Date: Sun, 11 Dec 2005 10:16:08 GMT -------------- BEGIN bread-bakers.v105.n050 -------------- 001 - Roxanne Rieske Subject: Favorite Holiday Bread: Norwegian Julekaka Date: Mon, 05 Dec 2005 12:57:56 -0700 This is a pretty traditional Christmas bread from Norway (My family is Norwegian and German). I say "pretty traditional" because I don't use the nuclear fruit that most recipes call for; the only exception being candied citron, because I can't find anything to replace it that matches the flavor. The scent of this bread is just heavenly. Ground cardamom is the traditional flavoring for this bread, and there absolutely is no substitute for it. It's not Julekaka w/out the cardamom! Make sure to read the Notes at the end of the recipe for helpful tips! I will be making a big batch of this next weekend to give to friends. This is definitely a bread that should be shared! Norwegian Julekaka 1 c. water 3/4 c. golden raisons 1/2 c. dried cherries 1/4 c. dried unflavored cranberries 2 1/4 tsp. active dry yeast (or instant--whichever you prefer) 1/4 c. warm water (110-115 F) 1/2 c. sugar (if you want the bread sweeter, you can add up to 3/4 c.) 1 tsp. table salt 2 tsp. ground cardamom 1/2 c. butter--room temp. 1 c. milk--scalded (whole milk is best) 3 3 1/2 c. unbleached bread flour 1/2 small to medium orange--zested and completely juiced w/pulp 1/2 c. chopped citron About 2 tbs. of egg wash 1) Combine the dried fruit (minus the citron) w/ 1 c.of water and bring to a boil. Let the fruit steep for 10 minutes and then drain off the water. 2) Bloom the yeast in the warm water until foamy. 3)In a large bowl (or your mixer), combine the sugar, salt, & cardamom. Add the butter right on top, and then pour the hot milk over everything. Let stand until cool (about body temperature). Stir the mixture occasionally so the butter melts and sugar dissolves. 4) Add the bloomed yeast to the cooled milk mixture and whisk to combine. 5) Add 1 1/2 c. of the flour and beat until very smooth. 6) Add the pulpy orange, zest, all the dried fruit, and the citron. Beat well. 7) Begin adding the rest of flour, gradually, until a soft dough forms. Let the dough rest at this point for 15 minutes. 8) Knead the dough until smooth, shiny, and elastic. Form into a large ball, put into a large greased bowl, turn over to grease the top. Cover with plastic wrap, and let rise until double. 9) Punch the dough down, pull the edges to the center, turn it over and let rise again until nearly doubled. 10) Punch down and turn out the dough onto floured surface. 11) Ligtly grease a 9-inch round cake pan. Shape the dough into a round ball and place in greased cake pan. Flatten the top just slightly. Cover and let it rise for about 45 minutes in a warm spot, until doubled. Preheat the oven to 350 F. 12) Take a pair of scissors and make 3-5 "pinches" (it's hard to describe how to do this with scissors) across the top. Bake in the oven until the top just begins to turn golden (about 45 minutes). Remove from the oven, brush with egg wash, return, and bake another 10 minutes until well browned. 13) Cool the bread for 10 minutes in the pan, and then turn out to finish cooling on a rack. NOTES: 1) For the orange: Instead of juicing the traditional way, which is hard on my wrists, I peel the orange after zesting it, remove any seeds and whirl up the whole thing in the food processor and then use it as is. I don't strain the juice or anything. 2) Julekaka can be iced with your favorite danish/doughnut icing. I like to combine powdered sugar with a little corn syrup, a pinch of salt, a little vanilla, and just enough milk to make an icing of the consistancy that I like. I'll ice the bread when it's just a bit warm (after about 30 minutes of cooling). 3) Although the recipe doesn't call for it, I almost always add 2tsp of buttery sweet dough flavoring (which I get from King Arthur), and 2 tsp of vanilla extract (I love Tahitian vanilla extract for this recipe. The floral frangrance of it complements the cardamom nicely). --------------- MESSAGE bread-bakers.v105.n050.2 --------------- From: Gloria J Martin Subject: Holiday Breads Date: Tue, 29 Nov 2005 17:35:02 -0600 I just finished making 4 and freezing them. I will send the 2 that are less common. The directions are for making in the food processor, which is what I always use. 2 things--(1) If you have a processor and want to use it, be certain your instruction book says you can use it for bread dough. Many cannot. (2) The recipe can be converted to making in a heavy duty mixer. If doing that, start with the liquid ingredients in the mixer bowl, and add the flour mixture. The dough will have to be kneaded for about 7 minutes, with machine or by hand. CRANBERRY-NUT WREATH Cranberry Filling 2 Tablespoons butter 12 ounce pkg. Cranberries, picked over and washed 3/4 cup white sugar 2 egg whites 2/3 cup chopped pecans zest of 1/2 orange Dry cranberries after washing. Spread butter in a 9x13" baking dish. Pour in cranberries and spread out to a single layer. Sprinkle with sugar. Do not stir. Bake in a preheated 350F. oven for 30 minutes. Do not stir. Let cool completely. It helps to do this the day prior to making the dough. When ready to fill the wreath, loosen the cooled cranberries in pan with spatula. Stir in the egg whites, pecans and orange zest. Try to get the egg whites distributed evenly thru the filling. Dough 1/4 cup warm water 1 package yeast 1 teaspoon sugar 2 egg yolks 1 cup sour cream 1 teaspoon almond extract 3 2/3 cups all-purpose flour 1 teaspoon salt 1/2 teaspoon soda 2 Tablespoons butter 1/4 cup brown sugar 1/4 cup white sugar 1 teaspoon nutmeg zest from 1/2 orange Method Combine yeast, warm water and sugar. Let stand till foamy. Combine egg yolks, sour cream and almond extract in 2-cup measure. Stir together. Insert dough blade in workbowl of food processor. Add flour, salt, soda, butter, sugars, nutmeg and orange zest. Pulse to combine. With the machine running, pour in through the small feed tube, the yeast mixture. Next pour in the egg yolks, sour cream and extract in the 2 cup measure, in a steady stream. Continue running the machine until dough forms a ball. Let ball revolve around the workbowl for 30 seconds. Remove dough to plastic bag or oiled bowl, and let rise until doubled - 45 minutes to 1 hour. Spray an area of counter top about 2' square with non-stick pan spray. Empty out the dough onto this area. Roll out the dough to a 12"x24" rectangle. Spread filling over the dough, leaving a 1" edge all around. Roll up, as for cinnamon rolls. Spray a large air-bake type cookie sheet. Move long roll of dough onto cookie sheet and join the 2 ends, pinching together firmly. Using kitchen shears, cut straight down through the roll of dough, cutting the dough almost in two-leave a little of the bottom joined. Cut in 1" spaces all the way around the wreath. Tip the slices, starting with one, and progressing around the wreath until they are all lying so the filling is exposed. Cover the rolls with oiled plastic wrap and let rise until doubled, about 45 minutes. Preheat oven to 350 F. Bake rolls for 15 minutes, or until beginning to turn a light tan. Remove sheet to rack to cool for 10 minutes. Carefully transfer wreath to a rack to finish cooling. (An extra wide spatula, about 1' across is a big help.) This is a spectacular looking wreath. FESTIVE EGGNOG WREATH 3 Tablespoons warm water 1 teaspoon sugar 1 package dry yeast 3 3/4 cups bread flour 3 Tablespoons butter 1 1/2 teaspoons salt 2 teaspoons sugar 3/4 teaspoon nutmeg (freshly ground) 1 egg white 1 Tablespoon water coarse sugar (Parl Socker) or colored sugar sliced almonds 10 candied cherries (halved) Eggnog butter: 1 1/3 cups dairy eggnog (may need 2 Tablespoons more) 1 teaspoon vanilla 1/2 teaspoon almond extract Combine yeast, 1 teaspoon sugar and warm water. Let stand while measuring the rest of the ingredients. Processor method: Place dough blade in workbowl. Add flour, butter, salt, nutmeg and remaining sugar. Pulse. Stir together the eggnog with the extracts. Set aside. Turn machine on and pour the yeast in through the small feed tube. Without stopping the machine, pour in the eggnog mixture in a slow steady stream. Add the extra 2 Tablespoons eggnog, if needed to pull dough together into a ball. Let ball revolve about 30 times in the workbowl to fully knead it. Place dough in an oiled bowl or a plastic bag and set in a warm place to rise. Note: sweet, rich doughs often take longer to develop, perhaps 75-90 minutes to double. Mixer or hand method: Put proofed yeast in a large bowl. Add eggnog, extracts and melted butter. Stir to combine. Add nutmeg, salt and remaining sugar. Add half of the flour and beat for 2 minutes. Add half of remaining flour and beat again for 2 minutes. Empty remaining flour onto counter and scrape out the dough from the bowl. Knead in the remaining flour. Knead dough for about 8 minutes. Dough should be soft but not overly sticky. Set in warm place until doubled. See Note above. Both methods: Spray smooth work surface with non-stick pan spray. Spray a large Air-Bake cookie sheet. Empty risen dough out onto sprayed area and shape into a roll about 22-24 inches long. Cut this roll in half, lengthwise. Starting in middle, working to both ends, lap the 2 long pieces over and over each other to form one long twisted rope shape. Lift rope onto cookie sheet. Shape rope into a round wreath, joining a top twist from one end to a bottom twist from the other end. Repeat with other 2 ends. Cover loosely with sprayed plastic wrap and set aside to double in size. Before dough finishes doubling, preheat oven to 375 F. Whisk egg white and water together. When dough has doubled, brush with egg white mixture then sprinkle first with sliced almonds and then the coarse sugar. Stick halves of the candied cherries around as you like, tucking them in places where dough laps. Bake for 25-30 minutes. Transfer to rack to cool. Cover when cooled. Serve with: Eggnog Butter Beat until smooth and fluffy: 1 stick unsalted butter, 1/3 cup eggnog, 1/2 teaspoon vanilla, 1/2 teaspoon nutmeg, 2 Tablespoons powdered sugar, 1 teaspoon lemon juice. Note: this mixture takes a long time to get smooth i.e. 5-6 minutes. Keep beating and it will. Mound in a bowl and refrigerate at least 30 minutes before serving as a spread for slices of the wreath. --------------- MESSAGE bread-bakers.v105.n050.3 --------------- From: "Weissman, Jessica" Subject: soft focaccia Date: Mon, 5 Dec 2005 09:38:57 -0500 For the person asking about soft focaccia, there are two recipes on the King Arthur Flour website for soft focaccia. Go to www.kingarthurflour.com, click on the recipes link, and search for focaccia. You want either the Soft Focaccia recipe or the Light Focaccia recipe. The latter uses soft Italian-style flour with low protein content. You can get this from the KA catalog or in some good Italian or gourmet grocery stores. I've used both, with equal luck. Good luck! - Jessica Weissman --------------- MESSAGE bread-bakers.v105.n050.4 --------------- From: Epwerth15@aol.com Subject: Honey Whole Wheat Bread Date: Mon, 5 Dec 2005 09:41:07 EST This is one I've been making for many years..... HONEY WHOLE WHEAT BREAD 2 pkg. dry yeast 1/4 c. warm water 1/2 c. honey 3 teas. salt 2 1/2 c. HOT water 1/4 c. butter or margarine 4 1/2 c. whole wheat flour 2 3/4 to 3 3/4 c. all purpose flour In small bowl, dissolve yeast in warm water. In large bowl, combine honey, salt, hot water and butter or margarine; cool slightly. To this add 3 c. whole wheat flour. Blend at low speed until moistened; beat 3 minutes at medium speed. Add remaining whole wheat flour and dissolved yeast; mix well. Stir in 2 1/4 to 3 1/4 c. all purpose flour (let machine do this part?) Place in greased bowl, cover, & let rise till light and doubled, about 45 min. Grease 2 8x4 in. loaf pans. Punch dough down, divide in half. Shape into loaves & place in pans. Cover, let rise till doubled and bake at 375F for30 min. Reduce heat to 350F and bake 10 to 15 minutes more. Remove from pans & cool on wire racks. I use a 13"x4" Pullman pan, that will hold 3 lbs. of dough. Use remaining dough for rolls. Bake covered for 30 minutes, then remove the cover, turn the oven down to 350F and bake 20 minutes more. YIELD: Two 1-1/2 lb loaves SUBMITTED BY: Evie Werthmann SOURCE: Pillsbury The Complete Book of Baking, Copyright 1993 Evie --------------- MESSAGE bread-bakers.v105.n050.5 --------------- From: Steve Cabito Subject: Re: soft fluffy focaccia Date: Mon, 05 Dec 2005 11:12:44 -0800 Edwin, have you tried Peter Reinhart's simple method? I know what you mean - my dad regularly brought home focaccia from Royal Bakery in the Excelsior district. I've made a few sheets following Peter's recipe and it's pretty close to the "real thing." -Steve --------------- MESSAGE bread-bakers.v105.n050.6 --------------- From: RisaG Subject: Breadman machine has never produced results Date: Mon, 5 Dec 2005 11:52:47 -0800 (PST) Grace Chalon wrote: >I had a Breadman TR444 for about a year and then it died. I used it >2x a week and it made glorious bread. What I want to know is... Are you just dumping the ingredients in and just walking away??? Or are you putting it in carefully, watching it form a ball and adding water or flour and then walking away when you have a babies-bottom ball of dough? Just curious as you didn't mention anything about doing this. I NEVER just dump and walk away. That is the way to disaster IMHO. I stick around for about 15 minutes or so - watch the dough, add water or flour as needed until I see the ball of dough forming and I see the consistency I know will make a successful loaf of bread. I've had my Oster for about 2 years now and it makes excellent bread. I never walk away at all. Never. No matter how busy I am. I usually make the bread early in the a.m., watch it then walk and do what I've got to do. Come back when it's done and let it cool on a wire rack. So is this what you are doing? Or are you dumping and walking? Never pay attention to the manual - it always says you can add your ingredients, walk away and come back to a great loaf of bread. I did this early on and my hubby hated every one of those loaves. RisaG --------------- MESSAGE bread-bakers.v105.n050.7 --------------- From: FREDERICKA COHEN Subject: honey wheat honeys (honies?) Date: Fri, 9 Dec 2005 09:52:44 -0800 (PST) It's been requested that we don't send individual on-line thanks to those who help us. I have sent those thanks to the surprisingly large number who sent me honey wheat recipes off-line. This is to tell them to share some of those wonderful recipes with bread-bakers so others can appreciate them! Fredericka --------------- MESSAGE bread-bakers.v105.n050.8 --------------- From: bakerchic@comcast.net Subject: Honey Wheat Recipe Date: Tue, 06 Dec 2005 03:26:45 +0000 I've been using the following honey whole wheat recipe for years with some changes throughout the time and it never lets me down. Always excellent in flavor and texture. 3 C stone-ground whole wheat flour 1/3 c. Honey 1/4 c. Butter, softened (original recipe called for shortening) 1 T. Salt 2 pkgs. yeast 2 1/4 C. water 3 to 4 C. Bread Flour Mix whole wheat flour, honey, butter, salt and yeast in bowl. Add warm water and mix on low speed till combined. Increase speed to medium and mix for 1 min. Add enough flour to make dough easy to handle. Knead for about 8-10 mins. till smooth and elastic. Place in greased bowl and let rise till double, 40-60 mins. Punch down dough, divide in half & let rest for a few minutes. Shape into loaves and place in greased loaf pans. Let rise till nearly double. Bake in a 375 F oven for 40-45 minutes. Brush warm loaves with butter. Cool on wire rack. Lately I've been adding 1/2 C. 7-grain cereal to the original mixture and reducing the bread flour by the same amount. This gives the bread good texture and added flavor. Enjoy!! Julie --------------- MESSAGE bread-bakers.v105.n050.9 --------------- From: "Barrie J. Lax" Subject: Re: Lobo's mixing procedure question Date: Mon, 5 Dec 2005 11:28:29 -0500 As you could see by my message Mr. Pop I agree completely with you regarding some overly complex recipes. There is one comment I would like to make however regarding your statement "I will combine eggs, oil, and water to form an emulsion before adding to dry". This technique worked well for me when preparing cake batters and the like, however I was surprised to find it didn't work nearly as well when preparing bread dough. Some years ago when I was a younger man and spent hours experimenting, I was working on a Panettone recipe and found to my great surprise that my dough had a better rise when I added the eggs, oil and water separately. I repeated this test several times, enough times to grasp that what happened was no fluke. I really can't explain it, I went with what worked and left it at that. You might care to try this yourself, tossing in the whole egg(s), oil and water separately and see what your results are. It held for me with different doughs but then again, it might not hold true for all. I also should point out that all these tests were run with an ABM doing the kneading, baking was done in the oven. So there you have it, I am curious to know if anyone else has noticed this difference and if you in fact get the same results. bar. --------------- MESSAGE bread-bakers.v105.n050.10 --------------- From: FREDERICKA COHEN Subject: celebration challah Date: Fri, 9 Dec 2005 09:46:33 -0800 (PST) I have a charming e-mail "penpal" I met on another food list website. Recently, she, I, and several other members have been discussing a 5 lb. challah she is making for a wedding. Actually, that's 5 lbs of flour which pushes finished weight closer to double digits! (I figure about 18 - 20 cups of flour Is there anyone out who has ever made such a massive loaf? Any one have tricks, technqiues, recipes, etc?? I'd like to make one this spring for the bar mitzvah of a dear friend's son. I figure if I start practicing now with all of your help, I could do it! I am guess that about 10 cups of flour would make something that would reflect my affection and the significance of the bread. Thanks in advance, Fredericka --------------- MESSAGE bread-bakers.v105.n050.11 --------------- From: Jeff Dwork Subject: Dump and walk away Date: Sun, 11 Dec 2005 01:19:26 -0800 In reply to Grace's question about her Breadman machine not producing results, RisaG asked (in this digest) if Grace was just dumping in the ingredients and walking away. This reminded me of our first bread machine, may it rest in peace. It was made by MGN in Korea. We bought it sometime around 1985. It had a kneading bar that was inserted into the side of the square vertical pan, like the old Zo machines. We ALWAYS used the dump and walk away method and nearly always got excellent bread. It made two trips to LA for heater element replacement before it finally died after many years of service. We replaced it with a BBCC-15 Zo and continued to dump and ignore with great success. But the good times were not destined to last forever... Every machine since (several models of Zo, Breadman and Regal) has needed help. We adjust the hydration, sometimes more than once, and scrape the sides of the pan. Jeff & Reggie --------------- END bread-bakers.v105.n050 --------------- Copyright (c) 1996-2006 Regina Dwork and Jeffrey Dwork All Rights Reserved