There's more than one way to skin a cat (or bake bread)

I've been on a baking hiatus for a few weeks due to lack of time and a new obsession with traditional Mexican food (more on that later). Our customers have been howling about the lack of baked goods on the counter and Todd hasn't been able to have a sandwich in a while.  It was time to crank up the Aunt Cranky Bread Machine (me).

One of these days I will go into detail on how to do Sourdough from the beginning but this post is more about winging it.  I have a glass jar of starter in the frig I started several weeks ago and needed to use and refeed. I poured off the liquid, spooned about a cup into a medium sized bowl and added another cup of flour, slightly more than a cup of distilled water, and 1/2 tsp. instant yeast.  Stir well and leave out on the counter for a few hours to bubble and brew.  You are looking for lots of bubbles at the top and a slight stickiness.  The cooler your kitchen is, the longer it will take.  We live on the surface of the sun.

I mixed up 2 cups of warm water, 1 tsp. sugar and a tablespoon of yeast and let it proof for about 15 minutes.  I then added the starter, mixed well, and let that proof for about 30 minutes.  It got nice and puffy and bubbly just like you want it.  I stirred in the salt well and then started adding flour a cup or so at a time until it felt like it could be dumped out onto the well floured counter (thanks Sou Chef Todd!) and  kneaded.  I kneaded in more flour until it was still slightly soft but not too sticky.  This was dumped into a very large ceramic bowl that was heated for a bit in the microwave to warm it up, then covered in plastic wrap and set aside.  This would make bagel and pizza dough.

I then made a batch of Amish White Bread using a tablespoon of sugar.  After the first rise it was divided in half.  One half was made into a loaf.  The other half was divided in two and made into Cinnamon Raisin Rolls and Double Chocolate Rolls. The Cinnamon Raisin Rolls had brown sugar, cinnamon and raisins sprinkled over the rolled out dough, then rolled up and cut into 6 slices with string.  The Double Chocolate Rolls had white sugar, sifted cocoa and semi sweet chocolate chips sprinkled over the rolled out dough, then rolled up and cut into 6 slices with string. They all rose again until double.  They baked at 370 degrees (if you are not in high altitude bake at 350) for 20 minutes.  You want them to just start turning brown.  Using a silicone baster, I coated the rolls with a stick of melted butter, sprinkled with granulated sugar, and put them back in the oven for another 5 minutes to cook the sugar.  The bread loaf was baked at 370 for 30 minutes.  You are looking for the color in the photo.

Once the sourdough doubled in size I put half into a covered container with lots of room to expand and put into the refrigerator to cure.  This makes the final pizza product taste so much better with better texture.  It's best cured for 3-4 days but  my plans were to use it the next day.

So onto the bagels.  There are a few schools of thought on shaping bagels.  There is the traditional roll the pieces out like snakes and shape and there is also the "doughnut"  technique where you use a small round object to cut out the holes.  You can also use your thumbs to punch out the holes.  I wanted to try all 3 but could not find my apple corer so I used both the snake and thumb methods. The remainder of the dough was cut into 12 pieces and shaped.

Bagels are normally boiled and baked after the first rise and shaping.  If you like a firmer bagel skip the second rising and proceed to the boiling and baking stage.  Todd likes softer bread so I let them rise a second time.  At whichever stage you are ready, have a large pot of water at a low boil with 1/4 baking soda added.  Carefully add the bagels in small batches and simmer for 1 minute, turning once.  Remove and drain well.  I use the brass spider strainer that I normally use with my wok.  Place on cookie sheets and bake at 370 for 25 minutes or until brown.

After first rise and shaping

After second rise.  The holes pretty much closed up.  

Will make bigger holes next time.

Post boiling.

Final Product.  They are pretty tasty.

Fast forward to today.  I let the pizza dough warm up on the counter uncovered for about an hour.  It was then punched down and separated into 4 pieces.  I rolled each piece slightly to flatten and round out.  This dough does not roll well. The best technique is to pull and stretch once flattened until the desire size and thickness is achieved.  These were par baked  at 400 degrees (375 for non high altitude) for 15 minutes.  You do not want them to brown.  Remove from oven as soon as they puff up into big balloons.  Once removed, immediately use the tip of a very sharp knife the pierce the tops 3-4 times and deflate.  Let cool.  If not using immediately, place in a freezer bag and freeze for future use.  When my kids were young I made these in big batches.  

Enjoy!