Tuesday, February 20, 2024

Black Bread with Pecans, Raisins & Cranberries


I was looking for a decadent sweet dough to make when I came across this recipe in my files.  This didn't match what I was looking for at all, but I thought it might make a nice breakfast toast in the mean time.  I made it back in 2007 and didn't make note of any issues in the process; then again, I was more inclined to follow directions exactly as given back then.  (These days, I tend to go off script and then wonder why I have problems.)  In my notes, I recommended adding orange zest, which I've done here.  I also made mention of using half whole wheat flour in place of the bread flour; I made a similar substitution here.  However, I don't have bread flour, so I used Trader Joe's all-purpose flour, which has a higher protein content than standard AP.  I used up the last of some light rye flour, about 1/2 cup, and made up the rest with dark rye.  I also used about 1/2 cup of mild whey (left over from straining yogurt) in place of some of the water.

I'd consider this a sort of mock black bread in that it's not a sourdough.  I wondered why there is vinegar in the ingredients-- maybe to add sourness that would normally be provided by true sourdough?  Despite that, while the dough tasted a bit sour, the end result is not, which is okay by me.

Here's what I used:

1 envelope active dry yeast

1 cup warm water (105 degrees F to 115 degrees F)

1½ cups rye flour

3/4 cup white whole wheat flour 

1¾ cup bread flour

2 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder

1 teaspoon salt

2 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted

2 tablespoons distilled white vinegar

2 tablespoons molasses

1 tablespoon sugar

1 teaspoon instant coffee powder

1/2 cup pecans, toasted and coarsely chopped

1/4 cup golden raisins

1/4 cup dried sweetened cranberries

zest of 1 orange, finely grated 

1 large egg white

1 tablespoon old-fashioned rolled oats 


Proof the yeast in the warm water.  In a mixing bowl, whisk together the rye flour, white whole wheat flour, cocoa powder, and salt.   In a small bowl, stir together the melted butter, white vinegar, molasses, sugar, and coffee powder to dissolve the coffee powder.   Add the butter mixture and the yeast into the flour mixture and stir to combine.  Stir in pecans, raisins, cranberries, and orange zest until mixed, then stir in the remaining 1 cup bread flour to make a soft dough.  Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface and knead until smooth and elastic, about 8 minutes*, adding more flour as needed to prevent sticking.  Place the dough in a large, oiled bowl; turn to evenly coat.  Cover with a clean kitchen towel and let rise in warm place, away from drafts, about 1 hour or until doubled in volume.

Punch down dough and shape into a ball. Place on a greased baking sheet and cover with a towel.  Let rise in warm place, away from drafts, about 1 hour or until doubled in volume. 

Heat oven to 350 degrees F. In a small cup, lightly beat the egg white with a fork. Brush top of dough with egg white, then sprinkle evenly with the rolled oats. Bake 35 to 40 minutes or until browned and bread sounds hollow when tapped. Transfer bread to wire rack; let cool. Serve warm or completely cooled.

 

*Times were all much longer than called out in this recipe.  I used my stand mixer to knead the dough and it took about 30 minutes to reach window pane status.  The first rise took about 2 hours, and the second about 90 minutes.  (The loaf did experience oven spring while baking, as well.)

 

I added only about an extra 2 tablespoons of flour to the dough at the beginning of kneading.  I don't know if it was the added heaviness of the whole wheat flour, or because I used AP flour instead of bread flour, but I had trouble getting it "smooth and elastic".  I'd use a bit of high gluten flour if available to give the heavy rye and wheat flours a little help and reduce kneading time.

During the final shaping, the dough tends to pull away from the fruit, especially the cranberries (because they're glazed), so it might be helpful to give them a light coating of flour before mixing in.  Otherwise, I pulled the dough over to cover any exposed fruit.

I used a small Romertopf clay baker (9.5" x 6.5"), so I let the dough do its second rise as a vague loaf shape on a piece of parchment in a separate pan.  I soaked the top and bottom of the clay baker in water for about 15 minutes, then placed both in the cold oven to preheat.

I was aware of a fair amount of added acid in this recipe, not only in the molasses, coffee, and vinegar called for, but also the whey that I used (in place of water-- a very mild whey, not sour.)  In researching what affect acid has on yeast dough, I found this on The Fresh Loaf:  "[I]n rye breads, acidity matters a lot. Rye bread structure doesn't depend on gluten but on a viscous gel made of water and complex carbs (polysaccharides). The amylases degrade the complex carbs, turning them into simple sugars and causing the rye breads to become dense and gummy."  So, two thoughts:  1) maybe I didn't have to knead the dough to the windowpane stage; and 2) what affect, if any, did the whey have on the bread?  I wouldn't have called the bread gummy, but I thought it could have used another 5 minutes or so in the oven.  I baked it at 425 for about 30 minutes.  I would have left it a bit longer except when I checked, the sides were turning black.  (Now I think that was something on the baker causing them to burn, because it was only in spots.)

Conclusion:  Very good.  The crumb (and crust) is dense but soft, and the flavor delicate.  No specific flavor comes through, but they all blend together with only the occasional sweet tang of a bit of fruit and a light floral note from the orange peel.  This is not a fruit-heavy bread so, if the yeast is strong enough, it could easily accept more fruit and nuts, up to a cup of each.

Recipe:  Black Bread with Pecans, Raisins & Cranberries via Family Circle magazine

Monday, February 5, 2024

Blueberry Muffins V


 My obsession with the perfect blueberry muffin continues.  This is the fifth installment (hence the "V").  That said, this effort was a FAIL, by my fault alone.  I don't know how many times I have to tell myself NOT to try baking first thing in the morning, but I did it again.  And I made mistakes.  Mistakes that dramatically affected the outcome.  So I can't give a fair assessment of this recipe at this point.  (Some day I'll remake it, properly, and update this page.)

I was really excited about this recipe, not only because I know the author really does her research, but because also it uses only a small amount of milk (which meant they wouldn't be too soft and delicate) and because the batter was very thick and you're encourage to pile it high (which meant the muffins would have a nice, high dome.)  Those were two very promising characteristics.

The problems arose from making only half the recipe.  Couple that with the measurements being given in multiple formats (volume and weight) and it was all too much for this bleary-eyed night owl who'd just rolled out of bed.  I mismeasured the flour, the sugar, and the milk.  The milk!  That's critical to the texture!!  I soldiered on.

For 6 high-domed muffins (using her whole wheat option), here's what I was supposed to use:

3¼ oz (3/4 cup) white whole wheat flour
2¾ oz (5/8 cup) all-purpose flour
2 oz (3/8 cup) sugar
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/8 teaspoon baking soda

3/8 teaspoon sea salt
1/16 teaspoon nutmeg
2 oz (3/8 cup) virgin or refined coconut oil, soft but cool (or 3 oz unsalted butter)

1/4 cup milk
1 large egg, cold
1½ teaspoons vanilla extract
5 oz (scant 1 cup) fresh blueberries

Heat oven to 350F.  Grease 6 muffin tins.  Sift together the flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and nutmeg in a mixing bowl.  Add the coconut oil or butter and mix on low speed until it becomes a mealy powder, about 2 minutes.  (If using coconut oil, the mix can be made up to this point and stored long-term.)

Add the milk, egg, and vanilla to the dry mix and stir to create a thick, dough-like batter, then gently fold in the blueberries.  Spoon batter into prepared muffin tins, piling the batter high.  (Top each with a sprinkling of sparkling sugar, if desired.)  Bake until domed and firm but still pale, about 22 minutes.  Serve warm.


The first mistake I made was dumping in an equal amount of AP flour before realizing it was slightly less than the amount of whole wheat flour, so I scooped some out.  I think I did okay there.  The next mistake was dumping in the full amount of sugar (for 12 muffins); I scooped out what I could, but there was probably some extra in there.  The worst mistake was dumping in the amount of milk for 12 muffins-- that couldn't just be scooped out.  It rapidly soaked into the flour and sugar.  I sucked out as much as I could with a turkey baster (which also resulted in sucking out some of the extra sugar, since it dissolved in the milk), but by weight it wasn't nearly enough.  I probably ended up with about 3/4 the full recipe amount, rather than half.  This made the batter softer than it should have been (bearing in mind that whole wheat flour is "thirstier" than AP, which helped some), so the muffin tops spread more than expected.  The extra milk also might have been the reason why I had to bake them a few extra minutes, about 25.

Conclusion:  For all the failings, these turned out alright.  They weren't too sweet, there was a good amount of berries... even the texture wasn't bad.  I didn't use the nutmeg, but I think I'll try it next time.  I definitely need to try the recipe again, properly.

Recipe:  Blueberry Muffins via Bravetart by Stella Parks