Thursday, June 9, 2016

My first bread loaf - Rum and Raisin French Toast Royale (Part I)

This is my first Baking Bible bakealong activity.  Thanks to the alpha bakers group for the inspiration to break out from my comfort zone and make great things like my very first bread loaf.   After baking this loaf, I never want to buy bread again.  


Feeling excited and nervous, I read the recipe 4 times.  Perhaps it was just me (and my first time), I had to read the paragraph on shaping another 2 more times and illustrate it in the following diagram.  

Although the recipe looks complicated and time consuming, the actual making was easy to follow and did not take long.  The only thing was to determine the breakpoints to fit into my schedule and wondering if that was going to work out well.  My initial plan was to only break during the fermentation of the sponge starter and continue with the rest of the baking the next morning.  Due to a last minute change in schedule, I had to shorten the fermentation of sponge starter to 9 hours in the refrigerator and retard in the fridge overnight after the first rise.  Not sure if I inserted the pause all at the right time, but my dough rose nicely and the flavour of the bread was deep and complex. 
SPONGE STARTER - I used the standing mixer to whisk in the flour, water, honey and yeast.  The blanket of flour mixture started to bubble a little after the first hour at room temperature.
  
PREPARING DOUGH - After 9 hours of fermentation in the refrigerator, the dough starter bubbled more through the flour.   I used the standing mixer to add in butter and salt.  The kneaded dough was smooth, shiny and slightly sticky.  My dough reached double the height in 1 hour (hot and humid country!).  After deflating the dough and business letter fold, I chilled the dough overnight.
   


  

SHAPING AND BAKING - I was a little unsure about rolling out with different thickness, sealing with seams by the edges and making sure the rolling is tight.  It did finally take shape to look like a loaf and fit into the pan nicely.  After 1.5 hours, the highest point of the dough reached 1.5 inches.
      

  

MY FIRST BREAD LOAF -  It's a real big deal for me.  This bread turned out to be an amazing results from pushing through the boundaries of my usual cake making.  The benefit of this success is going to broaden my horizon - not just into making more breads but soft mental aspects of life.


The spirals held together quite nicely throughout the few slices that I have cut so far.  The crumb had a few irregular holes but overall not too 'holey'. 


At this point, I am not sure if there is going to be part II of this recipe, i.e. the french toast.  They are so delicious by itself and I could finish eating them as is. 

6 comments:

  1. I can't believe this is your first loaf of bread--it looks perfect!

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  2. Indeed! Still remember the wobbly feeling to carry the delicate rolled up dough to the pan, wasn't sure it was going to make it :-)

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  3. Incredible! You must be a natural bread baker! This loaf is incredible; the texture, the swirl, the height. Simply amazing for a first loaf. You are going to do just fine making Rose's Baking Bible recipes. What fun having you here!

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    1. Thank you, Vicki :-) I find the recipes in Baking Bible a little challenging but thanks to the bake along group for all the motivation and learning together.

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  4. Wow, beautiful job. A first loaf of bread is impressive enough, but your spiral is centered and even, no gaps...I have trouble with those every time. And you drew the sketch I was thinking of as I read Rose's instructions! When I get around to this bread, I'll remember that you posted the diagram of how to roll it out. :)

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    1. Thanks Nancy. The diagram helps me to get the centered spiral. I thought it's a good one to share and see if the rest has the same picture in mind after reading that paragraph.

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