Basic Sourdough Bread: BBAC#30 Plus 5 More

The Bread Baker's Apprentice Challenge #30: Basic Sourdough Bread

For this challenge I used wild yeast mother starter (mistakenly referred to as BARM in the book) to prepare the sourdough starter. I didn't use commercial yeast for the final dough and fermented at a shorter period so the bread doesn't become too tangy. The sourdough refers to the starter which is acidic but depending on individual taste, the breads made with sourdough starters can be very sour or not at all. I prefer the latter because I never liked breads that are very sour.

I added a very small amount of rye flour to the dough and I really love the flavor of the bread which has a hint of sweetness. I made a free standing loaf and a small pain d'epi with half of the dough and into the second half I kneaded crumbled blue cheese then baked them in three 5 x 2 inch loaf pans. The mini loaves are incredibly yummy and the aroma is just wonderful. The crumb is chewy and the crust is very crispy. I love these tiny loaves. I started eating a large piece that I tore off from one of the loaves right after photographing them and ended up devouring the whole loaf while uploading the photos into my laptop. Yes, the bread is thaaat good. Mini sourdough loaf with blue cheese rocks!

shaping pain d'epi needs more practice

the middle part of the mini loaves had an enormous oven spring; they look like toy cars, don't they

mmmmm

Rating:
flavor 5
texture 5
visual appeal 5
ease of preparation 5
performance 5
worth 5
Total: 30
Average: 5

==================================================================

I continued baking while on "vacation" from this blog and here are the photos and ratings:

#29 Pugliese

another flavorful bread from the book although crumb is not as open as I would have liked; the slices make very nice appetizer toasted and drizzled with black truffle-flavored olive oil, then topped with lemon zest and chiffonade of mint

Rating:

flavor 5
texture 3
visual appeal 5
ease of preparation 5

performance 4

worth 5

Total: 27

Average: 4.5

#28 Potato Rosemary Bread

I love everything about this bread: the flavor, the texture, and aroma

Rating:
flavor 5
texture 5
visual appeal 5
ease of preparation 5

performance 5

worth 5
Total: 30

Average: 5

#27 Portuguese Sweet Bread

sweet and soft, delicious just with butter; an instant favorite

Rating:
flavor 5
texture 5
visual appeal 5
ease of preparation 5

performance 5

worth 5
Total: 30

Average: 5

#26 Poolish Baguettes

bread is tasty but crumb is not open

Rating:
flavor 4
texture 2
visual appeal 4
ease of preparation 5

performance 3

worth 3
Total: 18
Average: 3

#25 Pizza Napoletana

the best tasting pizza ever; the bread is sweetish, its edges are crispy and the rest of the thin crust with its almost charred bottom is chewy, just the way I like it; it's also perfect for sweet dessert pizzas with berries, apples, or pears drizzled with chocolate sauce or ribbons of Nutella

Rating:
flavor 5
texture 5
visual appeal 5
ease of preparation 5

performance 5

worth 5
Total: 30
Average: 5

Apple Marzipan Tart

Fall means apples either for snacking or for making apple pies and tarts. For my first apple tart of the season I put a thin layer of marzipan on the bottom before adding the sliced apple halves. For extra crunch and sweetness I drizzled a little almond flavored caramelized sugar all over the baked tart. Very very yummy.

For this recipe, I suggest to use only sweet apples because there is very little sugar sprinkled on top. I used Honey Crisp, they're sweet and don't become soggy.

Apple Marzipan Tart
crust
1¾ cups pastry flour
1 teaspoon sugar
½ teaspoon salt
1 stick butter, diced and chilled
6 tablespoons ice water

filling
1 cup marzipan, homemade or store-bought
6 medium Honey Crisp or Fuji apples
2 tablespoons sugar
2 tablespoons coarse raw sugar
1 tablespoon butter, shaved

topping (optional)
2 tablespoons sugar
¼ teaspoon pure almond extract

• Prepare crust: Put flour, sugar, and salt in a food processor, pulse to combine. Add the chilled butter and pulse for a few seconds. Add ice water 2 tablespoons at a time. Gather into a ball, wrap in plastic film, and refrigerate for 1 hour.

• Preheat oven to 425°F.

• Roll dough into a 14-inch round and ease into a tart pan with removable bottom. Press the dough gently onto the sides of the pan; there should be a 2-inch overhang.

• Flatten and roll the marzipan to fit the bottom of the pan and place on the crust.

• Peel, halve, and core the apples. Slice the apple halves, leaving the slices in place and with a knife or offset spatula, transfer halves onto the marzipan, arranging to fit the pan. Dot with the shaved butter. Fold the crust overhang over the apples. Sprinkle all over with both sugars.

• Place the tart on a sheet pan and bake for 1 hour and 15 minutes or until crust is golden brown. Remove tart from sheet pan and transfer to a wire rack. Let cool for 30 minutes before removing the sides of the pan.

• For the caramel: In a small skillet, heat the sugar until melted and golden in color. Turn the heat off and stir in the almond extract. Immediately drizzle all over the apple tart.

If you have the patience to make it yourself, marzipan will cost just a fraction of the price of the ones from the store. You will need a food processor to make marzipan.

Marzipan
1 cup sugar
2 tablespoons light corn syrup
½ cup water
8 ounces blanched almonds
8 ounces icing sugar
1 tablespoon pure almond extract or rosewater
extra icing sugar

• In a small pan, heat the sugar, light corn syrup, and water until sugar has dissolved. Boil until candy thermometer registers 235°F. Let cool slightly then transfer into a measuring cup.
• Place the nuts and icing sugar into the bowl of a food processor and process until nuts are super fine. With the processor running, slowly add the syrup and almond extract until it gathers into a ball.
• Dust work surface with icing sugar. Transfer almond paste on the work surface and knead, adding more icing sugar as needed, until smooth and pliable. Wrap in plastic film and refrigerate until needed.

homemade marzipan

Panettone: BBAC #24

One word to describe Panettone, The Bread Baker's Apprentice Challenge #24 : meh. I didn't care much for this bread. I have never liked panettone (the store-bought variety); I find it dry and blah. I was hoping that homemade will be better but my taste buds can't be wrong, this panettone like the ones from the stores is dry as bone and not tasty at all. Good thing I only made half a recipe.

IMHO this bread recipe needs MORE sugar and eggs. I prefer fruity breads moist and sweet and rich. I didn't want to waste all the candied peels, citron, dried fruits, almonds, and liqueur so I made it into bread pudding with lots of sugar, milk, eggs, and melted butter.

Rating:
flavor 1
texture 1
visual appeal 3
ease of preparation 3

performance 4

worth 0
Total: 12
Average: 2

Strawberry Flan

Lasang Pinoy Sundays is a weekly gallery of food photography is hosted by SpiCes. The Iron Chef inspired theme for this week is Strawberries.

If you like flan and strawberries, here is an easy and delicious recipe.

Strawberry Flan
1 cup sugar for caramel
1 pint strawberries, hulled and washed
½ cup sugar, more or less to taste
6 eggs
1 can sweetened condensed milk
fanned strawberries for garnish, optional

• Caramelize the 1 cup sugar and pour into the bottom of molds or ramekins. Set aside.
• Preheat oven to 325°F.
• Place the strawberries, sugar, eggs, and condensed milk in a blender and blend until strawberries are minced and all ingredients are mixed thoroughly. Pour the strawberry mixture into the prepared ramekins. Cover each ramekin with aluminum foil. Bake in a bain marie for 1 hour. Refrigerate overnight before unmolding.
• Garnish flans with fanned whole strawberries if preferred.