Mellow Bakers - French Bread

So I waited for the last possible day to post this last Mellow Bakers Challenge I was able to complete.  It has been such an insane summer, I am suprised how busy I became.  I was happy I tried to make this.  Though it is not the most complicated recipe it is one that I was most eager to try.  French bread brings me back to my childhood.  When we would go grocery shopping, The Mother would always look for the freshly baked french bread.  She was so excited when we found them warm from the bakery.  The bread would never last to make it home.  We would instantly attack the warm crusty bread.  The Mother would create a tunnel, she has always loved the soft inside of the bread while I always preferred the crust.  Between the two of us, we could put away 1/2 of the bread within the first 10 minute.  I got excited to try this recipe.  I was quite surprised that it was a straight dough.  I would think that you would need to bloom the yeast first.  The recipe was good but I think I could add some honey to add a little sweetness.

Mellow Bakers - Bialys

Mellow Bakers- Bialys

Like always, I wait for the last possible second to complete the different challenges I am in.  I vow that one day I will not be rushed to make a deadline and I will completely all three of the breads.  Unfortunately, this month I was only able to complete two of the three breads challenge.  My first attempt was bialys.  For those that doesn't know this type, it is a bagel except for a tougher exterior.   The bread is quite chewy and traditionally topped with onions.  This receipt comes from page 262 from the book Jeffrey Hamelman's book Bread: A Baker's Book of Techniques and Recipes.  The book stated that the dough starts off stiff but I was amazed how stiff it was.  I was slightly scared that I messed up the dough but I knew I had to finish the recipe.  If I made a mistake, I would be able to track down my error.  Though I did make one mistake and I did not prep the onions first.  I should have started the onion filling the day before so it would marinate nicely with the bread flour.  The onions was still a little hard for my taste.  I did opted for sweet onions but I would probably make a garlic version next time.  I have heard quite a few people stating that this was similar to a bagel but I soon realized why.  The texture was nice and chewy.  I may try to make this instead of bagels (especially with my history with bagels).  

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Mellow Bakers - Beer Barley Bread

As my second challenge I made Beer Barley Bread.  The process itself was very similar to the other breads we have made but I got a chance to incorporate other grains.  I liked feel of the bread and the texture.  Mine also didn't come out the way I was hoping because I didn't exactly follow the cooking instructions.  I was kinda running out of the door and I didn't get a chance to perform the steaming technique instead I just baked it in dry heat.  I hope to try this again and actually follow the directions better :D.  The Daughter attacked the bread, it was pretty funny since it had a tough crust.  I also believe the since I made smaller rolls, it wasn't thick enough to be soft interior.  I would probably use a better beer.  I just used what was in the house which equaled MGD.  The taste was pretty good.  I'm still trying to get used to not putting sugar in bread.  I am so used to that. 

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Mellow Bakers - Pizza Dough

This month one of our challenge was pizza dough.  This is on page 273 in Jeffrey Hamelman's book Bread.  This weekend was perfect to make pizza since all my nieces and nephews were coming over.  I found this much easier than I thought it would be.  I still have to work on shaping it (The Brother was laughing at me when he saw it) but the outcome was really good.  I also used corn meal for the edges (+1 Point).  I may start just making home made pizzas more often instead of ordering in.  The great part, I could freeze it.  I love anything I could make ahead of time and freezing it.  :D  If you ever have a chance, I strongly suggest to make your own pizza dough. 

 

A regular cheese pizza with fresh basil from my "garden"

 

This is right after the second time I baked it because The Husband did not feel I put enough cheese the first time.  I wish I took a picture of the original.  It was so much prettier :D.

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Mellow Bakers - Corn Bread

Another challenge for Mellow Bakers was Corn bread.  I know, you must think I was just making the traditional sweet corn bread.  Oh no, it wasn't the case for this it was actually a yeast-based corn bread.  In the book Bread it was on page 139.  Unfortunately, I didn't have the book yet and it is still on order so I had to use a different recipe.  I used Apple Pie, Patis, & Pate's Yeast-Raised Cornbread with Brown butter without the brown butter.  It was an experience because these types of bread intimidate me.  The initial step took about 16 hours.  I allowed the yeast to rise with equal parts of flour to water.  I had to read the instructions multiple times to make sure I got the measurements right.  It only required 1/8Th teaspoon.  That surprised me quite a bit and I wondered if I did it correctly.  I looked the next day and it rose quite a bit.   I was very excited.  16 hours later, I started to work with the rest of the dough.  I did make a mistake in the first two steps.  I added the flour early and I didn't realized that the corn meal needed to soak in the water for 15 minutes prior adding the rest of the ingredients.  I realized that after I added the flour so I let it sit there for 15 minutes.  I added the rest of the ingredients and than kneaded it.  The dough needed to be knead three times and letting it rest for almost 4 hours.  I observed the growth and how the dough changed throughout the whole process.  It amazed me.  Trying this recipe made me realized I just needed to be patient and that I shouldn't be intimidated. 

 

 

Grissini - Mellow Bakers

When I first started to blog, I would hear about these various challenges.  I have always wanted to participate but I would miss when the first month.  This time I decided just to dive in and have a go at it.  I joined the Mellow Bakers.  I have been trying to improve my bread making skills and I thought this was a perfect way to do this.  My first attempt was Grissini from the book Jeffrey Hamelman's book Bread: A Baker's Book of Techniques and Recipes.  Grissini is an Italian bread stick made with olive oil and garlic.  This is probably the easiest bread I ever made.  Especially since I didn't have to wait hours for it to proof.  Automatically, I am very sensitive how the yeast is treated and I was able to put everything in the mixer and let it just rock and roll.  The Daughter adored them and out of the 2 dozen I made, I think only 3 remain.  I think next time, I would try making a sweet version. 

 

 

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