#live yeast

[fieriframes]

[Little salt. Olive oil. Here is our mix between live yeast, hot water... Warm water and... ...and a little bit of olive oil. That definitely needs some oil.]

[gypsyswitchkitchen]

EASTER ROLL

I bake this every day for Easter because my hubby loves it, not because I care about Easter, though I do love the chocolate. Okay, to be honest I bake this several times a year if I feel inspired. Gabe goes crazy over them. Those pictures are from last year. This year, Bree and I made five huge rolls and a smaller one for her friend M, whose parents loved it LOL. 

This kind of sweet bread looks crunchy on the outside, but it's actually light and fluffy both inside and out, with an eggy flavor. 

Its dough is very very similar to the Christmas Bread that I make with my Mother in law's recipe, though this one doesn't have any nuts or sugar coated fruits in it (and neither would the Christmas Bread if Gabe had any say in it!).

This dough calls for live yeast and is a pain to make but it's totally worth it. Especially since you can make like 5 huge rolls with 2lbs of flour (and about half a dozen eggs) and some sugar, vanilla extract and the KEY INGREDIENT, orange blossoms extract. 

The original recipe involves an insane amount of butter, but I use 70 grams of butter and the same amount of vegetable oil per 2lbs of flour, so it's kinda lowER in fat.

[mattsgonefishing]

Chocolate Panettone

This is a recipe that depends more on what feels right than ratios and measurements. If you bake through this more than a few times carefully, you'll find things work out better and better.

2 loaves, serves 20

The Mother

600g Raw apple juice

600g Bread flour (use 13-16% protein flour, Central Milling’s High Mountain works)

Combine apple juice and flour in clean bowl and set out at room temperature for 12 hours.

Feeding the Mother  

400g Mother

440g Bread flour

200g Water

In a mixer, combine mother, flour, and water until it comes together as a very stiff dough with a tight smooth skin. Put in a container with ample space, and leave in a warm place (81- 83F) for four hours. It should triple in size. If not start again.

Repeat the feed twice every day for at least six days, each time weighing out 400g of mother to begin. Control acidity by bathing the mother each morning in water with a pinch of sugar for about 10 minutes before feeding.

First dough

Start this stage only if you are prepared to bake 20 hours from now. If mixing with a dough hook, always set at low speed to avoid heating the dough. Better is one of those diving arms Artofex mixers, or so I've heard.

480g Bread flour

10g Diastatic malt powder (not the stuff for milkshakes)

150g Mother

240g Water

78g Egg yolks (very cold)

130g Sugar

170g Butter (room temperature)

In a mixer, combine in this order—flour, malt, mother, water—mixing about 10 minutes in total.

In a separate bowl, mix egg yolks and sugar, then add the egg-sugar mixture to the dough a little at a time, mixing about 10 minutes until well-incorporated. Then add butter a little at a time to the dough, mixing about 10 minutes more. Dough should be homogeneous and strong (balling up around the hook).

Put in a container with ample space to allow it to triple, and leave in a warm place for 12 hours.

Second dough

120g flour

20g sugar

First dough

In a mixer, combine flour and sugar. Then add the first dough to the flour-sugar mixture, mixing about 10 minutes.

100g sugar

156g yolks

8g salt

230g butter

40g honey

150g Milk chocolate, chopped

150g Dark chocolate, chopped

2 Round molds

In a bowl, combine the egg yolks and sugar. Reserve a few spoonfuls. In a mixer, add the egg-sugar mixture to the dough a little at a time, mixing about 8 minutes.

In a bowl, combine the last bit of the egg-sugar mixture with salt, then slowly add that to the dough, mixing about 3 minutes. Then add butter to the dough a little at a time, about 10 minutes. (Don’t worry too much about overmixing.) The dough should be homogenous and strong.

Add honey and chocolate, mixing until well incorporated.

Spray work surface with vegetable oil. Measure out two 1040g portions of dough, and allow to rest 20 minutes.

Shape into tight rounds and place each in a mold. Set in warm place to rise for six to eight hours. Dough should crest over the mold about a half-inch.

Cut a shallow cross in the top.

Bake at 345F for about 45–50 minutes (internal temperature should reach 199.4F).

Remove from oven and immediately punch two metal skewers about 5” apart, flush with the bottom of the mold. Invert panettone and hang upside down for 8 to 12 hours before serving.

(Pics by Tienlon Ho.)