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Originally uploaded by StrangerKiss

I baked again today…what fun! I made a batch of Almond Horns (from the Martha Stewart Cookie book. They were very easy and kind of fun to make…lots of hands on mushing and shaping. And, let’s face it, lots of confectioner’s sugar. I do love confectioner’s sugar on top.

Then I decided to use the batch of “quick” artisan bread dough that’s been fermenting in the frig for more than a week. I didn’t want to throw it away but I wasn’t really sure that I could use it like a poolish, biga or sponge exactly. Since I’m planning to make the Artos bread from BBA this week I made a poolish which is now sitting in the spot that the dough was in so I needed the room.

So, after having read a lot from BBA and other blogs (especially Breadtopia) I decided to add a cup or so of bread flour, turned out onto the board and kneaded it for awhile until it got pretty smooth and elastic. I forgot to try to the window pane test but I wasn’t planning to give it a long bench.  It looked pretty flabby after a 1/2 hour rest but what the heck! I had heated to stone to 500 and used my new ‘Magic Peel’ (which I love!) to get it into the oven. Worked like a charm. I quickly dumped a cup or so of hot water in a roasting pan and then sprayed the walls of the oven a couple of times during the first minute or two.

After that I left it alone. When I check it after 25 minutes…whoa! Talk about oven spring! It had expanded amazingly. I checked the internal temperature..but it was still pretty low. I waited another 15 minutes or so until the temperature reached about 195. It looked fantastic but I haven’t cut it or tasted it so we’ll see.  You can see it here and after it came out of the oven here.

It’s funny, I thought all this baking and cooking would take me back to the old days…when I spent everyday, all day in the kitchen. But now it’s different. In a good way…I have such a different take on things and the world now. I’m more open to experimenting and learning and not knowing. I’m excited at the prospect of experimenting and trying things.

Actually, that’s my next project. Is to figure out a good methodology for experiementing and recording so that I can improve recipes, create recipes, vary recipes.

Fun, fun, fun!

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Originally uploaded by StrangerKiss

These rolls were scrumptious and quite easy to make. I got the recipe from King Arthur Flour. They took practically no hands on time and they came out great. I served them with grilled Buffalo burgers and a salad made from lettuce and chard from our garden. Yum!

I find baking bread so gratifying. It’s a very mellow process since you mostly have to wait (or in some cases the dough has to wait for you). I’ve been using a combination of machine and hand kneading so that I can feel the dough and learn to get it to the consistency I want. But the side benefit is that it’s so basic and meditative. The activity of just mushing the dough and feeling the process is very rewarding.

Speaking of mushing dough…I made pasta last night again. I used the 3:2 ratio as advised in the Ratio book but still had problematic (althoug delicious) results.  The dough was definitely too wet.  I re-read the entry in the book and I think that I’m not working (kneading) the dough enough.  Plus, we watched Iron Chef America last night and both chefs were making pasta.  Their dough seemed much stiffer than mine.  So I’ll try a) more kneading and b) adding more flour either initially or during kneading or both.

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Originally uploaded by StrangerKiss

I’ve accepted the BBA (Bread Baker’s Apprentice) Challenge (even though I’m a little late). Here’s the Anadama Bread just about ready to go in the oven. I used a silicon load pan and a regular non-stick loaf pan. The silicon one was a bit narrower so the bread rose a LOT higher above the pan. We’ll see which one is better.

The molasses in the bread made it smell very, well, molasses-y while it was coming together and rising.  It was a very easy process.  Soaked the cornmeal overnight and then make the sponge this morning (adding about 1/2 the flour, yeast, water).  It bubbled up quite nicely in about 1 hour.  I then added the rest and mixed it with the paddle of my KA until it came together and then switched to the bread paddle.  Used that for about 3-4 minutes until the dough started riding up the paddle.  Then hand-kneaded it until it passed the ‘window pane’ test.

Let it rise again, about 75 minutes, until doubled.  It was beautiful turning it out on the board for shaping and benching.  It was nice and soft and easy to work with.  Shaped the two loaves, put them in the pans and we went for our walk.  By the time we were back they had crested the rim of the pans (especially the one in the silicon pan).

Preheated the oven, sprayed with water and sprinkled corn meal.  In the oven they went.  The oven spring was impressive!  I ended up only baking them about 30 minutes (rather 40 or more) as I tested the temperature and it was already over 190 and they were sounding hollow.