Bacon, Green Onion, & Blue Cheese Bread

Where, oh where, has this summer gone?  It was stolen by the miserable humidity and hovering-around-100° temps.  So now that the humidity has mostly dissipated and the temps have gone down a good fifteen to twenty degrees most days, we are trying to make the most of the less-than-two-weeks we have before the kids will be sitting in classrooms again.  Walking, biking, playing, coaxing bugs from under rocks (for scientific study purposes, of course)...reading and eating outside again!  For as much as I love fruits that grow in the tropical heat, I sure don't know if I could survive in it.  While my baking did slow down a bit during the last couple of months, it didn't stop completely.  Many thanks going out to my bread machine for doing the bulk of the work for me.  It would have been even better if I'd actually let the machine cook the loaves, as well...but I sort of cringe at the goofy, silo-shaped loaves it produces.  While one day I hope to have a new version with a horizontal bread pan, I am not going to cry over what has helped me so much since I've "re-discovered" it.  Especially when it helps me make loaves like this one.

Bacon, Green Onion, and Blue Cheese Bread
adapted from The Artisan Bread Machine
yield: one 2# loaf

2 Tbs. (30 mL) granulated sugar
1 tsp. (5 mL) instant yeast
1 c. + 2 Tbs. (280 mL) lukewarm water (110° F / 43° C)
½ c. (125 mL) finely chopped green onions
⅓ c. (75 mL) vegetable oil
3¾ c. (925 mL) bread flour
1 tsp. (5 mL) salt
½ c. (125 mL) cooked bacon, chopped
½ c. (125 mL) crumbled blue cheese

Add sugar, yeast, and water to bread pan of your bread machine (or mixing bowl if not using a bread machine).  Let stand until yeast starts to bubble, ~10 minutes.  Add green onions and oil.  Spoon flour on top of liquid.  Add salt, bacon, and cheese.  Select dough cycle and press start (by hand or with mixer, mix well and then knead until smooth and pliable.  Transfer to oiled bowl, cover and let rise at room temperature until doubled in size, ~1 hr).

Turn dough out and punch down.  Form into a ball and place in a well-floured brotform or free-form onto a well-floured surface.  Cover and let rise 30 minutes.  Preheat oven to 425° F (220° C) during last 15 minutes of rise time.  Using a serrated knife, cut deep slashes in loaf.  Spray with water and turn out onto baking stone that has been preheating (or slide free-form into oven on tray or stone).  Bake until risen and dark brown and registers 190° F (90° C) in center, ~30 minutes.  Let cool on wire rack.

The blue cheese sort of melts into the bread since it is mixed and kneaded in from the start.  I think I may try adding it in just before I let it rise next time...see if it gives me chunks of goodness.  You can still taste it, though...so my fellow stinky cheese lovers need not worry.  This bread is very sturdy...perfect for sandwiches, either toasted or just sliced.  I will be making this often...and I think I'm going to divide it in two next time and make it in loaf pans.  That is how perfect it is for sandwiches!

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I am sharing this post with:
*BBD #43:Onion Breads hosted at Judy's Gross Eats
*Yeastspotting!

Spicy Kalamata Sourdough Loaf

Even though my kitchen winds up being like 1000° when I bake something lately,  I just can't help myself sometimes.  The name alone was enough to convince me that I needed to try this loaf of bread.  I wish that I had a smaller brotform (or that I had used a bowl instead) so that I would've ended up with a rounder, taller loaf...but really that's just aesthetics...because this loaf does not lack at all for flavor.  It's the kind of loaf you want to wrap up and tuck into a picnic basket with a bottle of wine, some thinly sliced ham, a few hunks of cheese, and a bottle of chilled white wine.  Now if you'll excuse me, my blanket is getting heavy...I'm heading off to sit under a shady tree.  Just me and my picnic basket.

SPICY KALAMATA SOURDOUGH
adapted ever-so-slightly from the Bewitching Kitchen
makes 1 loaf

200g (200 ml) water at room temperature
142g sourdough starter (at 100% hydration)
¼ tsp. instant yeast
280g bread flour + more as needed
85g dark rye flour
9 g salt
¾ c. (~80 g) kalamata olives, halved
1 tsp. red pepper flakes
2 Tbs. fresh rosemary leaves, chopped
2 Tbs. fresh oregano leaves, chopped

Dissolve the starter and the instant yeast in the water in a large bowl. Add the flour, mix to incorporate (or use a mixer w/ dough attachment on low speed), then cover with a plastic wrap and allow it to sit for 20 minutes.

Sprinkle the salt on top, and gently knead it in for a few minutes.

Once the salt is incorporated, add the olives, red pepper, rosemary, and oregano and knead by hand (or with the mixer at low speed).

Let the dough rise for 3 hours, kneading quickly three different times...once every 45 minutes or so.

Shape the dough into a round, place in a banetton/brotform or a bowl lined with well-floured linen with the seam up. I imagine you could free-form it, too if need be.  Let rise until almost doubled in size.

Preheat oven to 450° F during last 20 minutes or so of rise time.  Place a baking stone on middle shelf.

Slide into oven and spray with a mist of water, then close the oven door. Bake for 30 minutes, then lower the temperature to 425° F for another 20 minutes or until done.

Remove to a rack to cool.

This may not seem like a lot of spice...but it packs a lot of heat!  It's salty and sour and spicy all at once.  And extremely addicting.  I like as-is or toasted or as the bread on a sandwich.  I probably at half of the loaf toasted and spread with a layer of cream cheese with a big dollop of Tomato Jam...which I got from the super cool Meredith from Anchovies and Butter (along with a jar each of Peach Jelly, Apple Cranberry Jelly, and New Mexico Pepper Jelly...awesome!  Thanks Meredith☺).

I am sharing this post with:
BBD #42: Bread for a Picnic
*Yeastspotting!

Cinnamon-Sugar Pull-Apart Ricotta Bread

 This bread conjures up childhood memories and comfort food.  When I was little I loved toasting up a couple slices of soft, white bread then spreading them with butter and sprinkling them with cinnamon and sugar.  This is the the totally sophisticated way of doing the same thing. It's actually reminiscent of a cinnamon roll at the same time...sans icing.  Thin layers of soft, white bread that were brushed with a nutty, fragrant browned butter and then coated...literally, coated...with a cinnamon and sugar mixture flecked with freshly grated nutmeg.  Cinnamon-Sugar toast's big sister.  It's far too easy to keep pulling warm, inviting slices from the loaf and washing them down with coffee.  Or cold milk.  The kids also love it...both helping to make it and helping to eat it.  Me thinks this is a fantastic hostess or housewarming gift, if you can plan accordingly.  I mean, imagine opening the door to a warm, soft loaf of Cinnamon-Sugar Pull-Apart Ricotta Bread...the intoxicating smell calmly making itself at home the minute it goes through the door.  Oh. Yes.

Cinnamon-Sugar Pull-Apart Ricotta Bread

inspired by and adapted from both The Bakers Guide & Joy the Baker 
yield: 1 loaf

Dough:
200 g. (¾ cup) water, lukewarm     
100 g. (½ cup) milk, lukewarm
20 g. (1 Tbs.) instant yeast
250 g. (~1½ c. + 2 Tbs.) unbleached all-purpose flour + extra for kneading
250 g. (~1½ c. + 2 Tbs.) unbleached bread flour
30 g. (2 Tbs.) unsalted butter, at room temp.
150 g. (~¾ c.) ricotta, at room temp.
10 g. (1½ tsp.) fine sea salt

Filling:
1 c. granulated sugar
2 tsp. ground cinnamon
½ tsp. freshly ground nutmeg
2 oz. (4 Tbs. / ½ stick) unsalted butter

Dough: Combine dough ingredients in a large mixing bowl, the bowl of a stand mixer, or a bread machine. Mix to combine, then knead the dough (either by hand, in stand mixer) until the dough is soft and smooth and very elastic (~15 minutes by hand or ~10 in mixer).  Or stick it in the bread machine on dough cycle and let it do its thing.  The dough will be slightly sticky.

Transfer the dough to a lightly oiled bowl and cover with plastic wrap. Let rise at room temperature until it doubles in size, ~1-1½ hours.  In bread machine, it will beep at you when it's done.

Filling: Whisk together the sugar, cinnamon and nutmeg.  Melt the butter until it begins to brown and smell all nutty and amazing. Grease and flour a loaf pan (~9" x 5" x 2"-ish).  Set everything aside.

Putting it all together: Deflate the risen dough and knead ~2 Tbs. of flour into the dough.  Cover with a clean kitchen towel or plastic and let rest for 5 minutes.  On a lightly floured work surface, use a rolling pin to roll the dough out.  The dough should be ~12" h x ~20" w.  No worries if your rectangle isn't exact.  My edges were a bit rounded and shorter, but I think that adds to its rustic charm.  Use a pastry brush to spread all of the browned butter across the top of the dough, edge to edge.  Sprinkle with all of the sugar, cinnamon, & nutmeg mixture.

Slice the dough vertically, into six equal-sized strips.  Stack the strips on top of one another and slice the stack into six "equal" slices once again.  You'll have six stacks of six squares.  Layer the squares of dough in the loaf pan.  Place a towel or some plastic wrap over the loaf pan and allow to rise in a warm place for 30-45 minutes or until almost doubled in size.   Preheat oven to 375° F during last 15 minutes of rise time.

Slide loaf onto center oven rack and bake for 30-35 minutes, until the top is a deep, golden brown.  Don't be tempted to take it out to early or the center will still be doughy.  If you think it's getting burnt, slide a sheet of tinfoil over the top.

Remove from oven and cool in pan on rack for ~30 minutes.

 Slide a butter knife around the edges of the pan to loosen the bread, then invert it onto a clean board.  Place a serving plate or another clean cutting board on top of the upside down loaf, then quickly and carefully flip it so that it's right side up.

This is most definitely at its best when it's still warm from the oven, but it can be kept at room temperature for a couple of days if wrapped or covered.

I am sharing this post with:
*Bread Baking Day (BBD) #40: Bread w/ Curd hosted at Kochtopf
*Yeastspotting!

Honey Buns (just like storebought, only better)

You know those Honey Buns that you can find in vending machines? I'm about to admit that I've never really liked them. I know, I know. So many people are die-hards - they love them with their coffee, or when they feel a junk food urge. I've always found them to be too sweet and too "stiff" (I like my buns soft, apparently). But I like the idea of them.

Fast forward to finding a recipe for cinnamon rolls from Judith Fertig that featured a honeyed dough and an apple cider glaze. I didn't think twice about trying them (cinnamon roll connoisseur here, in case you didn't know).

They're big. Like, really big. And do you know what the funny thing is? They are almost a Honey Bun replica - only exactly how I would want a Honey Bun to be...soft and irresistible. So, step away from the vending machine (or the snack aisle), and step into the kitchen. You won't be disappointed.

No-Knead Whole Grain Rye Bread

I think I may be sandwiched-out.  At least for a week or two.  Charcutepalooza has turned into Sandwich-a-palooza this past week.  Along with the corned beef I also brined a big, fat turkey breast and in turn made every variety of sandwich known to man...that contains turkey or corned beef.  That's not a complaint, though.  Because I do love a good sammie.  Although it seems that I can't form a sentence without the word...sandwich...in it.  So, less talk and more show- here's the Whole Grain Rye I promised you last week.

Whole Grain Rye Bread (no knead)
adapted from Healthy Bread in Five Minutes a Day
yield: 1 loaf

1¼ c. whole wheat flour
1¼ c. + 2 Tbs. rye flour
1¼ c. unbleached all purpose flour
¾ tsp. granulated yeast
 ½ Tbs. kosher salt
 1 Tbs. caraway seeds
2 Tbs. vital wheat gluten
2 c. lukewarm water

Whisk together everything but the water in a large bowl, or a lidded (not airtight) food container.  Add the water and mix without kneading, using a wooden spoon.  Cover (not airtight), and allow dough to rest at room temperature until it rises and collapses, ~2 hours.

Dough can be used right away, but is easier to use if refrigerated (and tastes better if it sits at least 24 hrs.) in a lidded container.  Use within 7 days.

Dust with more flour and quickly shape into a ball by stretching the surface of the dough around to the bottom on all four sides, rotating the ball a quarter turn as you go.

Elongate into a narrow oval and place in a well-floured brotform, or free-form on a peel that has been dusted with cornmeal.  Cover loosely and let rise ~90 minutes, preheating oven to 450° F during last 30 minutes, with stone on center rack.  

Slash the top of the bread and slide onto hot stone (or turn bread out of brotform onto prepared stone, then slash), spray all over with a mist of water and shut the oven.

Bake for 35-45 minutes, or until golden and cooked all the way through.  Transfer to a wire rack and allow to cool completely before slicing.

This was the bread I used for my Reubens on St. Paddy's Day this year.

Dark Onion Rye

This month the Bread Baking Babes are celebrating their 3rd anniversary and reminiscing about some of their favorites loaves from the past three years (you can see a complete list at any of the Babes sites, like my friend Natashya's) and they have invited us to join them at the party. As long as we bake up a loaf from the list and bring it along.  Sounds reasonable.  After all, who likes to show up to a party empty-handed!?  The hardest part was plucking just one recipe from that astounding breadhead compilation!  I knew I wanted to choose one that would let me use Sally.  These days, that's a given.  She likes to be kept active.  Also, I was feeling in a rye-type of mood, so I went with the Dark Onion Rye from way back in June of '08.

Look at Sally!  I'm such a proud parent...

 Dark Onion Rye

adapted from The Sour Dough 
(originally a BBB challenge in June '08)
makes 1 loaf

Sponge

In large bowl combine:

1 c. active starter

¾ c. rye flour

¾ c. bread flour

½ c. water

Cover and let mixture ferment 8-10 hours or overnight.

Combine:

Sponge

1½ Tbs. dark molasses (not Blackstrap, too bitter)

2 Tbs. honey

2 Tbs. unsalted butter, melted

Mix until smooth either by hand or in mixer w/ dough hook.

To sponge mixture add:

1¾ tsp. salt

1½ Tbs. freeze dried or sweated fresh onions

2 heaping tsp. caraway seeds

1 c. rye flour

½ c. bread flour

Knead together until it comes into a bit of a shaggy ball.

In a separate bowl, whisk together:

½ c. rye flour

½ c. bread flour

***Be very careful at this step. Don't add too much flour here!!!  I think I got a bit excited and added too much, resulting in an extremely stiff dough.  You may not need more than a half cup of the mixture, so add with a light hand.***

If using a mixer, fit it with the dough hook and on low-speed, add ¼ cup at a time until dough forms ball that pulls away from the bowl and is firm but still slightly tacky to the touch.  Or else, work it in with your hands to get the same results.

On a floured counter, knead dough for ~2-4 minutes and let rest for 15 minutes. Knead again until dough feels elastic and tacky, although it should not stick to your hands. If it does stick to your hands, knead in a bit of additional rye flour until dough is firm but ever so slightly tacky.

In large, lightly greased covered bowl, let dough rise until almost double, ~4 hours.

This bread works best if formed into a round. Gently deflate risen dough (well, there was not a whole lot to deflate, but I went with it) and gather into a ball. Set dough seam side up, in a very well floured brotform or on a floured board, and cover loosely.  Let rise until dough doubles in size, ~2-3 hours.  Actually, I think I'd have to recommend just going  free-form, as the dough doesn't seem to get enough rise (up or out)  to fill up a brotform.

Place a baking stone (or tiles) in the center of oven and preheat oven to 400° F during last 20 minutes of rising time.
Gently unmold risen loaf onto a flat baking sheet prepared with cornmeal dusted parchment paper or onto a prepared peel. You may slash the loaf is you wish. Mist top of loaf with water and gently slide bread into the oven and bake at 400° for 20 mintues.
Turn oven down to 375° F and bake for another 25-30 minutes or until inside temperature of loaf reaches 200° F.

Let bread cool for 4 - 6 hours before slicing. This is very important as rye breads will turn to a gummy mess if they are sliced before completely cool.

*My notes: I used 100% All-Natural Stone-Ground Rye Flour throughout the recipe.  The original recipe called for both dark and light rye flours, but since I already had this type, I just subbed it all in for the two varieties.  The dough smells fantastic both in it's unbaked form and while it is baking.  Oniony goodness!  While the loaf is extremely firm and dense, it is also full of flavor.  Great for toasting.

submitting to:
Bread Baking Buddies in conjunction w/ the Bread Baking Babes 3rd Anniversary Party! hosted this month at My Kitchen in Half Cups.
Yeastspotting!