The culinary program I recently completed at BU devoted only one day to the art and science of bread making. I assume that most culinary schools devote weeks or even a whole semester to baking breads. Alas, with just under four months of instruction on everything from stocks and sauces to Indian cuisine, we had to settle for the crash course on bread 101. Our lesson focused on baking traditional French baguettes and bagels, both of which I love immensely, but to be honest I don't think I will be making very often at home. I definitely left class that day feeling very overwhelmed and not at all capable of baking bread on my own. So in my quest to become a better baker, which I think means that you feel totally comfortable working with doughs, I enrolled in a one day bread making class at BU's competition - The Cambridge School of Culinary Arts. I had always been curious about the facilities at this rival institution so I was excited to spend an afternoon there checking them out.
The class I signed up for was called "All You Knead" and the description claimed that we would be making six different styles of bread, from the traditional baguette to grissini (breadsticks), cinnamon swirl bread and even a beer bread. When I got there, I learned that each of the six students could choose one of the recipes offered to make in the class. I'm not going to lie, I felt a little jipped. I was looking for a really intense bread making workshop and I guess this was not it. I understand that it would have been nearly impossible for each student to make so many different breads in a four hour class since each dough has to proof (when dough rests and doubles in size) twice for almost an hour each time. But still, they should have been more clear in the course catalog. So I chose to make rosemary olive rolls, which came out great. I did appreciate the instructor's advice about how to properly knead the dough and what it should feel like when it is ready. I also learned about "crashing", which basically just means you pick up the whole ball of dough and hold it as high as your head and then smash it down on the table. It is a great stress relief, although extremely loud. I am still not exactly sure what the benefit of "crashing" is, but I need to look into it. At the end of the class we got to sample all the different breads that everyone made. Although my bread was pretty damn good, I was in love with another student's herb batter bread. So much so that I took a mini loaf home and ate the whole thing while it was still warm. I remember her saying that it was really easy to make because you don't have to knead it at all, you just mix everything together in a bowl. This sounded like the perfect foray into home bread making for me.
So this past rainy New England Sunday, when I should have been relaxing at the beach (except that it was raining -AGAIN), I was inside wrapped in a sweater trying to recreate the herb batter bread. I am very proud to say that it was a complete success! My dough rose and baked beautifully. I used a variety of herbs from our tiny urban balcony herb garden. Instead of making one loaf, I decided to make multiple mini loaves using ramekins. They were so darn cute! If I can make this bread work then I'm sure others can too. This isn't the healthiest recipe as you will see from the fact that it calls for butter and sour cream, but making this every once in a while won't kill you. I hope you try it, it is absolutely delicious. This would be the perfect accompaniment to a hearty soup in the fall or winter, or even a rainy day in June.
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Herb Batter Bread Ingredients: 2 scant tablespoons dry active yeast 1/3 cup warm water (not more than 100 degrees) 1/3 cup warm milk 1 cup sour cream, room temp 6 tablespoons butter, softened 2 eggs 1/3 cup sugar 2 teaspoons salt 2 tablespoons fresh parsley, finely chopped 2 tablespoons fresh tarragon or chervil, finely chopped 2 tablespoons fresh dill, finely chopped 2 tablespoons fresh chives, finely chopped 4-4 1/2 cups all purpose flour Instructions: Dissolve yeast in the 1/3 cup warm water in a large mixing bowl. Add milk, sour cream, butter, eggs, sugar and salt, whisk to combine. Add the herbs. Using a wooden spoon, beat in 3 cups of flour until well blended. Stir in enough of the remaining flour to make a soft dough. You may not need it all. Cover the bowl and let the dough rise until doubled in size (about 45 minutes to an hour). Stir down the dough with a spoon or your fist. Put the dough in a buttered 2 quart casserole dish or 9" loaf pan. You may also divide the dough between individual ramekins. Cover the dough again and let rise until doubled in size (about an hour). Bake the bread in a preheated 375 degree oven for about 35-40 minutes for a large loaf, or 20-25 minutes for a small loaf. The bread is done when a thermometer inserted into the center reads 200 degrees. Let the bread cool completely before cutting it.
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