Creative Breads
Why has our poetry eschewed
The rapture and response of food?
What hymns are sung, what praises said
To home-made miracles of bread?
Louis Untermeyer
There are many ways to be creative with breads and bread products. Look at
how many bread books there are in bookstores--how many cooking programs
dedicated to them on public television! Almost every family magazine has a
bread recipe of some type and there are thousands of bread recipes "out there"
waiting to be discovered.
Since bread can be made with just a few simple ingredients (usually flour,
liquid, leavening and salt), one way to be creative is to add more
ingredients. Specialty breads typically include fat and/or eggs, sugar,
spices and herbs, citrus peel, nuts, and fruit or cheese. But basic
ingredients can be varied too and it is a good idea to discover what their
basic role is in bread baking so that good products can come from creative
experiments.
LEAVENING
---------
Some kind of leavening is needed to make doughs and batters rise unless a flat
bread is desired. Quick breads are leavened with baking powder or baking soda
and a gentle acid, such as molasses, cream of tartar or a citrus juice.
Sourdough is one of the oldest leavens known. Levain, desem, biga or "Herman"
starters are made from potatoes, honey, yogurt and even hops. A mixture of
flour and water is called the "mother sponge" or the "mother sour". As part
of the starter is used for bread, the baker adds more flour and water (usually
distilled) to the starter to keep it going.
A salt-rising method (which refers to the old kitchen practice of keeping a
bowl of starter nested overnight in a bed of salt will retain heat) is
possible and some breads are leavened only by eggs and the steam
(popovers--some cookbooks affectionately call these "momovers") created by the
liquid in the product.
Yeast is perhaps the most commonly used leavening in the U.S. and is sold as
active-dry, compressed, rapid-rise, and bread machine yeast.
SALT
----
Salt is present in small amounts but it is one of the most important
ingredients in bread. Salt improves the taste. It also controls the action
of the yeast so that the bread doesn't rise too rapidly. It promotes a
browner crust and prevents the growth of unwanted bacteria. Salt also
inhibits the activity of protein destroying enzymes that weaken the gluten's
structure. Without salt, one of two things would happen. It would rise very
tall and collapse during baking or would not be able to rise at all.
Sometimes a little extra salt can improve the quality and flavor of yeast
breads on a hot summer day (to slow the fermentation process). Salt should
not be added to the liquid in which the yeast is softened because it may
retard the yeast action too much. Usually you can reduce the salt in a
recipe, but removing it all together is not recommended.
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If you need to eliminate salt completely, try cutting the amount of yeast in
half. Knead it about half the usual time, shape and put it in the pan with
only one rising. Watch it carefully. If the oven rising (oven spring) is too
high it will fall.
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SUGAR
-----
Sugar flavors baked foods and increases tenderness and volume as well. It
helps to brown crusts and is the food yeast needs to make the gas (carbon
dioxide) which causes the dough or batter to rise. The usual sugar is used is
white sugar, but molasses, brown sugar, or honey and smaller amounts of corn
syrup can also be used. These products also add distinctive flavors and tend
to stay moist longer than those made with granulated sugar.
LIQUIDS
-------
Milk, water (and potato water), sweet or sour cream, coffee fruit juices are
common liquids used in making bread. Yeast requires moisture before it can
grow. Liquids are also needed to moisten the gluten-forming proteins, and
starch and dissolve certain ingredients such as salt and sugar. It is the
amount of a liquid in a mixture that determines whether it is a dough or a
batter. The liquid needs to be at the proper temperature for yeast to grow
(105-115 degrees F. for recipes which dissolve yeast in liquid and 120-130
degrees F. when the yeast is mixed with the dry ingredients before the liquid
is added. Liquids makes possible the leavening action of baking powder, soda
and acid or the growth of yeast. It also forms steam when heated that helps
in baking. Water makes breads crusty and milk produces a soft crust and
creamy white crumb. Only raw milk needs to be scalded to prevent a slack,
gummy bread.
FLOUR
-----
This is the basic ingredient in bread. Much of today's flour is enriched
which means that the B vitamins (thiamine, riboflavin and niacin) and the
mineral iron is added. Flour may also be fortified with other added nutrients
such as calcium and Vitamin D.
Almost any edible flour or grain can be used in bread, but most yeast breads
have some wheat (or gluten) flour added because it contains more gluten.
Gluten builds the structure of the loaf and is partly responsible for its
height. Also, white or all-purpose flour makes whole grain flours lighter in
texture. Quick breads don't require flours that have a lot of gluten.
All-purpose flour is a combination of hard and soft wheat flours. Hard wheat
is more prevalent in bread flour and contains the most gluten.
Gluten Experiment
Mix 1/2 cup bread flour and 4 to 4 1/2 tablespoons cool
water to make a stiff dough. Knead the dough for several
minutes to develop the gluten, then immerse the dough in
cool water. The dough can also be held under a stream of
cool water. Every so often, massage the dough to wash the
white starch, changing the water each time. After one hour,
massage the dough and wash any remaining white starch
repeatedly changing the water until most of the starch is
gone and a tan, rubbery substance remains. Pull and
stretch the lump between your fingers to show how the
gluten can stretch and spring back. You can also bake the
gluten ball and then slice it open to see how the dough looks.
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Activity:
Try this gluten experiment with other flours and compare the amount
of gluten produced by each.
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The more common types of flour or grain used in the United States are: wheat
(bleached and unbleached, all-purpose, bread, white, whole-wheat, wheat germ,
cracked wheat, bulgar, kamut, spelt, wheat berries, self-rising, buckwheat
(has no gluten and is a herb in the same botanical family as rhubarb),
triticale (hybrid of wheat and rye) corn and cornmeal, rye, barley, oat and
oatmeal (grouts), rice, millet, soy, tabbouleh, teft, quinoa (keen-wah), and
amaranth. All-purpose flour is some combination of soft wheat (for cakes,
pies, and pastry) and hard wheat (that has more gluten for bread making).
Bread flour is almost exclusively hard wheat flour which can absorb more
liquid and requires a longer kneading time. Some authorities say that the
flour used by the French for most of their baking consists of 2 parts
all-purpose flour to 1 part bread flour.
Some breads are made with several grains. It is not uncommon to see breads
claiming to have seven, even 10 grains. Some of these grains may also be
added by including ready-to-eat and cooked cereals, such as shredded wheat,
oatmeal, Kasha, Ralston, Wheatena, Roman Meal, bran, bran flakes, granola and
many others.
In the 1930s, Clive MacCay, a professor at Cornell University recommended that
consumers add 1 tablespoon each of soy flour, dry milk solids and wheat germ
to the bottom of each one cup measure of white flour to improve its
nutritional content.
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Activity:
Youth may want to grind flour from wheat or another grain grown near their
area. Sort through about 1 cup of grain and remove any grit or dirt and grind
the flour in a grain grinder or whirl it in a blender until finely ground.
Grain can be ordered through catalogs or obtained from a local farmer. Be
sure the grain is not treated in any way.
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FATS AND OILS
-------------
Ingredients, such as butter, margarine, shortenings, lard and oils tenderize
the product by coating the flour particles or by forming separate layers of
fat and dough. It is important to notice that not everything that is packaged
like margarine or butter in the supermarket will work well in bread. Some
products, especially those whipped with water or air, are to be used as
spreads and not very successful in baking. Oil may be used in place of melted
shortening, but again, will not produce the same quality bread product.
EGGS
----
Besides adding color, flavor, and nutritive value to baked products, beaten
eggs act as leavening agents and the proteins in eggs coagulate when heated to
strengthen the framework of batters and doughs.
WAYS TO BE CREATIVE
Making breads is a wonderful way to enjoy other foods and combinations of
foods together. Some folks may "secretly" include ingredients (like milk or
vegetables) to improve the diet of a young child.
Nearly every food you can imagine can be put into bread. We've seen recipes
that include popcorn and lemon-lime soda pop! However, unless gluten is
substituted for some of the regular flour, the added ingredients should not
reach more than 1/4 the weight of the flour in the recipe.
Fruits and vegetables (except from the cabbage family) can be present in
several forms--even mashed potatoes or potato water are sometimes added. All
kinds of nuts, cheeses, spices and herbs are added, too. We like the recipe
title, "Cumin through the Rye" because it tell us something about the spice
and the flour and mimics the title of an old Irish song.
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Some spices and herbs are very strong. Try 1 teaspoon for every 6 cups of
dough for a hint of flavor, 1 tablespoon gives a bold flavor and 3 tablespoons
a very strong flavor.
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Breads can have almost any conceivable filling. They can be rolled up or
turned over any number of ingredients (won tons, calzones, empanadas, and
turnovers) or scooped out and used as a bowl for dips and soups. Sometimes
bread or thick biscuit dough is wrapped around a flour dusted green stick or a
frankfurter and cooked over a campfire. Bread dough may also be used surround
an entire round of cheese (brie) before it is baked and served as an
appetizer.
Breads can be steamed (Boston brown bread or Chinese steamed buns called
man-t-ou), poached (dumplings), fried or deep-fat fried (fry bread, fritters,
hush puppies, or funnel cakes) or boiled before they are baked (bagels).
Breads can take many shapes and sizes! There are long skinny breads, like
bread sticks (especially when they are cut in a pasta machine) and breads
designed to resemble the crossed arms of praying children (pretzels). There
are small loaves for one person and large loaves for a crowd. Party muffins
are sometimes no bigger than thimbles and megamuffins as big as a chicken pot
pie.
We often think of the wonderful shapes rolls are made into, including fan
tans, pinwheels, clover leaves, crescents, Parker House (made famous at a
Boston hotel in the 1800s), and knots, but a "loaf" can be different shapes,
too. Free-form loaves can be made into a round, moon, corkscrew, horseshoe,
snail, crown, ring, top knot, baguette and many other shapes. A cottage loaf
is a double decker round loaf with a hole hollowed out through the center
giving it an extra crust.
The longer the loaf the easier it is to cut it diagonally, and as one source
said, "...with more surface to spread the butter." A fatter, log shaped
baguette is called a batard and a shorter, thinner baguette is a ficelle,
which literally means "string".
Epi is bread in a wheat-sheaf shape. Fugasse are pull-aparts, often shaped
into birds or leaves. Ciabatta (cha-bahta) resembles a large slipper. Breads
are fashioned into teddy bears, crocodiles, hands, turtles, rabbits, doves,
flowers, hippos and munlie (dancing people) shapes.
Bread may be formed into shapes by appliances, such as waffle bakers.
Pancakes are often poured into monograms for children.
Some breads are baked in casserole dishes, cake pans or on cookie sheets.
There are molds to make muffins look like vegetables and rings to contain
English muffin batter. Breads can be baked into a Pullman loaf (Pan de Mie)
so that it is perfectly square for canapes. (This may be done using a
weighted cookie sheet on top of a loaf pan or in a canape mold.)
To look like a church dome, Kulich and other breads are often made in a coffee
can or (smaller) soup cans. There are cylinder and other molds that make
round, ridged breads that appear to have been made in cans!
Breads can also be made in kitchen-safe "flower pots" and even in brown paper
bags.
Bubble or monkey bread are small pull-apart rolls, covered in sticky syrup,
that are baked and molded by a bundt or tube pan.
Bread can be twisted, rolled, stuffed and braided. There are even pans
(molds) made to look like you spent all day braiding! Breads can be hard or
soft or crispy outside and soft inside. Just as biscuits, yeast dough can be
cut with cookie cutters (before their second rising). To celebrate football
games, some people squash the end of a small coffee can in the shape of a
football and use this as a cutter. Some even cut out bones for their dog
using a special recipe for dog biscuits.
Breads may be flat with little or no leavening. Armenian, peda (pita),
chapatis, lavash, pooris, naan (made by slapping a leaf-shape piece of dough
against a hot interior wall of a tandoor clay oven), parathas, branch bread,
Greek Arab, Syrian, many Scandinavian, Euphrates, socca (made of chick peas)
are some of these breads. Indian fry bread, tortillas, and some pizza crusts
fall into this category, too.
There are breads made with alcoholic drinks used as flavoring, such as beer,
schnapps, liqueurs. Most of the alcohol breaks down during baking.
Bread can be baked in a microwave or a conventional oven. Renting space in a
wood fired brick oven is popular in Europe or you can use a cloche--a small
domed clay oven that produces bread with a thick crackly crisp crust. Melting
ice in a pan or periodic sprays of water on the oven walls (watch out for the
light!) can produce crisper crusts in French and other breads.
Pikelets are bite-sized yeast raised breads baked on a griddle. One recipe we
found actually, extols the virtues of "cooking" cinnamon rolls in a frying
pan! The Basque people in the Rocky Mountains make bread in dutch ovens.
Bread can even be "baked" on a grill. At least one type of Easter bread in
Finland has been traditionally baked in milking pails to celebrate the arrival
of new calves. Penn State University even developed recipes to bake and
preserve breads in a canning jar.
Breads can be "dressed up or down". Some may seem more like cake or pastry
than what we consider bread. They can be served with the meal, as the meal,
and for dessert and snacks. In fact, we should be eating 6-11 (1 oz.) servings
of bread group every day.
Breads can incorporate all kinds of spices and herbs, fruits and vegetables,
cheeses and meat. Some breads may be marbled with ingredients or braided with
doughs of different color and flavor. Breads can take no particular
shape--just chop them full of ingredients and bake. There are even breads you
can eat with a spoon (spoon bread and dumplings).
Keep in mind that it is not how many
different things you put in a bread that
makes it good, it's how much effort and
care you put into it that makes it special.
The more ingredients you add, the heavier dough will be. In this case, be
sure you use bread flour that has extra gluten. Ascorbic acid or a dough
enhancer also may help.
James Beard discussed choosing the right bread for the occasion much in the
same way wine is selected to go with specific foods. He says some breads are
better hot than cold. Some are better for toasting or hors d' oeuvres. Some
are better for sandwiches or on top of soups. Often regional and national
traditions apply to the foods served with the bread.
Of course, you can cover bread with various glazes, frostings, and toppings or
form decorative patterns or symbols. Sometimes a flour initial is dusted on
the bread with a stencil or some other identifying mark is made.
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Activity:
Experiment with glazes. Prepare a dozen rolls (or more) to bake at the same
time, temperature and oven rack. Spread each roll with a different glaze
(using a different brush or utensil) keeping track of the location of each
one. Bake and compare.
Possible glazes (mix each ingredient together thoroughly before spreading):
beaten egg with 1 tablespoon of cold water, egg white with 1 tablespoon of
cold water, yolk with 1 tablespoon of water, yolk with 1 tablespoon of milk,
honey with 2 tablespoons of warm water, milk, milk with butter, molasses, oil,
water.
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Beehive bead is shaped from dough twisted around an inverted oven-proof bowl
and baked. When it comes from the oven it resembles a beehive. Turn it over
and its a beautiful edible basket that can be a centerpiece filled with all
kinds of foods. Bread can also have this appearance when it is pressed in
baskets or wire racks before baking.
In some regions of the world, loaves are shaped like hands or bakers leave
hand prints in the dough (and tell children that God blessed the loaf while it
was still baking.) Sometimes the bread is shaped to symbolize a family's
profession. Crosses, wreaths, cloverleaves, trees, and snowflake shapes are
other common bread shapes.
You'll notice that many breads are slashed with a razor-like devise or a sharp
knife, or are clipped by scissors or dimpled with finger pressing (focaccia).
This is a practical consideration as well as a decorative one. Bread that is
not slashed will expand with no place to go--often ruining the shape and
volume of the bread. If slashed, the razor is held at a diagonal slant to the
dough and slashed quickly with a firm motion about 1/4" deep and 2" apart in 2
or 3 places.
LEFTOVER BREAD
Bread is not only a product, but an ingredient! Folklore is full of warnings
about the horrible fate in store for anyone who wastes a single crumb of
bread, so it is hardly surprising that there are numerous dishes based on
leftover breads.
Extend ground meat in hamburgers and meat loaf and make croutons for salads
and soups. A recipe for an "ultimate crouton" involves bread 1" wide and 2"
long torn from a loaf, trimmed of its crust, buttered and baked for 30
minutes. Bagel chips are sliced bagel "rounds" made like croutons.
Bread cubes can be used as stuffing or dressing or dipped into fondue. Bread
crumbs are used in all kinds of coatings, fillings and can thicken soups and
stews. How about bread pudding? Toast, melba toast and French toast?
Sliced bread placed in containers with hard cookies, will soften them.
Fairly stale bread with sliced mild onions is said to make a very tasty
sandwich. However, even stale bread can be revived by steaming over water for
a few minutes in an oven (or special roll) steamer or unwrapped in a preheated
oven 400-450 degrees for 8 to 10 minutes.
Some people hold half of a crosswise cut of a leftover frankfurter roll in
their mouth to prevent tears from stinging their eyes when slicing onions.
Does it work? Try it and see.
BREAD SCULPTURE
Bread bakers are really artists who use dough as a medium.
Sculpted bread can be traced back 4,000 years to when Egyptian bakers baked
bread into flower and bird shapes to use as offerings to the gods.
Bread can be formed in most shapes.
Bread sculpture is an authentic field of specialty in Europe. Bakers of all
nationalities compete in prestigious sculpting contests.
Most people are aware of bread dough Christmas ornaments in the US. But,
breads are used to create marvelous table decorations in Europe and contests
are held to award prizes.
Bread sculpture combines risen dough shaping with unleavened bread sculpting.
Rolling pins, knives, scissors, forks, spoons, sieves, cutters, spatulas,
pasta make decorative shapes. Toothpicks and straws can hold braids while
they are baking. Some breads are baked with strips of paper which are later
removed and the spaces are laced with ribbons.
QUANTITY BREAD BAKING
Freshly baked bread is so popular, you may want to help out at a community
festival or bakery as a way to raise money for yourself or others. Baking in
quantity requires specific recipes and specialized equipment. It also
requires some business sense and a marketing plan. too. Gain experience by
working with others first and use this experience to spring-board your ideas.
Even if you are not interested in quantity foods, we include an ingredient
list used to make sticky buns for an upcoming community event to let you
ponder how much is used in comparison to most home recipes.
6 pounds yeast
500 pound flour
150 pounds brown sugar
1 case corn syrup
4 pounds cinnamon
50 pounds granulated sugar
5 pounds salt
3 bottles vanilla
4 cans shortening
1/2 case margarine
The more we bake, the better we get, the more adventuresome and audaciously
creative we are. As you create, be sure to write down what happened in each
recipe so you can repeat your successes and avoid future failures.
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Activities:
Ask the young people to identify as many different breads as possible over a
period of time. This can be especially exciting on trips to different
neighborhoods, bakeries, food markets, restaurants and homes of friends and
relatives. Keep a running list.
Find a bakery, pretzel or pizza shop with a view of its baking or kneading
area. Ask the youth to identify the tools, the ingredients, and the stages of
the bread making process. Interview owners about operation regulations,
pricing, and other business practices.
Identify the expansion slash marks on the top of loaves of bread and shapes of
rolls.
Identify essential ingredients of bread.
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Man (and woman) cannot live on bread alone.
There has to be some creativity!
anon
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This lesson plan was developed by Jan F. Scholl and 4-H Leaders and Members in
Pennsylvania as a part of a grant from National 4-H Council and the
Fleischmann's Yeast Company. No part of this document may be reprinted in any
form without previous permission.
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Updated 8/17/05