Which yeast to use

I like and respect King Arthur Flour advises and make their recipes many times for different occasions. Yesterday  I found an interesting article on Facebook about  different type of yeasts  available in commercial supermarkets written by author or co-author of three King Arthur cookbooks. I think, it would be very useful for my readers to know more about  type of yeasts we can use for different dough.

Here's an article King Arthur about yeast.

Dough art

Definitely, she knows what she is doing.

Post by Iris Cohen.

Chocolate Cinnamon Babka

I can not miss the recipe I found in Star tribune. Of course, it's a chocolate babka. I don't promise to make today, but it's on my "to-do" list for fall Holidays. I hope, I will make it.

Guess.... what is it?

It's quite interesting and useful gadget. I think, many of us will want to buy .

Sweet buns with Lubavitch Sweet yeast Dough

Sweet buns with Lubavitch Sweet yeast Dough

Many years ago I bought a quite delicious cooking book compiled by women from Lubavitch community. They choose recipe they trust and make again and again. This time I decided to try one of the recipes from this book.

1. Basic Sweet Dough

Make 50 buns or pirozhkis.

1/2 sugar
2 packages dry yeast
1 & 1/2 teaspoon salt
 6 & 1/2 to 7 cups flour
1 & 1/4 cups apple juice
1 cup margarine
3 eggs, at room temperature
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract (optional)

In a large mixer bowl, combine sugar, yeast, salt, and 2 cups of flour. In a 1-quart saucepan, heat apple juice and margarine until warm. Margarine does not have to melt.

Gradually add warm liquid to dry ingredients, beating with mixer at low speed. Increase speed to medium and beat 2 minutes. Add eggs and vanilla and 2 & 1/2 cups of flour. Beat 2 minutes. By hand, stir in enough additional flour to make stiff dough, about 2 cups.

Turn dough onto a lightly floured board and knead 8 to 10 minutes until smooth and elastic, adding more flour if necessary.

Place dough in a well-oiled bowl and turm to oil the top. Cover and let rise in warm place about 1 hour until doubled in bulk. Punch down, turn onto floured board, cover with bowl and allow to rest 15 minutes for easier shaping.

2. What to make: piroshki and sweet buns.

3. How to shape it.

Focaccia and cooking class.

I'm not a bread baker. Every time I deal with yeast I feel uncomfortable and worried about final result.  Therefore I decided to take a class about pizza & focaccia dough. Everybody likes pizza and focaccia, but not everybody can bake them. It's was my first experience with community education in America. First of all, I did not expect to see a well-equipped demo kitchen in a community center. They have a world-class demo kitchen, which I can use for community cooking class which I want to organize.  For nearly 2 hours I had fun making dough for focaccia and pizza. And I'm ready to show off first results of my baking experiment.  I brought dough to home and kept in refrigerator for 5 days. At the end of the 5th day, I baked focaccia sprinkled with olive oil and salt. One thing, I can say, it's quite easy and delicious. It's much better than taking even a fresh bread from the bakery or supermarket.  Now,  the recipe.  The recipe goes from Jeff Hertzberg and Zoe Francois's books.

1 1/2 cups lukewarm water
1/2 Tablespoon yeast
1/2 Tablespoon salt (you may use less)
1/2 Tablespoon sugar
1 Tablespoon olive oil
3 1/2 cups bread flour (you can use all-purpose flour)

This recipes makes enough dough 2  9-inch focaccias. you may substitute up to 25% whole wheat flour for the bread flour.
Mix yeast, salt, sugar, and olive oil with water in contained that has a lid. Mix in flour using spoon, food processor or mixer with a dough hook. Mix until the last bit of flour incorporated.
Cover, NOT AIRTIGHT, and allow to rest at room temperature for approximately 2 hours. Dough will rise to double in size. Dough can be used immediately after initial rise, though it is easier to handle when cold. Refrigerate in a lidded (not airtight) contained and use for pizza or flatbread over the next 14 days.

Focaccia is also given time to "proof" (rise), 20 minutes before baling. Preheat oven to 460F, rack on middle shelf. Bake 15-20 minutes until lightly brown. Before baking, I sprinkle focaccia with olive oil and sea salt.

Now, I have to have a special word for the presenter. Carol was so nice and attentive that all of us in class successed in our dough making. Her directions were easy and simple. I think, even a man can do such easy recipe and enjoy a fresh focaccia or pizza at home. It does not require a lot of skills, equipment or time. Definitely, I will use the recipe over and over again.  Thanks Carol for a good recipe and a lot of useful advices how to handle an yeast dough.

How to make chocolate Babka

Here's a second recipe from "Healthy and easy kosher cooking" by Leach Schapira. enjoy !

Again about Challah

Best and worst Challah in Twin Cities. Again and again every bakery tries to recreate the PERFECT challah. Now you can choose the best one. Please read the article.

77 Mouth-Watering Baking Blogs You Need to Bookmark

A bagel is a round bread

The Jewish bagel’s probably birthplace is Poland. The first known reference to the bagel among Jews in Poland, Ms. Balinska writes, precedes the battle of Vienna by seven decades. It is found, she says, in regulations issued in Yiddish in 1610 by the Jewish Council of Krakow outlining how much Jewish households were permitted to spend in celebrating the circumcision of a baby boy – “to avoid making gentile neighbors envious, and also to make sure poorer Jews weren’t living above their means.” The origin of the word “bagel” is ultimately unclear, but many experts agree, she says, that it comes from the Yiddish beigen, to bend.

Read more about bagels and bagel's recipes

Challah Collection

Russian
1. Праздничная хала
2. Хала на желтках
3. Breadsmith's Challah
4. Whole Wheat Challah
5. Литовская хала
6. Белорусская хала
7. Сдобная хала
8. Высокая хала
9. Черновицкая хала
10. Хала плетеная
11. Meggie Glezer
12. Чешская хала
13. Claidia Roden's Challah
14. Gilda Latzky's Challah
15. Rebecca's Challah
16. Тунисская хала
17. Хала сахарная по-киевски

English
1. Roasted garlic Challah bread
2. Challah (The New York Times Bread and Soup Cookbook)
3. Egg Challah
4. Pumpkin challah (wonderful braiding pictures)
5. Chocolate and apricot challah
6. Challah from The knead for bread
7. The Ultimate Challah
8. Tammy's Challah
9. No-Knead nutella Challah
10. Challah from "taste of home"

Harvest Honey Challah

Harvest Honey Challah
Dough: 1/2 cup lukewarm water, 6 tablespoons vegetable oil, 1/4 cup honey, 2 large eggs, 3 - 4 cups Unbleached All-Purpose Flour, 1 1/2 teaspoons salt, 1 tablespoon active dry yeast.
Filling: 2 cups dry cherries (cranberries or dark raisins), 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon, fresh zest from 1/2 of lemon, 1/4 cup granulated sugar
Glaze: 1 large egg beaten with 1 tablespoon water, coarse white sugar, optional
To make the dough: In a large mixing bowl, dissolve yeast in warm water with a dash of flour and sugar. Combine all ingridients except flour in a food processor. Add yeast mixture, turn on the motor and slowly add flour. Immediately stop adding a flour, when a soft and smooth dough is being formed.

Allow the dough to rise, covered, for 2 hours, or until it's puffy and nearly doubled in bulk. Punch dough down. Lightly grease a 9" round cake pan that's at least 2" deep. Or grease a 9" or 10" spring form pan.
Preparing filling, thoroughly mix sugar and zest, add cinnamon.
Gently deflate the dough, transfer it to a lightly greased work surface, and flatten it into a rough rectangle, about 8" x 10". Spread cinammon mixture and dry cherries all over the dough. Roll the dough, using the dish towel to help. Take a bench knife or a knife, or even a pair of scissors, and cut the cherries-filled dough into 16 pieces. To achieve this, cut the rolled log horizontally into 2 parts, then cut each part into 8 pieces.Lay the dough chunks into the pan; crowd them so that they all fit in a single layer
Cover the challah gently with lightly greased plastic wrap or a proof cover, and allow it to rise for about 1 hour, until it's a generous 2" high. It should just crest the rim of a 9" round cake pan. Towards the end of the rising time, preheat the oven to 325°F. Whisk together the egg and 1 tablespoon water. Brush the dough with the egg mixture, and sprinkle heavily with the coarse sugar, if desired. If you're going to drizzle with honey before serving, omit the sugar.

Place the bread in the lower third of the oven. Bake it for 55 minutes, or until the top is at least light brown all over, with no white spots. Remove the challah from the oven, and after 5 minutes loosen the edges and carefully transfer it to a rack.

Serve the bread hot, warm, or at room temperature. Drizzle with honey just before serving, if desired; or serve with honey for dipping.

Idea for the recipe from King Arthur Harvest Apple Challah

Ricotta raisin bread

Ricotta raisin bread

You will love this bread from the beginning. Simply speaking, it's delish....

Recipe came from Rose Levy Beranbaum's blog

I just rolled out the dough, sprinkled with raisins, baked and glaze with my universal lemon drizzle..

Universal Lemon drizzle: 1 tbsp margarine, 1 tbsp lemon juice, 1 c icing sugar Mix together completely softened margarine with 1 tbsp of lemon juice and the icing sugar.Make a thick paste, add more lemon juice to make a thickish but pourable drizzle.
Here's a reprinted recipe from Rose Levy Beranbum's blog
This recipe was adapted from one that came to me as a gift from Diego Mauricio Lopez G. of Pandora bakery in Columbia South America after the publication of The Cake Bible in 1988.


Equipment: A baking sheet lined with parchment, or sprinkled with flour or cornmeal. A baking stone or baking sheet.
If using active dry yeast proof it. To proof, dissolve it with a big pinch of the sugar in 2 tablespoons of the water warmed only to hot bath temperature, 110°F./43°C. Set it in a warm spot for 10 to 20 minutes. It should be full of bubbles. Add it when adding the ricotta.
Mix the Dough
In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar, and instant yeast. Place it in a food processor with the dough blades. Add the ricotta, softened butter, egg, and salt and pulse about 15 times. With the motor running, add the cold water. Process 60 to 80 seconds but be careful not to allow the dough to get hot—i.e. not over 80°F/27°C. The dough should be soft but not sticky. If it is not soft, spray it with a little water and pulse it in. If it is sticky, transfer it to a counter and knead in a little flour at a time. After the first rise it will become firmer and difficult to shape if it is not soft. The dough will weigh about 2 pounds, 5 ounces/1048 grams.
Let the Dough Rise
Place the dough into a 4 quart or larger container, coated lightly with cooking spray or oil. Press down the dough and lightly spray or oil the top of the dough. Cover the container with a lid or plastic wrap. With a piece of tape mark on the side of the container approximately where double the height would be. Allow the dough to rise, ideally at 75 to 80°F./24 to 27°C., for about 2 hours or until doubled Preheat the oven to 375°F./190°C. at least 30 minutes before baking time. Have the oven shelf at the lowest level and place an oven stone or heavy baking sheet on it and a cast iron pan on the floor of the oven before preheating. (You can line it with foil to prevent rusting.)
Rolled out the dough, sprinkle with raisins and roll in shaping as a bread. Let the dough rise until doubled in bulk about 1 hour. Mist the dough with water and quickly but gently set the baking sheet on the hot baking stone or hot baking sheet. Toss 1/2 cup of ice cubes into the pan beneath. Immediately shut the door and bake 35 to 40 minutes or until golden and a skewer inserted in the middle comes out clean (A instant read thermometer inserted into the center will read about 200°F./93°C.). Halfway through baking, turn the pan around for even baking.

Transfer the loaf to a rack and brush with the drizzle if desired. Cool until barely warm—at least 1 hour.

Caterpillar Bread

2 cans (13.8 oz each) Pillsbury® refrigerated classic pizza crust
1 pack of sausages/franks
mayonnaise
ketchup
Divide the dough from each can into 4 pieces and mould them into balls. Let them rest for 10 minutes, then roll them flat with a rolling pin.




Pictures had been borrowed from Novice-baker
Put the sausage on the center of the dough and fold the dough into halves. Lightly pinch to seal. Cut each folded dough into 6 small portions, leaving 1/3 from the sealed edges uncut. (The dough should resemble a comb at this point.)

Twist first cut portion to the left, and second to the right, repeat this for the rest of the portions. Place the shaped dough onto a greased baking sheet and press each lightly. Let the dough prove for 25 minutes. (please see pictures and follow them)

Brush with egg wash.

Bake at 375F for 15-20 minutes or until the breads look golden brown. You can pipe some mustard and ketchup on top if desired (for presentation).

Recipe from Novice baker

Butter Knots (Eggless rolls)

Butter Knots (Eggless rolls)
Click on image for the recipe.

Булочки на дрожжах и без яиц
24 булочки.

1/4 чашки сливочного масла, 1 чашка молока, 3/4 чашки итальянского творога (ricotta cheese), 1 чайная ложка соли, 3 столовые ложки сахара, 1 пакет сухих дрожжей, 1/4 чашки теплой воды (105-115Ф), 3 & 1/2 - 4 чашки муки (2 чашки обычной белой муки + 2 чашки муки грубого помола (whole-wheat flour)), 1 яйцо для смазки.

Для теста: просеять муку. В небольшой кастрюле нагреть сливочное масло и молоко до полног растворения масла. Добавить итальянский творог, соль и сахар. Снять с огня и дать немного остынуть. Все масса должна быть немного теплой.

В емкость влить теплую воду, выложить дрожжи, добавить 1-2 столовые ложки муки и дать дрожжам подойти. Вылить подошедшие дрожжи в творожную смесь. Полученную смесь вылить в кухонный комбайн. Замешивать дрожжевое тесто с помощью комбайна очень просто. Взбивая массу, тесто насыщается кислородом, поэтому тесто получается воздушным. Не выключая комбайн, постепенно всыпать муку. Как только тесто начнет отходить от стенок комбайна, станет мягким и элестичным - муки больше не добавлять. Вынуть из комбайна и замесить тесто. Уложить в сухую, смазанную растительным маслом емкость и накрыть пищевой пленкой. Оставить на 2 часа в комнатной температуре, обменать тесто нужно 3-4 раза.

Руки припудрить мукой, брать тесто и придавать ему форму колбаски. Закруть колбаски как показано на рисунке. Нагреть духовку до 425Ф. Противень смазать растительным маслом. Каждую булочку выложить на противень, смазать яйцом, посыпать кунжутом и поставить выпекать булочки в духовку до готовности (20-25 минут). Вытащить противень с готовыми булочками, дать им немного остыть. Подавать с любимым выреньем и фруктами

Poppyseed buns

Poppyseed buns
20 medium size buns

Dough: 1/2 cup milk, 1/2 cup water, 4 tablespoons butter, 1/3 cup instant potato flakes, 2 tablespoons sugar, 1 1/2 teaspoons dry active yeast (or instant), 1/2 cup non-sweet yogurt, 1 egg, 1 tablespoon of lemon(orange) zest, 4 cups flour

Filling: 1 cup raisins, 1/2 finely chopped walnuts, 1 (12 ounce) can of poppy seed filling.
Glaze (optional): 1 1/2 cup powdered sugar, 1 tablespoon butter, zest and juice of 1 lemon(orange)

Heat water, milk and butter until butter will be completely dissolved. Add instant potato flakes and sugar. Allow to sit for 5 minutes. Add dry yeast and leave for 20 minutes. In a separate bowl, mix together yogurt and egg. Add to milk-yeast mixture. Slowly begin to add flour. Mix thoroughly and knead until smooth. Put to rise, covered, for about two hours, until doubled in bulk. (might be placed in refrigerator for a night). Divide dough into 2 balls. Knead each ball lightly into shape on a floured board and roll out to a square. Soften the 1 tablespoon butter and spread over the dough, then fold and roll out again. Allow to sit covered for 30 minutes. Sprinkle with the raisins, walnuts, and poppyseed feeling. Now, with the hands, roll up like a Swiss roll. Cut this into slices of about 1 1/2 inches. Lay the slices flat close together on a tin and prove for 2-3 hours at refrigerator. Take out from regrigerator and leave to prove at room temperature for 30-40 minutes

Preheat the oven to 375F. Bake until buns are golden brown, take out and leave until cool before separating the buns. Glaze: mix powdered sugar with butter and lemon zest slowly adding lemon juice Spread on glaze.


Булочки с маком

Тесто: 1/2 чашки молока, 1/2 чашки воды, 55 гр (4 ст л) сливочного масла, 1/3 чашки несолёных картофельных хлопьев/быстрорастворимое пюре, 2 ст л сахара, 1 1/2 ч л сухих дрожжей, 1/2 чашки несладкого йогурта, 1 яйцо, цедра лимона или апельсина, 4 чашки муки (550-600 гр)

Начинка: 1 чашка изюма, 1/2 чашки мелко нарезанных грецких орехов (по желанию), 1 упаковка (12 ounce) начинки из мака.

Глазурь (по желанию): 1 1/2 чашка сахарной пудры, 1 ст л растопленного сливочного масла, сок и цедра лимона или апельсина

Нагреть воду, молоко и масло. Добавить картофельные хлопья и сахар. Оставить на 5 минут. Добавить в картофельную массу дрожжи, оставить на 20 минут.Смешать йогурт и яйцо. Влить в ранее приготовленную картофельную массу, постепенно добавить муку. Замесить (миксером, руками или в хлебопечке) мягкое, слегка липкое тесто. Вымесить 5 минут; оставить на 20 минут (тесто должно быть очень мягким, но масляными руками из него можно сформировать шар). Переложить тесто в смазанную маслом большую миску, накрыть плёнкой и поставить на 2 часа или на ночь в холодильник.Достать тесто из холодильника, выложить на присыпанный мукой стол, слегка обмять и сформировать в шар (тесто можно разделить на 2 части). Накрыть плёнкой и оставить на 30-40 минут. Раскатать из теста прямоугольный пласт толщиной ~1 см. Смазать маслом с молоком, посыпать сахаром и равномерно разровнять рукой, не доходя до широких краёв на 2 см.Посыпать тесто изюмом, орехами и маковой начинкой.Скатать в рулет, закрепить шов и нарезать на кусочки ~3см толщиной.Переложить в смазанную маслом большую форму или противень с высокими краями (38x25-см/15x10-inch).Накрыть форму плёнкой оставить на 1-2 часа (булочки можно поставить для расстойки в холодильник). Достать их за 30-40 минут до выпечки.Разогреть духовку до 190°C/375°F.Выпекать 20-30 минут до золотистого цвета.Слегка остывшие плюшки намазать глазурью или полить мёдом.Для глазури: смешать сахарную пудру с маслом, 2 ст л лимонного сока и 1 ч л цедры. Добавить по 1 ч л сока, до нужной консистенции.

Original recipe for dough from http://aynmark.blogspot.com/2007/01/chelsea-buns.html

Dilly cottage cheese Bread

Dilly cottage cheese Bread.

1 package dry instant yeast, 1/4 cup warm (120F) water, 1 cup cottage cheese, 2 tablеspoons sugar, 1 tablespoon shredded white onion, 1 tablespoon melted butter, 2 teaspoons finely chopped dill (optional), 3/4 teaspoon salt, 1/4 teaspoon baking soda, 1 egg, 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour (might be a little bit less or more).

Sprinkle dry yeast over warm (110 degrees F) water. Heat cottage cheese to lukewarm in saucepan; add sugar, onion, butter, dill, salt, baking soda, egg and yeast mixture. Add flour to form a very soft dough. Cover; let rise in a warm place, 85 to 90 degrees F, until double, 50 to 60 minutes.

Stir dough down. Turn into a well-greased 1 1/2-quart round-bottom casserole. Let rise in a warm place until light, about 30 to 40 minutes.
Bake until golden brown, 40 to 45 minutes. Brush with butter; sprinkle with Kosher salt.

Творожный хлеб с укропом.

1 пакетик сухих растворимых дрожжей, 1/4 чашки теплой воды, 1 чашка амeриканского творога (cottage cheеse), 2 ст. л. сахара, 1 ст. л. мелко натертого лука, 1 ст. л. растопленного и остывшего сливочного масла, 2 ч. л. мелко нарезанного укропа (по желанию), 3/4 ч. л. соли, 1/4 ч. л. пищевой соды, 1 яйцо, 2 1/4 - 2 1/2 стакана муки

Развести дрожжи с теплой водой. В отдельной посуде смешать творог (американский творог можно заменить домашним творогом), сахар, лук, масло, укроп, соль, соду и яйцо. Влить дрожжевой раствор. Постепенно добавляя муку, замесить мягкое тесто. Накрыть миску влажным кухонным полотенцем или пищевой пленкой и поставить в теплое место на 1 час или до тех пор, пока масса вдвое не увеличится в объеме. По консистенции это тесто напоминает тесто на дрожжевые блины. Смазать жиром глубокую форму для выпечки и выложить в нее тесто. Снова дать расстояться примерно в течение часа. Выпекать в духовке, заранее нагретой до 350Ф, 30-40 минут. Дать постоять в форме, остудить на решетке.

От еврейской мамы. Я уверена, что этот рецепт станет очень популярным в Ваших семьях. Прежде всего, потому что хлеб получается очень вкусным. Во-вторых, потому что творог популярен в каждой семье. Замешивая тесто, муку добавлять постепенно, чтобы не передозировать.

Recipe from "The Vegetarian Cooking" Liz Maiberg Naomi