Read Healthy Bread in Five Minutes a Day: 100 New Recipes Featuring Whole Grains, Fruits, Vegetables, and Gluten-Free Ingredients for Free Online Page B
Authors: Zoe Francois, Jeff Hertzberg MD
darker color, stronger flavor, and more of the minerals magnesium and zinc. It is great for baking because the flavor stands up to the other ingredients, but either Grade A or B will work nicely.
Molasses: Molasses is an unrefined sweetener derived from sugarcane. Blackstrap molasses is the product of three boilings of the sugarcane, and so it concentrates the nutrients. Its iron, magnesium, calcium, copper, potassium, and vitamin B 6 content makes it one of the most nutrient-rich sweeteners, more so than molasses that isn’t labeled as blackstrap. It is used in the recipes to add color and a deep, rich flavor. Unsulphured molasses has the best flavor.
Dairy Products
Cheese: We add a number of different cheeses to our doughs. They are not only a great source of flavor, but also add protein and calcium to the bread. Many cheeses are high in saturated fat, so eat them in moderation.
Milk: The addition of milk to bread dough adds not only a slight sweetness, but also protein. And lactose (milk sugar) helps to keep the loaf fresher longer. Too much milk in dough, however, can have an adverse effect on the rising power of your loaf. With our whole grain breads we can’t afford to lose any rise! In CookWise, food scientist Shirley O. Corriher suggests scalding the milk first, which helps to eliminate the problem. We don’t call for it in the recipes, but if your dough is dense it is worth a try.
Yogurt: Plain yogurt, either whole milk, low fat, or non fat, contains lactic acid, which helps to promote strong gluten development. It also acts as a preservative to prevent baked bread from going stale so quickly. It adds a lovely tangy flavor to the bread and is a great source of protein, calcium, and zinc.
Miscellaneous Ingredients
Beer: The addition of beer to the dough adds yeasty flavors that we often don’t taste using our method until the dough has stored for at least twenty-four hours. By using a little beer you can achieve the complex flavors much faster. You can use any beer except strongly flavored stouts and porters in these recipes.
Wine: Red wine might have some health benefits (see sidebar ), so we tossed some into our Red Wine and Cheese Bread . Use any wine you’d enjoy drinking; it doesn’t have to be top-shelf.
3
EQUIPMENT
We’ve learned a thing or two since we wrote our first book and have discovered a few additional pieces of equipment that make bread baking even easier.
EQUIPMENT FOR BAKING WITH STEAM (You Only Need One)
Broiler tray to hold boiling water for steam: This is our first choice for creating the steam environment needed for breads to achieve a crispy crust. Highly enriched breads (eg., challah, brioche, etc.) don’t benefit from baking with steam, because fat in dough softens the crust anyway. Pour hot tap water (or drop a handful of ice cubes) into the preheated broiler tray just before closing the oven door. Two important warnings about glass: 1. Do not use a glass pan to catch water for steam, or it will shatter! 2. Some of our readers have reported cracked oven window glass after spilling water on its hot surface. If you want extra assurance that this won’t happen to you, cover the window with a towel before throwing water into the pan; remove before closing the oven door.
Some oven doors (and most professional ones) don’t make a great seal for holding in steam. If your oven allows steam to dissipate and you’re not getting a beautiful crust, try one of these three alternatives to the broiler tray method:
Food-grade water sprayer: Mist the bread three times with water from the sprayer during the first two minutes of baking.
Metal bowl or aluminum-foil roasting pan for covering loaves in the oven: By trapping steam next to a loaf as it bakes on the hot stone, you can create the humid environment that produces a crisp crust without using a broiler tray or a sprayer. The bowl or dish needs to be heat-tolerant and tall enough so that the rising loaf
Molasses: Molasses is an unrefined sweetener derived from sugarcane. Blackstrap molasses is the product of three boilings of the sugarcane, and so it concentrates the nutrients. Its iron, magnesium, calcium, copper, potassium, and vitamin B 6 content makes it one of the most nutrient-rich sweeteners, more so than molasses that isn’t labeled as blackstrap. It is used in the recipes to add color and a deep, rich flavor. Unsulphured molasses has the best flavor.
Dairy Products
Cheese: We add a number of different cheeses to our doughs. They are not only a great source of flavor, but also add protein and calcium to the bread. Many cheeses are high in saturated fat, so eat them in moderation.
Milk: The addition of milk to bread dough adds not only a slight sweetness, but also protein. And lactose (milk sugar) helps to keep the loaf fresher longer. Too much milk in dough, however, can have an adverse effect on the rising power of your loaf. With our whole grain breads we can’t afford to lose any rise! In CookWise, food scientist Shirley O. Corriher suggests scalding the milk first, which helps to eliminate the problem. We don’t call for it in the recipes, but if your dough is dense it is worth a try.
Yogurt: Plain yogurt, either whole milk, low fat, or non fat, contains lactic acid, which helps to promote strong gluten development. It also acts as a preservative to prevent baked bread from going stale so quickly. It adds a lovely tangy flavor to the bread and is a great source of protein, calcium, and zinc.
Miscellaneous Ingredients
Beer: The addition of beer to the dough adds yeasty flavors that we often don’t taste using our method until the dough has stored for at least twenty-four hours. By using a little beer you can achieve the complex flavors much faster. You can use any beer except strongly flavored stouts and porters in these recipes.
Wine: Red wine might have some health benefits (see sidebar ), so we tossed some into our Red Wine and Cheese Bread . Use any wine you’d enjoy drinking; it doesn’t have to be top-shelf.
3
EQUIPMENT
We’ve learned a thing or two since we wrote our first book and have discovered a few additional pieces of equipment that make bread baking even easier.
EQUIPMENT FOR BAKING WITH STEAM (You Only Need One)
Broiler tray to hold boiling water for steam: This is our first choice for creating the steam environment needed for breads to achieve a crispy crust. Highly enriched breads (eg., challah, brioche, etc.) don’t benefit from baking with steam, because fat in dough softens the crust anyway. Pour hot tap water (or drop a handful of ice cubes) into the preheated broiler tray just before closing the oven door. Two important warnings about glass: 1. Do not use a glass pan to catch water for steam, or it will shatter! 2. Some of our readers have reported cracked oven window glass after spilling water on its hot surface. If you want extra assurance that this won’t happen to you, cover the window with a towel before throwing water into the pan; remove before closing the oven door.
Some oven doors (and most professional ones) don’t make a great seal for holding in steam. If your oven allows steam to dissipate and you’re not getting a beautiful crust, try one of these three alternatives to the broiler tray method:
Food-grade water sprayer: Mist the bread three times with water from the sprayer during the first two minutes of baking.
Metal bowl or aluminum-foil roasting pan for covering loaves in the oven: By trapping steam next to a loaf as it bakes on the hot stone, you can create the humid environment that produces a crisp crust without using a broiler tray or a sprayer. The bowl or dish needs to be heat-tolerant and tall enough so that the rising loaf
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