It's official, I'm addicted to bread. Today we shaped and cooked our tortillas, and used one to make a quesadilla. It was SO GOOD!!!!! The amount of deliciousness that I perceived was probably due to my lack of eating, because I hadn't eaten for about 12 hours, but still. My quesadilla was pretty simple, just with cheese and caramelized onions. We also shaped and baked our focaccia dough.
To proof at home, you first get a cardboard box big enough to hold your bread pan, and cut off one end of it. Then you can go ahead and put your pan into the box, spray with water to keep the dough moist, and cover the box with a bag you can seal. Seal the bag and move then entire contraption somewhere warm. Chef recommended either above your refrigerator, or in the bathroom while you take a shower. The shower idea sounds great to me, because of the steam. So there you go, you can now proof bread and other doughs at home. Happy Baking!
M
First, we oiled a sheet pan, and dumped our dough onto the pan. Each person used about a half of a sheet pan for their bread. after stretching it out on the pan, you add whatever you want in your dough, because if you put it on top, it will burn to a crisp and become bitter. I added onions and some roasted garlic on half of mine. After you top it, you fold it over and gently pull it into the shape of the half pan, and proof for about 10 minutes, or until the bread stops contracting. Then you stretch it further into the pan and put it back in for about 10 more minutes. Finally, you pull it out of your proof box, and gently brush it with olive oil Into the oven until it starts to brown. Once you rotate it, and its nearly done, pull it out and put more oil on (we used olive oil infused with alternately rosemary and garlic) then top with whatever you choose, and bake for maybe 5 more minutes, or until your toppings are melted or cooked. Be careful not to burn. And its delicious!!! While we were baking our bread, we mixed pizza dough for tomorrow.
I did promise proofing tips so here it is:To proof at home, you first get a cardboard box big enough to hold your bread pan, and cut off one end of it. Then you can go ahead and put your pan into the box, spray with water to keep the dough moist, and cover the box with a bag you can seal. Seal the bag and move then entire contraption somewhere warm. Chef recommended either above your refrigerator, or in the bathroom while you take a shower. The shower idea sounds great to me, because of the steam. So there you go, you can now proof bread and other doughs at home. Happy Baking!
M
I have a health condition which in many people is linked to celiac disease. A lot of the tests for celiac are inconclusive and so the best thing to do seems to be trying the diet. I love bread but the one gluten free loaf I tried was disgusting. Can you help?
ReplyDeletewhat is the purpose of proofing? Your blog is amazing. Keep it up.
ReplyDeleteProofing is when you let the dough rise. In a professional kitchen, we put it in a "proof box" which varies depending on the size of the operation. Some proof boxes are the size of a small closet, where others are the size of a bedroom. Essentially, you proof bread to make it lighter, if you've ever had bread that felt really heavy and dense, it was either under-proofed or not proofed at all. While it's not easy to be gluten free, there are some recipes that you can use. I have one here, I haven't tried it yet, but it's in my Professional Baking textbook. I'll put it up on the recipes page, and ask Chef if he has any really good ones. The only thing thats tough is that gluten free foods require several special ingredients like xanthan gum, to name one.
ReplyDeleteTo better answer your question, can you tolerate small amounts of gluten or none at all? Chef has told me he has a good recipe for spelt bread, which apparently has a very small amount of gluten.
ReplyDelete