Sunday, October 17, 2010

The Cookbook challenge - artisan bread making

I had every intention of participating in the MFT cookbook challenge.

I guess life and circumstance took hold and now, in another country, I reawake and see that it is week 48 of the challenge, and my grand total stands at one recipe.

To be fair, I have been unofficially competing, that is, I have been digging through my cookbooks and experimenting with new and used recipes. I have even been taking photos. But it always seems to fall over when I have to post. Not sure if it is because I don't have the time, or that I can't even be bothered loading the dishwasher let alone spend time writing up what I've just cooked. Let this post be a sign of the tides changing.

This week's theme is Bread. My favourite baker is Kiwi Dean Brettschneider. I first saw him when I attended his artisan bread making workshop this year, and found him to be a wealth of knowledge, intelligent, creative and a good laugh. His passion and excellence really came through the workshop, and I was really inspired from all his stories. I bought his 2010 Le Cordon Bleu World Food Media Awards nominated book, Global Baker and flick through it constantly. It is a well put together book with culture sprinkled throughout, with recipes from classical French recipes to modernised Chinese, along with his worldly spin on food. If I could afford it, I would quit my job and work for him for a year.

The below is my favourite bread recipe, obtained from the workshop, which is a variation from one of the recipes in his book.

Savoury Garden Vegetable and Cheese Plaited Scone Loaf
- makes 2 small plaited loaves or one large plaited loaf (about 8 or so servings)

Filling
150g tasty cheddar cheese, grated
20g parmesan cheese, grated
1 small egg
30g red onion
2 cloves garlic, crushed
25g red, 25g green peppers
2 tbs parsley
40g sundried tomatoes, finely
chopped
40g olives, chopped
1/2 tsp smoked paprika
Salt and pepper to taste

Scone Dough
380g plain flour
20g caster sugar
25g baking powder
good pinch salt
70g butter, softened
1 egg
200ml milk

1 egg wished together with 2 tbs water for egg wash
Additional flour for dusting

Method
I usually cut the vegetables the night before (
I usually omit the olives), ready for the next day. I'm fairly flexible with my measurements as I enjoy packing my bread with a lots of ingredients.
- Mix filling together to form a rough spreadable paste.

- Sift flour, sugar, salt and baking powder
- Add the butter, rubbing into the flour using your finger tips until it's evenly mixed in
- Whisk the milk and egg together, then mix into dry ingredients
- Mix to a soft dough using a wooden spoon
- Tip onto floured bench and knead for 10-20 seconds. Don't over knead or it will become too elastic

- Halve the dough and roll into 2 squares
- Spread the filling evenly, leaving about 1cm free at the bottom edge (I also add tomato or BBQ sauce as I prefer a moist filling)
- Brush the edge with egg wash and roll up tightly into a log
- Make a single lengthways cut down the middle and then plait
- Place on top of baking sheet lined with paper, keeping them well apart to prevent joining
- Brush with egg wash and allow to rest for 10minutes on the bench
- Bake at 190-200 degrees C for approx 30-35min, turning half way through to ensure even colour. Throw in some icecubes for a nice shiny finish
This has become a semi-regular weekend recipe, which I use to accompany an entree or main, and I can also take to work to eat or munch on for breakfast. The worse thing about this is the clean-up :(


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