“The bread machine,” my baker friend whispered, “has really grown up–I use it to make all sorts of fancy bread, not just white loaves.”
Is this true? I asked an expert, Barbara Westfield, director of marketing for Salton/Maxim Housewares. She told me it was, that upgrading software in top-of-the-line machines in this highly competitive category had made it possible to prepare artisan and rustic European loaves and adapt formulas for conventional breads.
She spoke of an extended-length timer, variable programming, the ability to add ingredients during the program. Then she made two loaves. I said, “Very tasty,” the magic words, and she offered to provide the formulas.
The first two recipes are written for a Breadman Ultimate machine. Other machines are programmed differently. For reference, Westfield recommends “Bread Machine Magic” (St. Martin’s Press) and “From the Bread Machine” (Doubleday).
For the first recipe, Westfield says, “add the ingredients, program mixing, kneading and proofing times and go about your day. When you return, chances are the dough will be ready for hand-shaping and baking. Or simply bake it in the bread machine pan.”
The second recipe is for pita bread that will be quite different from the bagged pitas sold in supermarkets. Homemade pitas are puffed and have true pockets that are easy to fill with grilled vegetables, fish or chicken salad, hummus or falafel.
And finally, for those of you unable or unwilling to use a bread machine, I have included an old favorite loaf that has been updated, but still is made by hand with the help of a mixer.
SEMOLINA BREAD WITH BLACK SESAME SEEDS
Makes a 2-pound bread machine loaf; or divide dough, hand-shape and oven bake as 2 smaller rustic loaves.
For the starter sponge:
3 1/2 cups unbleached white bread flour
1/4 teaspoon active dry yeast
1 1/2 cups warm (102 to 106 degrees) water
1. Place the ingredients in the bread machine pan, select Dough Only, and press Start. After 5 minutes of mixing, press and hold Reset. Remove the starter from the pan and either refrigerate overnight or use when it has doubled in bulk.
Dough:
1 teaspoon active dry yeast
1/4 cup (2 fluid ounces) very warm water (105-115 degrees)
1 1/4 cups plus 3 tablespoons (11.5 fluid ounces) cool water (75 degrees)
1 1/4 cups (10 ounces) starter sponge
4 cups (18 ounces) patent durum flour *
1/3 cup (2 ounces) coarse yellow cornmeal
1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon coarse (kosher) salt
1/4 cup black sesame seeds *
2. Add the yeast and warm water to the bread machine pan and stir with a wooden spoon. Let rest for 3 minutes in the bread machine.
3. Using the Select button, proceed to the Dough Only program. Then using the program button, program in 3 minutes for Knead 1, six minutes for Knead 2, and 60 minutes for rising (proofing). Finally, press Yes when prompted for “extras.”
4. Add the cool water and sponge to the bread pan. Close the lid and press Start. The dough will begin to incorporate the ingredients.
5. At the end of Knead 1, press Pause and add all the remaining ingredients to the dough except the sesame seeds. Close the lid. Add the sesame seeds to the Extras dispenser and press Start.
6. When the dough has finished proofing, cover the pan well with plastic wrap and refrigerate for 8 hours. This allows the flavors to develop and deepen.
7. Remove the dough from the refrigerator and allow it to return to room temperature (70 to 74 degrees).
8. Once it has returned to room temperature, place the dough back into the breadmaker on the Bake Only cycle for 55 minutes at the highest temperature setting. The crust color should be gold accented with the black sesame seeds.
Note: You also may hand-form the loaves into a variety of shapes, top with more black sesame seeds, and bake on a stone in a conventional oven at 425 degrees for 20 minutes with 2 mistings. Then reduce the temperature to 375 degrees and bake for another 15 to 20 minutes, until golden.
–Adapted for the bread machine from “Amy’s Bread” by Amy Scherber and Toy Kim DuPree (Morrow)
* Patent Durum King Arthur flour is available by calling 800-777-4434. Black sesame seeds are available at Whole Foods and most Japanese grocery stores.
PITA BREAD
Makes 12
Starter sponge: enough for 2 batches of dough
1 1/2 cups (7 1/2 ounces) unbleached white bread flour
3/4 cup plus 3 tablespoons (7.2 fluid ounces) water
1 1/2 tablespoons (.8 ounce) sugar
7 tablespoons (3.6 ounces) fresh yeast
1. To make the sponge, place all ingredients in the bread machine and process on the Dough Only setting. Turn off the machine after 5 minutes of kneading, pressing Reset until the program clears. Allow starter to ferment for 30 minutes in the machine.
2. After 30 minutes, remove the pan from the bread machine and remove half (1 cup plus 1 tablespoon, 8.5 ounces) of the sponge. Save this starter for another batch of dough, covering it in a lightly oiled bowl with plastic wrap.
For the dough:
3. To the fermented sponge remaining in the pan, add the following ingredients:
3 cups (15 ounces) unbleached white bread flour
1 3/4 cups plus 1 tablespoon (14.8 fluid ounces) water
2 tablespoons (1 fluid ounce) olive oil, extra virgin preferred
2 teaspoons (.25 ounce) of coarse (kosher) salt
4. Using the Select button on the breadmaker, activate the Dough Only cycle, and allow the machine to process the dough straight through to proofing.
5. When the cycle is complete, place a baking stone in your oven and heat the oven to 500 degrees.
6. Remove the dough from the pan and divide into 12 four-ounce balls. Keeping the individual balls under plastic, shape them, one at a time, into mini-boules or balls with a cupped hand and medium pressure.
7. Flatten each ball into a four-inch disc with your fingertips. The dough should be easy to manipulate. Using a rolling pin, roll the disc into a flat, 1/4-inch-thick, 5-inch disc. Place on parchment paper and allow to rest about 15 minutes. Repeat until 12 pitas are formed.
8. Using a peel sprinkled with cornmeal, or flat cookie sheet, slide 4 to 6 discs onto the stone and bake until puffed and brown, 6 to 8 minutes. Mist the oven with cold water when the pitas are placed in the oven. Two or 3 mists should do. Repeat with remaining discs.
9. Let pitas cool on a wire rack. You will be able to slice and stuff them in about 20 minutes.
OATMEAL BREAD
Makes two large loaves
3 cups quick-cooking or old-fashioned rolled oats
5 3/4 to 6 1/2 cups all-purpose white or unbleached flour
3 packets fast-rising dry yeast
1/3 cup granulated sugar
2 1/2 teaspoons salt
1/3 cup vegetable oil
1. Stir together rolled oats and 1 1/2 cups hot tap water in a medium-sized bowl until well blended. Set aside until the consistency of oatmeal.
2. Stir together 1 3/4 cups flour, the yeast, sugar and salt in a large mixer bowl. Combine 1 1/2 cups water and oil in a saucepan and heat to warm, 125-130 degrees. With mixer on low speed, beat warm liquid into dry ingredients until blended. Raise speed to high and beat for 5 minutes. Vigorously stir in reserved oats-water mixture and about 3 1/4 cups more flour, or enough to yield a kneadable dough.
3. Working in the bowl or on a clean surface, quickly and vigorously knead in enough more flour to yield smooth and malleable yet still slightly moist dough. Cover bowl with a damp towel. Set aside in a very warm spot (80 to 90 degrees) for 20 minutes. Meanwhile, grease two 9-by-5-by-3-inch loaf (or similar 2-quart) pans.
4. Punch down dough and divide in half. With well-greased hands, form halves into smooth, evenly shaped loaves and place in pans. Cover pans with damp towels and set aside in a very warm spot for 20 minutes. Heat oven to 400 degrees.
5. Place pans in heated oven; immediately reduce temperature to 375 degrees. Bake loaves for 40 to 50 minutes, or until they are lightly browned and sound hollow when tapped on top. Remove from pans and transfer to a rack to cool. Bread may be served slightly warm, or cooled and used for toast.
–From “The 60-Minute Bread Book” by Nancy Baggett (Putnam)
