Adventures

Dec 21, 2007

Half and Half Mini Loaves


Whole Wheat/White Herbed Rolls

I felt like baking bread. It's cooking but not a huge commitment. You make the dough then walk away while it rises. Come back later and bake it. I had lots to do around the house so it was the perfect way to feel like cooking but I could get away from the stove.

I was making bread on the fly. Of course, no recipe, just a spirit of adventure to guide me.

2 C whole wheat flour
2 C unbleached flour
1 packet yeast
1 cup 2% milk
2 tbsp butter
dash sugar
healthy pinch kosher salt
1/2 packet of herbed dip mix

I've made breads using dip mixes before and I really like the results. Highly flavorful bread. This particular herb packet had black pepper, dill, celery, lots of savory stuff. I proofed the yeast a few minutes in a warm oven using a pinch of sugar and some warm water. In the meantime, I melted the butter in the milk in the microwave. Then added the milk and butter mix to the flour, along with the proofed yeast and started mixing the dough. I made the mistake of not kneading this dough enough. It dawned on me later, after reading a random comment on another food blog, that wheat flour needs more kneading. Of course, I read this comment after fretting over the lump of dough that wasn't rising. So I broke off small lumps of dough and kneaded each one with a little olive oil for moisture. Placed all these oddly-shaped lumps on a cookie sheet and covered with plastic wrap. I put the tray in a warm oven and those blobs plumped right up. I then heated a pizza stone, placed the blobs on the hot stone and baked at around 400 degrees and just kept my eye on them until they had a nice golden color. So I have tiny blob loaves that taste herby and peppery. They're moist and delicious too.

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