Bread Week

Our second challenge of the year was online with the theme being Bread Week. Everybody's bread looked great, but it was Katie who won Star Baker with her pumpkin-shaped loaves! Here are some of this week's recipes...

Katie’s Pumpkin Shaped Bread

Ingredients:

794g bread flour

10g (about 3 tsp) instant yeast

57g (4 tbsp) sugar

454g (2 cups) warm (110F/45C) milk or water

1 ½ teaspoons salt

57g (1/4 cup) olive oil or melted butter

Method:

Heat milk to 110F-115F (about 45C)

Combine flour, instant yeast, sugar, and milk in the bowl of your stand mixer with the dough hook attached and mix for one minute.

Add in salt and oil and mix for 5 minutes on speed 2.

After 5 minutes, take a piece of dough and stretch it between your fingers. If you can make a very thin "window" that does not tear then you have developed enough gluten and you can shape your dough. If the window tears, then mix for 2 more minutes.

Knead the dough on a lightly floured surface for 4-5 turns until you can form a smooth ball.

Coat a large bowl with a little olive oil.

Place the dough top side down into the bowl to get the top of the dough covered in oil then flip it over. Cover with a cloth and place in a warm area for 25 minutes to rise until the dough doubles in size.

Preheat your oven to 180C/160C fan/360F/gas mark 4.

Divide your dough into two loaves and pull the edges all to the centre to form a ball with a smooth top.

Cut 4 pieces of baker’s twine into 20" long pieces and arrange in a criss-cross pattern on top of a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Place the first bread loaf on top. Tie each string around the loaf loosely to allow room for the bread to rise and expand. Cut off the long pieces of string.

Use a razorblade to cut some wheat-shaped slashes into the sides of each section of the pumpkin. Not only does this look nice but it allows the bread to expand without ripping and tearing.

Prove a second time for another 25 minutes.

Egg wash the dough lightly so the loaf browns evenly. If you don't want to use egg you can also use milk for similar results.

Bake your loaves for about 25-30 minutes or until golden brown. You can also use a thermometer to check the centre of your bread. If the temperature reads 190º – 200º your bread is done.

Once your pumpkin shaped bread is done you can use a cinnamon stick or candy apple stick in the centre as the pumpkin stem.

Maebh’s Sundried Tomato and Olive Bread

Ingredients:

(Makes 2 loaves)

500g strong white flour

15g salt

55ml olive oil

20g fresh yeast

275ml water

170g black Greek olives, pitted and chopped

55g sun-dried tomatoes

Method:

Mix all ingredients, apart from the olives and tomatoes, in a large bowl. Take care not to put the yeast in direct contact with the salt when they are first added to the bowl.

Knead well with your hands and knuckles until the dough is elastic, smooth and shiny. Cover with a piece of cling film and leave to rise for one hour.

Divide the dough into two and add half of the olives and sun-dried tomatoes into each.

Mould both doughs into rough round shapes and press firmly down. Sprinkle white flour lightly over the top and mark them with a cross.

Place them on a baking sheet lined with baking paper and prove for one hour in a warm place.

Bake at 220C/200C fan/425F/Gas 7 for 30 minutes until golden brown. Remove from the oven and cool on a wire rack.

Sam’s Giant Cinnamon Bun

Ingredients:

Dough:

4 tbsp caster sugar

1½ tsp active dry yeast

¾ cup plus 2 tbsp (210ml) whole milk

1 large egg, room temperature

6 tbsp unsalted butter, room temperature, cut into pieces

2 tsp Diamond Crystal or 1 tsp. Morton kosher salt

2 tsp ground cinnamon

3 cups (375 g) all-purpose flour

Vegetable oil or nonstick vegetable oil spray (for bowl)

Filling and assembly:

½ cup (100 g) and 1 tbsp caster sugar

4 tsp ground cinnamon

½ tsp Diamond Crystal or ¼ tsp. Morton kosher salt, plus more

All-purpose flour (for surface)

3 tbsp unsalted butter, melted, slightly cooled

1 large egg

1 tsp ground cinnamon

3 tbsp light brown sugar

¼ tsp vanilla extract (optional)

Method:

Dough:

Mix 1tbsp caster sugar and 1½ tsp active dry yeast in a small bowl to combine.

Heat 210ml whole milk in a small saucepan over medium-low until lukewarm (110–115F/45C). Add warm milk to bowl with yeast and sugar and whisk to combine. (Alternatively, microwave milk in a small microwave-proof bowl on medium in 15-second increments until warm, then whisk in sugar and yeast.) Let sit until foamy, 8–10 minutes. (If yeast doesn’t foam, discard and start over with new yeast.)

Place milk mixture, egg, unsalted butter, salt, ground cinnamon, and remaining 3 tbsp granulated sugar to the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the dough hook. Then add the flour and mix on low speed until combined, about 1 minute.

Increase speed to medium-high and mix, scraping down the sides of the bowl a couple of times, until dough is smooth and elastic and cleanly pulls away from the sides of the bowl, about 12–14 minutes. (You can also perform the windowpane test to determine whether the dough has built up enough gluten: Pinch off a golf ball–size piece of dough and stretch between your fingers until dough is as thin as you can make it without breaking. If you can see light through the dough, it’s ready.)

Lightly coat a medium bowl with vegetable oil or nonstick vegetable oil spray and place dough in bowl. Cover and chill for at least 2 hours or up to 1 day.

(If you don’t have a stand mixer, you can make this dough by hand: Mix all ingredients together in a large bowl with a wooden spoon until combined, then knead dough in bowl until it starts to come together into a single mass; it will be extremely sticky. Turn out dough onto a floured surface and knead, flouring surface more as needed to prevent sticking, until dough is smooth and elastic, about 12–14 minutes.)

Filling and assembly:

Mix 100g caster sugar, ground cinnamon, and salt in a small bowl to combine. Set cinnamon sugar aside.

Roll out dough on a lightly floured surface to an 18x11" rectangle, occasionally lifting dough and flouring surface as needed to prevent sticking. Turn so the long side is facing you.

Brush the cooled melted unsalted butter, over surface of the dough, leaving a ½" border on all sides. Evenly sprinkle reserved cinnamon sugar over melted butter. Gently roll over sugar to press into dough. Starting on one of the long sides, tightly roll up the dough into a log. Pinch seam closed with your fingers to seal; transfer to a parchment-lined baking sheet and turn log seam side down. Chill 20 minutes (this will make the dough easier to braid).

Carefully slide the dough log with parchment paper onto a cutting board. Using a sharp knife, slice log lengthwise into two strands. Lay one strand over the other, cut sides up, to form an X. Braid strands together until whole length is braided, then carefully join ends together to form a ring (a small gap in the centre of the ring is fine). Using your fingers, pinch ends together as best as you can to seal (it’s okay if it’s not perfect). Carefully slide the bun with parchment paper back onto a baking sheet. Cover loosely and let sit in a warm, draft-free spot until it’s grown about 1½ times in size and the dough springs back very slowly when poked with your finger, 1½–2½ hours.

Place a rack in middle of oven; preheat to 425F/220C/200C fan/gas mark 7

Whisk 1 large egg and 1 tsp water in a small bowl to combine.

In another small bowl and mix together 1 tsp ground cinnamon and remaining 1 tbsp caster sugar.

Brush bun with egg wash and sprinkle cinnamon sugar evenly all over.

Bake bun for 5 minutes. Reduce oven temperature to 350F/175C/160C fan/gas mark 4, and continue baking until deep golden brown and an instant-read thermometer inserted into the centre registers at least 180F/85C, which should take about 25–30 minutes more. (Some filling will leak out while bun is baking, which is normal.)

Just before bun is finished baking, bring light brown sugar, a small pinch of kosher salt, and 2 tbsp water in a small saucepan over medium heat and cook until slightly thickened, about 1 minute. Remove syrup from heat and stir in vanilla extract (if using).

Remove bun from oven and immediately brush syrup over; let cool at least 10 minutes.

Serve bun warm or room temperature, slicing so everyone gets some of the crunchy caramelized cinnamon sugar.

Jodie’s Pumpkin Shaped Milk Bread

Ingredients:

Tangzhong (makes 1/2 cup):

1/4 cup (60ml) water

1/4 cup (60ml) milk

3 tbsp bread flour

Dough:

1/2 cup Tangzhong (see above)

1/2 cup (120ml) milk

2 tsp instant or active dry yeast

1/4 cup (50g) granulated sugar

2 1/2 cups (325g) bread flour

1 egg

1 tsp salt

4 tbsp (60g) unsalted butter, room temperature

oil for greasing

Egg wash:

1 egg

2 tbsp milk

Pecans

2tbsp butter

Cinnamon sugar (caster sugar with some cinnamon)

Method:

Tangzhong:

In a small pan, whisk together flour, milk, and water until smooth. Bring to a simmer over medium-low heat, whisking frequently, until mixture has thickened but is still pourable. This should take 5 – 10 minutes. Your whisk should leave a mark when dragged along the bottom of the pan.

Pour into a bowl and cover surface with plastic wrap to prevent a film from forming, and allow to cool to room temperature.

Dough:

Mix together yeast, sugar, and warm milk and set aside for 5 minutes. The milk should feel comfortably warm to the touch, but not hot, otherwise it will kill your yeast. The mixture should become frothy and active if your yeast is alive. If there are no signs of activity, throw it out and try again.

Combine flour, egg, milk & yeast mixture, tangzhong, and salt in a mixing bowl. Using a stand mixer fitted with a dough hook attachment, mix on medium speed until just combined. While the stand mixer is running, slowly add the pieces of softened butter until completely incorporated. Knead for another 15 – 20 minutes on medium speed until the dough is smooth and passes the window pane test.

Shape the dough into a ball and place in a lightly greased bowl. Cover and let rise for about 1 hour until doubled in size.

Buns:

Line a baking tray with parchment paper.

After the dough has doubled in size, punch it down to release air and turn onto a floured countertop. Divide into 12 equal pieces and shape each piece into a smooth ball.

Take a piece of baker’s/cotton string about 85cm long (enough to comfortably wrap around the dough ball 4 times with enough to tie a knot) and find the halfway point.

Place the half way point on top of the ball of dough and flip the whole thing over. Pull the two pieces of string together and cross them over to create a cross on the bottom of the ball. Flip it over again and do the same thing until the ball is divided into 8 equal pieces. Tie the string at the top and cut off any excess. Make sure that you don't pull the string too tight as the dough will expand as it rises and bakes.

Place the balls on a baking tray spaced about 2 inches apart. Cover and let them proof for another 30 – 45 minutes. When you poke your finger into the dough, it should come back about halfway when it's ready to bake.

Towards the end of the proof, preheat the oven to 350F/175C/150C fan/gas mark 3.

Whisk together egg and milk to make an egg wash.

Once the buns are proofed, brush well with egg wash. Place in the middle rack of the oven and bake for 15 – 18 minutes until golden brown and they make a hollow sound when tapped. Remove from the oven and place on a wire cooling rack to cool before removing the string.

Melt some butter and brush onto the buns, then sprinkle some cinnamon sugar and push half a pecan into the middle as the stalk.

Kaspar’s Silserli (Lye rolls)

Ingredients:

Dough:

500g bread flour

2 tsp salt

1 tsp sugar

1/2 cube yeast (1tsp instant/fast action yeast)

300 ml whole milk

50g butter

‘Lye’ solution:

2L water

4 tbsp baking soda/bicarbonate soda

salt, to taste

Egg wash:

1 egg

splash of milk

salt, to taste

Method:

Mix the bread flour, salt, and sugar together. If using instant/fast action yeast, add it now.

Slowly melt the butter, making sure not to burn it. Mix the butter in with the milk, if using fresh yeast dissolve it in.

Form a dough. Knead until the dough springs back when poked.

Leave to rise until doubled in size.

Once risen, form the dough into bread rolls. Leave to rise on a tray for another 30 minutes.

Preheat the oven to 180C Fan/200C conventional/gas mark 6.

Boil the water in a large pot, dissolve in the baking soda and salt. Bring to a rolling boil. It's smart to turn on the kitchen extractor here.

Using a fish slice, or similar, lower each roll into the boiling water. Boil each side for 15-30 seconds, flipping once.

Remove the rolls from the water and set on tray.

Paint the rolls with an egg wash consisting of an egg and a splash of milk. Sprinkle some salt on top of the roll if you like.

Slice the rolls twice diagonally with a sharp knife, or once through the long middle.

Bake for approximately 20 minutes. The rolls should turn a shiny dark brown. The rolls should sound hollow when knocked on the bottom. Remove from the oven and leave to cool.

Notes:

- Unlike other breads, these are best enjoyed cool with a nice spread of butter and honey.

- Makes for great sandwich rolls. Salami, cheese, and some greens is always a winner.

- The rolls can be kept for up to 4 days in an airtight container.

- The rolls can also be frozen and reheated at a later date.

- The egg wash is up to preference. Without the egg, the surface will take a satin appearance and be slightly tougher. With it, the surface is glossy and soft.