Herbed Potato and Roasted Garlic Bread and Red Wine and Cheese Bread (37 of 42)

Summertime.....and the living is easy.  Fish are jumping (in this case the invasive Asian Carp which are threatening the Great Lakes)

and the cotton is (or in my case, weeds are) high.

Summertime is also the time for farmers' markets, where you can get your organic veggies and heirloom tomatoes.  While heirloom tomatoes are a Big Thing right now, it is important to preserve the diversity of varieties in other vegetables.

While I was looking for directions on how to make a self-watering planter from 5 gallon buckets I came across this chart from National Geographic Food Ark, which demonstrates that  there has been a precipitous decline in the number of vegetable varieties that are available.  

The site notes that of the 66 crops surveyed about 93 percent of the varieties had gone extinct between 1903 and 1983.  "So what?" you ask.  Remember the potato famine?  One variety of potato, one fungus (phytophthora infestans).  Or the Great French Wine Blight which was caused by aphids.  And don't forget the current plight of the banana (see, for example, Yes, We Will Have No Bananas), of which there is only one variety commercially available--and it is currently being decimated by a blight.  More varieties means more genetic diversity and a greater possibility of resistant varieties.  If you are interested in growing some heirloom varieties of you own, check out the Southern Exposure Seed Exchange or the Seed Savers Exchange.   And the great thing is that by buying and growing a wider range of fruit and vegetable varieties you not only help preserve diversity, you get some good eats, too.

Speaking of good eats, both breads for this assignment ate pretty good.

The Red Wine and Cheese Bread did not have much whole wheat in it only a 1/2 cup in the half recipe I made (and 1/4 cup of rye--much less than a pocket full).  It did have 3/4 of a cup a red wine, which gave it a kind of rosy tint, and 1/2 cup of shredded sharp cheddar (I used a light sharp cheddar from Trader Joe's).  None of my tasters, including my Special Guest Taster, Hildy, really noticed the flavor of either the red wine or the cheese, but everyone thought the bread was pretty good.  When I told them that there was red wine and cheese  in the bread, they all decided that they could taste a subtle flavor of both--but then my group can be kind of suggestible--whenever they watch a medical program they are sure they have whatever disease or condition is featured on the show.

I baked my Red Wine and cheese Bread as a boule

and I think it came out right purty.

I used some of the remaining dough to make a Swiss chard and mushroom pizza on the grill, cooked directly on the grates.  We ate it before I thought to take its picture. It seems we must add Pizza to Time and Tide.

The second bread for this assignment was the Herbed Potato and Roasted Garlic Bread, which not surprisingly has herb[e]s (de Provence), potato, and roasted garlic.  It also has ground flaxseed.  The potatoes, interestingly, were not cooked, just diced and mixed into the dough.  Although I was making a half batch I used the full complement of garlic and herb[e]s.  I still did not get much, if any, flavor from the herb[e]s, but did get a nice roasted garlic hit. 

I decided to use the dough to make baguettes, using my perforated baguette pan.

With the chunks of potato, I thought this was a very interesting, and pretty tasty, bread. 

And finally, since I still had some of each dough, I mooshed them together and made a hybrid Herbed Red Wine with Cheese, Potato, and Roasted Garlic Bread.  

So that was about all I could do with the Herbed Potato and Roasted Garlic Bread and Red Wine and Cheese Bread.  We now have just 5 assignments to go. Enjoy the summertime, and hope to see you next time.

Gluten-free Brioche and “Super Sam” Gluten-free Cinnamon Buns (36 of 42)

It is July already. And this July is kind of special. This year, July has 5 Fridays, 5 Saturdays and 5 Sundays. This happens once every 823 years, so it is probably the only time most of us will get to enjoy 5 TGIFs in July.  Similarly, October this year, which will be the month we complete our HB in 5 Baking Sojourn, will have 5 Saturdays, 5 Sundays, 5 Mondays. This also happens every 823 years. Concluding our date topic, this year has four unusual dates: 1/1/11, 1/11/11, 11/1/11, 11/11/11; and that's not all... take the last two digits of the year in which you were born - now add the age you will be this year. The results will be 111 for everyone in whole world. (Thanks to Jenny Archer for this information.) 

This post is also the second annual installment of Destination Baking--once again we are in beautiful Bailey Island, Maine (our 10th year coming here).   We are having a wonderful time, but miss Marissa. 

We have enjoyed seeing wild turkeys and eating free-range lobsters. 

And if you are ever in the Mid-Coast Maine area, be sure to visit the Coastal Maine Botanical Garden in Boothbay.  It is absolutely wonderful.








Now on to the baking.  In the interest of full disclosure, I baked the breads for this assignment at home before we left because it was easier to make the gluten-free dough there rather than schlep all the special ingredients to Maine.  But I did bake here.  I mixed up the dry ingredients for the Whole Wheat Master and the Quinoa Bread and brought them along in zip-lock bags.  Then when we got here I just needed to add water, mix, and let them rise. I used them to make boules, English muffins, focaccia, and sweet rolls. 

In the Quinoa Bread I used red quinoa from Trader Joe's, which showed up nicely both in the dough and in the finished bread. 







As for this assignment, it is our last assignment involving gluten free bread.  I made a half batch, since we were only making two breads.  While I sympathize with those who are gluten intolerant, I am glad I do not have to bake this way all the time.  I just never seem to be able to get the amount of ingredients quite right, whether I use volume or weight, although to some extent it may be that I am expecting the dough to feel more like dough with gluten.  "Not quite right" was certainly not the case with this dough, however.  I am not sure where I went wrong, but I must have been way off in my measurements.  I weighed the ingredients, and I wonder if one of my conversion factors was incorrect.  Judy over at Judy's Bakery and Test Kitchen posted on the discussion board that Jeff and Zoe had revised their weights for some of the ingredients, but I have not had the chance to check those against the weights I used.  Or maybe I just screwed up.  Whatever the cause, I ended up with a batter.  And a pretty thin one at that.  I worked extra flour into the dough (I used soy flour because I was low on the flours used in the recipe) until I thought it was about right, but it was purely by guess and by gosh. 
 
First up was a loaf of Gluten-free Brioche.  I used my brioche pan, and although the dough was sticky, much like a soft cookie dough, it was not hard to plop  it into the pan.  It baked up pretty well, and tasted good, especially toasted.  I have been trying to come up with a description of the texture.  It was sort of like a cross between a corn bread and a pound cake. 





The second part of the assignment was “Super Sam” Gluten-free Cinnamon Buns.  The buns were, as my peeps would say, a hot mess (especially right out of the oven). 
I knew I was in for trouble when the directions called for rolling the dough out on a silicone mat so that the mat could be used to help roll up the dough.  But at first things went pretty well.   I rolled the dough out using the silicone mat on the bottom and plastic wrap on the top--to prevent sticking. Then I topped it with brown sugar mixed with cinnamon and pecans.

I even managed to roll it up pretty well.  Then the hot mess.  The dough was very soft, perhaps because of my measuring issues.  And all that filling only made it worse.  It would not hold its shape as I tried to cut the rolled dough into slices.  So instead of nicely swirled buns, I ended up with amorphous blobs.  I kept waiting for Steve McQueen to show up.  ("It crawls.... It creeps.... It eats you alive!")

As you can see from the picture, my "buns" are even about the same color as The Blob--and they GREW too!!

 The two on the top, the last two I made, ALMOST look like buns, especially in the dark, without your glasses, if you squint, and have the light behind them.  (But then I look my best in those circumstances, too.)

So, instead of buns, I guess I made “Super Sam” Gluten-free Cinnamon Monkey Bread.

I topped it with the glaze and cut it into wedges to serve, having abandoned all pretense of buns. 

I must say it was wonderful, but then with all that sugar, cinnamon, pecans and glaze on top an old flip-flop would have tasted pretty good.

So that is it from Bailey Island, Maine.  We only have 6 episodes to go, so be sure to check in next time. 

Not Rye (but so very close), and Gluten-free and Honey Graham Bread (35 of 42)

As our countdown continues, we bake a a honey graham bread and a gluten-free rye. 

When it was first mixed the dough for the gluten-free rye seemed pretty firm and when I used it the following day it was pretty easy to work with, especially for a gluten-free dough, which I can have trouble with.  I made a boule with half of it, and it was really very good--Not Rye (but so very close), and Gluten-free!

 I used it to make a Ham and Swiss on on Not Rye (but so very close) Panino.

In fact, the only catch is that the recipe calls for Teff flour.  

Teff, properly Eragrostis tef, is, according to Wikipedia, "an annual grass, a species of lovegrass native to the northern Ethiopian Highlands of Northeast Africa." The article notes that

Common names include teff, lovegrass, annual bunch grass (English); Ṭeff/Ṭéff (Amharic, both representing the same sound, an ejective consonant); Ṭaffi/xaffi (Oromo, both representing the same sound); Ṭaff (Tigrinya); and mil éthiopien (French). It is also written as ttheff, tteff, thaff, tcheff, and thaft. The word "tef" is connected by folk etymology to the Ethio-Semitic root "ṭff", which means "lost" (because of the small size of the grain).

The Wikipedia article notes that "Teff accounts for about a quarter of total cereal production in Ethiopia," and that "[i]n 1996, the US National Research Council characterized Teff as having the 'potential to improve nutrition, boost food security, foster rural development and support sustainable landcare.'"  This may in part be because Teff "is adapted to environments ranging from drought stress to waterlogged soil conditions."  Id.

The Wikipedia article also notes that "Teff is high in protein" and "is considered to have an excellent amino acid composition (including all 8 essential amino acids for humans) and has lysine levels higher than wheat or barley."  Bob, of Red Mill fame, notes on the package that Teff is "a Nutritional Powerhouse!"  The website for The Teff Company, which grows Teff in Idaho, observes that "[o]f the 56 medals available in major athletics championships from 2000 to 2003 (Olympic Games and IAAF World Championships) at marathon, 10,000 meter and 5,000 meter distances, 26 were won by athletes from Ethiopia" and posits that "[i]t is not a coincidence that these athletes ...  come from Ethiopia, the land where teff is a significant portion of the daily diet." 

Bob also notes that "[d]ue to Teff's size, it is almost impossible to grind in your home mill," but observes that "[w]e are glad to do the work for you."  As to size, Wikipedia notes that "[b]ecause of its small seeds (less than 1 mm diameter), one can hold enough in one hand to sow a large area" and that "[t]his property makes teff particularly suited to a seminomadic lifestyle."  The website for The Teff Company notes that "[o]ne pound of teff can produce up to one ton of grain in only 12 weeks," and that "[t]hree thousand grains of teff weigh one gram."  

Jeff and Zoe indicate in the recipe that Teff is gluten-free, but I noticed that the package I got from Bob's Red Mill did not list it as gluten-free.  I suspect that may be because strictly speaking it is not!  But, according to Wikipedia, "the gluten in teff does not contain the a-gliadin-fraction that causes celiac disease," so it can be used by people who cannot eat wheat gluten.

So with all this going for it, why is the fact that this recipe calls for Teff a "catch?"  The price.  Around here Bob's 24 ounce bag goes for about $7.  If you want to get serious about it, you can get 5 pounds from  The Teff Company for $20, which includes shipping.  On the bright side, based on the info on Bob's package, it appears that I can incorporate the Teff I have left into my regular baking. 

After making the boule I used the other half of the dough to make an oblong loaf.  By the time I got to it, the dough was at the end of its useful life, and had gotten very wet.  Unlike the first loaf, this one was too wet to work with, and really sticky.  Kind of like working with peanut butter, but not as tasty to lick off your fingers.  I had to work in more flour to be able to use it at all (I plead the 5th on what kind of flour I used, but it sure was not Teff).

Once I got the loaf formed, I wanted to control the lengthwise spread, to keep a bigger cross section.  Since I was using my Italian bread pan, I used onions as stops.  

 But the yeasties were not to be denied, and they pushed my onions right out of the way!

 Despite, or perhaps because of, the wetness, the dough baked up with a good crumb,

and worked great for a pattie melt with a quinoa salad.

The price of Teff notwithstanding, this was certainly one of my better efforts at gluten-free bread.

The second bread for this assignment was Honey Graham Bread,  made, not surprisingly, with honey and graham flour.  There was also some cinnamon, which I boosted a bit.  I made a full batch instead of the half called for in the assignment, hoping for the best.  Once again turning to  Wikipedia,

Graham flour is a type of whole wheat flour named after the American Presbyterian minister Rev. Sylvester Graham (1794-1851), an early advocate for dietary reform. According to the Larousse Gastronomique, Graham despised processed white flour and believed that bran was the cure-all for the bad eating habits of his compatriots.

Generally, graham flour is more coarsely ground whole wheat flour.     The Wikipedia article offers that

Rather than simply grinding the whole grain wheat kernel (bran, germ, and endosperm), in roller-milled graham flour the components are ground separately. The endosperm is ground finely, initially creating white flour. The bran and germ are ground coarsely. The two parts are then mixed back together, creating a coarse-textured flour that bakes and keeps well.

Red Mill Bob  characterizes his Graham Flour  as "coarsely stone ground whole wheat flour made from U.S. #1 dark northern spring wheat."

The recipe called for baking this bread in a loaf pan. 

 It baked up fine, and was very good, especially toasted. 

 I also baked two loaves in my Italian bread pan, at 450 using steam.  This worked out well too.







Finally, since I had Honey Graham dough, I could not resist making Honey Graham Crackers. 

I rolled the dough using my Joseph Joseph ROLL0100CB Adjustable Rolling Pin with 6 Removable Discs.  
 I really like this rolling pin for getting a uniform thickness of dough, which is especially important for things like crackers.  The only problem is that the discs jump from 1/16" to 1/4".  But I use a 1/8" thickness a lot for pizza and calzones and such.  So I made a set of after market discs.




I used a cheap poly cutting board and a 2 1/4" hole saw.  I drilled a 3/4" hole for the center, which is just a skosh big, but better that  than too small.  The resulting gap measures about 9/64", which is close enough for to 1/8" for my baking skills.

I rolled the crackers directly on parchment paper using the 1/16" discs, and docked them.  Then I slid the whole thing in the oven (400 degrees) for about 8 minutes to get them to start to firm up.  THEN I used a pizza cutter to cut them apart.   

 And back in the oven until they were golden brown.

 I took some of the edges out a bit earlier than the ones in the middle because they were browning a bit faster.

Now, I am not going to put Nabisco out of business, but the Honey Graham Crackers were pretty good too.

So that is is for this time.
The countdown continues, with 7 to go!

Betsy's Seeded Oat Bread and Provençal Fisherman’s Bread (Pain Bouillabaisse) (34 of 42)

June!
It's bustin' out all over.  The rains continue, and it appears that the ducks--Fred and Ethel--are here to stay.
  


I thought I would start with an observation on fashion, being a 21st century metrosexual male and therefore fully qualified to opine on the subject.  Not all progress is good, but with regard to some things, it clearly is.  In the category of the latter, we all should be glad that the attire in this video has gone out of style, especially, I am led to understand by the star of the film (who is an interpreter at an historical site and one of my peeps), when it comes to going to the bathroom:


 Now, on to the baking.

I don't know Betsy, who apparently asked Jeff and Zoë to develop a loaf "full of tasty and nutritious seeds," but the eponymous Seeded Oat Bread they developed for her is terrific.  At Michelle's suggestion I had made it before, and was happy to have an excuse to make it again.  This bread has rolled oats, whole pumpkin, sunflower and sesame seeds, and ground flaxseed.  It is lightly sweetened (I used honey, but you can use barley malt or agave syrup) and enriched with a bit of oil.

I made a full batch, and used half to make two loaves.  Instead of sprinkling seeds on top, I sprinkled them on the counter and rolled the loaves in them as I formed them.  I think this works much better because the seeds adhere more securely and reliably.   

I used the rest of the dough to make English Muffins.

 

 In previous posts (e.g. Muffin Mania) I have described my English Muffin Method--using parchment paper to get the muffins onto my electric griddle after they have rested and risen.  In sum, I roll out the dough, cut it with a biscuit cutter, and place the muffins on parchment paper dusted with cornmeal.  I then dust the tops with more cornmeal and let them rise.  Then I cut the paper around each muffin and use a spatula to move paper and muffin to the griddle.  I cook the muffins about 7 minutes on each side, and after about 4-5 minutes on the parchment paper I slide the muffins off (or the parchment paper out) for better browning.   This method has worked for me--it avoids mangling risen muffins which have gotten stuck to the peel or counter--but  cutting the paper was a bit fussy.  So, I decided to try a more global approach.

I cut a piece of parchment paper to the size of my griddle (trust me, this is less painful if you do it before you preheat the griddle), put it on a cookie sheet that had no rim on one side (or use the bottom of a rimmed sheet) dusted it with cornmeal, made my muffins, placed them on the parchment paper, dusted the tops with cornmeal,  and let them rise just as usual.  

But instead of cutting the parchment paper I slid the whole shebang right onto the griddle.  

 Then, after 5 minutes, I picked up one end of the paper and slid the muffins off the other end.

It worked pretty well, certainly well enough to supplant my old method. The only problem was that the paper was kind of long and awkward to pull out.  Next time, especially if I am not making quite so many muffins, I would leave a bit of space through the middle, cross-wise, and once it was on the griddle cut the paper in half.  Then I could work from each end to the middle to get the muffins off, which might be a bit easier.

As for the muffins, they were terrific.  By way of experiment, I worked craisins into some of the muffins, this too was a great success--I wish I had added craisins to more of them.  

The next assignment was for Pain Bouillabaisse, a  Provençal Fisherman’s Bread.  I was a bit leery of this bread, largely because it had sliced fennel bulb in it, and I am not a big fan of licorice.  As is often the case when expectations are modest, I was pleasantly surprised. (As the saying goes, expect less and you (usually) won't be disappointed.  A related concept holds that you should borrow money from a pessimist (or in the case of my children, your parents), because they don't expect to get it back.  There is also a corollary  approach to happiness which posits that you should live simply, give more and expect less (good luck with that, let me know how it works for you).) 

 In addition to the fennel this bread had garlic, herbes de Provençe, and saffron--traditional flavorings for a Bouillabaisse.  No fish, however.  For the saffron I used threads rather than powder, and steeped them in the water I used to make the bread.  They imparted a lovely color. 

I baked the loaf in my perforated bread pan, and it turned out great.  The crust was soft, but I am not sure if that was due to the oil in the dough or if I slightly undercooked it. 






 Either way, the bread was very nice.  I could not identify any particular flavor, certainly not licorice.  But the combination of herb[e]s with the garlic and the fennel was very very pleasant. The only down side to making this bread is that bulb of fennel, which I do not usually have in the crisper pan.  That makes this pretty much a "special occasion" bread. 
 
Finally, another experiment.  I had seen a Food Network recipe for Chicken Pot Pie Turnovers. The recipe used frozen puff pastry.  Now I love chicken pot pies, but they are not the most healthy of entrees.  So I thought, what about Chicken Pot Pie Calzones?  I mixed some left over chicken with some defrosted frozen mixed vegetables and some chicken gravy.  I used about a cup of each.  My goal was to not get it too saucy, so I kept the gravy fairly thick.  Then I rolled some Whole Wheat Master dough out thin into circles, spooned on some filling, folded them, sealed the edges, cut some slits in the top, and baked them at 375 for about 30 minutes.  Then the hard part, I let them rest about 10 minutes.  

 

They worked out pretty well. 

So that is it for this time.  The countdown continues with 8 to go.