Rosemary Focaccia

I first made this bread when we were living in Hawaii and having some friends over for dinner that eat no animal products at all. This paired with spaghetti and vegan brownies (I will not be sharing that recipe...) was quite a hit!

This recipe calls for a starter made the day before you plan to bake the bread and a bread stone (although I have made it without a bread stone with great success).

INGREDIENTS:

4 to 4 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

1/2 cup warm water

1 teaspoon active dry yeast

1 cup warm water

2 teaspoons salt

2 teaspoons fresh rosemary, snipped

1 tablespoon olive oil

Coarse salt

DIRECTIONS:

1. For the sponge, in a bowl combine 1/2 cup of the flour, the 1/2 cup warm water, and the yeast. Beat with a wooden spoon until smooth. Cover loosely with plastic wrap. Let sponge stand overnight at room temperature to ferment.

2. Gradually stir in the 1 cup warm water, the 2 teaspoons salt, rosemary, and just enough of the remaining flour to make a dough that pulls away from the sides of the bowl. Turn dough out onto a lightly floured surface. Knead in enough of the remaining flour to make a stiff dough that is smooth and elastic (8-10 minutes total). Place dough in a lightly greased bowl, turning once. Cover; let rise in a warm place until double (about 1 hour).

3. Turn dough out onto a well-floured baking sheet. Place an extra large bowl upside down over the dough to cover it; let rest 30 minutes. Meanwhile, preheat oven and a bread stone to 475 (or you can use and unheated, greased baking sheet). Shape dough on the baking sheet into a circle about 11 inches in diameter by pulling and pressing with your fingertips. (Don't stretch dough too roughly or it will deflate; you want to keep air bubbles intact.)

4. Make 1/2-inch-deep indentations every 2 inches in dough. Brush dough with olive oil; sprinkle with coarse salt. Carefully slide focaccia from floured baking sheet to the preheated bread stone.

5. Bake fro 15 to 20 minutes or until golden, checking after 8 minutes and popping any large air bubbles with a sharp knife. Remove focaccia from bread stone with large spatulas. Cool on a wire rack about 15 minutes. Serve warm.

Sweet Honey-Raisin Challah

While the challah recipe that Sarah posted a few weeks ago is my recipe of choice, I thought I would mix things up a bit this week and make this version. It's a bit sweeter than my normal challah and I really like the golden raisins. If you're not a raisin fan you can substitute fresh or dried apples (if you use dried, be sure to rehydrate them before use in this recipe!). The recipe makes two generous loaves....

...or one mammoth loaf!
I got this recipe from www.dianasdesserts.com. I think her instructions are a bit hard to follow, but here is the link if you'd like to take a look!

INGREDIENTS:

1 tsp. granulated sugar

1 1/2 cups warm water

2 packages yeast or 4 1/2 tsp.

7 to 8 cups bread flour (approximately)

1/8 tsp. powdered saffron or a pinch of saffron threads (optional)

2 tsp. salt

1/4 cup honey

1/3 cup granulated sugar

1/2 cup butter, melted OR 1/2 cup vegetable oil

3 whole eggs

2 egg yolks

1 1/4 cups golden raisins, plumped (simply soak in hot water 3-5 minutes, then drain)

EGG WASH:

1 egg yolk, lightly beaten and mixed with 1 tsp. sugar and 1 tbsp. water

HOW TO: (I make mine in a mixer with a dough hook, but you can make it by hand, if you prefer. There are also bread machine direction in the above link.)

1. In a large mixing bowl stir 1 tsp. sugar into 1 1/2 cups warm water. Sprinkle in the yeast and mix. Allow the yeast to get nice and foamy, about 10 minutes. Add in 7 cups of flour, saffron (if using), and salt. Add honey, the 1/3 cup of sugar, melted butter (or oil), whole eggs, yolks; stir until dough forms.

2. Turn dough out onto a lightly floured work surface and knead until smooth and elastic, adding as much of the remaining flour as necessary to prevent sticking. You may need more flour than the recipe calls for! Keep adding flour little by little until the right consistency is achieved. Place dough in a greased bowl, turning to grease dough all over. Cover bowl with greased plastic wrap and allow to double in size, about one hour. Punch down dough and transfer to floured work surface. Let the dough rest for 10 minutes, then knead in the raisins.

3. Split dough in half. Divide each half into 3 pieces and make into ropes. Braid the ropes for traditional challah (for more ideas, look at the original recipe!).

4. Cover again with greased plastic wrap and allow to raise for another hour, or until doubled in size.

5. Brush with egg wash and then sprinkle with sugar.

6. Bake at 350 until deep gold brown and loaf sounds hollow when tapped on bottom, 30-35 minutes. Let cool on rack for 15 minutes before slicing.

Sydni's Favorite Whole Wheat Bread

Let me begin by saying that this bread is good. Real good. And not just in the "fresh from the oven" sense. This bread is good because my very kind friend, Sydni, ground the wheat berries for me so I could try fresh whole wheat flour. WHOA! Not just a little difference, a HUGE difference. I mean really, really big! Enough of a difference to make a girl want to buy her own wheat grinder and ship in the wheat berries all the way from Montana!

In case you don't have access to a wheat grinder, or a kind friend who does, just substitute any good whole wheat flour. I'm partial to King Arthur or Gold's but whatever will work. Also, the Vital Wheat Gluten can be found in the baking isle of most grocery stores and health food stores. I found mine next to the cornstarch, flour and yeast at my local Wal-Mart. Gotta love Wal-Mart!

Fresh from the oven!

We ate ours warm with butter and honey

INGREDIENTS:
2 and 1/2 cups warm water
7 to 8 cups whole wheat flour
1/3 cup oil
1/4 cup honey
2 t. salt
2 T. vital wheat gluten
1 T. yeast

DIRECTIONS:

In large mixing bowl, combine water, oil, honey, salt, and gluten. Don't turn on your mixer. Float 3 cups of flour and sprinkle yeast on top of flour "raft"; turn mixer on low speed and add remaining flour until the dough pulls away from the sides of the bowl. Knead the dough for 5 to 10 minutes. When the dough is smooth and elastic shape into 24 rolls or 2 loaves. Place in greased pans. Let the dough rise until doubled in size--about 1 hour. Bake in preheated 350 degree oven. Bake loaves for 30 -35 minutes. Let bread cool and remove from pans. Try not to buy your own wheat grinder and ship in wheat berries from Montana.

Challah

INGREDIENTS:
2 packages active dry yeast

1/2 cup lukewarm water (about 110 degrees F)

1/3 cup sugar (plus an extra pinch of sugar)

1 stick (4 ounces) PLUS 2 tbsp. unsalted butter, thinly sliced and melted

1 cup warm milk

1 tablespoon honey

2 1/2 teaspoons salt

4 extra large eggs, at room temperature

1 extra large egg (beaten with extra-large egg yolk and 1 tablespoon water, for glazing)

About 6 cups bread flour

Cornmeal, for dusting

TOPPINGS:

A generous sprinkling of seeds, such as poppy or sesame, or of coarse salt adds another layer of flavor to the already delectable challah. Use 1 tablespoon of poppy or sesame seeds, or 1 teaspoon of coarse salt, topping the dough after the second egg glazing.

DIRECTIONS:

In a small bowl, dissolve the yeast in the lukewarm water with the pinch of sugar and let stand until creamy and starting to bubble. In a medium saucepan, combine the sliced butter and the milk. Warm over low heat just until the butter melts. Stir in the remaining 1/3 cup of sugar and the honey and salt. Pour the milk mixture into a large bowl and stir in the dissolved yeast and the 4 eggs. Stir in just enough of the flour, 1/2 cup at a time, to form a dense dough that doesn't stick to the side of the bowl. Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface and knead until smooth and elastic, adding only as much flour as necessary to keep the dough from sticking. Brush a large bowl with 1-1/2 tablespoons of the melted butter. Transfer the dough to the buttered bowl and brush the top with the remaining 1/2 tablespoon of melted butter. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and a kitchen towel and let rise in a warm, draft-free spot until doubled in bulk, about 2 hours.

Punch down the dough, then cover and let rise until doubled in bulk again, about 1-1/4 hours.

Line 2 large rimmed baking sheets with parchment paper and sprinkle the paper with cornmeal. On a lightly floured work surface, divide the dough in half. Cover one half with plastic wrap and divide the other half into 3 equal pieces. Using lightly floured hands, roll each piece into a 10-inch-long rope with tapered ends. Arrange the 3 ropes side by side pointing toward you and just touching. Starting in the middle and working toward your body, braid the ropes together, bringing the outside ropes over the center one. Pinch the ends to seal and tuck them under. Turn the loaf around and repeat with the other half, this time braiding the outer ropes under the center one. Seal the ends, tuck them under and transfer the loaf to a prepared baking sheet; gently plump the loaf with your hands. Repeat with the remaining dough. Cover the loaves with kitchen towels and let rise for 35 minutes.

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. Brush the loaves with the egg glaze. Let stand uncovered for 10 minutes, then brush again with the glaze. Bake the loaves in the upper and lower thirds of the oven, switching the pans halfway through baking, for 35 to 45 minutes, or until they are golden, feel light when lifted and sound hollow when tapped on the bottom. Loosely cover the loaves with foil if they become too brown during baking. Transfer to a rack and let cool thoroughly before slicing.

Makes 2 large loaves.