La-la-la-la-laminate

Trumpets please! Ra-ta-ta-taaa!

The Third Anniversary of the Bread Baking Babes is at hand. For this truly celebrational post each Babe was invited to choose one of the breads baked during the last three years and bake it. Since we usually all bake the Bread of the Month...all the same bread recipe with personal tweaks here and there...this is unusual. Looking at all the wonderful choices was both thrilling and daunting. Which to make?

Fortunately Sweetie helped me out by praising the light and flaky croissant he had purchased at a local bakery. They use lots of butter and truly make a great pastry. I've had the opportunity to make them while being a Daring Baker and again when the Babes made them in January of 2009, but somehow I never did.

What could be a better challenge since I knew that my favorite person would enjoy the results and February should be a nice cool time of year to do laminated dough.

The first assumption was true. I won't tell you how many he ate, but Sweetie really did enjoy these golden croissants.


The second assumption, that February would be cool and perfect for laminating dough, was not.

I made them on the last Sunday available to me before we posted...this past Sunday being my birthday and a day I had planned a women's tea party for Valentine's day.

Since laminated dough takes most of the day I wanted to do it on the weekend. Imagine my dismay when I found out that the Sunday forecast called for 74 degree heat! But it was even worse. The actual temperature ended up being 80 degrees. There was much swearing and banging of pans by the afternoon because the kitchen was at least that hot. Since I was baking Spritz cookies it probably was hotter. Can we groan 'laminate'? To top it all off, it was also Super Bowl Sunday, so all that banging and swearing was noticed.

Being an intrepid soul I kept going but found that I needed to put the dough packet in the freezer between turns in order for the dough to cool down enough.

Even so the butter was softer than it should be. Some even squished out of the dough as I rolled (See the butter squidge on the rolling pin?) so I used a piece of plastic wrap under the rolling pin and then scraped up the butter and put it back on the rolled out dough before making the envelope folds.
Even though it seemed unlikely that it would all work out, by the last turn (and I added a couple to finally bring the dough together in the late afternoon) I felt like the dough was OK and might even make some good bread. By the time they were shaped, had risen, had gotten their egg wash and were baked it was something like 9 pm. Since I had started at 7 am that was a clue that I wouldn't be doing this again soon. Still, if it weren't for the fabulous Bread Baking Babes, I might never have tried. It was truly a delight to pull the first pan from the oven and see the golden, gorgeous croissants!

Who knew that home-made croissants could be so good, heat and all? They were flaky and tender and golden and even good the next day. Sweetie enjoyed some, I had a couple, a few went to Grandma L and a couple went to friends. They might not have given Parisian croissants a run for their money but they beat out ones from the grocery store...more delicate and buttery!

You, too, can celebrate the Bread Baking Babes Third Anniversary. We had originally asked for your suggestions and I have to thank Tanita and Next Sister Down for great suggestions. I hope to bake your suggestions in the near future. As sometimes happens, the plans for the celebration changed.

Now the challenge is to choose, just as I did, from one of the breads baked by the Babes in the last three years, bake it and post about it by the end of the month. Here is a link to Lien's page where she has the photo collage plus links for all the breads baked those three years.

Once you do that, send a link to Tanna, our Kitchen of the Month, and she will do a roundup of Buddies. We hope that lots of our Buddies from the past, plus new Buddies, will meet the challenge and make this a memorable anniversary celebration!

Need some inspiration? Check out the posts of my fellow Babes...the links are on the right sidebar near the top of the blog. Also, please take a moment to admire the gorgeous new badge created by Lien in honor of the anniversary. So colorful!

Here is the recipe for the Croissants, copied from the Kitchen of the Month for January 2009 when the Babes did this challenge, including comments, minus photos.

The Dough, for Croissants, Pain au Chocolat, etc....
Copied fairly accurately from an article in France Magazine, 'Pastry from Heaven', by Michelin-star chef, Michel Roux.

Croissant dough is somewhat similar to puff pastry, in that a slab of butter is incorporated into the mixture and the dough is rolled and turned, but it actually belongs to the family of yeasted doughs, like brioche.

This classic dough is used to make various sweet and savory pastries. You can freeze unbaked croissants and Pains au Chocolat, after shaping but before brushing with egg, for up to 2 weeks. Separate with waxed or parchment paper so you can remove as many as you like.

Ingredients (I only have weights)
Yield: 1.1kg dough, enough for 14 - 16 croissants Time: 9 - 13 hours
25g fresh yeast
250ml whole milk
500g plain flour
12g fine salt
50g sugar
275g butter, cold but not too hard
Egg Wash - 1 egg yolk mixed with 1tbs milk

Dissolve the yeast in the milk. Put flour, salt and sugar in the bowl of an electric mixer with dough hook and mix on low. Gradually pour in the milk/yeast mixture.

Stop working the dough as soon as it comes away from the sides of the bowl. It should not become too elastic.

Cover the bowl with cling film and leave to rise in a warm place (24C, 75F) until doubled, 45 - 60 minutes.

Punch down dough by flipping it over with your hand, but do not overwork it. Cover the bowl again and refrigerate for at least 4 hours but not more than 8.

Punch down dough by flipping again and place on lightly floured surface.

Shape the dough into a ball and

cut a 3cm (1 1/4") cross in the center. roll out the 4 sides to make flaps.
Bash the butter with a rolling pin to make a rectangle and place in the center of the dough.

Fold the flaps over to completely enclose the butter.

First Turn: Lightly flour the work surface, roll the dough out to a 60 X 30cm (24 X 12") rectangle. Fold in thirds, wrap in cling film and refrigerate 30 minutes.

Second Turn: Give the chilled dough a quarter turn, roll out into the rectangle, fold, wrap and refrigerate as above, 30 minutes.

Third Turn: Roll the dough in the opposite direction as before, into the rectangle, fold wrap and refrigerate at least 30 but no more than 60 minutes.

The dough is now ready for use.

Croissants

Cut a cardboard template, 9cm (3.5") base, 18cm (7") to the point. Lightly flour work surface and roll dough out to 65 X 40cm (26 X 16") rectangle. Lift it slightly off the surface to aerate it to keep it from shrinking. Trim sides with a sharp knife to make straight edges, then cut in half, lengthwise. Using the template as a guide, cut into triangles.

Lay 1 triangle on the work surface. Make a 1cm (1/3") cut in the middle of the base and pull the 2 base points slightly to separate; then pull the top point slightly. Roll the croissant from the base to the point. Place on a baking sheet and turn the base points to form a crescent

(You could lay a piece of ham on the base before rolling for a savory croissant) Repeat with the rest of the triangles.

Lightly but thoroughly brush with egg wash.

Put the croissants, on a baking tray, in a warm, preferably slightly humid, place (24 - 30C, 75 - 86F) to rise for 2 hours, or until almost doubled.

Brush with egg wash again, and bake in a preheated oven (170C, 340F) oven for 12 - 14minutes.

Remove, slather with lots and lots of butter and eat... (That last bit isn't actually part of the instructions - just my own idea... Depending on time of day, consume with either hot chocolate, coffee or red wine. Sharing optional)

Happy THIRD Anniversary Bread Baking Babes!

Things to Come

For a few months my Bread Baking Babes posts have included some notes referring to the third Anniversary of the Babes. It's going to be a celebration this month...three years of fun baking breads around our kitchen tables as a group...and great breads they have been! As with most big occasions there have been some changes between the initial euphoria...A Party!!...and now. The celebration is going to be amazing...we will each be choosing a personal favorite (or challenge...or both) from any of the breads baked during those three years.

Just to give you a sense of the broad scope of that choice, below are collages showing the breads baked and below each collage you'll find the month, kitchen of the month, and name of the bread. Isn't that an awesome collection?

Come back on February 16th for the party...and to see which one I chose, OK?

2008 (from left to right)
February: Karen - Royal Crown Tortano (in Dutch) and in English:
March: Lien - Coccodrillo
April: Tanna - Sullivan Street Pizza
May: Sher - Poilane-Style Miche
June: Mary - Breadchick's Dark Onion Rye
July: - in memory of Sher who passed away July 20 2008; this month we made something from her blog, something that reminded us of the warm and witty personality Sher was. The news of her passing shocked us. She is our Angel Babe.
August: Ilva - Whole Wheat Pita
September: Monique - Sûkerbôlle
October: Sara - Challah
November: Görel - The Rosendal Crisp Bread
December: Lynn - Yule Wreath

In our second year, the loaves of 2009;

2009 (from left to right):
January: Katie - Croissants
February: Tanna - Pane ai Cinque Cereali con Nod (Five-Grain Bread with Walnuts)
March: Sara - Pane Francese
April: Mary - Ethiopian Injera
May: Ilva - Pane di Pasta Tenera Condita (Italian Knot Bread)
June: Lien - Asparagus Bread (in English and Dutch)
July: Natashya - Sukkar bi Tahin (Beirut Tahini Swirls)
August: Görel - Russian Black Bread
September: Karen - Chinese Flower Steam Buns
October: Gretchen - Tanta Wawa (Peruvian Bread Babies)
November: Monique - Brioche Mousseline
December: Katie - Viennese Striesel

And our third year 2010;

2010 (from left to right)
January: Lynn - Curried Naan
February: Karen - Ensaimada
March: Mary - Gluten Free No Knead Hearty Seeded Sandwich Bread
April: Sara - Potato Bread with Chives
May: Natashya - Tunisian Spicy Breads
June: Lien - Korni (in English and Dutch)
July: Lynn - Yeasted Sprouted Wheat Bread
August: Tanna - Sweet Portuguese Bread
September: Görel - Brunkans Långa
October: Elizabeth - Broa: Portuguese Corn Bread
November: Susan - Cornucopia
December: Ilva - Taralli Pugliesi

2011
January: Astrid - Hildegard's Spelt Bread


Just in case I didn't link them correctly (and because I'm posting this without doing links for some...hope to correct that soon...), you can usually go to the blog of the kitchen of the month and look in their archives for that month and year to find the recipe. The links to the Babes blogs are at right, just below the Welcome and recipe link.

Still Time for Suggestions

Come on...there is still time for you to have YOUR suggested bread baked for the Bread Baking Babes 3rd Anniversary. Now I'm a relatively new Babe and I don't want to look bad with my new bread baking friends, so PLEASE help me out here.

Tanna of My Kitchen in Half Cups is the kitchen of the month and here is what she said:

(includes her address):
"February is our BBB three years. We’d love to have you pick the BBB bread to bake for that month. If you will send me your recipe suggestions - only one per person please - send to: comments my kitchen at mac dot com you know to leave out spaces and about the dot put February Anniversary Bread in the subject line by January 7th ."

Remember, this doesn't have to be any bread in particular...the Babes like to bake all kinds, both offbeat and traditional and everything in between. I'm counting on you to send in a suggestions dear readers...don't let me down! XO, Elle

New Information and Some I Forgot

The Bread Baking Babes will have their third anniversary in February... and we need your help.

Dream your biggest, bestest dream of what bread you would like us to bake in February...and send it by December 29th to the Babe for that month, our dear Tanna of My Kitchen in Half Cups. Just e-mail the recipe or suggestion (including recipe is best) to her. One per person.
Remember thats DECEMBER 29th...coming soon. Actually you can send a suggestion up through January 7th!! Please do...we would love to bake YOUR suggestion!

Here is what Tanna said (includes her address):

"February is our BBB three years.
We’d love to have you pick the BBB bread to bake for that month.
If you will send me your recipe suggestions - only one per person please -
send to:
comments my kitchen at mac dot com
you know to leave out spaces and about the dot
put February Anniversary Bread in the subject line
by December 29 ."

The 'I forgot' part is that when I posted my cute taralli for the December Bread Baking Babes post, I forgot to include the invitiation to be a Buddy and bake them too. The recipe is on my blog and at our kitchen of the month for December, Ilva of Lucullian Delights. Again, you have until DECEMBER 29th to bake the taralli, post about them and send an e-mail to ILVA
(luculliandelights AT gmail DOT com, please write Bread Baking Buddy in the subject line)

so she can send you a Buddy badge and include you in the round-up of the Buddies.

Since the dates are the same, you could be a Buddy AND help us celebrate THREE years of BBB wonderfulness! Aren't you excited? GO big dear reader.

BBBs Go Long

No, we're not playing football. We're baking the gorgeous long loaves of Brunkans långa.

Gorel from Grain Doe has given the Bread Baking Babes an excellent challenge this month…from scratch graham flour sourdough. It was pretty painless and produced a bread that is out-of-this-world wonderful! You can really taste the wheat flavor, it is slightly sweet, chewy, has a great crust, open crumb


and makes fantastic toast, but is perfect to eat plain, without any adornments. This recipe makes a LOT of bread…two long loaves.

I enjoyed the first loaves so much that I made a half of the recipe using a sourdough graham starter that is a combination of the regular graham starter and my own starter (see end of recipe). It was SOOO good that I baked the half recipe two more times after that with the combo graham starter. The first time I just made one loaf using the dough as it spilled out of the container after it's night in the fridge, then shaping it lightly so that it was a long loaf...but only one long loaf! Two was way too much bread for Sweetie and I to manage and it is so delicious that we found it hard to not eat it all.

The second time I made two baguette shaped loaves, cutting the single long loaf in half and pulling the edges under.

The third time I made two pans of rolls,

glazed with an egg yolk wash.

Unfortunately I think the yeast I was using was too old, so this batch wasn’t as light as the other three, but still delicious if a bit more leaden than I would have liked.

As you can see I really, really like this bread. It has a wonderful, rich wheaten flavor that is hard to resist. Thank you Gorel!

Before we get into the specifics of this great recipe, I would invite you to visit the other Bread Baking Babes to see how they fared with the long loaves. Links are to the right at the top of this blog.

I also want to remind you that you, dear reader, are invited to help the Babes pick their Anniversary challenge for February 2011! We are hoping that in November you will send in suggestions and requests for a bread that you think we should bake to celebrate another year of great Babe bread. So scour your recipe books, check those magazine piles, print outs and bookmarked blogs to find the perfect bread recipe. Details will be provided in November on where to send them. So many breads....so little time!

Since this has the the bread I've been baking, over and over, for the last few weeks, I'm finally sending this to Susan at Wild Yeast for her weekly Yeastspotting event. This is where you will find a weekly collection of bread baking delight and inspiration. Ohhh...great place to get ideas for the Anniversary challenge. She has an archive of bread links that will amaze and delight! Susan also recently posted a video for the most fascinating way to shape a baguette to make rolls that are hooked together...check out the dragon tail shaping...it's way cool.

My bad, I forgot to mention that you can be a Buddy by making this yummy bread, posting it and sending the URL, etc. to Gorel, our delightful kitchen hostess of the month. DO become a Buddy! You have until September 29th.

A little bit of backstory: Brunkan is a nick name for Brunkebergs bageri (the bakery of Brunkeberg, situated in Stockholm), and ”långa” means ”the long one”. When they bake this bread at the Brunkeberg bakery, it is more than two feet long – hence the name. This bread is from the book ”Bröd” (Bread) that Heléne Johansson published last year and which contains the most popular breads in her line.


Brunkans långa

Graham flour* sourdough:

Day 1, morning:
Mix 60g/100 ml/0,42 cups graham flour
with 120 g/120 ml/0,5 cups water.
Cover with cling film and leave at room temp.

Day 1, evening:
Add 60g/100 ml/0,42 cups graham flour and
60 g/60 ml/0,25 cups water.
Mix, cover with cling film and leave at room temp.

Day 2, morning:
Add 60g/100 ml/0,42 cups graham flour and
60 g/60 ml/0,25 cups water.
Mix. By now, the sourdough should be a little active (bubbly). If not, add a teaspoon of honey, some freshly grated apple or a teaspoon of natural yoghurt. Leave at room temp.

Day 3, morning:
Feed the sourdough with 60g/100 ml/0,42 cups graham flour and
60 g/60 ml/0,25 cups water.
Mix, cover with cling film and put in fridge.

Day 4
By now, the sourdough should be ready to use. If you don’t want to use it right away, you can keep in the fridge if you feed it as above a couple of times/week.

*Graham flour can’t be found everywhere. If you want to recreate an exact substitute, here’s what to do, according to Wikipedia:

Graham flour is not available in all countries. A fully correct substitute for it would be a mix of white flour, wheat bran, and wheat germ in the ratio found in whole wheat. Wheat comprises approximately 83% endosperm, 14.5% bran, and 2.5% germ by mass. For sifted all-purpose white flour, wheat bran, and wheat germ having densities of 125, 50, and 80 grams/cup, respectively, one cup of graham flour is approximately equivalent to 84 g (~2/3 cup) white flour, 15 g (slightly less than 1/3 cup) wheat bran, and 2.5 g (1.5 teaspoons) wheat germ.


Brunkans långa
The tall loaf of Brunkebergs bageri
2 large loaves

Ingredients
300 g / 600 g/600 ml/2,5 cups water
562 g / 1125 g/2,48 lb high-protein wheat flour (for 1 loaf: 300 g bread flour, 262 g whole wheat flour)
188 g / 375 g/13,2 oz graham sourdough (see above)
6 g / 20 g/0,7 oz fresh yeast
75 g / 150 g/5,3 oz dark muscovado sugar
13 g / 25 g/0,88 oz honey
15 g / 30 g/1 oz sea salt

Day 1
Mix all wet ingredients in a stand mixer bowl. Whisk together all the dry ingredients in another bowl. With the dough hook attached, add the dry ingredients to the wet, keeping the mixer on a low setting. Work the dough in a stand mixer for 10 minutes. Put the dough in a oiled, plastic box and put the lid on. Leave the dough for 30 minutes.

After 30 minutes: fold one side of the dough against the centre of the dough, then fold the other end inwards, finally turn the whole dough so that the bottom side is facing down. Put the plastic box with the dough in the fridge and let it rise over night.

Day 2
Set the oven temp to 250 C/480 F. Leave the baking stone in if you use one.

Pour out the dough on a floured table top and divide it lengthwise with a sharp knife. Put the dough halves on a sheet covered with parchment paper and place another parchment paper or a towel on top. I dusted them with some flour at this point.

When the oven is ready, put in the sheet or shove the parchment paper with the loaves onto the baking stone. Put a small tin with 3-4 ice cubes at the bottom of the oven. (The water releases slowly which is supposed to be better.) Lower the oven temperature to 175 C/350 F immediately after you have put in the loaves.

After 20 minutes, open the oven door and let out excess steam.

Bake for 35 minutes or until the loaves have reached an inner temp of 98 C/208 F.
Let cool on wire.


Second time: Used 1 cup plain flour sourdough starter and added the graham flour/water mixture to it. Each successive day was done just like the recipe. When I made the loaf, I measured out the starter by weight for the first thing into the bowl. There is still a lot of the starter left because I had to feed it twice more than called for…until I had time to bake again. I’ll happily make more of this delicious, versatile bread using the rest of the starter.

Note: the first ingredients listed (not in bold) are the ones I used for the sourdough graham starter (above) which I used for making one loaf. After the dough had risen overnight in a round container with lid I poured it out onto a large, floured board, gathered the ends under to shape it into a long loaf, put the loaf on a baking sheet lined with a silicon mat, sprinkled with a bit of flour, covered it with a tea towel and continued with the recipe as written. It was just as good as the first, but not any better.

Has It Been That Long?...Sentimental Journey

Sweetie and I met in Berkeley. We got married a few blocks from Chez Panisse. We knew and loved Peets coffee when it was a local coffee hangout. Now that we have been married an amazingly long time considering that we both had struck out once before in the marriage department, we took a trip for our anniversary back to Berkeley and checked out some favorite places.

We started by taking Xam on a short walk at Cesar Chavez park...which used to be landfill. Next we went by the hotel where we spent our one night honeymoon, right by the marina. A drive down to the pier showed that both fancy restaurants and the Yacht Club were still going strong. There is even a brand new marine museum near the children's play area.

We drove through Emeryville, bemused that a run down industrial area is now a shoppers delight, including a huge IKEA where we looked at bathroom sinks and fixtures for the upcoming remodel. It was nice to see that the hardwood place on Ashby was still there, including the carved bears.

When we finally reached our old house we parked and took a walk in the park. The monkey bars where our daughter swung one morning, fell and fractured her wrist were still there.

So was the community garden and the funky climbing structure. We were surprised at how much the trees and shrubs had grown. The plum tree in front of the house now masks most of the front of the house and its roots have pushed up the brick steps up so they are very uneven. I was happy to see that the pomegranate shrub was still there. Max really enjoyed its fruits.

We headed for the University,

noticing businesses and building that were still there and others that were new.

Top Dog was still there near Telegraph, complete with cartoons and political clippings. We had lunch at the cafe in the Berkeley Art Museum and remembered the kids running up and down the ramp outside,

plus our daughter's birthday party in the park area nearby.

The cafe has a different name now, but the food was great...very fresh and flavorful. I had the portobello mushroom panino and Sweetie enjoyed a quesadilla with ham, cheese and veggies. A nice side salad had just the right amount of a good vinaigrette.

Walking down Telegraph I noticed that there were a lot fewer vendors than when I sold Christmas ornaments there one year. Moe's books was still there and just as much fun to browse in as usual.

I even found a copy of Baking with Julia written by Dorie Greenspan which, since it was used, was actually affordable.

Walking and driving around Berkeley always reminds me that it is a city with lovely gardens...most of them private. Even the smallest yard is often brightened with flowers, shrubs and vines. The flower at the top of the post and this one are a couple of examples, both from the old neighborhood.


One of the things that has always delighted me about Berkeley is the inventiveness of attire. We saw a wide range of fashion.

This couple caught my eye... the jester hat she is wearing is purple velvet and the shawl is purple lace. Loved this backpack...obviously belonging to a Cal supporter.

It really was fun to visit familiar and unfamiliar places in a town we once knew very well. We both have lots of happy memories of our time in that crazy place.

Although it was fun to visit the past, it's always fun to try new places, too. Coming next: an evening at Henweigh Cafe'.