Italian With A Touch of Lemon

I've made focaccia bread before and shared it with you, too. I love that it is the kind of bread that is easy, delicious, and can be made ahead. This time I kept the beloved Italian features of olive oil and Parmesan cheese, but instead of herbs or grapes or other adornments, I celebrated citrus season with fresh Meyer lemon zest on top.

Because I needed to keep this bread for a number of days before I would be serving it, I froze it and then defrosted the loaf in the microwave on low power, then heated it at 225 degrees F. right before serving.  It makes a deeply flavored, moist bread and doesn't need any additional oil or butter. The recipe actually makes two loaves, so you can keep one in your freezer for when you need a bit of Italian delight.

Fast Focaccia with Lemon Zest

1 (1/4 ounce) packet active dry yeast

1 teaspoon sugar

1 1/2 cups warm water (105-115 degrees)

2 3/4 cups bread flour

1 teaspoon salt

2 tablespoons olive oil

Toppings: olive oil, zest of 1-2 Meyer (or other) lemons, colored part only; Parmesan cheese, grated; sea salt (optional)

Directions:

Mix the yeast, sugar and water in a small bowl. Let proof for 10 minutes (until bubbles begin to form).

In large bowl, stir together flour and salt.

Add the yeast mix and olive oil to the dry ingredients and combine.

When dough has pulled together, turn out onto lightly floured surface and knead until smooth and elastic. Gather into a ball. With hands coated with olive oil, oil the surface of the dough ball. Turn the bowl over the dough ball. Let dough rise in a warm place for 25 minutes.

Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Put 2 tablespoons olive oil into bottom of 9 or 10 inch diameter cake pan. Swirl to coat bottom and sides with the oil. Repeat with another 2 tablespoons olive oil in another pan.

Punch dough down. Divide dough in half.  Place one piece of dough in each in oiled cake pan. Spread dough toward sides with your fingers, pushing fingers down into dough to create dimples or pockets.

Drizzle top of each pan with 1 tablespoons olive oil, then sprinkle with lemon zest and some Parmesan cheese or sea salt, if desired.

Bake for 13-15 minutes until golden brown.

Bread Again

It's been almost a year since my life changed due to kidney stones. Too much bread, especially the kind that I like with lots of whole grains, seemed to be one of the foods that led to the problem. For a while I stopped baking bread all together, but I've missed bread baking. It is an activity that brings me joy. So lately I've decided that since I can have small amounts of grains that I can have the occasional slice of multi grain bread. Why not have that slice be from a loaf I baked?

One of my favorite techniques for using whole grains in bread is to make a porridge from rolled grains. Oatmeal is still my favorite, but Quaker has a mixture of a number of grains...oats, rye, wheat to name a few...that are whole grains, but rolled to make them thinner. I cooked up a half cup of the mixed grains with 1 cup of water and then let it cool. That provided the base for my bread.

The best part was that I added some dark molasses. Sweetie loves molasses and it added a depth of flavor that goes well with these grains. I think the little yeasties like it too.

The second best part was what I did when the dough had risen and been punched down and shaped into a loaf. Using a technique that I read about in Daniel Steven's book The River Cottage Bread Handbook, I dipped the shaped loaf in milk, then rolled it in the uncooked multi grains, then put it into the bread pan. It makes for a lovely crust with toasted grains attached, lending flavor and texture, too. This is fabulous sandwich bread and makes great toast, too.

Multi Grain Sandwich Bread
makes one loaf

1/2 cup rolled grain, preferably a mix of grains like wheat, oats and rye
1 cup water
1 tablespoon molasses, dark preferred
2 cups all-purpose flour
2 cups whole wheat flour
1 teaspoon salt
1 packet dry yeast
1 1/2 cups water
1/2 cup milk
about 1 cup rolled grain, preferably a mix of grains like wheat, oats and rye

In a medium bowl that is microwave safe, cook the grain mixed with the 1 cup of water on high until it is cooked through, about 2 minutes. Remove to the counter and add the molasses. Set aside. Let cool.

In a large bowl whisk together the all-purpose flour, whole wheat flour, salt and yeast. Leave the flour out since you may need to add more, depending on the wetness of your dough.

Once the cooked grain mixture has cooled so that it is barely warm to the touch, put it into the bowl of a stand mixer. Add the 1 1/2 cups water and whisk to combine thoroughly. With the dough hook in place, on low speed, gradually add the flour/yeast mixture until a soft dough forms. Knead with the mixer (or by hand) 8 - 10 minutes, or until dough is satiny, if a bit lumpy from the grain, adding additional flour as needed. Shape dough into a ball and place it in an oiled bowl. Turn the dough to coat all sides with oil. Cover and let rise until doubled in bulk in a warm place.

Turn risen dough out onto a lightly floured work surface and punch down to remove excess gas. Knead a few times, then shape dough into a loaf shape. Place milk in a shallow pan which is large enough to hold the shaped dough. Gently turn the loaf shaped dough in the milk to coat. Place the rolled grain mix in another shallow pan and roll the milk coated loaf shape in the grains to coat. Place into a greased bread pan, cover, and let rise until just below the edge of the pan.

Bake loaf in a preheated 350 degree F. oven until golden brown and loaf sounds hollow when the back of the loaf is tapped, about 45 minutes.

Cool on a rack before slicing if you can wait that long.

Triple The Fun, Triple the Flours

The October bread for the always-up-for-something-new Bread Baking Babes, an awesome carrot bread brought to us by the adventuresome Heather at Kitchen of the Month Girlichef was a fun bread to make. It has three kinds of flour (rye, wheat and rice), and overnight sleep to add flavor, and a crunchy, crackly topping that I've heard called a tiger bread finish. Inside there are grated carrots, carrot juice, sunflower seeds (and, n some, parsley) so there is a lot going on with this bread. I love the texture of the topping and really love the tight crumb and mellow flavor. It is not overwhelmingly rye in flavor, nor carrot, nor wheat, just a nice combination of all those with some warmth and texture from the sunflower seeds. Great fresh from the oven and just lovely toasted. Have not tried it yet for grilled cheese, but I can see that it would be an excellent sandwich bread, especially grilled.

I only made half the recipe, using the measurements from Astrid. That was a great help having the measurements already halved, but I found that I needed a whole lot more water both for the poolish and for the dough. When I put together the rice flour topping, I decided that it was too thin with the measurements given, so I added more rice flour. I like how the topping turned out that way. It stayed on the loaves just fine and crackled when the shaped loaves rose, too. Baked, it was nice and crunchy.

I'll bet you want to be a Bread Baking Buddy this month and try out this wonderful, unusual bread, right? Once you do, send Heather an e-mail with your take on it, plus a photo or two. We'll be looking for you. While your are surfing the Internet, be sure to visit the other Bread Baking Babes. The links to their blogs are at the bottom of the post, and on the sidebar, too. Happy baking!

Carrot Bread, Half Recipe
adapted from Artisan Breads: Practical Recipes and Detailed Instructions for Baking the World's Finest Loaves by Jan Hedh
makes two medium loaves

Poolish:
3/8 teaspoon active dry yeast
118 grams lukewarm water (I used 200 grams, but start with less and add enough to make it a thick batter) 189 grams rye flour

Dough:
85 grams toasted sunflower seeds (I'm avoiding sesame seeds at the moment for health reasons, so I did extra sunflower seeds instead. Try not to almost burn them when toasting them as I did) 1 ¼ teaspoon active dry yeast
118 grams carrot juice lukewarm (I used a mixture of carrot baby food and water) 50 grams lukewarm water (I found I needed more liquid in order to have a decent dough) 85 grams grated carrots (about one large carrot)
450 - 500 grams bread flour (I used part bread flour and part whole wheat flour...which might be why my dough needed extra liquid!) 15 grams honey
2 tablespoons sunflower oil (I used canola oil)
1 ¼ teaspoons sea salt

Crackle Glaze (Topping)
1/2 teaspoon active dry yeast
100 grams lukewarm water
65 grams rice flour (I used a lot more, but didn't measure it, just kept whisking some in until I liked the texture)1 teaspoon sugar
1 teaspoon sunflower oil (I used canola oil)1/4 teaspoon sea salt

Day 1: Make the Poolish

Dissolve the yeast in the water, and let sit a few minutes to bloom. Whisk in the flour until smooth - if it is very thick, continue whisking in more water until it is the consistency of a thick batter. Cover with plastic wrap and let sit at room temperature for 24 hours; at this point it should be a bit bubbly.

Day 2: Baking Day

In a large bowl (or bowl of a stand mixer fitted with dough hook attachment), dissolve the yeast in the carrot juice and additional water, let sit a few minutes until it looks creamy (bloomed). Add the grated carrot, the lesser amount of bread flour, and the poolish to the bowl. Knead on low speed for 3 minutes. If the dough doesn't seem too sticky, then don't add any more of the flour; it will firm up as it is kneaded (plus you have more to add to it).

Add the oil to the bowl and knead for another 8 minutes. Add the salt, increase the speed, and knead until elastic, about 7 more minutes. At this point, the dough will not be sticky any longer. Use the extra flour, a tiny bit at a time, to remedy the dough if it is as you knead. Add the toasted seeds, and gently mix in.

Place the dough into a large, lightly oiled bowl or container and cover. Let sit for 60-90 minutes, knocking the dough back halfway through. To knock the dough back, remove it from the bowl and set it on a work surface. Use your hands to knock the air out of it. Fold the edges towards the center to form a cushion. Replace in the container, seam side down.

Day 2, later: Making the Crackle Glaze (Topping)
While the dough is rising, dissolve the yeast in the water in a medium bowl. Whisk in the remaining ingredients. It should be spreadable, but not runny, (which might mean whisking in more rice flour as I did). Cover with plastic wrap and allow to sit for at least 30 minutes before using.

Day 2, even later: Shaping and Baking
Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured work surface and divide into 2 equal parts. Form the portions into two round balls, and cover them with a clean tea towel. Let rest for 10 minutes.

After the rest, shape each circle of dough into an oblong loaf, by gently pressing ball down into a circle and then tucking/rolling into shape. Set loaves, seam side down, onto a lightly floured bread peel or thin cutting board. Glaze the loaves generously with the crackling glaze (you'll have a lot of leftover glaze), and leave to rise at room temperature for 60-75 minutes, or until the dough has doubled in size and the surface is crackled.

Place a baking stone into the oven, and preheat to 475° F during last 20 minutes or so of rise time.

Slide the loaves onto the stone (let them rise directly on a baking sheet or two if you don't have a stone - slide that into preheated oven) and spray generously with water. Close oven door. Lower the temperature to 400° F after 5 minutes. After another 10 minutes, open the oven door to let in a little air. Repeat two more times (every 10 minutes).(I skipped the spray of water and only opened the oven once, about halfway through baking to turn the pan in the oven. Crust was still awesome this way.) Total baking time will be about 45 minutes. Remove bread from oven (loaf will sound hollow if bottom is tapped) and cool on a wire rack.


THE BREAD BAKING BABES!
Bake My Day - Karen
Blog from OUR Kitchen - Elizabeth
Girlichef - Heather
Life's a Feast - Jaime
Living in the Kitchen with Puppies - Natashya 
Lucullian Delights - Ilva 
My Kitchen in Half Cups - Tanna
Notitie van Lien - Lien

Thyme for Cooking - Katie - our Round-up Babe