Explanations of the Previous Recipe: Anadama Bread

As I mentioned in the previous post, I recently purchased and read through The Bread Baker's Apprentice by Peter Reinhart. Having and reading a cookbook with so much valuable information makes it necessary to include a post dedicated to further explaining bread, the recipe below, what some steps are, why we do them, and the reasoning behind them. First off, there are conflicting stories behind the name of this bread, but I am going to tell my favorite. Secondly, I will explain the importance of being specific about the type and amount of flour and yeast. My third explanation will be about the "windowpane test", its importance, and what to look for. Lastly, I will explain how to correctly shape your dough into loaves.

There are many different stories of the origin of the name, Anadama. My favorite is told by Judith and Evan Jones in their bread book, The Book of Bread. There was a man from Rockport, Massachusetts who was upset with his wife, Anna, for not only leaving him for another man, but leaving him with nothing more than a pot of cornmeal mush and some molasses. The angry husband tossed the mush and molasses together with some yeast and flour while muttering to himself "Anna, damn 'er!" Voila! The creation of Anadama bread.
While baking, many people pay far less attention to the type of flour they are using than they should be. This is a huge mistake because, if you are using a different type of flour than your recipe calls for, your dough will probably come out far too dry or far too sticky- unless you can correctly adjust the amounts. This is because some grains are much more dense and potent than others. Also, the amount of times wheat is sifted at the mill from its original state also changes the amount of water it absorbs. There are whole wheat, clear (once sifted), and patent bleached or unbleached flours (twice sifted) and, like all other grains, each of absorbs more or less water than the others. For instance, 1 cup of cornmeal, 1 cup of semolina flour, 1 cup of pastry flour, 1 cup of all-purpose flour and 1 cup of whole wheat flour all absorb different amounts of water.
Similar to flour, the type of yeast you use also makes a noticeable difference in the bread you are baking. The recipe below calls for instant yeast because it is more concentrated than fresh or active dry yeast, it has a longer shelf life, and it can be added directly to the flour instead of having to hydrate it first. Basically, this means buying less, using less, and fewer steps during baking. I am all for simplifying the baking process so instant yeast is my type of yeast! However, if you have to use active dry or fresh yeast, they can be easily substituted using the following formula:
1 part fresh yeast = 1/2 part active dry yeast = 1/3 part instant yeast=1 part fresh yeast
With this formula, you shouldn't need to weigh your yeast. Measuring should be enough. Flour, however, needs to be weighed on a kitchen scale. If you enjoy baking and do not have a kitchen scale, please pick one up at Target. They are fairly inexpensive and well worth it. My scale is by Michael Graves, and it measures to the 1/8 oz. It is also battery powered which is extremely convenient because I like to spread everything out and move about my kitchen- and now I can take my scale with me!
You measure flour different than anyone else. One cup of flour will weigh slightly different than another persons'. If you strictly go by this way of measuring, you may have dough that is much too dry or much too wet and in desperate need of sometimes a whole cup of flour more or less. This can be sidestepped by weighing your flour to guarantee accuracy of the amount you are using. Another, and the best and most reliable way to know, is by feeling your dough. By the texture of your dough, you can get a feel (pun intended) for how much more flour you need to incorporate, regardless of how much you have already used. I usually like to add less flour than a recipe calls for, and then add more as needed. It is always easier to add more than have to deal with the opposite problem- too much flour. Believe it or not, the weather and where you live also make a difference on the amount of flour you need. If it is a humid day or you are at low altitude, for example, you will probably need more flour than if you were up in the mountains somewhere with no humidity. The moral: a recipe is nothing more than a guideline. Follow the fundamental instructions, but in the end, it always comes down to your intuition.
The "windowpane test" is the most reliable method to determine when gluten development is sufficient or, in other words, when you can stop kneading the dough. This method is performed by cutting off a small piece of dough from the larger batch and gently stretching it, pulling it out to see if it will hold a paper-thin membrane that will let light through. If the dough falls apart before it makes the "windowpane", that means the gluten has not yet fully bonded to one another, and you need to continue kneading the dough for a couple minutes and retest.
Finally, after all the work you have put into mixing, fermenting, and kneading your beautiful dough, you need to know how to mold this block of clay into a work of art. To shape your dough into a sandwich loaf, like the recipe below, start by dividing it according to your recipe, if necessary. Flatten the first piece of dough with your hands into a rectangle about 5 inches wide and 6-8 inches long. From the short side, roll up the dough, one turn at a time, and pinch the crease with each rotation to strengthen the surface tension. As you continue rolling and creasing, the loaf will spread out to about 8 or 9 inches long. Pinch the final seam closed with the back of your hand or thumbs. Then, place your loaf, seam down, into the lightly oiled loaf pan.

There you have it. Unless you are as crazy about baking as I am, you have just read more information than you ever wanted to know about dough. Happy Baking!

Anadama Bread

Like any cook, I am a recipe fanatic. I have subscriptions to way too many cooking magazines but always end up buying just one more that I don't have whenever I go grocery shopping. Not surprisingly, one of my favorite afternoon activities is taking a trip over to Barnes and Noble and spending hours looking at all the cookbooks, only wishing I had the money to purchase all of them. However, the last time I ventured to the cooking section, I decided that I had gone long enough without buying a new cookbook. I walked out of the store, fully satisfied, with an ice cream recipe book and, my new bible, The Bread Baker's Apprentice by Peter Reinhart. I have never seen a cookbook that teaches its readers quite like this one does. The first 101 pages are packed with priceless information about everything from shaping and proofing equipment to the chemistry behind different types of yeast and flours. If you are interested in learning not only how to bake great bread, but also the science behind it, I would more than recommend The Bread Baker's Apprentice.

Soaker:
1 cup (6 oz) cornmeal
1 cup (8 oz) room temperature water

Dough:
4½ (20.25 oz) unbleached bread flour
2 tsp (.22 oz) instant yeast
1 cup (8 oz) lukewarm water- 90 to 100 degrees F
1½ tsp (.38 oz) salt
6 tbsp (4 oz) molasses
2 tbsp (1 oz) shortening or unsalted butter, room temperature

The day before making the bread, make the soaker by combining the cornmeal and water in a small bowl. Let sit overnight at room temperature. This step helps to activate the enzymes in the cornmeal to release the sugars trapped in the starch. It also softens the cornmeal.
The next day, combine 2 cups (about 10 oz) of the flour, the yeast, the soaker, and water in a mixing bowl or a bowl of an stand mixer. Cover the bowl with a towel and let it ferment for about 1 hour, or until the sponge begins to bubble- whichever comes last. This is an important step in developing the flavor of the bread: the longer it ferments, the richer and deeper the flavor. Add the remaining 2½ cups of flour, salt, molasses, and shortening and stir (or mix on low speed with the paddle attachment) until the dough forms a ball. Add water or flour to make a soft and slightly sticky dough.
Sprinkle flour on the counter and transfer the dough to the counter and begin to knead the dough. Alternatively, you could mix the dough on medium speed in your standing mixer with the dough hook. Sprinkle more flour as needed to make a tacky, but not sticky, dough. The dough should be firm but supple and pliable. It will make about 10 minutes of kneading to accomplish this. You know you are done when your dough passes the windowpane test (check the next post for an explanation). When in doubt, mix a little longer. It is almost impossible to over-knead dough.
Lightly spray a bowl with oil and transfer the dough to the bowl, rolling it around to coat it with oil. Cover with plastic wrap and let the dough ferment and rise for about 90 minutes, or until it at least doubles in size.
Remove the dough from the bowl and divide it into 3 equal pieces. Shape the dough into loaves (also check the next post for an explanation) and place in oiled 8.5x4.5 bread pans. Lightly mist the tops with oil and cover the tops with plastic wrap.
Proof at room temperature for 90 minutes, or until the loaves crest fully above the tops of the pans. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F, with the oven rack in the middle. Remove the plastic wrap and place the pans in the oven. Bake for 20 minutes, rotate the pans, and then bake for 10-30 more minutes until the top, sides, and bottoms of the loaves are golden brown, depending on the oven temperature. They should make a hollow sound when thumped on the bottom.
Remove the loaves immediately from the pans and cool on a rack for at least one hour before slicing or serving.

Chocolate Chip Cookies

I've had this blog for a few months now, and I was looking through my pages when I realized that I still haven't posted a recipe for chocolate chip cookies! We all have our favorite recipe, and why haven't I posted mine? The reason for this is that everyone- seriously, everyone- loves chocolate chip cookies. I have never met a person who doesn't love one of these- warm and goey- with a cold glass of milk (well, most people enjoy the milk part). Because of this passion that all people have for chocolate chip cookies, I couldn't just post any old recipe on here, especially not the one printed on the back of Nestle Tollhouse chocolate chips (paah-lease!!!). I had to perfect my recipe- take my favorite aspects of each fabulous cookie I eat and mold them together to create a recipe that is simply unbelievable. Enjoy!

2¼ cups all purpose flour
½ tsp baking soda
14 tbsp butter-flavored vegetable shortening
¾ cup white sugar
¼ cup packed light brown sugar
½ tsp salt
2 tsp vanilla extract
2 eggs
2 cups semi-sweet, or milk chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350 degrees, putting one rack in the bottom third of the oven. Line baking sheets with aluminum foil.
Whisk flour and baking soda together in a medium bowl.
Beat the shortening and the sugars together in a bowl until they are light and fluffy. Reduce speed to low and add the eggs, salt, and vanilla; mix until the batter has turned paler and is fluffy. Then, gradually add the flour into the batter and mix until just combined. Then stir in the chocolate chips.

Scoop about two tablespoon-sized balls of dough and roll between your hands. Then place them on a sheet about 2 inches apart. Then press each ball of dough a bit and turn it into a disk. Bake the cookies until the edges just start to brown, about 10-13 minutes, depending on cookie size. Cool on wire racks and enjoy!!

Recipe is my own.

Sugar Cut-Out Cookies

I met so many people from all over the country at the summer program I just got home from, but being so far apart from each other, it's going to be hard to stay in touch. I baked these cookies to send to my friends that live in states far away from Minnesota. They are sturdy enough to hold up while they are shipped and the frosting hardens, that way it won't smear all over the box and the other cookies. As durable as they are, these cookies are also damn cute. If you are sending a care package to a loved one in college or a friend who lives far away, I would definitely recommend packing these inside.

cookies:
2 cups all-purpose flour
½ tsp baking powder
¼ tsp salt
8 tbsp room temperature butter
1 cup granulated sugar
1 egg
1 tsp vanilla

icing:
1½ cups confectioners sugar
3-4 tbsp milk, water, or lemon juice

In a large bowl, whisk the flour, baking powder, and salt together. Beat the butter and sugar together in a separate bowl until light and fluffy. Beat in the egg and vanilla. Gradually add the dry ingredients and beat until combined. Divide the dough in half, wrap in aluminum foil, and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes.
Preheat the oven to 325 degrees, with racks in upper and lower thirds. Line baking sheets with aluminum foil, and remove one disk of dough from the refrigerator; let stand 5 to 10 minutes. Roll out about 1/8 inch thick on a lightly floured surface with a lightly floured rolling pin. Cut out shapes with lightly floured cookie cutters and place on baking sheets with a spatula. The cookies hardly spread out so there is no need to give them more space than a half an inch from each other. Bake, rotating the sheets halfway through, until the edges are golden, 8-12 minutes depending on the size of the cookies. Let the cookies cool completely before icing them. If the cookies are still hot, the icing will run off the cookie.
Sift the confectioners sugar into a bowl, then whisk in the milk, water, or lemon juice one tablespoon at a time until the icing is smooth and thick enough to coat the back of a spoon. If too thin, whisk in more sugar. If too thick, add more liquid. Spread over the cookies and add other decorations.

Recipe from: Food Everyday. Cookie Edition, by Martha Stewart

Vegan Scones

For the past five weeks, I was at Northwestern University attending a summer theatre program. So far, it was the best experience of my life: I learned so much about life and met so many wonderful people. For the first time in my life, the majority of my friends were or had been vegetarian. One of my closest friends, Lily, was a vegan. I was vegetarian for a little over a year, but that was all the exposure I had ever had to that kind of lifestyle. I was so intrigued by the choice she made and how she went about her life as a vegan. It was inspiring to see her be proactive about animal respect and it made me want to follow in her footsteps. Thank you Lily. Hopefully you will make this recipe and enjoy them as much as I do!

3 cups all-purpose flour
2 tbsp baking powder
¼ cup sugar, plus extra for sprinkling over the tops
¼ tsp salt
1/3 cup vegetable oil
½ cup soy cream (soy/rice milk is a fine substitution)
¾ cup rice or soy milk plus 2 teaspoons apple cider vinegar

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Lightly grease or line a baking sheet.
In a mixing bowl, sift the flour, baking powder, sugar, and salt together. Add the oil, soy cream, and rice milk. MIx until just combined. The dough should be clumpy and not sticky. If there is still a little bit of flour left over, thats okay.
Drop by ¼ cupfuls onto the baking sheet and sprinkle with a bit of sugar. Bake for 12-15 minutes, until slightly browned on the bottom and firm on the top.

Variations:
Berry Scones (pictured above): Fold in 1½ cups fresh berries
Chocolate Chip scones: Add 1 tsp vanilla extract to the liquid ingredients, add 2 tbsp sugar to the dry ingredients, and fold in 1 cup chocolate chips.
Maple Walnut: Add 2 tsp maple extract to the liquid ingredients, add 2 tbsp sugar to the dryr ingredients, and fold in 1½ cups of walnuts.

Recipe from: Vegan With A Vengeance by Isa Chandra Moskowitz