Tag: Bread

Breads

Brioche

Lynnae

I love the smell of freshly baked bread in the house. One of the most complicated and delicious breads that I’ve made is brioche. The magical ingredient in brioche is BUTTER!!!! And, the key to a good loaf of brioche is a strong gluten development, which means A LOT of time in the mixer kneading.

The ingredients are simple: all-purpose flour, butter, eggs, salt, yeast, sugar, and water. And you start by making a sponge, which is a way to give the yeast a head start. Put 3 cups of flour, yeast, water, and eggs in a mixing bowl.   Beat on medium speed with the paddle attachment until the batter is smooth. Cover it and let it sit for 45 minutes.  The mixture will develop a few bubbles.

Add the remaining 2 cups of flour, the sugar, and salt.  Beat until the dough cleans the side of the bowl and becomes shiny and elastic.  It will take 8 to 10 minutes. 

Now comes the unusual part. While the dough is mixing, flour the countertop and put the butter on top of the flour.  Generously sprinkle the top of the butter with flour.  Using a rolling pin, pound the butter until it becomes a flat rectangle. Folding it over several times until the butter becomes pliable.  It should still be cold. This will make it easier to incorporate the butter into the dough.

After the dough has been kneading for 8-10 minutes, it’s time to test the dough’s gluten development. Pull up a thin piece of dough and stretch it as far as you can before it tears.  It should stretch thin enough to see through.  This is the window-pane test.   If it tears too quickly, knead it for a couple more minutes and repeat the test.

Once the dough passes the window pane test, it’s time to add the butter. While the mixer is on, add the butter to the dough a little at time and beat it until it’s fully incorporated.

Cover the dough and let it rise for one hour.  It should be soft and should have risen by a third.  Dust the countertop with flour and turn the dough onto it.  Fold it over several times.  Use a bench knife to scrape up any dough bits that stick to the surface.  Place in a greased bowl, cover and refrigerate for 4 to 16 hours.

Remove from the refrigerator, divide the loaf into two pieces, and form it into two loafs.  You can roll it out flat and then roll it into a loaf shape. This will give you nice long strands for the dough structure. You can also divide each loaf into 3 more pieces, roll them into a long snake-like ribbon, and braid the pieces into a loaf.

Cover the dough lightly and allow it double in size, about 2 ½ to 3 hours.  Preheat oven to 375 degrees.  Beat the egg yolk with 1 tablespoon of water and brush the exposed surfaces.  Bake the brioche for 45-50 minutes or until it’s internal temperature reaches 190 degrees and is golden brown.  After 10 minutes, remove the bread from the pan and allow it cool completely.

Brioche

From the Kitchen of Lynnae Hymas

Recipe by King Arthur Flour

Serves: 2 loavesPrep Time: 30-60 minutes active, 24 hours passiveCook Time: 45-50 minutes

INGREDIENTS:

  • 5 cups or 21 ounces of all-purpose flour
  • 1 tablespoons yeast
  • ½ cup or 4 ounces of cool water
  • 8 large eggs, plus 1 egg yolk for glaze
  • 4 tablespoons sugar
  • 1 ½ teaspoon salt
  • 2 cups cold unsalted water

INSTRUCTIONS:

Put 3 cups of flour, yeast, water, and eggs in a mixing bowl.   Beat on medium speed with the paddle attachment until the batter is smooth.  This is a sponge that will give the yeast a head start.  Cover it and let it sit for 45 minutes.  The mixture will develop a few bubbles.

Add the remaining 2 cups of flour, the sugar, and salt.  Beat until the dough cleans the side of the bowl and becomes shiny and elastic.  It will take 8 to 10 minutes. 

In the meantime, flour the countertop and put the butter down.  Sprinkle the top of the butter with flour.  Using a rolling pin, pound the butter until it becomes a flat rectangle, folding it over several times until the butter becomes pliable.  It should still be cold. 

Test the dough’s gluten development by pulling up a thin layer and stretch it as far as you can before it tears.  It should stretch thin enough to see through.  This is the window-pane test.   Add the butter to the dough a little at time and beat it until it’s fully incorporated.

Cover the dough and let it rise for one hour.  It should be soft and should have risen by a third.  Dust the countertop with flour and turn the dough onto it.  Fold it over several times.  Use a bench knife to scrape up any dough bits that stick to the surface.  Place in a greased bowl, cover and refrigerate for 4 to 16 hours.

Remove from the refrigerator, divide the loaf into two pieces, and form it into two loafs.  Cover the dough lightly and allow it double in size, about 2 ½ to 3 hours.  Preheat oven to 375 degrees.  Beat the egg yolk with 1 tablespoon of water and brush the exposed surfaces.  Bake the brioche for 45-50 minutes or until it’s internal temperature reaches 190 degrees and is golden brown.  After 10 minutes, remove the bread from the pan and allow it cool completely.

briocheDownload
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Streusel-Topped Blueberry Muffins

Lynnae

It’s blueberry season here in Michigan.  We spent last weekend in Lundington, MI, and found the most amazing u-pick blueberry farm, Couturier Blueberry Farm.  We came home with at least 30 pounds of the most beautiful blueberries.  
We froze most of them to enjoy during the winter months, but, I found myself on a quest for the perfect blueberry muffins.   Of course, I didn’t have to look too far, because the girls at Our Best Bites never disappoint.  Here is Kate’s delicious recipe:


Streusel-Topped Blueberry Muffins
Recipe from Our Best Bites 
1 ¾ cups all-purpose flour, plus 1 tablespoon, divided
2 ¾ teaspoons baking powder
¾ teaspoons table salt
½ cup sugar, plus 1 tablespoon, divided
2 teaspoon grated orange or lemon peel
1 large egg
¾ cup buttermilk
⅓ cup canola oil
1 cup fresh or frozen blueberries
1 tablespoon flour
1 tablespoon sugar
Streusel Topping
¼ cup sugar
2 ½ tablespoons flour
½ teaspoon cinnamon
1 ½ tablespoon butter
Preheat the oven to 400°F.  Prepare your muffin tins with liners or coat with shortening and flour. Add the 1 ¾ cups flour, baking powder, salt, 1/2 cup sugar, and peel into a bowl.  Spoon the flour into the measuring cup and level it with a knife to ensure the correct volume of flour.   Make a well in the center of mixture.  In another bowl, whisk the buttermilk, egg, and oil.  Add to the dry ingredient well and stir until moistened.
In a separate bowl, combine 1 tablespoon flour and 1 tablespoon of sugar.  Toss the berries in the mixture until well coated.  Fold the berries into the batter and spoon the batter into the muffin tin, filling each cup ⅔ full.  
Mix the streusel topping by combining the sugar, flour, and cinnamon.  Cut the butter into the mixture with a pastry cutter or fork until the mixture is crumbly.  Sprinkle over the top of each muffin cup.  Put the muffin tin into the pre-heated oven and bake for about 18 minutes, until the tops are a golden brown.  You can test the muffins by inserting a toothpick into the center of one of the muffins. If it comes out clean, they are done.  Allow to cool in the pan for about 5 minutes and then cool them on a cooling rack.  Makes 12 muffins.
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Pizza Dough

Lynnae

We’ve experimented with a few difference pizza dough recipes around here.  This is now my go to.  I adapted Bobby Flay’s recipe just a titch.  Enjoy!

2 1/2 to 3 c bread flour (King Arthur is the best, seriously)
1 c cake flour
1 tsp sugar
1 1/2 tbsp. yeast
2 tsp kosher salt
1 1/2 c. warm water
2 tbsp. olive oil

Combine flour, sugar, yeast, and salt in the bowl of a stand mixer.  Add the water and the oil while the mixer is running.  If the dough is stick, add more flour, one tablespoon at a time.  If too dry, add 1 tbsp. of  water at a time.  It should form a soft ball.  Allow to rise one hour (I often skip this step with pizza dough, and it still turns out, but letting it rise is best).

Divide dough into to equal pieces.  Roll out and top with your favorite pizza sauce, cheese and toppings.  I usually make and freeze one of the pizzas on a cardboard cake plate.  Bake at 425 degrees for 12-15 minutes.

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Parmesan Rolls

Lynnae
18 frozen Rhodes Rolls
¾ c. Parmesan cheese
½ tsp garlic salt
2 tbsp parsley
¾ c. melted butter

Melt the butter in the microwave.  Mix the Parmesan cheese, garlic salt, and parsley together in a separate container. Dip the frozen Rhodes Roll in the butter, then the cheese mixture so that the cheese sticks to the whole roll.  Let rise six hours in a warm place.  Bake at 375° F for 12-15 min. or until golden brown.

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Cinnamon Burst Bread

Lynnae

This is a copy cat Great Harvest Cinnamon Burst Bread recipe that I adapted from one I found on Food.com.  I use bread flour (King Arthur of course) instead of all purpose, and it makes a huge difference.  This is the first step in a bigger and better recipe to follow.  Trust me, you won’t be disappointed!

3 tbsp yeast
1/2 c. sugar
4 eggs, beaten
3 3/4 c warm water
4 1/2 tsp salt
3 tbsp Canola oil
2 c. cinnamon chips
8 c. bread flour
1/2 – 1 c. cake flour

Combine 4 c. flour, yeast, and sugar in a large mixing bowl of a stand mixer.  Then add the water, eggs, and oil.  Mix with the paddle attachment until well combined.  Let it rest for about 5 minutes to allow the yeast to work.  Your dough should have bubbles in it.  Switch to the dough hook of your mixer, and then add the salt, 4 more cups of bread flour, and the cinnamon chips.  Knead the dough until it’s nice and smooth.  Add the cake flour a little at a time until the dough pulls away from the bowl, but be careful not to add too much.  Your dough should be slightly sticky and pliable.  You don’t want it too stiff.  Knead it for another 10 minutes.  Put dough in a greased bowl and allow to rise until double in size.  Grease four loaf pans.  Punch dough down, shape it into loaves, and put it in the pans.  Allow to rise until double in size.  Bake at 350 for 30-35 minutes.

I usually freeze a couple of the loaves for later.

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UPDATED: Pizza Crust

Lynnae

UPDATED

I have two recipes for pizza crust.  This first one is easy to mix up on demand, and doesn’t take a lot of prep work.  Here is my simple pizza crust recipe:

Pizza Crust

 1 c. water
2-3 c. flour, divided
1 tbsp yeast
1/2 tsp salt
2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil

Mix 1 cup of flour along with all the other ingredients in the mixer using the paddle attachment.  Change to the dough attachment on the mixer and add flour until the dough looses most of it’s stickiness, but is still soft and pliable.  This is enough dough for 1 large pizza.

The second recipe is a more complicated sour dough recipe, but well worth the effort.  Along with the discovery of King Arthur Flour, came this recipe for pizza crust, all from my husband’s attending (boss) last month, Dr. Kenneth Kernen.  My husband is the one who makes the dough, and then we freeze 3-4 balls for the next time.  This recipe is in weight, NOT in volume.  For your convenience, we have converted this to volume measurements in parenthesis, but we HIGHLY recommend weighing the flour.  Dr. Kernen said the reason is that it’s much more accurate and consistent, since the ingredients tend to be inconsistent in how tightly they’re packed.

Also of note, the bread flour/cake flour combo in here is important to get the consistency right, and King Arthur flour is the way to go.   King Arthur also has a sour dough starter if you don’t have one or can’t get a hold of one.  We also recommend Saf-instant yeast.

Sour Dough Pizza Crust

100 ml water (1/2 c.)
1 1/2 tsp yeast
15 ml honey (1 tbsp)
1/4 c. sour dough starter
700 ml cold water (about 3 cups)
35 gm salt (2 tbsp)
45 gm extra virgin olive oil (1/4 c.)
1000 gm bread flour (approx 6 3/4 c. scooped and leveled)
250 gm cake flour (approx 1 3/4 c. scooped and leveled)

In a mixing bowl, mix the 100 ml water, yeast, and honey together.  Then add the sour dough starter, cold water, salt, olive oil, and flour to the mixer with the dough hook attachment.  Knead for 10-15 minutes.  The dough will be pretty sticky and wet.  Transfer to an oiled bowl and cover.  Let it sit or proof at least 24 hrs, but longer is better (2-4 days).  It develops the flavor.   This recipe will make 4-5 pizza crusts.

NOTE:  This recipe also makes GREAT fry bread (scones, elephant ears, or whatever you want to call them).  We just made a sandwich from a left over piece of fry bread and it was OH SO GOOD!