Fresh from the Oven - Artisan Flour

This month's challenge on the FFTO blog was set by Helen and it was to bake a loaf using small production artisan flour.  Luckily for me a few months ago I went to a Farmers market and picked up Wight Rye Flour from the Stoneground flour co. (based at Little Duxmore Farm on the Isle of Wight) and some Organic Strong White Stoneground flour from Wren Davis Ltd (Collings Hanger Farm, Great Missenden). But Helen did give a couple of links in the challenge to other small time producers that I will have to investigate!

I have been using them both in little bit for a while and this was the perfect opportunity to make a loaf where all the flour was small production artisan flour.

I used an adapted version of a recipe I have used many times before combing Rye flour, White Flour, Cornmeal and (in this case) sunflower seeds for a really tasty loaf.

Recipe

300ml water
50g Rye flour
450g White bread flour
25g Cornmeal
1tbsp light muscovado sugar
1 tsp salt
25g butter
1 tsp dried yeast
50g Sunflower seeds
Cornmeal for dusting

I put everything (in the correct order for your bread machine) into the bread machine on the dough cycle and let it do its thing.

Once it is done and punched down I shaped it into a oval loaf and put it on a baking tray which I had first dusted thickly with cornmeal (this stops the loaf from sticking gives it a crunchy bottom.  I left cover it with oiled cling film and leave it on top of a radiator to rise until it has doubled (about 40 mins).

About now I preheat the oven to 220 degrees C, Gas Mark 7 and put a roasting tray full of hot water on the bottom shelf of the oven.

Then I dust the top of the loaf with cornmeal and put three slashes in the top with a knit to encourage it to rise even more.  I leave it uncovered in a warm place for 10 more mins (or roughly until the oven has reheated.

Then place in the over and bake for 25-30 mins or until the loaf sounds hollow when tapped on the based.

The resulting loaf is perfect for toasting and yummy although it will be denser than a pure white loaf because of the other grains. It has a great savory flavour, and is great with marmite!

Fresh from the Oven - Cholla

I was very excited when the Belleau Kitchen proposed that this month's Fresh from the Oven Challenge would be Cholla.  This was one of the earliest breads I made when I first started baking bread when I was 20 and so it was a great blast from the past.  I was insanely pleased with the results and the instructions on how best to braid it made it much easier than I remember the first time.  The quantities in the recipe made for a very large loaf - but my aunt and uncle were stopping off here for breakfast after their flight from Singapore got in so it was eaten up very easily. 

The final loaf had a beautiful soft crumb and rich flavour.  The egg wash also came out wonderfully giving it a fantastic golden sheen and yet more flavour.  I think I will definitely make this recipe again (for special treats and when lots of people visit).  This isn't an everyday bread - this is bread for celebrations and occasions and I will be keeping it for best!

I switched out my usual yeast this time for a faster acting version made by sainsburys - obviously there were lots of other variables in the recipe but I did get a faster, better rise this time so once my pack of Allisons is finished I might move on to these sachets full time - I have a few more weeks of testing left in the packets though to make my mind up fully.

The amazing recipe is below and thanks to the Belleau Kitchen for reminding me of a really good bread.

Note - all the photos in the recipe below are Dom's from the BK.

Braided Challah Bread

1 sachet easy blend dried yeast

1tsp clear honey

8fl oz lukewarm milk

50g melted butter

16oz plain flour

1 tsp salt

2 eggs lightly beaten - in separate bowls - one for the mix and one for glazing

Poppy seed or sesame seeds (optional)

Combine the yeast, honey, milk and butter, stir and leave for 15mins to dissolve

In a large bowl, mix together the flour and salt.  Make a well in the centre and add the yeast mixture and one of the beaten eggs.  Stir to make a dough. (It will be very sticky and will definitely need extra flour for kneading)

Knead till smooth and elastic (a good 15 mins) then transfer to a clean bowl, cover and leave to prove for 1 1/2 hours.

Grease a baking sheet. Knock back the dough and divide into 3 equal pieces.  Roll to shape each piece into a long strip for plaiting.

Lay 2 of the strips over the third to make a star shape and plait from the centre, tucking the ends under.  Do this on the baking sheet, then cover with a tea towel and leave to rise for 30 mins.

Brush with egg and bake in a hot oven at 190 for 35 - 40 mins or until golden and sounds hollow if you tap it.

Fabulous!

Fresh from the Oven - Kiflice

This months' FFTO recipe was Kiflice - Serbian Cheese Rolls.  These are apparently a great tradition in Serbia with each family having their own special recipe. Our recipe was posted by Maja this month and it was a really interesting one!


I made the basic dough in the breadmaker and immediately noticed how rich it was - milk instead of water, 75ml of sunflower oil and an egg.  That is before we get to the amazing and unusual cooking method.


Making the little rolls was slightly more fiddly.  The dough had a great texture and was very easy to work with.  I split it into 5 pieces (as per the instruction) and then rolled each piece out into a circle which I cut into 8 triangles.  It was a very good way of getting roughly equal triangle and made so much easier when I decided to make the cuts with my pizza wheel! 

Each triangle was filled with about a tsp of crumbled feta.  Cottage cheese was recommended by Maja but as soon as I saw her note to make sure it was well salted I just decided to use feta instead and this was a very good move.

I was surprised that no rising time was given for the rolls after they had been made but since I couldn't cool them straight away anyway they did get a rise of an hour or so in a cold house - temperatures in the UK have suddenly plummeted to around 0 degrees which is very cold for November.

To finish them off I took the route of putting optional sesame seeds on top.  I am very pleased I did that and would happily have used poppy seeds as well.

This is the finished picture of about 1/2 the final amount.

The recipe made 40 which was a fairly large amount.  I was visiting friends on the day I made it and so shared the rolls with them as J and I would never have got through them on our own. They tasted stunning and I would definitely make them again - probably for a special party or other occasion. 

The full recipe by Maja is below including the unusual (and so very tasty) cooking method.  Do check it out...

Dough:
500 g all purpose flour
1 tsp salt
20 g fresh yeast (2 tsp instant yeast or 2.5 tsp active dry yeast)
1 tsp sugar
250 ml milk
75 ml sunflower oil
1 egg

Filling:
200-250 g cottage cheese (you may use feta or other fresh cheese)
1 egg white (optional)

And more:
1 egg yolk
1 tbsp milk
100 g margarine


Directions:
1. Crush the cheese using a fork. Add some salt if it tastes neutral. Stir the egg white in, if the cheese is too crumbly. Filling shouldn't be runny, but thick and compact, thicker than the cream cheese, and pretty salty.

2. For the starter - dissolve yeast with some lukewarm milk in a cup, add a teaspoon of sugar and a tablespoon of flour, stir to get smooth batter. Set aside at room temperature, or near the stove top, to let the yeast activate and fill the cup.

3. Sift the flour, add salt. Add activated yeast, egg, oil and milk, then combine using a wooden spoon to get smooth dough. The dough seems like too soft and too sticky at the beginning, but don't worry, continue with kneading, and soon your dough should start to separate from the bowl, and thicken. It is not necessary to knead the dough by hands, the wooden spoon works just fine (you may use any spoon, of course, the wooden spoon is common tool for all stirring and kneading works here at the Balkans). Grease the cling film with oil, cover the bowl, and set aside for at least an hour, at lukewarm place, to let the dough doubles in size.

4. Re-knead the dough, divide into 5 equal parts, shape them into balls. Each part should make 8 rolls, so you'll end up with 40 rolls, which should perfectly fit the regular oven pan, if lined in 5x8 order. Flatten each ball by hands over the floury working surface, then use a rolling pin to roll the dough out in a circle, a few millimeters thick. Use a sharp knife to cut the circle into 8 triangles. Take one triangle, stretch it in the air with your hands, to get it extended as much as you can, gently. Put some filling at the triangle base, then fold the edges of the base as shown at pic2, to avoid the filling leak out during baking. Roll. Arrange the rolls at the pan (5x8).

5. Lightly beat the egg yolk with a tablespoon of milk, then brush the top of each roll with the mixture. This is used to prevent forming thick crust, and to improve the color of baked rolls. Sprinkle with some sesame seeds, if you like.

6. Arrange the small peaces of margarine between the rolls, then bake in the oven preheated to 180°C for about 20 minutes. Be careful not to overbake them. Let them cool a bit, be careful as the filling is always more hot then the dough, take a seat in your favorite armchair, and start enjoying the softest cheese rolls ever. And don't think of calories, please :)

Fresh from the Oven - Polenta Bread

This month at the Fresh From the Oven Blog we all made Polenta bread.  I ought to show my interest here because this month the recipe was my pick.  J and I have long been fans of cornmeal and polenta breads - by which I mean yeasted breads with a portion of the flour substituted for cornmeal.  We love American Style cornbread as well but not as a "go to" loaf.  So I scoured my bread books and found a fancy little recipe for an Italian Polenta bread with lashing of melted butter and toasted pine nuts. 

Luckily I made the bread (and took the photos) before I came down with the everlasting virus.  A really nasty germ which has completely knocked me out and meant I haven't been able to do anything except sleep, watch murder mysteries, sleep, read trashy novels and cough...a lot.

I made this loaf as a treat because we had family visiting.  In truth I left it to rise for too long which meant that the bread wasn't stable so when I took the cover off after the final prove it collapsed and went a bit flat.  My own fault and nothing to do with the recipe.  The final loaf was lovely, great flavour and beautiful soft texture (although this was likely due to the large amount of melted butter and not my brilliant technique this time).  Everything enjoyed it and the whole loaf was eaten very quickly.  An excellent toasting bread as I predicted as well thanks to the polenta grains - which make it wonderfully crunchy.

Here is the final photos

If I had one criticism of the recipe it would be the final sprinkling of pine nuts.  In my heart, when I read about that stage in the book, I was concerned that they would burn and they did a little so another time I probably wouldn't bother as no pine nuts is better than overdone pine nuts.

Dough was also very sloppy so I cheated and did each knead in the mixer - I know I know - bad baker!


Polenta Bread Recipe

50g polenta
300ml lukewarm water
15g fresh yeast
1/2 tsp clear honey
225g white bread flour
25g butter
3 tbsp pine nuts
1 and 1/2 tsp salt


For the topping:

1 egg yolk
1 tbsp water
pine nuts for sprinkling

Makes 1 loaf

1. Lightly grease a baking sheet. Mix the polenta and 250ml of the water together in a pan and slowly bring to the boil, stirring continuously with a large wooden spoon. Reduce the heat and simmer for 2-3 minutes, stirring occasionally. Set aside to cool for 10 minutes, or until just warm.

2. In a small bowl, mix the yeast with the remaining water and honey until creamy/frothy (depending on the yeast being fresh/dry). Sift 115g of the flour into a larger bowl. Gradually beat in the yeast mixture, then gradually stir in the polenta mixture to combine. Turn out on to a lightly floured surface and knead for 5 minutes until smooth and elastic.

3. Cover the bowl with lightly oiled cling film and leave the dough to rise in a warm place for 2 hours or until it has doubled in bulk.

4. Melt the butter in a small pan add the pine nuts and cook over a medium heat, stirring, until the pale and golden. Set aside to cool.

5. Add the remaining flour and salt to the polenta dough and mix to a soft dough. Knead in the pine nuts cooked in butter (and the butter). Turn out on to a lightly floured surface and knead for 5 minutes until smooth and elastic.

6. Place in a lightly oiled bowl, cover with lightly oiled cling film and leave to rise in a warm place for about 1 hour or until doubled in bulk.

7. Knock back (punch down) and turn the dough out on to a lightly floured surface. Cut the dough into two equal pieces and roll each piece into a fat sausage about 38 cm/15 inches long. Plait (braid) together the two pieces and place on the baking sheet. Cover with lightly oiled cling film and leave in a warm place for 45 minutes. Pre-heat the oven to 200 C/ 400 F/ Gas Mark 6.

8. Mix the egg yolk and water and brush over the loaf. Sprinkle with the pine nuts and bake for 30 minutes or until golden and sounding hollow when tapped on the base. Cool on a wire rack.

I hope it turns out yummy for everyone!