Category Archives: Bread

Bread is probably my favorite food. My mom told me once about a bread diet she read about in a german magazine. That would be my kind of diet!

Doughnuts

Bread, Desserts, Kaffee und Kuchen, Recipes

Ingredients for dough

  • 480 g all-purpose flour
  • 70 g sugar, plus more for coating the doughnuts
  • 1 Tbs. plus 1-1⁄2 tsp. instant yeast
  • 3⁄4 tsp. kosher salt
  • 1 cup milk (110°F)
  • 70 g unsalted butter, softened
  • 2 large eggs, room temperature
  • 2 large egg yolks, room temperature
  • 1 tsp. grated lemon zest
  • 2 tsp. pure vanilla extract
  • Vegetable oil, for frying
  • 6 Tbs. raspberry jam

Ingredients for glaze

  • 200 gr confectioners’ sugar
  • ¼ cup/60 milliliters buttermilk, milk or water, plus more as needed
  • ¼ teaspoon vanilla extract
  • ⅛ teaspoon kosher salt
  •  Sprinkles, toasted coconut flakes or chopped nuts, such as pecans, pistachios or hazelnuts, cardamom, whatever you like on your doughnut

Heat milk to 100°F. Whisk in the yeast and 1/2 tablespoon of the sugar. Set aside for 10 minutes.

Combine the flour, yeast mixture, remaining sugar, salt, milk, butter, eggs, egg yolks, lemon zest, and vanilla in the bowl of a standing mixer fitted with the paddle attachment and mix on low speed until smooth (about 8 minutes).

Transfer the dough to a lightly oiled bowl, cover with plastic wrap, and let stand at room temperature until doubled in volume, about 1 hour.

Line a rimmed baking sheet with waxed paper. Brush a thin layer of vegetable oil on the paper. Turn the dough onto a lightly floured countertop and divide into 16 equal pieces. Shape each piece into a round and then flatten slightly with the palm of your hand. Place the rounds seam side down on the oiled paper. Let stand uncovered at room temperature until doubled in volume, about 1 hour. If you want to make doughnuts with a hole in the middle, use a 1 ¼-inch ring cutter, punch out the center of each circle. Those will be your doughnut holes.

Add 3 inches of oil to a deep pot. Attach Heat the oil over medium heat until it reaches 350°F. Line a large platter or baking sheet with several layers of paper towels.

Working in batches, gently lower doughnuts into the oil. Fry on one side until deeply golden brown, about 1 – 2 minutes. Flip with tongs or a skimmer and continue to fry until golden brown and cooked through, another two minutes or so. Drain doughnuts on a wire rack lined with paper towels and proceed with remaining doughnuts, making sure the oil returns to temperature between batches.

To fill the doughnuts, place the jam in a bowl and stir it thoroughly so that there are no lumps. Scrape it into a pastry bag fitted with a large plain tip. Insert the tip into the soft spot of each doughnut and squeeze about 1 tsp. of the jam into the center. Serve immediately.

To make the vanilla glaze, whisk together powdered sugar, buttermilk, vanilla extract and salt until no lumps remain. Add additional buttermilk if necessary, 1 tablespoon at a time, to thin the glaze.

Dip each doughnut into the glaze on one side, letting excess drip back into the bowl, and return it to the wire rack. Sprinkle immediately with sprinkles, chopped nuts or toasted coconut.

Cardamom Buns or Christmas Star Twisted Bread

Bread, Breakfast, Recipes

Adapted from Woman Scribbles Blog
Time: About 2½ hours

Ingredients for 16 buns

Dough

  • 300 ml warm water (105 – 110 F)
  • 85 g unsalted butter melted and cooled slightly
  • 6 tbsp sugar
  • 4 1/2 tsp active dry yeast
  • 3 large eggs lightly beaten
  • 1 1/2 tsp salt
  • 1/4 cup powdered milk
  • 640 g (5 cups) all purpose flour + up to 1 cup for dusting

Filling

  • 100 g (1 stick) unsalted butter softened
  • 1/4 cup sugar
  • 2 tbsp ground cinnamon
  • 2 tbsp ground cardamom

Egg Wash and Glaze (optional)

  • 1 egg
  • 1 tbsp milk
  • 1/2 cup powdered sugar
  • orange zest and juice from 1/2 orange
  • cardamom to taste

1.) Making the dough

In a large mixing bowl, combine water, melted butter and sugar. Sprinkle in the yeast and let stand for about 8 minutes until foamy.

Add the eggs, milk powder and salt and stir everything together. Add 5 cups of flour, one cup at a time, stirring until a soft dough is formed. Turn it over into a floured surface and knead for about ten minutes, until the dough is smooth and elastic. Use just enough flour from the remaining 1 cup during kneading until the dough is no longer sticky.

Shape kneaded dough into a ball and place back into the bowl for the first rise. Cover with plastic wrap and let rise for about an hour, until doubled in size.

2.) Making the filling

Stir together softened butter, sugar, cinnamon, and cardamom until combined. Set aside.

3.) Assembling the buns

Roll dough into a 15×21 rectangle. With an offset pastry knife, spread the soft butter on the surface and sprinkle with sugar, cardamom and cinnamon. Starting on the short side of the dough, fold 1/3 of it into the center, then fold the other third over to center too, covering the first flap (letter fold). Roll the folded dough to 10 inches wide.

Cut 1/2 inch wide strips of dough so that folded side is on the top and bottom of the strip. You will be able to make about 16 strips. To assemble the rolls, take one strip, hold one end with your thumb and next three fingers. Wrap the strip around your fingers two times, covering the thumb as well, then pull the dough under and slip it through the opening where your thumb is. Pull it upwards and let it cross over the bun and tuck it in the other side.

5.) Final rise

Prepare 2 baking sheets with a Silpad or parchment paper. Place each roll on the sheets and cover loosely with a clean dish towel for another hour long rise.

6.) Baking

Preheat oven to 325°F. Make egg wash by combining an egg with 1 tbsp milk and brush it on the risen rolls before baking them. Sprinkle with a little sugar and bake for about 18 minutes until lightly golden.

7.) Glazing

Using a whisk, combine orange juice, zest, cardamom and powdered sugar in a medium sides bowl, stirring until it is uniform in consistency. Spread the glaze over your warm rolls.

Enjoy!

Variation: Meyer Lemon Buns

Instead of cardamom and cinnamon filling, use lemon.

  • 100 g (1 stick) unsalted butter softened
  • 1/2 cup sugar
  • Zest from 2 – 3 Meyer lemons

While the dough is rising, in a small bowl, mix together the sugar and lemon zest. Set aside. The sugar draws out moisture from the zests to create a wet sand consistency (so don’t be alarmed when you see this). Spread butter and lemon/sugar mixture on the rolled out dough (step 3 above). Proceed as outlined above.

Mama’s Zopf

Bread, Breakfast

Zopf

Dough:

  • 2 eggs – room temperature
  • 1/4 l milk – lukewarm
  • 70 g sugar
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt
  • 2 1/4 teaspoons instant yeast
  • 500 g all purpose flour
  • Zest of one lemon (optional)
  • 70 g butter – melted

Glaze:

  • lemon juice
  • powdered sugar

In bowl of stand mixer, whisk eggs to combine. Add milk and whisk to combine. Whisk in sugar, salt and yeast. Add about half of the flour and butter, stir with rubber spatula until evenly moistened and combined. Add rest of flour and knead with dough hook at low speed for 10 minutes. At this point, dough should clear sides of bowl and stick to bottom. Turn dough onto lightly floured work surface and knead by hand for another minute.

Lightly spray large bowl with nonstick spray and transfer bowl into container. Cover with plastic wrap and set in warm, draft free spot for about 2 to 2 1/2 hours.

Braid Zopf and let sit for another 1/2 hour to puff up for a second rise.

Preheat oven to 325°F.

Bake Zopf on cookie sheet for about 25 minutes until golden brown.

While still hot brush with lemon juice and powdered sugar mixture.

No-Knead Bread

Bread

bread

Adapted from Jim Lahey, Sullivan Street Bakery
Time: About 1½ hours plus 14 to 20 hours rising
Yield: one 1 1/2 pound loaf.

Ingredients

  • 430 g all-purpose or bread flour or a mixture thereof (bread flour makes is chewier and bigger bubbles in the bread)
  • 1/4 teaspoon instant yeast
  • 2 teaspoons kosher salt
  • 345 ml warm water (between 120 to 130ºF)

For fresh bread for Sunday lunch, start on Saturday.

Saturday:

In a large bowl, combine flour, yeast and salt. Add warm water and stir until blended; the dough will be shaggy and sticky. Cover with plastic wrap and let sit at a draft-free, warm place for at least 12 to 24 hours.

Sunday:

Flour a work surface and place the dough on it. Fold it over on itself a few times. Gently tuck it together and make a seam. Flip over on a sheet of parchment paper, seaside down, and cover loosely with a flowered dishtowel. Let rest for the final rise for another 1 – 3 hours.

At least 45 minutes before the 2-hour raising time is up, heat the oven and Dutch oven to 450°F. Place your baking sheet, baking steel or baking stone on the bottom rack.

Slice bread on top a few times and dust (optional with corn meal, seeds, etc.). Prepare a landing spot for a very hot Dutch oven, remove it from the oven, lift off the lid, and carefully place dough on parchment paper into the pot.

Spritz the loaf with a handheld water sprayer. Be sure to center the pot over the pizza stone insulator.

Bake with the lid on for 30 minutes. Then remove the lid and bake another 5 – 15 minutes until browned and registers a temperature between 195 and 210 degrees on an instant-read thermometer.

Cool on rack.

Pretzels

Bread

pretzel

Ingredients for about 12 pretzels

  • 1 ¼ cups warm water
  • 1  tablespoon rapid rise yeast
  • ¼ cup brown sugar, packed
  • 2 cups bread flour
  • 1 ½ – 2  cups all-purpose flour
  • 4 cups water
  • 4 tablespoons baking soda
  • Kosher or Sea Salt

In a large mixing bowl, dissolve the yeast in the warm water.  Let the yeast sit for 5 minutes until foaming.  Add the sugar, bread flour and 1 ½ cups all-purpose flour.  Mix by hand or with a dough hook until the dough is smooth and elastic – around 10 minutes, adding the additional ½ cup of all-purpose flour as needed.  Cover the dough and let rise in a warm place for 30 minutes.  The dough will not necessarily double in size.

Preheat oven to 450°F – 500° F (depending on your oven).  Line one or two baking sheets with parchment paper.
Set aside.

Divide the dough into 12 pieces.  Roll each piece into a “snake” around 18 inches long.  Twist the dough into pretzel shapes and firmly pinch the ends to keep them from unfolding in the boiling water.

Bring the 4 cups of water to a boil.  Add the baking soda and stir to dissolve.  Dip each pretzel in the baking-soda/water for 5 to 10 seconds making sure the pretzel is completely immersed.  Shake off excess water, and place the pretzel on the prepared baking sheet.  Sprinkle with salt.  Repeat with remaining pretzels.

Bake for 6-8 minutes until golden brown.