The first recipe for the HBin5 Bread Braid(a bake along) is the Master Recipe. Now, I'm not going to be posting the dough recipes here. The book is copyrighted, so you'll have to buy the book or find it at your public library. The good news is that the authors of the book put the Master Recipe on their website along with the method of baking it, so you can try it before you buy it. :c)
I made one recipe of the Master Recipe. I used a freshly ground mix of red and white wheat. I mixed the dough one day and baked the next, letting it chill in the fridge overnight. From that I made 1 small boule, Spicy Whole Grain Snack Crackers and Epi shaped bread with about a pound to pound-and-a-half of dough leftover. This was my first time making a shaped bread!
I have made many boules because I have baked from the Artisan Bread pre-quel to this book, so this wasn't something new for me. It has a gorgeous crust and color.
I had never attempted a shaped bread before. Luckily, I watched a few videos online of people making Epi which helped. What didn't go so well was that my scissors didn't have a very long blade at all, so I didn't snip through the dough quite far enough. The finished loaf is supposed to look like a stalk of wheat. I think I also let it rise too long(I had to put the baby down for a nap!) so the "grains" aren't as separate as they should be. Still, it's a good first attempt, I think. It was very easy and fun!
The crackers were the most labor-intensive of the things I made. I will admit that while I was making them I thought they were more trouble than a cracker could be worth. I managed to get the dough paper-thin, but then transferring them from the counter to the pan was difficult. For the second batch, I rolled and cut them on parchment paper then just transferred the paper to the oven. That worked well, except I think I need a different brand of parchment paper. Everything sticks to the brand I have. I used only salt on the first batch and added the spiciness to the second batch. I have to admit I think I like the salt-only ones better. They are like super-delicious wheat thins. Very yummy! If I can streamline the process by finding a better parchment paper then I will definitely make these again.
Overall, a lot of fun! I don't think all my HBin5 or BYOB'10 posts will be this photo-intensive. Maybe every once in a while. :c)
11 comments:
Great job! My epi looks terrible in shape, and I think I had the same problem - the blades of my scissors were not long enough. Your crackers look yummy, and the boule - magnificent!! :)
Do you have a Dollar Store in your area? They sell kitchen shears that are great and just a $1 pair. I own several pairs that I keep in the kitchen and use daily.
Your Epi, Crackers and Loaf are all perfection. Great job!
They all look wonderful. I wish I had the desire to bake my own bread. Too lazy I guess.
I love your post- the composition is so uinque, very inviting. I have to agree, that the crackers did take some time to make-- but fresh crackers are a wonderful treat. Yours look great.
I had some crackers stick to my parchment too. Great job on all the breads!
I don't think your post was photo intensive at all...I love looking at the process and how things turned out. Everything looks so yummy!
I agree that the crackers were way too labor intensive. I love your idea of using parchment- so much easier. Everything turned out fabulous.
Wow, these all look like they can't be done any better. I hope to get to that point one day
You should open a bakery!
These look great!!
Apu
I think you're Epi looks beautiful, as do the rest of your loaves! :)
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