Bread & Soup

I eat bread and soup a lot. Like most days of the week. Inspired by this blog on Sunday, I decided to make bread late in the afternoon. I intended to make rye bread but, alas, while I thought I had rye flour, I didn't and couldn't find any at the closest grocery store.

So I opted for the blog's peasant bread recipe. Seeing as that recipe calls for rye flour, you might wonder what on earth I was doing since I just said the cupboard lacked any rye flour. I just skipped it, using whole-wheat flour instead. I halved the recipe, and only used 1/2 c of whole-wheat flour rather than 1/4 c. whole-wheat plus 1/4 c. rye flour. As promised, the bread required no kneading and a little under 3 hours of rising time. It yielded these:

Which look like this when cut

and sliced open.

I used Washington Island Stone Ground Wheat again for the whole-wheat flour and King Arthur white flour. The bread was a little salty so I'll reduce the salt the next time I make it. One loaf is perfect for 2 people to share (though maybe I ate all of it by the end of the night), 2 loaves were perfect for the beginning of the week's soup-eating (there's still a half loaf left after lunch today). If I were having people over, I might make 3/4 of the original recipe (which says it makes 4 loaves) but shape them into 2 larger rounds. We'll see.


I also made minestrone on Sunday, and I'll post the recipe on Friday. To tempt you until then,

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Rye Bread

I love rye bread. I really love moist deli rye bread. I also love pumpernickel bread. And therefore I also love marble rye. It's all good. It's my favorite kind of bread. Yet I have had a hard time finding a good rye bread recipe that didn't require a sourdough starter or that actually tasted like delicious deli rye. I stumbled upon this website today, and I'm hopeful that the deli-style rye bread recipe post will be the answer to my wishes. It doesn't even require kneading! Now I just need to go buy myself some caraway seeds.

Is this not mouth-watering?

image from here

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Friday Recipe: Whole-Wheat Cheese Bread

You haven't really been to the Madison Farmer's Market until you've had the hot, spicy cheese bread. That bread is a challah-like egg bread with hot-peppered mozzarella braided in. This recipe is not that bread -- it's a whole wheat dough rolled with cheddar -- but it's pretty close in deliciousness. You could always adapt it by subbing in mozzarella and hot pepper flakes for the cheddar. Serve it with soup and salad or eat it all by itself. One loaf will not last very long.


Whole-Wheat Cheese Bread
Makes 1 loaf

1 pkg active dry yeast (or 2 1/4 tsp yeast)
1 cup lukewarm milk [I use skim]
2 tbsp butter
1 c. whole wheat flour
2 c. white flour
2 tsp salt
1 c. (or more!) grated sharp cheddar

1. Combine yeast and milk. Stir and let sit for ~15 minutes.
2. Melt butter. Let cool, and add to yeast mixture.
3. Mix flour and salt in large bowl. Make a well in the middle.
4. Pour yeast mixture into well.
5. With a wooden spoon, stir until you have a rough dough (you can add a few drops of water if the dough seems dry -- it will depend on the weather).
6. Transfer to a floured surface. Knead until smooth and elastic.
7. Return to bowl, cover with a damp towel, and leave to rise in a warm place until it doubles in size (~ 2-3 hours).
8. Punch down the dough. Use a rolling pin to roll the dough into a large oval.
9. Spread cheese on the oval.


10. Roll the dough up into a jelly roll/loaf and place in a greased loaf pan. [You can use water to "seal" the roll.]

11. Cover with a damp towel and let rise in a warm place until the dough rises above the rim of the pan (~ 1-2 hours).
12. Preheat the oven to 400. Bake for 15 minutes at 400. Lower the temperature to 375, and bake for about 25 minutes more.
13. Enjoy!

Notes:
*As you can see, I made two loaves at a time. It's a very easy recipe to double and the bread freezes well (but it will be eaten before you can freeze it).

*I mixed white cheddar and orange cheddar. Use whatever cheese you prefer. Sometimes I grate it myself and sometimes I buy it pre-grated.

*This is a very easy basic bread recipe. You can make the bread without the cheese if you want. It's good too.

*Rising takes the longest of any of the steps. Aside from the rising, it's a fairly quick bread to make. I've started it 4 hours before dinner and it works. Sometimes I get up in the morning, start it, let it rise all day, and then finish it. It's flexible like that.

*The flecked bread in the pictures results from using Washington Island Stone-Ground wheat flour (thanks Joel!). When I don't have that, I usually use King Arthur flour (available at Trader Joe's, among other places).

*I would have a picture of the final product if it hadn't been eaten so quickly. Use your imagination or make the bread and see for yourself.

*Thanks to Abby for first introducing me to this delicious bread, showing me how to make it, and giving me the recipe.

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A Detour: Whole-Wheat Challah

Just in time for Rosh Hashanah preparation, a few people have asked me for my whole-wheat challah recipe. I figured posting it here would be the easiest way to disseminate it. If you have questions, ask them in the comments section and I will do my best to answer them. Enjoy!

Picture Added 10/10/08: Challot post-rise, pre-baking

WHOLE-WHEAT CHALLAH

Ingredients
Yeast Mixture: 1 packet yeast (2.25 tsp from jar); ½ tsp sugar; ¼ cup water
1 cup warm water
½ cup sugar
½ cup oil
1 tsp salt
½ tbsp vanilla
¼ tsp baking powder
2 eggs (beaten well)
3 tbsp vital wheat gluten
3 cups whole-wheat flour
2-3 cups white flour
1 egg (for painting the dough)
sesame seeds/zatar/topping of your choice

Instructions
1. Make yeast mixture by combining yeast, 1/2 tsp sugar, and 1/4 cup warm water. Set aside. The mixture is ready when it is thick and bubbly, about 10 minutes.

2. In separate BIG bowl, whisk together the following ingredients, one ingredient at a time: 1 cup warm water, 1/2 cup sugar, 1/2 cup oil, 1 tsp salt, 1/2 tbsp vanilla, 1/4 tsp baking powder, 2 eggs, yeast mixture.

3. Add wheat gluten and mix well.

4. Add flour one cup at a time, mix with a whisk/wooden spoon for as long as possible, then mix with your hands [I start with whole wheat flour and then add the white flour; I usually use a little more than 2 cups of white flour but you may need more or less depending on the consistency of the mix.] The dough is ready when it’s not too sticky.

5. Transfer dough to an oiled bowl and set aside in a warm place covered with a damp towel for one hour. [I often turn on the oven to 200 degrees, let it get warm, turn it off, and then put the dough into rise.]

6. Allow the dough to rise for at least 1 hour. Punch it down a couple times and then allow it to rise in a warm place for another hour.

7. After the second rise, remove dough from bowl, punch it a few times, and start to knead it.

8. Divide the dough equally based on the number of challot you want to make—a single recipe makes 2 big challot or many smaller ones. Divide each chunk of dough into 3 (or 4 or 5…), roll out the segments, and braid (or roll out the undivided chunk and make into a spiral for a round challah).

9. Once braided/spiraled, transfer challot to an oiled baking sheet (a couple of oiled 9x13 pans work as well). Cover with a towel and let rise for about 1 hour (or until it is the size you want it to be).

10. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

11. Beat 1 egg. Paint the top of the challah and either leave it as is or sprinkle sesame seeds or zatar (yum!) or the topping of your choice.

12. Beat at 350 degrees for 25-30 minutes. Challah should be golden brown on the outside when done. Or, as Molly Katzen says, tap the bottom and listen for a hollow sound.

Notes
*The vital wheat gluten is what makes this whole-wheat challah work. Don’t skip it. [I buy Bob’s Red Mill vital wheat gluten, available at most grocery stores these days.]

*You can let the braided dough rise overnight by placing the loaves on an oiled cookie sheet/baking pan, covering them with saran wrap, and placing them in the refrigerator to rise.

*Top challah with anything you want. The Bernstein kids introduced me to rainbow-sprinkle topped challah this summer. Personally, I prefer zatar, but go with anything you like (except raisins; I don’t like raisins in or on challah. But I guess if you do, you should go right ahead).

*Challah can be made ahead and frozen. When the loaf cools, wrap it in foil and place it in a plastic bag before freezing. [I find the foil + bag keeps better and, bonus, lets you move it straight from the freezer into the oven – well, take it out of the bag first and put the foil-wrapped loaf into the oven.]

Picture added 10/10/08: The challah on the right has zaatar on top, while the challah on the left is plain (just brushed with egg). If there is any leftover, I'll turn the plain one into challah-french toast.

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