Gary and I took our grandson, Phoenix, to Europe this summer and while we were there we discovered bread again. It was so delicious! For years now we have denied ourselves this food because it's a carb. Society tells us that eating carbs is a bad thing. Well, we gained absolutely nothing while we were there for three weeks and ate bread morning, noon and night and enjoyed every bite of it! So now, I'm working on trying to find bread recipes or make bread recipes that remind of us Europe and the savory flavors we experienced there. This recipe is actually a few recipes combined and then a bit of my own flair added in. This brings back the streets of Paris and the flavors we shared there.
Ingredients:
1 1/4 cups water brought to 110 degrees F
1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
1/2 cup fresh grated Parmesan Cheese + 1 Tablespoon to put on top before baking
1 tablespoon sugar
1 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons freshly ground pepper
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1 teaspoon dried basil
4 cups bread flour (or you can use unbleached all-purpose flour)
1 package (2 1/4 teaspoons) rapid rise instant yeast (I use Fleischmann's because it's easy to find)
1 egg white, beaten until foamy
I use a stand-up mixer to mix and knead my bread so that's where we'll start the instructions.
Instructions:
- In a large bowl (I use the mixer bowl) add all the ingredients except the extra tablespoon of Parmesan Cheese and the egg white. Blend it together gently with a rubber spatula making sure to get all dry ingredients moist. Scrape off the spatula and return bowl to mixer. Using the dough hook, mix together into a uniform ball. If it's took sticky add a bit of flour (1 tablespoon at a time) if it's too dry add a bit of warm water (1 tablespoon at a time) It should form a nice elastic ball.
- Once the dough forms and is elastic you can turn the mixer up to medium and knead for an additional 8 minutes. I use the rubber spatula to help push the dough into the hooks.
- turn the dough out onto a floured surface. Press to flatten, fold dough into an envelope the top (the edge farthest from you) down 1/3 of the way. Repeat this fold 3 more times turning the dough 1/4 turn each time.
- Drop the ball of dough, smooth side down, into a large oiled bowl. Invert the dough to oil the other side. Cover with a clean cloth and put in a warm area of the kitchen (for me it has to be upstairs bedroom, my kitchen is too cool) or wherever you can get a consistent temperature of 75-85 degrees F for about 1 1/2 to 2 hours until the dough has doubled in size.
- Gently punch down the dough to deflate it. Put the dough on a lightly floured surface and shape into loaf for 1 large loaf of bread. Now I make individual sandwich buns because they are easier to freeze so I divide this dough into 8 to 10 equal parts and roll them in my palm and then flatten to about 3/4 to 1 inch thickness. Shape it how you want it to look. For me I just make it round.
- line your baking sheets with parchment paper and dust with cornmeal and then place each piece on the baking sheets keeping about 2 inches in between them to allow for rising again. Dust the tops and then cover with a clean cloth and put again in your warm area. Let double in size.
- Heat oven to 400 degrees F. Place a pan of water on the bottom shelf at least 30 minutes before you'll start baking. Place rolls in oven and bake for about 12 to 17 minutes depending on your oven size and settings. Mine bakes faster because I have a small oven.
- Cool to room temperature before storing.
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