Learning to make bread - month eight/GBBO Challenge Week 3: ciabatta

Before #bingate, Bake Off did bread; rather fortunate for me as August was running out and I needed to make some bread for my New Year's resolution challenge.  So this wasn't any bake - this was a two challenge bake!

As Paul Hollywood advised the Bake Off contestants, ciabatta is a bread which requires patience.  To patience add planning; Hollywood's recipe calls for half the dough, water and yeast to be left to ferment for at least six hours (I left mine overnight), which apparently adds to the flavour.

As with baguettes, the dough for ciabatta is very sticky - a bit like working with chewing gum - and I find my machine (a Magimix 3200 compact) can't cope with it, which means I had to roll my sleeves up and (quite literally) get stuck in. 

With the luxury of time (unlike in the Bake Off tent), making bread can be a relaxing process.  It was certainly worth the wait; these ciabatta went down very well with my friends.

Learning to make bread - month seven: teacakes

A good toasted teacake, with a cup of tea, is one of life's simple pleasures.  Like many good things in life though, making teacakes requires patience.

If, like me, you find it difficult to pause, always seem to be trying to do several things at once and are constantly thinking about what you should be doing, baking can be a break from this.  It's an opportunity to focus on one task, on what you are doing in that moment. 



Kneaded, risen and
ready to shape

One of the things I have enjoyed in my "learning to make bread" challenge is finding how relaxing the process of kneading dough can be.  It is one of those repetitive tasks that allows you to focus on the moment; kneading can't be rushed, it will take as long as it takes.  I can stop rushing about and just focus on the task in hand; the feel of the dough and how its texture changes in my hands as I work it.

An hour and a half for the dough to rise, another forty-five minutes for second proving; was it worth the wait?  For a homemade toasted teacake, absolutely.

I used a recipe from Linda Collister's Bread book, which I have mentioned before.  The finished teacakes were rather good (even if I do say so myself!).  Definitely one to make again. 

There's a wealth of information on the internet about mindfulness and the benefits that focusing on the present moment can bring for mental wellbeing.  This NHS guide is a good place to start. 



Shaped and left for second proving, now ready for the oven...

The finished teacakes

Toasted, with a side of blackberries from the garden.
Perfect tea-time treat.

Learning to make bread - month six: grissini

The humble bread stick.  My first effort at these probably wouldn't impress any serious baker, but for my first attempt I was rather pleased with them.

An ever-reliable party nibble, the bread stick originates from Turin, and (according to Wikipedia) was apparently first made as far back as the 14th century.



Kneaded and ready to rise...

The recipe I used came from Linda Collister's "The Bread Book" (a gem I found in a charity shop).  Linda Collister is responsible for many of the recipes that appear in the Great British Baking series.  However, I would suggest getting your hands on a copy of her bread book if you can; it's very comprehensive and very user-friendly, even for a bread-making novice like me.



An hour later...
Linda Collister recommends that a slightly under-sized
dough is preferable to an over-risen one for this recipe

I couldn't resist experimenting with flavour, and tried sea salt, rosemary and chilli, as well as some plain (and some inadvertent combinations of the three!).  I added the seasoning as I rolled the sticks into shape.  While this worked well with the sea salt and chilli, I think the rosemary bread sticks would have been more successful if I had added the rosemary at the kneading stage.  As it was, the salt bread sticks were definitely my favourite.
 

Rolling out ready for cutting

 

Shaped and ready for the oven

These bread sticks would not win a competition for uniformity, but I like that as the lack of uniformity reminds me that these are homemade and, I think, adds to their charm.  What I would do differently next time though is to make each stick a little thinner and to cook them for longer.  These sticks did not have the "snap" that one would expect; however, they were delicious, and a perfect accompaniment to a mezze lunch.

A word on the sponge method
Collister's basic technique for bread-making includes a stage where you leave the batter to "sponge".  With the grissini, this stage comes after you have added the salt and yeast (I used fast-action dried yeast) - always remembering to add them on separate sides of the bowl of course - and poured the water and oil into a well in the middle.  The idea is to then draw a little flour into the liquid and then leave it to "sponge" for about 20 minutes - basically to become aerated and frothy.

This is the so-called "half-sponge method".  This is not a technique that I have used with any of the previous breads I have made.  I can't say that I was able to notice any discernible difference; however, I think to really notice the difference in flavour you would have to leave the batter to "sponge" for at least a couple of hours.  Dan Lepard's recipe for "the easiest loaf in the world" uses the half-sponge method (warm water, yeast and flour left for a couple of hours, or even overnight if possible).

Learning to make bread - month five: mini baguettes

With a weekend in Paris to look forward to, I decided to get in the French spirit by making mini baguettes for May's bread baking challenge.



A French supper - wine and French onion soup
 to go with a freshly baked baguette

The recipe is one from Paul Hollywood's bread book.  The only ingredients I didn't have was semolina (used to dust the baguettes before they go in the oven), but that didn't seem to matter.

I have to admit I was sceptical about how well these would turn out; as it happens, I think they are a strong contender for my best bread so far...

The dough for baguettes is very wet and sticky!

The recipe advises kneading the dough in a processor as the dough is very wet and sticky to start with.  Although my machine (a Magimix Compact 3200) has a dough blade, it did struggle with this dough.  I was able to start kneading the dough in the machine, but the dough travelled up the inside of the blade and jammed the machine(!), so I finished kneading by hand - felt a bit like handling chewing gum to start with, but rather satisfying to see the dough transform in my hands into something that could be shaped into a smooth ball.

The risen dough

Having left the dough to rise, its then knocked back, shaped, and left for its second proving.  I then dusted it with flour and cut it as instructed by the recipe before placing in the oven (with fingers crossed).



Shaped, left for second proving, dusted, cut and ready for the oven

I needn't have been sceptical - the end product was two beautiful, delicious mini baguettes which we had warm for supper with French onion soup. 

Bon appétit!


The baked baguettes, still warm and ready to eat

Bon

Learning to make bread - month four: maneesh

I will be honest, I had not heard of Maneesh before I came across the recipe in Paul Hollywood's Bread book.  It is, apparently, a classic flatbread from the Middle East.

To be a true Maneesh the dough should really be covered with za'atar, a mix of herbs and sesame seeds.  Not having any sesame seeds in my store cupboards, I improvised and went for a mix of thyme and rosemary.

 My first response when I took the bread from the oven was that my effort at this flatbread recipe was probably my least successful bread-making attempt so far.  A bit like Goldilocks, I ended up with one bread burnt on the bottom, another stuck to the paper, and a third that looked like it was probably just right.

However, I needn't have been quite so pessimistic; none of the three would win any beauty competition, but they taste really very good.  This is probably partly down to the sugar in the recipe and partly down to the thyme and rosemary on top.  The texture is nice and soft.  In all, a bread that is very easy to pick at - and one which can disappear quickly!

 

So not my most successful bread-making attempt, but something I would do again.  Only next time, I think I will add another ingredient to the recipe: patience.  I think my results would have been better had I cooked the three breads in the oven one at a time rather than together.

 

Learning to make bread - month three: hot cross buns

Perhaps not technically a bread, but the recipe requires yeast, so I say it counts.  I love hot cross buns; delicious and versatile, they can quite legitimately be eaten for breakfast, elevenses, afternoon tea, or supper - take your pick.  Hot cross bun season signifies that spring is well and truly on its way, and my bread-making resolution seemed a perfect opportunity to learn how to make them.  Easter being late this year, I thought nevertheless that the beginning of April was a perfectly respectable time to start baking hot cross buns (and gave me time to practice before Easter!).

I used the recipe from the Great British Book of Baking;  there's a Paul Hollywood recipe on the BBC website, the basics of which are similar, and Felicity Cloake compares a number of different methods to come up with her take on how to cook the perfect hot cross bun.

There's a good history of hot cross buns here.  It doesn't mention anything about ancient Greece or Rome though; according to the British Book of Baking, the ancient Egyptians offered similar small round yeast cakes to the goddess of the moon, and the ancient Greeks and Romans made them for the goddess of light; it was the Saxons, apparently, who added the cross.  There's a detailed reading selection on the history of the hot cross bun here.

The recipe I followed used mixed dried fruit, with nutmeg and mixed spice for added flavour.  Making these buns was a process that required time, but was well worth the wait; the buns are delicious.  I've already made a second batch and will be making more over Easter weekend; in fact, they are so good I may even have to extend hot cross bun season beyond Easter!



Ingredients mixed and ready for kneading

Kneaded and ready to rise



The risen dough is knocked back then divided into twelve buns

I left the dough for about one and a half hours to rise.  You then knock the air out of it, and divide into twelve buns, which you place on the prepared tray.  A large plastic bag is then placed over the tray and it is left for about 45 minutes, until the buns have about doubled in size.  However, the British Book of Baking explained that as an alternative you could put the tray (in its bag) in the fridge overnight.  I went for the latter, which then meant I had buns ready to go in the oven first thing in the morning.  All I had to do was add the cross.  This is made from flour and water, which forms a paste.  Rather than using a piping bag, I rolled small bits of the paste between my hands to make the lines which I then laid over the buns.


Glaze as soon as they are out of the oven

Still warm from the oven...what a treat.

Learning to make bread - month two: soda bread

My New Year's Resolution was to learn to make bread, and in particular to attempt to make a different type of bread each month.  For January I made a basic bloomer; for February it was soda bread.

I have to admit that I do not recall having heard of soda bread before, but Paul Hollywood promised me that it's a great starting point for those of us who are new to bread making.  It doesn't contain yeast, so unlike the bloomer doesn't require kneading or rising time.  It's basically four simple steps: mix, shape, rest, bake.  The theory (or so the book tells me!) is that the bicarbonate of soda (alkali) and the buttermilk (acid) react together to create the carbon dioxide that makes the bread rise. Whatever the theory, it tasted good, which is the main criteria for me.  Paul Hollywood's Bread book has a range of recipes for soda breads and bakes - including crumpets, which I may have to come back to later in the year.  For now, I am very pleased with my attempt at soda bread; it's quick, easy and tasty, so I'm sure this will be one I make again.



The loaf is cut to allow the heat to get into the centre



Fresh from the oven and ready to eat

Learning to make bread - month one: bloomer

Did you make a new year's resolution?  Mine was to learn how to make bread.  For some reason, the idea of making bread has always made me a bit nervous - it seems to be a bit more technical than baking cakes, and thus more potential for things to go wrong!  To make sticking to this resolution a bit more realistic, I decided to set myself the task of baking a different bread each month.

For the first month, I decided to keep it simple: a bloomer, the first recipe in Paul Hollywood's Bread book.  I picked this book up in my local Oxfam shop, and I think it's going to be a key ingredient to me achieving my new year's resolution!  As well as recipes, it explains the role of the different ingredients and the purpose of the various techniques involved in bread making.  It also includes step-by-step photographs to accompany the instructions, which I found helpful when making this loaf.

It's an amazing process to see these basic ingredients react and transform.  I was really pleased with the final result, both the look of it and the taste; I couldn't have asked for a better result for my first attempt.  I can't believe I have been nervous about making bread for so long.  Bread-making requires patience, but it's an enjoyable and rewarding process and I'm looking forward to my next bread-making attempt...watch this space!

The kneaded dough, pre-rise



The risen dough



Knocked back, shaped, proven and ready to go in the oven



The finished bloomer