cheeseboat

Praise the dough hook attachment!

by suki on 2011/01/14 · 16 comments

in Cooking

Through Rachel of Balance and Blueberries, I found Emily’s mother’s French bread recipe!

As usual, I’m not one for following directions to the tee, so I made my own adjustments with the ingredients that I had on hand. It was my first time using active yeast! I ran low on the white flour, so I substituted with wheat. Instead of all 7.5 cups, I used about six because of the substitution. I threw all the ingredients together into the mixer and let the dough hook do its work. After the dough appeared mixed, I took the kneading to the granite countertop!

I made two loaves, but I wasn’t very consistent on the shape and size.

Once cooled, we dug in.

RV who loves bread more than I do approved, and gave me the okay for baking bread more often! I grew up eating rice all the time, so he’ll be the one eating most of it.

And now for some catch-up on eating in:

Eat in Month 2010 – 01.12.11

Breakfast:
blueberry muffin
Chobani Greek yogurt
fruit leather

Lunch hosted by company:
Conchiglie al Pollo from Il Fornaio – shell pasta, chicken breast, broccoli, sun-dried tomatoes, pecorino cheese, roasted garlic and trebbiano wine

Dinner:
“kitchen sink” stir fry udon

Snacks at the party:
tea-infused chocolates = YUM!!!

Eat in Month 2010 – 01.13.11

Breakfast:
fruit leather

Lunch:
“kitchen sink” stir fry udon

Snack:
fruit leather

Dinner:
misoyaki black cod [freshly caught!] + broccoli

Snack:
French bread!

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[16 comments]

  • http://frolicndetour.wordpress.com/ Jennie

    Those look BEAUTIFUL! Yum. :D

  • http://www.thrive-style.com Lisakthrives

    That bread looks awesome. I’ve never used my dough hook!

  • http://yamatologic.com Jesse

    Dough hook is great for pizza dough too! 1 beer, 1 tbsp of yeast sprinkled on top. Wait for 10 minutes. Then add 1tbsp of olive oil, as much salt as you are comfortable with (I do 1tbsp, but Yayoi always goes less), and 3-5 cups of bread flour (I like it dry, but I’ve been yelled at for putting in too much). Let it hook for as long as you can stand. Let it rise for a few hours in a warm place in a oiled bowl. Then punch down and put in an oiled ziplock and keep it in the fridge for up to 2 weeks. Grab a handfull when ready, roll out, and add toppings. Bake for 10 mins directly on top of tiles at 450 deg F.

    Delicious!

    • http://superduperfantastic.com/ suki

      Bread flour is different from all-purpose flour, right? :) This sounds amazing and easy. Any specific beer? How much of it can you taste in the dough? I guess what I’m asking is whether or not the hoppiness or flavor of the beer will make a difference. I’m assuming 1 beer = 1 bottle. ;)

      This is so awesome, Jesse. Thanks!

      • http://yamatologic.com Jesse

        Bread flour is kinda heartier than all-purpose. You can get it super-cheap at places like Smart and Final.

        As for the type of beer, I prefer either a cheap lager (I often use Simple Times from Trader Joe’s) or a nice robust stout. Best batch I ever made was with this awful spice beer. Couldn’t stand to drink it, but it made fantastic dough. Definitely worth trying a few kinds of beer. Never had a beer impart too much hoppiness, but I’ve never made it with an IPA.

        Oh yeah, make sure the beer is room temp! 12 oz. of beer (1 can/1 bottle). The recipe make about 4 medium pizzas. It’s also a good idea to get a pizza peel (http://www.google.com/images?q=pizza+peel) and some semolina flour. The semolina acts as ball bearings between the peel and the dough so you can easily slide it into the oven. Also, roll out on a floured surface, then put on the peel, THEN put on the sauce/toppings. Otherwise it is a mess and a pain to move around.

        No problem. This is my favorite food and so much cheaper (and more fun!) than ordering out.

        • http://superduperfantastic.com/ suki

          After making pizzas on Boboli shells, I really wanted to try making my own. :D This is PERFECT. I’ll have Ryan look into the type of tiles to get for the oven. I remember having entire Twitter discussions about what can be used! :)

  • http://fitnfreshblog.com Alycia [Fit n Fresh]

    I’ve always wanted to try making bread, but using yeast scares me away!! I really do need to give it a shot though, yours turned out beautifully :)

    • http://superduperfantastic.com/ suki

      What’s scary about yeast? :P I just bought a ridiculous amount from Costco that I have to now find jars for.

  • http://twitter.com/quaypocooks Krystle

    Your bread looks delicious. Can’t make bread without a dough hook for me.

    • http://superduperfantastic.com/ suki

      When I first learned to make bread, all the kneading was done by hand! But wow, that dough hook makes it so much easier. I won’t develop carpal tunnel during my non-working hours! :p Thanks for the compliment on my bread. Its self esteem has been boosted.

  • http://emilyslastword.blogspot.com/ Emily

    I don’t even have a real mixer, let alone a dough hook! Just have one of those cheapo hand mixers because I use it so rarely. Which is why i waste soo much money eating out. Looks delish!

  • Kconeil

    Those look pretty typical of hand-made loaves to me, and as long as they taste ok, and don’t have the consistency of the “scone of stone” (web-search that term with quotes + “Terry Pratchett” if you need the joke explaining) then you’re doing it right.

    That said, baking doesn’t usually respond that well to people getting improvisational; my Mum was given a breadmaker that had been used once by someone who gets improv, and doscovered that you have to weigh things for bread!!

    As for bread flour, it contains more gluten than regular “cake flour”, so that it supports the rise of the bread better.

  • http://keaneiscool.com keane

    I can eat a whole loaf of bread in a day… half a day :/

    • http://superduperfantastic.com/ suki

      Ok, when I make too much, I’ll send some your way! :)

  • http://keaneiscool.com keane

    You taught me a new Italian word also: Conchiglie…. conchiglie… I hope it’s as fun to eat as it is to say!

    • http://superduperfantastic.com/ suki

      Conchiglia is “seashell” :) They make it with garlic, sun-dried tomatoes and wine. DELICIOUS!

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