Pita Bread - serious eats recipe

Ingredients

• 1 cup water (8 ounces; 240ml), 105–110°F (41–43°C)
• 1 tablespoon (15ml) extra-virgin olive oil, plus more for oiling the bowl
• 1 tablespoon granulated sugar
• 2 1/4 teaspoons instant yeast
• 1 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1/2 cup whole wheat flour (2 1/2 ounces; 70g)
• 2 cups all-purpose flour (10 ounces; 280g), plus more for dusting

Directions

1. 1.
   In a medium mixing bowl, combine water, oil, sugar, yeast, salt, and whole wheat flour with a wooden spoon until combined and smooth. Stir in all-purpose flour until the mixture comes together into a shaggy mass.
2. 2.
   Using clean hands, knead the dough in the bowl for 10 minutes or until it becomes smooth and very elastic, adding only very small amounts of extra flour if dough is extremely sticky (see note). Alternatively, knead dough at low speed in a stand mixer fitted with the dough hook attachment until dough is very elastic and smooth, about 8 minutes.
3. 3.
   Turn dough out onto a lightly floured work surface and form into a smooth ball. Lightly oil a clean mixing bowl and place dough inside, then rub oiled hands over the top of the dough. Cover bowl with a damp cloth and let rise in a warm place for 1 hour.
4. 4.
   Meanwhile, place a baking steel or 12-inch cast iron skillet on the top oven rack and preheat oven to 500°F (260°C). Line a plate with a large, clean kitchen towel and set aside.
5. 5.
   Punch down the dough, transfer to a lightly floured work surface, and cut into 6 even pieces. Form each dough piece into an even ball. Cover with a damp towel and let rest for 10 minutes.
6. 6.
   Roll each piece of dough into about a 7-inch circle, no more than 1/4 inch thick, taking care not to tear dough and keeping the thickness even all around. Place dough disks on a lightly floured surface, cover with a damp towel, and let proof until slightly puffy, about 30 minutes.
7. 7.
   Working with as many pitas as will fit on the steel at once, pick up each pita and place on the steel top side down. (If using a cast iron skillet, bake one pita at a time.) Immediately close the oven door and bake until pitas have puffed and are slightly golden around the edges, about 3 minutes. Be careful not to over-bake.
8. 8.
   Place baked pitas onto towel-lined plate and wrap with the overhanging towel. Repeat with any remaining pitas.
9. 9.
   For an extra-charred finish, heat a cast iron skillet on the stovetop over high heat until smoking. Working with one pita at a time, briefly heat each side until charred in a few spots, about 30 seconds. Return pita to towel and cover. Repeat with remaining pitas and serve immediately.

tartine - sourdough

LlTartine’s Country Bread

THE NEW YORK TIMES

YIELD2 loaves

TIME2 weeks (or 2 days with active starter)

The country bread from Tartine Bakery in San Francisco has reached cult status among passionate bakers, and deservedly so. Based on traditional principles, Mr. Robertson has developed a way to get a tangy, open crumb encased in a blistered, rugged crust in a home kitchen, from a starter you create yourself. It is a bit of project — from start to finish, it takes about two weeks — but well worth the effort. (If you already have active starter ready to go, then the process shortens to two days.) So know that you have to be patient, and that the nature of bread baking at home is unpredictable. The level of activity of your starter, the humidity in your kitchen, the temperature during the rises, the time you allow for each step — all of these elements affect the bread and any change can impact your final loaf. But that final loaf is a wonder, the holy grail for the serious home baker.

Featured in: Tartine’s Country Bread: Be Patient, Perfection Is Near. 

  

INGREDIENTS

FOR THE STARTER AND LEAVEN

1000 grams white-bread flour

1000 grams whole-wheat flour

FOR THE BREAD

200 grams leaven

900 grams white-bread flour

100 grams whole-wheat flour, plus more for dusting

20 grams fine sea salt

100 grams rice flour

PREPARATION

Make the starter: Combine 1,000 grams white-bread flour with 1,000 grams whole-wheat flour. Put 100 grams of warm water (about 80 degrees) in a small jar or container and add 100 grams of the flour mix. Use your fingers to mix until thoroughly combined and the mixture is the consistency of thick batter. Cover with a towel and let sit at room temperature until mixture begins to bubble and puff, 2 to 3 days.

When starter begins to show signs of activity, begin regular feedings. Keep the starter at room temperature, and at the same time each day discard 80 percent of the starter and feed remaining starter with equal parts warm water and white-wheat flour mix (50 grams of each is fine). When starter begins to rise and fall predictably and takes on a slightly sour smell, it’s ready; this should take about 1 week.(Reserve remaining flour mix for leaven.)

Make the leaven: The night before baking, discard all but 1 tablespoon of the mature starter. Mix the remaining starter with 200 grams of warm water and stir with your hand to disperse. Add 200 grams of the white-wheat flour mix and combine well. Cover with a towel and let rest at room temperature for 12 hours or until aerated and puffed in appearance. To test for readiness, drop a tablespoon of leaven into a bowl of room-temperature water; if it floats it’s ready to use. If it doesn’t, allow more time to ferment.

Make the dough: In a large bowl, combine 200 grams of leaven with 700 grams of warm water and stir to disperse. (Reserve remaining leaven for future loaves; see note below.)

Add 900 grams of white-bread flour and 100 grams of whole-wheat flour to bowl and use your hands to mix until no traces of dry flour remain. The dough will be sticky and ragged. Cover bowl with a towel and let dough rest for 25 to 40 minutes at room temperature.

Add 20 grams fine sea salt and 50 grams warm water. Use hands to integrate salt and water into dough thoroughly. The dough will begin to pull apart, but continue mixing; it will come back together.

Cover dough with a towel and transfer to a warm environment, 75 to 80 degrees ideally (like near a window in a sunny room, or inside a turned-off oven). Let dough rise for 30 minutes. Fold dough by dipping hand in water, taking hold of the underside of the dough at one quadrant and stretching it up over the rest of the dough. Repeat this action 3 more times, rotating bowl a quarter turn for each fold. Do this every half-hour for 2 1/2 hours more (3 hours total). The dough should be billowy and increase in volume 20 to 30 percent. If not, continue to let rise and fold for up to an hour more.

Transfer dough to a work surface and dust top with flour. Use a dough scraper to cut dough into 2 equal pieces and flip them over so floured sides are face down. Fold the cut side of each piece up onto itself so the flour on the surface remains entirely on the outside of the loaf; this will become the crust. Work dough into taut rounds. Place the dough rounds on a work surface, cover with a towel, and let rest 30 minutes.

Mix 100 grams whole-wheat flour and 100 grams rice flours. Line two 10- to 12-inch bread-proofing baskets or mixing bowls with towels. Use some of the flour mixture to generously flour towels (reserve remaining mixture).

Dust rounds with whole-wheat flour. Use a dough scraper to flip them over onto a work surface so floured sides are facing down. Take one round, and starting at the side closest to you, pull the bottom 2 corners of the dough down toward you, then fold them up into the middle third of the dough. Repeat this action on the right and left sides, pulling the edges out and folding them in over the center. Finally, lift the top corners up and fold down over previous folds. (Imagine folding a piece of paper in on itself from all 4 sides.) Roll dough over so the folded side becomes the bottom of the loaf. Shape into a smooth, taut ball. Repeat with other round.

Transfer rounds, seam-side up, to prepared baskets. Cover with a towel and return dough to the 75- to 80-degree environment for 3 to 4 hours. (Or let dough rise for 10 to 12 hours in the refrigerator. Bring back to room temperature before baking.)

About 30 minutes before baking, place a Dutch oven or lidded cast-iron pot in the oven and heat it to 500 degrees. Dust tops of dough, still in their baskets, with whole-wheat/rice-flour mixture. Very carefully remove heated pot from oven and gently turn 1 loaf into pan seam-side down. Use a lame (a baker’s blade) or razor blade to score the top of the bread a few times to allow for expansion, cover and transfer to oven. Reduce temperature to 450 degrees and cook for 20 minutes. Carefully remove lid (steam may release) and cook for 20 more minutes or until crust is a rich, golden brown color.

Transfer bread to a wire rack to cool for at least 15 minutes before slicing. The bottom of the loaf should sound hollow when tapped. Increase oven temperature to 500 degrees, clean out pot and repeat this process with the second loaf.

Tip

The remaining leaven is your new starter. Continue to feed it if you plan to bake again soon or hold in an airtight container in the refrigerator for future use. When you want to bake again, begin feeding the starter a few days or a week beforehand until it once again behaves predictably.

No knead bread

3 cups flour

1/4 tsp instant yeast ( or traditional dissolved in water)

1 1/4 tsp salt

1 5/8 cups water

Mix together dry ingredients 

Mix water in until it forms a shaggy dough cover with Saran Wrap for 12-18 hrs

Cover work surface with flour fold over 2 times then wait 15 mins

Work into ball then cover cotton towel with flour bran or cornmeal place ball seam side down the cover with flour again and towel and let rise for 2 hrs

Bake in 450 degree oven in lidded pot ( heat pot up with oven ) 30 mins then remove lid and bake additional 15-30 mins

No Knead Bread

The easiest crusty bread recipe ever!

Ingredients:
3 cups flour
1 ½cups water
¼teaspoon yeast
1 ¼teaspoon salt
olive oil (for coating)
extra flour, wheat bran or cornmeal

Directions:
1. Mix dry ingredients in a bowl. Add water and, using a wooden spoon,
spatula or your hand, mix until wet and sticky, about 30 to 60
seconds. Place the dough in another bowl lightly coated with olive
oil. Cover and let rest for 12 hours at room temperature.
2. Remove the dough and fold once or twice. Let the dough rest for 15
minutes. Next, shape into a ball. Generously coat a cotton towel with
flour, wheat bran or cornmeal; place the dough seam side down on the
towel and dust with flour. Cover with a cotton towel and let rise one
to two hours at room temperature, until more than doubled in size.
3. Preheat a six- to eight-quart pot, at 450 to 500 degrees, at least
30 minutes prior to baking. Once the dough has more than doubled in
volume, remove the pot from the oven and place the dough in the pot,
seam side up. Cover with the lid and bake 30 minutes. Remove the lid
and bake 15 to 30 minutes uncovered, until the loaf is nicely browned.

Apple Cinnamon Raisin Bread

Dough after first rise
Dough after filled and shaped into a jelly roll

Baked product

So this was attempt #2 at the yeast apple cinnamon rolls. I did two things differently. This time I started at 9:30pm and let the rolls have a "cool rise" overnight. The second thing was that I used probably 1/2c more sugar and 1/2c less flour. Still used the same old yeast that expried in 2007 = )The results were much better this time. Not (as) sour !!! I used the following site to get good tips. http://www.baking911.com/bread/101_intro.htm. I highly recommend it.

Apple Cinnamon and Almond Yeast Bread

Loaf before 2nd rise. Loaf after baking.Inside of baked loaf.
Same thing, different shape before 2nd rise.
Samething, different shape, after baking.

Took the whole day !!! Started at 9:30 am and was finally finished at 7:30 pm. I decided I needed to use my yeast which expired June 2007. So just a tad over the exipry date. Did the proof test and the little guys did just fine. The only thing though ..... ummm ..... kind of tasted like sourdough. Probably because I used very little sugar. Those little yeast guys must have been super active. Okay I just went to the fleishmann's yeast page to figure out why it might be sour. They said old yeast can do that. Soooo, even though the little guys were super active, no good if trying to make a sweet bread.

Muffins, Brownies and Experimental pizza...

Oatmeal buttermilk muffins, brownies, zucchini-onion-chicken-mushroom-hoisin pizza, mushroom-greenpepper-onion-chicken-curry pizza...

Celebration dinnner

Miwako and I decided to celebrate my being accepted into grad school with a fancy-style dinner. But we spent so long making it look pretty and taking pretty photos that our tuna-onion pasta was cold by the time we ate it : )

Menu

-Tuna-Onion Whole-wheat Spaghetti
-Cheese plate (goat Gouda from quebec, herbed Camembert)
-grapes, strawberries, pineapple, oranges
-freshly-baked baguette
-red wine
-walnut cakes (hodo kwaja)

Baguette Recipe, from here (Although it morphed into a huge loaf in the oven)

1 teaspoon active dry yeast
1 teaspoon sugar
1 1/2 cups warm water
4 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
2 1/2 teaspoons salt (I thought there was too much salt, I will cut some out next time)

1. Mix yeast, sugar and warm water together. Let sit for 5 minutes.
2. Add in 2 cups flour, mix well.
3. Add in salt, then rest of flour.
4. Knead, 8-15 minutes, until smooth and elastic.
5. Place into oiled bowl, turn over once to coat dough with oil.
6. Let rise, tightly covered, for about 1 1/2 hours, or until doubled in size.
7. Punch down, and shape into a long, slender baguette (I did three foldovers)
8. Preheat oven, with baking stone/cookie sheet in oven, to 400 deg. F, letting loaf rise for 30 mins.
9. Slash the top of the loaf, brush some cool water onto it, and then bake the loaf in the middle of the oven, about 30 minutes, until golden-brown.

Note: Slide a pan with cold water into the oven when you begin baking the loaf - the steam will create a crispy crust.

Sweet Hk-style bread

This bread was really light and fluffy - I basically followed this recipe from Kitchen Unplugged, but substituted 2 whisked eggs for the three egg yolks, and 1% milk for the evaporated milk (mainly because I was too lazy to separate the eggs, or go to the grocery store to buy evaporated milk.) I also used normal all-purpose flour instead of bread flour.

I needed a little more flour than the recipe called for - but that's probably because I was using milk instead of evaporated milk. I would definitely make this again, maybe using a little less sugar.

Orange Honey Yeast Bread

Dough after 2nd proof, prior size = empty toilet paper roll

Determined to make a better yeast bread I tried my third yeast dough recipe. Again don't worry, there is no instant coffee in this one either. The jalapeno montery jack cheese bread was a little dense. I learned a little too late that there is actually a proper way of forming a yeast dough round. I followed the instructions this time with a better outcome. Still not as light and fluffy as regular bread that might be due to the fact that I am not using bread flour and I am still impatient with my proofing times.

Jalapeno Montery Jack Cheese Yeast Bread

Two finger proofing test- pass
Don't worry, no instant coffee in this recipe. Trader Joe's jalapeno montery jack cheese makes up the main ingredient. I was too impatient with the second proof on this bread, I didn't let it rise nearly as much as the first proof. However, compared to the cinnamon rolls this morning it rose a lot more. This time I let the boiling water cool a bit before adding it to the yeast and proofed in a warm oven. I probably killed the yeast in the cinnamon rolls with the boiling water or the sunlight on my living room floor just isn't warm enough. Need to do more experimenting.

Taro Bread Semi-Disaster

Peel and chop into small cubes, 1lb of taro.

Take some of the challah dough you made yesterday out of the fridge, let it unchill.

Boil the taro.
Drain the taro.
Mash the taro, add 1/4 c of cooking oil, and cook on low heat for 10 minutes.
Add 6 tbsp of sugar (I used brown sugar, to cover up the gross grey-colour that my taro turned out to be...how do the bakeries make it so nice and purple?), then cook the paste for a couple more minutes.
Try and get the lumps out of your taro paste. I used a strainer.
Roll out the challah dough, then slop the taro paste on top.

Spread the taro paste on the dough. Roll that sucker up, pinching the seam and ends, tucking the edges under the loaf.


NOW HERE IS WHERE I SHOULD HAVE cut the loaf into smaller loaves or buns, cinnamon-bun-style, so that it would have baked faster and more evenly. As it was, I didn't, and just brushed on an egg-wash, and stuck it into a 350 degree F oven, for about 35 minutes.








I don't know if I have the fortitude to try this again so that it works better. If I ever do, I'll know to make smaller loaves, since this one was too big to cook the inside well - I had to chop it up after the 35 minutes, into three chunks, and then I stuck it back in for about 20 minutes, so then the outside got a bit darker than I wanted it.

Still tasted good though, when I managed to get it all baked-through.

Potato Bread

I decided to use up the potatoes that've been growing in my cupboard for the past month and make potato bread - this bread is much less time-consuming than the paska bread, and I like the flavour better. A downside: It may be that I added too much flour (I made a mistake halfing the recipe), but the crust was a bit tough and chewy, instead of crispy.

Cinnamon buns...er, without the cinnamon

[the finished product]

[before baking]
[before second rise]

Yeah. I ran out of cinnamon. So these are really ginger-nutmeg buns. And actually I didn't start out with the intention of making cinnamon buns, I just decided half-way through, when I had already made the dough for normal sweet rolls.