Capturing Yeast 2.0

Capturing Yeast: from flour to bread in 5 pictures! Here's my journey!!!

It only took about 3 weeks in the pandemic to make a loaf of bread. It only took about 20 minutes to eat the whole thing!!

German Pretzel Bread

I saw this recipe online and was so excited to try it. I did and altered it a bit. One of the biggest shocks to me was Sophie Sadler explains that in Germany pretzels are made by dipping them into a lye solution! Yikes! I'm terrified by that so I researched alternatives and found a baking soda substitute. If you want to learn more about that, here is the article that I used as my jumping off point.

German Pretzel Bread

adapted from Sophie Sadler

4 cups flour

2¼ tsp dry yeast

2½ tbsp brown sugar

2 tbsp butter

2 tsp salt

3½ tbsp warm water

1 scant cup ice cold water

6 tbsp Maille Old Style mustard

¾ cup grated Gouda cheese

pumpkin seeds, sunflower seeds, poppy seeds, pretzel salt

⅔ baking soda

2 cup water

1. Bake the baking soda at 250° for an hour.
2. Combine brown sugar, dry yeast and warm water and allow to sit for 5 minutes until the yeast starts to activate and bubble.
3. In a large bowl, combine sifted flour, salt, room temperature butter (heat for a few seconds in microwave if too cold) with the yeast mixture.
4. Then add ice cold water and knead for 8 to 10 minutes or until you achieve a smooth, elastic dough.
5. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap or a damp towel and place in a warm spot.
6. Allow to rise for 1 to 2 hours or until doubled in size. (You can also prepare the dough the night before and keep it in the fridge.)
7. Put the baking soda into 2 cups of water to dissolve. (I find that the baking soda doesn't dissolve easily after being baked....)
8. When ready to start working with the dough, preheat your oven to 420˚.
9. On a flour dusted surface, roll out the dough to a rectangular shape that is twice as long as it is wide. Cut into 3 strips lengthwise. (She cut it into 4 pieces but braiding 4 is awkward!!!)
10. In the middle of each strip, distribute some Maille Old Style mustard using a spoon.
11. Top off with the grated Gouda cheese.
12. Then brush water onto the dough surrounding the mustard-cheese and fold the dough over the filling, first sealing it (the water helps make it stick), then rolling it over itself to form four stuffed logs.
13. Cross 2 stuffed logs halfway, then start braiding the loaves and fold under at the end.
14. Immerse the dough in the baking soda solution for three to four minutes.
15. Rinse off the excess dipping solution in a large bowl of plain water.
16. Carefully remove the loaf with the utensils and place on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper.
17. Bake for 22 minutes on the middle rack.

Cinnamon Star Bread

I saw this recipe from King Arthur Flour and had to do it!! It looks amazing! I had my doubts that I could make one that looked as delicious as theirs but I had to try! Now I didn't do it exactly they way they suggested; I made some changes. I actually think it looks pretty good! So here's what I did do.

2 cup flour

½ cup instant potato flakes

¾ cup warm milk

¼ cup butter, room temperature

1 tsp vanilla

2 tsp yeast 

2 tbsp sugar

1 tsp salt

1 egg

½ cup sugar

1 tbsp cinnamon

1. Mix together the flour, potato flakes, milk, butter, vanilla, yeast, sugar, and salt.
2. Knead until a soft, smooth dough forms.
3. Place the dough in a lightly greased bowl, cover, and let it rise for 60 minutes, until it's nearly doubled in bulk.
4. Divide the dough into four equal pieces.
5. Mix together the cinnamon and sugar.
6. Beat the egg.
7. Shape each piece into a ball, cover the balls, and allow them to rest for 15 minutes.
8. On a lightly greased or floured work surface, roll one piece of dough into a 10" circle. (My circles were only 8".)
9. Place the circle on a piece of parchment, brush a thin coat of beaten egg on the surface, then evenly sprinkle with ⅓ of the cinnamon-sugar, leaving ¼" of bare dough around the edge. (I used way less cinnamon-sugar.)
10. Roll out a second circle the same size as the first, and place it on top of the filling-covered circle.
11. Repeat the layering process — egg, cinnamon sugar, dough circle — leaving the top circle bare.
12. Place a 2½" to 3" round cutter (I used a lid) in the center of the dough circle as a guide.
13. With a sharp knife, cut the circle into 16 equal strips, from the cutter to the edge, through all the layers. (I started by doing quarters and then bisecting each section until I had 16 pieces.)
14. Using two hands, pick up two adjacent strips and twist them away from each other twice so that the top side is facing up again.
15. Repeat with the remaining strips of dough so that you end up with eight pairs of strips.
16. Pinch the pairs of strips together to create a star-like shape with eight points.
17. Remove the cutter/lid.
18. Transfer the star on the parchment to a baking sheet.
19. Cover the star and let it rise until it becomes noticeably puffy, about 45 minutes.
20. While the star is rising, preheat the oven to 400°F.
21. Brush the star with a thin coat of the beaten egg.
22. Bake it for 12 to 15 minutes, until it's nicely golden with dark brown cinnamon streaks.
23. Remove the loaf from the oven and allow it to cool for about 10 minutes before serving.
24. Dust with confectioners' sugar and serve warm or at room temperature.
25. Store any leftover bread, well wrapped in plastic, at room temperature for several days.

Yankee Oatmeal-Molasses Bread

I loooooove molasses, and while for many fall might mean pumpkin spice, for me it means molasses. So I looked around for a molasses recipe. Yankee! Oatmeal! Molasses! When I found this, I knew I had to try it. It is delicious! The recipe includes a glaze and a sprinkle of oats for the top. I did do that (and it is a yummy glaze!), but I don't think it was necessary and won't do it next time. 

from Bon Appétit

½ cup packed old-fashioned oats

¾ cup boiling water

1 cup warm water (105°F to 115°F)

2¼ tsp yeast

6 tbsp molasses

2 tbsp butter, room temperature

1¼ tsp salt

4½ cup flour

glaze

1 tbsp melted butter mixed with 1 tsp molasses

1 tbsp old-fashioned oats 

1. Place ½ cup oats in large bowl of electric mixer fitted with dough hook; pour ¾ cup boiling water over. 
2. Let stand 30 minutes (water will be absorbed and oatmeal will be very soft).
3. Pour 1 cup warm water into 2-cup glass measuring cup. 
4. Sprinkle yeast over; stir to blend. Let stand until yeast dissolves, about 10 minutes. 
5. Mix molasses, 2 tablespoons butter and salt into oat mixture in bowl.
6. Mix in yeast mixture.
7.  Add enough flour, 1 cup at a time, to form medium-soft dough, mixing at medium speed until well blended, about 3 minutes. 
8. Turn out dough onto floured surface. 
9. Knead until smooth and elastic, adding more flour if dough is too sticky, about 5 minutes. 
10. Form dough into ball and put in a greased bowl.
11. Cover bowl and let rise for 1 hour.
12. Punch down dough; turn out into floured surface and knead 3 minutes. 
13. Form into 8-inch-long loaf. 
14. Transfer to a greased loaf pan and cover.
15. Let for about 45 minutes.
16. Preheat oven to 400°F.  
17. Bake the bread for 10 minutes and then reduce the temperature to 350°F. 
18. Bake for 25 minutes longer. 
19. Make the glaze by melting the butter and mixing in the molasses.
20. Brush the top of the bread with the glaze; sprinkle 1 tablespoon oats over. 
21. Bake for about 10 minutes longer. 
22. Transfer to rack; cool in pan 10 minutes. 
23. Turn out brad onto rack; cool completely. 

Honey Ricotta Stuffed Buns

Adapted in part from The Bread Baker’s Apprentice, by Peter Reinhart

These sounded delicious to me and so I had to make them. Beware! They take a long time to make!! So while they are good, I didn't feel the flavor was worth the time it took to make them.

For the filling:
¼ cup Marsala wine (or fruit juice)
½ cup golden raisins
1 cup ricotta cheese
2 tablespoons honey, or to taste

For the starter:
½ cup unbleached bread flour
2 teaspoons instant yeast
½ cup milk, at room temperature

For the dough:
4 large eggs
1 tablespoon honey
3¼-½ cups unbleached bread flour
1¼ teaspoons salt
½ cup unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 egg beaten with 1 tablespoon water, for an egg wash

1. Soak the raisins in the wine for at least 2 hours.
2. Drain well, and mix into the ricotta with the honey.  Cover and refrigerate until ready to use.
3. To make the starter, mix together the flour, yeast, and milk in a bowl.
4. Cover and let stand at warm room temperature for about 45 minutes.
5. To make the dough, whisk the eggs and honey into the starter.  
6. Add the flour and salt, and mix until all the flour is moistened.  
7. Cover and let stand for 5 minutes.
8. Gradually work in the butter, adding about 1 tablespoon at a time.  Let each piece of butter incorporate before adding the next one.
9. Continue kneading until the dough is smooth and clears the sides and bottom of the bowl.  If the dough sticks to the sides or bottom, add additional flour by spoonfuls until the correct consistency is achieved.
10. Turn the dough out onto a very lightly floured work surface and shape the dough into a round ball.  
11. Transfer to a large, lightly oiled bowl, turning to coat all sides of the dough with oil.  Cover until doubled in size, about 90 minutes.  Twenty minutes before shaping the buns, set the ricotta filling out at room temperature to take the chill off.
12. Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured work surface, pressing gently to deflate.  
13. Divide the dough into 16 even pieces, shaping each into a round ball.  
14. Cover loosely and let rest for 10 minutes.  
15. Lightly grease a large baking sheet, or line with parchment paper.
16. Using a rolling pin or your hands, flatten each piece of dough to a flat round. 
17. Place 1 to 2 tablespoons of the ricotta filling in the center. Pull the dough up and around the filling, pressing firmly to seal the seam.
18. Transfer the bun seam-side down to the prepared baking sheet, and cover loosely. Repeat with the remaining dough and filling.
19. Cover and let the buns rise at room temperature for 1 hour.
20. Gently brush each bun with the egg wash, taking care not to deflate.  
21. Bake the buns at 400º for 15-20 minutes, or until well browned, rotating the pan halfway through to ensure even browning.  

Doughnut Bread Pudding

Yesterday was the last day of classes for me, and my tradition on the last day is to just play UNO with my students. So I did play UNO with my students, but unlike normal, I brought doughnuts to class. I only had a dozen and 3 dozen students, so I quartered all the doughnuts. Happily I had enough doughnuts- in fact so much so that I had leftovers. What to do? As I biked home, I decided to make a bread pudding out of the doughnuts!

doughnut pieces
1 cup milk
2 eggs

1. Put the doughnut pieces in a loaf pan. My pieces covered the loaf pan about 1-inch deep.
2. Scramble two eggs.
3. Add one cup of milk to the eggs.
4. Pour the egg-milk mixture to the loaf pan.
5. Let sit for 10 minutes.
6. Bake for 20 minutes at 350 degrees.

Enjoy!!

Cherry Bread

from Martha Meade

When I was going through my grandmother's recipes, I really wanted to try this recipe! It looked so good to me. The recipe said, “‘Best surprise we’ve ever had!’ your family will say, when you pack cream cheese sandwiches made with Cherry Bread in their lunches. Nice to serve with salad luncheons too!” Well, I finally made it and while I haven't had it with cream cheese, I have to say, it's good! Kind of cake-y! YUM! 

1 cup pitted, canned red cherries (well drained and chopped) [I used fresh cherries that I pitted and quartered.]

1 tbsp lemon juice [I didn't have any, so I skipped this step.]

¼ cup butter

⅔ cup granulated sugar

1 egg

2½ cups sifted flour

3 tsp baking powder

1½ tsp salt 

½ cup milk

1. Mix the cherries and lemon juice.
2. Let stand while preparing batter.
3. In a separate bowl cream the butter and sugar until fluffy.
4. Add the egg.
5. Beat until well mixed.
6. In a separate bowl mix together the flour, baking powder, and salt. 
7. Add half the milk to the creamed butter mixture.
8. Add half the flour mixture to the creamed butter mixture.
9. Add the remaining milk to the creamed butter mixture.
10. Add the remaining flour mixture to the creamed butter mixture.
11. Stir until the batter is smooth.
12. Blend in the chopped cherries.
13. Place the batter into a greased and floured 9x5x3-inch bread loaf pan.
14. Bake at 350° for 55-60 minutes.
15. Let stand overnight before slicing.