Pain d'Epi

This is one of my favourite breads to make, it almost always turns out and it is very easy to do... yet it has a certain flair.  It is great when eating with friends to just tear off a piece of the "stock" and spread it with butter.  Use the Rustic Bread (not Rustic Italian, the earlier version, I've never tried it with the Italian but that might work too), recipe posted below but make baguette size loaves.   Then with a pair of scissors make 45 degree cuts 1/2 way through the loaf and fold oven to alternating sides.   Bake as for the Rustic Bread but 5-8 minutes less (watch for burning, internal temp should be about 200).

A fun day Baking

It was a fun day of baking this past weekend.  I started out to make some bagels and a Rustic Loaf (the recipe is earlier in this blog).  Then started to play around with a braid and an attempt at a bunny bun.  I'll keep working on the bunny bun :-)
If you would like to do the braid it is very simple.  Just use some of the dough you made for the rustic bread, divide it in 3 and roll each piece about as thick as a large hot dog and braid the 3 pieces together.  Let it rise for about an hour then give it an egg wash (egg white and a table spoon of water brushed on the top of the dough) Sprinkle with seeds (I used poppy on one strand of the braid and sesame on the other two) and bake at 450 for 20-25 minutes (until the top is brown and it sounds hollow when tapped on bottom).  We tried to let it cool but it was still warm when we started pulling pieces off and smearing them with butter.

Oatmeal Brown Bread

Ingredients

2 tsp sugar
1 cup lukewarm water
2 pkg. yeast
2 cups rolled oats
3 cups boiling water
2/3 cup Crosby’s Fancy Molasses
4 tsp salt
¼ cup melted butter
7 cups flour
Instructions
Mix sugar, water and yeast, let stand 10 minutes
Soak oats in hot water. Cool.
Add molasses, salt, butter and yeast to cooled oats. Blend.
Gradually mix in flour, knead until smooth. Place in a greased bowl,
cover, and allow to stand in a warm place until double in bulk.
 Knead lightly and place into two greased loaf pans
- Makes 2 Loaves -. Cover, let stand in warm
place until double in bulk. Bake at 350ºF for 40 minutes.

Rocky Road Fudge

Ingredients:
1 (12 oz) bag milk chocolate chips (or semi-sweet works too!)
1 (14 oz) can sweetened condensed milk
3 cups mini marshmallows (about half a bag)
1 1/2 cups nuts, finely chopped (I used peanuts, you could use whatever nuts you like)

Directions:
Take a large 9x13" baking pan and line with aluminum foil. Lightly spray with non-stick cooking spray.
In a large bowl, pour in the chocolate chips and sweetened condensed milk. Cook in the microwave for about 60 seconds, remove and stir. Continue to microwave at 15 second intervals (stirring after each one) until the chocolate chips are completely melted and smooth. Fold in the marshmallows and nuts until they are fully incorporated.
Press the fudge mixture into the baking pan and place in the fridge for about 60 minutes to let it set up (stick in the freezer if you want it to set up faster). When set, lift foil from pan and cut fudge into squares

Sweet Potato Rolls

Sweet Potato Rolls
makes 12 to 18 rolls

1 sweet potato, baked
1 cup milk
1/2 cup white or brown sugar
3-4 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons instant yeast
2 teaspoons salt
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/8 teaspoon ground nutmeg

Bake  the sweet potato for approximately 45 minutes at 375 (or an equivalent amount of time on the microwave, I use the potato setting). Remove the oven and let cool.

Combine the sweet potato, sugar, and milk and stir to make a paste. Mix in 2 cups of the flour, the salt, the yeast, and the spices until thoroughly combined. Add more flour a quarter cup at a time. Mix in after each addition until you have a dough that is tacky but which you can handle with wet hands. When you hit the proper consistency, remove from the bowl and knead by hand for 5 to 10 minutes.

Set the dough aside to rise in a covered bowl for 45 minutes to an hour. Divide into a dozen or so pieces, shape, and then again allow to rise until they have roughly doubled in size, another hour or so.  I used an egg wash but that is optional.

Bake at 375 for 25-30 minutes until brown, there is a lot of natural sugar so the bottoms can burn if you are not careful.

Irish Soda Bread

Not my loaf but wanted to show you what it looks like

It doesn't get any easier or quicker than this yummy Irish tradition, it really is this simple

Mix 340 gms of unbleached white flour with a half teaspoon of salt and a half teaspoon of baking soda.

Make a little well in the middle and pour in a 290 mls of low fat buttermilk.  Mix with a fork to make a rough dough

Turn out on to a lightly floured surface a knead for just 3 or 4 mins.  Form it into a round loaf on parchment paper on a cookie sheet or stone.  Cut a cross on the top and bake for 30 mins at 400 degrees.  Cool on a rack, enjoy while it is still warm!  Yummy

Rustic Italian Bread

RUSTIC ITALIAN BREAD

Makes 2 large 2 pound loaves

preferment
1 cup water
1 cup bread or all-purpose unbleached flour
1/2 teaspoon instant yeast

Dough:
All of the preferment
5 cups bread or all-purpose unbleached flour
1/2 cup nonfat dry milk
1 tablespoon malt syrup, malt powder, brown sugar, or sugar
1 tablespoon salt
2 teaspoons instant yeast
1 tablespoon olive oil
2 cups water

To start the preferment, mix together the flour, water, and yeast in a small bowl and cover with plastic wrap. Leave out at room temperature for at least 4 hours and as long as 16 hours.

To make the dough, mix together the preferment, water, olive oil, yeast, salt, malt powder, and dry milk in a bowl with 2 more cups of flour. Mix thoroughly. Mix or knead in the rest of the flour a half a cup as a time until you have a slack dough but one that is no longer sticky. Total mixing time should be in the ballpark of 10 to 15 minutes.

Place the dough in a well-greased bowl and cover with plastic wrap. Allow to rise at room temperature until at least 2 times in size, approximately 2 hours. Punch the dough down and let it rise again for half an hour.

Remove the dough from the bowl and divide it in half. Shape the dough into a ball or log, cover with a damp towel, and allow it to relax for another 20 minutes.

Shape the dough into its final shape. Cover again and allow to rise for another hour until doubled in bulk.

Meanwhile, preheat the oven and baking stone, if you are using one, to 425 degrees.

Right before placing the loaves in the oven brush or spray them lightly with water. Place them into the oven and bake for 20 minutes before rotating them. Bake them another 20 to 30 minutes or until the internal temperature of the loaf reads 200 degrees. Remove from the oven and allow to cool for at least a half an hour before serving. (from "The Fresh Loaf")