1/2 tsp sea salt

Preheat the oven to 450 F.

Line two baking sheets with Silpats or parchment, and sprinkle with cornmeal.

Gently shape each piece of dough into a rectangle, place on a baking sheet, and brush with olive oil.

Sprinkle with the rosemary and salt.

Bake for about 15 minutes, or until the bread is golden brown on top.

Cool on a wire rack, then cut into squares and enjoy!