New (old) Bread Pans

Repurposing

My sister, who loves to shop at thrift stores, found me three glass bread pans.  It was pretty exciting.  Shopping is one of my least favorite things, but I sure wanted to try some of these cool bread recipes in glass pans.  Thanks much.

Using a tip from Mountain Home Quilts worked well.  The tip was to let the bread rise in a cooler place.

The idea of always shifting your bread process in small, managable chores has also been working in our overbusy household.  This tip comes from an old, old recipe and is probably how pioneer women functioned.

So..... step one - the sponge goes into the Kitchenaid along with the rest of the ingredients... step two -  form up the loaves... step three - rub the insides of the pans with olive oil and coat the top with more olive oil....  step four - cover with a damp cloth (this one is from Evelyn Fields).   These four steps took about ten minutes for all three loaves.  (no dishes yet)


Right after that it was time for remaking the sponge for the next batch of bread and making up some tortilla dough.  (Tortilla dough recipe here)  Again, this step took only about 10 minutes for each process, then nothing more to be done until time to bake.  (after making new sponge and tortilla dough... now wash the dishes and counter and put everything away - ONCE)

I did this on Saturday and today (Wednesday) I plan to take the sponge which is quite sour now and redo this entire process.  I did put the sponge in a cool place.  If it is too sour, I will just add a little more flour and water.  This is how I am coping with too many cultures going on in one house. 

Current Bread Recipe at our house

subject to change as soon as I read the bread book I swiped from my sister :)

 

Community Sourdough Bread

(Community means none of these ideas are mine... just a gathering)

The Sponge

1 cup sourdough starter

2 cups whole wheat flour

2 cups barley flour

2 cups white flour

1/2 cup flax meal

2 Tbsp. sesame seeds

1 cup kefir

Water to make it a slurry

Just bring this together, it is not necessary to knead it.  Put it into a bowl, cover with a wet towel and let rise until double in volumne (probably about 10-12 hours - longer is OK)

The Dough

The sponge from before

any tortilla dough left over

2 tsp. sea salt

3 Tbsp. Olive oil

2 Tbsp. sweetner (Palm Sugar)

Flour to make a slightly sticky dough

Form into your loaf and let rise again.  I put my loaf glass pans with olive oil in them and rubbed oil on the top.  This makes the crust nicer.  The dough should double in volume.  It often takes several hours.

Baking

Preheat your oven to 400 degrees.  

I like to either spritz water in or put a small pan of water in.
It gives your crust a nice feel.  

A stone is nice, but it is not necessary.

Bake at 400 for about 30 minutes, then turn down the over to 325 degrees for approximately 15-25 minutes.  The times will vary depending on your loaf size and density.

There are two ways to check and see if it done....
a thermometer inserted - 210 degrees

.... or turn the loaf over and tap the bottom...
if it sounds hollow, it is done.

When I take it out I either immediately run the loaf under water or put butter on the top.  

This makes it a lot easier to cut.

Enjoy,

If I missed any tips, someone let me know.  Right now it is all about making this process work in our lives.

Cindy