Whole Wheat Baguette with Wheat Germs

Sometimes you really feel lucky when the bread turns out great. After a long hours of patience, including some sleepless weekend hours, awaiting it's rise and yawn, and changing of its cloth and another tucking into snugly cloth trying to keep it warm through the stormy night we were having -- when it is baked, the final tale is told of how it appreciated my pampering. . . . sounds dramatic, but naaaa.... if the bread formula is bad, irregardless of how many hours I spent waiting its rise, baby patting and powdering its rounds, then, gently covering it with nice powdered cloth to keep it warm seems like a nightmare.
Trying to be pro-health conscious this year, I made this baguette with whole 1-1/2 C wheat flour, 1 C flour, 1/4 C wheat germs. The usual home steam injection method of steam pan and mist spraying gave it the crispy crust. The crumb is chewy and quite satisfying with a warm bowl of Leek Potato Soup.

Hamburgers on Homebaked Buns

I am so happy with the result of this hamburger and hotdog buns. I think it was from one of the dear blogger -- gracekitchencorner.blogspot.com. I have been wanting to make my own hamburger or hotdog buns to find out how good it really suppose to taste. The storebought hamburger and hotdog buns are handy, but they always have this 'after taste' that I could not exactly put my fingers on. I just tolerated it all these years. This is a keeper recipe in my kitchen.

Homebaked CIABATTA

Loved how this ciabatta turned out. Just like 1 Cup Baguette, I would like to bake just that amount that I need for the meal.

Challah Loaf

I just love this Challah bread recipe I learned during the 2010 holidays. The dough is so soft and tasty, I can use it as a base for many other types of bread. Since I don't have a 'pullman' loaf pan that I really would like my bread loaf to turned it into sandwich style, I improvised two 8x8 brownie pan. I let the dough rise eclosed in 8x8 non-stick teflon coated brownie pan and baked it. It worked out perfectly as 'pullman' pan idea.   The formula for the bread is found here:
https://rockdavinci.blogspot.com/search?q=challah+bread
And here is copy of what I wrote there:
My Challah has some modification to the recipe I got from the Baking Bites' site. I added Tangzong - Flour ROUX to give extended moisture and softness as a test.
Tangzong - Flour ROUX is not my recipe either. I learned it from some of the Malaysian and Singaporean food bloggers. They reference Yvonne Chen, the bread doctor. For example, you can visit Pei-Lin's blog site. http://dodol-mochi.blogspot.com/2009/10/tangzhong-or-water-roux-method.html.
For Tangzong:  Mix 25 g of flour with 125 ml of water in a saucepan.  Have a thermometer ready.  Mix well and cook over medium heat.  While stirring continuously , measure the temperature often to make sure that it does not exceed 65'C (centigrade).  Remove from heat to cool before use.
Since my kitchen is either too hot in the summer or too cold in the winter, to make sure all my mixtures for the dough is at desirable proofing temp, I added my Tanzong roux while at 90'F (Farenheit) into the flour mixture.

Bread dough Ingredients:
Dissolve 1 tsp sugar + 1/2 C warm 110'F water + 1 Tbsp active dry yeast for 10 min. until bubbles form on top.
Manual Mixing (since I kind of gave up using my Kitchen Aid dough mixing function):
Total of flour used in my variation:  'approx.' 3-3/4 C + roughly 1/2 C for kneading
When it's about 8 minutes into the yeast fermentation, start adding 1/2 C oil, 1 Tbsp honey, 1/4 C sugar and 2 C flour and 1/2 C warm 110'F water in a large mixing bowl.
Mix all well together, and add yeast mixture.  Add Tangzong.  And mix all well together.
In the beginning, I was using a spoon to incorporate everything.  You can use spatula or hand, but I know the mixture is very wet, and I was not yet ready to get my hands all occupied, so, you will see the spoon in the photo.  Once the dough mixture is well mixed.  I let it set for 5 minutes.
Bring two eggs to room temperature under warm water and chop 2/3 C of raisins and cranberries in the mean time.
Add 1 C flour, raisins and cranberries in.  Pass two eggs through the mini-strainer to separate Albumen, chalazae, etc. and it's mashed evenly when done in the bowl.
Mix all well again with the spoon or with your hand.
The mixture is really wet.  Transfer the mixture out to floured work surface.
Start pulling and pushing down the mixture.  Adding handful more of flour up to 1 more Cup.
Repeat pulling and pushing down the mixture, scraping and rolling until the gluten is formed.
After an hour of manually 'kneading' the dough this way, the dough's gluten is well developed for me to round it to form a ball.  Ready for the proofing.
Cover with plastic and a cover and place in a warm place to proof until double in size.
*I heated the oven to 350'F and turned it off.  Waited 15 min and measured the interior temp.  85--87'F.  I placed the bowl inside with lamp on.  It took three hours for the dough to rise.
As I removed the plastic cover, the dough deflated on its own.   I did not pound down any further because I want to keep as much air bubble as possible.
Transfer the dough to lightly floured work surface.  Divided it into three equal parts.
Prepare a baking sheet covered with parchment paper.  Set aside.
The dough is soft and pliable.  Gently pull and elongate the dough.  I rolled the dough into a log shape, then, rolled on the surface gently to form into a long rope.  Repeat with the other two.
Braid the ropes and tuck the ends under.
Transfer to the baking sheet pan line with parchment paper.
Beat 1 egg whites with 1 tsp water - egg wash the formed dough.
Spray the plastic wrap with vegalene and lightly cover the dough for the 2nd rise.
I covered my dough with the inverted rectangular plastic container.  Then, placed the sheet pan
back in the oven with light turned on.  Proof until double in size.
Remove from the oven.  Preheat the oven to 375'F.
I  egg washed it again.  Bake until deep golden brown.  Interior temperature read 200'F.
Cool completely.  **The crust of the bread will become tender as it cools.
You can view video of how I managed to knead the wet dough by visiting YouTube - How to Knead Wet Challah Dough - Step 1 of 4

1 Cup Baguette

Sometimes, all you need is just one baguette to go with your Onion Soup or what not. So, here it is, a baguette made from just 1 Cup of flour. Just perfect.

Challah with Raisins

This is the follow up of the Challah with Raisins.
The Challah turned out as flavorful as the first Challah with Cranberries and Raisins.  The dough developed very well, and it is very tasty.  This is definitely a winning formula.
The original recipe is from:
http://bakingbites.com/2010/09/challah-with-raisins
Qty - 2 Medium size
Or Qty - 1 Large
Instead of making on large Challah, I divided the dough into two.  One for my sister and one for me.

My Ingredients:
1 tsp sugar
1 cup warm (110F) water
1 tbsp active dry yeast
1/2 cup Avocado oil
1 tbsp honey
 3 large eggs
1/4 cup sugar
2 tsp salt
3 3/4 cups all purpose flour (and up to 1/4 cup extra for kneading)
2/3 cup raisins
TangZong: 35 g Flour + 125 ml water.  Mix well and heat to 65'C.  Strain.
Eggwash:  1 egg yolk, beaten with 1 tsp water
Knead with Paddle first.  Then after adding all ingredients, change to dough hook to knead. The dough is quite wet the first 8 minutes.  Knead until the smooth dough forms.  Approx.   25 min. to 40 min. depending on your mixer power.

Brush dough with egg wash and Bake.

Challah with Raisins and Cranberries

When I visited Baking Bites' blog site, I noticed this beautiful picture of Challah with Raisins.  I love bread, and it seems to be calling me, so I went right to work.  For Challah with Raisins recipe that I made mine from, please visit http://bakingbites.com/2010/09/challah-with-raisins. Since, I did not know what Challah meant, I consulted the Internet and found it to be quite in time for this holiday season.  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Challah, and I am glad I made it.  My Challah is three rope braid.  And not knowing the tradition, I added chopped cranberries. It tastes very good with raisins. I would like to try making the sufganiyot, like PONCHIK, the next time.

My Challah has some modification to the recipe I got from the Baking Bites' site. I added Tangzong - Flour ROUX to give extended moisture and softness as a test.
Tangzong - Flour ROUX is not my recipe either. I learned it from some of the Malaysian and Singaporean food bloggers. They reference Yvonne Chen, the bread doctor. For example, you can visit Pei-Lin's blog site. http://dodol-mochi.blogspot.com/2009/10/tangzhong-or-water-roux-method.html.
For Tangzong:  Mix 25 g of flour with 125 ml of water in a saucepan.  Have a thermometer ready.  Mix well and cook over medium heat.  While stirring continuously , measure the temperature often to make sure that it does not exceed 65'C (centigrade).  Remove from heat to cool before use.
Since my kitchen is either too hot in the summer or too cold in the winter, to make sure all my mixtures for the dough is at desirable proofing temp, I added my Tanzong roux while at 90'F (Farenheit) into the flour mixture.

Bread dough Ingredients:
Dissolve 1 tsp sugar + 1/2 C warm 110'F water + 1 Tbsp active dry yeast for 10 min. until bubbles form on top.
Manual Mixing (since I kind of gave up using my Kitchen Aid dough mixing function):
Total of flour used in my variation:  'approx.' 3-3/4 C + roughly 1/2 C for kneading
When it's about 8 minutes into the yeast fermentation, start adding 1/2 C oil, 1 Tbsp honey, 1/4 C sugar and 2 C flour and 1/2 C warm 110'F water in a large mixing bowl.
Mix all well together, and add yeast mixture.  Add Tangzong.  And mix all well together.
In the beginning, I was using a spoon to incorporate everything.  You can use spatula or hand, but I know the mixture is very wet, and I was not yet ready to get my hands all occupied, so, you will see the spoon in the photo.  Once the dough mixture is well mixed.  I let it set for 5 minutes.
Bring two eggs to room temperature under warm water and chop 2/3 C of raisins and cranberries in the mean time.
Add 1 C flour, raisins and cranberries in.  Pass two eggs through the mini-strainer to separate Albumen, chalazae, etc. and it's mashed evenly when done in the bowl.
Mix all well again with the spoon or with your hand.
The mixture is really wet.  Transfer the mixture out to floured work surface.
Start pulling and pushing down the mixture.  Adding handful more of flour up to 1 more Cup.
Repeat pulling and pushing down the mixture, scraping and rolling until the gluten is formed.
After an hour of manually 'kneading' the dough this way, the dough's gluten is well developed for me to round it to form a ball.  Ready for the proofing.
Cover with plastic and a cover and place in a warm place to proof until double in size.
*I heated the oven to 350'F and turned it off.  Waited 15 min and measured the interior temp.  85--87'F.  I placed the bowl inside with lamp on.  It took three hours for the dough to rise.
As I removed the plastic cover, the dough deflated on its own.   I did not pound down any further because I want to keep as much air bubble as possible.
Transfer the dough to lightly floured work surface.  Divided it into three equal parts.
Prepare a baking sheet covered with parchment paper.  Set aside.
The dough is soft and pliable.  Gently pull and elongate the dough.  I rolled the dough into a log shape, then, rolled on the surface gently to form into a long rope.  Repeat with the other two.
Braid the ropes and tuck the ends under.
Transfer to the baking sheet pan line with parchment paper.
Beat 1 egg whites with 1 tsp water - egg wash the formed dough.
Spray the plastic wrap with vegalene and lightly cover the dough for the 2nd rise.
I covered my dough with the inverted rectangular plastic container.  Then, placed the sheet pan
back in the oven with light turned on.  Proof until double in size.
Remove from the oven.  Preheat the oven to 375'F.
I  egg washed it again.  Bake until deep golden brown.  Interior temperature read 200'F.
Cool completely.  **The crust of the bread will become tender as it cools.
You can view video of how I managed to knead the wet dough by visiting YouTube - How to Knead Wet Challah Dough - Step 1 of 4
(click on the photo to view larger image and other details)

I can't wait to make some more this!
FYI - After 8 days, a slice of toasted Challah or microwaved for 5 sec or just as is still tastes very good. & as for the Challah with Raisin, it turned out fantastic.  

Croissants - from Baking with Julia

 Since it's my goal to try as many master chef's formula and practice on techniques, I chose to make Croissants from "Baking with Julia" cookbook.  I prepared the dough around 2 pm, and I just now finished baking them - 10:30 pm.  What interested me in her book's Croissant recipe is the dough process and 'forming' or the 'shaping' technique.  Once the dough is portioned, the triangular shaped dough is pulled and stretched twice its original size.  Then, right before it is rolled into horn shape, a scrap piece of dough shaped into football is placed in the center to help give the baked croissant the plump "belly" look.  While the instruction is very detailed, I missed the "moisten the hands with moist towel" part and pull and stretched the triangle shaped dough.  Although I had 24 chances to do it correctly, I did not find out until I was done.  However, while I was viewing the illustration images, I was wondering the whole time while I was doing mine why or how the chef managed to stretch it so nicely and smoothly without causing the tear.  I also didn't roll the scrap dough into football shape, but I just cut them into equal amount of croissant triangles ready for rolling; then, used it as is.  Luckily the croissant turned out wonderfully.
Today, my kitchen temp is around 67'F.  Rainy day.
Once the dough was ready for the butter block, I divided the dough into halves.
This will allow me to roll the dough within the available work surface' area.
The first group of croissants are baked at 350'F. The base of the triangle is 4-inch wide.  Yielded 14 croissants.  They have beautiful crust. It is crispy with distinct layers.  The croissants are light.  Butter did not leak out much at all.
The second group of croissants are filled with chopped cranberries and raisins.  The base of the triangle is sliced at 6-inch.  Yield: 10.  They were baked at 375'F.  They turned out beautifully as well.
I had a bit of doubt with my dough at the beginning. The recipe called for 1 Cup of Milk for 3-1/2 C of flour.  My dough really felt dry in my mixer.  I added approximately 1/2 C more liquid - just water.  But the dough really felt tough.  I decided to knead the dough regardless and also included pound or slam or slap method for 10 - 15 min.   All that time, I was thinking, may be I should have added the salt after allowing the flour to absorb the liquid first, then, added it.  But, that's not what the instruction says, so I just followed the instruction.  Mixed all ingredients together in the mixer.  But with everything, I need to know how to of recovering/rescue the ingredients when the unexpected sign(s) appears.  So, my manual kneading and slap down of the dough worked to my advantage that my mixer was not able to help with. 
So here it is:  (Click on the image to view other comments)