To bring up brotforms, etc., again: Was recently at a King Arthur
breadmaking class (lots of fun!), and the instructor, Michael Jubinsky,
said (if I understood him right, and if I may paraphrase) that such baskets
wick away some of the moisture from the surface of the bread and thus
contribute to a crisp crust. He said lining a bowl with linen, while not
quite as good, will also do this to some extent. Plastic forms do not wick
away any moisture.
Also, maybe I missed it, but I don't recall seeing a response to Ivan's
request, over a month ago, for a recipe for kolache dough. Here's the
recipe from _Homemade Bread_ by the food editors of Farm Journal (my
abridged paperback was published by Belmont Tower Books in 1974; the
copyright on the original is 1969 by Farm Journal, Inc. and the book was
published by Doubleday & Co., Inc.).
1/2 c milk
2 pkgs active dry yeast
1/2 c warm water (110 to 115 degrees)
3/4 c butter or margarine (1 1/2 sticks)
1/2 c sugar
1 tsp salt
4 egg yolks
4 1/2 c sifted all-purpose flour
Scald milk; cool to lukewarm.
Sprinkle yeast on warm water; stir to dissolve.
Cream butter, sugar, salt and egg yolks together with electric mixer until
light and fluffy. Add yeast, milk and 1 1/2 c. flour. Beat with electric
mixer at medium speed 5 minutes, scraping the bowl occasionally. Batter
should be smooth.
Stir in enough remaining flour, a little at a time, to make a soft dough
that leaves the sides of bowl. Place in lightly greased bowl, turn dough
over to grease top. Cover and let rise in warm place free from drafts
until doubled, 1 to 1 1/2 hours.
Stir down; turn onto lightly floured board and divide into 24 pieces of
equal size. Shape each piece into a ball. Cover and let rest 10 to 15
minutes.
Place 2" apart on greased baking sheets; press each piece of dough from
center outward with fingers of both hands to make a hollow in center with a
1/2" rim around edge. Fill each hollow with 1 level tbsp. filling....
Cover and let rise in warm place until doubled, 30 to 40 minutes.
Bake in moderate oven (350 F) 15 to 18 minutes, or until browned. Brush
tops of rolls lightly with melted butter and sprinkle lightly with sifted
confectioners sugar. Remove from baking sheets and place on wire
racks. Makes 24 kolaches.
VARIATIONS
Peek-a-boo Kolaches: Flatten balls of dough, after resting 15 minutes, to
make 3 1/2 to 4" squares. Place about 1 tblsp. filling on center of each
square. Moisten corners with milk and bring opposite corners over filling,
overlapping them about 1"; press to seal. Repeat with 2 opposite
corners. Place about 2" apart on greased baking sheet; let rise and bake
like [regular] Kolaches.
Baby Bunting Kolaches: When dough is doubled, stir it down and divide in
half. Let rest 15 minutes. Roll each half into a 12 x 9" rectangle; cut
each half in 12 (3") squares. Place 1 tblsp. filling on center of each
square. Bring one corner of dough to center over filling; repeat with
opposite corner; press to seal. Place 2" apart on greased baking sheet;
let rise and bake like [regular] Kolaches.
Hope this helps - Ron