Chocolate Milk Bread チョコレートミルクパン

We regularly get a catalog from the King Arthur Baking. One of them had a recipe for “chocolate milk bread”. Being a fan of Japanese milk bread, my wife decided to make it. Compared to regular milk bread, this is much more difficult to make. A direct quote from my wife: “This is the weirdest bread I’ve ever made.” The dough was especially soft and sticky having the texture of dough you would pour rather than knead. Also the instructions to mix on high speed for 20 minutes were unique. The dough did indeed get stiffer after this treatment but it was still impossible to ”fold” and “shape” as instructed. We ended up using a floured board and a baker’s scraper to form it into a loaf and placed it in a pan. It rose very high after baking but collapsed a bit after it was removed from the pan and cooled. The texture was nicely soft but chocolate flavor was muted. We like it very much but knowing the difficulty of making this, we are not sure it is worth the effort to make it again.

Note: We made a second batch of this bread and using “Common Culinary Knowledge” (CCK) we added enough flour to make a stable workable dough. We also did not knead it 20 minutes but the usual kneading time of 7-10 minutes. We also did not bother reweighing the tangzhong but used it as it came out of the pan. The resulting bread was infinitely better than the first batch and is definitely worth making again (even though no distinctly chocolate flavor comes through). 

Ingredients (X1 one loaf)
Tangzhong
2 tablespoons (11g) black cocoa
2 tablespoons (11g) Dutch- process cocoa
1 1/2 tablespoons (11g) King Arthur Unbleached Bread Flour
1/4 cup plus 1 tablespoon (70g) milk, whole preferred; cold
1/4 cup plus 1 tablespoon (70g) water, cold
1/2 tsp. King Arthur espresso powder (optional). (this brings out the taste of the chocolate

Dough
1 3/4 cups plus 1 tablespoon (219g) King Arthur Unbleached Bread Flour, plus more for dusting or to make the dough stable and useable. 
1/4 cup plus 1 tablespoon (70g) milk, whole preferred; warm (110°F)
3 tablespoons plus 1 teaspoon (41g) granulated sugar
1 1/2 tablespoons (10g) King
Arthur Baker's Special Dry Milk, optional
2 1/2 teaspoons (7g) instant yeast
scant 1 teaspoon (5g) table salt
3 tablespoons (43g) unsalted butter, melted
1 large egg, beaten; divided
Scant 1/2 cup (75g) semisweet chocolate chips

Ingredients (X2) (Why make just one loaf when you can make 2 ?) We made 2 loaves
Tangzhong
4 tablespoons (22g) black cocoa
4 tablespoons (22g) Dutch- process cocoa
3 tablespoons (22g) King Arthur Unbleached Bread Flour
1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons (140g) milk, whole preferred; cold
1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoon (140g) water, cold
1 tsp. King Arthur espresso powder (optional). (this brings out the taste of the chocolate)

Dough
3 1/2 cups plus 2 tablespoons (438g) King Arthur Unbleached Bread Flour (or however more is needed to make the dough stable and useable.  
1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons (140g) milk, whole preferred; warm (110°F)
6 tablespoons plus 2 teaspoon (82g) granulated sugar
3 tablespoons (20g) Dry Milk, optional
5 teaspoons (14g) instant yeast
2 teaspoons (10g) table salt
6 tablespoons (86g) unsalted butter, melted
2 large eggs, beaten;
Scant 1 cup (140g) semisweet chocolate chips (we didn’t use this)

Directions:
To make the tangzhong: In a small saucepan, whisk the cocoas, flour, milk, and water until no lumps remain. Over low heat, bring the mixture to a boil, whisking constantly, until the mixture looks glossy and thickened to the consistency of hot fudge sauce, 3 to 6 minutes. Transfer the tangzhong to the bowl of a stand mixer; it will weigh about 145g after cooking (or 284 if doubling the recipe). If your tangzhong is more than 155g, (or 310g when doubling the recipe) return it to the pot and cook it a bit longer. (We did not bother to do this with the second batch and the bread turned out just fine.)

To make the dough: Add the flour, milk, sugar, milk powder, yeast, salt, butter, and egg to the bowl of a stand mixer. Add the cooled tangzhong.

Using the dough hook, mix on medium-low speed adding additional flour as needed until a soft, sticky workable dough forms, scraping down the bowl as necessary. Increase the speed to medium-high and continue mixing until the dough almost clears the sides of the bowl (it will stick to the sides for much of the mixing time) and is smooth and elastic, 15 to 20 minutes total (We did not do this with the second batch we made, 7-10 minutes worked just fine). Every few minutes, scrape down the sides and bottom of the bowl, then continue mixing. Eventually the dough will strengthen enough to mostly pull away from the sides of the bowl; the dough will still be slightly sticky but significantly more manageable than it was before. Transfer the dough to a lightly greased bowl, cover, and let it rise until puffy and doubled in bulk, 1 to 1 1/2 hours.

Lightly grease an 8 1/2" x 4 1/2" loaf pan or 9" x 4" Pullman loaf pan with nonstick spray or vegetable oil.
Use a bowl scraper to gently ease the dough out of the bowl onto a lightly floured work surface. Gently form the dough into two loaves. (At this point the original recipe gave complex instructions on how to fold the dough into various squares, which, given the consistency of the dough was quite impossible. It held together but was more a pouring consistency. (#1) Forming it into loaves was the best we could do.) (#2) Cover and let the loaf rise until it just crests over the rim of the pan, 45 to 90 minutes, depending on the temperature of your kitchen. (#3) (If using a 9" x 4" pan, let the dough rise until it's about 1" below the top of the pan.)

Towards the end of the rising time, preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Bake the chocolate milk bread for 30 to 35 minutes, until the loaf is fragrant, the top crust is firm, and the internal temperature is at least 190°F. Remove the loaf from the oven and cool briefly in the pan before turning it out onto a rack to cool completely.

The loaf was so soft that when we turned it out it started collapsing on itself (# 4) and we had to cool it on its side. Nonetheless once it cooled it stabilized and the soft texture was very nice. (maybe we should leave it in the pan longer before turning it out). There was almost no flavor of chocolate. We ate it for breakfast lightly toasted with butter. It is good we made this bread because it makes our library of Japanese milk breads (to the extent we know of it) complete. But there are various of the other versions we would choose to make before doing this one again.

P.S. Turns out that over time this bread has gotten better. A nice very subtle chocolate flavor has moved to the fore. The texture has also gotten firmer

Bagel ベーグル

My wife was not into bagels but this dramatically changed after our recent stay at a hotel/B&B in California. It was a good comfortable accommodation. But essentially we did not see any hotel staff while we were there. There was no front desk and you communicate with the hotel owner/proprietor via digital communication and instead of a key you get a “code” which allows you to open the front door and your room doors during your stay. It had a spacious communal kitchen and dining room where we could self serve coffee, yogurt,  bagels/muffins, and fruit for breakfast. They had blueberry bagels and my wife really liked the bagel. While we were staying there we had bagel and cream cheese as a breakfast every day. So when we came back, my wife got a few varieties of bagels from Whole Foods and an on-line gourmet bakery to try. My wife thought these bagels were not as good as we had at the hotel. I reminded her that I did bake bagels many years go but felt it was not worth the effort since she was not particularly fond of bagels back then. Now since, she suddenly developed a taste for bagels I decided to try making some. As a trial run, I made 6 bagels (3 plain and 3 sesame, picture #1). They came out great with nice flavor and texture. (they were was slow fermented over night in the refrigerator) but the crust is a bit too hard and I thought I could improve on this.

The sliced surface shows irregular holes and a nice moist and slightly chewy texture (picture #2).

The original recipe came from the newly published King Arthur baking cook book called “Big Book of Bread”. The original recipe made 12 bagels but for this trial I halved the recipe and made six.

Ingredients (x1, make 6 bagels)
DOUGH (I weighed everything)
413 grams unbleached bread flour, plus more for dusting
8.5 grams salt
1.5 grams instant yeast
269 grams warm water
Yellow cornmeal, for dusting

Ingredients (x2, make 12 bagels)
DOUGH (I weighed everything)
826 grams unbleached bread flour, plus more for dusting 
17 grams salt 
3 grams instant yeast 
538 grams warm water
Yellow cornmeal, for dusting 

WATER BATH (this is the amounts in the original recipe)
1,816 grams (8 cups) water
42 grams (2 tablespoons) honey
18 grams (1 tablespoon) fine salt

Directions: (Although I tried to follow the original instructions, this is description of what I did)
Place all the dough ingredients in a standing mixer fitted with a dough hook and knead for 5 minutes after the dough ball is formed around the hook.
On the lightly dusted board, take out the dough ball and hand knead briefly to make a tight ball.
Place the dough ball in a lightly oiled bowl, turn over to coat all surfaces. Cover the bowl with a plastic wrap.
Let it rise for 1.5 to 2 hours until the volume doubles (I used a bread proofing box at 85F).
I deflated and divided the dough into equal 6 portions by weighing (the total dough weighed 693 grams  for x1 and 1,379 grams*, so one portion was about 115grams).
I made balls and with the seam side down, covered loosely with a plastic wrap and then a dish towel and let them rest for 15 minutes.
Meanwhile I prepared a rimmed baking sheet line with a parchment paper and lightly dusted with corn meal.
I flattened the dough ball into a disk and pushed my finger through the center to make a ring and placed it on the parchment (#1 in the composite picture)
At this point, I placed another sheet of parchment paper on top and then covered with plastic wrap. The plastic wrap didn’t stick to the baking sheet so I taped the sides to the baking sheet. I refrigerated it overnight.

*Just for the heck-of-it I added the weight of all ingredients specified in the recipe and it equalled 1,384 grams. I then weighed the actual dough after the first fermentation and it was 1,379 grams. While interesting, the difference is minor and I attribute it to evaporation of water during the fermentation.

Next morning:
I was not sure if I should let the dough bagels come to the room temperature or immediately boil them. (The instructions were silent on this topic). So I did not warm up the dough rings and I boiled/simmered them 3 at a time one minute on each side (#2 in the composite picture)
I placed the boiled dough rings on the parchment paper. I placed 3 one sided on a plate covered in sesame seeds and left the other 3 plain (#3 in the composite picture).
I baked at 470F (in convection mode, the original recipe calls for 475F) in the upper 1/3 position rotating the baking sheet at 10 minutes and baked for total of 20 minutes (#4 in the composite picture).

As I mentioned the bagels came out nicely and my wife likes them but the crust is a bit too hard and chewy. (I am not sure that the convection vs regular oven made the difference?).

The second try
We finished the first batch and made the second with a few modification. I let the dough rings come to room temperature (let them sit for 1 hour) before boiling. Interestingly, in the first batch, the dough rings sank and then floated up to the top of the water after10 seconds or so but this time they floated to the top immediately.  I boiled each side about 30 seconds this time. I reduced the oven temperature to 450F and cooked them for 20 minutes.

The results were better. The crust was not as dark in color and slightly less crunchy but less chewy. The crust can be a bit less crunchy still. 

The third try

I made the hole in the center smaller to make the body of the bagel a bit thicker. I let the dough rings come to the room temperature (let them sit for 1 hour) before boiling,  I reduced the boiling time for 20-10 seconds each side. I preheated the oven to 450F, reduced it to 400F just before putting the dough in the oven. I cooked them for 25 minutes. 

I could have made the holes a bit bigger but the all bagel did not flatten out too much. The crust is very crunchy but not too thick. The inside is not too chewy and lots of flavors. We are getting close to having bagel perfection (at least based on our opinion)

The fourth try:

This is my 4th try and this is definitely the best one. The modifications are as follows;
1. After overnight fermentation in the refrigerator, let it sit for 1 hour to warm up before boiling
2. Boil for 10 seconds each side
3  Bake at 400F for 25 minutes
4. Instead of attaching the sesame seeds on the surface, I kneaded the roasted sesame into the half of the dough (3 bagels)  after the first fermentation as per suggestion of my wife.

In the picture #4, upper three are plain and the lower three are with sesame seeds. Both came out well with nice thin crunchy crust and perfect inside which is not dry or too chewy. The size of the holes is just right and the bagels have nice height. It has good flavor and texture. The sesame ones have nice sesame flavor but because the seeds were mixed into the dough rather than put on top they did not come off. (Slight digression alert: We also sprinkled toasted sesame seeds on top of the cream cheese we put on the sliced and toasted bagel. Again this addition intensified the sesame flavor but the seeds stayed put.) 

The fifth try and our final recipe:

Although we thought the fourth try would be our last changes to the recipe, the crust was still a bit too chewy for us. So this time, I boiled the bagel 10 seconds on each side and baked it at 370F for 25 minutes, changing the level of rack and tuning 180 degree after 10 minutes. The bagels are bit pale but they have a nice thick crunchy crust and nice soft interior with a lot of flavor.

One more improvement is that we got the plastic covers for our baking pans. This system works much better than covering the pans with plastic wrap. There is enough space so that the bagels do not stick to the cover and I can stack the pans in the refrigerator saving space.

 When we tried the fifth iteration, I baked the bagels in the morning. My wife also baked the Ricotta muffins.  We had both as a breakfast. Really nice!

Filled Wool Bread 毛糸のパン

This appears to be a variation of “Frangipane rolls”. The original recipe came from the King Arthur web site. My wife decided to make this. The recipe calls for the dough to be formed into a ring shape in the pan.  Although she used the suggest sized pan the dough didn’t fit as just a ring around the edge so she made a ring with three segments and the 4th segment went in the center (picture #1). The texture and flavor of the bread were excellent.

The filling distributed through out the bread but not very evenly (picture #2) Nonetheless the filling taste complimented this soft milk bread.

Ingredients: ( X 1)
Tangzhong (starter)
3 tablespoons (43g) water
3 tablespoons (43g) milk, whole preferred
2 tablespoons (14g) King Arthur Unbleached Bread Flour

Dough
1/2 cup (113g) milk, whole preferred; cold
2 1/2 cups (300g) King Arthur Unbleached Bread Flour
1 large egg
4 tablespoons (57g) unsalted butter, softened
1 tablespoon (9g) instant yeast

1/4 cup (50g) granulated sugar
1 teaspoon (6g) table salt

Filling
half an 8-ounce package (113g) cream cheese, softened*
2 tablespoons (25g) granulated sugar
zest (grated rind) of 2 medium lemons
pinch of table salt
2 tablespoons (4g) freeze- dried raspberries, lightly crushed
2 tablespoons (15g) King Arthur Unbleached Bread Flour
*The cream cheese should be at warm room temperature, at least 68°F.

Topping
2 tablespoons (28g) milk, whole preferred

Ingredients: ( X 2)
Tangzhong (starter)
6 tablespoons (86g) water
6 tablespoons (86g) milk, whole preferred
4 tablespoons (28g) King Arthur Unbleached Bread Flour

Dough
1 cup (226g) milk, whole preferred; cold
5 cups (600g) King Arthur Unbleached Bread Flour
2 large egg
8 tablespoons (114g) unsalted butter, softened
2 tablespoon (18g) instant yeast

1/2 cup (100g) granulated sugar
2 teaspoon (12g) table salt

Filling
8-ounce package (226g) cream cheese, softened*
4 tablespoons (50g) granulated sugar
zest (grated rind) of 2 medium lemons
pinch of table salt
4 tablespoons (4g) freeze- dried raspberries, lightly crushed (I didn’t have the raspberries so I used candied ginger.)
4 tablespoons (30g) King Arthur Unbleached Bread Flour
*The cream cheese should be at warm room temperature, at least 68°F.

Directions:
1. To make the tangzhong: Combine all the ingredients in a small saucepan, and whisk until no lumps remain.
2. Place the saucepan over medium heat and cook the mixture, stirring regularly, until thickened, paste-like, and the spoon or spatula leaves lines on the bottom of the pan. This should take 2 to 4 minutes, depending on the strength of the burner.
3. Remove the tangzhong from the heat and transfer it to a large mixing bowl, the bowl of a stand mixer, or the bucket of a bread machine (whatever you plan to knead the dough in).

4. To make the dough: Add the milk on top of the hot tangzhong; it will help cool the dough to lukewarm. Add the flour and remaining dough ingredients. Mix to combine, then knead until a soft, smooth dough forms, about 8 to 10 minutes on medium-low speed of a mixer. (The dough may be tacky and stick to the sides of the bowl slightly; that's OK.)
5. Shape the dough into a ball and let it rest in a lightly greased bowl, covered, for 1 to 1 1/2 hours, until puffy but not necessarily doubled in bulk.

6. To make the filling: Combine the cream cheese, sugar, lemon zest, and salt, mixing until smooth.
7. Add the freeze-dried raspberries (or candied ginger) and flour, mixing until everything is evenly distributed.

8. To assemble: On a lightly floured surface, gently deflate the dough, divide it into four pieces (or eight if doubling the recipe), and shape each piece into a ball.
9. Cover the dough and let rest for 10 minutes.
10. Line a 9" springform or a 9" round cake pan (at least 2" deep) with parchment and lightly grease the parchment.
11. Working with one piece of dough at a time, roll it into a 6" x 12" rectangle. If the dough begins to snap back during rolling, set it aside and begin rolling out the second piece. Return to the first piece to continue rolling it to the full size after a couple of minutes, giving the gluten a chance to relax.
12. Portion a quarter (or eighth of the filling for doubled recipe) onto the top half of the rectangle. A tablespoon cookie scoop works well here.
13. Position the rectangle so its 12" sides are vertical. Starting at the top, spread the filling across the entire width of the rectangle (leaving about 1/4" bare on each side) and down about 6" or 7", leaving the bottom 5" to 6" bare (#1). If the filling is difficult to spread, warm it in the microwave for 15 seconds and stir; check the consistency. Repeat, if necessary, until it's an easily spreadable consistency.
14. Using a bench or chef’s knife, cut the uncovered dough at the bottom into very thin strips (anywhere from 1/8" to 1/4" wide) (#2).
15.  Fold the long edges of the rectangle in to prevent any filling from seeping out and pat them gently to flatten.
16. Starting from the filling-covered top and rolling toward the uncovered strips, roll the dough into a log about 6" long (#3).
17. Lightly press the strips into the rolled log to secure. Place the log, seam-side down, into the bottom of the pan so it's snuggled up against the pan’s outside edge (#4).
18. Repeat with the remaining pieces of dough, placing them into the pan to form a complete circle around the pan’s outside edge. (Or until all the pieces are in the pan) (#5)
19. Preheat the oven to 350°F.
20. Cover the wool roll and let it rise for 60 to 75 minutes, until
puffy.
21. To finish and bake the roll: Brush the roll with milk, being careful not to deflate the delicate dough.
22. Bake it for 28 to 32 minutes, until it’s golden brown on top; a digital thermometer inserted into the center of the loaf should read at least 190°F. (#6)
23. Remove the roll from the oven and cool it in the pan until you can transfer it safely to a rack to cool completely.
24. Storage information: Store leftover wool roll bread, well wrapped, at room temperature for several days.

Tips from our Bakers
The tangzhong starter can be made ahead of time. Simply cook it up (making a double, triple, or quadruple batch if you like, for future use) as instructed in steps 1 – 3. Remove from the heat and transfer to a small bowl, pressing a layer of plastic wrap over the top of the mixture to prevent a skin from forming. Cool to room temperature then store, covered, in the refrigerator for up to five days. When you're ready to bake your Wool Roll Bread, add the tanzghong to the dough. (If you've made a big batch of tangzhong, use a heaping 1/3 cup (95g) for a single batch of dough.) Use warm milk when mixing the remaining dough ingredients; proceed with the recipe from step 4.
Let your culinary imagination run wild with this recipe, since the sky is the limit for filling combinations. Cinnamon sugar? Chocolate? Butter and garlic? Pesto and cheese? Whether you go sweet or savory, don’t overload your bread with filling.

This is wonderfully elegant. The bread is a very light slightly sweet milk bread. The filling is very subtle but goes perfectly with the milk bread. It forms a pudding-like filling which is distributed through out the bread. (No need for butter or jelly here). The filling has a slightly sweet taste and a hint of the cream cheese flavor peeks through. The candied ginger contributes a random burst of gingered sweetness which is a nice contrast with the rest of the flavor of the filling. This is a bit of effort to make but it is worth it and although this bread seems to be a version of frangipane rolls they are two different breads with two different personalities. The difference makes it worth while to make both. 

Frangipane Rolls フランジパンロール

My wife’s sister sent this recipe from King Arthur Flour to my wife knowing my wife is a fairly accomplished baker (challenge???). It appears to be a very fancy recipe and the “frangipane” was even a separate recipe. In any case, my wife rose to the challenge. Being a King Arthur recipe, the original recipe called for their “Raspberry and orange jammy bits” in the filling which we would have had to buy. She skipped this and just used the “frangipane”. The thin layer of frangipane added a nice and distinct almond flavor and the rolls had a nice texture and slightly sweet taste (picture #1). It took some work for my wife but she said it was worth it. 

Frangipane recipe (makes about 360 gram which is perfect for the frangipane rolls recipe below)

Ingredients: 
6 tablespoons (85g) unsalted butter, at room temperature
1/2 cup (99g) granulated sugar
1/4 teaspoon table salt
1 cup (96g) King Arthur Almond Flour
3 tablespoons (23g) King Arthur Unbleached All-Purpose Flour or King Arthur Gluten- Free Measure for Measure Flour
1 large egg, at room temperature
2 teaspoons almond emulsion or almond extract

Directions:
1. In a medium bowl or the bowl of a stand mixer, beat together the butter, sugar, and salt until pale and fluffy, about 1 minute on medium speed.
2. Stir in the flours, egg, and almond flavoring. Mix until just combined.
3. Use the frangipane as desired: fill tart shells, pipe into croissant dough, top slices of Bostock, or come up with your own way to use this flavorful, nutty filling. Bake the frangipane as directed in your recipe or until it’s golden brown and smells nutty.
4. Store leftover unbaked frangipane in the refrigerator, covered, for up to 1 week or freeze for up to 2 months.

Frangipane roll recipe:

Ingredients: (doubled the original recipe)

Tangzhong (starter)
6 tablespoons (86g) water
6 tablespoons (86g) milk, whole preferred
4 tablespoons (28g) King Arthur Unbleached Bread Flour

Dough
5 cups (600g) King Arthur Unbleached Bread Flour
1 cup (226g) milk, whole preferred
2 large eggs
8 tablespoons (114g) unsalted butter, softened
1/2 cup (100g) granulated sugar
2 tablespoon (18g) instant yeast
2 teaspoon (12g) table salt

Topping
2 tablespoons (28g) milk,whole preferred
2 tablespoons (25g) granulated sugar, optional

Directions:
1.To make the tangzhong: 
In a small saucepan, combine all the ingredients and whisk until no lumps remain.
2.Place the saucepan over medium heat and cook the mixture, stirring regularly, until thickened, paste-like, and the spoon or spatula leaves lines on the bottom of the pan. This should take 2 to 4 minutes, depending on the strength of the burner.
3.Remove the tangzhong from the heat and transfer it to a large mixing bowl, the bowl of a stand mixer, or the bucket of a bread machine (wherever you plan to knead the dough).

4.To make the dough: 
Weigh the flour; or measure it by gently spooning it into a cup, then sweeping off any excess. Place the flour into the bowl with the tangzhong and add the remaining dough ingredients. Mix to combine, then knead — by hand, mixer, or bread machine — until a soft, smooth dough forms, about 8 to 10 minutes on medium-low speed of a mixer. (The dough may be tacky and stick to the sides of the bowl slightly; that's OK.)
5.Shape the dough into a ball, place it in a lightly greased large bowl or standard dough rising bucket, cover, and refrigerate for 12 to 24 hours. The refrigerated rise will make the dough much easier to handle and shape
6.To assemble: On a lightly floured surface, gently deflate the dough, divide it into four pieces and shape each piece into a ball.
7.Cover the dough and let it rest for 10 minutes.
8. Prepare a square pan with a parchment sling or reusable silicone liner. Lightly grease any exposed sides of the pan.
9. Working with one piece of dough at a time, roll it into an 8" square. If the dough begins to snap back during rolling, set it aside and begin rolling out the second piece. After a couple of minutes, return to the first piece to continue rolling it to the full size (this gives the gluten a chance to relax).
10. Portion one quarter of the filling onto the top half of the square. 
11. Starting at the top, spread the filling across the entire width of the square and down about 4", leaving the bottom 4" bare (#1). If the filling is difficult to spread, warm it in the microwave for 15 seconds and stir; check the consistency. Repeat, if necessary, until it's easily spreadable.
12. Using a bench or chef’s knife, cut the uncovered dough at the bottom into very thin strips (anywhere from 1/8" to 1/4" wide) (#2).
13.Starting from the filling-covered top and rolling toward the uncovered strips, roll the dough into a log about 8" long.
 14. Lightly press the strips into the rolled log to secure. Cut the log into four 2" pieces and then place them, seam-side down, in a row and in alternating orientations in the pan (#3).
15. Roll, fill, and shape the remaining pieces of dough, placing the rolls into the pan to form 4 rows of 4 buns, each row in an alternating pattern (#4 & #5). Cover the rolls and let them rise for 60 to 75 minutes, until puffy.
16.While the rolls rise, preheat the oven to 350°F.
17.To finish and bake the rolls: Gently brush the rolls with milk, being careful not to deflate the delicate dough, and sprinkle generously with granulated sugar.
18. Bake the rolls for 30 to 35 minutes, until the tops are golden brown; a digital thermometer inserted into the center should read at least 190°F (#6).
19. Remove the rolls from the oven and cool in the pan until you can transfer it safely to a rack to cool completely, at least 15 minutes. Serve the rolls slightly warm or at room temperature.
20. Storage information: Store leftover mini wool rolls, well wrapped, at room temperature for several days.

These rolls have a very delicate flavor accented mostly by the frangipan which provides a delicate slightly sweet almond flavor. The bread has the texture and flavor of a milk bread while the frangipan provides a slightly custard like filling interspersed through out the bread. This is definitely a very sophisticated bread.

Classic Pumpernickel Bread 伝統的パンパニッケル パン

We used to get Pumpernickel boule at Whole Foods. We used it for certain sandwiches such as beef tongue and Lebanon Bologna. We did not see Pumpernickel boule or Russian rye bread at Whole Foods for some time and my wife asked if they had any. The answer was that they are not making them any more.  When we asked, “Why” they didn’t give us an answer.  (Subsequently, we went to two other of our local grocery stores and found they didn’t have any rye breads either). So since we had recently gotten pumpernickel flour from King Arthur we resorted to making pumpernickel bread ourselves. This time I volunteered. It was by far the most convoluted bread I’ve ever made. The recipe also came from King Arthur and is titled as “classic” Pumpernickel. The recipe also warned that this bread was dense and suggested slicing it thinly. I decided to make this as a baseline. Indeed this is dense but very flavorful bread.

Next day when the loaf was completely cooled, I sliced it. It is very dense. As you can see below. I sliced it thinly and tasted. It has lots of flavors and the inside is moist.

The recipe is from King Authur. I followed the recipe weighing the ingredients. Exception was  mashed potato. Since we found that all our potatoes were sprouted, we used Japanese sweet potato instead. Some of the instructions appear to be missing the details. Maybe this recipe was meant for an experienced baker. (With common baker’s knowledge-CBK- I added a few extra steps and details in notes to myself).

Ingredients
1 1/2 cups (340g) water
1/2 cup (71g) yellow cornmeal
1/4 cup (85g) molasses
1 tablespoon butter
1 1/2 teaspoons (9g) table salt
2 teaspoons granulated sugar
2 teaspoons caraway seeds
1 tablespoon unsweetened cocoa, Dutch-process 
2 1/2 teaspoons instant yeast
3 cups (319g) King Arthur Organic Pumpernickel Flour
1 cup (113g) King Arthur Whole Wheat Flour
1 cup (170g) cooked, mashed potatoes

Instructions 
Combine 1 cup of water (the other 1/2 cup was supposed to be used to proof the yeast) * with the cornmeal in a saucepan and cook over low heat until thick, stirring often (about 5 minutes). Remove the pan from heat and add the molasses, butter, salt, sugar, caraway seeds and cocoa powder. Stir to combine and set aside to cool to lukewarm.

*I missed this instruction and used all 1 1/2 cups (or 340 grams) of water for making the cornmeal mixture but since we used “instant yeast” which does not require proofing, this worked out fine.

Add the cornmeal/molasses mixture and mashed potatoes in the bowl of standing mixer fitted with a dough hook.  Stir in the pumpernickel and whole wheat flours. Mix and knead the dough at medium speed for 10 minutes.

*To make the dough ball cling to the dough hook, I had to stop the mixer and push the dough toward the hook a few times and I also added a small amount of additional water.

Transfer the dough to a floured kneading board, quickly knead and make a ball (sticky but very dense dough). Transfer to a greased bowl, turn the dough ball to coat all surfaces. Cover the bowl, place in a 85Felectric proofing box. Let rise until the dough is not quite doubled; about 1 hour.

Shape the dough into a loaf and place in a greased (used butter) 8 1/2" x 4 1/2" loaf pan.

*Although no second rising was suggested, based on (CBK) I did place the loaf pan back in the proofing box and let it rise for 40 minutes (I am not sure this made any difference).

Slash the top*.

*As per instruction I did this but totally not needed. Only time this may make sense is for a decorative purpose after flouring the top of the loaf

Bake in a preheated 360 F oven* for 55 to 65 minutes, until the center measures 200°F when measured with an instant-read thermometer.

*Since I used my convection oven, again based on CBK, I reduced the temperature from the suggested 375F.

Remove from the oven, tip out of the pan, and cool on a rack completely before slicing.

As mentioned, this is a very dense bread but the inside is moist and very flavorful. Thinly sliced and cut into smaller squares, this may be good for making canapé but may not be appropriate to make a full sandwiches. Nonetheless it was extremely flavorful lightly micro-waved to warm it slightly for breakfast. We saw another recipe at the King Authur site called “Pumpernickel boule”. This may be very similar to what we used to get from Whole Foods. We (either my wife or I) will try this recipe next.

Four Salad Lunch 4種類サラダランチ

I made 4 different salads (not all on the same day) and had the 4 salads for lunch with a cold asparagus soup. We also had a small piece of “Not no-knead bread made with dried fruit”. We feel good about the fact that all salads, soup and bread were home-made. In the center of the four salads, I served snap peas which were blanched and then soaked in Japanese salt broth.

The picture below shows Israeli couscous with artichoke hearts and garbanzo beans with a nice lemony and dill dressing.

The pic below shows a celery, mushroom, and navy bean salad with feta cheese. The mushrooms make the salad. They gave an almost meaty texture and flavor.

The next is a curry flavored sous vide chicken salad. Since we had a nice ripe Champagne mango, I added small cubes of mango which went very well with this salad.

I made this udon noodle salad since I had left-over cooked udon noodles.  The dressing is sesame-flavored. I do make several versions of the sesame dressing (for example, using Japanese “nerigoma” ねりごま sesame paste or peanut butter) but this time I used Tahini with dry roasted white sesame seeds which I ground in a Japanese “suribachi” すり鉢 mortar. Other seasonings included soy sauce, sugar, and rice vinegar.

This was a surprisingly filling lunch. Beans, udon noodles, and couscous all contribute to this and, at the same time, we enjoyed so many different flavors and textures. We just have to make sure we finish all these salads before they go bad.

Soda Bread with Raisin, Craisin, and Caraway (Soda Bread V4)

Over the years my wife has baked various versions of Irish soda bread. This year my wife initially baked version #3 of Irish soda bread, which was by far our favorite, in preparation for the upcoming St. Paddy’s day. This bread was really great especially with the honey butter she spread on it after a light toasting. I, then, found a recipe called “Americanized Irish soda bread” in the Washington Post which looked interesting and told her about it. She baked this as Irish soda bread (Americanized) version #4. This bread was very good—on a par with version #3 but with a subtly different taste. It had great texture and was slightly sweet from the inclusion of raisins and craisins (dried cranberries).

As usual, my wife modified the recipe mainly due to ingredients we did not have.

Ingredients:
2 cups mixture of raisin and craisins, (substituted for currents called for in the original recipe.)
6 cups (750 grams) all-purpose flour, plus more as needed
3/4 cup (150 grams) granulated sugar
3 tablespoons caraway seeds
1 tablespoon baking powder
2 teaspoons baking soda
3/4 teaspoon fine salt
2 cups (480 milliliters) whole buttermilk
8 tablespoons (4 ounces/113 grams) unsalted butter, melted and cooled
1/2 cup (120 milliliters) heavy cream
1 large egg
1 tablespoon vegetable oil

Directions:
Position a rack in the middle of the oven and preheat to 375 degrees. Line a large, rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper.
In a very large bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar, caraway seeds, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Scatter the dried fruits into the flour and fold them in with a flexible spatula until evenly distributed.
Whisk together the buttermilk, melted butter, cream, egg and the oil until combined. Pour into the flour mixture.
First using a spatula and then hands, stir and mix the dough together. (The original recipe says, “do not use a mixer”.) The dough should be slightly wet but not gloppy. Add a bit more flour, 1 tablespoon at a time, if the dough feels too wet and is spreading. Re-flour your hands and gently knead the dough, turning and folding it over itself, just until it is somewhat firmer, sprinkling more flour on your hands or the work surface as needed. Try not to add too much more flour to the dough.
Divide the dough in half, shaping each portion into a round loaf 5½ to 6 inches in diameter, positioning any seams on the bottom. Do not flatten the loaves, making sure they are shaped more like mounds.
Place the loaves several inches apart on the prepared baking sheet (they will spread a little) but not up against the rim. Use a lame to gently score an X no more than ¼- to ½-inch deep into the top of each loaf (see picture below).

Bake for 50 to 60 minutes, rotating the baking sheet from front to back halfway through, until the loaves are nicely browned and a knife inserted in the center comes out clean. The loaves should also sound hollow when tapped on the bottom (see picture below). Cool completely on a wire rack

Among the 4 versions of soda breads, we like the version 3 and 4 the best.

Cucumber salad PA Dutch style PA ダッチ風胡瓜サラダ

Many years ago when we discovered the American mini-cucumber, we were delighted since it is the closest thing to a Japanese cucumber we can get here. Before this, the only options were the standard American cucumber or the English cucumber. We really didn't like the standard American cucumber. It's much larger than the Japanese cucumber. It has a tough skin. It has more and larger seeds. It has somewhat mushy, watery flesh, and for us doesn't have much taste. So, as far as we were concerned, the available alternative was the English cucumber which I used until we discovered the mini-cuke. While it has more flavor than the standard American cucumber, the English cucumber still has, to a lesser extent, some of the characteristics we didn't like about the standard cucumber. It was better than the standard cucumber but not as good, to us, as the mini-cuke. The thing we like most about the mini-cuke besides its smaller size, thin skin, small seeds is its intense fresh cucumber taste.  Even now it is extremely difficult to get a Japanese style cucumber. Occasionally, if we are lucky, it is available at the Japanese grocery store. So for the most part I am using American mini-cukes to make "asazuke" 浅漬け and "sunomono" 酢の物 with good results. One day we realized we had an excess of cucumbers in the fridge so, out of the blue, my wife blurted, "Its summer. We have a lot of cucumbers.  Let's make Pennsylvania Dutch style cucumber salad like I used to eat summers growing up in rural Pennsylvania." So I was set to slicing Vidalia onion and American mini-cukes. After consulting her "historic"  PA Dutch cookbooks my wife made the dressing. This was quite good. 

Ingredients:
5 mini-cukes
1 medium sized Vidalia onion
3 Tbs. dill weed

For the dressing: (shown in picture below)
1/4 cup sour cream
1/4 cup Greek yogurt
1/4 cup Mayonnaise
2 Tbs. sushi vinegar (Yes. I know the Pa. Dutch did not have sushi vinegar…but we did.)
1 Tbs. Worcestershire sauce
1/4 tsp. sugar
1/2 tsp. salt

Directions:
Thinly slice the cucumber and onions. For the onion cover with several pinches of salt, knead it, let stand for several minutes to draw out moisture. Squeeze out additional moisture. Rinse under water to wash off the salt and squeeze it again. For the cucumber; cover with several pinches of salt, using less than for the onion. Repeat the steps used for the onion, but because I used less salt I did not need to rinse it. Add all the ingredients together for the dressing. Add the dressing to the onion, cucumber mixture. Add the dill and mix. (See picture below).

This was a very nostalgic taste of summer for my wife. You can't go wrong with a cream based dressing on fresh veggies. The overall taste of this salad is very refreshing and perfect for a hot humid summer day. The day we made this salad my wife had also made a chicken curry. They were both done at about the same time so we decided to taste the products of our (her) labor. We had a small bowl of each and were very surprised to find that the cucumber salad went perfectly with the curry. Then it dawned on us; this was the Pa. Dutch equivalent of Indian cucumber yogurt salad i.e. raita a customary side dish for curry. No wonder they went so well together. 

Home-made English Muffin 自家製イングリッシュマフィン

We posted English muffin previously but have not made them for some time especially since my wife started making English muffin bread. But for some reason, my wife started making English muffins again. One of the problems in making English muffins is that the dough is very sticky and it is very difficult to handle especially if you use English muffin rings. My wife used to cut the dough using a kitchen scissors to place it in the ring. My version of "no-knead English muffin" was a bit easier. This version my wife used came from YouTube and used a lot of cornmeal as a way to handle the sticky dough. (Although this was the amount of cornmeal shown in the video, a lot less probably would have worked just fine.) The result was rather rewarding. It is definitely an authentic English muffin.

I ask my wife to continue. This recipe came of aYouTube video called "Sheldo’s kitchen". My wife painstakingly wrote down the recipe, frequently stopping the video.

Ingredients:  (12 muffins)
4 cups (560 g) AP flour

1 1/2 tsp (10 g) salt

2 Tbs. (28 g) sugar

1 tsp yeast

3/4 cup (167g) greek yogurt

325 Ml water

oil 3 Tbs. (40 g) vegetable oil.

Double recipe:

8 cups (1,120 g) AP flour

3 tsp (20 g) salt

1/4 cup (56 g) sugar

2 tsp yeast

1 1/2 cup (334g) greek yogurt

650 Ml water (milk?)

oil 6 Tbs. (80 g) vegetable oil.

Directions:

Stir to wet all the flour. Stir to further combine and knead slightly.  In the first  90 minutes, 3 sets of stretches each 30 minutes apart. Take dough and pull out one side and fold it to the middle. Do that with each of the remaining 3 sides. Let the dough rest 30 minutes and repeat stretch 2 more times for a total of 3 stretches. Leave undisturbed for 1 hour. Put covered in fridge for 10 to 48 hours. The longer it is in the fridge the better the taste. 

Cover cookie sheet with corn meal. (A little less cornmeal than what I used here would probably work just fine). While the dough is still cold make it into a round. Put a large hole in the middle and pull the edges out straight and stretch into a log. Divide the log into 12 portions (24 if using double recipe). Make each portion into a flat round and move the edges to the middle then roll into a ball. Put on corn meal covered tray about 2 inches apart. Dust the top with corn meal. Cover and let rise until doubled.

Using 2 spatulas lift the dough into a skillet (no butter). Flatten the top. Cover with a lid and cook 6 minutes. (After 2-3 minutes rotate so it browns evenly.) Turn over and tap the top with a spatula to flatten. Cook another 6 minutes with lid off. After they have cooked 12 minutes check temperature. It should be 200 F to be done.  

Let it cool off a bit before separating the muffin using the "fork method".

These were our idea of genuine English muffins. They toasted up nicely with lots of “little nooks and crannies” to catch the melted butter. The crusts were crunchy and had a mild taste of cornmeal which was very nice. (One of the problems was during cooking the excess cornmeal tended to burn). While very good they were a bit of work to make. Making English muffin bread is much easier. 

Hamburger with home-made buns 自家製バンのハンバーガー

We cannot remember when was the last time we ate a hamburger; probably sometime when we lived in California i.e. many years ago. Since the package we got recently from Omaha steaks included hamburger patties (total of 8), we decided to make hamburgers. Also as we were “taste testing” the burgers, my wife declared there would be no pickles, catchup, mustard or onions (or “special sauce”; this was not Burger King/McDonalds after all) to obscure the taste. But cheese was OK. (Truth-be-told she is a hamburger purist.) So as shown below we had a cheese burger on a homemade hamburger bun (made by my wife just for the occasion, see below) with a side of scalloped potatoes (also from Omaha steak) and caprese salad.

We thought about grilling the burgers on a charcoal fire but decided to cook them in a frying pan with olive oil since it was the easiest. Initially we thought the hamburger patties looked thin but once they were out of the package and cooked they were nicely thick enough. My wife decided to use two cheeses; cheddar and Monterey Jack. After the meat was cooked, we toasted/fried the hamburger buns using the remaining oil and meat juices in the pan which came out rather nicely. As my wife wished, no ketchup, mustard, onion, lettuce, or pickles.  The meat was just cooked right and very juicy and had a nice beefy taste. This is a good way to just taste the meat and of course, the cheeses enhanced the flavors. 

Since we have a basil forest growing in numerous pots on the kitchen window sill, I made caprase salad with skinned Campari tomato, fresh mozzarella cheese and basil. Salt, black pepper, our favorite Spanish olive oil and balsamic vinegar dressed the salad.

My wife made hamburger buns for this occasion. She used a rather basic recipe from King Arthur.  I will ask her to continue.

Ingredients: for the dough
3 1/2 cups (420g) Ap flour
3/4 to 1 cup (170g to 227g) water, lukewarm (she used milk)
2 tablespoons (28g) butter, at room temperature
1 large egg
1/4 cup (50g) granulated sugar
1 1/4 teaspoons salt
1 tablespoon (9g) instant yeast

For topping the buns.
1-2 Tbs. Butter melted to brush on top of the muffins before baking them.

Directions:
Mix and knead all of the dough ingredients in a stand-up mixer with a dough hook to make a soft, smooth dough. Cover the dough and let it rise until it's nearly doubled in bulk, about 1 to 2 hours. Gently deflate the dough and divide it into eight pieces (about 100g each). Flatten each dough ball with the palm of your hand until it's about 3" across.

Place the buns on a parchment-lined baking sheet. Cover and let rise until noticeably puffy, about an hour. Toward the end of the rising time, preheat the oven to 375°F. Brush the buns with about half of the melted butter. Bake the buns for 15 to 18 minutes, until golden (see below).
Remove them from the oven and brush with the remaining melted butter; this will give the buns a satiny, buttery crust (which she did not do). Cool the buns on a rack before slicing in half, horizontally.

These hamburger buns really added to the overall hamburger experience. The buns in-and-of themselves had a very nice flavor and a soft texture. (We had some later just lightly toasted and buttered and they were quite good served that way.) The hamburger itself was nicely seasoned with a very distinctive beefy taste. Even without all the condiments, the burger and bun were every thing you could possibly want in a hamburger.

PA Dutch Schnecken ペンシルバニアダッチ シュネッケン

My wife grew up in the PA Dutch area of Pennsylvania and PA Dutch food is something special for her from her childhood.  For Christmas, we usually get German-style cookies from a bakery called “Bredenbecks” which is located in Philadelphia, (historically Germantown but currently Chestnut Hill) and has been in business since 1886. According to my wife, these cookies were her grandfather’s favorite and he used to bring a large tin of them from Bredenbecks every year when her grandparents came for Xmas. So, for my wife, Bredenbecks’ cookies are associated with a good time during the holidays as a kid. Last Xmas, my wife decided to try something different in addition to the traditional German cookies. So she ordered a tin of “Schnecken” (which means “snail” in German).* As I mentioned before, I am not a “desert” person and I have to admit I am also not a charter member of the traditional German cookie fan club. For these reasons I have no problem by-passing a plate full of them without taking one. But the schnecken were great! (My wife actually caught me red-handed snarfing some directly out the tin between meals). 

*digression alert: One year my wife decided to order a stollen in addition to the traditional German cookies from Bredenbecks. While the cookies are shipped in a tin, the stollen was shipped in a light cardboard box. The goodies were delivered to the front door and quickly discovered by the resident squirrels who recognize a good thing when they smell it. They busted into the box and helped themselves to the stollen. By the time we got home the only things left were a cardboard shipping box with a large hole in it, a few large crumbs and chunks of stollen scattered all over the front porch. It was a merry holiday for some lucky squirrels. 

Recently my wife was going through one of the old PA dutch cookbooks she has when the recipe for PA Dutch schnecken jumped out at her. Knowing how much I liked the ones from Bredenbecks she couldn’t ignore the recipe and decided to surprise me with some. As shown in the picture below the schneken from Bredenbecks are little cookies and shaped more like a mini-croissant than a snail. 

As shown in the next picture, the PA Dutch schnecken my wife made is more like cinnamon a bun but as you can see, it is indeed shaped like a “Schnecken”.

The picture below shows the cut surface. Alternating layers of bread and cinnamon sugar/ butter. This version is not too sweet but very flavorful and we are enjoying them mostly as a breakfast.

I ask my wife, as usual, to share the “how-to” part.

Word of advice from wifey: in the tradition of old recipes used to make dishes for large farming families (such as the PA Dutch), doing hard labor chores the yield from this recipe is quite generous.…it makes 2 dozen schnecken! 

Ingredients:
For the dough
1 package of yeast
1/2 tsp. Salt
1/3 cup sugar
4 to 5 cups AP flour
1 1/2 cup milk (buttermilk would work too)
2 eggs beaten
1/4 cup melted butter

For the filling
1/3 cup butter softened
1/3 cup packed brown sugar
1 1/2 tsp. Ground cinnamon

Optional topping
1 egg white mixed with 1 tbs water
1/2 tsp. Sugar per muffin (more or less to taste)

Directions:
Add the dry ingredients (yeast through flour) to the bowl of a mixer with a dough hook. Mix together the wet ingredients (milk through melted butter) together and mix well. With the mixer running add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients. Add more flour as needed to make a soft dough. Knead for 7 to 10 minutes. Cover and let rise in a warm place.

Meanwhile combine the ingredients for the filling (butter through cinnamon) into a paste and set aside.

When the dough has doubled in size punch it down and divide it into two portions weighing them to make them about even in size. Roll out each portion into a rectangle of about 15 X 18 inches. Spread 1/2 the filling over each rectangle right to the edges. Roll up each “as for a jelly roll” as specified by the instructions. Cut each roll crosswise into 12 pieces. (A word of advice: to get pieces of somewhat equal size, cut the roll into thirds. Then cut each third into fourths (3 x 4 = 12). Place the slices cut side down into a well greased muffin tin. (First picture below) Cover and let rise until double. Just before baking brush each muffin with the egg wash mixture and sprinkle on the desired amount of sugar per bun. This sugar will caramelize slightly when cooked. Bake in a 375 degree oven form 18 to 20 minutes or until golden brown. (Second picture below). Another word of advice: remove the buns from the tins immediately after they come out of the oven before the caramelized sugar hardens . Once it hardens it will become extremely difficult to extract them. Also, scoop any caramelized sugar left on the bottom of the tins before it hardens and spread onto the buns.

Here are a bunch of snails. 

Imagine how nice it was to come home to the rich baking smell of butter, cinnamon and caramelized sugar. As usual my wife made a small one for me to eat immediately upon my arrival. Needless to say that one disappeared very quickly. While this is basically a cinnamon bun it is more demure than its better known cousin the sticky bun. The sweetness is just right with a gentle taste of cinnamon and a lovely soft slightly chewy dough. Only 2 dozen yield?

Traditional Irish soda bread 伝統的アイルランドソーダブレッド

 Just a few days before St. Patrick’s day, I happened to see  a  “real Irish soda bread” recipe on the “Serious Eats” website. I showed my wife the recipe and in passing mentioned that St. Patrick’s day was coming up. Next thing I knew she has found 2 other Irish soda bread recipes and for 3 days in a row when I came home a new loaf was cooling on the rack. What a treat!  This is the first loaf she made. It was baked in an enameled cast iron Dutch oven like “no-knead bread” and produced a nice brown crust and center was moist.

She cut the traditional cross on the top but the dough was very wet and just filled in. Nonetheless you can still a light impression of the cross.

The below recipe is from “Serious eats”

Ingredients
15 ounces all-purpose flour (3 cups; 425g)
1 3/4 teaspoons (7g) kosher salt; for table salt, use the same weight or half as much by volume
1 1/8 teaspoons (6g) baking soda
18 ounces low-fat cultured buttermilk (2 1/4 cups; 510g), well shaken

Directions
1.Adjust oven rack to middle position and preheat to 450°F (230°C) at least 15 minutes in advance. Roughly cover the bottom of a deep 10-inch cast iron or enameled Dutch oven with a sheet of parchment paper; no need to trim.
2.Combine flour, salt, and baking soda in a large bowl and whisk a full minute to combine. Stir in buttermilk with a flexible spatula until dough is fully moistened and no pockets of flour remain. For extra-fluffy results, stop folding as soon as dough comes together. For extra-chewy results, fold dough about 20 seconds more. Scrape sticky dough into prepared Dutch oven and smooth with a spatula into a rough boule-like shape. Score deeply into quarters with a sharp knife or razor, cleaning the blade between each slice.
3.Cover and bake until well risen and golden, 45 minutes. Remove lid and continue baking until chestnut brown, with an internal temperature of 210°F (99°C), 12 to 15 minutes longer. Invert onto a wire rack, discard parchment, turn right side up, and cool until crumb has set, about 30 minutes. Cut thick slices to accompany hearty soups and stews, or slice thinly for sandwiches. (This will be easier if bread is allowed to cool 2 hours more.) Store up to 24 hours in an airtight container and toast to freshen bread before serving.

The bread had a nice crunchy crust and the interior was moist with a nice crumb. The buttermilk gave it a subtle tang. The flavor was a bit salty. We had this with a lamb stew I made. (What else would you have for St. Patrick’s day?) This was the perfect bread to accompany the stew. 

Our plum tree was in full bloom and our backyard was filled with the nice sweet smell of plum blossom. This is the plum tree we got many many years ago. We wanted the type of plum that produced the fruit used to make Japanese salted plum and umeshu.  After some search, we finally found one at an Oregon nursery. It arrived as a twig in a small envelope but it miraculously grew into a good sized tree and provided lots of plum fruit over the years. We used the fruit to make “umeshu” plum wine. Then, a few years ago all the plum trees in the area got a fungal disease. Our poor tree was no exception. We thought it was a “goner” especially after we had to transplant it during a landscaping project. Although the tree is much smaller than it was at its peak, it appears that this plum tree is surviving. Spring is almost here.

Almost no-knead whole wheat bread

I am experimenting with "almost" no-knead bread  variations. This time, I made a whole wheat version and increased the hydration level to exactly 70%. As shown below it came out nicely. 

Some of the holes were a bit too large but it had a nice overall texture, crust and flavor. I am posting this just as notes for my record.

Ingredients:(everything except salt and yeast were weighed)

425gram of AP and whole wheat flour (1 cup wheat flour and I added about 3 cups of AP flour to reach the total weight of 425grams).
300 grams of liquids (Total liquid amount is most important),

80grams (6tbs) of beer (again I used Samuel Adams Boston brown ale)

13grams (1tbs) of rice vinegar

207grams of water (I just added water to the total liquid amount of 300grams)

1 1/2 tsp salt

1/4 tsp instant yeast

Hydration ratio = 70%

Direction:
Mix the ingredients in a bowl with a spatula until all the flour is incorporated (towards the end, I used my hands to incorporate all the flour. Again it looked too dry). Cover the bowl with a plastic wrap.
Place the bowl in the proofing box at 85F (with a water tray), this time, I let it rise overnight for about 12 hours.
Next morning, the dough was more than doubled and well-hydrated. Using a floured plastic dough scraper, I placed the dough on a well floured board and quickly kneaded it 15-20 times then made a boule shaped dough ball.
I placed the dough ball on a piece of parchment paper (sized to hold the whole thing) with the seam side of the dough boule down. I then placed it in a bowl or skillet in which the dough ball snugly fit.
The bowl uncovered went into the proofing box for 1 and half hours.
Preheat the oven with a cast iron Dutch oven in at least 30 minutes before the secondrise is finished.
Slash the top of the dough ball using a lame.
Lift the dough by the parchment paper and place it in the hot Dutch oven. Put the lid on and bake for 30minutes.
Remove the lid and bake another 10 minutes.
Again,hydration ratio of 70% makes a wet but very manageable dough and using the parchment paper is easier and safer than the original floured towel method.