Perfect sandwich bread

This is the bread recipe that I have been baking with my mother for as long as I can remember. After a lot of practice, not to mention a year and a half of culinary school, I have mastered how to get it almost as good as she used to :). Mom, here's to you!

Equipment required:

• Stand mixer with dough hook (KitchenAid, Bosch etc. I use KitchenAid's industrial 6qt 600 Professional series. If using a version with a motor under 575 watts, you may want to halve this recipe as it's a large and tough one)
• Between 4 and 5 1lb. loaf pans or 3 1.5lb pans and 4 mini loaf pans
• Large bowl (any material will do)
• Dough divider/Bench knife (any knife will do but bench knife is preferred by me)

Ingredients:

• 3C Warm water
• 2T Instant active dry yeast (SAF works best for me, but from the store is perfectly acceptable)
• 1/2C Granulated sugar
• 1/2C Vital wheat gluten (gluten powder): This is optional if using a very high protein content flour, or a "bread flour." I use it no matter what with fantastic results, and it can usually be purchased from your local supermarket by Bob's Red Mill products in the baking aisle 
• 7-1/2C QUALITY bread flour: The flavor and quality of your loaves are determined by the flour you use almost exclusively
• 1/2 stick Butter melted (not margarine)
• 4 to 6T of sourdough starer: This is optional, but I always use to lend a slight flavor and a lot of rise power which is how I'm able to yield so many loaves while the original recipe only yields 3 one pound loaves and while not negatively affecting the flavor by making too yeasty. Once again though, totally option because my mother never used. 
• 1T Salt

WHOLE WHEAT:

• Substitute approx. 70% of the flour for whole-wheat flour
• Substitute granulated sugar for brown sugar
• Optional: Add between .5 and 1 cup soaked whole wheat berries

Procedure:

Place all of the warm water in the mixing bowl and sprinkle the yeast on top. Wait a few minutes until you start to see evidence that the yeast is active (illustrated below) because if the water is too hot, it'll actually kill the yeast so take care to make sure that the water is neither lukewarm nor scalding but in between.

Starting to see a little activity in lower left.

At this point, add the remaining ingredients into the mixing bowl in this order: Sugar, vital wheat gluten (gluten powder, if using), flour, starter (if using), and lastly the salt. Though you may not have known, salt is extremely detrimental to the fermentation/activation of yeast. In the industry we're trained to add it absolutely NO LATER than necessary in order to give the yeast a chance to activate and feed as fully as possible. While making free-formed artisan loaves, I don't add the salt until later into the process than the initial mixing stage that we're at now, but I digress.

If you happen to have a KitchenAid brand stand mixer, then upon placing all the ingredients in the bowl and fitting the dough hook, turn on to speed 2. This is the only speed we will be using as any other speed damages the motor (especially on non-industrial models! Thank goodness mine's industrial!). If using a Bosch, about medium suffices.  

Allow the ingredients to come together (maybe 1-1/2 minutes) before giving the dough a feel to determine if adjusting the flour or water is necessary. The dough should feel slightly tacky but not overly sticky nor should it not stick at all. Add a little flour or water depending on what the dough feels like at this point. I prefer my dough to be slightly more wet than most prefer to ease the final shaping and ensure a tighter folding/shaping, but you may prefer something different. Continue mixing for another 6 or 7 minutes after your adjustment (if it was necessary) until the gluten has been properly developed (see below).

Just beginning to pull away from the sides of the bowl. I've already adjusted my dough at this point.

There are several indications of proper gluten development. First, and the most reliable is the window pane test. Take a very small piece of your dough, roll it around a little in your hands while flattening into a tiny pizza shape then, while holding two corners begin stretching the piece with two other fingers (see below). If you can get it to look like the dough pictured below (or reasonably close) without tears or breakages then you know gluten strands are strong and developed properly. If not, knead by hand a few times until it passes the test. 

Secondly, the dough will have a much smoother texture than it did before (see below), and will quickly constrict back to it's original shape when stretched. If the dough seems to have properly developed gluten, then we're ready to ferment and rest. 

The rough mass is giving way to a more cohesive dough with a smoother texture indicating proper gluten development

Remove all the dough from the mixing bowl, and placed in a lightly greased bowl for what we call the bulk fermentation or first rise and cover until at LEAST doubled (see below). 

Just came out of mixing bowl, I gave it a preliminary shape of a nice smooth round ball and I'm about to cover.

Once the dough has doubled in bulk, divide into the number of large pans you intend to use. If using any mini loaf pans, keep one mass together for them (see below I'm using 3 large pans, and 4 minis but have divided into 4 equal pieces with one becoming the 4 minis). 

Shape these divisions by folding the dough onto itself tightly forming nice surface tension on the table side of the dough and shape roughly into a large, tight cylinder as pictured below. Allow to rest (while covered with plastic to keep from drying) for 20 minutes. 

After the dough has rested, it should be ready to be finally shaped. Divide one of the four sections into four more smaller ones, and repeat the earlier shaping process on all the loaves only taking care this time to ensure good seams when rolling the cylinders. 

Place into the respective loaf pans seam-side down, dust with a very small amount of flour so as to prevent sticking, then loosely cover with plastic so as to prevent the dough from forming a skin too early which will inhibit good rise in the oven, or what we call "oven spring." Allow to rise in this condition until the dough in every pan is touching all sides, and has risen vertically significantly. The time you allow your bread to rise is completely determined by your environment. Colder climates can rise bread slowly all night while warmer climates may only need 30-45 minutes. Don't worry about the time exactly. Feel it out, and when you think you've had enough rise out of the oven, and you'll get some good additional rise in the oven, It's time to bake (see below)!

I've divided all the loaves and given them their final shape after the bench rest. 

I feel the dough has risen enough at this point. Time to bake!

Bake loaves at 350 degrees for 25-35 minutes (for large loaves) or until the crust is a beautiful darkish golden brown (see below). Don't worry TOO much about over baking unless your crust is SERIOUSLY darker than mine. It's not an exact science and just really depends on what your tastes are. 

Focaccia

This is a consistent favorite among those I bake for on a regular basis. It's a bread with a seemingly infinite amount of character, while not being terribly complex for the novice baker wishing to enhance their "out of the box" repertoire.

There are two ways one can approach focaccia. The easier, less flavorful option would be to mix, proof (rise), and bake all on the same day. This can certainly yield an acceptable and flavorful loaf depending on the amount of herbs and seasonings used, but once tasting the second option, you'd know something was missing. It's for this reason, I'll only go into detail about the option which is best in my opinion and that is to mix a pre-ferment called a sponge or "Poolish" the evening before mixing the dough, coupled with using a sourdough starter to not only lend a great flavor, but contribute to an assured, even rise. Ok, let's get started!

Equipment:
Kitchen scale (available at any local kitchen wares store)
Medium sized plastic container with lid
One industrial half-size sheet pan (jelly roll pan)
Your fingers (hope you have all of 'em)
Electric stand mixer (or Bosch)
Large bowl

Ingredients:
Sponge:
-8oz of the highest quality plain white or bread flour you can find. I use a special freshly milled flour from my local mill which isn't available to everyone, but I strongly suggest either King Arthur's Bread or All Purpose flour for the regular home baker.
-6oz warm water (filtered is best but tap will do)
-1/16 tsp Instant Active Dry Yeast. SAF is the best and most consistent brand in the industry, but if you're unable to get it, Fleischmanns from the supermarket has certainly worked well for me in the past.

Final dough (needed for next day):
-20oz same flour
-16oz warm (NOT HOT) water
-3T sourdough starter (if desired and available keeping in mind that omitting will still yield great flavor and rise, but slightly lessened than if using. I can tell the difference, but you may not care)

-.4oz instant active dry yeast
-1oz olive oil

-.5oz salt

-14 oz of sponge from day 1
-Fresh herbs and seasonings on top of final dough (to taste). I usually use 5-7 sprigs of fresh rosemary freshly chopped, as well as organic sea salt.

Procedure for mixing sponge:

1. Mix all ingredients together in plastic container, ensuring all of the flour is properly hydrated. The water cannot be too hot or the yeast will die, but I've found warm water to be the most effective in yielding a highly active fermentation overnight.
2. Place lid on tightly and ferment at room temperature (at least 75 degrees, but the warmer the better) at LEAST 15 hours. 

Procedure for final dough:

1. Remove the sponge (which should look HIGHLY active at this point) from the container and chop into pieces.
2. Place the warm water into mixing bowl followed by approximately half of the sponge then sprinkle yeast on top of the warm water evenly.
3. Add remaining ingredients except topping (herbs and sea salt if using).
4. Mix on speed two for kitchenaid mixers (I have 600 Professional) or whatever speed your manufacturer recommends for developing gluten in bread doughs as every one differs for 6 minutes. 
5. Remove cohesive dough from the mixing bowl, and place in lightly greased large bowl.
6. Cover with plastic and let ferment at room temperature about 35 minutes or so. The time isn't terribly important as long as it's at least 20 minutes. The longer you leave it, the more flavor and fullness it'll have.
7. About half way through fermenting, give the dough a turn. To do this, reach under the dough and grab a chunk from the bottom. Stretch it over the top and press it down. Repeat this process at least 4 times or so or until you think all of the dough has been circulated and rotated. This allows the gluten to continue to strengthen and will lend a great strength to the finished product as this dough is by nature fairly loose or sticky.
8. After fermentation is complete, pour 6 oz of olive oil into your 1/2 sheet pan, then place the dough on the pan ensuring to flip it to coat both sides. Cover the pan and dough mass with some plastic and allow to relax and ferment for another 30 minutes. If you try to press it out into the corners before resting it, it'll continue to come together as the gluten strands are too strong. Relaxing the dough allows us to shape and form the dough as we see fit.
9. After the last 30 minutes, press and stretch the dough out into the corners, ensuring an even thickness of dough throughout, then coat entire top layer with olive oil. Don't worry about the amount of olive oil you use. It'll seem like you're using way too much but I assure you that you aren't and that the loaf will absorb whatever you put on top. 
10. Sprinkle your favorite seasoning, herbs, or topping on top and allow to rise for another 20 or 30 minutes. Is you used the starter, the rise would only need to be maybe 10 or 15 minutes. Then dimple using your fingers (told you you'd need them). Below is the starter loaf after rising (hugely active with gaseous bubbles, and following is the simple straight yeasted loaf with no starter which I hadn't fully stretched into the corners just yet but you can still see the volume difference at this point using a starter. I think you'll be surprised by just how much they rise in the oven, so don't be worried is it didn't double in the pan because you'll get your volume.  
11. After the dough has risen a bit in the pan (no specific amount), bake at 375 degrees approx 18 or 20 minutes or until a beautiful even golden brown and the loaf sounds somewhat hollow when tapped. Remove from pan and cool on rack. This is what the sourdough loaf came out looking like, and the regular follows.  

Both loaves have come out beautifully, and we ate BOTH for dinner that night which was Thanksgiving incidentally. Focaccia when sliced horizontally makes EXCELLENT sandwich bread and when sliced into strips is perfect for dipping in balsamic or the dip of your choice!

 Hope this was informative and easy enough to understand. If not, let me know and I'll definitely change my approach. For the next time for sure though I'll remember to post pictures of the entire process.

ENJOY!

My purpose

It's been said by far too many people for it to be a coincidence, or for me to not believe, that I am a "Renaissance Man." Not to be in any way self-aggrandizing, but I can sing reasonably well, I play both the piano and the organ exceptionally (at least in my opinion), I'm a french-trained pastry chef turned bread baker, an Air Force veteran with a rounded experience of all things handy, and where I'm going in life is for only me to decide. It's been overwhelming over the years to keep everyone in my life up to date with all of my goings on given the nature of exactly how many different things that I've been up to.

What I hope to accomplish with this blog is to not only be able to communicate effectively with all of my friends and family members, but also to be able to document the goings on in various interests I pursue as they can change with little to no warning. I plan to pursue an active operatic career this spring at the San Francisco Conservatory of Music, am a current top-tier employee at The French Patisserie in Pacifica, CA, and have dramatically increased both my interest and expertise in artisan bread baking as of the last 4 months so you can see why I'd need a forum such as this.

As I get better and better about posting, using this new interface, and adding great baking pictures, the posts should become exponentially better. I hope you enjoy them.

CdD