Baking Basics 101: Kneading

Its... so its time for a Baking Basics 101. This week its the method of kneading.

Kneading is a process most commonly associated with bread making. Kneading is process of stretching and, sometimes, punching the dough. Why is this done? Flour, especially bread flour, has gluten in it. The dough needs to be stretched to create an elastic dough, which is what you need to create air pockets in the bread.  This results in a light and fluffy loaf. If the dough isn't kneaded enough, the end result will be a heavy loaf of bread. No one wants that.   

Another term that you may come across is, 'knocking back'. The term that bread makers use to literarily, knock the air of the bread before the proving process. Basically kneading it again.

Why do this? By kneading the dough for a second time, it creates an even texture throughout the bread and removes the big air bubbles.

So once your bread has been left to risen
Ingredients:

• Bread dough
• A little flour for dusting the sides

Equipment:

•  Your clean hands

1. Using floured hands, scrape the risen dough from the bowl and turn it out onto a lightly floured work surface.

2.The process of kneading is stretching the dough, pressing it against the surface and folding it in on
 itself.

3. Knead the dough roughly for a few minutes until it looks well rounded and not as wet. It should be
soft, smooth and elastic. This is the stage when you let the bread prove until the dough has risen.

4.Knead the bread one more time and let the dough prove for the second time.

5. The dough should be ready to bake.

Recipe that use this technique:

Traditional Doughnuts

Fougasse and Bread Sticks
Fennel and Thyme Bread
Basic White Bread
Foccacia
Soda Bread

If there's a method you'd like to learn and want me to write about, please comment below or let me know on facebook or twitter with the hashtag #bakingbasics101

St Patricks Day Soda Bread and Pistachio Cupcakes

Happy St Patricks Day! Coming from an Irish family, we celebrate in a wonderful way... with food of course! In this case, bread. 

When I think of Ireland, I think of my Grandad, potatoes, green shamrocks, Mrs Brown's Boys and Leprechauns of course. But when I think of Irish food, my bread brain always thinks of soda bread. However, other countries have there own claim on the soda bread, but its mainly associated with Ireland. 

The Plain Soda Bread I made in pastry class.

My Grandad, (aka Gramps) is your typical, stereotypical Irish man and so he has to share his memories with me constantly. He told me that his granmother (my great-great granmother) would make her soda bread with currents to make it sweet. 

When I told him that I would be publishing a soda bread, which you can add cheese to. 

He looked mortified. 

So in this recipe, you can add currents or cheese and a little paprika (Just don't tell my Gramps!)

Ingredients: (Recipe Inspired by my Gramps and My patisserie tutor Faye)

·       300g Strong Flour

·       4g bicarbonate of soda

·       15g baking powder

·       15g Sugar

·       4g Salt

·       30g Unsalted butter

·       210ml buttermilk

(Add about 75g currents or 80g of a cheese of your choice with a pinch of paprika but this is optional)

Equipment

·       Sieve

·       Bowl

·       Jug

·       Baking sheet covered with silicone paper

Great with cheese or currents baked in it.

    1.    Sieve all the dry ingredients into a bowl.

    2.    Rub the butter into the mix until it resembles breadcrumbs

    3.    Make a well in centre and add most of the buttermilk but not all of it. Only add the last part if it’s too dry.

    4.    Mix all the ingredients together to form a dough. (Add the currents or cheese at this stage)

    5.    Turn out onto the table and knead until the stickiness has gone. Mould into a round and place on a baking sheet.

    6.    Make a cross with a very sharp knife almost cutting all the way through. Dust with a little flour.

    7.    Leave to rest in a proofer for 10 minutes then put into a hot oven 230c/450f/ Gas Mark 8 then turn the oven down and finish cooking for 25 minutes.

   8.    When cooked, it should appear golden brown and sound hollow when tapped when tapped on the bottom. 

    The next recipe is not traditional, in fact when I saw it, I went: “Huh, this is erm.. different? At least it's green.”

     In fact, I didn't think it would work! But the saltiness of the pistachios contrasted with the sweetness of the icing. It is a combination that will make your tastebuds dance a little Irish jig! 

    Recipe: Pistachio Cupcakes Makes About 16 (Adapted from Cupcakes Galore by Gail Wagman)

·       150g plain flour

·       1 teaspoon baking powder

·       1 teaspoon salt

·       190g unsalted butter, softened

·       150g dark brown sugar

·       3 eggs

·       1 teaspoon of vanilla extract

·       125ml natural yogurt

·       150g salted pistachios, roughly chopped

       Recipe: Green Icing

·       20g unsalted butter, softened

·       4 tablespoons hot milk

·       220g icing sugar

·       2 drops of Peppermint flavouring

·       Green food colouring paste (I used Gooseberry Green)

·       Green sugar

·       Gold and green glitter or other decorations.

       Equipment:

·       Knife

·       Chopping board

·       Bowl x3

·       12 hole muffin tray filled with cupcake cases x2

·       Electric whisk/handheld whisk

·       Scales

·       Spoons

·       Small palette knife

1.    Preheat oven to 180c/350f/Gas Mark 4

2.    Mix the flour, baking powder, bicarbonate of soda, and salt in a bowl and set aside.

3.    Cream the butter and sugar together until light and fluffy. Add eggs one at a time, mixing well after each addition and add vanilla. Alternately beat in the flour mixture and the yoghurt. Fold in the pistachios.

4.    Spoon batter into cupcake cases, filling about 2/3 full. Bake for 25 minutes. Remove from the oven and cool on a wire rack.

Green icing was used to top the cupcakes

5.    For the icing: Mix the butter and milk together in a large bowl. Slowly beat in the icing sugar until the icing is of a good spreading consistency. (You may need to add a little more milk depending on how runny you want your icing, but it should but thick but spreading).

6.    Add the food colouring and the peppermint flavouring, mix well and spread on cooled cupcakes. Decorate as desired. (Glitter and tried to do some shamrocks.)

Have a Happy St Patricks Day and Bake On!

Fougasse, bread sticks and assessment bread

I haven't really had a lot of chance to do much baking in the last few weeks as I've been really busy. 

I've been booking another trip to Disneyland Paris with my pal Sofia, she's never been so she is 'foaming at the mouth' excited! So June can't come quicker enough!

More recently, I have booked myself a cupcake class at Primrose Bakery. I'm going this sunday which is Mother's Day but I'm decorating the cupcakes for mum and then taking her out for a lovely lunch afterwards. So watch this space! 

Other reasons why I haven't been as busy in the kitchen because I've been visiting family and trying to sort out my baking cupboard. 

There was quite alot of baking stuff to sort.

 But I am posting up a recipe. Yesterday, I passed my third pastry class assessment, with merit! I had to bake a flavoured loaf, which turned out so lovely and the smell was to die for! I also have a recipe her for fougasse and breadsticks which make good film night snacks. 

Penny's Assessment Fennel and Thyme Bread

Recipe: Penny's Assessment Bread aka fennel and thyme bread

·       500g strong flour

·       10g fresh yeast

·       10g salt

·       350ml warm water (plus a little extra)

·       1 tbsp fennel seeds

·       1tbsp fresh thyme

Equipment:

·       Bowl

·       Scraper

·       Sieve

·       Loaf tin lined with silicone paper

·       Tray filled with water

   1.    Pre-heat oven to Gas Mark 9/475f/250c so that is very hot. Place the tray with warm water into the oven at this stage.

2.    Sieve the flour into the bowl and rub the fresh yeast into the flour. (Make sure that the salt doesn't make contact with the yeast.) Add the fennel seeds and fresh thyme at this stage.
3.    Add the salt and warm water, once the yeast has completely rubbed in.
4.    Using your scraper, mix the dough until smooth. It may need a little more warm water just add a little bit at a time so that its sticky but not wet.
5.    Remove from the bowl and place on work-surface (without flour on the surface). Fold the bread like this. Pick it up, slap it on the surface of the table and fold it over itself and repeat until it forms a smooth lovely dough. (It looks like it's gone wrong but trust me it works)
6.    Cover with clingfilm and leave in a warm place to proof for about 30 minutes.
7.    The dough should have doubled in size. Lightly scrap the dough onto a work surface and knead it a little again. And fold it to shape it to fit the loaf tin.
8.    Proof again for another 30 mins.
9.    Turn the oven down to Gas Mark 7/425f/220c and bake for 20-25 minutes.

A fougasse is a leaf shaped bread which comes from France, however the taste is very similar to a focaccia. This is a 'sharing' bread, great for dipping with balsamic vinegar and olive oil. 

Recipe: Fougasse and bread sticks

·       Semolina

·       Black Olives, chopped finely

·       Parmesan cheese, grated

·       A little thyme

·       Ingredients as above, leave out the fennel seeds

Equipment:

·       Baking tray lined with silicone paper x 2

·       Sieve

·       Scraper

·       Bowl

·       Rolling pin

·       Tray with warm water placed in the oven.

·       knife

1.    Prepare as above. Until step 5.

2.    Cut the dough into three using bread scraper. Roll 2 pieces of the dough into flat leaf shapes.

3.    Place the two leaves onto a baking tray and using a cut long line in the middle of the bread, and then cut 6 more slits on the side. This represents the veins of a leaf.

4.    Using the 1/3 of the dough, roll it into a flat oval shape, place the chopped olives, cheese and thyme into the middle of the dough and fold over.

5.    Then using a sharp knife cut strips of dough. So that each strip has a little filling in each.

6.    Twist the dough and place on the baking tray.

7.    Bake at Gas Mark 7/425f/220c for 20-25 minutes. 

I hope you all treat your mum's really well on her special day! 
Bake on! and Happy Mothers Day!
Penny