The Fresh Loaf

A Community of Amateur Bakers and Artisan Bread Enthusiasts.

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Floydm's picture
Floydm

Popovers

popovers

I dig popovers. No leavening at all, just steam.

Popovers Make 1 dozen popovers 1 cup all-purpose flour 1/4 teaspoon salt 1 tablespoon sugar 1 tablespoon melted butter or vegetable oil 1 cup milk 2 eggs
Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Combine the dry ingredients and mix well. Combine the wet ingredients and mix into the dry ingredients until you have a very smooth batter. You can use an electric mixer or eggbeater to do this, do it by hand, or even mix it in a blender.

Pour the batter into greased muffin tins. The tins should only be about half full.
popovers

For a light-colored, drier popover, bake at 375 for 50 to 55 minutes. For a darker, crustier but moister in the inside popover, bake at 400 degrees for 40 minutes (as I did in this batch).
popovers

Remove from the oven and eat while hot with jam or butter.

popovers

Floydm's picture
Floydm

Con Pane Rustic Breads & Cafe

Con Pane Rustic Breads & Cafe 2750 Dewey Road, Suite 105, San Diego, California 92106

Hours:
Closed Wednesdays
M-F: 7:00am - 6:00pm
Sat: 8:00am - 6:00pm
Sun: 8:00am - 4:00pm

24 varieties of Artisan breads including Traditional French Baguettes, Pain au Levain, Artisan Multi-Grain, Raisin and Hazelnut Batard, Gruyere & Chive Boule, and Pane Cioccolata.

Also, brioche cinnamon rolls and chocolate twists, scones and cookies as well as hugh innovative sandwiches and coffee and espresso drinks.

Find it on the bakery finder.

Floydm's picture
Floydm

Apple Butter

apple butter

Spiced Apple Butter 6 lbs. Golden Delicious or other variety apples (about 2 doz. medium-sized apples) 1 and 1/4 cups water 1/4 cup lemon juice 1/2 tsp salt 1 and 1/2 tsp cinnamon 1/4 tsp ground cloves 3 and 1/2 cups brown sugar 1/2 cup orange-flavored liqueur or orange juice
Core apples and cut in quarters; not necessary to peel them. Cook until soft, with the water and lemon juice. Remove from heat and put contents through sieve or food mill (i.e., make applesauce). Return to kettle and add all other ingredients except liqueur. Simmer, uncovered, stirring frequently to avoid burning on bottom. Be sure to stir more frequently as mixture thickens. It takes about 1-1/2 hrs. to thicken enough. Remove from heat and add liqueur. Seal in sterilized jars. Makes approximately 4 pints.
Floydm's picture
Floydm

Beware...

!!! BREAD IS DANGEROUS !!!

!!! BREAD IS DANGEROUS !!!

Research on bread indicates that:
1. More than 98 percent of convicted felons are bread users.
2. Fully HALF of all children who grow up in bread-consuming households score below average on standardized tests.
3. In the 18th century, when virtually all bread was baked in the home, the average life expectancy was less than 50 years; infant mortality rates were unacceptably high; many women died in childbirth; and diseases such as typhoid, yellow fever, and influenza ravaged whole nations.
4. More than 90 percent of violent crimes are committed within 24 hours of eating bread.
5. Bread is made from a substance called "dough." It has been proven that as little as one pound of dough can be used to suffocate a mouse. The average American eats more bread than that in one month!
6. Primitive tribal societies that have no bread exhibit a low incidence of cancer, Alzheimer's, Parkinson's disease, and osteoporosis.
7. Bread has been proven to be addictive. Subjects deprived of bread and given only water to eat begged for bread after as little as two days.
8. Bread is often a "gateway" food item, leading the user to "harder" items such as butter, jelly, peanut butter, and even cold cuts.
9. Bread has been proven to absorb water. Since the human body is more than 90 percent water, it follows that eating bread could lead to your body being taken over by this absorptive food product, turning you into a soggy, gooey bread-pudding person.
10. Newborn babies can choke on bread.
11. Bread is baked at temperatures as high as 400 degrees Fahrenheit! That kind of heat can kill an adult in less than one minute.
12. Most American bread eaters are utterly unable to distinguish between significant scientific fact and meaningless statistical babbling.

In light of these frightening statistics, it has been proposed that the following bread restrictions be made:
1. No sale of bread to minors.
2. A nationwide "Just Say No To Toast" campaign, complete celebrity TV spots and bumper stickers.
3. A 300 percent federal tax on all bread to pay for all the societal ills we might associate with bread.
4. No animal or human images, nor any primary colors (which may appeal to children) may be used to promote bread usage.
5. The establishment of "Bread-free" zones around schools.

This article was written by B.S. Wheatberry in a desert after consuming mass quantities of yeast bread then realizing his canteen was empty. (seriously :P )

qahtan's picture
qahtan

Microwave proofing

Has any one put their bread/dough in the microwave
to proof/rise.
To me it doesn't have the time time to develop
flavour and texture like a like long slow rise.

I have on the odd occasion proofed in my convection
on the "Raising bread" cycle at 90F, but never for a few minutes IE :- 6 in microwave. curious, qahtan

Bakenstein's picture
Bakenstein

Baking In Covered Earthenware

I would like to know if anyone has any experience baking bread in round "La Cloche" or Covered "Romertopf" type bakeware?
I became intrigued by the idea of duplicating a brick oven result as mentioned in the King Arthur's Baking Catalog-(They carry the "La Cloche).

Here is a link to a recipe and article explaining the health benefits of going back to the much longer ferments and rises of pre-WW11 baking.

http://www.westonaprice.org/foodfeatures/ourdailybread.html

crumbbum's picture
crumbbum

Chocolate Chocolate Chip Muffins

I was going to make the valentine's day pain rapide au chocolat tonight because my boy wanted me to buy him chocolate chocolate chip muffins at the grocery. Well, I just couldn't see myself making mashed potatoes just for that, so I went to google and dug up two C-C-C muffin recipes and between the three recipes I came up with this. And they're quite good, like the bread recipe, not too sweet, but in the middle they have some melty chocolate chip goo that makes them just right.

1/2 cup sugar
1-3/4 cups all purpose flour
2 Tbsp. powdered milk
6 Tbsp. unsweetened cocoa
2-1/2 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt
1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips

mix all the dry ingredients together, and if necessary, squish out any hard, rocky lumps in the baking powder.

in a smaller bowl or 2-cup measure, mix together:

3/4 cup water
2 eggs, lightly beaten
1/3 cup butter, melted
1 tsp. vanilla extract
I also splooshed in 2-3 Tbsp. Irish Cream, lacking rum or any other appropriate spirits

Make a well in the dry ingredients and pour in the liquids, mixing just until blended--as usual for muffins, leave it slightly lumpy.
Spoon into a 12-cup muffin tin, greased or lined with paper accordion cups. Bake at 400F about 18-20 minutes. A toothpick should come out clean unless you've struck a chocolate chip.

and of course, you can use 3/4 cup dairy milk in place of the water/powdered milk ingredients.

sonofYah's picture
sonofYah

Real Pumpernickel Bread

I am looking for a recipe for the real Olde World style Pumpernickel Bread.

The closest I have found so far is from Jeff Hamelman's book, BREAD, page 222.

Gordon

scarlett75's picture
scarlett75

Starter question.

I started my starter on Tuesday and have been following the instructions found on the link in one of the lessons. This morning, I went out to find my jar of starter had an inch thick layer of "hooch". I poured some of it off before I fed my starter (whom I've named Earl).

I used whole wheat flour and warm water as the basis of my starter. It's very bubbly and is starting to smell rather sour. When I observe Earl, he will bubble and foam before my very eyes.

My questions are:
1. Did I do the right thing by pouring off the layer of fluid?
2. I've been keeping a very light lid on the jar, but I've noticed that (in pics I've seen here) there's no lid on the jar while it's "starting". Am I screwing up my starter with a lid?
3. The link says that your starter is ready to use when it's bubbly and sour smelling, but just how bubbly and sour smelling should it be?
4. I noticed that FloydM says that he just keeps some of his starter aside, but the article says to use it all to make your sponge... is that just a first time thing? HELP!! LOL

Floydm's picture
Floydm

Orange Oatmeal Bread

I tried this recipe from Bernard Clayton's New Complete Book of Breads today. We liked it a great deal.

Orange Oatmeal Bread

1 orange
2 tablespoons plus 3/4 cup sugar
1 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1 cup rolled oats
2 eggs
2 tablespoons softened or melted butter
2/3 cup warm water (105-115 degrees)

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

Grate the orange rind into a bowl. Cut out as much of the meat of the orange as you can and add it to the bowl. Also squeeze as much juice out of the orange as you can and add it into the bowl. Sprinkle the orange with the 2 tablespoons of sugar and set aside.

In a large bowl combine flour, 3/4 cup sugar, baking powder, salt, and baking soda. Stir in the oats.

In a seperate bowl, combine eggs, butter, warm water, and orange mixture. Blend the liquid ingredients into the dry ingredients.

Pour the batter into one large or two small greased loaf pans. Bake at 350 for approximately 35 minutes for small loaves or 50 minutes for large loaves, until a toothpick inserted into the center of the loaf comes out clean.

Remove the loaves from the oven and allow to cool for 10 minutes before attempting to remove from the loaf pans.

Excellent with a pot of tea.

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