Recipes for Yeast Raised Breads 9

Here are a list of bread formulas featured on Renaissance Culinaire. These are commercial baking formulas, but have instructions on how to reduce for home use. This site will continue to be updated as more formulas are added.

Americanized Pumpernickel Bread

Wussel Bread (a form of french)

Seven Grain Bread

Photography : stage of the knot rolls' makeup 2

stage of the knot rolls makeup, originally uploaded by Amber *.

Photog: Hand to Dough 0

opiate 038, originally uploaded by CulinaryNovice.

I love this photograph. Not because it has the greatest technical aspects, but becuase it shows baking in it's purest form - a hand on dough, flour everywhere, hands crusty from working the dough.

Photography : Bread dough is patted down to ready for scaling. 0

Bread dough is patted down to ready for scaling.
Originally uploaded by abstract2concrete.

IF you aren't careful, the dough will hurl it's self off of the work table [bench] so don't position it near the edge! Once you scrape it out of the mixing bowl, you need to gently pat it (bottem edges to top) & into a uniform blob, to then cut it with a bench scraper using a "hot dog cut" [left to right]. A hamburger cut is [up then down].

If you are scaling large batches it is much easier to divide the dough into halves or thirds, then cut the amount needed for scaling from the smaller portion.

Plus you aren't spending ineffecient time fumbling with unruly dough. (speed is always a plus when working with anything dough containing yeast - it will proof (rise) prematurely & you cannot fix that. It will ruin your bread or pastry quality.)

Formula: Short Dough Cookies 11

Here is a formula for short dough cookies. These are perfect for icing with royal icing, poured fondant or decorating with buttercream.

Shortbread by lilivanili

 Done in a 20 QT mixer. This is a large batch so I would do about a 1/3 or even a 1/4 of this formula for home use.

[# = lb]

• 6 # butter
• 3# sugar
• 3/4 oz salt
• 1# 2oz. Eggs
• 2 oz B & V (is a flavored powder with lemon, rum & vanilla) [you can add liquid vanilla etc.]
• 9# pastry flour
  

Cream butter, sugar & salt till light . Add eggs & flavoring.
Add pastry flour a little at a time. (has a tendency to plum in a 20 QT bowl, so carefully add)

Put onto a floured [unpapered] pan.Flatten with hands, cover w/ plastic & retard[refrig.]

Take pan from the retarder (a.k.a refrigerator). Take a bench scraper & cut out 1/3 of the pan of short dough. Flour your work space. put your chunks of dough onto the flour space & taking a rolling pin holding with both hands, firmly hit the dough with a down sloping motion. Continue to rock & roll back & forth until dough is no longer cold & firm.

Flour your dough , and the bench again, if needed. Roll the dough out until it has reached 1/4 -1/2 inch. Place a cookie cutter over dough & press firmly. Make as many whole shapes as you can with your dough.

Remove the scraps . To prevent the dough from being over handled (so the butter is warm enough for cookies to wilt) Take a clean bench scraper - run the corner under the edge of your cut out shape.

The dough may stick to the bench} Run the scraper blade under the cookie until it moves freely. IF making larger cookies it is best to slide the scraper under the cookie & let it rest on the blade & part of your hand, this way you can safely transport the cookie to the pan without it losing shape

Bake at 350 - 375 F. Until lightly browned.

Let cool completely. Then ice .

Walnut croissant & French turn overs 5

Walnut croissant & French turn overs, originally uploaded by Amber*.

Some of the pastry I have been making. Tommorow is my groups last day in the laminated dough station. It is also a test day.

It is amazing how ones confidence can soar, once you get a little bench work in.

I have too many irons in the fire as of late, so my writing is suffering. I had tapped into a good vien there for a spell. Now writers block has bruised me, like one big hematoma, I cannot see past the cosmetic details.

My photography on the other hand has been unearthed. I carry my camera everywhere now. I have over 4,000 photos in my flickr account. Go figure....

Danish Bakeri : home of the Baker 1

Where does the quiet history of the baker reside? In the dilapidated ruins of ancient civilizations? Or in the failing masonry of eleventh century European buildings. If I were to lay my ear upon these stones, would I hear the soft murmurs of ancient oven doors, of an artisan bread song or the benching and rolling of laminated doughs?

I am now in the Laminated Pastry station. In class I was told today from a reliable source [a 4th generation Baker from Denmark], about Denmark and it's bakery history. We were making Kringles. Kringles are Danish pastries and are based from Danish pastry [Weinerbrod dough]. The demonstration was on the "Wisconsin Kringle". The Wisconsin Kringle varies immensely from traditional Danish Kringle, due to the Round or oval shape and 10 additional fillings. You can follow this link to learn a little history & the process of Wisconsin Kringles from a old world Danish bakery in Wisconsin .


The Danish are quite rigid in keeping with their traditional pastry standards. The traditional filling for the Danish Kringle is :

• a thin layer of Remonce [ mixture of butter, sugar,vanilla can contain : almond paste, white cake crumbs, honey] ;
• Pastry Cream [handmade custard];
• Finally a thin roll of Almond Filling [Paste : crushed almonds or apricot kernels,butter,sugar; Then mixed with egg whites and more sugar]

The Pastry before fill is carefully rolled out with a French rolling pin into long strips, and the width is no bigger than 3-4 inches. The 2 fillings are spread in a 2 inch stripe in the center of the pastry, then the roll of almond filling is centered onto the stripe. The edges are brought up and over the filling to form a seem. It is then rolled out slightly on the bench. Here a baker from Edgar's Bakeri [bakeri is bakery in Danish] is forming the traditional Danish shape :




From as far back into Danish history, the Kringle has been a symbol of bakery. In fact the Kringle symbol means "home of the baker". Buildings from the middle ages and stones in graveyards can be found with the Kringle symbol. In modern day Denmark, neon signs loom over the walk ways, beckoning foot traffic. So if you are ever in Denmark, look for home - home of the baker.

Formula : Callebaut Dark Chocolate Hazelnut Scones 0

{This formula is meant for a small production batch, mixed in a 20 quart mixer. For home use cut the formula ingredients into 1/3.}

This is an Americanized version of scones. Real scones would be VERY dry.The Americanized version has also more flavor & sweeter.

This is a Base or Master formula - meaning you can use this basic formula, and add onto it. Just make sure if you are going to add an ingredient with liquid, to use less liquid in the base formula. This goes for ingredients that are very dry. It is all a balancing act.
{# = lb}
Buttermilk Scones:

• 3# Bread Flour
• 2# Pastry Flour
• 1# 7 oz. Sugar
• 1 oz.Baking powder
• 1/2 oz. Baking Soda
• 1/4 oz.Salt
• 1 oz. Vanilla extract

Blend dry ingredients in a 20 qt. mixing bowl. Add:

• 1# 14 oz. Butter

Room temperature butter is much easier to work with here. Break up into small pieces , place pieces on top of dry ingredients. Blend in butter in 1st speed until mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Remove bowl from the mixer. Transport to bench/workspace.
{Tip: If you end up working with cold butter, break off small chunks into your hand and work/massage the butter chunks before adding to the mixer.This will help the butter warm up once the mixing starts - because the paddle & the hitting of the sides during mixing produces friction which leads to heat.}

• 2# Buttermilk
• 1# whole eggs

[Warning: do not wear long sleeves!This is very messy.]
Add the eggs to your buttermilk.Make a "well" {or hole}in your dry mixture, pour the egg & buttermilk into your well. These ingredients will be folded in by hand with a plastic scraper.Fold until liquid & dry are completely incorporated.
TIP: A true "fold" is when you take the rounded edge of your scraper and starting at the bowls lip(edge)scrape downward & under the batter,an even line along the bottom and sides of the bowl, to complete your fold at the other sides' lip. Your next fold will start where that first fold ended. With each fold completed, the is bowl slightly turned.
This will ensure that you will never have an area in the bowl that hasn't completely been mixed.
Dark Chocolate/Hazelnut:
Callebaut Dark Chocolate

8 oz. toasted, chopped hazelnuts

Add the chopped dark chocolate & toasted,chopped hazelnuts to the mixed dough,fold well.

Once well mixed, take small globs of dough and line them up on a well floured table. Have a yard stick(ruler) handy.

Pat out dough{flour your hands}, onto well floured table, 1/2 of the dough into a strip: 4 inches wide and about 3/4 inches thick. (No thicker than 3/4 of an inch - this dough rises & the scones will be huge)

When you have the correct width & thickness, line up your yard stick along the strip. Gently score the dough in 2 inch increments with a bench scraper].[ do not cut, make indentation]

Now apply pressure with knife on scored lines & cut. {you need to be some what consistent or you won't make an even cut due to hazelnuts etc.} This dough is soft , you will need to pull just cut pieces, away from the main dough strip - or they will reconnect.

Put onto parchment papered sheet pan. Arrange 12 per pan { 3 across & four rows }. Lightly egg wash with "egg only egg wash".

Egg Only Egg wash:

• whole eggs
• liquid egg (from container)

Make enough for use. Beat with wire whip. Use pastry brush to apply.

Bake until browned. Don't rely on color - because this will very due to egg wash. Rely on touch , in the middle & sides . The scones will feel baked - no under baked dough, more formed.