Rosemary Bread (B&P40)

The beauty of a biga is the rich slightly fermented flavor they give a loaf of bread. The depth of flavor is intensely satisfying when you eat these loaves. The first time I made this loaf, I didn't allow the biga to mature to the full 18 hours. Instead I stopped it about 8 hours, because I really needed a loaf of bread for my dinner party.

The resulting bread looked and tasted good, but that extra something was missing. So, I made it again and allowed the biga to ferment for 24 hours. Wow! The biga had a heady wine-like aroma and gave the bread that little extra boost it needed.

I made an Italian style dinner for my guests and everyone loved the bread. It doesn't need anything extra to go with it, maybe some butter. However, it's simply wonderful to eat all on it's own.

Enjoy!

Recipe

Protein Content
Original: 40.3 g
Gluten Free: 39.72 g

Biga

10 g brown rice flour (0.9 g)
10 g sweet rice flour (0.6 g)
10 g arrowroot starch (0.03 g)
15 g white bean flour (3.225 g)
12 g almond meal (2.4 g)
1 g instant dry yeast
32 ml water (120 - 130 degrees F/48 - 54 degrees C)
10 ml agave syrup

Final Dough

50 g brown rice flour (4.5 g)
40 g sweet rice flour (2.4 g)
40 g arrowroot starch (0.12 g)
60 g almond meal (12 g)
63 g white bean flour (13.545 g)
12 g instant dry yeast
6 g chia seed meal
4 g agar agar powder
5 g sea salt
2 g rosemary, coarsely chopped
9 g olive oil
24 ml milk or alternative milk
132 ml water (120 - 130 degrees F/48 - 54 degrees C)
15 ml agave syrup

Biga Directions

In a medium sized bowl, combine the flours, water, agave syrup and yeast. Mix together, making sure the mixture is smooth. Cover the mixture or transfer to a container and allow to ferment at 75 degrees F/24 degrees C for 18 to 24 hours.  When the biga is ready to use, it will have risen and receded, yet also look bubbly.

Final Dough Directions

1. In a large bowl, combine all the dry ingredients with the exception of the salt and yeast.  Hold the salt out, so it can be added later in the mixing.  Place the yeast into a small container, add the water and a little bit of the agave syrup. Stir to ensure the water mixes through the yeast.  Allow the yeast to proof for 2 to 3 minutes.

2. Add the yeast mixture, biga, the rest of the agave syrup and blend together. Just before the dough comes together, sprinkle in the salt and then continue blending until a soft ball forms. Note: This dough should be a little wetter or looser than other types of doughs.

3. Since this dough is looser, I made a foil frame so the bread would turn out the right shape. Take a long strip of aluminum foil and fold it lengthwise until it is 2 inches/5 cm wide. Fold up 1/2 inch/1.3cm from one long edge, but don't make a hard crease in the foil.  Ease the foil around until the ends over lap and can rest one inside the other. Work the corners until the fold lays flat and you have a rounded edge rectangle. Let the sides ease out rather than be straight up and down. (See the picture above.)  Gently line this frame with parchment paper, so you can reuse the frame for the ciabatta (the next B&P recipe).

4. Place the dough in the center of a sheet of parchment paper that has been sprinkled with arrowroot starch. Gently pat the dough out into the frame, but don't press it into the sides or corners. The loaf should still have rounded sides. Take a sharp knife to one corner of the dough and score from that corner to each of the other 3 corners (see the photograph at the top of the post). Slide the frame onto a parchment paper covered cookie sheet and place in a warm location to rise for 2 hours.

4. Place an oven proof bowl filled with water on the bottom shelf of the oven. Then place a baking stone on the top shelf. Preheat the oven to 450 degrees F/232 degrees C. Place the loaf in the oven and spray water over the oven box and the top of the loaf. Bake the loaf for 20 minutes. Prop the oven door open and continue to cook the bread for another 10 minutes. Remove the loaf and allow it to cool before serving.


What's Going On?

I was a very lucky woman and received a copy of the Culinary Institute of America's Baking & Pastry book along with their DVD's from my family for my birthday. After watching all the DVDs, I decided to work my way through the CIA's Baking and Pastry book - of course making it gluten free. There were so many skills that I wanted to develop and work on. I hope you will be interested in sharing my journey with me.


Want more?

You can follow me on Twitter and on Flickr.


Other Baking & Pastry Project Posts

Baking & Pastry Week 20 - More Bigas
Baking & Pastry #39 - Cracked Rice & Potato Bread (Biga)
Baking & Pastry #38 - Almond & White Bean Batard (Biga)
Baking & Pastry Week 19 -  Bigas
Baking & Pastry #37 - Roasted Potato Basil Loaf (Poolish)
Baking & Pastry #36 - Almond & White Bead Epi Wreath (Poolish)
Baking & Pastry Week 18 - Poolishes

Exploring More Bigas - Baking & Pastry Week 20

The Penance Post or How to iPod Your Mom In Six Easy Steps

I got caught out the other day and found guilty of not just tuning out my Mom, but iPoding her. I razz my kids all the time about zoning out with their iPods. Honestly, I'm not offended, because if I wasn't driving the car or navigating us through another activity (i.e. grocery shopping), I'd be listening to my iPod too.

This past Christmas, we were home visiting with my family. I was busy in the kitchen, doing the white work icing on my gingerbread house. Happily zoning out listening to a book I downloaded from our library. Everyone else in the house was off doing their own thing or watching a movie in the family room. Turns out my Mom (i.e. the kid's grandmother) was telling everyone in the family room some important stuff about the next big family get together. I was off in book and icing land and didn't hear a word of it.

Last week, the kid's asked me if I had told Mimi (i.e. their grandmother) if we were going to be attending the big Spring family get together. I (of course) was puzzled by their question..."What big get together?"  Informative pair that they are, they started to let me know all about the party. Once again, I'm trying to figure out how they got to be in the know, as I'm so totally clueless about this event.

"Oh, Mimi told us about it," they replied. "When was that?" I ask. "Oh, that night around Christmas when everyone was over watching that movie we rented," they said. "Well, what was I doing, 'cause I don't remember this," I reply. They said, "You were decorating the gingerbread house, Mom." "Well, that explains it," I reply. "How so?" asks my son. "I was listening to a book while I iced the gingerbread," I said. "Oooooohhhhhh, you iPoded Mimi!" they popped out in unison. "You're in trouble now! We're telling Dad!" 

Our kid's have gotten a lot of mileage out of this transgression on my part...their Mom was caught iPoding her Mom. Priceless dirt as far as my kid's are concerned. They've told all their cousins, their friends and maybe even their grandfather. I've had emails from all my nephews and nieces asking the same question, "Is it true that you iPoded Mimi?" "Yep!" I emailed back.  "Wow! I don't suppose you lost the use of your iPod?" my 16 year old nephew asked. "I just lost my iPod Touch for two weeks, because I didn't turn in some of my homework assignments." "Well," I said, "Not turning in your homework, is kinda different than iPoding Mimi." "Yeah, I know...," he mumbled.

So this post is my penance for iPoding my Mom. My family decided I should have to confess.

If you're wondering how you too can iPod someone, here are six easy steps to getting it done:

1. Remove the volume control on your iPod.

2. Buy better ear buds.  Look at the Creative line for some nice ones.

3. Find a task to do with your hands while you listen.

4. Listen to something that will engross you, i.e. favorite music or book.

5. Make sure that the person you are iPoding is saying or doing something worth iPoding them over.

6. Be willing to pay the price for iPoding.

Now that I've confessed, I'm off to bake some more in solace. I'm remaking the first loaf of ciabatta I made. It ended up turning out into something looking more like focaccia rather than ciabatta. It tasted great, but I wanted a rounded loaf not a flat one, so back to the kitchen I go.


What Am I Baking?

Rosemary Bread made with a biga (egg free & dairy free option)

Ciabatta made with a biga (egg free & dairy free)


Shopping List

Brown Rice Flour (Fine or Superfine Grind)
Sweet Rice Flour (also called glutinous rice flour)
Arrowroot Starch
Almond Meal
High Protein Flours, such as: Soybean, White Bean, Black Bean
Whole Grain Flour, such as: Buckwheat, Millet, Sorghum, Quinoa, Teff
Instant Dry Yeast
Binding Agents, such as: Xanthan or Guar Gum, Chia Seed Meal, Agar Agar Powder
Olive Oil
Rosemary
Milk or Alternative Milk

Resources

Flours & Binding Agents: Authentic Foods, Barry Farm, Bob's Red Mill
Instant Dry Yeast: Barry Farm
Agave Syrup: Wild Organics, Native Seeds


Equipment

Cookie Sheet
Parchment Paper
Baking Stone


What's Going On?

I was a very lucky woman and received a copy of the Culinary Institute of America's Baking & Pastry book along with their culinary dvd's from my family for my birthday and our anniversary. After watching all the DVDs, I decided to work my way through the CIA's Baking and Pastry book - of course making it gluten free. There were so many skills that I wanted to develop and work on. I hope you will be interested in sharing my journey with me.


Want more?

You can follow me on Twitter and on Flickr.


Other Baking & Pastry Project Posts

Index of the Baking & Pastry Project

Baking & Pastry Project #34 - Almond Buckwheat Batard with Poolish
Baking & Pastry Project #33 - Stollen
Baking & Pastry Project Week 17 - Sponge & A Poolish
Baking & Pastry Project #32 - Gugelhopf Crown
Baking & Pastry Project #31 - Panettone
Baking & Pastry Project Week 16 - Holiday Breads

Peanut Butter Meltaways

Back in the day when we could eat the Girl Scout cookies that we ordered, instead of donating them to the troops, we always loved to eat Peanut Butter Tagalongs. Because of my husband's deep fondness for all things peanut butter, I always made sure we had a box in our order. For those who aren't familiar with the Tagalong, it is a shortbread style cookie with a dollop of soft sweetened peanut butter on top and then dipped in chocolate. A great cookie for peanut butter and chocolate lovers, the Tagalong has been missed at my house since going gluten free.

The idea to try and create a gluten free Tagalong, developed when I added Candy Making for Dummies, by David Jones, to my cookbook collection. For contained within these pages is a delightful recipe for Peanut Butter Meltaways, a candy center made of peanut butter and peanut butter flavored chocolate. Now that I had the topping figured out, then the bottom could be a peanut butter shortbread and I'd glaze it with a nice dark chocolate. The shortbread was inspired by the Peanut Butter Shortbread and the Chocolate Melt Aways recipes at Argo Cornstarch. To coat the cookies, I used melted chocolate chips with a little shortening added.

I had been thinking about making this cookie, when Nick of Peanut Butter Boy mentioned that he was hosting the first ever Great Peanut Butter Exhibition with the theme of cookies. There you go, this was the perfect opportunity to try my hand at making these cookies and to include them in the Peanut Butter Exhibition event.

If you are interested in other gluten free version of Girl Scout cookies, you can find my recipe for the peanut butter oatmeal sandwich cookies (Do Si Do) here and my recipe for the chocolate mint cookies (Thin Mints) here.

Recipe

Meltaway

1 1/2 oz white chocolate, chopped fine *
2 1/2 Tb creamy or chunky peanut butter
pinch sea salt

Cookie

1/2 cup millet flour
1/4 cup + 1 Tb sweet rice flour
1/4 cup arrowroot starch
1 tsp chia seed meal
1/4 cup brown sugar, lightly packed
1/4 cup creamy or chunky peanut butter
4 Tb vegetable shortening (or 2 Tb vegetable shortening, 2 Tb coconut oil)
1 tsp vanilla extract

Chocolate Coating

1 cup chocolate chips **
1 Tb vegetable shortening ***


Meltaways

1. Set out 3 silicone muffin cups on a plate or small cookie sheet.

2. Place the chopped white chocolate into a microwave safe bowl and melt them on high for approximately 50 to 60 seconds. Stir the chopped chocolate a various intervals, so that the chocolate melts evenly.

3. Dump the peanut butter and salt in to the bowl and stir together. Use the back of your spoon to work out any unmelted peanut butter until the consistency is creamy.

4. Pour the liquid into the muffin cups and then set in the refrigerator to cool. Note: Depending on the temperature of your kitchen, you may also need to store these in the refrigerator as they will become quite soft if left out.

Cookies

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit and line an 11 1/2 x 7 1/2 inch cookie pan with parchment paper.

2. In a mixing bowl, dump in the vegetable shortening and peanut butter. On medium speed, blend until creamy. Then add the brown sugar and vanilla extract and continue beating.

3. In a medium sized bowl, pour in the flours and chia seed meal. Stir together making sure to thoroughly incorporate the chia seed meal with the flour. Note: If the chia seed meal isn't incorporated well, then you will have bits of gel in your cookies once the flour is added to the liquids.

4. Slowly add the flour to the mixing bowl and beat until the dough forms a ball.

5. Place the dough into the cookie pan and using your hands press the dough out. Chill the cookie dough prior to baking.

6. Bake at 350 degrees Fahrenheit for 20 to 25 minutes or until golden brown. Allow to cool for 5 minutes and then cut the cookies into squares. Note: These cookies are delicate and don't take a lot of handling well. Leave them in the pan until ready to assemble the cookies.


Chocolate Coating

Note: Make the glaze in two or three batches so that it stays melted while you are working.

1. Place 1/2 cup of the chocolate chips and 1 1/2 tsp of the vegetable shortening into a microwave safe bowl. Place in the microwave and cook for 45 to 60 seconds. Stir at various intervals to make sure the chocolate is melting evenly.

2. Remove the coating from the microwave and using a spoon stir until it is thoroughly blended and there aren't any little bits of chocolate left.

Assembling the Cookies

1. On a cutting board, unmold the peanut butter meltaways and cut into slices 1/8 inch thick. Then cut those slices in half, so that the slices will fit on top of the cookie and not hang over the edges.

2. Lay out a sheet of parchment paper on your work surface. Taking a knife, slide it under the cookie and lift it out and onto the parchment paper.

3. Place several little pieces of the peanut butter meltaway in the center of the top of the cookie.

4. Then lightly spoon chocolate coating over the cookie, until it is totally covered.

5. Leave out on the counter for several hours for the chocolate to cool and set up. Makes 1 dozen cookies. Note: Depending on the temperature of your kitchen, you may need to store these cookies in the refrigerator.

Substitutions
1. You can substitute 1 tsp of xanthan or guar gum for the chia seed meal in this recipe.

2. You can use 1 cup of gluten free flour mix (with xanthan gum) instead of the various flours.


* White Chocolate - To make this recipe dairy free and vegan, you can use White Chocolate Chips made by Oppenheimer. You can purchase them at the AllergyGrocer.com. (I used Valrhona White Chocolate Medallions (Ivoire Feves) purchased from Whole Foods. In my local Whole Foods they are located near the coffee bar and the candy bar.)

** Chocolate Chips - I used Enjoy Life! dairy, gluten, casein free, vegan and kosher chocolate chips.

*** Vegetable Shortening - I experimented with both vegetable shortening in the melted chocolate and cocoa butter. The cocoa butter gave a harder more brittle coating, while the vegetable shortening gave a softer chocolate coating.