Cream Puff Goes to School: Week 5

 

On the menu for Week 5:  Whole Wheat Bread, Six Grain Bread and Bagels.

The Art of Bread

I was intrigued by this class because we were preparing Whole Wheat Bread and Six Grain Bread, loaves which both require the use of whole wheat flour. To be honest, I've hardly ever used whole wheat flour at home. While we eat bread with whole grains on an almost daily basis, we buy them from our favourite bakery. Our instructor explained that whole wheat flour is made of the entire grain (the endosperm, the germ and the bran). While I never imagined that I would be baking and trying to figure out what an endosperm is at the same time, it was interesting to learn about a type of flour that I know very little about.

The other ingredient that was new to me was part of the recipe for the whole wheat bread:  vital wheat gluten. Vital wheat gluten is an all-natural gluten booster. It comes in handy when baking with flours such as rye and whole wheat. Breads made with these flours tend to be denser, without as much gluten as breads made with bread flour. The vital wheat gluten helps these dense breads develop more of that all-important gluten power.

The dough for the Whole Wheat Bread consisted of yeast, water, whole wheat flour, bread flour, sugar, salt, milk powder, molasses, vital wheat gluten and shortening. After mixing and kneading the dough, we let it rest for 20 minutes. We then divided our dough, shaped it and let it rest for another 10 minutes. After putting the bread in tins, it went off to the proofer and then to the oven.

The end result was a nicely browned loaf that was light with a nice nutty flavour. While Whole Wheat Bread isn't my favourite, I was really pleased with this loaf, in particular with how I shaped it before it went into the tin. I think I'm getting the hang of some of the shaping techniques and it was a pleasure to see how well these loaves turned out.

For me, though, the star of the class was the Six Grain Bread. The dough for these loaves consisted of yeast, water, bread flour, whole wheat flour, sugar, salt, shortening, milk powder, molasses and six grain cereal. Our instructor explained that we could buy any six grain mix from a supermarket or health food store.

After mixing the dough, we let it rest for 20 minutes. We then divided it, shaped it and let it rest for another 10 minutes. Unlike the Whole Wheat Bread, we baked the Six Grain Bread free-form. Once proofed, the bread was baked for about half an hour. Beautiful, round, crusty loaves emerged from the ovens and I was thrilled! I loved the flavour of this bread. I loved the crust and I loved the texture, which was firm enough to use for sandwiches. This is one to definitely try again!

Breakfast Breads

Two weeks ago there was no class due to the Thanksgiving Day weekend. Class resumed last week with a lesson in bagels. Almost everyone I know has an opinion on bagels: who makes the best bagels in Toronto, should you boil them, how much salt should you add ... the list goes on and on.

We began by mixing a basic bagel dough, which we let rest for half an hour. As soon as the dough had rested, we divided it into 100 gram portions and began shaping our bagels by first rolling the dough into little balls, flattening them slightly, poking a hole in the middle and then using our fingers to widen the hole. Our instructor demonstrated another method of forming bagels that involved rolling the dough into a rope, joining the rope and then sealing the bagel where the two ends were joined. I found this method challenging so opted for the first method.

We had to work quickly to avoid letting the dough dry out. Once our bagels were formed we dipped them in slightly salted water that was simmering. As soon as the bagels floated to the top, we removed them and then topped them. I dipped some of my bagels in poppy seeds, some in sesame seeds and I topped the rest with cheddar cheese.

The bagels were okay, but I found them to be a bit on the salty side. While it was fun making them, the flavour and texture didn't come close to the bagels I can buy in some of Toronto's best bagel shops. I enjoyed the experience, but don't really see myself making bagels at home.

That's it for this week!

Ciao!

Technorati tags:  baking class, whole wheat bread, six grain bread, bagels

Comments

[Ellie]

Glad you're still having fun in class, pity those bagels aren't up to scratch, though they look divinely yum to me!

[Kat]

I didn't know that about wheat flour either. What an interesting class! Your breads look delicious!

[rowena]

Your mention of bagels had me in a flashback of the early mornings (think 12:30am!) when I had to go in to make batches of bagels with the boss. He was from New York and was so very particular in how he made his bagels. Eventually he took shortcuts so that we could go in at a more respectable hour, if 4am sounds more like it.

To this day I don't know if that deli is still in business.

[pembeli]

Merhabalar, blogunuzdaki tarifler çok güzel, sizi takipteyim bu yüzden linklerime ekledim görüşmek üzere. Keşke tarifleri türkçe olarakta yayınlasanız çok sevineceğim. Teşekkürler

[Kimberly]

Thanksgiving Day Weekend? hmmmmm.... is not until November 23rd?!

[Beth]

When I make wheat bread I never add the glute - I always forget ot buy it. I just add about 1/4 white flour and 3/4 wheat.
I always let my breads rise for like an hour the first time and 45 minutes after shaping. Is this too long?

[connie]

you are getting great at shaping your breads! they all look so professional, especially the whole wheat bread. and those are the prettiest bagels i've ever seen.

[veuveclicquot]

Wow. I had no idea that wheat flour had to be "helped" along with the addition of gluten.

Sounds like a super interesting class; like you, though, I'd rather just buy a bagel than make my own. Seems liks a tad bit too much of a hassle! :)

[carolyn]

I will be telling my husband about the vital wheat gluten, he is the one who loves to bake bread round hear.

[joey]

I love freshly baked bread...unfortunately I haven't been able to make it as often as I would like. I am enjoying your bread-making stories :) Keep 'em coming! :)

[Jennifer]

I've never cooked much with wheat flour either--almost all of my bread is made with AP or bread flour. The six-grain bread with molasses sounds like a keeper though, so maybe I'll try it.

I'm glad you're enjoying the class so much; I hope all else is well with you!

[Lauren]

I'm so jealous! I'm going to culinary school (hopefully starting January). Breads are one of my absolute favorite things in the world. That whole wheat loaf looks amazing. I keep saying that I'll make bread but I run out of hours in the day (bad excuse, I know!) Good luck with everything in culinary school.

[Bruno]

Ivonne,
Thanks for answering a question I was recently pondering about... how do bagels get their shape? I think when I make some I'll try both methods and see which I like better. Were the bagels you made dense and chewy?... those are the best kind!

[Brilynn]

When I made bagels I did it the rope way, and consequently some of the ropes "undid" themselves and I ended up with horseshoes instead of bagels.

Does the vital wheat gluten help make the whole wheat loaves less dense? I like whole wheat but when I make bread with it it's usually heavy and brick like.

[Anna]

What is your favourite place to buy bagels in Toronto?

[Jenny]

Wow, you are such an inspiration for all us home novice bakers out there! Keep up the good work, and the reports on what you learn!

[Jenny]

Wow, you are such an inspiration for all us home novice bakers out there! Keep up the good work, and the reports on what you learn!

[ejm]

I invariably add a little whole wheat flour to almost every bread I make. I like to mimic hand milled flour (got the idea from Carol Field in "The Italian Baker"). I have made 100% whole wheat bread, but not often recently (my husband prefers bread made with a mix of wholewheat and white flour). We use honey instead of molasses to give it a slightly less dark taste. (I've never added vital wheat gluten to 100% whole wheat dough either.)

The six grain bread sounds really good.

And I urge you to try bagels again when you get home and away from those overly warm proofing areas at school. But boil the bagels in sugared (or malted) water rather than salt water. And make sure you use high gluten bread flour. I think you'll be amazed at how great they are.

-Elizabeth

P.S. Brilynn, see if you can get hold of a copy of "Laurel's Kitchen Bread Book - A Guide to Whole-Grain Breadmaking" by Laurel Robertson (the public library should have it). There are great tips for making light 100% whole wheat bread. This is my take on her basic recipe for 100% whole wheat bread:
http://etherwork.net/recipes/wholewheat.html

[peabody]

You know bagels are one of those things I would just rather buy.

[Julie O'Hara]

That would have been my favorite bread class--I love whole wheat! I must recommend trying whole wheat pastry flour in virtually anything you make. It is lighter in color, texture and flavor than regular whole wheat flour, and it hard to detect in baked goods. If you want to hide the whole wheat, use half (or more) of the pastry flour and the rest white flour. It's so good!

[Jackie]

I love hearing about your classes! Bread is something I'd really like to learn more about. I don't think I'd be making bagels at home either, though - too many good ones already out there. I'll have to try whole wheat next time I bake bread!

[Abby]

A co-worker and I have been considering trying our hand at bagels, but like you said, I'm afraid it would be a lot of work with an outcome that wouldn't please me as much as a local bakery could!

[Lisa]

I'm not a fan of whole grain breads.. but I have to admit that loaf looks fabulous! I knew bagels were tricky and I agree with most that I'd just rather buy them. I wonder though.. do you think one of your classes will cover pretzels? They are something I'd like to try at home. Beautiful job, as always! I look forward to next week's classes! :D

[koffiekitten]

looks delicious!

[Darci McGrath]

Your loaf of bread is beautiful...I am tempted to give this a try...out side of the bread machine.