When it comes to baking bread I’m a novice and to tell you the truth I don’t really know why, except that it’s time consuming and so is the rest of my life and it requires planning and forethought and…
Okay you get the picture. I love bread, especially home made bread and I’ve made it exactly three times in my life. I made a focaccia oh about nine years ago or so in a class I took at Sur la Table, then this wonderful challah last year and now these:
Last month three incredibly talented bloggers, Foodwanderings, Cake Duchess and Cooking with Books started the Breaking Bread Society. I thought, oh what a great idea I really need to join in but May was such an insane month that next thing I knew they posted the June recipe! Sigh. I’m sure I’ll go back and make the inaugural recipe because I REALLY want to get bread into my repertoire and this is a good motivator for my BREADUCATION! (It’s a word, really. You’ll find it in the Deb-tionary, promise). Thanks ladies!
So, each month one of the founders chooses a recipe and shares it with the rest of us to make as is or tweak to make it our own. This month it’s Marnely from Cooking with Books. She chose a recipe from “Artisan Breads“, by Eric Kastel; it’s one she made as part of her breads class at the CIA.
As it turned out, I wound up making this recipe twice. The first time, it seems the yeast had issues. I didn’t get much of a rise and although they came out nice and round, they were very dense. Essentially what I got was a bunch of golf balls:
The second time around was better. The first rise was a beautiful thing.
However I think the second rise could have been better. This was probably my fault. I couldn’t place them in a warm oven to rise this time because I had to preheat it to bake the rolls. Guess my alternative solution wasn’t the best. But despite the fact that they puffed out instead of up they were delicious and not nearly as dense (though not as light as they should have been) as the first batch. We’ll, chalk it up to a learning curve. Third time’s a charm, right? Yes, there will be a third time.
So as part of my breaducation, where do you proof your bread? What constitutes a warm spot? And why do some recipes say let rise in a warm spot and others in a cool spot?
I decided to add scallions to the recipe, omit the fresh corn and add a sprinkling of sesame seeds on top; my little change-ups. Other than that I didn’t stray far from the original, taking a few bits from each version.
If you are a bread baker or are interested in learning, like me, here are the details from Marnely’s site:
“Breaking Bread Society is a group of bakers that focuses on literally “breaking bread” with friends and family over the magic of blogging! Join us as we share recipes and explore new ingredients and techniques in bread baking! Every 1st of the month we’ll be sharing a new recipe and you have the entire month to link up and share YOUR version! Read more about Breaking Bread Society here.”
Savory Corn Rolls
My slightly adapted recipe from The Culinary Institute of America’s “Artisan Breads” by Chef Eric Kastel
Corn Soaker
Note: The total amount of milk needed, 2 3/4 cups, has been split.
1 3/4 cup milk (amount of milk to add when first mixing)
1 cup medium grind cornmeal
1 cup milk (second addition)
Dough
All of the corn soaker
4 tablespoons vegetable oil
1/4 cup molasses
16.1 oz bread flour
4 oz corn flour (not the same as cornmeal)
1/4 ounce (7 g) 2 1/4 tsp or 1 packet instant dry yeast
1 tablespoon salt
4 scallions, diced (green parts only)
Egg wash (1 egg beaten)
sesame seeds for garnish
Corn Soaker Directions
1. Put cornmeal in bowl of your stand mixer. Carefully bring 1 3/4 cups of milk to a rolling boil and add it to the cornmeal. Let sit in mixture for two minutes. With a paddle, mix for 3 minutes on high speed. Lower speed and add the rest of the milk, making sure to scrape down the bowl.
2. Cover soaker and refrigerate overnight or for a minimum of 8 hours. (I did overnight)
Dough Directions
1. Place the bowl containing the corn soaker in a warm water bath to bring to around 85F.
2. In a mixer fitted with a dough hook, place the corn soaker oil, and molasses. Mix for 1 minute. Add the bread flour, corn flour, yeast and salt. Mix for 6 minutes on low speed. Add the scallions and increase to medium speed; mix for 4 more minutes. The dough should be slightly tacky but have good gluten development.
3. Scrape the dough onto a lightly floured surface and form into a ball. Place in a lightly oiled bowl and cover with plastic wrap. Allow to rest and ferment in a warm place for 45-60 minutes.
4. Punch down the dough and place onto a lightly floured surface. Divide into 2 ounce pieces, rounding the dough against the tabletop. Place each dough ball onto a parchment paper lined baking sheet, brush with egg wash and cover with plastic wrap. Ferment for 45-60 minutes.
5. Preheat oven to 400F. Egg wash rolls again, sprinkle with sesame seed.
6. Transfer rolls to the oven and immediately reduce temperature to 375F. Bake for 15 minutes or until lightly golden. Remove from oven and allow to cool on baking pan.
Cornmeal and sesame seeds sounds like a great combination! I love the golden color of these rolls. My house was very cold, so it took hours to rise each time. You just have to let them take their own time.
LikeLike
Thanks Paula! I plan on making them again so I will definately let them rise longer this time. Third time’s a charm, right? 🙂
LikeLike
OMG absolutely stunning Deb. You are a knitter, you are a baker. A high achiever! Love these gorgeous scallion corn rolls. What a wonderful pairing for aperfect summer BBQ. ahahaha ‘breaducation’ LOVE it!
LikeLike
Fabulous rolls, Deb! Scallions and sesame seeds are a perfect idea for these delicious rolls. So happy you found the time this month to bake along with us for Breaking Bread. xx 😉
LikeLike
I love the trio of bread lovers in this group. They’re all my faves for sure.
I love your rolls – they look great. Like you, I often have trouble finding a place to put the bread AND being able to pre-heat the oven. While visiting a friend she showed me what she uses and it’s fantastic. She bought one of those heating mats that you put under a reptile cage to keep them warm.
I wrap the bread in a silpat and plop it on the mat. bingo!
LikeLike
Now THAT is a great idea! I’ll have to go get a heating mat ASAP. Thanks for sharing Maureen. 🙂
LikeLike