¼ cup dough enhancer (here)
5 to 6 cups bread flour
1. In the large bowl of a stand mixer, combine ½ cup of the brown sugar, the oats, salt, and butter. In a small saucepan, heat 1½ cups of the spring water just until it is hot (125˚F) and pour over the oat mixture. Stir to mix and allow to cool to about 110˚F. (A thermometer is handy for this. You do not want the mixture so hot that it destroys the yeast or cooks the eggs.)
2. In a glass bowl, stir the remaining 1 tablespoon brown sugar into the remaining ¼ cup spring water. Stir the yeast into this mixture and set in a warm spot (no hotter than 150˚F) for 10 minutes to proof. It should be foamy.
3. In a small bowl, beat the eggs well. Measure out 2 tablespoons of the beaten egg and set aside. Add the remaining beaten eggs and the yeast mixture to the oat mixture. Attach the dough hook to the mixer and stir to combine.
4. In a large bowl, stir the dough enhancer into the first cup of the flour.
5. Turn the mixer to “stir” and add the flour, 1 cup at a time, until you have used 5 cups of flour. The dough should come together. If the dough does not come together, add the additional cup of flour, ¼ cup at a time, until it does. Increase the speed slightly and knead on low speed for at least 5 minutes, until the dough comes together into a ball and cleans the bowl.
6. Butter a large, hard plastic container with a lid and butter the lid. Place the dough in the container and, using a measuring tape and a marker, measure on the outside of the container the volume of the dough. Mark the container (still on the outside) where double that amount would be. Place the lid on the container.
7. Allow the dough to rise at room temperature until it is doubled in bulk, 45 minutes to 1 hour. Remove the lid and gently punch the dough down and knead it to roughly its original size. Replace the lid. Allow the dough to rise again until doubled in bulk, about 40 minutes. Punch down again.
8. Butter three 8½ x 4½-inch glass loaf pans. Divide the dough evenly into thirds. (You can use a kitchen scale to make sure the loaves all weigh the same.) Shape the dough pieces into loaves and place them in the pans. Butter a large piece of plastic and place it loosely over the pans. Allow the dough to rise at room temperature until it is again doubled in bulk, 40 minutes to 1 hour. Remove the plastic.
9. Preheat the oven to 350˚F.
10. Whisk the reserved 2 tablespoons beaten egg and brush it over the tops of the risen loaves. Place the pans in the oven and bake for 30 to 40 minutes, or until the internal temperature reads 180˚F and the loaves sound hollow when thumped.
11. Place the pans on racks, allow to cool for 5 minutes, then turn out onto the racks to cool completely, covered with a clean kitchen towel.
Makes 3 loaves
Galaxy Doughnuts
—THE CEREAL MURDERS—
These doughnuts are baked, not fried. And they are not in a traditional doughnut shape. But whenever I have had to serve a breakfast that has some protein in the baked offering, this recipe and the one for Chicky Bread (here) are what I use.
Two ¼-ounce envelopes active dry yeast (4½ teaspoons)
⅓ cup warm spring water
2¼ cups plus ½ teaspoon sugar
⅓ cup solid vegetable shortening, melted
1½ cups milk, preferably whole, scalded and cooled to lukewarm
2 teaspoons salt
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
2 large eggs
¼ cup wheat germ
¼ cup soy flour
¼ cup oat bran
4¼ cups all-purpose or bread flour
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
2 sticks (½ pound) unsalted butter
1. In a large bowl, sprinkle the yeast on top of the warm water. Allow the yeast to soften for 5 minutes, then mix the yeast into the water and stir in ½ teaspoon of the sugar. Set the mixture aside in a warm, draft-free place, to proof for 10 minutes. It should be foamy.
2. Mix the melted shortening into the warm milk, then add the liquid to the yeast mixture along with ¼ cup of the sugar, the salt, vanilla, eggs, wheat germ, soy flour, oat bran, and 1½ cups of the flour. Beat vigorously until very well blended. Stir in the remaining flour and beat until smooth. (You can do this by hand or in a stand mixer with a dough hook.)
3. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and put it in a warm, draft-free place until the dough is doubled in bulk, about 1 hour.
4. Punch the dough down, turn it onto a well-floured board, and pat it out so that the dough is about ½ inch thick. Using a 3-inch star cookie cutter, cut out the dough and place the doughnuts 2 inches apart on buttered baking sheets. Allow the doughnuts to rise uncovered for another 20 to 30 minutes or until they are doubled.
5. Preheat the oven to 400˚F.
6. Bake the doughnuts for 10 to 15 minutes, or just until they are golden brown.
7. Meanwhile, in a medium bowl, mix the remaining 2 cups sugar with the cinnamon. Melt the butter and place it in a second bowl.
8. When the doughnuts come out of the oven, dip them quickly into the melted butter and roll them in the cinnamon sugar. Serve immediately.
Makes about 3 dozen
Monster Cinnamon Rolls
—THE LAST SUPPERS—
We love these. Do not frost until just before serving.
Dough:
1½ sticks (6 ounces) unsalted butter
1 cup milk, preferably whole
¾ cup plus 1 teaspoon sugar
1¼ teaspoons salt
Three ¼-ounce envelopes active dry yeast (6¾ teaspoons)
½ cup warm spring water
5 large eggs
2 tablespoons dough enhancer (here)
8½ to 9½ cups all-purpose or bread flour
Filling:
5 cups packed dark brown sugar
20 tablespoons (2½ sticks) unsalted butter
3 tablespoons ground cinnamon
Frosting:
8 ounces cream cheese, at room temperature
About ¼ cup heavy (whipping) cream
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
3 to 4 cups powdered sugar
For the dough:
1. In a small saucepan, heat the butter with the milk, ¾ cup of the sugar, and the salt until the butter is melted. Set aside to cool.
2. In a large bowl, sprinkle the yeast over the warm water, add the remaining 1 teaspoon sugar, stir, and set aside in a warm place for 10 minutes to proof, until the mixture is foamy. Add the lukewarm milk mixture and the eggs and beat until well combined. Add the dough enhancer and then the flour 1 cup at a time, stirring and using enough flour to form a stiff dough. Turn out on a floured board and knead until smooth and satiny, about 10 minutes. (Or place in the bowl of a stand mixer and knead with a dough hook until the dough cleans the sides of the bowl, about 5 minutes.) Place the dough in a very large buttered bowl, turn to butter the top, and allow to rise, covered loosely with a kitchen towel, in a warm place until doubled in bulk, about 1 hour.
Meanwhile, for the filling:
1. In a bowl, beat together the brown sugar, butter, and cinnamon until well combined.
2. Punch the dough down and roll out to a large rectangle, 24 x 36 inches. Butter two 9 x 13-inch glass baking dishes.
3. Spread the filling evenly over the surface of the dough. Starting on a short side, roll the dough up into a log, then cut the log crosswise at 2-inch intervals to make 12 rolls. Place 6 rolls, evenly spaced, in each buttered dish. Cover loosely with a kitchen towel and allow to rise until doubled in bulk, about 1 hour.
4. Preheat the oven to 350˚F.
5. Bake the rolls for 20 to 30 minutes, or until puffed and browned. Cool to room temperature in the pans on racks.
For the frosting:
In a bowl, with an electric mixer, beat the cream cheese, cream, and vanilla until well combined. Add the powdered sugar and beat until smooth. You want a soft, not stiff frosting, so add either more cream or sugar to obtain the right consistency. Frost the rolls in the pans and serve immediately.
Makes 1
2 large rolls
What-to-Do-with-All-the-Egg-Yolks Bread
—KILLER PANCAKE—
Back when low-fat cooking was all the rage and people were throwing away egg yolks with abandon, the waste upset me. So I developed this recipe. It is very similar to brioche.
One ¼-ounce envelope active dry yeast (2¼ teaspoons)
¼ cup sugar
¼ cup warm spring water
¾ cup milk, whole or skim
4 tablespoons (½ stick) butter, melted
½ cup canola oil
1 tablespoon minced orange zest
1 teaspoon salt
4 egg yolks, from large eggs, lightly beaten
3½ to 4 cups all-purpose flour
¾ cup dried cranberries
1 cup chopped pecans
1. Butter a 10-inch tube pan and set aside.
2. In a large bowl, combine the yeast, 1 teaspoon of the sugar, and the warm water. Set aside in a warm place for 10 minutes to proof, until the mixture is foamy. Add the milk, butter, oil, orange zest, salt, and remaining sugar and stir into the yeast mixture. Add the egg yolks, stirring well. Add the flour ½ cup at a time, stirring well after each addition to incorporate the flour thoroughly. Knead 5 to 10 minutes (or use the dough hook and a stand mixer to do this), until the dough is smooth, elastic, and satiny. Knead in the cranberries and pecans.
3. Butter a large bowl. Put the dough into the bowl, cover it, and let the dough rise at room temperature until it is doubled in bulk. Using a wooden spoon, beat down the risen dough for about a minute.
4. Place the dough into the buttered tube pan and allow it to rise at room temperature until it is doubled in bulk, about 2 hours.
5. Preheat the oven to 375˚F.
6. Bake the bread for 45 to 50 minutes, or until it is dark golden brown and sounds hollow when tapped. Ease the bread out of the pan and place on a rack to cool. The bread is wonderful as is and is also excellent sliced and toasted.
Makes 1 large loaf
Julian’s Five-Grain Bread
—TOUGH COOKIE—
Whole wheat flour tends to produce heavy, dense loaves. With the help of the dough enhancer, you can make a healthful bread that does not have the texture of opus caementicum (ancient Roman concrete).
2 cups five-grain cereal (available either in the cereal or the health-food section of the grocery store) or old-fashioned rolled oats
2⅓ cups spring water
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
¾ cup dark molasses
1 teaspoon salt
¾ cup whole milk
1 teaspoon dark brown sugar
Two ¼-ounce envelopes active dry yeast (4½ teaspoons)
2 tablespoons dough enhancer (here)
4 cups bread or all-purpose flour, plus up to 1 cup more flour for kneading (if required)
2 cups whole wheat flour
1. Butter two 9 x 5-inch loaf pans.
2. Place the cereal in a large bowl. In a small saucepan, bring the water, butter, molasses, and salt to a boil. Pour this mixture over the cereal and set aside to cool to 100˚F. (It is helpful to have a digital-probe thermometer for this.)
3. In another small saucepan, heat the milk and brown sugar to 100˚F. Pour into a large bowl and stir in the yeast. Allow to proof for 10 to 15 minutes, at which point the mixture should be foamy.
4. Mix the cooled grain mixture into the yeast mixture. Combine the dough enhancer with 1 cup of bread flour and stir that into the yeast mixture. Beat the remaining 3 cups bread flour and all the whole wheat flour into the mixture, beating well to combine. Place the dough in an oiled bowl, turn the dough to oil the top, cover with a clean kitchen towel, and let rise in a draft-free spot, at room temperature, until doubled in bulk, about 1 hour.
5. Stir as much of the additional bread flour into the dough as needed to make a dough that is not too sticky to knead. Knead on a floured surface until the dough is smooth and satiny, about 10 minutes (or use a stand mixer with a dough hook to do this).
6. Divide the dough into 2 pieces and place them in the pans. Cover with a towel and allow to rise until almost doubled in bulk, about 1 hour.
7. Preheat the oven to 375˚F.
8. Bake for 50 to 60 minutes, or until the loaves are deep brown and sound hollow when thumped. Remove the loaves from the pans and allow them to cool completely on racks.
Makes 2 loaves
Got-a-Hunch Brunch Rolls
—DOUBLE SHOT—
When you love to cook, people are always giving you fabulous bittersweet orange marmalade. Luckily, these rolls became a way to incorporate them into a fancy yeast roll, good for brunch. (Caterers are called upon to work an unimaginable number of brunches, usually corporate events.)
1 teaspoon sugar
¼ cup warm spring water
One ¼-ounce envelope (2¼ teaspoons) active dry yeast
8 tablespoons (1 stick) unsalted butter, at room temperature
½ cup honey
1 tablespoon grated lemon zest, finely minced after grating
1 tablespoon grated orange zest, finely minced after grating
2 teaspoons orange extract
½ teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
6 large eggs—3 whole, 3 separated
½ cup milk, preferably whole, warmed to 110˚F
2 tablespoons dough enhancer (here)
5 to 6 cups bread flour
½ cup best-quality bittersweet orange marmalade
1. In a large bowl, stir together the sugar, water, and yeast. Set aside in a warm, draft-free place and allow to proof for 10 minutes, at which point the mixture should be foamy.
2. In another large bowl, with an electric mixer, beat the butter until creamy, about 5 minutes. Blend in the honey and beat until thoroughly combined. Add the zests, extract, salt, and lemon juice. Beat until well combined. (The mixture will look curdled.)
3. Refrigerate the 3 egg whites, covered, until you are ready to bake the rolls. Add the 3 egg yolks and 3 whole eggs one at a time to the butter mixture, and beat in thoroughly. Add the yeast mixture and the milk and beat on low speed until thoroughly combined. Set aside.
4. Mix the dough enhancer into 1 cup of the 5 cups of flour. Add the flour mixture 1 cup at a time to the yeast mixture, beating thoroughly after each addition. If the dough is very sticky, add the additional cup flour, ¼ cup at a time, until the dough is only slightly sticky. Switch to a wooden spoon or dough hook when the dough becomes too stiff to beat. When the dough is pliable and only very slightly sticky, turn it out onto a floured surface and knead vigorously for 10 minutes. (Alternatively, you can knead using the dough hook for 10 minutes.)
5. Place the dough into a large oiled bowl, turn to oil the top, cover with a clean kitchen towel, and set it in a warm, draft-free place to rise until doubled in bulk, 1 to 1½ hours.
6. Punch the dough down, turn it out onto a board, and allow it to rest for 10 minutes. Divide it into 24 equal pieces. Butter two 12-cup muffin tins.
7. Keep the dough you are not working with covered with a kitchen towel. Take each piece of dough, flatten it into a 4-inch round, and spread 1 teaspoon marmalade from the center out, leaving a ½-inch border around the edges. Carefully roll the dough into a cylinder, pinch the edges of the roll together, and pull the pinched-together edges underneath, to make a round roll. Carefully place each roll into a muffin cup. When you have made all the rolls, cover the muffin tins with a kitchen towel and allow the rolls to rise until doubled in bulk, about 1 hour.
8. Preheat the oven to 350˚F.
9. Remove the egg whites from the refrigerator and whisk them until frothy. Using a pastry brush, paint the top of each roll. (You will have egg white left over.)
10. Working with one muffin tin at a time, bake for 15 minutes, or until the rolls are puffed and golden brown and sound hollow when tapped. Cool on racks for 10 minutes, then use tongs to remove the rolls from the pans to cool completely on the racks.
M
akes 2 dozen rolls
Chicky Bread
—DARK TORT—
This is another high-protein bread, one you make in a bread machine. It makes a large loaf. Note, though: It does not keep well.
Contents of one 15-ounce can chickpeas (garbanzo beans), drained
½ cup plus 1 tablespoon molasses, divided
¼ cup lukewarm spring water
1 tablespoon active dry yeast
1 tablespoon dough enhancer (here)
1 cup whole wheat flour
2 cups bread flour or all-purpose flour, plus more if needed
2 teaspoons salt
⅓ cup old-fashioned rolled oats
⅔ cup spring water, plus more if needed
¼ cup nonfat dry milk
¼ cup safflower oil
1 large egg, beaten
1. Rinse the chickpeas well and pat them dry. Pour them into a blender along with ½ cup of the molasses. Blend until the mixture is smooth (no chickpeas visible). Measure out 1 cup of this mixture; discard remainder.
2. Mix the remaining 1 tablespoon molasses into the ¼ cup lukewarm spring water and sprinkle the yeast over the top. Let this sit for 3 to 5 minutes, until the yeast is completely moistened. Stir the yeast down into the water and place in a warm, draft-free spot for 10 minutes to proof. The mixture will be foamy.
3. In a bowl, combine the dough enhancer, whole wheat flour, and bread flour (or all-purpose flour). Place this mixture into a bread machine, followed by the chickpea puree, the salt, oats, ⅔ cup spring water, nonfat dry milk, safflower oil, and egg. Pour the yeast mixture in on top. Program for white bread (about 3 hours and 10 minutes) and press Start.
4. After the first few minutes of mixing, lift the lid of the machine and check that the dough is neither too sticky and wet nor so dry that it cannot incorporate all the ingredients. Do not touch the blade or the dough. If the mixture looks too wet, add up to 2 more tablespoons bread flour. If the mixture looks dry, add up to 2 more tablespoons spring water. What you are aiming for here is a smooth, supple dough that holds together and that the machine’s blade can knead easily. Once a smooth, supple dough is obtained, close the lid of the bread machine and let the bread-making process continue.
Goldy's Kitchen Cookbook Page 15