Tepary Almond Sweet Potato Soft Rolls (B&P-5)

Baking & Pastry Project #5 - Tepary Almond Sweet Potato Soft Rolls - Parker House & Knots

I started the week with the recipe for Soft Rolls (page 132) for the Baking & Pastry Project using the Culinary Institute of America's Baking & Pastry book. This dough can be used to make shapes such as Parker House and Knots (page 218 & 219).


These soft and tender rolls are made with bread flour. For a long time I experimented with various gluten free flours trying to pump up the protein content without using a bean flour. However, I'd have needed to use a larger amount of nut or seed meal, then the rolls would no longer have a soft and tender texture. I opted for using some tepary bean flour, which is very high in protein so I could use less of it in the mixture. Then I used almond meal for it's mild flavor and to pump up the protein content. I switched to sweet potato flour since it contains more protein than arrowroot starch. The resulting dough had a nice taste although it was a bit robust. To mellow the flavor I added agave syrup to the recipe.


The protein amounts of each flour follow in parenthesis. The total amount of protein for the original soft roll dough has 36.4 grams (per 100 g flour) as compared to 36.88 grams of gluten free flour (per 100 g flour).

My husband and I thought the rolls had a fabulous texture and flavor. After he got home late from work the other night, we enjoyed them with slices of Comte cheese and a glass of red wine...delicious. My son opted to eat his plain, but my daughter wasn't thrilled with the rolls. She just couldn't get past the aroma the rolls had when they came out of the oven - as they smelled a bit beany. We told her that once they cooled slightly they didn't smell or taste of beans, however she remained unconvinced. There was no way she was going to try these out.

Recipe
Yield: 6 rolls
Imperial measurements follow the protein amounts


75 g brown rice flour (6.75 g protein) [.47 cup/2.65 oz]
50 g sweet rice flour (3 g protein) [.32 cup/1.76 oz]
50 g sweet potato flour (1.05 g protein) [.32 cup/1.76 oz]
53 g almond meal (10.6 g protein) [.231 cup/1.87 oz]
50 g tepary bean flour (15 g protein) [.32 cup/1.76]
5 g chia seed meal (.48 g protein) [1 tsp/.176 oz]
2 g agar agar powder [.421 tsp/.07 oz]
28 g sugar [2 Tb/.983 oz]
5 g sea salt [1.26 tsp/.21 oz]
8 g instant dry yeast [1.686 tsp/.28 oz]
150 ml whole milk, room temperature [.63 cup/5.07 fl oz]
28 g butter, softened [2 tb/.983 oz]
28 - 35 g eggs, 55 degrees F/13 degrees C (1 medium egg)
20 ml agave syrup [1.353 Tb/.676 fl oz]


1. In a large bowl combine all the dry ingredients and stir making sure the ingredients are thoroughly blended. Pour in the agave syrup, butter, milk and egg mixing until combined.

2. On a sheet of parchment paper sprinkle some sweet rice flour and turn out the bread dough. Roll into a log shape and divide into 6 equal pieces. Then roll them gently between your palms to around them and place on the parchment paper. Set out another sheet of parchment paper and sprinkle with sweet rice flour for the rolls that are shaped.

3. For Parker House Rolls - Press each piece of dough into an oval about 4 in/10 cm long and 3/8"/1 cm thick. Then fold the dough in half with the top edge stopping about 1/4 in/7 mm from the edge. Lay on the second sheet of parchment paper.

4. For Single Knot Rolls - Roll each piece of dough until it is a long cylinder about 6 in/15 cm in length. Gently ease the dough into a single knot and fold the ends to the back so they touch. Then press the ends together. Lay on the second piece of parchment paper.

5. When all the rolls are shaped, cover the rolls and allow to rise until doubled, approximately 1 hour.

6. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F/191 degrees C convection oven. If you have a baking stone, place it in the oven at the same time on a shelf in the top third of the oven. Brush the Parker House rolls with clarified butter and the knots with egg wash. Place the parchment paper with the rolls on it onto the baking stone. Bake for 18 to 20 minutes.

7. Remove the stone or brick from the oven and slide the parchment paper with the rolls onto the baking stone. Remove the bread from the oven, then let the bread cool before serving.


Notes

All ingredients can be purchased from Barry Farm.


Other Baking & Pastry Project Posts


Baking & Pastry Project Week 3
Baking & Pastry Project #4 - Rosemary Bread
Baking & Pastry Project #3 - Whole Grain Bread
Baking & Pastry Project Week 2
Baking & Pastry Project #2 - Bagels
Baking & Pastry Project #1 - Lean White Bread
Baking & Pastry Project - Week 1

Tepary Bean & Beef Stew - Gluten Free

Native American Day

The fourth Friday in September is Native American Day. In celebration of my family's Cherokee and Chickasaw heritage, I wanted to make a dish that was inspired by our Native American ancestors. After flipping through my copy of The Art of American Indian Cooking and a looking at a bag of tepary beans that I purchased from Native Seeds/SEARCH, I decided on a stew. I created a variation on the traditional recipe for White Tepary Stew which is filled with white tepary beans from the Tohono O'odham Reservation, beef, carrots and spices. My Tepary Bean & Beef stew is a soothing and hearty dish guaranteed to satisfy any hunger pangs.

The Tohono O'odham people reside primarily in the Sonoran Desert. Once known as the Papago, a name given by the Spanish conquistadores which means tepary bean eater. Their traditional lands lie in the United States and stretch into northern Mexico, where they grew cotton, beans and corn. Their traditional lands were divided in half when the United States purchased southern Arizona in 1853 with the Gadsden Purchase. They live on one of the largest Native American reservations and still speak their native tongue and live with their traditions.

Modern life has brought it's share of challenges for the Tohono O'odham. The tribe is stricken with poverty with unemployment around 42 percent and 40 percent living below the poverty level. The largest employer is the gambling casinos where about half of the employees are O'odham. They are working to provide post high school education and training opportunities to help stem the tide of young people dropping out of high school, which is currently around 48 percent. The modern American diet has brought health challenges with half of the adults living with diabetes, which is spurring a return to their traditional crops in an effort to halt the progression of the disease.

With their traditional lands lying on both sides of the border, their once quiet life in the desert has seen a dramatic change since the mid-1990s with the flood of illegal immigrants and smugglers coming through their lands. The impact on the daily lives of the Tohono O'odham has been dramatic with the number of people moving across their lands and the work of the Border Patrol or National Guard. Theft is a daily problem and anything that can help someone move north is at risk of being stolen. Many while attempting to cross the Sonoran Desert leave many of their own possessions behind or ditch stolen vehicles. The tribe's solid waste management program removes tons of trash from around the reservation and hundreds of abandoned vehicles each year. They were once hospitable to the few that braved a desert crossing, but now the tribe's resources are stretched thin with expenses in the millions for emergency services, trash removal, coroner and services from the police.

In an effort to revitalize their health and build opportunities for a sustainable economy, an independent grass roots organization was born called Tohono O'odham Community Action (TOCA). Their current programs are the Basketweavers Organization, a community arts and culture, youth & elder outreach, and a community food system.

The brown and white varities of tepary beans they grow can be purchased from Native Seeds/SEARCH. White tepary beans are mild and slightly sweet in flavor and can be substituted in any recipe that calls for beans. The TOCA group has a brochure of recipes that comes with their beans. It has recipes for the Tepary Bean Stew, Refried Tepary Beans, Tepary Tamale Pie, Tepary Bean Dip and Sonoran Desert "Hummus."

Recipe

1 1/2 cups dried white tepary beans, rinsed & picked through
10 cups water
1 cup diced carrot
1/2 diced white onion
1 1/2 tsp salt or to taste
3/4 tsp black pepper or to taste
3 bay leaves
1 tsp dried thyme leaves
1 pound beef stew meat, cut into cubes
1/2 cup brown rice flour
1/2 cup corn flour
olive oil for cooking meat

1. In a crock pot dump in the tepary beans, water, salt, pepper, bay leaves, thyme leaves, carrot and onion. Begin cooking the beans and liquid on low heat.

2. In a medium sized bowl with a lid, pour in the rice and corn flour then dump in the chopped stew meat. Put the lid on the bowl and shake vigorously until all the meat is coated in flour.

3. In a large preheated skillet, pour in enough olive oil to cover the bottom of the pan. Place the cubes of stew meat into the skillet and brown. Keep turning the pieces until all the sides have been browned. Drain the cooked meat on a paper towel covered plate.

4. Scrape the roux from the pan and place it into the crock pot. Then dump in the browned pieces of stew meat. Stir to blend the roux and meat into the stew liquid.

5. Cook the stew until the beans are tender. Cooking times will vary based on your crock pot. I started my stew around noon and served it for supper.

What was the family verdict on Tepary Bean & Beef Stew? At first my children thought there were way too many beans although they liked the flavor. The next day when we had left overs, they said the beans didn't bother them anymore. My husband and I thoroughly enjoyed the stew. The white tepary beans are mild with a hint of sweetness and were wonderful in the stew. This recipe is a keeper.