Challa- Jewish Bread

Divine Cherry and Celestial Dragon are both above religion (literally). When religion was invented, Celestial Dragon and Divine Cherry happened to be on a cosmic roller coaster, spiralling through the universe -- they had mistakenly not been briefed about the meeting during which religion was to be invented. And so, while other beings thought every creed and faith into existence, Divine Cherry and Celestial Dragon were hovering on the topmost fringes of the universe, preparing themselves for the full loop through Alpha Centauri they could spot only a few galaxies away. Strangely enough, that is precisely why Celestial Dragon and Divine Cherry particularly enjoyed the Challa.
Indeed, had they been part of the religion-commission, the Challa would have been just another item on the Great And Good And Gargantuan List Of Yet-To-Be Things That Need Inventing In Order To Exist So Get To Work You Baboon. Because they were absent, however, they only recently discovered its existence. And what a discovery that was! To Divine Cherry, the Challa is the embodiment of her two greatest passions: fantastic bread and huge tresses (yes, everyone has a guilty secret, and Divine Cherry's just been revealed). To Celestial Dragon, it is the embodiment of rone of his greatest passions: fantastic bread (Celestial Dragon recently confessed to Vague Magazine that he does not have any guilty secrets).
And so it was that the Challa brought joy and happiness to both of them. Yet although Divine Cherry and Celestial Dragon are above religion (literally), they still possess the gift of magnanimity, and therefore herewith share the recipe of the Challa with all who wish to have it.

Blog-checking lines: May’s Daring Bakers’ Challenge was pretty twisted – Ruth from The Crafts of Mommyhood challenged us to make challah! Using recipes from all over, and tips from “A Taste of Challah,” by Tamar Ansh, she encouraged us to bake beautifully braided breads.

Challa Adapted  from Ruth's blog

Ingredients
- 15 g dry yeast
- 240 ml warm water
- 100 g brown sugar
- 115 g unsalted butter – room temperature
- 15 g salt
- 3 large eggs
- 280 g whole wheat flour
- 280 g all-purpose flour
- 50 g rolled oats
 - 70 to 140 g additional flour for kneading
-  1 egg beaten with 1 tsp. water for glaze
Directions:
1. In the bowl of your stand mixer, dissolve yeast in warm water. Allow to stand about 5 minutes until creamy/foamy.
2. With paddle attachment beat 3 eggs, sugar, margarine (or butter), whole wheat flour, all purpose flour and oats into the yeast mixture. Or, if mixing by hand (ok, spoon), combine eggs and margarine/butter with yeast mixture until well mixed. Add flours and oats and mix until it becomes difficult to mix.
3. Once combined, switch to the dough hook and knead for 5 to 10 minutes until smooth and elastic, adding flour as/if needed. If kneading by hand, this should take about 10-12 minutes.
4. Form dough into a round, compact ball. Turn in oiled bowl, cover with a kitchen/tea towel. Let rise in warm area (I put it in the oven with the light on) until doubled, approx. 2 hours.
5. Once dough has doubled, punch down. Recover with towel, allow to rise again for an hour, but even 30 minutes will be fine if you’re in a hurry.
6. Punch the dough down again, divide in two.
7. Shape each half as desired (Look at these fantastic videos on how to make braids: 3, 4 , 4 round or 6 braid). Place shaped loaves onto parchment covered baking trays. Cover with the towel and allow to rise another hour.
8. Preheat oven to 200 degrees.
9. Brush loaves with egg wash. (Sprinkle with vanilla sugar/sesame seeds/poppy seeds/other topping here if desired)
10. Bake 30 to 40 min. until the loaf sounds hollow when tapped on the bottom.
11. Transfer loaves to a wire rack to cool before serving.

Challa Ricetta adattata dal blog di Ruth
- 15g lievito di birra secco
- 240 ml acqua
- 100 g zucchero di canna scuro
- 115g burro
- 15 g sale
- 3 uova grandi
- 280 g farina integrale
- 280 g farina semplice
- 50 g fiocchi d'avena
- 70-140 g farina semplice per impastare
-1 uovo per spennellare alla fine.

Sciogliere il lievito in acqua tiepida. Lasciare riposare circa 5 minuti. Con il gancio K della planetaria, battere 3 uova, lo zucchero, il burro,  le  farine e l'avena nella miscela di lievito. Oppure, se la preparazione e' a mano,  unire le uova e il burro con la miscela di lievito fino ad ottenere una consistenza omogenea con un cuchiaio di legno. Aggiungere le farine e avena e mescolare fino ad ottenere un coposto piuttosto solido.
Cambiare il gancio e usare l'unicino della planetaria per impastare il composto, per 5-10 minuti. O a mano per un quarto d'ora circa, fino ad ottenere un palla liscia e compatta. Mettere l'impasto in una ciotla oliata e coprire con un canovacvcio. Lasciar riposare fino al raddoppio (2ore circa).
Una volta che l'impasto e' lievitato, farlo sgonfiare con un pugno. Farlo lievitare nuovamente per un'ora circa.
Sgonfiare l'impasto di nuovo e dividerlo in 2. Intrecciare ogni meta' (Qui dei video fantastici su come intrecciare il pane:  3, 4 , 4 round or 6 braid).
Una volta che le pagnotte sono formate, posizionarle su due teglie infarinate. Spennellare con l'uovo e lasciar riposare un'altra ora.
Preriscaldare il forno a 200 gradi. Spennellare le pagnotte nuovamente con l'uovo e infornare per 30/40 minuti. 

Tiger Bread – or Giraffe Bread, but more accurately Tortoise Bread

Traditionally, these buns were called "tiger buns". Clearly, whoever gave them that name had never seen a tiger: they are striped. Then, one day, a little girl wrote to a big supermarket stating that according to her humble opinion, it would be more accurate to call this bread "giraffe bread" on account of its shapes and colours that remind her of the markings of a giraffe rather than of those of a tiger. We are getting closer now, but we're not quite there yet. Sure, there is an improvement from tiger to giraffe, but how is it that no one has ever understood this bread's true nature?
One day, Divine Cherry and Celestial Dragon were walking on an island off the western coast of South America. The island was teeming with weird and wondrous animals, and its vegetation was lush and dense. It was a very popular islands among the gods, since it was the location where of one of the most famous shampoo commercials ever to be aired on DeiTV was shot. With a magical arrow. Be that as it may, Celestial Dragon and Divine Cherry, upon stopping on a small tree-covered hill, found themselves next to a greenish, Spanish-speaking bump in the ground. As it turned out, it was in fact a giant tortoise. Its life had been one of green boredom. In its youth, it had advocated for an ecologically minded revolution that fought for a ban on the consumption of salad by non-herbivores. After all, it wasn't fair – on account of their set of teeth, herbivores couldn't have sides of steak with their main meal! The movement fell in disgrace and its members disbanded. Since then, the giant Spanish-talking tortoise had led a life of renunciation, eating only blades of grass on the top of which a drop of dew was precariously perched. Divine Cherry and Celestial Dragon were moved by the tortoise's story, and so they decided to help it find it a meaning in life again. And so they came up with the idea of turning it into bread. For that way, they argued, the tortoise itself would become the side order with the salad, and would, therefore, have ultimately won its cause!
Obviously, the tortoise was sceptical at first. Also at second, and even at its third thought the tortoise wasn't sure it wanted to become bread.
And so it was that they left it to it. When they got back to the Infinite Palace, however, Divine Cherry set about to prepare "Tortoise buns" – as a souvenir and tribute to the activist, Spanish-speaking tortoise.

Blog-checking lines: Sara and Erica of Baking JDs were our March 2012 Daring Baker hostesses! Sara & Erica challenged us to make Dutch Crunch bread, a delicious sandwich bread with a unique, crunchy topping. Sara and Erica also challenged us to create a one of a kind sandwich with our bread!


Tiger/Giraffe/Tortoise buns (aka Zoo Buns) Recipe provided by Baking JD  for the Daring Bakers challeng of March



Topping:
- 2 packets (15 gm) active dry yeast
- 240 ml warm water
- 30 g sugar
- 2 tablespoons (30 ml) vegetable oil
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 240 g rice flour
Combine all the ingredients in a large bowl and beat them with a whisk to combine. The consistency should be like stiff royal icing – spreadable, but not too runny. If you pull some up with your whisk, it should drip off slowly. Add more water or rice flour as necessary. Let it stand for 15 minutes.

Coat the top of each loaf or roll with a thick layer of topping. Make sure you don't put too few topping, it will not crack if there isn't enough of it on the loaf.
When baking, place pans on a rack in the center of the oven and bake your bread as you ordinarily would. The Dutch Cruch topping should crack and turn a nice golden-brown color.

White rolls

- 1 packet (7g) active dry yeast
- 60 ml warm water
- 240 ml warm milk
- 20 g sugar
- 2 tablespoons (30 ml) vegetable oil
- 1½ teaspoons  (9 g) salt
- 600 g all purpose flour

In the bowl of an electric mixer, combine yeast, water, milk and sugar. Stir to dissolve and let it sit for about 5 minutes (the mixture should start to bubble or foam a bit and smell yeasty).
Add in vegetable oil, salt and 300 g of flour. Using the dough hook attachment or with your hands, mix at medium speed until the dough comes together.
Add the remaining flour a quarter cup at the time until the dough pulls away from the sides of the bowl.

Turn out onto a lightly floured surface and knead for about 4 minutes, until smooth and elastic.
Place in a lightly greased bowl and cover with plastic wrap. Let rise for 1 hour, or until it has doubled (or more) in size.

Once the dough has risen, turn it out onto a lightly floured surface and divide it into 6 equal portions. Shape each into a ball and place them on a floured baking tray (try not to handle the dough too much at this point). Cover with plastic wrap and let rise for 15 minutes while you prepare the topping. Coat the top of each roll or loaf with the topping as described above. Once you’ve applied the topping, bake in a preheated moderately hot 200°C for 25-30 minutes, until well browned. Let them cool completely on a wire rack before eating.

Copertura:
- 2 bustine di lievito di birra in polvere
- 240 ml acqua tiepida
- 30 g  zucchero
- 2 cucchiai (30 ml) olio vegetale
- ½ cucchiaino di sale
- 240 g farina di riso

Mescolare gli ingredienti in una ciotola con una frusta a mano per evitare grumi. La pasta deve avere una consistenza cremosa, non troppo liquida. Sollevando un po' di impasto con la frusta, questo deve scivolare via pesantemente. In caso aggiungere un po' di acqua o farina per raggiungere la giusta consistenza.

Spalmare la copertura sui panini prima di infornarli. Coprire i panini con uno strato piuttosto spesso di copertura: se lo strato e' troppo sottile non si crepera' in forno e non si formeranno i tipici disegni.

Panini:
- 1 sacchetto (7 g) di lievito di birra in polvere
- 60 ml acqua tiepida
- 240 ml latte tiepido
- 20 g zucchero
- 2cucchiai (30 ml) di olio di oliva
- 1½ cucchiaino (9g circa) di sale
- 600 g farina

In una ciotola, mescolare lievito, acqua, latte e zucchero. Lasciar attivare per 5 minuti (si dovrebbero formare delle bolle in superficie). Aggiungere l'olio, il sale e 300 g di farina. Mescolare con un cucchiaio di legno per amalgamare gli ingredienti e aggiungere il resto della farina un po' alla volta. Poi impastare con il gancio a uncino (o a mano) finche' l'impasto non diventa liscio ed elastico. Riporre in una ciotola unta d'olio e lasciar riposare coperto con pellicola per un'ora o fino a che non sara' raddoppiato di volume. Dopo questo tempo, riprendere l'impasto e dividerlo in 6 parti uguali, formare delle palline (cercando di non lavoralo troppo per non vanificare la lievitazione), poggiarle su una teglia infarinata, coprirle e lasciarle riposare per 15 minuti. Nel frattempo preparare la copertura.
Spalmare i panini con abbondante copertura e infornarli in forno gia' caldo (200 C). Cuocere per 25-30 minuti finche' si saranno formate le caratteristiche crepe sulla superficie e il panino sara' diventato dorato.


Enjoy,
And Spread the Mess

Irish Soda Bread and Belated Happy St Patrick's Day

Everybody knows the story of St Patrick, and of how he fell off the giant ferris wheel and landed of a floor of sheep. Everybody also knows that St Patrick won the coveted PCP title (Pool Champion of Paradise) three centuries in a row, as well as that obscure story involving him, a talking cow, a rubber duck and a moustachioed barman. But not many people know of St Patrick's involvement with Celestial Dragon and Divine Cherry.

Today, however, it's all about to change; it's time the world knew.

As most saints, St Patrick didn't start his career as a saint. In his particular line of work, it takes time to prove oneself, and promotions are slow to come. Also, like for apothecaries and notaries, there are only a limited amount of available job openings during any one lifetime. And so it was that the not-yet-saint Patrick was one day sitting on the Hill of Slane, head in his hands, and musing at his present situation. He could not understand why his application for a promotion wasn't being backed up by the higher-ups. He had done everything they had asked him to: herded sheep, grown a beard, converted a entire country – he had even found a shamrock! But no, that wasn't enough. Soon-to-be-saint Patrick was despairing. It was at that moment that he saw two travellers. They were obviously on holiday and enjoying themselves. He observed that they slowly walked up the same hill he was on, and wondered what would happen. When they had reached the top of the hill, hopefully-saint Patrick noticed that something about them was not quite normal. But he couldn't tell what. They turned towards him and started speaking with him. Soon the three of them had become fast friends, and damn-I-want-to-be-a-saint Patrick found himself opening his heart to them, telling them his sorrow and his worries. Finally, he touched upon the subject of his wished-for sainthood, and confessed that he didn't know further. At that, the two travellers (who of course were Divine Cherry and Celestial Dragon), looked at each other and smiled. They told him not to worry, and gave him a meeting for the next night down at the local pub.

The next evening, at precisely 8.48pm, why-the-hell-am-I-not-saint Patrick arrived at the inn, spotted the two travellers and sat down next to them. On the table, apart from a generous quantity of weirdly-looking dark drinks, he saw an inviting loaf of bread. He was hungry. Celestial Dragon and Divine Cherry explained to him that this bread was the last, missing element for his promotion to sainthood. It was such a good bread, that if he were to distribute it among the people, they'd be raptured and delighted. Their happiness-index would raise dramatically, which in turn would raise the opinion his superiors had of him, which in turn again would raise him above the clouds. I-might-actually-soon-become-a-saint Patrick tasted the bread and knew that they were telling the truth.

History tells us that he followed Divine Cherry's and Celestial Dragon's advice. But history also tells us that happiness and deliciousness must be shared. So now, after having consulted with finally-Saint Patrick, Celestial Dragon and Divine Cherry have decided to share the recipe for the saint-making bread with the whole world. Here it is:

Irish Soda Bread
- 170 g wholemeal flour
- 170 g plain flour
- 1 teaspoon bicarbonate of soda
- 1/2 teaspoon of salt
- 290 ml  buttermilk

Preheat the oven at 200°C. Mix the dry ingredients in a large bowl. Make a well in the middle and add the buttermilk. Quickly mix the ingredients. Transfer the mixture on a working surface and knead briefly, then give it a round shape. The dough is very sticky at this stage but this is the way it should be! Put the dough on a floured baking tray, cut a cross on the top and bake for 30 minutes.

Note: This bread is better when eaten while it is still warm. Anyway, if you eat it also in the following days, it is better to warm it up a bit.


Irish Soda Bread
- 170 g farina integrale
- 170 g farina bianca
- 1 cucchiaino di bicarbonato di soda
- 1/2 cucchiaino di sale
- 290 ml di latticello (facilmente sostituibile con la stessa quantita di latte a cui vanno aggiunti 2 cucchiai di succo di limone)

Preriscaldare il forno a 200°C. In una ciotola capiente mescolare tutti gli ingredienti secchi.  Fare un buco nel centro e aggiungere  il latticello e mescolare velocemente. Trasferire il tutto sul piano di lavoro e impastare velocemente, l'impasto risultera' molto appiccicoso: va bene cosi'! Dare la forma alla pagnotta e riporla su una teglia ben infarinata. Incidere una croce sulla superifice e cuocere in forno per 30 minuti circa.

Nota: questo pane e' velocissimo e anche buono. Da' il meglio di s'e se mangiato appena pronto, ancora caldo. Non si conserva bene. Se avanza comunque e' buono scaldato sotto il grill un paio di minuti.


Enjoy,
And Spread the Mess

Bread # 3

One day, actually not that long ago, Divine Cherry and Celestial Dragon were enjoying a quiet and comfortable walk in the countryside. The weather was nice and mellow, the bees were packing their things away for the winter, the animals were busy fluffing up their furs, and the trees were having their usual afternoon tea. It was all in all a normal late autumn's day. The air was crisp and cool and it filled their lungs with a cold, tingling sensation. It had been a difficult week (yet another princess had been kidnapped in yet another realm and they both had to yet reincarnate themselves in the heroes and yet again save the day) and both Celestial Dragon and Divine Cherry felt that the walk was well-deserved indeed. Suddenly, another smell other that of deliciously rotting leaves filled the air and, consequently, their cold lungs. It was the smell of something long forgotten, yet always remembered. It was the smell of something soft, something warm, something cosy, something.. doughy. It was the smell of bread. And so it was that before long they stopped in front of a curious little house. It was made of gingerbread, children's clothes and dragon's teeth. They knocked on the door, and when an old woman opened them, Divine Cherry and Celestial Dragon saw that they had found Baba Yaga's hut. Of course, Celestial Dragon was over the moon (not literally) about this since he hadn't seen his grandmother in ages (literally). To celebrate the lucky advent, the three of them sat down in front of the fire and ate a loaf of bread Baba Yaga had just pulled out of the oven. Divine Cherry, curious as always, politely inquired as to the recipe of the bread, and this is what Baba Yaga told her:

French Country Bread
Servings: 1 large loaf plus extra wheat starter for further baking
Wheat Starter - Day 1:
Ingredients
40 gm stoneground breadmaking whole-wheat or graham flour
45 ml water
Total scant : 85 gm
Directions:
1. In a Tupperware or plastic container, mix the flour and water into a paste.
2. Set the lid on top gently, cover with a plastic bag, to prevent messes in case it grows more than expected!
3. Set somewhere warm (around 86 F if possible). I sometimes put mine on a windowsill near a radiator, but even if it’s not that warm, you’ll still get a starter going – it might just take longer.

Wheat Starter - Day 2:
Ingredients
40 gm stoneground breadmaking whole-wheat or graham flour
45 ml water
85 gm starter from Day 1
Total scant :170 gm
Directions:
1. Stir the flour and water into the mixture from Day 1, cover, and return to its warm place.

Wheat Starter - Day 3:
Ingredients
40 gm stoneground breadmaking whole-wheat or graham flour
20 ml water
scant 170 gm starter from Day 2
Total : 230 gm
Directions:
1. Stir the flour and water into the mixture from Day 2, cover, and return to its warm place.

Wheat Starter - Day 4:
Ingredients
120 gm unbleached all-purpose flour
100 ml water
230 gm starter from Day 3
Total scant: 440 gm
Directions:
1. Stir the flour and water into the mixture from Day 3, cover, and return to its warm place. At this point it should be bubbling and smell yeasty. If not, repeat this process for a further day or so until it is!

French Country Bread
Stage 1: Refreshing the leaven
Ingredients
160 gm wheat Leaven Starter
50 gm stoneground bread making whole-wheat or graham flour
150 gm unbleached all purpose flour
120 ml water
Production Leaven Total 480 gm
Directions:
1. Mix everything into a sloppy dough. It may be fairly stiff at this stage. Cover and set aside for 4 hours, until bubbling and expanded slightly.

Stage 2: Making the final dough
Ingredients
100 gm stoneground breadmaking whole-wheat or graham flour, plus more for dusting
300gm unbleached all-purpose flour
7 gm sea salt
300 ml water
300 gm production leaven – this should leave some (1 cup) for your next loaf.
Total 1007 gm
Directions:
1. Mix the dough with all the ingredients except the production leaven. It will be a soft dough.
2. Knead on an UNFLOURED surface for about 8-10 minutes, getting the tips of your fingers wet if you need to. You can use dough scrapers to stretch and fold the dough at this stage, or air knead if you prefer. Basically, you want to stretch the dough and fold it over itself repeatedly until you have a smoother, more elastic dough.
3. Smooth your dough into a circle, then scoop your production leaven into the centre. You want to fold the edges of the dough up to incorporate the leaven, but this might be a messy process. Knead for a couple minutes until the leaven is fully incorporated in the dough.
4. Spread some water on a clean bit of your work surface and lay the dough on top. Cover with an upturned bowl, lining the rim of the bowl with a bit of water. Leave for an hour, so that the gluten can develop and the yeasts can begin to aerate the dough.
5. Once your dough has rested, you can begin to stretch and fold it. Using wet hands and a dough scraper, stretch the dough away from you as far as you can without breaking it and fold it back in on itself. Repeat this in each direction, to the right, towards you, and to the left. This will help create a more ‘vertical’ dough, ready for proofing.
6. Heavily flour a banneton/proofing basket with whole wheat flour and rest your dough, seam side up, in the basket. Put the basket in a large plastic bag, inflate it, and seal it. Set aside somewhere warm for 3-5 hours, or until it has expanded a fair bit. It is ready to bake when the dough responds to a gently poke by slowly pressing back to shape.
7. Preheat the oven to hot 220°C. Line a baking sheet with parchment, then carefully invert the dough onto the sheet. I like to put the baking sheet on top of the basket, then gently flip it over so as to disturb the dough as little as possible. Make 2-3 cuts on top of the loaf and bake for 40-50 minutes, reducing the temperature to moderately hot 200°C after 10 minutes.
8. Cool on a cooling rack.

With big delay this recipe participates to the Daring Bakers challenge.

Our Daring Bakers Host for December 2011 was Jessica of My Recipe Project and she showed us how fun it is to create Sour Dough bread in our own kitchens! She provided us with Sour Dough recipes from Bread Matters by AndrewWhitley as well as delicious recipes to use our Sour Dough bread in from Tonia George’s Things on Toast and Canteen’s Great British Food!

I paste the recipe as Jessica wrote it.

Ricetta in italiano:
Pane Francese al Lievito Madre

Lievito Madre - 1 ° giorno:
Ingredienti
40 gr di farina integrale
45 ml di acqua
Produzione totale: 85 gm
Procedura:
1. In un contenitore di plastica, mescolare la farina e l'acqua.
2. Chiudere con il coperchio delicatamente, coprire con un sacchetto di plastica
3. Far riposare in un luogo tiepido.

Lievito Madre - Giorno 2: 
Ingredienti
40 gr di farina integrale
45 ml di acqua
85 gr di lievito del giorno 1
Produzione totale: 170 gm
Procedura:
1. Mescolare la farina e l'acqua all composto del giorno 1, coprire e rimetterla a riposare in un luogo tiepido.

Lievito Madre - Giorno 3:
Ingredienti
40 gr di farina integrale
20 ml di acqua
170 gr di lievito del 2 ° giorno
Produzione totale: 230 gm
Procedura:
1. Mescolare la farina e l'acqua al composto del 2° giorno, coprire e rimetterla a riposare in un luogo tiepido.

Lievito madre - Giorno 4:
Ingredienti
120 gm  farina bianca
100 ml di acqua
230 gr di lievito del 3° giorno
Produzione totale: 440 gm
Procedura:
1. Mescolare la farina e l'acqua alla miscela del terzo giorno, coprire e rimetterla a riposare in un luogo tiepido. A questo punto dovrebbe essere spumeggiante e odorare di lievito. In caso contrario, ripetere questo processo per un ulteriore giorno o piu' finche' non si formano delle bolle in superficie e acquista il caratteristico odore di lievito.

Pane francese

Fase 1: Rinfresco del lievito
Ingredienti
160 gr di lievito madre
50 gr di farina integrale
150 g di farina bianca
120 ml di acqua
Produzione totale 480 gr
Procedura:
1. Mescolare il tutto a formare un impasto veloce. In questa fase l'impasto potrebbe risulatare abbastanza duro. Coprire e mettere da parte per 4 ore, fino a quando alla formazione di alcune bolle e all'aumento di volume.

Fase 2: Impasto finale
Ingredienti
100 gr farina integrale
300gm farina bianca
7 gm sale
300 ml di acqua
300 gr di lievito madre - il resto si puo' conservare e usare per la prossima volta che panificherete.
Totale: 1007 gm
Procedura:
1. Mescolate la pasta con tutti gli ingredienti tranne il lievito madre. Sarà un impasto morbido.
2. Impastare su una superficie non infarinata per circa 8-10 minuti, se necessario bagnatevi la punta delle dita, cosi la pasta non si appicicchera'. Allungare e piegare la pasta in questa fase.
La pasta va stesa e ripiegata su se stessa ripetutamente fino a quando non diventa liscia ed elastica.
3. Appiattire un po'la pasta, mettere al centro il lievito madre. Ripiegare i bordi della pasta sul lievito per incorporarlo bene. Impastare per un paio di minuti fino a quando il lievito è completamente incorporato nella pasta.
4. Versare un po' d'acqua sul piano di lavoro e porre l'impasto in centro. Coprire con una ciotola rovesciata. Lasciate riposare per un'ora.
5. Una volta che la pasta ha riposato, iniziate ad impastare: allungando e ripiegando l'impasto su se stesso numerose volte.
6. Far riposare la pasta in una ciotola ben infarinata e coperta con pellicola per 3-5 ore, o fino a quando ha raddoppiato o triplicato di volume.
7. Preriscaldare il forno caldo a 220 ° C. Infarinare una teglia e rovesciarci l'impasto. Infornate per 40-50 minuti, riducendo la temperatura a  200 ° C dopo i primi 10 minuti.
8. Raffreddare e gustare!


Enjoy,
And Spread the Mess

Bread # 2

Remember the story of the creation of the First Bread? How Celestial Dragon and Divine Cherry handed out the First Batch? How it were them that gave humankind the idea of combining and then baking those seemingly incongruous ingredients flour and wheat and water?

Well that is one version of the story.

Another version is that it was actually humankind itself that came up with the baking process. This particular view seems to be widely regarded to be the "true" one; there is even so-called archeological proof for it. Apparently some guy with überlarge (but not shaded) glasses found fossilised seeds scattered somewhere in the desert and concluded, based on the sheer absurdity of his finding, that some people must have been baking bread there ages ago. Whatever. This is not an archeological findings report, however, it's simply the other, true version of what really happened. Because you see, reality is not what it always seems: it is a most fragile thing.

One day, Celestial Dragon and Divine Cherry were walking the earth. Back then they were known as the Vat'ussi. Just another title, really. When they were tired of walking, they stopped. (A clear manifestation of their divine wisdom). But it so happened that close to where they were resting, a camp of rudimentary people had settled down as well. Celestial Dragon and Divine Cherry were moved by the simplicity and harshness of their lives, and decided to gift them with something that would alleviate their daily toil. And so it was that they taught them how to make bread.

(Reality is always a mirrored truth: everything is connected with everything else. And it doesn't matter from what angle you decided to observe it; in the end, everything is everything else.)

This is what Celestial Dragon and Divine Cherry taught those lucky souls:

This recipe is adapted from The Wholewheat Cobs of Tinned tomatoes
Starter
Ingredients:
-500g of lukewarm water
-7g of fresh yeast
-20g of cane sugar
-300g of wholemeal flour
-125g of strong white flour

Pour the water in a large bowl. In it, melt the sugar and the yeast and wait for about 15mins. Slowly and gradually add the 2 flours, mixing well after each addition. Energetically stir the mixture in order to add some air to it. Leave it to rest overnight in a cool, dry place.

Bread
Ingredients:
-starter
-10g of salt
-45g of olive oil (extra virgin)
-about 400g of wholemeal flour

Pour the oil and the salt on the pre-prepared starter. Mix with a rubber spatula in order to well incorporate both the salt and the oil in the compost.
Add the flour and stir well until you get a homogenous whole. Knead for 20mins.
You will find that the dough will be quite wet and difficult to work with at this point; however, refrain from adding more flour. By slamming the dough on the working table you'll ensure that all the water will be well absorbed, thus resulting in a more elastic and less sticky dough. Put the dough in a bowl again, wet its surface lightly with water in order to avoid its drying out and cover with a cloth. Let it rest until it has more or less doubled in size (usually about one hour, but this may vary according to your room temperature and air humidity).
Now deflate the dough (hitting it in the middle) and put it back for its second raise. Again, cover it well with a cloth. You want it to double in size again (+- 30mins).
Once that's done, divide the dough in three equal parts in order to get three buns. Cross-cut them gently. Transfer the buns on a baking tray, cover them with a cloth again and let them raise again for another 45mins. Right prior to putting them in the oven, sprinkle them lightly will water (this will result in a better cooking of the dough, as well as a crunchier crust). Put them in the preheated oven at 230°C. After 15mins, lower the temperature to 200°C and conclude the baking.

Ricetta in italiano

Ricetta adattata dalle pagnotte integrali di Tinned Tomatoes

Starter

Ingredienti
• 500 g di acqua tiepida

• 7 g di lievito fresco

• 20 g di zucchero di canna
• 300g di farina integrale
• 125 g di farina bianca forte

Versare l’acqua in una ciotola di grandi dimensioni. Far sciogliere il lievito e lo zucchero nell’acqua tiepida e attendere circa 15 minuti. Aggiungere le farine poco per volta mescolando bene dopo ogni aggiunta. Far incorporare aria al composta mescolando energicamente. Lasciar riposare l’impasto per una notte al fresco.

Pane
Ingredienti
• Starter
• 10g di sale
• 45g di olio d'oliva
• circa 400 g di farina integrale

Versare l’olio e il sale sullo starter preparato la sera precedente. Mescolare con una spatola di gomma in modo da incorporare olio e sale al composto.

Aggiungere la farina allo starter mescolando bene per amalgamare il tutto. Impastare per  20 minuti. L’impasto sara’ piuttosto umido e difficile da maneggiare ma è meglio non aggiungere farina. Sollevare e sbattere l’impasto sul tavolo più volte farà assorbire l’acqua alla farina, l’impasto risulterà piu’ elastico e meno appiccicoso. Riporre l’impasto in una ciotola, ungere leggermente la superficie (in modo da non far seccare il composto) e coprire con un panno. Lasciar riposare l’impasto fino al raddoppio (un’ora circa ma dipende dalla temperatura dell’ambiente).

Far sgonfiare l’impasto (dare un pugno verso il basso al composto) e riporlo per la seconda lievitazione, sempre coperto con un panno per un’altra ora e mezza fino al nuovo raddoppio.

Separare l’impasto in 3 parti uguali e dare la forma di tre pagnotte rotonde. Fare un intaglio a croce sul centro di ognuna di esse .

Porre le tre pagnotte sul una teglia da forno, coprire on un panno e lasciar lievitare per 45 minuti circa.

Appena prima di infornare spruzzare la superficie delle pagnotte con poca acqua (questo fara’ si che la crosta risulti piu’ croccante e che il pane lieviti di piu’ durante la cottura). Infornare a forno caldo (230°C). Dopo 15 minuti abbassare la temperatura a 200°C e portare a cottura.

Enjoy,

And Spread the Mess

Bread # 1

We all know it. We've all seen it. We've all had it. Since someone far back in the recesses of time and imagination decided that instead of imitating giant grasshoppers it may be more interesting to crush some grains until they crumble to dust, add water and form a paste in a vain demiurgical experiment to re-create the first beings, and eventually put that paste somewhere to bake (preferably in an oven, but a burning city or a small sun would do just fine as well), mankind has known bread. In many shapes and sizes, in many variations and under many different names, but it has known bread. Some say that a god one day inadvertently demanded bread for his sacrifice (for gods, being immortal, don't perceive time the way you do: they can simultaneously see in the past, present and prospective), thus triggering a chain of events that will eventually culminate with the creation of a bread-made mirror. Some say that it didn't happen incidentally at all. Still others claim that bread actually came from the gods. That it was a gift from Above to Below. They gave it to the humans so that even in the face of ultimate adversity and desolation, when all that remained would be darkness and despair, they would still have something to share with one another. How idyllic. How romantic. How true.
And no one knows this better than Divine Cherry herself. For she was there, that long forgotten mid-summer's afternoon, when bread was given to mankind. She was there when they received the Sacred Pastry, when they marvelled at its form, when they were raptured by its smell, when they fell in ecstasy at their first bite, when they fell in love with the Bakers and when eventually they fell to the ground before Celestial Dragon who was distributing it. Divine Cherry has been making bread ever since, and her admiration for the Baked Bundle knows no bounds indeed.
Unlike usually, however, her most precious aid in this ancestral task does not come from Celestial Dragon. Nor from Small Perfect Cloud. When Divine Cherry sets out to make bread, she calls on another being: Robin the All-rounder. Together they then embark on a quest for the perfect bread. After minute observation, it has been ascertained that the quest always begins thus:
First, Divine Cherry adds 15g of fresh yeast to a glass of lukewarm water (she uses 300g of water for the recipe in total, and it has been observed that the water used to melt the yeast comes rigorously from said 300g). After also putting in a pinch of sugar, she leaves it to rest for 10mins. In the meantime, she mixes 300g of wholemeal flour and 200g of strong white flour with 1&1/2 tsp of salt in a large bowl. When the ingredients are well-mixed, Divine Cherry then makes a hole in the centre of the bowl and pours in the yeast, the rest of the water, 3tbsp of sunflower oil and 2tbsp of honey. She mixes it all with a wooden spoon until the bowl contains a homogeneous paste. At this point, Divine Cherry puts the paste on a floured worktop table where she works it until it becomes elastic. (It is usually at this point that Robin the All-rounder steps in and gives her a hand). Naturally, if the paste is too sticky she adds a bit of flour; and if it is too dry, she adds a bit of water. Eventually, she forms the well-worked dough into a ball and covers it with a cloth (one or more if needed) and leaves it to raise for at least 2 hours. However, it is not a matter of time, really. She knows that it's ready when it has more or less doubled its volume. Also, Divine Cherry usually puts the dough to raise in a warmish place in order to accelerate the process. She has confided that in order to accelerate the process even further one may use more yeast, but she has also insinuated that in doing so one will lessen the quality of the bread, for it is better to let it raise slowly.
Once the dough has grown enough, Divine Cherry then transfers it onto a floured baking tray and forms it to will (but beware! one must do this very carefully, because a rough handling of the raised dough may entail a deflation of the latter, thus completely nullifying the raising process). Once the dough is formed, Divine Cherry covers it with a cloth again and leaves it be for another 45mins. Eventually, being normally short of a small sun or a burning city, she puts it in an extremely hot oven (230°C). She lowers the temperature to 210°C after 15mins and bakes the bread to perfection for another 20-30mins. Voilà.


Again:
SIMPLE HALF-WHOLEMEAL BREAD

-300g of strong wholemeal flour
-200g of strong white flour
-300g of lukewarm water
-15g of fresh yeast
-3 tbsp of sunflower oil
-2 tbsp of honey
-1&1/2 tsp of table salt
-a pinch of sugar

Melt the yeast in a glass of lukewarm water (from the 300g) with a pinch of sugar and leave it to rest for 10mins. Meanwhile, mix the flour (300g+200g) and the salt in a large bowl. Make a hole in the centre and add the glass of water with yeast, all the remaining water, the sunflower oil and the honey. Mix well until you get a homogeneous paste. On a floured worktop table, work the paste well until you get an elastic dough. In case it is too dry add some water, and in case it is too stick add some flour. Form the dough into a ball, cover it with some cloth and leave it to raise until it has more or less doubled size. This should take about 2 hours. Once that's done, transfer the dough on a floured baking tray and form it to will - make sure to handle the dough with utmost care at this point, because it is extremely fragile and you may risk to deflate it completely. Cover again and leave it to rest for another 45mins. Eventually, put it in the oven at at least 230°C. After 15mins lower the temperature to 210°C and bake it for another 20-30mins.


Ricetta in italiano
PANE SEMPLICE MEZZO INTEGRALE

-300 g farina integrale forte
-200 g farina bianca forte
-300 g acqua tiepida
-15 g lievito fresco
-3 cucchiai olio di semi di girasole
-2 cucchiai di miele
-1 e 1/2 cucchiaino sale fino
-una punta di zucchero

Sciogliere il lievito in un bicchiere di acqua tiepida (presa dai 300g) con una punta di zucchero e lasciare agire per 10 minuti. Nel frattempo mescolare in una ciotola capiente la farina e il sale. Fare un buco al centro e aggiungere:  il lievito e tutta l'acqua, l'olio e il miele. Mescolare con un cucchiaio fino ad ottenere un composto omogeneo. Trasferire l'impasto sul tavolo infarinato e impastare a lungo fino a che il composto non risulta elastico. In caso aggiungere un po' di farina se l'impasto risulta troppo appiccicoso o un po' di acqua se risulta troppo duro. A questo punto formare una palla, coprire con canovaccio e lasciare lievitare, possibilmente in un luogo tiepido, fino a che il volume sarà più che raddoppiato. Ci vorranno almeno 2 ore: dipende dal clima e da quanto lievito è stato usato. Per accelerare aumentare il lievito (ma una lievitazione lenta migliora la qualità di pane).
Trasferire l'impasto su una teglia ben infarinata, dare la forma alla pagnotta (con delicatezza per non vanificare l'attesa di lievitazione!). Coprire con un canovaccio e laciar lievitare altri 45 minuti almeno. Infornare a forno caldissimo (230°C), dopo 15 minuti abbassare a 210°C e portare a cottura in altri 20-30 minuti.


Enjoy,
And Spread the Mess