Italian Bread

I've always been a sucker for carbs. Rice, potatoes, pasta, bread. You name it, I love it. I made dinner for my family, and decided to make some bread to go with it. Zach is a sucker for  nice crusty breads with light airy insides, and this recipe fit the bill. With five people, it was gone in minutes so that should tell you something.

I did make a change to the original recipe to use what I had on hand. I did not have semolina flour at the time so I substituted it with A.P. flour. It turned out perfectly!

Italian Bread from Stephanie Gallagher

•1 cup warm water (between 105 and 115 degrees F)
•1/2 cup warm skim milk (between 105 and 115 degrees F)
•2 Tbsp. honey
•2-1/4 tsp. active dry yeast
•3 cups bread flour
•1 cup semolina flour
•1 tsp. sea salt (such as Maldon sea salt)
•2 Tbsp. olive oil
•coarse cornmeal
•olive oil-flavored nonstick cooking spray

In the mixing bowl of an electric mixer or a large mixing bowl, combine water, milk, and honey. Sprinkle yeast over top. Allow to stand 10-15 minutes until foamy. Add 2 cups of bread flour. Using electric stand mixer or electric hand mixer, beat on low for 4 minutes. Cover bowl with a towel. Place in an unheated oven and allow to stand 1-2 hours.

Remove bowl from oven and add remaining cup of bread flour, semolina flour, salt and olive oil. Using your electric mixer with a dough hook, beat for 5 minutes. Spray another large mixing bowl with nonstick cooking spray. Pour dough into that bowl. Turn over until dough is covered with oil. Cover and let rest 15 minutes.

Sprinkle a cookie sheet with several teaspoons of cornmeal. Divide dough in half. Shape each half into an oval mound. Flatten slightly until each half is about 6 inches across. Spray tops of dough loaves with nonstick spray. Put cookie sheet into unheated oven to rise another 30 minutes to 1 hour, until doubled. Remove dough from oven. Preheat oven to 450 degrees.

Using a sharp knife, make 3 slits across top of bread about 1/4 inch deep. Fill a small round cake pan with 1/2 inch of water. Place on cake pan on bottom rack in oven. Place cookie sheet with bread dough on it on the middle rack of the oven. Bake 25 minutes or until lightly browned. If bread browns too quickly, cover it with foil for the last 5-10 minutes of baking.

Bagels and Boursin, A Match Sent from Culinary Gods

Bagels have been one of those things that have been on my list to try at home for quite some time. I made mini bagels in Garde Manger (think salads, appetizers, fruit and ice carvings, and sausages) at school, and they turned out great tasting, not so great looking. So I really wanted to try them at home. Unfortunately for me, all of the recipes I have from school are measured in volumes, and I don't have a scale at home (yet). So, in search of a bagel recipe, I perused my favorite foodie blogs, and as usual, Annie, never fails me. It takes some work for this recipe, which is probably why I've been putting off making them, but boy are they worth the effort.

I just sprinkled the toppings on to make an "everything bagel" and I forgot to measure to share with you, so I apologize. My toppings included sesame seeds, poppy seeds, garlic powder, sea salt, and a bit of onion powder, but you should put whatever you like on them. The sesame seeds add a nice nutty-ness to the whole flavor which I really liked. Also, I made a boursin cheese to go with the bagels, and YUM! It turned out to be a great flavor combo. I only had dried herbs on hand, but you can always use fresh herbs.

So, without further ado, here are the recipes!

Boursin Cheese from Columbus Culinary Institute at Bradford School
Yields approx. 1 1/2 Cups
Ingredients:
8 oz. Cream Cheese, softened
4 oz. Unsalted butter, softened
1 1/2 Tbs. Parmesan Cheese
1 t. garlic
1 Tbs. Oregano
1 t. Thyme, minced
1 t. Basil, minced
Salt and Pepper

Method:
1. Cream the butter with a mixer. Add the cream cheese to incorporate.

2. Add the cheese and remaining ingredients. Continue mixing until incorporated. Season to taste.

Bagels from Annie
Yield: 12 large or 24 mini bagels
Ingredients:
For the sponge:
1 teaspoon (.11 ounce) instant yeast
4 cups (18 ounces) unbleached high-gluten or bread flour
2 ½ cups (20 ounces) water, at room temperature

For the dough:
½ teaspoon (.055 ounces) instant yeast
3 ¾ cups (17 ounces) unbleached high-gluten or bread flour
2 ¾ teaspoons (.7 ounce) salt
2 teaspoons (.33 ounce) malt powder OR 1 tablespoon (.5 ounce) dark or light malt syrup, honey, or brown sugar

To finish:
1 tablespoon baking soda
Cornmeal or semolina flour for dusting
Sesame seeds, poppy seeds, kosher salt, rehydrated dried minced garlic or onions, or chopped fresh onions that have been tossed in oil (optional)

Directions:
1. To make the sponge, stir the yeast into the flour in a 4-quart mixing bowl. Add the water, whisking or stirring only until it forms a smooth, sticky batter (like pancake batter). Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and leave at room temperature for approximately 2 hours, or until the mixture becomes very foamy and bubbly. It should swell to nearly double in size and collapse when the bowl is tapped on the countertop.

2. To make the dough, in the same mixing bowl (or in the bowl of an electric mixer), add the additional yeast to the sponge and stir. Then add 3 cups of the flour and all of the salt and malt. Stir (or mix on low speed with the dough hook) until the ingredients form a ball, slowly working in the remaining ¾ cup flour to stiffen the dough.

3. Transfer the dough to the counter and knead for at least 10 minutes (or for 6 minutes by machine). The dough should be firm, stiffer than French bread dough, but still pliable and smooth. There should be no raw flour – all the ingredients should be hydrated. The dough should pass the windowpane test and register 77 to 81 degrees F. If the dough seems dry and rips, add a few drops of water and continue kneading. If the dough seems tacky or sticky, add more flour to achiever the stiffness required. The kneaded dough should feel satiny and pliable but not be tacky.

4. Immediately divide the dough into 4 ½ ounce pieces for standard bagels, or smaller if desired. Form the pieces into rolls.

5. Cover the rolls with a damp towel and allow them to rest for approximately 20 minutes.

6. Line two sheet pans with baking parchment and mist lightly with spray oil. Proceed with shaping the bagels by pushing a hole through the center and stretching out the hole to 2 ½ inches in diameter.

7. Place each of the shaped pieces 2 inches apart on the pan. Mist the bagels very lightly with the spray oil and slip each pan into a food-grade plastic bag, or cover loosely with plastic wrap. Let the pans sit at room temperature for about 20 minutes.

8. Check to see if the bagels are ready to be retarded in the refrigerator by using the “float test”. Fill a small bowl with cool or room-temperature water. The bagels are ready to be retarded when they float within 10 seconds of being dropped into the water. Take one bagel and test it. If it floats, immediately return the tester bagel to the pan, pat it dry, cover the pan, and place it in the refrigerator overnight (it can stay in the refrigerator for up to 2 days). If the bagel does not float, return it to the pan and continue to proof the dough at room temperature, checking back every 10 to 20 minutes or so until a tester floats. The time needed to accomplish the float will vary, depending on the ambient temperature and the stiffness of the dough.

9. The following day (or when you are ready to bake the bagels), preheat the oven to 500° F with the two racks set in the middle of the oven. Bring a large pot of water to a boil (the wider the pot the better), and add the baking soda. Have a slotted spoon or skimmer nearby.

10. Remove the bagels from the refrigerator and gently drop them into the water, boiling only as many comfortably fit (they should float within 10 seconds). After 1 minute flip them over and boil another minute. If you like very chewy bagels, you can extend the boiling to 2 minutes per side. While the bagels are boiling, sprinkle the same parchment-line sheet pans with cornmeal or semolina flour. (If you decided to replace the paper, be sure to spray the new paper lightly with spray oil to prevent the bagels from sticking to the surface.) If you want to top the bagels, do so as soon as they come out of the water. You can use any of the suggestions in the ingredients list or a combination.

11. When all the bagels have been boiled, place the pans on the 2 middle shelves in the oven. Bake for approximately 5 minutes, and then rotate the pans, switching shelves and giving the pans a 180-degree rotation. (If you are baking only 1 pan, keep it on the center shelf but still rotate 180 degrees.) After the rotation, lower the oven setting to 450° F and continue baking for about 5 minutes, or until the bagels turn light golden brown. You may bake them darker if you prefer.

12. Remove the pans from the oven and let the bagels cool on a rack for 15 minutes or longer before serving.

Soft Pretzels

Let me just say: these were gone within hours of coming out of the oven. If that doesn't tell you how good they are, then I don't know what else to say. The centers were chewy and soft and the outsides were nice and firm with a salty crunch. I have wanted to make soft pretzels for a while now, and finally got some yeast for Christmas (yes I know it's an odd gift, but it's a gift I LOVE). I found this recipe on Annie's site, and went for it. These have definitely become a regular snack in our house.

Soft Pretzels

Ingredients:
For the dough:
1½ cups warm water (110-115° F)
1 tbsp. sugar
2 tsp. kosher salt
2¼ tsp. instant yeast
22 oz. all-purpose flour (about 4½ cups)
4 tbsp. unsalted butter, melted
Vegetable oil, for greasing the bowl

For finishing:
Cooking spray
10 cups water
2/3 cup baking soda
1 egg yolk beaten with 1 tbsp. water
Pretzel (or kosher) salt

Directions:
To make the dough, combine the water, sugar, salt and yeast in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. Mix on low speed to dissolve the yeast. Add in the flour and melted butter and mix just until the dough comes together. Switch to the dough hook and knead on medium speed until the dough is smooth and clears the sides of the bowl, about 5 minutes. Transfer the dough to a bowl lightly greased with vegetable oil, turning once to coat. Cover with plastic wrap and let rise in a warm place, about 50-55 minutes or until doubled in bulk.

Preheat the oven to 450° F. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper and spray lightly with cooking spray. Bring the water and baking soda to a boil in a large saucepan or stockpot. In the meantime, divide the dough into 8 equal pieces. Working with one piece at a time, roll a segment out into a 24-inch long rope. Make a U-shape with the rope and holding the ends of the rope, cross them over each other and onto the bottom of the U-shape in order to form the shape of a pretzel. Place onto the parchment lined baking sheet. Repeat with the remaining pieces of dough.

Place the pretzels into the boiling water, 1 or 2 at a time, for 30 seconds. Remove from the water with a slotted skimmer and return to the baking sheet. Once all the pretzels have been boiled, brush the tops with the egg wash and sprinkle lightly with salt. Bake in the preheated oven until dark golden brown, about 12-14 minutes. Transfer to a cooling rack for at least 5 minutes before serving.