SOURDOUGH BRIOCHE BREAD

A friend recently shared a recipe that I had to make. It uses sourdough starter and is a brioche style of bread. My friend uses a baguette baker to make several small loaves from this dough. The recipe makes one loaf, about a one kg size loaf. In the ingredient list, I provided two kinds of measurements for the ingredients. I used a scale for measuring everything except the dry yeast and salt and used a teaspoon to measure those two ingredients.

The dough mixture doesn't use a lot of sourdough starter, about 1/3 cup. I fed a bit of starter the day before and left it overnight on the kitchen counter to activate and get bubbly. I highly recommend using a mixmaster to knead the bread. I think it is far easier to knead the texture of this bread with some powered help. I decided to use small baking loaf pans to bake the bread. You could use a baguette baker, Emil Henry or other kinds of bakeware. As I read the baking directions rather quickly the first time, I didn't realize you needed to save the beaten egg that is used as a glaze as you glaze twice, before and after the second rise. After I glazed it for the second rise, I cooked the remaining beaten egg in the microwave and the dog enjoyed some cooked egg. I then had to crack another egg and slightly beat it to glaze the breads before baking.

The breads rose nicely in the three small loaf pans. Because of an errand that I had to do while the dough was rising for the second time, it was left to rise for over three hours. It worked out fine with the extra rising time. As difficult as it might be, it is recommended that you let the bread cool on a rack before slicing into it. While cooling, the smell of the bread was intoxicating. The bread has a wonderful texture and lightness and tastes as good as it smells. 

Starting to mix the dough batter.

After kneading using a mixmaster.

After the first rising.

Cutting the dough into three portions.

Starting the second rise.

Just out off the oven.

Cooling on a rack.

Starting to sample the bread

Prep and Cooking Time:

Mixing and kneading: 15 minutes
First rising: 60 minutes
Second rising: 90 minutes to 2 hours
Baking: 30 minutes

INGREDIENTS:
500 gm (4 cups) flour, plus extra for dusting the work surface
135 gm (1/2 cup) room temperature water
3 eggs
75 gm (1/3 cup) sourdough starter
2 tsp dry yeast
10 gm (2 tsp salt)
25 gm (1/4 cup) dry milk powder
35 gm (almost 1/4 cup) sugar
75 gm (1/3 cup) softened butter, plus extra for greasing the pans

Glaze:
1 egg, slight beaten

DIRECTIONS:
It is best to knead this bread using a stand mixmaster with a bread hook attachment. You can do it by hand but it is far easier to use a bread hook.

Put the flour, water, eggs, sourdough starter, dry yeast, salt, milk powder and sugar into the mixmaster bowl with the dough hook attachment. Knead for five minutes at low speed, then 6 minutes at high speed. Add the butter and knead for another four minutes. 

Remove the dough from the bowl and shape into a ball on a cutting board dusted with flour. Cover it with a slightly dampened kitchen towel. Leave it to rise for an hour. 

Dust a work surface such as a large cutting board or your counter with flour. Butter two or three small loaf pans. I used 8.5 X 4.5 inch pans. Divide the dough into two or three equal pieces depending on the number of pans you are using. Fold each piece over itself and roll between your hands to shape it into a small loaf. Place each one into a loaf pan. 

Brush the dough with the slightly beaten egg. Cover the pan with plastic wrap and cover the group of them with a large kitchen towel. If you have cold counters such as granite, I place the pans on a cutting board to sit on the counter. Let the dough rise for at least 90 minutes. I would let it rise for over two hours especially if making smaller loaves. 

Place a small or medium sized baking sheet with at least one inch sides on the bottom shelf of the oven and preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Brush the brioche with the slightly beaten egg. Just before putting the bread pans into the oven, pour at least 1/4 cup of water onto the preheated baking sheet. The water will help steam the bread while baking.

Bake for about 30 minutes. Remove the pans from the oven and let the bread sit for a few minutes before turning them out onto a wire rack to cool. 

Adapted from 'The Larousse Book of Bread" by  Eric Kayser

DIGESTIVE SOURDOUGH COOKIES

I have been thinking of different uses for sourdough starter and found these digestive cookies made with starter. I have always liked digestive cookies, especially dunked in tea. I followed the ingredient measurements used in this recipe from a UK website. I was going to convert the ingredients from metric to imperial but along the way I decided to weigh the ingredients using my kitchen scale. It was educational to see the what half a cup of oatmeal flour weighs versus unbleached flour and correlate it to metric weights. 

This recipe calls for the dough to be rolled out to the thickness of about one inch. I rolled them out to about half an inch and made just over double the number of cookies. I like smaller cookies. These cookies are wonderful and got a thumbs up from the DH. Next time I make them I may add cinnamon or cardamon.

Dough mixed up and ready to go into the fridge for an hour.

Two cookie trays of dough cookie going to be chilled for 15 to 20 minutes.

Let the sampling begin.

INGREDIENTS:

80gm oatmeal flour

100gm unbleached or wholegrain flour

50gm brown or palm sugar

pinch of salt

110gm unsalted butter at room temperature

100gm recently fed sourdough starter 

DIRECTIONS:

Using a food processor with the blending attachment, add the oatmeal and white flours, sugar and salt. Combine for 10 to 20 seconds. Add the butter to the mixture and mix until it comes together in a rough dough. If you don’t have a processor, combine the dry ingredients in a medium size bowl and then add the butter using a mixing spoon or spatula to combine the dough. Since I used salted butter, I didn't add a pinch of salt to the dough. 

Remove dough mixture from the food processor and place into a bowl. Add the starter and stir until well combined. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and refrigerate until firm, about an hour.

Roll the dough out evenly on a lightly floured surface until it is approximately an inch thick. I like to roll them out between two large pieces of parchment paper. Cut circles of dough with a cutter, such as the rim of small cup and place on parchment/silicone paper lined trays. I used the rim of a small glass cup used to measure liquor. The cookies won't spread but it is good to leave a little room between them.  

Prick the cookies several times with a fork and put them back in the fridge for 15 – 20 minutes. 

Bake them at 350 degrees F for 15 to 20 minutes turning the tray once during baking. Check them at the 10 minute mark as you are looking for them to seem dry and firm and browned slightly at the edges and underneath. They will be slightly soft when they first come out of the oven and firm up when cooled. 

Transfer to cookie racks to cool down and store them in an airtight jar or container. Makes 22 cookies.

Adapted from http://brixhambread.blogspot.com/2015/05/sourdough-digestives.html