King Arthur Flour Hearth Bread

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I am a bread-a-holic.  If I weren't on a diet, my diet would be comprised solely of carbs.  When I worked in Tustin, CA, I was conveniently down the street from a store called Claro's.  It was an italian food shop where you could get imported pastas, olive oils, canned san marzano tomatoes, as well as access to the very popular deli where they would make sandwiches right there for you, and their bakery full of italian breads and cookies and desserts.  One of the things I would go there specifically for was their crusty italian bread.  We don't know the name of it, but it was dark, it was crusty, and it was GOOOOOD!  My husband and I were very good at having half the loaf (it was a large loaf too) gone before we got home from there, if we went down there together.  It is such a happy store.  It is probably the best crusty bread ever, and now I am on a mission to find something that taste like it, and has the crusty happiness.  We think it might only be completely achieved when we get our wood fired pizza oven we lust after, but I figured I should give it a go anyways.

Research led me to my favorite baking site, King Arthur Flour and their Hearth Bread recipe.  This is their go to, traditional, on the back of their flour bags, recipe.  I opted for the version that was supposed to give a crustier, lighter product.  We only waited like two minutes after it came out of the oven to try it, but it definitely had the flavor of the bread from Claro's and a slight crustiness, but when I say Claro's bread is crusty, I am talking 1/4 inch of crispy, flaky bready crusty goodness (the kind where you happily eat the middle out of the slice of bread, then kind of munch of the crust).  This stuff left us, our laps, and our car covered in crumbs, but it was so worth it.  Mine may have been at a disadvantage because between baby and picking up our toddler at preschool and getting lunch, it may have over risen.  Fear not though, I am going to give it another try and see if I can get it any crustier.  The flavor was spot on though.

This is a fairly simple recipe, and anyone who likes good, simple, rustic bread, should definitely give it a try.  The only thing I changed was the addition of 1 1/2 tsp of diastatic malt powder, but that is a specialty item that you needn't worry about.

This is what it looked like when it came out.  It spread out quite a bit, and they ran in to each other.  My shaping wasn't the prettiest, but the good news is, that does not affect taste :)  Make sure you leave enough room between them.  As you can probably tell, we had already dug in by the time I could whip my camera out.

This would make fantastic garlic bread or panini sandwich bread if you cut it parallel to the table horizontally.  Oh my gosh would it be good....or pizza toppings and put under the broiler....or the good old stand by: cut it in big hunks and dig in!

King Arthur Flour's Hearth Bread (from their site)


Makes 2 loaves, 8 servings each, for a total of 16 servings

1 tablespoon (1 packet) active dry yeast
1 tablespoon sugar
1 tablespoon salt
2 cups warm water (not over 110°F)
5 1/2 to 6 cups King Arthur Unbleached All-Purpose Flour
cornmeal
boiling water

To mix: Mix together the first four ingredients. Let this stand until the yeast, sugar and salt are dissolved. Gradually add the flour to the liquid and mix thoroughly until the dough pulls away from the sides of the bowl. Turn the dough out onto a floured surface to knead. (This may be a little messy, but don't give up!)

Knead It: Fold the far edge of the dough back over on itself towards you. Press into the dough with the heels of your hands and push away. After each push, rotate the dough 90°. Repeat this process in a rhythmic, rocking motion for 5 minutes, sprinkling only enough flour on your kneading surface to prevent sticking. Let the dough rest while you scrape out and grease the mixing bowl. Knead the dough again for 2 to 3 minutes.

Let It Rise: Return the dough to the bowl and turn it over once to grease the top. Cover with a damp towel and keep warm until the dough doubles in bulk, about 1 to 2 hours.

Shape it: Punch down the dough with your fist and briefly knead out any air bubbles. Cut the dough in half and shape into two Italian- or French-style loaves. Place the loaves on a cookie sheet generously sprinkled with cornmeal. Let the loaves rest for 5 minutes.

Bake it: Lightly slash the tops of the loaves 3 or more times diagonally and brush them with cold water. Place on rack in a cold oven with a roasting pan full of boiling water on the oven bottom. Bake at 400°F for 35 to 45 minutes, until the crust is golden brown and sounds hollow to the touch.

For a lighter, crustier bread, let your shaped loaves rise for 45 minutes. Preheat the oven and roasting pan with water to 500°F for 15 minutes. Brush the loaves with cold water, place in the oven and bake for 10 minutes. Lower the temperature to 400°F and bake for 10 more minutes. Remove from the oven, let cool and devour!

For a heartier, more nutritious bread, substitute 2 cups of King Arthur Traditional Whole Wheat Flour for 2 cups of King Arthur Unbleached All-Purpose Flour.

Nutrition:

1 serving (based on 5 1/2 cups flour used)--

Calories: 140

Carbs: 31g

Fat: 0g

Protein: 4g

Fiber:1g

Homemade Hot Buttered Pretzel Rolls

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In my household, we are pretzel addicts.  And roll addicts.  So naturally, I managed to come up with the best of both worlds.  I make soft pretzels all the time, and this is the same dough, just in a roll.  Simple and easy and so very tasty.  I used to use a recipe that had a long rising time, and was very labor intensive and involved boiling the pretzels before they were cooked and it was really just a pain.  Then, in true King Arthur Flour fashion, I discovered that not only did they have an amazing soft pretzel recipe, it was simple too!!!  I made a few modifications to their recipe, but for the most part, it is their recipe for Hot Buttered Soft Pretzels .

First modification--Make a double batch.  No joke, 8 rolls will not be enough!  In the picture above, this was all that was left of a double batch by the time I had a chance to get my camera (which didn't take that long).

This recipe can be made dairy free by omitting the butter at the end or brushing with a dairy free vegetable spread like earth balance.

Hot Buttered Pretzel Rolls

Ingredients:

Dough

• 2 1/2 cups King Arthur Unbleached All-Purpose Flour
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon sugar
• 2 1/4 teaspoons instant yeast
• 7/8 to 1 cup warm water*
• *Use the greater amount in the winter, the lesser amount in the summer, and somewhere in between in the spring and fall. Your goal is a soft dough.

Topping

• 1 cup boiling water
• 2 tablespoons baking soda
• coarse, kosher or pretzel salt**, optional (but really fantastic)
• 3 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted (I use smart balance to cut down calories, it doesn't take much)
• **I didn't have pretzel salt and I couldn't really find it, so I bought some coarse sea salt that goes in a grinder (from Winco bulk bins) and pulsed it in a food processor to break it down just a bit, tastes much more like pretzel salt than kosher.

Directions:

Note:  I make dough by hand since my Kitchen Aid stand mixer is busted.  It may seem intimidating, but really, just knead it until it looks somewhat smooth ball (won't be perfect) and when you poke it quickly it springs back and the indent goes mostly away within 15 seconds or so.  It will be pretty sticky but just keep sprinkling it with a light dusting of flour until you have kneaded it to where it needs to be.

1) To make dough by hand, or with a mixer: Place all of the dough ingredients into a bowl, and beat until well-combined. Knead the dough, by hand or machine, for about 5 minutes, until it's soft, smooth, and quite slack (add more flour if it is too sticky, add more water a tablespoon at a time if it is too dry, it will be a fairly sticky dough to work with). Flour the dough and place it in a gallon ziploc bag, and allow it to rest for 30 minutes. 

2) While the dough is resting, prepare the topping: Combine the boiling water and baking soda, stirring until the soda is totally (or almost totally) dissolved (be careful, when good baking soda hits hot water it bubbles and expands, so add slowly). Pour mixture into a 9" square pan and set the mixture aside to cool to lukewarm (or cooler). 

3) Preheat your oven to 475°F. Prepare a baking sheet by spraying it with vegetable oil spray, or lining it with parchment paper. 

4) Transfer the dough to a lightly greased work surface, and divide it into eight equal pieces (about 70g, or 2 1/2 ounces, each) and shape into balls.

5)Working with 4 pretzels at a time, place them in the pan top side down with the baking soda/water, spooning the water over their tops; leave them in the water for 2 minutes before placing them on the baking sheet. This baking soda "bath" will give the pretzels a nice, golden-brown color and their characteristic pretzel flavor. 

6) Transfer the pretzels to the prepared baking sheet. Sprinkle them lightly with coarse, kosher, or pretzel salt, if desired. Allow them to rest, uncovered, for 10 minutes (important, don't skip!). 

7) Score the top of each roll with two parallel cuts using a sharp knife.  Bake the pretzels for 10 to 12 minutes, or until they're golden brown. 

11) Remove the pretzels from the oven, and brush them thoroughly with the melted butter.  Eat the rolls warm, or reheat them in an oven or microwave. 

Yield: 8 rolls.

Nutrition information (*with butter topping) 

Serving Size: Servings Per Batch: 8 Amount Per Serving: Calories: 171 Calories from Fat: Total Fat: 4.7g Saturated Fat: Trans Fat: . Cholesterol: 12mg Sodium: 888mg Total Carbohydrate: 27g Dietary Fiber: 1g Sugars: 1g Protein: 4g. 

* The nutrition information provided for this recipe is determined by the ESHA Genesis R&D software program. Substituting any ingredients may change the posted nutrition information.

Redemption: Homemade Chewy Caramels

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So after an incredible fail yesterday, I got up early and tried to tackle this one more time.  After an hour of undivided attention and stirring, here is the finished product.  And it was a success!!!  THIS is the caramel that the beloved caramel apples from somewhere like Oak Glen are covered in.  Now that I know how to do it, I will be going back to the caramel apple drawing board.  

But what to do with this pile of chewy caramels I have sitting on my counter???  Oh well, I am sure I will figure something out. 

Mini Apple Pies

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To make up for the epic caramel apple fail today, I can happily report that my practice run of doing mini apple pies, everything from scratch, turned out wayyyyyy too tasty for their own good.  I wish I wasn't on a diet...I would have eaten them all.

These are made in a muffin pan.  The crust came out flaky, buttery, light, airy, and oh so sinful.  The double pie crust ones have a sprinkle of turbinado sugar on them that makes them a little crunchy and a bit sparkly when they are done.  The others had an oatmeal-brown sugar crumb topping...heavenly!

This was a total win.  I may even make these for Liam's birthday party instead of cupcakes.  I am also toying around with the fillings.  Next one should be boysenberry I am thinking.

These were so fun to make, and I got to make them with my sister Emily, so it is always nice to have some quality sister time.  She even got an impromptu lesson in baking.  I am sure she was excited about that (or not).

Bonus--My house smells SOOOO good right now...cinnamon, sugar, all spice, nutmeg, caramel...cant go wrong.

 

Oh yea, I had extra filling and crust, but not enough to make a bunch more cupcake size ones, so I grabbed little ramikins, and make slightly larger (Ok, maybe twice as big) pies.  Both have the crust on the bottom, and each has the different topping as you can see.  Daddy was a good sport and jumped off the diet bandwagon to support his wife, and happily enjoyed the crumb topping pie.  I think it went over OK judging by the empty bowl that was left :)

Trial and Error...

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Ok, I am a caramel lover.  I thought it would be so great if I could conquer the caramel apple.  I would be making them all the time if I did.  So today I tried.  And failed. 

I researched, and studied and read comments.  To no avail. I made the caramel, it looked beautiful, I thought I just hit one out of the part...and then it cooled.  Into a grainy mess of caramel crumbs. I was left with six pretty, yet non-caramelly apples, and an 8x8 pan of not chewy caramel.  Tear... So, now it is back to the drawing board.  More research, and more reading.  Hopefully next attempt will be more successful. 

Word to the wise.  Sugar, water and a pinch of cream of tarter is apparently NOT a good enough substitute for light corn syrup, in spite of what anyone says. 

Let the Confessions Begin!

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Ok, the first confession I have--I am a bake-aholic.  I like to bake, and I like to share it with people.  It makes me happy to make food that others enjoy indulging in.  I look for any excuse to make something and then give it away, just for the joy of it.  If I can't find an excuse, I make one up :)  Here is one of my new favorite things to bake.  Soft Pretzels!  I have made them small, large, and little pretzel bites.  Butter and salt topped, and cinnamon-sugar topped.  They are loved every way.  Liam loves them...and Declan eyes them with great desire.