How to taste bread

 

 My friend's father was a baker.  I love how she describes the way he tasted bread.

"He would look at it, touch it, smell it, and then taste it... then look at it again," she said, tilting her head back the way he probably did, contemplative.  She had a serious look about her, considering the bread, lost in remembrance.

I could feel her longing for her father, but she seemed comforted, talking about him while she tasted a slice of my freshly baked loaf.  It reminded me of watching my mother adeptly forming rolls or a braided bread.  Or how as kids she took us in our pajamas to the Rockland Bakery in the wee hours because that was how much she loved their bread. Those details about a person that we hope remain engraved somewhere permanent.  And as for the bread, perhaps it helps us hold on.

 

Rosemary Boule

Makes one loaf. It is excellent as toast on the second and third day.

¾ cup water
2 teaspoons yeast
1 teaspoon sugar
1 teaspoon salt
2 to 2 ½ cups all purpose flour
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 teaspoons dried rosemary
cornmeal for dusting the pan

Combine ¾ cup warm water with 2 teaspoons of active dry yeast and one teaspoon of sugar.

Allow to proof for several minutes.

Measure 2 cups all-purpose flour into a mixing bowl, along with 1 teaspoon of fine salt, 2 tablespoons of olive oil and 2 teaspoons of crumbled, dried rosemary.  Stir to combine.  

Add the yeast mixture to the flour and stir with a wooden spoon.

Turn this out onto a clean but floured countertop and knead for 3-4 minutes, adding in additional flour as needed until the dough is not too sticky but not too firm.  

Oil the same mixing bowl with olive oil and put the dough in the bowl to rise, covered with a dish towel, for about an hour.

Punch down the dough.  If you have a banneton, you can use it for the second rising, also an hour.  Without a banneton, form the dough into a round loaf and let it rise on a baking sheet coated with corn meal.
Bake in a preheated 425 degree oven for about 20 minutes.  The loaf is done when it sounds hollow when tapping on the bottom.

Circle of life

My mother was a talented, daring cook who explored the world with her cooking. Her gusto in the kitchen made food a central part of our family and my best memories of her center on sharing food. How we would sit together picking apart crabs brought home from China Town in NY, our shared excitement at visiting the Rockland Bakery late at night and getting fresh rolls right out of the oven, the time she fashioned her own bread to look like a pair of breasts, seeing her light up a baked alaska on New Year's Eve, and how she always treated me to lobster on my birthday! She said I was a child after her own culinary heart and that I would grow up to outshine her in the kitchen.

This week marks 20 years since my mother's life ended at age 44. When memories fade and people to tell me stories of her become scarce, food is there to remind me. Those of us left behind continue to feast just as she asked us to. We carrying on with our lives, passing a love of food on to our own children, instilling in them the importance of delighting in simple pleasures which make a meal a feast.

When my mother was 42, she threw my dad a huge 50th birthday party- a feast for 50 guests in our backyard with our best friends and family. Her pride and joy that night was the Italian Bread Wreath she skillfully baked. It was the first and last time she ever made it, so after 20 years it seems fitting I give it a try in her memory. This weekend I made two wreaths, one Saturday and one today. The Saturday wreath was excellent in all aspects except for appearance- a major detail... I deemed it unblogworthy, gave away half and ate a good portion of that loaf. This morning, my supply of all-purpose flour was greatly diminished and since there was no point in venturing out at 7:30 on a Sunday in Italy, I used what was left of the regular flour, plus some stone ground wheat flour and a bit of spelt flour. Rolling out the dough, with Roman strapped to my back, I made sure the strands were a full 32 inches long, which I realized is 3 inches longer than Roman himself. The second loaf, you see in the photo above, is something I'm quite proud of myself. Hopefully this will be in my repertoire now for many family feasts to come. Happy Feasting!

Italian Bread Wreath
In memory of Elizabeth Bradspies Gallant 1946-1990

1 package active dry yeast
1 3/4 cups warm water
1 teaspoon sugar
1 tablespoon salt
2 tablespoons butter, softened
6 1/2 - 7 cups flour
3 eggs

Sprinkle yeast over warm water in large bowl of electric mixer. (You can also do this step by hand with a bowl and wooden spoon.) Add sugar and let stand about 5 minutes until yeast is soft. Add salt and butter. Stir until the salt dissolves. Add 3 1/2 cups of the flour. Mix to blend, then beat at medium speed until smooth and elastic, about 5 minutes. Beat in two of the eggs. Gradually stir in about 2 1/2 more cups of flour to make a soft dough.

Turn dough out onto a board coated with some of the remaining 1/2 to 1 cups flour. Knead the dough until smooth and satiny and small bubbles form just under the surface (10 to 15 minutes) adding more flour to prevent dough from being sticky. turn dough into a greased bowl and cover. Let rise in warm place until almost doubled in bulk (1-1 1/2 hours)

Punch dough down and turn out onto lightly floured surface. Cover with inverted bowl and let rest for 10 minutes. Pinch off and reserve about 1 cup of the dough. Divide the remaining dough into two equal portions. Shape each into a strand about 32 inches long. Place strands side by side; twist loosely together, then form a 10 inch wreath on a large, greased baking sheet. Pinch ends together to seal.

Divide reserved dough into 10 equal pieces. Roll each under the palms into a strand about 10 inches long. Beat remaining egg with 2 teaspoons water to blend yolk and white; brush lightly over bread wreath. Shape each strand of dough into an S-shaped curve. Place curved strands over wreath at evenly spaced intervals. Brush decorations with a little more of the egg.

Let wreath rise until it looks puffy, 30 -45 minutes. Brush all over with remaining egg, using as much of it as possible. Preheat oven to 400. Bake 20 minutes then reduce heat to 325 and continue baking until wreath is golden brown and sounds hollow when tapped (25-30 minutes)

Rise and Shine White Loaves

Waking up at 5:30 with Roman has its up sides, like seeing the sun rise, hearing the first birds singing, and well, being awake before most everyone... Today we started off the morning by putting up some bread dough. We had a breakthrough of sorts in the kitchen. Normally Roman stands and jumps in his small playpen in the kitchen. This entertains him for only a very short time before complains to be held, and morphs his face into a silent cry which is too agonizing to bear. So, while I was kneading the dough, I decided to release him from captivity and set him on the floor with a container full of plastic tupperware tops and bottoms. Problem solved. Now onto the bread.

These white loaves come from Baking with Julia, a book in which she collaborated with America's best bakers. These loaves are soft and flavorful, thanks to the addition of salt and butter. I find Italian bread to be quite bland because it has no salt. That is fine if you are topping it with cheese, salami, tapenade, etc., but to eat plain, I like my bread with a little flavor. Hundreds of years ago, Italians stopped putting salt in their bread dough to avoid a tax on salt, and this just kind of stuck.

We started this dough at 6 am and by 10 it was cooling on the counter, just in time for Roman's nap. This recipe gives instructions for making bread with a mixer. I don't own one and I have always made bread with a trusty wooden spoon. It comes out fine and gives my right arm the extra muscle tone to match my left one, which I always use to hold Roman. Therefore I have adapted the instructions for simply using your own arm, the old-fashioned way.

White Loaves
Makes 2 1 3/4 lb loaves

2 1/2 cups warm water
1 tablespoon active dry yeast
1 tablespoon sugar
7 cups (approximately( bread flour or unbleached all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon salt
1/2 stick (2 ounces) unsalted butter, at room temperature

Mixing & Kneading
Pour 1/2 cup of the water into a large bowl and sprinkle in the yeast and sugar. Whisk to combine. Allow the mixture to rest about 5 minutes until the yeast is creamy. Add the remaining 2 cups water and 3 1/2 cups of the flour and stir. Then add another 3 1/2 cups of flour and the salt. Stir until the dough begins to come together, scraping down the sides of the bowl and incorporating all the flour. Turn this out onto a floured board or countertop, Adding small amounts of flour to prevent the dough from sticking, break up the softened butter and knead this into the dough. This is messy, but just keep at it until the dough is smooth.

First rise
Shape the dough into a ball. Place it in a buttered or oiled bowl and cover the bowl with a kitchen towel. Let it rest at room-temperature until it doubles in bulk, about 45 minutes to 1 hour.

Shaping the dough
Butter 2 loaf pans and set aside.
Punch down the dough to deflate it and turn it out onto a lightly floured surface. Split the dough in half. Working with one half at a time, pat the dough into a rectangle about 9 inches wide and 12 inches long. Starting at the top of the rectangle, gently roll the dough up, then seal the seam by pinching together. Place the loaf, pinched side down, into the loaf pan. Repeat with second loaf.

Second rise
Cover the pans with a kitchen towel and let rise until they are growing over the tops of the pans, 45 minutes to an hour.

Bake at 375 for 35-45 minutes until golden brown. They are done when they sound hollow when tapped on the bottom. Remove them from the pans and let them cool on racks. They should not be cut into until they are almost completely cooled. Waiting is the hardest part.