tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7981381083323491763.post3058803889686686303..comments2023-11-02T07:08:38.049-05:00Comments on Frippery Farm: On Your Mark, Get Ready.....STARTER!!!Lambhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04083153173061255844noreply@blogger.comBlogger2125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7981381083323491763.post-44036132391740326132010-11-17T12:22:47.352-06:002010-11-17T12:22:47.352-06:00I have been baking bread so long, I can't even...I have been baking bread so long, I can't even remember the last time I used a recipe! Here's my best guess (according to what I did this morning):<br />1/2 cup starter OR 2 packets yeast OR two teaspoons yeast (pick your preference)<br />1/3 cup olive oil OR 1/3 cup melted veg. shortening OR 1/3 cup melted butter<br />2 cups warm water (too warm to stick your finger in comfortably, but not so hot it will scald you)<br />1 teaspoon salt<br />3 tablespoons sugar OR honey<br />3 cups SIFTED white flour<br />4 cups SIFTED whole wheat flour<br /><br />Get out a big bowl, pour in olive oil/melted shortening/butter, salt, sugar/honey and ONE cup of warm water and ONE cup of flour and stir a bit. Add starter/yeast and stir again.<br />Let set 10 to 15 minutes, no more than 20.<br />Add half of flour, mix well and then add ONE cup of warm water. Mix in rest of flour well and start kneading.<br />Knead until you are cussing or until your arms "feel the burn" (about 10 minutes). If dough seems too sticky, add more flour. If dough seems too dry, add a bit more flour, teensy bit at a time.<br />While the dough is on the table/counter (where you have been kneading it), take that big bowl you mixed it in to the sink, wash it out real well, dry it and then coat the inside with olive oil, melted shortening. Put your dough in it and turn the dough over so it is mildly coated with a oil. Put a damp dish towel over the top of the bowl.<br />Now, to get bread dough to rise well, I always fill a large cast iron skillet with water, heat the water to boiling and set it in a cold oven. Then I put the bowl of dough in there to rise.<br />Let rise about 2 hours or so until almost doubled in size.<br />Pull the bowl of dough out and turn it out on your kneading surface and start kneading the crap out of it again. Another 10 minutes or so of great arm building exercise!<br />Shape into loaves, or put into bread pans or whatever you plan on doing with it.<br />Again, you want to make sure there is a smidge of oil on it (so it won't crack while rising) and covered with a dampish dish towel while rising. (I put it back in the oven to rise, again with a cast iron pan filled with boiling water)<br />Let rise another two hours or so.<br />Take dough out of oven, pre-heat oven to 425 degrees. (I am in the States, we don't do metric here, so that's Fahrenheit! Convert if you can/must!)<br />Put bread in pre-heated oven and bake 20 to 45 minutes (really, it depends on the size of bread pans you use or what size loaves you make)<br />When I take the loaves out, I brush them with melted butter for soft crusts, but if you want *crackly* crusts, don't brush with butter.<br />Let set about 5 to 15 minutes to *set up*, as my grandmother said.<br /><br />When I make *flavored* bread...I put my additives in when I initially mix the dough before the first rising.<br />Additives I use:<br />Fresh rosemary + sun-dried tomatoes<br />Diced apples + walnuts (I always add a couple of tablespoons of molasses to that recipe)<br />Fresh assorted herbs....thyme, basil, rosemary, tarragon, whatever I have or strikes my fancy that day, minced fine, mixed together and then mixed in the dough. Makes great *crustinis* to melt a bit of mozzarella on and then drizzle some extra virgin olive oil on. <br /><br />If you are saving a cup of the dough for your starter, save that dough BEFORE you mix in any goodies!<br />You can use ALL white flour or ALL whole wheat for this bread, I just like mixing the two. If you use ALL whole wheat, rising will take a bit more time, maybe a half hour or so.<br /><br />Hope that helps!Lambhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04083153173061255844noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7981381083323491763.post-26345864181267610582010-11-16T21:13:41.368-06:002010-11-16T21:13:41.368-06:00sounds good, just have one question: what is the ...sounds good, just have one question: what is the bread recipe you began with? :)Kelliehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18097359543490900341noreply@blogger.com