dabrownman's blog

Just ate this one plain before the apprentice could get at it.

When we baked our version of hanseata's ungodly, great and wonderful bread, we said at the time that it was the best bread we have ever baked or tasted here:

http://www.thefreshloaf.com/node/28806/hanseata%E2%80%99s-wild-rice-sd-w-yeast-water-multi-seeds-prunes-beer-and-sprouts

 We were not exaggerating more than usual and we still feel this way.  We finally got to the other half of this huge loaf that we froze right after it had cooled after coming out of the oven.  We actually cut this half in half, knowing how good it was,  and still have a 1/4 loaf of this fine bread in the freezer. - and you don't - but you should!

with DaCarrrot and DaMinnieMarm jams.

Love grilled pak choy sum and Mexican grey squash with a fine pork sandwich.

My apprentice decided to feature this bread again with its various uses we have put it too since defrosting it rather than throw it in with the other breads we have been eating for lunch this past month.  They will be shown separately.

That's some aged cheddar there without any writing.

You just have to make hanseata's bread one time and you will be forever hooked and adding it to your top 5 favorite list that has 15 breads on it :-)

Feta, aged cheddar and brie, with a little dijon mustard, make for a nice grilled cheese for lunch.

These nice looking and good tasting rolls are some thing we normally don’t do since rolls are usually reserved for holidays and bread is served for dinner otherwise.  We wanted a 50% rye SD knotted roll that also used the WW Joe Ortiz cumin starter we like so much.   So we mixed together our standard rye starter and the WW Joe Ortiz one.  It sat in the fridge after the 8 hour build for 4 days while we decided what to do with it.  We probably should have refreshed it again but no time was available.

We also wanted to boost the browning, a little sweetness and yeast activity by adding molasses, barley malt syrup and home made diastatic malt powder.   We love berry scalds and seeds in bread, especially rye ones, so a cracked barley scald was prepared and once done, some caraway seeds and sunflower seeds incorporated into it.

It is just plain fun to make knots so we do so when ever we can.  We added different individual seed toppers to the rolls to make each a little different than the others.

The sour taste is slightly muted since we didn’t retard them.  The crust is nice and brown and softened as it came out of the oven.  The crust was not as open as we would have liked even for such a high percent whole grain bread but not brickish either.  But it was, soft and moist.  It probably could have baked a few more minutes too.  They should be baked to 205 F but ever since I fried the temperature probe in a 500 F oven, trying to stupidly test how hot it really was,  we have to play the 'is it done' guessing game again. 

 These were baked in the mini oven using (2) 0f Sylvia’s steaming method developed for the little beast.  The spring was good as a result.

Method

This WWW and Rye SD levain was made over (2 ) 3 hour builds and (1) 2 hour build and ended up at a  78% hydration and 160 g. for each roll.   The seed was a combination of a sour rye and the Joe Ortiz Cumin Desem starter.  It was very active and doubled after the last build in 2 hours.  Any sourdough starter will do though.  The starter was refrigerated for 4 days but it doesn’t need to be refrigerated at all.

The barley is cracked in a spice mill and then brought to a boil and allowed to sit at room temperature until cooled. The caraway seeds and sunflower seeds are then added to the barley scald and reserved, covered in plastic wrap until needed.  

The dough was a 50-50 combination of rye and bread flour.  The levain was mixed with the dough water, molasses and barely malt syrup to break it up.  The dough flours, wheat germ, salt and home made diastatic malt were then added and mixed by hand in a bowl with a spoon for 1 minute and allowed to rest covered with plastic for 20 minutes.

(4) sets of  S&F’s were done on 15 minute intervals on an oiled surface with the dough being returned to a plastic covered oiled bowl between sets.  During the last set of S & F’s the barley scald,  caraway and sunflower seed mix is worked into the dough on a floured work surface as this is very sticky dough because of the rye.

The dough is then allowed to develop and ferment for 90 minutes.  You want it to alt least gain 80% in volume before dividing up the dough into (6) 140 g balls to form into knotted rolls.  Form the balls into 14” ropes, make a knot in the middle and then tuck in the two ends into the middle, one from the top and one from the bottom.

Toasted

Allow to nearly double in size on semolina or corn meal sprinkled parchment paper, wrapped in a kitchen trash bag.  We baked ours after 2 hours and they were under proofed by 30 minutes or so - couldn't wait though as dinner needed attention too.  Should have retarded them in the fridge overnight instead of balking them.  We brushed the tops with egg yolk and sprinkled each witha different seed or topping.  We used bran and seeds; chia, flax, basil, white and black sesame and poppy before baking in a 450 F preheated mini oven with (2) of sylvia's steamers for 10 minutes.  After 2 minutes, turn the temperature down to 425  F.  At the 10 minute mark, remove the steam and turn the temperature down to 375 F baking with convection this time.

Toasted

In another 10 minutes or so, the rolls should be done and be 205 F on the inside.  Let them cool in the oven with the door ajar for 10 minutes then move to a cooling rack.

After pinching off 100g of this combo; Yeast Water and Joe Ortiz’s Cumin, WW Sourdough starter for the donuts and English muffins this past Sunday, we used the remaining 230g of combo starter to make some semolina, durum atta and white whole wheat based herbed bialy’s that had a filling of home made chorizo, caramelized onions, 4 cheeses; brie, aged cheddar, pepper jack and pecorino cheese. The herbs were basil and cilantro.

What a beauty with the cilantro sprinkled on top.

The previous YW bialy’s we made here:

http://www.thefreshloaf.com/node/27712/yeast-water-rye-ww-garlic-chive-onion-cheese-and-chorizo-bialy%E2%80%99s

where we used YW only for the levain, used much lower % of whole grains and only used a small amount of pepper jack cheese with the only herb being a garlic chive in the dough. The best thing about the old bake was the unbelievable open crumb. Everything else about the new bake turned out better than the old one.

Chorizo and onion mix before caramelizing.

This bake built on the previous one without autolyse, but we gussied it up and baked it with Sylvia’s steam this time while making it a totally hand made dough. Because of the steam and50 Flower temperature, the bake took longer than the previous one that was 10 minute long. This one took 5 min of steam and then 10 more minutes to finish.

These bialys were just delicious with a slight SD tang that we hope will develop over the next 24 hours. We continue to be impressed with the JoeOrtizSDstarter and when mixed with the YW created a nice, light, open crumb and a crust that was thin and chewy. The filling was built up from the bottom starting with fresh basil a cube of double creme and a cube of Alpine Lace Swiss, then a tablespoon or so of the chorizo and caramelized onion mix, with 4 cubes of cheese on top (2 cubes of pepper jack, 1 cube of pecorino and a cube of aged, super sharp cheddar.

Before proofing.

The Method

was straight forward. The combo YW SD was built up over (2) 3 hour builds and (1) 2 hour build and then it was refrigerated for 72 hours. But there was no need to refrigerate it other than to fit my scedule

The chorizo and onions were sautéed until caramelized and refrigerated until needed.

Spooned and docked after proofing.

After warming up, the levain was mixed with the dough water to break it up and the salt, flour, dried potato flakes, barley malt, molasses and butter were added to the mix. After combining by hand, the dough was emptied out to a slightly floured surface and kneaded by hand for 5 minutes. It was fully developed and the dough rebounded immediately when two fingers were poked into the dough. The dough was rested for 20 minutes and then 2 sets of 4 S & F’s each were done on 15 minute intervals. The dough was then allowed to ferment for 1 ½ hours until it had nearly doubled.

Sylvia's Steam in the microwave heating up.

The dough was divided into (10) roughly 100g pieces and hand formed into tight balls. These balls were rested for 10 minutes and then formed into little pizza shapes by picking them up and hanging them in the vertical while pressing out the centers.

Mis en place for filling the unspooned and undocked bialys

These were placed on semolina sprinkled parchment paper on un-rimmed baking sheets. The centers were then pressed out again before covering with plastic wrap to proof for another hour. At the 30 minute proofing mark the oven was preheated to 500 F regular bake and Sylvia’s Steam was prepared in the microwave and placed in the bottom of the oven.

Basil and brie first then Alpine Lace went in too on this level but not shown for som reason..

After proofing, the centers of the bialys were then pressed out flat again with a wet spoon and the centers docked with a fork to keep them from puffing in the oven. Some basil leaves were placed in the bottom with a cube of brie and a cube of Alpine Lace Swiss, a tablespoon of chorizo was added and flattened out to fill the well and 2 cubes of pepper jack and 1 cube of each of aged cheddar and pecorino were placed on top.

Chorizo, and 3 more cheeses, pecorino in the middle, flanked by cheddar and pepperjack.

The bialys were placed onto the middle oven rack with the stone one very top rack and steam below. At 2 minutes the temperature was turned down to 450 F regular bake. At 5 minutes the steam was removed and the temperature turned down to 425 F convection this time as the bialys were rotated 180 degrees on the oven rack. At the 10 minute mark the bialys were rotated 180 degree again and at 15 minutes they were done and moved to cooling racks. The fresh chopped cilantro was then sprinkled on top

Before the cilantro went on.

The formula follows the pix’s.

Cut vertical with my daughter apprentice holding before scarfing.  She liked them!

Cut horizontal.  Not as open as the first YW only ones but these tasted so much better.  Will make them again.

Apprentice takes a nice 105 F bake herself in the backyard oven.  Dumb Doxie !!!

The last time we made English Muffins the kjknits way we took her SD version and added yeast water.  gmakaing made some for her grand daughter and also fried some as donuts!  What a great idea.  Her grand daughter really liked them and they disappeared fast.

Look at that color and the nice DO we got at the Estate Sale down the street.

When I told gmabaking I was doing another EM batch today and was going to fry some as donuts, I asked if she had glazed the donuts or put powdered sugar on them.   She said that they were gone too fast but thought that an apricot glaze would be nice.  Well, that sounded pretty good to me and a nice outlet for our home made apricot, nectarine and ginger jam.

The 100 g of combo YW and SD starter was pinched off a larger amount I was building for some WW Semolina bread.  It used  that nice Joe Ortiz cumin, WW SD starter and the now richly purple Apple, Minneola YW that has gone beautifully colored due to the addtion of fresh cherries inspired by Ian at isand66.  It matches my place mats which should be a requirement for any serious home baker - or possibly dumb luck :-) 

The starter was built with duram atta, whole soft white wheat and white whole wheat.  The muffin dough had 2 C of AP and 1/4 C of Duram Atta.  So these EM's were to be a healthy whole wheaty, semolina variety.  The rest of the recipe can be found at kjknits blog at http://www.thefreshloaf.com/node/3241/sourdough-english-muffins/  We love this EM recipe and it has turned out to be easily modified and versatile too.  Always very tasty no matter nhow my apprentice butcher's it.

The starter, flour and milk (I added 2 T more than the Cup of milk due to the extra 1/4 C durum atta in the dough flour) are allowed to sit out overnight for 8 hours.  In the morning the rest of the ingredients go in.  Then knead for 3-4  minutes and  roll them out 3/8" thick for cutting.  After cutting, place them on parchment paper dusted in semolina top and bottom and rest for 45 minutes covered in plastic.  The EM's are then dry fried in a 12" cast iron skillet.

We made 6 flat donut shapes by hand by using the bagel forming method of ball with afinger poked through it and then using two fingers opening the hole in a cirular motion.  Then we squished (another fine baking term) them flat.  Why we squished them flat I have no idea and it doesn't make much sense now, since they were going to puff up in the hot nearly smoking Crisco anyway.

These EM are explosive with the YW and baking soda working with that vigorous Ortiz SD starter.  We made the EM's larger diameter this time (same as Thomas) and increased the thickness a little to 5/16" thick.  Will make them 3/8" thick next time because, even though these babies really spring,  they still were only a little over an 1" high after cooling .  We made 11 EM's and 6 donuts instead of the 24 mini EM's made the last time.

The EM's came out as usual but were more tasty with the WW and semolina flours.  Not quite as open as the all AP flour ones, but still pretty good like Wofferman's in KC where I worked as a sack boy nearly 50 years ago.  Best job I ever had too.  The donuts were a hoot to make and fry up.  Fried them 1 at a time to save on the oil since we don't fry much around here except Crab Rangoon's,  Egg and Spring Rolls and a few other appetizers.  Will make some dry fried or baked bagel ones next time too.

The donuts fried up nice and brown and the spring on them was very good.  The crumb was very open, light and moist.  The crust was chewy just like a fried English muffin would be so, these donuts aren't like the cake or glazed donuts you are used to but they are tasty none the less.

We mixed some of our apricot, nectarine and ginger jam with some powdered suger and a T of milk to make the glaze for the donuts.   We dipped them twice to get an extra thick coat.  Butter and this tasty jam were have too's for the warm EM's.  Just delicious.  I personally had 3 of each for breakfast and can attest to their addictiveness!

Thanks to gmabaking for her great donut and glaze ideas for these fine EM's

.

When I was in architectural school so long ago, way before 4 legged apprentices were allowed in the kitchen, one of my best friends, a fine designer, was of Creole decent from New Orleans - the heart of Creole Country.  Cajuns weren't well thought of in New Orleans and scarcely seen then.  His wife was and still is a Cajun from the bayou country around Lafayette - the heart of Cajun Country where Creoles were shunned and hard to find.  It’s not that they hated each other, after all they were both French based to the core, but it was a bit like thick oil and thin vinegar trying to make an emulsion without any duck fat.

Uncooked veggies and chorizo just added to the not very much roux.

Creoles were the upper crust of the French in Louisiana, the New Orleans Upper Crust merchants and the plantation owners who tried to emulate the aristocracy of France.  You can think of them as the perfectly scored ‘Paris Baguette French’ even though their blood was steeped in native American and to a greater extent the Blacks from Africa.

Smoked chicken and 2 smoked sausages - one pork, one chicken.

Cajuns on the other hand were also of French decent and mingled with native Americans more and Africans less but they also immigrated from Nova Scotia to LA instead of from France like the Creoles.  They were more rustic and country than their Creole cousins and weren't into imitating any kind of French aristocracy.  You can think of them as ‘Rustic Country French Sourdough Boules’.  The two things they could agree on was that they hated the English; with the Creoles and the Cajuns coming together to defeat the British in NO ending the war of 1812 after it had already ended on paper several week before and they liked the same kind of foods.  Even if they argued mightily over their slightly different preparation and ingredients of the same dishes it was still all gumbo in the end. 

The dark roasted chicken stock.

The Africans brought the spice, peppers and tomato to the Creoles and the Native Americans brought the crayfish to the Cajuns.  Both had that French sauce; roux, in their veins.   They say that the closer you get to NO the less tomato you will see.  This is totally incorrect.  Cajuns shun tomatoes and they weren't from anywhere around NO – the Creole heart where tomatoes are fine in just about anything.  You can always tell a Creole from a Cajun by noticing if they put tomatoes in the same dishes or not – because they make pretty much the same dishes otherwise - except for the little difference in the addition of file.  File as a spice is also Creole.  With Cajuns, file is totally optional and not required.  Cajuns also tend to put less onion, celery and green peppers in their dishes too.  Cajuns like 1 part onion, 1/2 part green pepper and 1/4 part celery.  Creoles want up to a full part of each.

Stock and beer hit the veggies and the roux.  

Needless to say, my married friends from LA were like night and day when it came to cooking authentic Creole and Cajun food from NO or the Bayous.  They both made every kind of sausage, gumbo, jambalaya, etouffee, French breads and other food treats linked directly to the French in LA be they Creole or Cajun.  Both sides claim to have invented and perfected these fine dishes but, in reality, they worked together to make these dishes world famous and world class.   All of these foods have many variations depending on who makes it and who they learned from and with mixed Creole and Cajun marriages…… anything is possible!

Meat hits the pan- it's nearly time to eat.

It was so much fun cooking with my LA friends because they would always argue over how much of what to put in or not to put in every delicious meal - what ever it was.  Both were equally fine cooks – just different.  What ever we cooked always had a 6 pack of beer consumed as we waited for the low and slow roux commonality to get that deep brick red.  Another 6 pack went down with the meal.

Served over white rice.

Etouffee is usually crayfish or shrimp, when mud bugs aren't available.  The bugs give Cajun’s their main claim to authenticity especially when made with a nice mud bug or shrimp stock - depending.  This etouffee version is smoked chicken, smoked; chicken and pork sausage.   It’s  based on a great smoked shrimp and sausage gumbo I had in KC a couple of weeks ago at one of the many BBQ joints KC is known for.

After dinner bike ride rudely interrupted by a pesky sunset.

The Brownman portion of this recipe is the Mexican; amber beer and spicy chorizo added with the veggies.   The recipe might at first seem to lean toward Cajun since no tomato is ever allowed – too sour.  Too much tomato will spoil any sofrito too.   But the file, spices, peppers and ratio of veggies is pure Creole through and through.   The Mexican influence is unmistakable too.  Us 3, the old friends and cooks, are all represented in this fine etouffee that I’m sure each of us would be proud to call our own.   But I’m certain, both of them would want to change it to better suit their Cajun or Creole tastes.  So, it is not theirs – it’s all mine.

The sunset got better a few minutes later.

I prefer it served over large French Rustic Country SD croutons just to make it more Cajun and even the Creole tilting playing field.  But this time it was served over the traditional rice.     Call it bad planning or possibly fear of too much French :-)

In tribute to the previous nights orange sunset, an orange breakfast of Stan Ginsberg's Bagels, Minneola Medium Caramelized  Marmalade and Cantaloupe.  A magnificent 24 hours of nostalgia, etouffee,  orange; sunsets and breakfasts the Cajun, Creole and Brownman way.  Wish you guys were here to enjoy it with me as I enjoyed our cooking together so long ago. 

I'm such a doofus for forgetting to post the recipe.  Where is that apprentice when you need her?

Smoked Chicken Sausage Etouffee

Ingredients

 1 pound smoked boneless chicken – your choice - we use thighs

½ pound each of smoked pork and chicken sausage

¼ pound chorizo

1 C water

2 C dark roasted chicken stock

1/8 cup grape seed oil + 1/8 C Butter for the Roux Or all oil if you want

2/3 cup flour

1 small onion - diced

2 stalks celery – diced

1 small green bell pepper – diced

1 amber beer - or less if you taste test to make sure it isn’t spoiled –Bohemia preferred

2 bay leaves

2 T Worcestershire sauce

2 T Creole seasoning – equal parts; salt, pepper, onion powder, garlic powder, dried oregano, dried thyme, smoked paprika, paprika, cayenne pepper - 1 T each for the roux and veggies.

2 T Creole seasoning for the chicken and sausages before smoking

½ tsp of Gumbo file - some say it is optional but it isn’t around here.

Tabasco sauce for individual serving heat if the Creole seasoning isn’t hot enough for you or others.

Salt and pepper to taste.

Serve over white rice with some buttered French SD bread to sop up anything left in your bowl.  We sometimes just make huge French SD croutons and serve the etouffee over them instead of rice – great for folks who don’t like rice but love SD..

Make the chicken stock ahead of time.  Etouffee deserves the very best stock.

Smoke the chicken, sausage and chicken sausage with the Creole seasoning . 

Heat oil and butter in large skillet until it is hot but not quite smoking.  Add the flou and 1 T of the Creole seasoning, turn down the heat to low and cook the roux while constantly stirring until a dark peanut butter color is achieved.  This is called a blond roux even though it will be a brick red and may take 20 minutes or more.  Add the vegetables, the chorizo and 1 T Creole seasoning and cook while constantly stirring for about 6-8 minutes until the vegetables soften and the roux gets darker.  Make sure not to burn anything.

Turn heat up to medium.  Add the beer and chicken stock, Worcestershire sauce and bay leaves. Cook while stirring until the mixture boils and thickens to correct consistency10-15 minutes.  Etouffee is a thicker sauce than Gumbo.   Add in the smoked meats and cook for about 2-3 minutes until the meat is just heated through.  The chicken should be chopped into ½" cubes and the sausages cut into ¼" thick coins. Have Tabasco ready for those who want more heat.   Serve over plain white rice or some kind of rustic French SD croutons Which is my preference.  For a more smoked flavor you can smoke the finished etouffee in the smoker too.

 If 3 Cajuns or Creoles are making etouffee you need about 12 additional beers while making it in order for them to have a good time and learn to get along while working hard on that roux that takes patience and low heat.

I was commenting on txfarmer's very nice 30% rye sandwich bread that we use left over cream to make ice cream in AZ when it is scorching hot in the summer - instead of pechy scones like she does.  The batch finished yesterday, after a 2 day process, came out better than usual because we managed to have most everything on hand to put it over the top.

The first day is used to make the ice cream base:

The second day you make everything else

Ingredients

16 oz of cream

16 oz of  half and half

4 egg yolks

1/4 C cocoa powder

1/2 C sugar

1-100 g gram dark chocolate bar - chopped up

1/2 T of instant coffee or 1 tsp of espresso powder

1/4 oz of granulated gelatin

1 tsp vanilla

Brownie mix

Your favorite box of brownie mix

1/4 bag of chocolate chips

Method

Put everything, except the vanilla, brownie mix and chocoalate chips, in a 2 qt sauce pan and bring to a near boil 200 F stirring constantly with a whisk.  Remove from heat and place in a large bowl of ice.  Keep stirring until mix is cooled to 40 F.  Add the vanilla and stir it in.  Cover saucepan with the lid and put the base in the fridge overnight.  In the morning you will have a wonderful Mocha Pudding.

Mix up your favorite boxed brownie mix, (we use the Mocha one but not required at all) or make your favorite from scratch that you would normally use for 9x13 pan.  Divide the batter between (2) oil sprayed 9x13 pans.  Add some chocolate chips sprinkling them evenly over the top.  Bake at 350 F for 8 minutes, then rotate the pans and bake for another 8 minutes - we use Pyrex pans.  This will make the top and bottom of the ice cream sandwich that are are little less than 1/2" high when baked.  Cool completely.

Remove the two brownies trying not to break them, good luck with that but don't worry at all since you can easily press them back together.  If you cut them in half lengthwise (6 1/2"  if you measure like I don't) they are easier to get out intact with a long fish spatula.  They are also easier to get out if you don't add the chocolate chips but that would be a crime :-)  Wrap one side in plastic wrap and put the other one back in the pan, cover it and freeze them both.  The pan will be the form holding everything in place after the sandwiches are made and they too are frozen.

Make your ice cream - we have a Krups that seems to work well.   Place about 1" of ice cream over the bottom layer and cover with the top gently pressing the sandwich flat.  Freeze until hard.  You will have about a third of the ice cream left over for you and your apprentice to taste to make sure it isn't poisonous and saving your family much potential grief.  Someone has to do it :-)  We actually made a batch and a half of brownies and using all the ice creame for the sandwiches.

I'm thinking txfarmer's Peach Scones would go very well with Mocha Chocolate Chip Ice Cream Brownie Sandwiches and both are excellent for using up left over cream.

After getting back from Houston where it rained cats and dogs, I had to bring it back to Phoenix since we have been dry for a year.  It has rained just about every day since returning.   It is monsoon but yesterday, we had to get nearly 1.5" of rain at home where we only get 7" a year.  The clouds were ominous.

Then they got orange in a pinkish way as the sun set.

Looking back to the sunset across the lake it was clearing for a nice sunset.

Nice to wake up to some home made bagels and mini English Muffins .

My SIL, brother and niece really pulled out all the stops for tonight's dinner In Houston.  We drove from Lee's Summit, MO. to their home two days ago.

My SIL had brought back some home grown tomatoes from Wellington MO.  She had some French baguettes and ciabatta in the freezer.  My brother cooked up some wild sockeye salmon on the grill.  SIL made some Sandy Capellini.

The beautiful and  talented niece made the salad and they let me chop up the veggies for the bruschetta.  The salad was a spinach, strawberry, walnut and goat cheese classic with a simple vinaigrette.  The bruschetta was kalamata olives, great tomatoes, freah basil,  a hint of garlic, red onion,  olive oil and balsamic vinegar.

My brother broke out some Ledson Engine Block Red and a Wente Merlot from his extensive vino collection - the best wines I have had in many a year.  What a nice feist with family.    Back to Phoenix tomorrow.  We had some special edition peach cobbler ice cream and water mellon sorbet for desaert with my niece's chocolat chip, banana, oat cookies.

My new best dog friend named Truffles, was totally washed out from our 4 mile walk, making dinner and vino.    But even asleeping with 4 paws in the air, her evil eye was on anyone who tried to pinch a morsel from our plates.  She is the sweetest pit bull/weimaraner mixed rescue pooch one could ever want.  Check out those yellow eyes!

Those teeth!  Remember, this sweetie is asleep!!!  She is one determined German.  My apprentice better watch out!  She could easily be replaced :-) Truffles is sweet as pie though.

For this bread you make your own starter using some WW flour, ground cumin, a tsp of milk and some water that is built up over 3-4 days.  sweetbird did a similar boule that shows how to make it here:

 http://www.thefreshloaf.com/node/27528/joe-ortiz-pain-de-campagne-wonderful

 After building the levain we only used 140 g for this loaf and stored the rest in the fridge after reducing the hydration.  We were making some diastatic and nondiastatic malt from sprouted WW and rye grain so we used some of the sprouts in this loaf too.

 We added the flour to the levain with the water and salt and mixed in the KA on speed 2 for 6 minutes. It was then rested in the bowl for 15 minutes.  (5) S & F’s were done every 15 minutes with the sprouts being incorporated during the last 2.

 After the stretch and folds were completed the dough was developed and rested for 1 ½ hours before shaping into a boule and placed in a rice floured basket.  The basket was placed in a plastic trash bag and allowed to proof until it had risen 80%.  At that point it was retarded in the fridge for 4 hours. 

 When removed from the fridge the boule was un-molded on some parchment on the top of the mini ovens broiler pan cover.  The mini oven was fired up to 500 F as Sylvia’s Steam was prepared in the microwave.

 When the oven was hot, the steam and now slashed boule went in the oven for 15 minutes of steam as the oven was turned down to 450 F after 4 minutes.  At the 15 minute mark the steam was remove the boule rotated 180 degrees and the oven was turned down to 425 F convection this time.  The bread was rotated every 5 minutes for 20 minutes until done – 35 minutes total.  The last 10 minutes the boule was turned upside down.  The oven was turned off and the door left ajar with the bread inside to crisp the skin for another 12 minutes.

 It baked up very well, nice and brown with a crispy crust.  The crumb was nice and open, moist and soft.  It is so cool to make a starter from scratch and bread in 4 days from start to finish.  Won't kow how it tastes until we get back home from our family trip.

Joe Ortiz sandwich is in the foreground.  Delicious bread with a slight tang from a 3-4 day old starter.  Amazing!

The formula follows

We were feeding the yeast water on the 3th of July and didn’t want to throw any YW away.  With the 4th of July the next day and knowing it would only be my apprentice and I for dinner that night, we decided to have some rib eye steak kabobs, veggie kabobs and garam masala rice and beans.

 What was missing was some Naan to put the dinner in to eat it properly.  We decided not to bake the Naan or cook it on the stove top but dry fry it in the cast iron skillet on the grill while grilling the kabobs.  After making pizza the other day on the grill we thought it would be fun.

 We were inspired by Sonia101’s unusual Roti here:

 http://www.thefreshloaf.com/node/29275/roti-bread

and by Delta_v’s stove top Naan here:

 http://www.thefreshloaf.com/node/27350/quick-stovetop-naan-recipe

You can see my Naan were larger than 12" and got squished at the edges to fit the pan - no worries !

 We built a 2 stage yeast water levain, 4 hours each using durum atta and AP flour.  After 8n hours it had doubled and was ready to go.  At the 6 hour mark we autolysed the bread flour with the liquids and the spices.  We held out the Greek yogurt, fresh herbs, green onion, baking soda and salt.

 The YW levain and the autolysed flours were mixed with the salt and Greek yogurt for 4 minutes on KA 2 and then 4 minutes on KA 3.  The baking soda was then added and mixed in for 1 minute on KA 3.

 The dough was then rested for 20 minutes.  Then it was turned out on a lightly floured surface and hand kneaded for 5 minutes and allowed to rest covered for 10 minutes.  The fresh herbs and green onions were then worked into the dough using S & F’s.

 The dough was allowed to develop and ferment for 1 hour.  (2)150 gpieces were separated out for the Naan and shaped into a ball and allowed to rest for 10 minutes.  The remainder of the dough was shaped into a loaf and placed into an oil sprayed Pyrex loaf pan and allowed to double over 4 hours.

Kabobs and..............................................................................Naan with Mexican Chipotle Pink Sauce

 The Naan balls were rolled and pressed out to 12”circles and covered with plastic for 30 minutes.  Then they were transferred to a floured peel like a pizza for chucking into the skillet on the grill – closing the lid. The gauge read 450 F.   After cooking for about 2-3 minutes the Naan was flipped and the cooked side, now facing up was brushed with Mojo de Ajo.  After another couple of minutes the bread was flipped again onto the Mojo de Ajo side allowed to fry for about a minute.  The bread was then folded to fit into a tortilla warmer while the 2nd Naan was fried. 

 The un-slashed loaf of bread, using the same dough, was baked in the mini oven at450 Fafter preheating with 'Sylvia’s Steam' at 500 F.  It was steamed for 12 minutes then the steam was removed, the loaf rotated 180 degrees and the mini oven was turned down to 425 F convection this time.  The loaf was rotated every 5 minutes until it was done and205 Fon the inside – about another 20 minutes – 32 minutes baking time total.  It was left in the oven with the door ajar and heat off for 10 minutes to further crisp the skin.

 The loaf and the Naan were both terrific.  The loaf was nicely browned, blistered and crunchy when it came out of the oven but it softened as it cooled.  The crumb was open, soft and moist.  It tasted like Japanese white bread met Indian curry.  When toasted with butter and corn jam it was just great.

Peach and mango Crisp for desert

 The Naan ended up with some soft and crunchy parts that made it unique.  It went well with the kabobs and tasted like a plate of Indian veggies and spices.  Yummy. 

Toasted with butter and carrot jam - delish!!

The formula follows;