My Year in Bread: What I learned

Last year when I resolved to bake a loaf of bread a week I had no idea what I was getting myself into. I knew that I would become a better baker, I just had no idea how much I would love it. Or how much I would learn. Or how much of a bread snob I would become.

I hope you have enjoyed joining me on my journey. After baking at least one loaf a week I picked up a few things that have made my life easier. Here are my five favorites.

Instant yeast. This stuff is great. It cuts the rising time significantly and you don't need to wake it up. I keep a big jar of it in the freezer. I've only had to restock once.

A KitchenAid mixer. You can make bread without one, but using a dough hook speeds up the process significantly. As an added bonus you can clean off your counter and prep your rising bowl while the mixer kneads.

A dough scraper. This $2 item worked like a charm getting sticky dough out of the bowl. I cannot imagine making focaccia without it. If you ever use a bowl for any sort of mixing I highly recommend it.

A bench scraper. This tool is great for cutting dough into bits for rolls or bagels. It also works to scrape off the counter and remove all of the flour and dough residue. I can't imagine how annoying it would be to make rolls and clean my counter without this tool.

A kitchen scale. I use it for weighing the ingredients prior to mixing. When I make bagels I weigh out each piece to ensure uniformity. When I'm not baking I measure cereal, cheese, crackers, and just about any food item with a weight listed in the serving size. I splurged on this scale and it was worth every penny. The display lights up for low light measuring (it happens more than you would think). The display also pulls out so if you are measuring ingredients in a large bowl you can read the display with ease.

I am going to continue baking bread this year. However, I will be relaxing the pace of bread making. This year I'm going to explore vegetarian cooking. I tend to make the same 5 dinners over and over, so this year I am branching out.

Challah: Bread of the Week 52

I am ending my year of bread the same way I started it. For the third time this year I made challah. I used the Cook's Illustrated recipe that I started with. This time I rolled the pieces longer so the challah was more baguette than sandwich loaf. The slices were just the right size to accompany a soup and salad.

After weeks of rich Christmas food I'm looking forward to enjoying healthy eating again. Last night for dinner I made a green salad and a turnip, parsnip, carrot, and barley stew. You know you haven't been eating well if you find yourself craving turnip.

I'm shocked that I made it through an entire year baking at least a loaf of bread a week. I'm delighted that I can now whip up bread without much effort. I am going to continue baking bread and sharing it with you. I don't think I'll be as strict as I was this year - there will be 90 degree weekends in August when I'll leave the oven off.

Stollen: Bread of the Week 51

I forgot to blog or take a photo of my bread last week. I made stollen for Christmas. Instead of making one loaf I went with two. That enabled me to bring one home and take one to John's family Christmas.

I thought I had almonds in the freezer. I was mistaken. I usually don't miss nuts in breads, but I did this time. I also soaked the fruit in rum instead of my usual brandy soak. I learned a valuable lesson - I like to drink rum and eat brandy. It doesn't work the other way around.

Bretzels: Bread of the Week 50

Do you like pretzels? How about dinner rolls? Have I got a treat for you.

Bretzels offer the best of both worlds, and they only take a few hours to make. I'll be making them all winter long. If I weigh 300 pounds the next time we meet it will be the bretzels.

Do yourself a favor, visit the Smitten Kitchen, print the recipe, and make these for yourself tonight.

Dinner Rolls: Bread of the Week 49

Last night was the first annual Curran Family Holiday Party. It was a lovely potluck and game night. My contribution to the evening was dinner rolls.

I used Version 1 of white bread from the Bread Baker's Apprentice. I formed rolls and placed them in a 9 X 13 pan to rise. Once they were out of the oven I rubbed butter over the top (a great trick I learned from my Mom).

The rolls were a hit. I look forward to bringing them to the second annual Curran Family Holiday Party extravaganza.

Cinnamon Raisin Bagels: Bread of the Week 48

I love cinnamon raisin bagels. It's dangerous how easy they are to make now that I've made them a dozen times.

Parker House Rolls: Bread of the Week 47

This week I made Parker House Rolls from Baking Illustrated. I love the clear directions the editors of Cook's Illustrated bring to all of their cookbooks.

For some reason my mind was elsewhere today and I ended up with oddly misshapen rolls. The rolls were even different sizes, which hasn't happened to me in 8 months. I guess there was something else on my mind.

For the record, the rolls still tasted great. I assume that is because they are really delicious, but it could be because everything tastes great when you are going to marry your favorite person.

Cinnamon Swirl Brioche: Bread of the Week 46

A few weeks ago I was at brunch with Kathleen when we discovered cinnamon swirl brioche from Gateway Market. It's rich and delicious, with just a touch of sweetness. It's so good that when we returned for brunch two weeks later we both bought a loaf.

I feel silly buying bread. When you make at least one loaf a week buying bread seems a little ridiculous. I've made brioche before. I've made cinnamon swirl bread before. I decided to try my hand at making cinnamon swirl brioche.

I used the cinnamon swirl mix from the Bread Baker's Apprentice. I used the brioche recipe from Baking Illustrated. It looked great going into the oven.

But about 40 minutes into baking the loaf the Hawkeyes decided to make me yell and get sucked into the game, so I burnt the loaf a bit. The inside was still tender and delicious. The crust was worthless. Even with the burnt crust I was able to determine that using the Poor Man's Brioche recipe from the BBA will be my choice next time. The recipe I used was just a tad too rich for the cinnamon swirl.

I knew I wouldn't eat a loaf of well done cinnamon swirl brioche, so I decided to go crazy and make a up a recipe. I created this baked French toast by cubing the bread and removing the most burnt bits. I put the cubes in a buttered bread pan. I mixed up 3 eggs, 1 1/4 c milk, a splash of vanilla, and about 1T of the cinnamon sugar blend leftover from baking the bread. I chilled the loaf in the fridge over night and baked it this morning at 350 for an hour.

Topped with a little bit of maple syrup this French toast bake tasted like a cross between bread pudding and monkey bread. It is the best use of a burnt loaf I've ever found.

Roasted Onion and Asiago Miche: Bread of the Week 45

Last week I was proud of myself for the delicious Potato, Cheddar, and Chive Torpedoes. This week I am blown away by the amazing Roasted Onion and Asiago Miche. I only wish I was at my house at some point when it was light enough out to get a decent picture of this bread.

I started off this bread in a panic. I had refreshed my starter for the first time in over a month and it seemed to go OK. When I made the sponge (day one of three that it takes to make this bread) it sat out for over 8 hours without so much as a bubble letting me know that it was alive. I was worried that my starter, which I have been cultivating for five months. Luckily Daniel advised via Twitter that it is really difficult to kill a barm, so I gave it another shot before burring it in a private ceremony. It worked. I used about 1/4 c. more water the second time, which seemed to do the trick.

Once it was bubbly I put it in the fridge and waited for day 2. On the second day I roasted the onions and made the dough. Once it had risen once I put it in the fridge to rest over night. Then I waited a five hours and decided to cheat. I pulled one of the loaves out of the fridge and let it proof for two hours. After that I painted it with olive oil and poked it down with my fingertips (sometimes bread making is like kindergarten). Once it was sufficiently poked I covered it in asiago and roasted onions.

It smelled divine while it was baking. I patiently pulled it out of the oven and waited an hour for it to cool. I busied myself with making creamless creamy tomato soup so I wouldn't be too tempted.

After an hour I cut into it. I was rewarded with intensely flavored bread. The top layer of cheese created a crunchy crust. Perfect for dunking in soup.

This bread is the last bread in the Bread Baker's Apprentice. I cannot believe it's already over. I have loved almost every minute of it. I never imagined I could make the breads that I have made. I have much more confidence as a baker now.

I'm not done with my resolution of baking a loaf of bread a week. I'm sure I'll be pulling this book out again soon. I have Peter Reinhart's Whole Grain Breads, which I plan to explore in depth at some point. I had planned on sticking with breads that can be made from start to finish in an afternoon, but with winter coming I could use an excuse to stay in all weekend and bake.

I Can't Believe I Made This Bread: Bread of the Week 44

This week I made Potato, Cheddar, and Chive Torpedoes. Of all the breads I've made this is the one that I am most shocked that I made. The loaves had all of the goodness of a grilled cheese in a slice of bread.

The top of the bread was sliced down to the cheese before baking, which meant that there were crunchy bits of burnt cheese on top of the bread. It was so delicious I may have danced around my kitchen while eating a slice.

Whole Wheat Bread: Bread of the Week 43

This week I made whole wheat bread. This is the perfect bread to make if you eat peanut butter and jelly sandwiches as often as I do.

This is a bread I hope to always have on hand. It's great as toast or for a sandwich. It's incredibly hearty, and has a great crumb.

White Bread: Bread of the Week 42

This week I made white bread. I usually opt for whole wheat bread when it comes to snacking or sandwiches. It's more filling and has more flavor. The exception to that is when I'm grilling. I love a white bun to hold my hamburger or hot dog.

Instead of making a loaf of bread, I made hot dog buns.

And hamburger buns.

These were the best buns I've ever had. In my next house I'll have a big freezer in the basement where I can keep buns on hand. I long for a world where I never have store bought buns again.

Vienna Bread: Bread of the Week 41

This week I made Vienna bread. It was a good bread for sandwiches, but overall it was unremarkable.

I worry I'm getting to the point where a bread has to be truly outstanding for me to get excited about it. Or maybe I'm just too tired to come up with a good way to describe this bread.

Tuscan Bread: Bread of the Week 40

This week's bread is Tuscan bread. Tuscan bread is unique in two ways: it is salt free, and a cooked flour paste is used in the final dough.

While making this bread I did not have high hopes. I figured it would be a bland bread. I planned on smearing hummus on it to make it edible.

I was surprised that I really liked this bread. It had the texture of a really big soft pretzel. I especially loved it with a pinch of sea salt on top. I'll be making this bread again.

Sweedish Rye (Limpa): Bread of the Week 39

Sweedish Rye is a sourdough bread spiced with orange peel, aniseeds, fennel seeds, and cardamom. I suppose it's tasty if you're in to that sort of thing.

I'm not, so this wasn't one of my favorites. I'm glad to be done with rye breads. I have a new respect for them, but I'm not going to be making them for myself any time soon.

Stollen: Bread of the Week 38

I have a thing for Christmas bread. What's not to love?

Almonds? Check.

Brandy soaked dried fruits? Check.

Orange zest? Check.

Melted butter painted on the bread when it comes out of the oven? Check

Dusting of powdered sugar? Check.

I don't think there is anything else to say. I will be making this bread again. I'm going to try to share it again, but I'm not going to make any promises. In a perfect world I would have a slice with my coffee every morning.

Pumpernickel and Sunflower Seed Rye: Bread of the Week 37

This week I'm telling you about two different rye breads. It was my intention to spread them out over two weeks but I'm worried I'll forget about them so I'm doubling down.

I made pumpernickel which uses barm in the rye starter and yeast in the final dough. I like adding yeast to the final dough because it decreases the rise time significantly. It made a decent loaf and I'll be making it again soon. I didn't know that Aunt Kathy loves pumpernickel so I didn't save her a loaf. She'll be getting a few loaves for her freezer the next time I see her.

I also made Sunflower Seed Rye. This is one of the few rye breads I like. I love the nuttiness of the sunflower seeds

If you look closely at the loaf you can almost see the indentations left by the dowel. It isn't supposed to look like a huge bagel, but I didn't press down hard enough so that is what it looked like. I resisted the urge to cut it in half and put cream cheese on it. I settled for slices of toast.

One of the great things about participating in the Bread Baker's Apprentice Challenge is that I'm baking and trying breads I normally would avoid. Because I'm trying new things I have discovered that I do like some rye breads. I'm happily exploring new flavors.

Poilane-Style Miche: Bread of the Week 36

This week I made a Poilane-Style Miche. It's a large whole wheat sourdough. I'm not exaggeration by saying large. The final dough used two pounds of flour. It was so big it needed to be mixed by hand. I got out my frustrations while kneading the bread. I let it rise for eight hours, so most of my day was spent waiting to bake the bread. I was excited because the bread even looked good before it was baked.

It looked even better when it came out of the oven. Once it cooled tried a slice. It was the best sourdough I've ever had. I'll be making it a lot because I want dip slices of this bread in my soup all winter.

In this picture you can see a wine cork used for scale. This truly was a dramatic loaf. It took up most of my baking stone while in the oven.

Bread of the Week 35: New York Deli Rye and 100% Sourdough Rye

If you frequent my blog you know that I bake at least one loaf a week. That means I go through a lot of flour. Last week I bought 22.5 pounds of flour in one day. It was the first time I became concerned about my baking addiction. Sure, I could just use all purpose flour and add vital wheat gluten to make it bread flour or high gluten flour, but half of the time I decide to do that I forget to add the gluten.

This week I made two breads. The first one was 100% sourdough rye. 100% sourdough means no commercial yeast. I just used the barm I've been cultivating. I wasn't patient enough and ended up not letting it rise enough. The bread was still good, it was just more like cocktail rye than anything else.

I like dense breads for dips and soups. I think slices of this bread toasted would be perfect for dunking in soup.

I also made New York Deli Rye this week. For this bread you sauté onions in oil and then add them to a starter with barm, rye flour, and water. The recipe called for 2 medium onions (12 ounces). When I read other Bread Baker's Apprentice posts several people wondered where you would get onions that big. I had the opposite problem - my grocery store only sells mutant onions. One onion was too big.

Mutant onions aside, I love this bread. I was never a rye fan until I tried this. It's a soft bread; the texture is closer to potato bread than any other rye bread I've tried.

I think I may keep this recipe in my sandwich bread rotation. It would be great with some strong cheese.

I'm enjoying working my way though the sourdoughs more than I thought I would. When I finish them and return to commercial yeast breads I wonder if it will feel like cheating. I don't remember what it is like to make bread in one afternoon.

Bread of the Week 34: Basic Sourdough

This week I entered the realm of sourdough breads. Sourdough breads are different than most of the breads I've been making because they use wild yeast instead of commercial yeast. I collected some yeast using flour, pineapple juice, and water. I've been keeping it alive in my refrigerator by occasionally feeding it.

Well now, that is certainly a paragraph I never thought I would write. OK back to the bread.

I like sourdough bread. It has a bit of a kick to it, and it is nice and chewy. I like to use it for sandwiches, but if I ever get sick of it I think it would make great croutons.

I don't like how long it takes to make sourdough bread. Most of the breads I've been making up until now take about an hour and a half to two hours on the first day. Sourdough breads take four hours the first day. They take up to 10 hours the second day. It is making it hard to fill my weekend with social plans. Due to the crimp in my social life I've decided to do all of the sourdoughs over a two weekends. I'll still blog one bread at a time, which will allow me to actually leave town for the weekend without taking a vacation day to catch up on baking.