Date: Sat, 21 Dec 2002 23:00:25 -0700 (MST) -------------- BEGIN bread-bakers.v102.n058 -------------- 001 - "nkk" - Jewish Corn Bread 002 - "gypsy" Subject: Jewish Corn Bread Date: Thu, 19 Dec 2002 17:11:47 -0500 My husband grew up in the Bronx in the 1950s. For years he has been telling me about a corn bread his father bought from one of the Jewish bakeries (probably Zaro's). It was not a cake-type cornbread leavened with baking powder, but a yeast bread made with rye flour. It was a round, hearth-type loaf, dense, moist and heavy with a chewy crust. It may not have contained any cornmeal at all. Could the name "corn bread" refer to something other than cornmeal? Anyway, does anyone know what he's talking about? If you do, can you give me more of an idea of what was in it? I'm the baker in the family. Better yet, does anyone have a recipe. Thanks so much and very happy holidays to all! Kathy --------------- MESSAGE bread-bakers.v102.n058.2 --------------- From: "gypsy" Subject: Re: question concerning pizza stone, baking stone and unglazed quarry Date: Mon, 16 Dec 2002 22:56:12 -0800 FWIW, when I bake bread in the oven (as opposed to going lazy and leaving it in the bread machine) I use my pizza stone. I used to have an unglazed quarry tile but it disappeared in a move some years back and I didn't bother replacing it once I realized how well my pizza stone worked. gypsy --------------- MESSAGE bread-bakers.v102.n058.3 --------------- From: Nifcon@aol.com Subject: Hina - bakestones Date: Tue, 17 Dec 2002 14:10:39 EST I've used 2 pizza stones for 2 years, non-stop, for baking bread with excellent results and the stones live in the oven permanently. If you've already got a stone use it - it will bake bread just fine. And it won't crack. John --------------- MESSAGE bread-bakers.v102.n058.4 --------------- From: "Mike Avery" Subject: Re: question concerning pizza stone, baking stone and unglazed quarry Date: Tue, 17 Dec 2002 13:24:04 -0700 On 13 Dec 2002 "Kishwar Shahab" wrote: > I am trying to kind differences between pizza stone, baking stone, and > unglazed quarry tiles. I am interested in baking some bread but not > sure whether to use pizza stone, baking stone, or unglazed quarry > tiles. Let me start by expressing a bias. I rarely bake one loaf of bread. I bake for my church's dinners, for friends, and to test variations in recipes. So, if something will be great in my oven, but only let's me bake one loaf, I'll keep looking for something else. All of these oven enhancers work on the principal of using their mass to hold heat and transfer it to food through conduction. Old ovens used to cook by radiation, convection, and conduction. New ovens don't have the mass of older ones, so they only cook by radiated heat and convection. (Yes, your regular oven does cook by convection. Heated air will move, and that's what convection is. A true convection oven will enhance this effect through the use of a fan.) There are at least four oven enhancers along these lines. One is the pizza stone. They tend to be large, fragile, and more expensive than I'd like. I've had them crack, and then I had to replace them, one way or another. Also, because of their size, it's hard to use them to cover most of an oven rack. The round ones are the worst. You can't put two on an oven rack. The rectangular ones I bought were about $18.00 each, so it cost me $36.00 to put one on each rack of my oven. I thought it was too much, though they did help my bread. The next option is a baking stone. These tend to be very heavy and thick pieces of concrete like material. Look for fibrament on the net. They are very expensive, but a friend who has one swears they are the best thing next to the commercial oven in his resturant's kitchen. They are around an inch thick. I haven't used one, much less one for each oven rack. The next option is the hearthkit, such as the one recently raffled off here. They look great, but, again, I haven't used one so I can't comment on them. Several people I know have tried them and rave about them. Very expensive, however. The cheapest way out is to use unglazed quarry tiles. Unglazed is the most important word here. Glaze may contain lead. Lead in your food and food handling implements can cause problems for you. No glaze = no lead = no lead problems. Quarry tiles are available in a variety of sizes. They are around 3/8" thick. Go to a flooring store and ask if they have any remnants. I bought a box of tiles for about $10.00 that let me tile both racks of my oven, both racks of a friends oven, and I have tiles left over. I just leave the tiles in my oven and give the oven extra time to warm up (which is required for all these oven enhancers). I've had no tiles break on me, but if they do, I can replace one of the 4 x 6" tiles very easily. If you need, or want, more thermal mass, you can double layer the tiles. Some people use marble or granite obtained from headstone carvers. A scrap piece can be very cheap - sometimes you can trade it for a few loaves of bread. Still, I would be worried about the thermal stability of these natural stones. Some people use fire bricks and are very happy with them. However, I think that might just be too much of a good thing. Hope this helps, Mike --------------- MESSAGE bread-bakers.v102.n058.5 --------------- From: "Mike Avery" Subject: Re: spelt bread Date: Tue, 17 Dec 2002 13:34:14 -0700 On 8 Dec 2002 "Kay Greene" wrote: > I am a bread baker with a problem! I make bread using Spelt flour. > Often, but not always, I have "caves" in the center of my loaves. I > cannot figure out the reason for these holes. Does anyone have any > ideas? I make all of our beread, and I'm getting tired of the > "hole-in-the-middle" syndrome! I played with spelt flour a while back, and never was convinced it was worth the extra money. It was nice enough, but not that nice. But... on to your problem. I'd guess the usual cause of large holes in the middle of a loaf would be either too dry a dough or a loaf forming technique which could be improved. I'd try making your dough a bit wetter. I can't comment on your loaf forming techniques since I don't know what type of loaf you are making (pan, freeform, banneton or brotformen shaped, or whatever), or what you are doing now. Still, I'd try to tighten up your loaves. If, on the other hand, the holes are just below the crust, that's another matter. Again, too dry a dough can contribute, as can poor loaf forming techniques. However, letting the top of the dough fry out too much can also be an issue - oiling or covering the loaf can prevent the drying, as can slashing the loaf as you slide it into the oven. Good luck, Mike --------------- MESSAGE bread-bakers.v102.n058.6 --------------- From: "linda grande" Subject: Crusty French Rolls Date: Tue, 17 Dec 2002 20:38:47 +0000 I ran across this recipe just before Thanksgiving and made them up for our holiday dinner. They were extraordinarily good and I've made them just about once a week since. Crusty Rolls NOTES: If making up to 1 day ahead, cool, wrap airtight, and store at room temperature. The crust softens as rolls stand; to recrisp, heat on a rack in a 400 F oven until crisp, about 5 minutes. (At mile-high altitude, shaped rolls rise in about 1/3 less time.) MAKES: 20 rolls 1 tablespoon sugar 1/2 Teaspoon salt 1 package active dry yeast 2 large egg whites About 3 1/2 cups all-purpose flour About 2 tablespoons olive or salad oil Cornmeal 1 large egg yolk 1. In a large bowl, combine 1 cup warm (about 110 F) water, sugar, salt, and yeast; let stand until yeast is soft, about 5 minutes. Stir in egg whites, 1 cup flour, and 2 tablespoons oil. 2. Add 2 1/2 more cups flour and stir until incorporated. Scrape dough (it is soft) onto a well-floured board and dust with more flour. Knead until smooth and elastic, about 10 minutes, adding flour as required to prevent sticking. 3. Place dough in an oiled bowl, and turn over to coat. Cover bowl with plastic wrap and let dough rise in a warm place until doubled, about 1 hour. Punch dough down, then knead briefly on a lightly floured board to expel air. 4. Divide dough into 20 equal pieces and shape each into a ball that is smooth on top. As you shape balls, dip bottoms in cornmeal. Set about 1 1/2 inches apart on an oiled 12- by 15-inch baking sheet. Rub tops lightly with oil, drape with plastic wrap, and let rise until puffy, about 30 minutes. 5. In a small bowl, beat egg yolk with 1 tablespoon water to blend. Brush rolls lightly with egg yolk mixture. 6. Put a 10- by 15-inch pan on lowest rack of a 400 F oven and pour in about 1/4 inch of boiling water. Put another oven rack just above bottom one. Bake rolls on this rack until richly browned, 25 to 30 minutes. Transfer rolls to a rack to cool. Serve warm or cool. --------------- MESSAGE bread-bakers.v102.n058.7 --------------- From: "Michael C. Zusman" Subject: Portland Bread Festival Date: Tue, 17 Dec 2002 08:44:46 -0800 The Portland Bread Festival lives on. Formally known as Summer Loaf, it continues as it has the last several years on the first Saturday in August. In 2003, that means the festival falls on August 2. Held in conjunction with the Portland Farmers Market (considered as a national model for farmers markets in its own right), Summer Loaf will feature many of the fine bakeries in the Portland area, bread demos in our very own wood-fired oven and, hold on to your hats, we are optimistic that we will be graced with a visit from my personal favorite bread baker and award winning author, Peter Reinhart. On a side note, if there is anyone on this "channel" with an in to potential Summer Loaf sponsors, we are looking to gain sponsorships so that the festival can continue to prosper and grow. Very truly yours, Michael C. Zusman --------------- MESSAGE bread-bakers.v102.n058.8 --------------- From: Haacknjack@aol.com Subject: Re: mailing bread Date: Sat, 21 Dec 2002 08:55:25 EST For: mkeillor@lms.ccps.ga.net I can tell you for sure that a very rich (egg, butter, whole milk) loaf will get through just fine. My sister and I send a couple dozen Stollens around the country and even to Europe (where my lurking friend will now be chuckling) ... and by all accounts they arrive highly edible. So a good Challah, or another recipie made with plenty of richness, stands a good chance. Wrap it in something REALLY airtight (zipper bag probably) and send it by the fastest available method. Of course, sweet quick breads are a dandy alternative as well -- banana, pumpkin, etc. And, though not a bread, most bar cookies ship very nicely too. enjoy! --------------- MESSAGE bread-bakers.v102.n058.9 --------------- From: Reggie Dwork Subject: La Beth's Vanilla Corn Bread Date: Sat, 21 Dec 2002 11:47:17 -0800 * Exported from MasterCook * La Beth's Vanilla Corn Bread Recipe By : Beth Henspringer Serving Size : 8 Preparation Time :0:00 Categories : Bread-Bakers Mailing List Breakfasts Eat-Lf Mailing List Grains Low Fat Side Dishes Amount Measure Ingredient -- Preparation Method -------- ------------ -------------------------------- 1 C Yellow Cornmeal Preferably Stone-Ground 1 C All-Purpose Flour -- Unbleached 3/4 C Powdered Sugar 1/2 Tsp Salt 1/2 Tsp Baking Powder 1/2 Tsp Baking Soda 2 Lg Eggs 1 1/4 C Buttermilk 1 Tbsp Pure Vanilla Extract This sweet, moist corn bread has a delicate aroma paired with the grainy texture of the cornmeal. Utterly divine served piping hot with sliced fresh papaya for an unusual breakfast. Or you can use a slice of the corn bread as a bed for poached eggs. Preheat the oven to 350F. Combine the cornmeal, flour, sugar, salt, baking powder and baking soda in a large bowl. In a small bowl, mix the eggs, buttermilk, and vanilla with a wooden spoon or dough whish. Add to the dry ingredients and pour the melted butter over the top of the batter. Stir just until all ingredients are moistened yet thoroughly blended; take care not to over mix. Pour the batter into greased 8" round springform pan or square Pyrex pan. Bake in a preheated over 40 - 45 min, until golden around the edges and a cake tester inserted into the center comes out clean. Let stand 15 min before cutting to serve. Makes one 8" bread. This will surprise your guests or whom ever you are serving this to with the hint of vanilla flavoring. We thought this was an excellent cornbread!! - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - NOTES : Cal 197 Total Fat 1.8g Sat Fat 0.6g Carb 38.7g Fiber 1.3g Pro 5.7g Sod 289mg CFF 8.5% --------------- MESSAGE bread-bakers.v102.n058.10 --------------- From: Reggie Dwork Subject: New bread book and request Date: Sat, 21 Dec 2002 12:22:43 -0800 I just bought a large new bread cookbook. It is _The Complete Book of Bread & Bread Machines_ by Christine Ingram and Jennie Shapter. It is a compilation of two books and it is absolutely wonderful. There are over 250 recipes for breads made both by hand and in a bread machine. It also has a comprehensive reference section that features traditional breads from all around the world. The book contains five parts: Part One: Breads of the World, Part Two: Traditional Bread making, Part Three: Bread Recipes of the World, Part Four: Using a Bread Machine, Part Five: Recipes Using a Bread Machine. There are incredibly delicious looking pictures and illustrations throughout the book with step-by-step techniques. There were a few descriptions of breads that had no recipe that I could locate. I am going to put a few into this note in hopes of some of you having recipes for the breads. I would love to make some of these. Dutch Bread Frisian Sugar Loaf - unusual sweet bread made using whole sugar lumps that melt as the bread is baked to give delicious pockets of sweetness, which contrast with the cinnamon in the soft white crumb. I think this would be a special holiday gift bread. Caribbean & Mexican Breads Bulla Buns - spicy, round discs that resemble muffins in appearance but are dense, dark and spicy. Flavored with allspice and rich with raisins and molasses. Imagine some of these for breakfast on a lazy, laid back morning. Australian Breads Il Gianfornaio - a colorful and unusual vegetable bread. It is brightly colored - a mosaic of red, green, yellow and orange doughs. Each is flavored with a different colored vegetable and shaped into a large spiral. This would be a different way to get vegetables into your children or yourself (eating on the run many days doesn't allow for getting all your veggies for the day). Or it would be a fantastic bread to serve to guests. Watch the surprise on their faces when this is presented with the meal. Chinese Bread Spring Onion Bread (Chung Yan Beng) - from Hong Kong, an extraordinary pan-fried bread, made uniquely using hot roux (a cooked flour and butter paste) worked into a similar dough made with cold water. A complicated process involving spreading each piece of dough with a hot oil and flour roux and then finally rolling it up with spring onions (scallions). These ring-shaped breads are fried in oil and have a delicious crisp outside while inside you bite into the layers of soft dough around the spring onions. Not like anything I have ever encountered in any Chinese restaurant. Scandinavian Bread Scandinavian Star Bread - an unusual and pretty bread uses a blend of white and whole wheat flour but the excellent flavor mainly is due to the sponge method of making the dough. It allows the flavors to develop in the longer-than-usual rising. Sunflower seeds and linseeds are added for flavor and the bread is liberally sprinkled with sesame seeds. It is stamped into a star shape for pulling apart for easy eating. Has a good crisp crust, and the crumb is soft with a rich nutty flavor. This sounds like it would have such an unusual texture and flavor that I would love to make it. German Bread Landbrot - a traditional country bread made using a large proportion of wheat flour but with enough rye to give a pale, beige-colored crumb. Excellent sweet/sour flavor. Uses buttermilk instead of milk or water. Inside it is open textured and slightly chewy. Would be good with soups and stews. This would be fantastic on a cold rainy winter evening. Very comforting. Portuguese Bread Papo Secos - small white rolls popular breakfast bread in Portugal. Soft white crumb and delicious crust that is crisp without being hard. Baked with lots of steam that accounts for a good crust yet ensures the crumb is light and airy. Again, I would love to make these. A soft crumb without a hard crust but still a crisp crust is a great combination I think. Any help with any/ all of these recipes is greatly appreciated. They all sound incredibly appetizing to both Jeff and myself. Reggie --------------- MESSAGE bread-bakers.v102.n058.11 --------------- From: Reggie Dwork Subject: interesting website Date: Sat, 21 Dec 2002 15:25:36 -0800 I have been checking out an interesting website. Maybe some of you have been there already but it is new to me. http://www.exploratorium.edu/cooking has a very good bread section ... check it out. Reggie --------------- END bread-bakers.v102.n058 --------------- Copyright (c) 1996-2002 Regina Dwork and Jeffrey Dwork All Rights Reserved