December 3, 2020 - 10:02am
What is Your Weekly Go-to Recipe?
I realize that bread baking can be a challenge as well as fun in trying to discover that “Holy Grail” of breads. My question then is when you’re not in that adventurous searching mood, what is your weekly staple go-to table bread recipe that you always fall back on until you get back into the experimental adventurous mood?
I often wonder if bakers have a default stand-by recipe for their weekly bread, or if every new week brings with it the need to try a never done before recipe.
To fulfill our "daily bread" requirements, 80% of the time I make one of the following:
Cook’s Illustrated Ciabatta. Can be made into loaves or rolls for many purposes. I use the CI recipe, but this one is almost verbatim:
https://myyearwithchris.wordpress.com/2011/12/03/ciabatta-2/
Fromartz’s Stirato. A very sturdy sandwich loaf. I use the recipe from the book, but KAF has a similar recipe:
https://www.kingarthurbaking.com/blog/2015/02/07/search-perfect-loaf
123 Sourdough. Perfect for sandwiches or toast. Much discussion can be found right here on The Perfect Loaf:
http://www.thefreshloaf.com/search/node/123
Soft pita wrap. Great for gyros and dipping in hummus, but also makes a great hot dog or sausage “bun”.
http://motherskitchen.blogspot.com/2008/11/olgas-kitchen-bread.html
The rest of the time I like to experiment with different types and recipes. Currently, French bread, bagels, potato buns, focaccia and pain de mie appear frequently in our culinary rotation.
I would be quite interested to hear which recipes other baker's refer to on a regular basis as a "go-to".
I like easy and hands off, such as bannock ( a flat bread) or pita. Both usually from sourdough starter.
Because I tend to over-eat bread, and live by myself, making only a day's worth at a time is easier with flat bread. But I don't bake every day.
A flat bread fits on a 9" baking stone, or a Lodge 9.25" round cast iron serving plate in my toaster oven. I pre-heat with both upper and lower elements, and bake just with lower.
Tom Cat's semolina filone is where it all started for me. I have reduced the hydration to around 67% for most of my baking. The original formula with semolina was too wet for my liking, it made handling very difficult.
It's an easy formula and because I am familiar with it, it is repeatable. I vary the flour proportions, generally using 1/2 to 2/3 white all purpose and the balance either whole wheat, rye or spelt. I have also used 100% semola rimacinata. I like the poolish method.
Use the search feature on this site to find the root formula.
My go-to is NY/Deli/Jewish/Sour Rye, whatever you want to call it, and my preferred formula is Hamelman's Forty Percent Caraway Rye. I have to make enough to share with extended family.
Other breads in my regular rotation: Hamelman's Vermont Sourdough, a modified version of Serious Eats' 100% Whole Wheat Sandwich Bread, and whatever from Forkish's FWSY. When I'm trying something new, I usually make a single half-size loaf during the week.
At least once a week - some flour, some starter, pinch of yeast, little salt, rise a few times, bake. Can fit any schedule with minor tweaking. When you've made bread for a lot of years, you run out of things to experiment with. If ya really want an endless challenge (or one seemingly so), try golf. That'll keep ya busy for a long time - 40+ yrs for me - so far. Enjoy!
So I am basically the opposite of phaz because all bread-making is still an adventure for me, because I have not been baking bread for years.
However, if I want bread quickly I make dinner rolls using this recipe: http://www.castbullet.com/cooking/sourb.htm . I make so many changes I'm not even sure it's really the same recipe (I don't even call them biscuits and they are not biscuit-like when I make them) but they are easy, and with just a single rise and so much starter I can start them late in the morning and have them ready for supper. (I use 3/4 cup starter and 1/4 cup water per cup of called-for starter to make up for the fact that his starter is equal parts flour and water by volume instead of weight, I omit the baking powder and sugar, I kneed and let rise for longer than he says, I bake in an oven at 375F, and I brush them with oil or butter when they are done.)
If I want bread for toast or sandwiches I usually use King Arthur's sourdough pizza crust recipe ( https://www.kingarthurbaking.com/recipes/sourdough-pizza-crust-recipe ) but I bake it in a bread pan. I don't add any yeast and I multiply the recipe by 1 1/4 so it fills out my 9"x5" pan.
So it's probably wrong that my two most-used recipes are not used for what they were originally intended, but it comes from their being the first recipes I tried to make when I was making my starter, so I've gotten used to them. They're also really basic without any fancy ingredients or difficult instructions, so they're pretty forgiving.
If I could "like" your post, Sabina, I would. :)
Very creative on your part, and I admire your ability to wing it. I'm a confident enough cook in the savory department to stray far from a recipe when creating a dish; I aspire to be able to do that with bread. That is my Holy Grail.