Chop Wood, Carry Water, Bake Bread

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Since my Kunming apartment has no built in oven, I concentrate on stove-top dishes, stir-fries and such. When back in the US I revel in using the oven. Fresh, home-made bread with a rich honest crumb and a slightly-chewy golden crust makes its way into my Kunming fever dreams on a long Yunnan night. Sometimes I not only see it, but I smell it as well.

 

Baked a lot of bread in the 1970’s and 80’s. Viewed it as “sanity therapy” during a crazy stretch of life starting-out in medical practice. Any time I baked some for myself and my wife I would always double the recipe and call someone from a short list of friends to come around and collect a “give-away” loaf still hot from the oven.

 

This recipe is one of my favorites. It’s from James Beard’s classic “Beard on Bread,” the hardback edition of which was left behind or misplaced during a poorly planned move that followed divorce. This paperback replacement has margin notes with several different pens throughout the 2000’s: Use a little less sugar or salt in this recipe, substitute another kind of flour in that one.  

 

     

 

 

I think of this as one of those “hobby loafs” that isn’t well suited to the fast pace of life. Just right, however, for a long stay-at-home weekend. Lots of the time required to make it isn’t actually hands-on. It is just the bread rising gently and steadily on its own while I do other things. Right now, those “other things” involve a resolute de-cluttering and room-by-room deep cleaning of the house.

 

Here’s a copy of the recipe: http://cooking-books.blogspot.com/2010/10/james-beards-white-free-form-loaf.html

Pretty sure Blogspot is blocked in China without a ViPeeeeENner. So, I’ll paste a copy into a “spoiler” box for the benefit of you China Hands who are over there weathering the storm and fighting the good fight. 

 

Spoiler

James Beard's White Free-Form Loaf
Adopted from Beard on Bread

Day 1: Make the Sponge

2 packages active dry yeast (it's more afraid of you than you are of it!)
1/2 cup warm water (just warm to the touch, not too hot, That's about 100-115F)
2 cups flour, King Arthur is good for bread, or get dedicated bread flour if you can find it
3/4 to 1 cup water, more or less

Put the warm water into a large mixing bowl and dissolve the yeast in it. Let the yeast proof, which means it should kind of bubble, for a few minutes. Next start adding the flour along with enough water so that it's quite a soft dough. Mix the sponge well so that everything is Incorporated, then cover it with cling-wrap and refrigerate it for one to two nights.

Day 2: Make the Bread

3 tablespoons olive oil
1/2 cup buttermilk
2 cups flour, plus 1/2 cup or more for kneading
1 tablespoon coarse salt (kosher, for example)
Cornmeal for spreading on the baking sheet

Remove the sponge from the refrigerator, punch it down (it will be sticky, don't worry about it) and place it back in its large mixing bowl. Combine the 2 cups of flour and the salt and set aside for a moment. Add the oil, and then gradually add the buttermilk and the flour mixture as you mix. You'll end up with a soft, sticky dough.

Flour a clean surface and turn the dough out onto it. This is where that extra 1/2 cup flour comes in. Knead the dough for about 1o minutes, adding more flour as you do so that it gets less sticky as you go. Do this until the dough is smooth, elastic and bounces back when pushed on.

Oil a large bowl and put the dough inside. Turn the dough around in the bowl so that it becomes coated with the oil. Let the dough rise until doubled, about 1.5-2 hours, maybe more. Put the dough back on a floured surface, and knead again for another 2-3 minutes, adding more flour if needed. Place it back in the bowl and allow to rise a second time, about 1 to 1 1/4 hours, until doubled again.

Punch the dough down one more time, and let it rest for 2-3 minutes while you get the baking sheet ready. Just spread some of the cornmeal on the ungreased baking sheet, actually. Shape the loaf into an oval and put it on the sheet. Let it rise in a warm place one more time for 1-2 hours. It might spread a little, but that's why we call it free-form.

When ready to bake, preheat the oven to 425F and get a pan of water boiling. Brush the loaf gently with cold water and make a few 1/2" deep slashed in the top without deflating it. Let it rest for one final 5 minute period. Place the boiling water on the bottom rack of the oven, and the bread on its baking sheet on the upper rack. Right away, lower the oven temperature to 375F and bake for 20 minutes. Brush the loaf again with cold water and continue baking for 40-50 more minutes. The bread should be browned and hollow sounding when tapped. Cool completely before slicing and serving.

 

The main thing I did different was to bake the bread on a baking stone with a hat or “cloche.” It captures the steam and allows the bread to bake in a moist environment instead of drying out. Keeps it tender. The one I used is by Sassafras. Here’s a look at it on the Amazon website and a look at the dome part in my kitchen. After first use this unglazed clay never looks pristine again. This dome fits over a circular disc with a raised lip. You can see the bottom part in one of the later photos below, one that shows the completed loaf. https://www.amazon.com/Superstone-Sassafras-Cloche-Bread-Specialty/dp/B0106TDDYY

 

Here’s more on using one of these: http://www.thefreshloaf.com/node/39030/using-cloche

 

     

 

 

My bread today was more or less round; it was a rustic free-form “boule” instead of a true loaf. A free-form round like this requires a stiffer batter.  A soft starter or "sponge" rose overnight in the fridge and had to be kneaded and rise three more times today. It took an hour in a 425 F oven to get done. (Turned the temperature down to 375 F after the first 40 minutes.) Finished with the top off. I buttered the crust five minutes before it was done. It has to sound deep and sonorous when you "thunk" it with a fingernail. 

 

     

     

The crust is golden but yields easily; does not require the jaws of a saber-tooth tiger.  The interior is tender and evenly baked; not mushy, no huge holes. The aroma when I took it out of the oven filled the whole house. In fact I briefly feared being overrun by marauding neighbors. The hardest part, and one which always requires my setting a timer, is to wait 30 minutes before slicing. Would prefer not to count the number of loaves I have mangled by premature knife attacks. I let it cool upside down, as shown above. 

 

     

 

 

Finally! One piece slathered with butter; the other is waiting for jam. It has a full, faintly “sourdough” flavor. Just what this hungry refugee was craving.

 

[ChTTay]

Looks delicious! Recommend buying an oven in China just to show your friends what real bread should be like. 

[Shelley]

Looks delicious. Might have to take up bread making again if I can't buy any in the week. That takes me back a few years.

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6 hours ago, Shelley said:

Looks delicious. Might have to take up bread making again if I can't buy any in the week. That takes me back a few years.

 

Many ways to make a delicious loaf that involve less overall time, less kneadings and risings. In a couple days, when this batch has been eaten, I will make one of those that I think is a winner. 

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Chop wood, carry water, bake bread, and drink tea!

 

Had an old ripe Pu'er 熟普洱 this morning with my toast! Rich, like a fine wine. It was from the '90's 九十年代。

 

     

 

 

Sure do miss Kunming。我好想昆明！ 

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Today was another red letter bread day, even though the weather is warm now and oven heat doesn't do the house any favors. Used the same basic recipe as above with an overnight starter or sponge. This gives the bread a little tang, almost like sourdough. One mixes yeast, sugar and two cups of flour with a half cup of liquid. I used half buttermilk and half potato water for the liquid. My flour was half bread flower and half whole wheat. (KIng Arthur brand.) Yeast was Red Star -- granules. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

This time I divided the dough into two loaf pans, baked them about 40 minutes in a 400 degree (F) oven. Finished them out of the pans right on the oven rack for the last 5 or 6 minutes. Buttered the tops when they came out. Will freeze one loaf and keep the other one out. (It will miraculously disappear in the next 2 or 3 days. I would like to blame that on a colony of mice, but wouldn't be fair, even during 鼠年。)

 

     

 

 

Tasted first rate! Nice crumb, decent crust. I took these photos partly to show you and partly to look at on some cold Kunming winter night when I feel nostalgic for Texas. Doesn't happen often, but sometimes after too many steamed buns 馒头 I get homesick for real bread. 

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Are there any other bread makers here? 

[li3wei1]

Long ago, I did a lot of baking by hand, and had a copy of Beard on Bread. Tried all kinds of stuff. I still do naans when we have curry, but otherwise it's all bread machine now. There are purists who say that hand-kneaded is the only way to go, but for the effort saved, and the energy, and the fact that it's ready first thing in the morning, it can't be beat. At the moment, flour is hard to get in the UK, so I'm experimenting with spelt and buckwheat flour.

When I was in Taiwan, I remember figuring out how to bake a loaf of bread in a toaster oven that wasn't much larger than the loaf itself. It involved aluminum foil.

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2 hours ago, li3wei1 said:

When I was in Taiwan, I remember figuring out how to bake a loaf of bread in a toaster oven that wasn't much larger than the loaf itself. It involved aluminum foil.

 

That would be a good trick! Here in Texas I have lined my oven with brick tiles to make the temperature more even. Seems to help the crust. And I often use a pan of boiling water on the bottom shelf. 

 

No denying that home made bread is a lot of work. I bought an all-in-one bread machine 10 or 12 years ago, but never had very good results. There are probably better ones available now. It's also possible I had just become spoiled. 

[大块头]

This January my wife decided that we were going to go vegan, and since she does most of the cooking I am along for the ride. After a experimenting with plant-based proteins I settled on homemade seitan, which is very inexpensive because gluten-rich foods aren't exactly in vogue. I was going to buy a 25 pound bag of wheat gluten flour online but ended up getting a 50 pound bag because it was the same price!

 

After being cooped up in the house for several weeks with my gigantic sack of gluten, I think I've perfected a breakfast bun that is roughly equivalent to a chicken breast in protein content.

 

"SEITANIC" SODA BREAD

 

 

nutrition:
* serving size = 1 bun (180 g)
* energy = 493 kcal
* protein = 48 g (for comparison, a chicken breast has 54 g)

 

ingredients:
* 360 g vital wheat gluten
* 120 g chickpea flour
* 100 g brown sugar
* 160 g raisins
* 2 tsp ground cinnamon
* 2 tsp salt
* 1 tsp baking soda
* 480 mL soymilk
* 2 tbsp lemon juice
* 1 tsp vanilla

 

directions:
* preheat oven to 375°F
* mix soymilk, vanilla, and lemon juice and allow to thicken for at least 1 minute
* mix all other ingredients in another bowl then add soymilk mixture
* stir until combined, then knead for no more than 2 minutes
* separate dough into six flattened discs and place on greased baking sheets
* bake for 35 minutes at 375°F

[大块头]

We got a breadmaker a couple years ago and I use it several times a week to make bread or knead seitan dough. It's been great because our kitchen is small and doesn't really have a lot of counter space I could use to knead bread.

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7 hours ago, 大块头 said:

"SEITANIC" SODA BREAD

 

That looks delicious! And a prodigious amount of nutrition in each bun. A 50-lb bag of wheat gluten flour will make a whole lot of bread! Could you mix it half and half with ordinary wheat flour to make a loaf with more rise?

[大块头]

When I'm making normal bread I usually add two tablespoons of gluten if I'm using bread flour and three tablespoons if I'm using all purpose flour. It definitely helps the loaf rise and stay that way.

 

I wouldn't add more than that though. The soda bread above definitely needs the juiciness of the raisins to break up the somewhat dry and chewy texture of the loaf. Some of my failed seitan attempts had a texture akin to furniture foam because I kneaded too much.

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2 hours ago, 大块头 said:

I wouldn't add more than that though.

 

Interesting! I've never worked with seitan. When you mention "normal bread" in the first paragraph above, am I correct in assuming you mean yeast-rising bread instead of bread that relies on baking soda? 

 

If I could buy a small bag of it (much smaller than yours) I would try adding some to "fortify" a normal loaf. However it sounds like it would be advisable proceed with caution, just add a little and not overdo it. 

 

If I'm not remembering it wrong, someone on the forum a couple years back talked about using seitan in making the meat-substitute dishes that Chinese vegetarian restaurants love to present, such as "mock chicken" and "mock fish" that are shaped and colored like a chicken or fish. They look a whole lot like the "real thing." I believe I've also seen sheets of seitan for sale in my Kunming neighborhood wet market. Never explored its uses. 

[大块头]

1 hour ago, abcdefg said:

I've never worked with seitan. When you mention "normal bread" in the first paragraph above, am I correct in assuming you mean yeast-rising bread instead of bread that relies on baking soda? 

 

Sorry, by normal bread I meant any sort of bread baked from flour. I've never made soda bread with flour.

 

1 hour ago, abcdefg said:

If I could buy a small bag of it (much smaller than yours) I would try adding some to "fortify" a normal loaf. However it sounds like it would be advisable proceed with caution, just add a little and not overdo it. 

 

My local supermarket usually has 20 oz bags sold by Bob's Red Mill, which is fine for fortifying bread dough. For seitan though I prefer De Tulpen because the Bob's Red Mill product kind of has a musty odor and aftertaste.

 

I'm actually kind of surprised that you've never heard of adding gluten to bread dough? I read about it in my bread machine cookbook by Beth Hensperger. Never thought I'd swagger into this thread and teach the baking whiz something! 

 

1 hour ago, abcdefg said:

If I'm not remembering it wrong, someone on the forum a couple years back talked about using seitan in making the meat-substitute dishes that Chinese vegetarian restaurants love to present, such as "mock chicken" and "mock fish" that are shaped and colored like a chicken or fish. They look a whole lot like the "real thing." I believe I've also seen sheets of seitan for sale in my Kunming neighborhood wet market. Never explored its uses. 

 

I think you mean this thread? In any case, I like to think of seitan as its own kind of protein, as opposed to something that aspires (but will always fail) to duplicate the flavor and texture of real meat. We cube it up for curries and stir-frys, or coat it in chickpea flour batter and fry it to make seitan tenders. It's not a complete protein unfortunately (lacks lysine), so you have to make sure your daily diet includes a few servings of beans, lentils, etc. 

[889]

Abc -- if I may call you that here among friends -- uses a cloche, which apparently keeps some steam around the bread during the baking process.

 

Real French bread comes from a special type of professional oven that actually injects steam into the chamber at intervals during the baking process. Somehow that creates the crisp crunchy crust you expect on your baguette.

 

I see there are several home ovens now available with a steam feature. Has anyone splurged on one of these? Do they really produce bread like you'd buy in Paris? I'm a bit doubtful, since these seem to be jack-of-all-trades ovens and not specifically for baking bread, unlike those in French bakeries.

 

http://www.amazon.com/s?k=steam+oven&s=review-rank&qid=1586628912&ref=sr_st_review-rank

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5 hours ago, 889 said:

Abc -- if I may call you that here among friends -- uses a cloche, which apparently keeps some steam around the bread during the baking process.

 

Haha/smile about the screen name! Only reason for not adopting that shorter version is that I did not want to misrepresent myself as being ABC (American Born Chinese.)

 

Absolutely right about the cloche! I soak the bowl-shaped lid portion in hot water before putting it on top of the loaf in the oven. That way it not only traps moisture released by the bread as it cooks, but emits some extra steam on its own. 

 

 

When I'm making baguettes, which I haven't done in a while, I set a pan of boiling water on a lower shelf. In addition to that, I mist the loaves a couple times towards the end of the cooking with a spray bottle. Really helps the crust! 

 

 

Quote

大块头 -- I'm actually kind of surprised that you've never heard of adding gluten to bread dough?

 

Oh, I've heard of that and may have even done it. Just wasn't familiar with the name "seitan." Most of my baking experience is from a long time ago. For most of the last 10 years I've been living in China without access to an oven. So I only bake when I'm back stateside. This time the stateside sojourn is looking like it will be of longer duration, so I am dusting off old skills and revisiting old pleasures. 

[大肚男]

I'm glad you started this thread.

 

I actually bake every weekend.

 

I started because I love the Chinese bun you get in china stuffed with custard or red bean paste, but they are not too easy to find here in Miami.

 

it took me a bunch of tries, with a bunch of different recipes, but I think I finally perfected the sweet bun recipe to be a perfect copy of what you get in a bakery.

 

I tried to get a sourdough starter going, but did not have much success, so now I just stick to commercial yeast.

 

Some examples of my handy work, but could not find a photo of the sweet buns 

 

 

 

 

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@大肚男 -- Those are magnificent! I am really impressed. Would you please tell a little about the ones you have show? I am especially intrigued by the first one which looks like a free-form loaf baked in a cast-iron skillet. (Maybe a "bowl loaf," just finished in the skillet.) How did you get the spiral pattern on top? Gives it lots of eye appeal. 

 

Tender looking dinner rolls! Love 'em!

[li3wei1]

another long-ago story: I was on Ko Lanta in Thailand, long before the tsunami, and I'd been there for quite a while, and got a hankering for bread. The only oven available was an outdoor brick oven that hadn't been used for a long time, wood fire in the bottom, shelf at the top. No thermostat, and I don't remember if I had a watch at that point. Just getting the ingredients was a struggle, because I had to explain them to the kitchen people, who would explain them to the boat people, who would explain them to the town people. I managed to produce an edible loaf, somehow.