Website: very good bread info

http://www.thefreshloaf.com/lessons/tentips_8_autolyse

Pullman Bread (for Leslie)

(recipe from "bread" by hamelman"...half recipe)




Ingredients: (450 g bread flour)

• 60% water - 270 grams
• 5% butter - 23 g
• 5% milk powder - 23 g
• 100% bread flour - 450 g
• 2.5% sugar - 12 g
• 2.5 % yeast - 12 g
• 1.8% kosher salt - 8g

Steps:

1. mix for 5 minutes in machine on "sweet", then leave overnight in fridge
2. take out 4 hours before remix with bread machine
3. mix fully on "sweet"
4. roll out into 2 big balls
5. put into pan and proof covered with another pan
   
6. when proofed til near top of bottom pan, tie up the pans and preheat oven 400 degrees
7. bake 40 minutes
8. done!

Grade: B-

- has a slight yeast flavor
- not much flavor
- gluten better so better texture but still not enough
- still slightly dry if not eaten asap
- looks better than it tasted
- covered was great idea...held its shape...perfect size
- crisp edges...very tasty when hot...

next time:
- better to let the bread fully rise once before put into fridge...(because no real rise in refrigerator, gluten not allowed to mature...similar to just fresh mix and baked bread)
- autolypse can be better idea so that we don't get yeasty taste and smell
- add more sugar and salt to the recipe

http://www.ehow.com/how-does_5471387_eggs-do-yeast-bread.html

What Eggs Do in Yeast Bread

Contributor

By Athena Hessong, eHow Contributing Writer

Article Rating: (2 Ratings)

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I want to do this! What's This?

What Eggs Do in Yeast Bread

Klaus Höpfner/wikicommons.org, Paul Goyette/wikicommons.org, public domain/wikicommons.org, Athena Hessong

Egg Yolks

1. 
   Egg yolks act as emulsifiers
   Egg yolks are the fat in the egg and act as a bridge between other ingredients in bread, allowing other fats to combine with moisture. Fats can be natural fat in the flour or added in the form of oil, shortening or butter. Without this emulsifying action, the yeast breads dry out very quickly because the moisture in them has not been linked to the fats baked in the bread.
   
   Egg yolks combined with fat in a yeast bread tenderize the protein present in wheat flour. This protein forms gluten during kneading, which makes the bread chewy. Reducing the amount of gluten formed creates a softer, more tender bread. When the yolks bind to the protein in the flour, they prevent water from combining with it to form gluten. The result, less gluten, and a more tender loaf of bread. Many yeast breads with egg yolks added also have sugar to further soften the texture, producing a cake-like concoction. Examples of egg breads include brioche and challah.

Egg Whites

2. 
   Egg whites help the bread to rise, dry and stay together
   Egg whites do not have the emulsifying power of yolks. Instead, egg whites dry bread out to create a crisper texture. This occurs when the proteins in the egg whites cook as the bread bakes. Each protein, when raw, resembles a single spring. Mixing the bread dough unravels these springs, but when the bread bakes in the oven, the springs become entangled with each other. Between these entangled proteins, water hides, but as the bread keeps baking, the proteins tangle even tighter, and the water is pushed out and into the oven as steam. This loss of moisture dries out the bread.
   
   Egg whites also act to help leaven the bread, especially if they have air whipped into them before adding them to the bread dough. The protein structure of egg whites traps air bubbles in it, and when they are mixed into the bread dough, those bubbles incorporate into the bread's structure. By helping the dough hold in more air, egg whites help the bread to rise.

Whole Eggs

3. 
   Whole eggs contribute to the texture of yeast breads
   With eggs, the whole is greater than the sum of its parts. Whole eggs, like whites, help to bind ingredients and assist in rising and drying, but they also add strength to the bread. Breads made with whole eggs perform best in recipes that require soaking the bread, such as stuffing, French toast and bread pudding. Without whole eggs, the bread would melt in the soaking liquid. Adding several whole eggs to a yeast bread opens the structure of the bread so that there are larger holes in the structure. These holes contain air, which helps to lift the bread.

Read more: What Eggs Do in Yeast Bread | eHow.com http://www.ehow.com/how-does_5471387_eggs-do-yeast-bread.html#ixzz0slsEEvDs

6/10 - The Best Dinner Rolls!

Brushed with Butter + Honey mixture after proofed...minutes before popping into the oven



Fresh out of the oven



Sweet caramelized tops


insides nice and moist and airy...outside gives a nice bite




Ingredients:

• warm water - 278 g (64%)
  
• butter - 22 g (5%)
  
• ap flour (sifted)* - 434 g (100%)
• milk powder - 22 g (5%)
• sugar - 35 g (8%)
• salt - 8 g - 1.8%
• yeast - 9 g (2%)

for butter honey (optional)

• melted butter - 2 tbsp
• honey - 1.5 tbsp

Steps:

1. pop butter into mixing bowl
2. pour hot / warm water on the butter and allow it to soften
3. sift flour + mix all other dry ingredients in order into the mixer
4. set bread machine to "sweet" bread dough...
5. walk away for 1 hr 35 min
6. take out dough from machine onto tabletop
7. cut dough into 16 equal pieces
   
8. roll into balls and place in a 4x4 shape in a stainless steel baking pan
9. proof for 45 minutes
10. preheat oven 375 degrees
11. melt butter and stir with honey in a small bowl
12. use a brush and liberally brush entire tops of the bread incuding the intersections between doughballs (this allows for entire top to brown when it expands in the oven)
13. place into the middle of the oven and set timer to 20 minutes
14. after 10 minutes, rotate tray 180 degrees
15. when timer goes off, turn down oven to 340 degrees (tops of bread should be golden brown now but edges still light
16. microwave honey butter mixture for 20 sec and brush entire bread tops again
17. place into oven and set timer for 10 minutes
18. take out of the oven and remove immediately from pan onto a wire rack to cool completely...
19. allow 30minute to cool, then dig in
    

* sifting flour allows for lighter bread...tried it before without sifting and much denser...i didn't beleive it myself
** used double fiber Eagle Mills All Natural All Purpose Unbleached Flour from costco

Result:

• The best damn dinner rolls in the world!
  
• love the texture...very similar to pain de mie texture which has more of a bite than boring old store bought dinner rolls...
• the honey tops are very nice and just to the point of caramelisation but not burnt and bitter...
• ate one after it was cooled and it was slightly dry...so maybe increase moisture next time
• love the color and shine of the rolls
  

mistake: i did not cool it on a rack but instead left it in the baking pan and bottom got lil soggy because of the honey mixture

Next time: try to bake at 350 degree oven for 30 minutes therefore don't need to turn down oven midway...maybe the tops won't be as browned though...slightly dry if i had to be superpicky, therefore try adding slightly more water to the mix

5/28 - Home Grilled BBQ NY Steaks

Bone-in New York Steak from Safeway (about 1 inch thick)...on sale!!


salted + seasoned steak...left out about 1 hr on table


sear the fatty edges, then the bone first


get a good sear on one side, and flip


after a few more flips, we are done!



Steps:

1. take steak out of refrigerator about 1 hr prior to cooking
2. season with about 1tsp salt
3. season with all over liberally with 1-2 tbsp of bbq spice mixture (homeblend of paprika, brown sugar, chili powder, garlic powder, black pepper, salt, cumin, and onion powder...about equal parts each)
4. when 1 hour is up and steak no longer super cold, pat down steaks to remove moisture on meat
5. heat up cast iron grill pan...leave on medium high heat
   
6. sear fatty edge for 1 minute, then sear other fatty side 1 minute...run the sides all along the pan to grease it up
   
7. Sear bone side for 1 minute
8. Sear presentation side of steak for 2 minutes
9. flip and sear other side for 2 minutes
10. sear bone side again for 1 minute
    
11. flip and rotate to give presentation side the criss cross marks and cover with a pan (turn down heat to medium if needed)...cook leave for 2 minutes
    
12. flip and rotate again and cover for 2 more minutes
13. check temp...should be about 125-130 at about this point
14. rest 5 minutes on a heated place and loosely cover with foil

Result:

• super tender all around (meat was only select grade at best...no marbling at all...)
  
• all around medium rare even near the bone
• crisp thick crust...nice and caramelized because of sugar
• when cutting, not much juice or blood came out...resting really helped
• beautiful color
  

5/17 - Sambal Inspired Roasted Flounder

"sambal" ingredients:

• fish paste - 2 slices of 1x1x1/4 or about 1.5 tbsp
• garlic - 4 cloves minced
• onion - 1/2 minced
• ginger - 1 inch knob minced
• dried chili pepper - 1 ea (seeded)
• ketchup - 3 tbsp

fish - 2 flounders with head cut and gutted

Steps:

1. bash up garlic, onion, ginger, and chili pepper in a mortar and pestle
   
2. saute fish paste with 2 tbsp oil in medium heat pan
3. add garlic, onion, ginger, and chili pepper mixture
   
4. add ketchup and mix, then turn off heat...total time is about 4-5 minutes
5. let mixture cool
6. preheat oven to 425
   
7. salt fish lightly
   
8. slather on top of flounders and cut slits in fish to allow more absorption of flavor
9. place fish into oven and set timer for 20min
10. check doneness of fish and take out...should bea bout 20min and "sambal" should be darkened...(if too dark, turn down to 400)
11. serve asap!

** didn't write down recipe immediately so might have forgot a few ingredients (celery, sugar, and / or fish sauce might have been used)

Result:

• wow...the flavor is just amazing...spicy, sweet, and super complex
• crispy sambal but fish not crispy enough...
• very moist fish and salty enough
• sauteing fish paste and adding ketchup to it was amazing! never tried it before
  

Next Time:

• bake fish at 450 degrees 5 minutes, then place sambal on and roast at 400 til done...about 20 minutes total (to allow fish to get crisper and dryer)

4/4 - 2 medium pizzas

ingredients:

dough

• 300 g - bread flour
• 192 g - water
• 6 g - salt
• 4.5 g - yeast
• 25 ea - black peppercorns
• optional (15g EVOO)

pizza sauce

• 1 can chopped tomato

pizza toppings

• olive oil
• 4 handfuls of cheese (mexican blend this time because no mozzarella at home)
• precooked chicken (pan seared) - 1 pc cut into medium dice

make pizza sauce:

1. strain tomatoes, save liquid
2. reduce liquid til syrupy (10 min)
3. pour tomato back into cooled tomato juice (liquid)
4. blend til smooth
5. add pinch of salt and pepper

make pizza:

1. knead with bread machine at dough setting for sweet breads (1:30)
2. cut dough into 2 pieces + round it out...wait 10-15 to rest dough
3. shape dough into pizza
4. top with tomato sauce, then cheese, then chicken breast
5. optional: brush olive oil on the edges of crust for better color
6. bake at 500 degree oven on pizza stone at floor of oven...8-10 minutes

A+...proportions for pizza dough is great...very crusty...would be better with the optional oil but not necessary...chicken breast was great...only thing was that cheese not stringy like mozzarella...but any cheese is tasty