Bread Dough Flavor Enhancement

While it's not quite a flavorful as a full blown sourdough, there are some ways to push the flavor in that direction without having to feed and maintain a wild horse sourdough starter long term in your fridge.

In French, it's called a polische, in Italian a biga. It can be as simple as 1/4 tsp yeast, 2/3 cup of water and 1-1/4 cups of unbleached all purpose flour mixed until smooth and allowed to ferment covered at room temperature for six to twelve hours.

This concoction will not provide any real leavening for the bread dough to which it is added. You still need to add more yeast to the actual bread dough when you mix it, but the biga will enhance the flavor considerably. If I know I'll baking the next day, I'll mix a biga before I go to bed and just let it sit out on the counter overnight. Not much in the way of extra effort, but you get a lot of bang for the buck flavor wise.

Bakers started experimenting with bigas and polisches after Louis Pasteur's work lead to the production of cultured yeasts to replace wild horse levains. Cultured yeast was more predictable, but the bread it produced was lacking in flavor. The addition of a biga was a compromise to restore some of the flavor.

Randall
(2/1/12)

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Kümmelweck Rolls

Kümmelweck Rolls

3/4 cup warm water
1-1/2 tsp yeast
1-1/2 tsp sugar
1 tsp salt
2-2/3 cups flour
2 tbsp powdered milk
2 tbsp melted butter
1 egg
coarse salt
caraway seed

Combine water, yeast and sugar.  Mix butter and egg; add to yeast mixture. Blend salt, flour and milk; add to yeast mixture. Knead until smooth and elastic (whatever that means).  Let rise twice in the bowl.

Divided into 6 pieces and shape into buns (if you have one of those hard rolls thingys, you can use that to make the swirly pattern in the rolls; otherwise, don't bother).

Let rise until puffy.  Brush with melted butter, sprinkle with coarse salt and caraway seed.  Bake 15 minutes at 425° F.

Annabel Kellam
(8/9/11)

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Bread Making Hints and Tips

Substituting Other Flours in Bread Recipes
In a basic bread recipe that uses about 6 cups of flour:

Not having a problem with gluten, I add it to flours if needed. My bread recipe (one of the King Arthur recipes I use and modified) consists of 1/2 cup each of kamut and spelt flours, 1 cup whole wheat and the rest is unbleached white wheat.

I add 2 tbsp of gluten to make up for the missing gluten in the 2 cups of "other" flours. The flavor of the bread is very good.

Debra
(1/13/11)

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Altering Yeast Amounts in Bread Recipes

There goes another of my illusions. I thought I was the only one who had figured out that any amount of yeast can be used for bread.

I made and sold bread for many years and have tried every possible amount of yeast and ingredients, (even broccoli).

Another thing I can say with equal assurance, you can add ingredients to the dough at any stage with great results. The other day I had completed mixing (by hand) a batch of raisin/cinnamon/egg dough when I saw that I forgotten to add the chopped raisins which were in a bowl being soaked with orange juice, so I poked holes in the dough poured it on sprinkled on some flour and kneaded it (what a messy job that was). The results were wonderful. Making bread is almost as satisfying as milking goats.

Dianna
(1/13/11)

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Dreadfully Delicious Cheese and Bacon Bread

So I've got this dreadfully delicious cheese/bacon bread I like to make for my morning breakfast at work and I wondered if it is possible to double a bread recipe so I bake two pans at a time. I know simply using twice the listed ingredients in some cookies is not as good as the single recipe. Toll house cookies wind up so salty as to be inedible the one time I tried that.

It's a yeast bread, heavily modified from the one I found on King Arthur Flour. The oven at 375°F from the article, I use 380°F. Make sure the oven really is at temperature.

Dreadfully Delicious Cheese and Bacon Bread
3 cups KA unbleached special bread flour
1 tsp instant yeast
1 tbsp + 1 tsp sugar
3/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp powdered onion
1/4 tsp powdered garlic
1 1/2 tbsp butter
2/3 cup milk
1/3 to 1/2 cup water (depending on humidity)
1 heaping cup (4.5oz) shredded cheese (any type of cheddar)
4 oz (sorta) bacon
     I cut the sliced stuff as thin as possible and fry so it's sorta done. Do this first so it's room temp when you put it in the dough.

Mix dry ingredients, add butter, water and milk, stir to form a shaggy mass let sit for 15 minutes.

Knead until it's smooth and elastic, knead in cheese and bacon.

Place dough in a greased bowl, cover and let rise 1 hour.

Turn dough out, form into loaf, then put in baking pan (I line mine with parchment paper - works great).

Let it rise for an hour.

Bake for 25 minutes (or in my case 35 minutes). If the cheese is browning too fast tent lightly with aluminum foil after the first 15 minutes baking (never needed to, but that's in the instructions). An instant read thermometer should read 190°F.

The original recipe is on the King Arthur Flour website and called Cheddar Cheese Bread if you want to see what I started with.

Elena
(1/17/10)

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Whole Wheat version of Bittman's No-Knead Bread

No-Knead Bread
makes 1 large round loaf

Bittman's Whole Wheat No-Knead Bread
From Cook's Illustrated.  Published January 1, 2008.
He was the fellow who made the idea popular but many folks have used the idea of a slow, cold fermentation in lieu of kneading before Bittman covered Lahey's bakery in his column. There are several other recipes for this process that I prefer to Lahey's. Cook's Illustrated/America's Test Kitchen came up with a nearly no-knead version that includes beer to get more of the yeasty flavor that is missing from Lahey's recipe.

An enameled cast-iron Dutch oven with a tight-fitting lid yields best results, but the recipe also works in a regular cast-iron Dutch oven or heavy stockpot. (See the related information in "Making Your Dutch Oven Safe for High-Heat Baking" for information on converting Dutch oven handles to work safely in a hot oven.) Use a mild-flavored lager, such as Budweiser (mild non-alcoholic lager also works). The bread is best eaten the day it is baked but can be wrapped in aluminum foil and stored in a cool, dry place for up to 2 days.

3 cups unbleached all-purpose flour (15 oz.), plus additional for dusting work surface
1/4 tsp instant or rapid-rise yeast
1-1/2 tsp table salt
3/4 cup plus 2 tbsp water (7 oz.), at room temperature
1/4 cup plus 2 tbsp mild-flavored lager (3 oz.)
1 tbsp white vinegar

Whisk flour, yeast, and salt in large bowl. Add water, beer, and vinegar. Using rubber spatula, fold mixture, scraping up dry flour from bottom of bowl until shaggy ball forms. Cover bowl with plastic wrap and let sit at room temperature for 8 to 18 hours.

Lay 12" by 18" sheet of parchment paper inside 10" skillet and spray with nonstick cooking spray. Transfer dough to lightly floured work surface and knead 10 to 15 times. Shape dough into ball by pulling edges into middle. Transfer dough, seam-side down, to parchment-lined skillet and spray surface of dough with nonstick cooking spray. Cover loosely with plastic wrap and let rise at room temperature until dough has doubled in size and does not readily spring back when poked with finger, about 2 hours.
About 30 minutes before baking, adjust oven rack to lowest position, place 6- to 8-quart heavy-bottomed Dutch oven (with lid) on rack, and heat oven to 500° F. Lightly flour top of dough and, using razor blade or sharp knife, make one 6", 1/2"-deep slit along top of dough.

Carefully remove pot from oven and remove lid. Pick up dough by lifting parchment overhang and lower into pot (let any excess parchment hang over pot edge). Cover pot and place in oven. Reduce oven temperature to 425° F and bake covered for 30 minutes. Remove lid and continue to bake until loaf is deep brown and instant-read thermometer inserted into center registers 210° F, 20 to 30 minutes longer. Carefully remove bread from pot; transfer to wire rack and cool to room temperature, about 2 hours.And King Arthur has a cranberry-chocolate version that is pretty tasty (just enter no-knead in their recipe search).

-erin in UT
(6/22/09)

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Mark Bittens' No-Knead Bread

Mark Bittens' No-Knead Bread

My favourite no-knead started with a Mark Bitten recipe, but I futz. It has a fabulous crust, very crunchy, denser than a baguette crust.

3 cup flour
1-5/8 cup water
1/4 tsp yeast
1-1/4 tsp salt

Mix (it's wet), cover with plastic wrap and let it set 12-18 hours in a warm, draft-free place.

Two hours before baking, turn it out of the bowl and onto a tea towel well-covered with corn meal or flour. Fold the dough on itself a couple of times. Cover with a tea towel.

45 minutes before baking, place a smallish heavy deepish casserole-type pot with a lid in the oven and heat to 450 degrees.

Carefully drop the dough into the pot, and USING POT-HOLDERS, shake the pot to even out the dough, cover and bake for 30 minutes. Take the lid off and ake another 15-30 minutes until browned.

My variation:

• 1 cup white flour
• 1 cup whole wheat flour
• 1 cup of whatever I want, usually a mixture of rolled whole grains, flax seed, corn meal, wheat bran, cracked what, buckwheat flour or whatever else I have
• Up to 1/2 tsp yeast, depending on how heavy that last cup of stuff is

Generally, because of the day job, it sits for closer to 24 hours with no ill effect.

Charlene in St Louis
(6/22/09)

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High-altitude Adjustment for Bread Machine Bread

High-altitude Adjustment for Bread Machine Bread

I had the same problem when we first moved to 7,000 ft. Lots of collapsed loaves. I tried more water, less water, more flour, less flour, less sugar, and couldn't get consistent results.

Then someone gave me a simple suggestions that has worked every time.

For every cup of flour in the recipe, add 1 Tablespoon of gluten. If the recipe already calls for gluten, use the amount called for plus 1 Tbsp for each cup of flour. The extra protein gives the dough more strength to support the increased rise. I also use the whole wheat setting on the bread maker regardless of what type of bread I'm making. The longer knead also strengthens the dough.

This has worked for me with 2 bread machines, whole wheat bread, bread made with partly rye or oat flour, white bread, and peanut butter bread, and I haven't had a collapsed loaf since I started doing it. I am using a bread machine, not a mixer. But it might be worth a try.

Judith
(6/18/09)

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No-Knead Bread

No-Knead Bread
Yield: One 1-1/2-pound loaf

Adapted from Jim Lahey, Sullivan Street Bakery

Time: About 1-1/2 hours plus 14 to 20 hours' rising

3 cups all-purpose or bread flour, more for dusting

1/4 tsp instant yeast

1-1/4 tsp salt (or up to just under a tbsp.)

Cornmeal or wheat bran as needed

1. In a large bowl combine flour, yeast and salt. Add 1-5/8 cups water, and stir until blended; dough will be shaggy and sticky. Cover bowl with plastic wrap. Let dough rest at least 12 hours, preferably about 18, at warm room temperature, about 70° F.
2. Dough is ready when its surface is dotted with bubbles. Lightly flour a work surface and place dough on it; sprinkle it with a little more flour and fold it over on itself once or twice. Cover loosely with plastic wrap and let rest about 15 minutes.
3. Using just enough flour to keep dough from sticking to work surface or to your fingers, gently and quickly shape dough into a ball. Generously coat a cotton towel (not terry cloth) with flour, wheat bran or cornmeal; put dough seam side down on towel and dust with more flour, bran or cornmeal. Cover with another cotton towel and let rise for about 2 hours. When it is ready, dough will be more than double in size and will not readily spring back when poked with a finger.
4. At least a half-hour before dough is ready, heat oven to 450° F. Put a 6- to 8-quart heavy covered pot (cast iron, enamel, Pyrex or ceramic) in oven as it heats. When dough is ready, carefully remove pot from oven. Slide your hand under towel and turn dough over into pot, seam side up; it may look like a mess, but that is O.K. Shake pan once or twice if dough is unevenly distributed; it will straighten out as it bakes. Cover with lid and bake 30 minutes, then remove lid and bake another 15 to 30 minutes, until loaf is beautifully browned. Cool on a rack.

MoPQQQ
(2/2/07)

Comment:
 Whoever posted the original recipe for the no knead bread - YOU'RE GUILTY!! I just tried it using 1/3 whole wheat flour, 1/3 rye flour and 1/3 oatmeal. It's going to take all my willpower and then some not to sit and eat the whole loaf!! Wow, is this good.

Next is to try it with the original white flour for DH.

I did double the amount of yeast for the whole grain version as I didn't think the 1/4 tsp would be enough for the heavy flours. And that was about right. It's not too yeasty but rose pretty well. Might even try a bit more yeast next time.

Anyway, a big thank you to the original poster. This might just become a staple in this house.

Shoshana
(3/2/07)

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Brioche

This is a dough JC specifically says is suited for bread, coffee cakes, sticky buns and beehive cakes and it produces enough dough for an 8-cup loaf pan, a 12" coffee cake, or 8 sticky buns. She gives directions for doing this in a food processor.

Brioche

Proof a package of dry-active yeast in 3 tbsp tepid water and 2 tsp sugar for about 5 minutes.

3-1/2 cups all-purpose flour (not bread or high protein flour)
1-1/2 tsp salt
1/3 cup sugar
6 oz (1-1/2 sticks) chilled unsalted butter, diced (This is 12 oz, 6 oz is 3/4 of a stick. Go with your gut on this amount.)
4 large " eggs
1/3+ cup milk

While the yeast is proofing, add the flour, salt, and sugar (and any spice flavoring you might want to add) into the bowl of the machine. Add the butter and pulse in 1-second bursts to break up the butter.

Whisk the eggs and milk into the yeast mixture, add to the flour mixture and blend. Add a little more milk if needed until the dough pulls away from the sides of the bowl and forms a ball for 8-10 rotations (it should feel soft).

After a 5 minute rest, process the dough for 30 more revolutions, turn it out onto a lightly floured work surface and allow to rest for 2 minutes.

Knead by hand for 20 strokes, place in a bowl and cover. Proof until it is 1-1/2 times its intial volume (about 40 minutes at 72°F-75°F).

Deflate the dough and shape into a 12" rectangle. Fold into three layers from one of the ends, pat it out and repeat the folding. Return to the bowl, cover and proof a second time until the volume has more than doubled.

For the loaf, butter the pan and add the dough filling the pan to 2/3s and let it rise to the rim of the pan. Place in the lower middle level of a preheated 423°F oven and bake until done and the interior temperature is 200°F.

Notes: this sounds like one of the less rich doughs as she mentions that folks wanting a classic brioche and other more rich items using a true brioche dough can go to her other books (Mastering II and Kitchen) so someone may have to dig out an old cookbook if they have it.

I also have Ortiz' brioche recipe and the slew of regional versions in the translation of Calvel's book (realize that there is a chapter and then some on brioche in his book). These are all very different and further support the idea that any brioche made for loaf bread is not the same as classic brioche. Let me know if the recipe above isn't the one you're looking for and I can probably be talked into posting one of the others.

erin
let them eat brioche ;)
(1/19/07)

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Great Grandma's Spudnuts (Idaho Donuts)

Spudnuts. Doughnuts with a potato thrown in. Seriously!

I googled for a recipe (notice how many servings!)
http://www.recipelink.com/ch/2005/january/101thingspotato3.html
(Link is still viable in 2016)

Great Grandma's Spudnuts (Idaho Donuts)
Recipe from: 101 Things to Do With a Potato (this is on Amazon)
by Stephanie Dircks Ashcraft

Makes 12-15 servings

2-1/2 tbsp active dry yeast
1/2 cup warm water
1 cup mashed potatoes, unseasoned*
2 cups warm milk
1/2 cup shortening
1 cup sugar
3 eggs
1/2 tsp salt
6 cups flour
vegetable oil, for frying
1 can (16 oz) white frosting
chocolate syrup, maple flavor, to taste

*Do not use instant mashed potatoes for this recipe.

Mix yeast, water, potatoes, and milk together.

In a separate bowl, combine shortening, sugar, eggs, and salt. Stir mashed potato mixture into bowl with egg and shortening mixture. Stir in flour one cup at a time. Cover bowl with plastic wrap and allow dough to rise 45 minutes.

Roll out dough to 3/4" thickness and cut with donut cutter.

Fry dough in hot oil. Turn once, making sure donut is golden brown on both sides.

Divide frosting into 3 small bowls. Add chocolate syrup to one and maple flavor to another. Dip hot donuts into flavored frostings.

For more variety, dip some into a mixture of cinnamon and sugar or powdered sugar.

Ruth
(3/3/06)

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Sylvia's Sourdough Starter Method

Sylvia's Sourdough Starter Method (capturing the Wild Yeast)

To make the starter, I cleaned my kitchen, emptied the trash and washed the can, scoured everything until it glowed, and washed and put away the pre-compost collecting bin for the duration. Opened the windows and aired the house. That got rid of most of the potentially negative invaders. Oh, and we ate all the ripe fruit in the house (fruit flies are death on starter and they gravitate toward the stuff, naughty little dive bombers).

In a glass bowl, with my bread-only wooden spoon, I stirred a couple of tablespoons of active culture plain yogurt, a cup of unbleached wheat flour, and a cup of filtered water. I set it out on the kitchen counter in a room temperature spot and left it uncovered.

To fill the air with good little yeastie beasties to befriend and influence the yogurt guys, I set a pyrex measuring cup of proofing yeast next to the starter bowl and replaced it daily. I also placed some empty wine bottles nearby, empty but for the sediment that is. An unfiltered 1980's French Bordeaux has a lovely effect on starter.

The starter burbled pretty quickly and I fed it for a few weeks before consigning it to a Tupperware in the frig. I gave my dad some of it a few years ago and within months his had a completely different flavor from mine.

beadlizard
(1/11/05)

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Avital's Sourdough Starter for the Super Lazy

Avital's Sourdough Starter for the Super Lazy

Mix 1 cup of water with 1 cup of flour. Leave the bowl out overnight with a handkerchief covering it to keep ants out. If it bubbles, you've got a starter.

I add another cup of water and cup of flour, stir, then put in the fridge in a container with a loose lid. It will need feeding every couple weeks or so.

I should add that I find it easier to catch yeast in the Judean desert than in Boston, so YMMV. Generally it's easier in summer than winter, too. In summer the mixture will start bubbling like a milkshake within a few hours. In winter sometimes it takes a little more than a day.

If you have a vintage starter with a pedigree, it is a good idea to keep some frozen and occasionally throw out your current starter and replace with the 'new' starter from the freezer. The reason is that the local fungi (including yeasts) will eventually crowd out the foreign fungi. That is why starters vary from region to region.

Avital
(1/11/05)

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Lena's Himalayan-style Whey-leavened Bread

Lena's Himalayan-style Whey-leavened Bread
(a method, not a recipe)

So I ran it by Lena who, after living 8 years in a cave in the Himalayas, is something of an expert on cooking with a wood fire.

She said her method in those years was first to make yogurt and then strain it to make yogurt cheese. Then she would use the whey drained from the yogurt as leavening for the bread. Then she'd have bread and cheese and said that this way, the amount of bread would be about right for the amount of cheese, no matter how much this turned out to be.

Anyway, for a basic sour dough/whey leavened whole wheat loaf, she would make a hardwood fire (oak, rhododendron, etc.) in the oven (hers was clay/mud and tin, but whatever oven) use it to cook a meal and then, afterwards, when it was burned down to coals and some ash, do the actual baking using hardwood coals.

Her advice is to make smallish loaves - no bigger than what a bread machine would make. Let the loaf rise (twice preferably) put it in a lightly oiled heavy pot that isn't a whole lot bigger than the final loaf will be (she says better to make two smaller loaves in two smaller pots than try to do one big one as they will bake more evenly that way.)

Invert the lid of the pot so it's concave. Heap coals around the pot and put a layer of coals on top on the inverted pot lid so that the pot has heat all around. Bake an hour or even two depending on temp or until the bread sounds crisp and hollow when you rap it.

She sez it's easy <g>  But this is from the gal who I've watched start a fire in the rain with three wet sticks and a handful of damp straw.
shared by Joy
(1/10/05 and 1/11/05)

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(What else would you need for the bread, and what proportions? a bit of salt, a bit of oil/fat, sweetener? what else? Please?)

I asked Lena about this as she was falling asleep last night and got a rather rambling and entertaining explanation.

She says that, if you have enough whey from yogurt cheese to use it as the only liquid in your bread, it doesn't need starting.

Otherwise, if you're low on whey, you can use a smaller amount of it, a spoonful or two of yogurt and make a sponge by adding some flour to the liquid and letting it
sit for half a day or more in a warmish environment.

The ingredients were mainly whey, flour and salt. She said you could add a bit of oil if you had it, but they rarely had enough to spare. If one was short of flour (they often were - these were yogis living in caves on nothing) you could stretch it by adding a handful of ehrmung flowers (a kind of peppertree bush that grows up there.) or even rhododendron flowers with the stamens removed (the leaves and stamens are poisonous but the flowers are edible - they made wine and jam from them.)

She never used any sweetener in the bread, but might sprinkled sesame seeds on the outside of the loaves for extra flavor.

She says that, locally (Himachal Pradesh in the Himalayan foothills) this was referred to as "bahm roti" (risen bread) as opposed to chapatis or flat breads.

Joy
(1/10/05 and 1/11/05)

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Sourdough in the Bread Machine (advice and hints)

Sourdough in the Bread Machine (advice and hints)

My DH bakes several loaves of sourdough a week in out breadmaker. He uses either the Basic program or the French bread program depending on how crusty he wants it.

He says:

1. The starter has to be at room temp so take it out and feed it the night before baking.
2. Put all the dry ingredients in the machine first.
3. Reduce the quantity of the flour by the amount of the starter. He uses a cup of starter for a 1.5 lb loaf. Also, you will have to reduce the quantity of the liquid a bit - he says the only way to know by how much is to eyeball it.
4. Add some yeast. The sourdough will not rise well without adding extra yeast. He says that figuring out how much yeast to add is something you have to develop a feel for and depends on your starter, type of flour used, added herbs, etc. so he can't say how much.
5. Be sure to check the bread when your machine calls for this and add more water or flour as needed.

He's made regular white sourdough, wheat sourdough, rye sourdough, and herbed sourdough in the machine very successfully.

from Llyn
(12/3/04)

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Joan's Terse Sourdough Bread-Pizza Instructions

Joan's Terse Sourdough Bread-Pizza Instructions

There's really no recipe - you just need a batch of Carolyn's starter (which she let die, but I have kept alive for years and years), and put a bunch of calamata olives in the dough. My usual bread takes 2 days, though it has been so cold in the house that it has been taking 3 - today was not so bad, so I am almost done.

First day - a.m. put starter in bowl with 1 cup water and 1 cup flour. p.m. add 2 cups flour to make a stiff dough, let rise overnight.

Next day, take out about a cup of starter and mix with water and put away for the next time. To the rest, add 2 1/2 cups water, about 6 cups flour (can be mixed whole wheat or rye and white), tablespoon or so of kosher salt. If I am making pizza dough or the rolls my son likes, I add a couple of glugs of olive oil. Mix in olives if you want them. We also sometimes make sun-dried tomato. Let it rise. Then shape the loaves, let it rise again. Bake. Makes 4 pizza crusts, 4 loaves of bread, or 32 rolls.

Joan
(2/7/04)

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Just to clarify--you raise the bread with only the starter? No added yeast? Maybe I'll try catching starter again. (No, wait, too close to Pesach and I won't know whether it's worth keeping until at least a couple months.) I might try this by creating a one-time starter.

Avital

No yeast - this is the only starter that works that well for me. I keep it in the freezer or the back of the fridge over Pesach-sell it with the rest of the chametz and don't even look at it. It was an unwashed grape starter (Levain) that Carolyn made years ago.

Joan

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East African Groundnut Soup, Tomato and Kale Soup with Barley, and Focaccia

East African Groundnut Soup, Tomato and Kale Soup with Barley, and Focaccia

Here are the recipes from yesterday's party. They are all from Moosewood's "Daily Special" book, the soup/salad/bread one. As Joe says, "Wouldn't be a Kate party without soup." The peanut soup is one of those things that's oddly addictive; it doesn't taste like much for the first few bites, but then you just can't stop eating it. The focaccia is more of a pizza-crust type than my normal recipe, and it would make killer breadsticks with a bit more flour.

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East African Groundnut Soup
3 cups chopped onion
3 celery stalks, diced (about a cup)
1 tbsp canola oil
1 green and 1 red bell pepper, diced (about 2 cups)
1/8 to 1/4 tsp cayenne
2 tbsp garam masala or other curry powder
1 cup raw brown rice
28-ounce can diced tomatoes
6 cups water
1 tsp salt
1/2 cup peanut butter (natural, please!)
1 to 2 tbsp sugar
2 tbsp fresh lime juice
chopped fresh cilantro and scallions for garnish

In a soup pot, sauté the onions and celery in the oil for about 10 minutes on medium-high heat, until onions are soft and translucent. Add the peppers and saute for another 5 minutes. Stir in the cayenne and garam masala. Add the rice, tomatoes, water, and salt; stir well. Cover and bring to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer for 40 minutes until rice is tender. Whisk in the peanut butter, sugar, and lime juice. Serve with optional garnish.

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Tomato and Kale Soup with Barley
1/3 cup pearled barley
1 bay leaf
5 cups water
7 sun-dried tomatoes (not packed in oil)
1/2 cup hot water
1 tbsp canola or other vegetable oil
1 cup chopped onions
2 garlic cloves, chopped or minced
28-ounce can diced tomatoes
2 tsp minced fresh dill (1 tsp dried)
pinch of cayenne
1 tsp salt
2 cups loosely packed rinsed, stemmed, and chopped kale
ground black pepper to taste
fresh dill sprigs and crumbled feta for garnish (optional)

Combine barley, bay leaf, and water in a soup pot. Cover and bring to a boil, then lower heat and simmer for 25 minutes or until barley is tender.

Meanwhile, place the sundried tomatoes in a small heatproof bowl, cover with the hot water, and let stand until softened, about 20 minutes. While the tomatoes soak, warm the oil in a small skillet. Add the onions and garlic, and saute for about 10 minutes until the onions are translucent. Remove from heat and put aside.

When the barley is cooked, remove bay leaf and stir in the onions/garlic, canned tomatoes, dill, cayenne, and salt. Drain the sundried tomatoes, dice them, and add the tomatoes and the soaking liquid to the pot. Cover and bring to a boil. Add the kale, reduce the heat, and simmer for 3-5 minutes. Season to taste with pepper. Serve with optional garnish.

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Focaccia (an interpretation of the real recipe)
1-1/4 cups warm water
3 cups white flour (I used bread flour)
scant 1/2 tsp dry yeast
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp sugar
1 tbsp olive oil

Use a mixer or bread machine. Dump all ingredients into the bowl and mix for about a minute. The dough will be VERY wet and sticky but do not add more flour. When it has become elastic and stringy, scrape it into an oiled bowl, cover, and put aside to rise for 2 to 3 hours. The longer and slower the rise, the better the focaccia will be.

When the dough has doubled, preheat oven to 500°F.

Turn the dough out and make two rounds, breadsticks, or just a big flat plane. It was so wet and sticky that I just put it on parchment paper and smooshed it into a sort of rectangle. There was no way it was going to shape into breadsticks without more flour. If yours is drier, dip your fingertips in flour and dimple the top; I couldn't get the dimples to stay put. You can add chopped fresh rosemary or garlic, Parmesan, olive oil, and/or salt at this point (I oiled/salted mine after baking due to the wetness). Let rise for 10 minutes, then put in the oven for 10 to 12 minutes or until done.

Kate
(6/1/03)

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Kate's Focaccia

Kate's Focaccia

From "Moosewood's  Daily Special" book, the soup/salad/bread one. The focaccia is more of a pizza-crust type than my normal recipe, and it would make killer breadsticks with a bit more flour.

Focaccia (an interpretation of the real recipe)

1-1/4 cups warm water
3 cups white flour (I used bread flour)
scant 1/2 tsp dry yeast
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp sugar
1 tbsp olive oil

Use a mixer or bread machine. Dump all ingredients into the bowl and mix for about a minute. The dough will be VERY wet and sticky but do not add more flour. When it has become elastic and stringy, scrape it into an oiled bowl, cover, and put aside to rise for 2 to 3 hours. The longer and slower the rise, the better the focaccia will be. When the dough has doubled, preheat oven to 500° F.

Turn the dough out and make two rounds, breadsticks, or just a big flat plane. It was so wet and sticky that I just put it on parchment paper and smooshed it into a sort of rectangle. There was no way it was going to shape into breadsticks without more flour. If yours is drier, dip your fingertips in flour and dimple the top; I couldn't get the dimples to stay put. You can add chopped fresh rosemary or garlic, Parmesan, olive oil, and/or salt at this point (I oiled/salted mine after baking due to the wetness). Let rise for 10 minutes, then put in the oven for 10 to 12 minutes or until done.

Kate
(6/1/03)

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Dill Onion Bread (bread machine)

This is definitely not for you purists, but for those who are transitioning in or out of a super low carb diet. I'm making some tonight for lamb tomorrow.

Dill Onion Bread
(bread machine recommended)

1/2 cup hot water (105°F-115°F)
1 tsp sugar
1 tbsp bread machine yeast

1/2 cup heavy whipping cream
1 tbsp oil
1 egg
2 tsp dried dill seed
2 tsp dried onion flakes
1 tsp salt
1 cup Vital wheat gluten flour
1/2 cup oat flour
1 cup natural whey protein powder
1 tsp. xanthan gum

If using your bread machine, follow manufacturer's directions for the order to add ingredients. Use short bake cycle. If not using machine, sprinkle yeast and sugar in hot water, stir and let it set for few minutes. Yeast should bubble. If it doesn't it is out of date or your temperature is wrong.

In a bowl mix cream, oil, egg and yeast mix together. Add dried dill seed, onion flakes, salt, high gluten flour, oat flour, whey protein powder and xanthan gum. Mix well. Dough will be sticky. Cover and out in a warm place until it is double in bulk, about 90- 120 minutes.

Prepare a greased pan by spraying with Pam spray or line with parchment paper. When dough has doubled, put in bread pan and again let it raise until double in bulk. Bake at 350°F from 35-45 minutes.

Total loaf : 77 carbohydrates, 10 fiber, 165 protein

Pam, who unfortunately never met a carbohydrate she didn't like.
The Biddy
(4/19/03)

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Flaxseed Bread (2 methods)

Flaxseed Bread
(by-hand and bread machine instructions)

Here is the flax bread recipe I've made. Traditional hand-made recipe first, then a format that follows the amounts of my bread machine recipes. It makes very good bread that's good for you too! :-) The original is from Herb Companion magazine. I'm going to try it again in the machine. The loaf I made yesterday is edible, but certainly not pretty. I think using a tbsp. yeast and only one tsp. salt caused it to rise too much and then fall. Also, I think the recipe was just a little too big.

Flaxseed Bread (by-hand)
1 tbsp yeast
1 cup water (warmed to yeast instructions)
¼ cup molasses (my family prefers it with honey--i.e. lighter colored)
1 tsp salt
2 tbsp oil
¾ cup milk
2-1/2 cups bread flour
2-1/2 cups whole wheat flour
1/3 cup flaxseed

Mix to brush on top:
1 egg yolk
1 tbsp milk
sprinkle 1 tbsp flaxseed over the loaf

(Assuming this is made as all breads since there were no instructions for mixing and baking):
Mix together yeast, water and molasses or honey. Let yeast "proof", or bubble- about 5 to 15 minutes.

Add remaining ingredients. Knead 5 to 10 minutes, until elastic. put in a bowl that is buttered or greased, cover with a damp cloth and let rise until doubled, about 2 hours.

Punch down dough and let rest 10 minutes. Shape into 2 loaves (assumption from the flour amounts- sorry), either freehand or put into a buttered/greased loaf pans. Mix together egg yolk and milk; brush on top of loaves. Sprinkle flaxseed on top, gently pressing them in. Cover and let rise about 1 hour. During the last 10 minutes, preheat oven to 350° F.

Uncover (of course) and bake for 35 to 40 minutes or until the bottom of the loaves sound hollow when tapped. Let cool on wire racks.

Bread Machine (whole wheat setting)
1 2/3 cups water (half milk if not using delay timer)
2 tsp oil, margarine or butter (softened)
¼ cup molasses or honey
2 tsp salt
2 ¼ cup whole wheat flour
2 cup bread flour
1/3 cup flaxseed
2 tsp yeast

Process according to your bread machine's instructions.

Land of Oz - Denise
(9/15/02)

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Debbi's Sourdough Starter and Bread

Debbi's Sourdough Starter and Bread

Sourest Dough Starter
1 pkg. Yeast or 2-1/2 tsp of Yeast
1 Tbsp Vinegar
2-1/4 cup Warm Water (divided)
1 tsp Salt
2 Tbsp  Sugar
2 cup Flour

Dissolve yeast in 1/4 cup of the warm water. Add sugar, vinegar, salt and flour. Add remaining water until a creamy batter is formed. Place in a glass bowl, cover and let sit until it starts to ferment, about 3 days. It will take on a powerful boozy smell. Stir until creamy and measure out what is called for in the recipe.

Replenish starter with equal amounts of flour and water, half of each that is taken from the starter for the recipe. Store in the fridge and bring to room temp the amount you need for the recipe before using. When replenishing, allow the starter to ferment 1 week in the fridge between uses. This recipe will take about 1 1/2 months to become *really* sour.

Sourdough bread
1.5 lb. loaf (2 lb. loaf in parenthesis)

1/2 cup Sourdough Starter (1 cup)
1/2 cup + 2 Tbsp + 2 tsp. Warm Water (1-1/3 cups)
3 cups Bread Flour (6 cups)
1-1/2 tsp. Salt (1 Tbsp.)
1/2 tsp. Baking Soda (1 tsp.)
1-1/2 tsp. Sugar (optional) (1 Tbsp.)

Pour starter in a medium-sized bowl. Add warm water and 1 1/2 cups (3 cups) flour. Beat vigorously. Cover with plastic wrap and set aside for 2 hours to 24 hours. 24 hours for the best sourdough flavor.

Blend together the remaining ingredients with the sourdough starter mixture in the bowl. Pour into bread machine pan. Set the machine for medium crust and the 1.5 (2) pound sized loaf using the French Bread cycle, if you have one. Or a customized setting using the longest rising times available for your machine.

I like to make the bread in bread machine on the longest dough cycle you can get. Then form in a loaf and bake in the oven on a stoneware "pan" with some water in a pan below. Temp is about 425° F in the oven for about 30 minutes or so. It depends on the size of loaf, whether you make it into little ones, rolls, etc.

Deb
(2/4/02)

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