I’ve been baking all our bread, mostly sourdough, for the past 16/17 years. I just don’t like the stuff in the stores anymore.
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Hello fellow bakers - going by my name Stef(skleg) on Chowhound. Slowly getting back into the swing of things.
I baked the Swirled Spiced Sour Cream Bundt Cake from Baking with Dorie. It’s a lovely moist cake with a lovely swirl of spices,chocolate and pecans. It was a big bundt that lasted for 5 days but stayed nice and fresh.
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To my taste, the crust on Lahey’s version has a nice texture the first day, but not on subsequent days. I like Ottolenghi’s version up to and including the fourth day.
Lahey’s version in my view is less flavorful than Ottolenghi’s version, both the crust and the interior.
I find a 24 hour initial rise to be more convenient than an 18 hour rise.
I very much appreciate that Ottolenghi’s version doesn’t call for the dough to be put into a hot pot. I rarely escaped doing that step of Lahey’s version without burning myself.
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Her recipes are just so good! That looks delicious.
Rose Levy Beranbaum’s Prosciutto Ring (Lard Bread) from The Bread Bible (p. 370).
I’ve been wanting to make this for quite some time. A quick and easy yeast bread to bake, there is no preferment or overnight retard, yet it turns out to have a surprising amount of flavor. I used bread flour, 50/50 soppressata and pepperoni sausages, and kurobuta bacon fat for the lard.
On delving into the recipe, I was confused by 2 moments.
First, Rose calls for either 2 c. + 3 T. bread flour, or 360 grams. Somebody must have a heavy hand when measuring, as I would be hard pressed to get 360 grams out of that volume of flour. I went with weight, however, and based on results that seems to be the right decision. This was reinforced by a remark which I later found at the end of the instructions for mixing in a bread machine, giving a weight of raw dough very close to my own calculated weight. FYI I used a stand mixer initially, and switched to hand kneading to knead in the meats.
Second, it is not clear about the use of lard. For all methods, she calls for addition of the lard during mixing, and then again for glazing after the rise. At no point, however, does she specify the amount of lard called for is to be divided. I checked a couple of blogs featuring this bake, and both indicated the lard was used for glazing, only. I went with that, thinking I’d rather err on the side of having a lean dough rather than inhibiting the rise with fat. Again, going by results, I think it was a good decision.
I loved this bread. But then, I love savory, bready things in general. It was quite tender, with a slightly crispy, flaky crust. The flavor and heat of the meats came through nicely. You could taste the bacon in the glaze. I think it would make a terrific picnic loaf, served with some cheese and olives. The leftover is well-wrapped in the fridge; we’ll see how it holds up for tomorrow’s breakfast.
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Looks amazing. I’m a huge fan of this bread from NYC bakeries. You should try out Peter Reinhart’s casatiello sometime if you haven’t. It’s a brioche similar to this and one of my favorite breads.
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Oh! Thanks for the referral - I’ve got that recipe in BBA. It looks great, and right up my alley.
I have one more fruit focaccia to bake (Joanne Chang), and then my future is wide open. I’ll try and tackle the casatiello right after that.
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Some things are famous for a reason. Your’s looks so good! (I should make a Texas sheet cake, too - have read recipes and mentions of them many times).
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Stella Parks’ sheet cake is absolutely incredible. Definitely one of my favorite cakes!
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This is really comparing apples and oranges given the ingredients in each. Lahey’s recipe is a lean dough (no oil, dairy or other tenderizing ingredients) and 70-75% hydration. The Ottolenghi recipe is 90% hydration (counting both water and buttermilk) and the buttermilk acts as a tenderizer. Both have their uses. I love the thick, crispy crust of the Lahey for eating alongside a soup or stew, but I don’t love biting through it in a sandwich. Conversely, I’m guessing the Ottolenghi recipe makes a terrific sandwich bread.
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Actually the Ottolenghi version has a thick crisp crust.
I used pioneer woman’s recipe but I have the Bravetart book and always like her recipes. Will compare them and try Stella’s next time.
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Stella’s recipe is on Serious Eats, not her book.
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Thanks saved me fruitlessly searching.
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Here’s Stella’s recipe:
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@maccrogenoff
Which Ottolenghi book is your bread recipe from?
Is there perhaps a link that you can post?
She posted it above.
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That’s a committment! Good for you!
I’ve always said the baked goods in the store really look fantastic, but they always fall short in the taste department.
In my mind, nothing beats homemade by a baker who knows what they are doing!
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Thanks Caitlin, with all the back and forth conversation I had forgotten that the recipe had already been posted.
I know that Ottolenghi has so many cookbooks out there that he may also have several variations floating around.
Thanks for that hint @Elsieb. The Pioneer Woman recipe uses “everyday” ingredients. The Stella Parks recipe calls for specialty cocoa powder, available online at $20/pound. – not “affordable” in my definition, although Serious Eats pretends it is. Standard Hershey’s is less than half that per pound and available in 8 oz size; with my baking that’s enough for about a year.
