Pita Bread

 Here is an easy variation of the basic bread recipe.

Basic Bread
15 ounces flour
9 ounces water
1 Tablespoon yeast
1 Tablespoon kosher salt

Mix and knead - rather than allow the dough to rise in place, cut the dough  into 8 or 16 pieces, (depending on the size you want).  Roll each part into a flat disc.  Spray cookie sheets with oil (or use parchment paper) and lay out the discs.  Allow a short rise of just 30 minutes. Bake at 425 for about 12 minutes.  These make great hamburger buns, too.  Extras freeze well.

Baking Bread Part 2

One of my goals for the new year was learning to make a decent loaf of bread. I have not bought any bread since the first of the year. The routine of making it is has settled in, and I think I can make a consistently good product. We've eaten and enjoyed all my efforts.

Read any book on baking bread and you know the author puts a lot of emphasis on the experience. A little practice is necessary to get the feel of when the proportions of water and flour are right and when the bread has been kneaded enough. Explaining is like giving instruction on how to ride a bike. You have to do it.

Here are a few of my latest efforts. I like simple, crusty bread with a chewy interior crumb.

So I've ben using this recipe for Basic Bread.

3 cups flour
1 cup water
1 teaspoon sugar
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon yeast

Many recipes call for more yeast, but I've found that our high altitude results in a good rise with less yeast. It sounds counter-intuitive, but spraying the dough with water before putting it in the oven results in a better crust.

This recipe does not even require a second rise or a pre-heated oven. Just form the rolls or loaf. Set the oven on 375 degrees and pop it in. Oven spring will result in a nice secondary rise.

The basic bread recipe also makes good pizza dough.

The pizza sauce was made from a 25 cent can of tomato sauce (8 oz) and some dried herbs. I added some fresh basil, a few slices of Italian sausage and some mozzarella cheese. The basic recipe made two 9 or 10 inch free form pizza pies. Add a serving of Eveready salad and dinner is done.


Previous bread posts.
Baking Bread - Cinnamon Rolls - Boule

Baking Bread Part 1

Learning to make a good loaf of bread is one of my goals for this year. I like to cook, but I am not fond of rigidly sticking to recipes. I like to use recipes as a general guideline and improvise a bit with what is available. I think that improvisation marks a good cook. A restaurant chef is limited by the recipe. People expect a dish to taste the same every time. There is not much room for variation.

Generally speaking, baking requires precise measurement and specific ingredients. Changing even a small item or step can lead to disaster. Baking bread is an exception to this rule. Perhaps because “bread” is not a single product. Just look at the variety that can be found in any supermarket.

I read a comment about bread - that the quality of bread goes down as the level of civilization goes up. Comparing Wonder Bread to a third world artisan bread shows a hidden truth in the assertion.

The comment reveals another truth. Poor peasants have been making bread for thousands of years. They have turned out wonderful loaves without measuring cups and temperature controlled rising boxes. They have cooked them in hand-shaped adobe earth ovens, or baked them in wood fired stoves.

If they can do it, we can too.

I started with the basic ingredient list: flour, water, yeast, and salt. I think that once I am comfortable with basic bread, I can start trying different variations.

This basic recipe is often called French bread. Most recipes call for an approximately 3 to 1 ratio of flour to water. A dry climate like ours needs a little less flour or a little more water. Cooking temperatures can vary from 350 to as high as your oven will go. Wood fired earth or brick ovens can achieve temperatures of 700 degrees.

Hear are two useful sites: Hot, crusty french bread loaves and The Fresh Loaf - Lessons

So far, I produced a half dozen loaves using 3 cups of flour and 1 cup of water. I am beginning to see the effects of kneading time and cooking temperature. But so far, it has all been good.

I made this dough yesterday afternoon. I put it in the refrigerator overnight. After two hours at room temperature, I baked it at 450 degrees for about 15 minutes. It is hard to beat hot fresh bread for breakfast.

Pumpkin bread pain perdu

Pain perdu is French for French Toast.  It means "lost bread", stale bread that would otherwise not be eaten.

 Pumpkins?  We had a lot of pumpkins this summer.  Many are still stored in the garage.  I cooked up a couple for pies and bread.  Here are some of my effort so far.




I cut slits in the side of two whole small pumpkins and put them on a baking sheet.  It takes about an hour and a half at 350 for the pumpkins to get soft.  After they cool, the seeds can be removed and the pulp scraped out.  A food mill or a food processor will make it smooth, but it can be mashed with a potato masher.




For the bread I started with my basic recipe:

15 oz flour
9  oz water
1 teaspoon salt
1 Tablespoon yeast
mix, knead (I use a stand mixer), rise, punch, shape, rise, bake.

I like to use weights as it makes the recipe more precise.

For the pumpkin bread, measurements are not so certain. The water content of the pumpkin mash is too variable for precise amounts.

Pumpkin Bread

15 oz flour (3+ cups)
1 cup of fresh pumpkin mash
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon ginger
1 Tablespoon yeast
2 Tablespoons sugar
1 egg
3 oz butter
mix dry ingredients, mix wet ingredients, mix together, add flour or water as necessary to get a soft dough, knead, rise, punch, shape, rise, bake.

The bread is good served warm with butter.  It also makes very good French Toast. 

A couple of eggs beaten into a little cream or milk is all you need.

Breakfast - French toast with butter and maple syrup.  Add a few slices of ham and breakfast is complete

Breakfast tostado

It's Nancy's birthday, that calls for a special breakfast.

Corn tortilla, sprinkled with cheese, heated in skillet.
Lightly cooked salsa of red onions, avocado, and tomato.
Scrambled eggs
Bacon

And maybe a little hot sauce.

Ciabatta bread

Ciabatta bread has a moist crumb and a crackly, crisp crust.

Some websites warn that only experienced bakers should attempt it, with the aid of a good bread book.

But it is not really hard to do. In fact, it may be easier than traditional bread.

Basic bread -aka peasant bread or French bread has a ratio of 5 parts flour to 3 parts water (5 to 3). A standard size loaf by weight would be 15 ounces of flour and 9 ounces of water. By volume that is about 3 cups of flour and 1+ cup of water.

Ciabatta bread is a wet dough with a basic ratio of 5 to 4. A small loaf by weight would be 10 ounces of flour and 8 ounces of water. By volume that is about 2 cups of flour and 1 cup of water. Both recipes also include 1 teaspoon each of salt and yeast. Chiabatta bread is not kneaded. It does require a long rise time.

Here is the technique - in a plastic bowl

1. Mix two cups flour, teaspoon salt, 1 teaspoon (or 1 package) yeast.

2. Add 1 cup of warm water.

3. Mix with silicone spatula until all the flour is incorporated.

4. Cover with plastic wrap and let set for two or three hours.

5. Using the spatula, fold the dough from the outside to the center

6. Turn the dough ball over, cover and let rise again two or three hours.

7. Using the spatula, fold the dough from the outside to the center

8. Sprinkle flour on the dough and turn to coat.

9. Turn the dough out on a piece of parchment, gently shape into a loaf.

10. Cover with floured plastic - let rise at least one hour.

11. Pre-heat oven to 450 degrees.

12. Spay the loaf with water and cook about 45 minutes - until crust is golden.