Daring Bakers: Nanaimo Bars & A Surprise!

I've had Nanaimo Bars on my list of recipes to make "someday". My recipe list comes in many varieties. I've bookmarked recipes that I've found on one of many favorite food blogs, or the stack of magazines with beautiful pictures and delicious sounding recipes that I've kept for years, or the recipes that I've printed out and actually filed them in my recipe binder which seems to grow daily. So when I saw this challenge, I was excited to cross this dessert off my list and complete another Daring Bakers challenge.

Before I get into the details of this challenge, let me introduce our hostess, the writer of one of my favorite blogs:

The January 2010 Daring Bakers’ challenge was hosted by Lauren of Celiac Teen. Lauren chose Gluten-Free Graham Wafers and Nanaimo Bars as the challenge for the month. The sources she based her recipe on are 101 Cookbooks and http://www.nanaimo.ca/.

A Little Preview...

I know, it's Tuesday already and no Monday Must Have. It's that time of year where I'm finalizing the Holiday Menu, updating my website, creating and printing the paper version of the menu and creating a few new desserts for the holidays. And on top of all that, I have orders to fill and meetings with clients to attend.

But in the meantime, here is a little preview of one of my favorite cakes and I'll be back in a couple of days with more information and hopefully (cross your fingers that all goes well) the 2009 Jillicious Holiday Menu.

Till then, I hope you all are having a great week!

Monday Must Have: Kitchen Inspiration

My first sugar showpiece in culinary school.

Creativity. I love it. I need it. I crave it.

I enjoy what I do for a living because I have this outlet where I can create something that is a part of me, for others to enjoy.

One of the things I loved about culinary school was the constant learning of new skills and techniques and it seemed like the creativity just happened being in such a conducive environment. I remember the first day of my Confectionery & Showpiece class, where the chef demonstrated a FANTASTIC sugar showpiece (which I wished I had taken a picture of to share with you). When she finished, she had us pick out three colors of cooked sugar and said, "OK, now it's your turn to make a showpiece in the next couple of hours."

I had picked three colors that didn't really seem like they would work together and the perfectionist in me began to panic. As I worked, practicing the techniques that the chef had demonstrated, I began to gain confidence in learning another new skill. Although we had a choice in the colors, we still needed to incorporate the hedge rose flowers and the pulled sugar technique in our project.

The above picture was my very first sugar showpiece and although it's not anywhere near what you might see on a Food Network show, I was very pleased with how it turned out and when I look at this picture, it brings back memories of the excitement and the challenge of learning something new and allowing my creativity to shine through. Overall, this picture represents a time when I thought something was impossible and how with a little direction, practice and creativity it became possible.

But every once in awhile, there are times where the creativity doesn't seem to flow and I need a little extra help to get those creative juices flowing. At times like these, I turn to those things or people around me to get going again.

Things or people that INSPIRE me:

Cookbooks
Cooking Magazines
Collected Recipes
Created Recipes
Favorite Food Blogs
Other Pastry Chefs
My Mentor Chef D.
Ingredients
Seasonal or Local Produce/Ingredients
Bakeware/Cookware/Kitchen Gadgets
Culinary Classes
Prints/Patterns/Themes
Art/Paintings
Places I've Lived/Visited
Experiences

What INSPIRES you in the kitchen?

Daring Bakers: Puff Pastry (Vols-au-Vent)

Today is the reveal date for this month's Daring Bakers' Challenge and guess what?!

I'm still mixing, rolling, turning, chilling and baking (this will make more sense when you read the directions later).

Yep, I've waited till the last possible minute, so I'll be back much later today (hopefully before midnight PST). Check back later for write-up and pictures of this delicious pastry.

I know, I know, it's actually Tuesday now (yes, I'm 2 days late with this post--my first time and hopefully the LAST time) and I have the puff pastry made, baked and filled with yummy goodness.

But first things first--a BIG thank you to our hostess for choosing a great Daring Bakers' challenge:

The September 2009 Daring Bakers' challenge was hosted by Steph of A Whisk and a Spoon. She chose the French treat, Vols-au-Vent based on the Puff Pastry recipe by Michel Richard from the cookbook Baking With Julia by Dorie Greenspan.




These last two weeks have been busy, busy, BUSY with work and other types of baking and before I knew it, it was the 27th and I hadn't started the challenge yet. I've been looking forward to making puff pastry, since it's been awhile since I've made it and I was excited to come up with some delicious savory and sweet fillings--and then I ran out of time and had to make fillings using what I happen to have on hand.

I decided to only use 1/3 of the dough and I rolled out the rest into sheets and they are in the freezer. I will be re-visiting the puff pastry later in the month and be a bit more creative with some fillings, but all was not lost with this last minute challenge.

If you happen to have some puff pastry in your freezer (homemade or even store bought), then you will appreciate the simplicity of the fillings I made. They were quick and easy and the best part was they were delicious and they could be made at the last minute if you have unplanned guests show up.

I decided to make mini vols-au-vent's for both the savory and sweet fillings. Although they can be eaten in 3 or 4 bites, 2 or 3 of these filled with the savory filling were plenty.

For the first batch, I made a Creamy Chicken & Herb filling with fresh cherry red and yellow tomatoes, topped with freshly grated Asiago Cheese.

Creamy Chicken & Herb Filling

Ingredients: Boneless, skinless chicken tenders, cream of chicken soup, milk, lemon-n-herb seasoning, fresh parsley, salt, pepper, asiago cheese & yellow and red cherry tomatoes.

1) Cook chicken with seasonings and herbs in pan on stove top.

2) Add cream of chicken soup and about 1/2 cup milk and mix with cooked chicken. Simmer for a few minutes till combined and hot throughout.

3) Spoon chicken mixture into puff pastry and garnish with parsley, cheese and tomatoes.

Now for the dessert. I made a puff pastry trio dessert plate, because two desserts are better than one and three is better than two!

Again, these were filled with ingredients or products that I had on hand and they didn't take long to put together.

Dessert #1:
Fresh Raspberries w/Dark Chocolate & Sweetened Whipped Cream

Dessert #2

Apricot-Vanilla Bean Whipped Cream w/Fresh Pomegranate Seeds

Dessert #3

Lemon Curd w/Fresh Blueberries & White Chocolate Shavings

It was fun and relaxing to make puff pastry (once I was able to catch up with my work and everything else that I felt like I was behind on) and it was a great reminder to make this more often than I have in the past.

Now for the recipe!

Michel Richard’s Puff Pastry Dough
From: Baking with Julia by Dorie Greenspan

Yield: 2-1/2 pounds dough

Ingredients:

2-1/2 cups (12.2 oz/ 354 g) unbleached all-purpose flour
1-1/4 cups (5.0 oz/ 142 g) cake flour
1 tbsp. salt (you can cut this by half for a less salty dough or for sweet preparations)
1-1/4 cups (10 fl oz/ 300 ml) ice water
4 sticks (16 oz/ 454 g) very cold unsalted butter
plus extra flour for dusting work surface

Mixing the Dough:

*Check the capacity of your food processor before you start. If it cannot hold the full quantity of ingredients, make the dough into two batches and combine them.

1) Put the all-purpose flour, cake flour, and salt in the work bowl of a food processor fitted with a metal blade and pulse a couple of times just to mix. Add the water all at once, pulsing until the dough forms a ball on the blade. The dough will be very moist and pliable and will hold together when squeezed between your fingers. (Actually, it will feel like Play-Doh.)

2) Remove the dough from the machine, form it into a ball, with a small sharp knife, slash the top in a tic-tac-toe pattern. Wrap the dough in a damp towel and refrigerate for about 5 minutes.
3) Meanwhile, place the butter between 2 sheets of plastic wrap and beat it with a rolling pin until it flattens into a square that's about 1" thick. Take care that the butter remains cool and firm: if it has softened or become oily, chill it before continuing.

Incorporating the Butter:

1) Unwrap the dough and place it on a work surface dusted with all-purpose flour (A cool piece of marble is the ideal surface for puff pastry) with your rolling pin (preferably a French rolling pin without handles), press on the dough to flatten it and then roll it into a 10" square. Keep the top and bottom of the dough well floured to prevent sticking and lift the dough and move it around frequently. Starting from the center of the square, roll out over each corner to create a thick center pad with "ears," or flaps.

2) Place the cold butter in the middle of the dough and fold the ears over the butter, stretching them as needed so that they overlap slightly and encase the butter completely. (If you have to stretch the dough, stretch it from all over; don't just pull the ends) you should now have a package that is 8" square.

3) To make great puff pastry, it is important to keep the dough cold at all times. There are specified times for chilling the dough, but if your room is warm, or you work slowly, or you find that for no particular reason the butter starts to ooze out of the pastry, cover the dough with plastic wrap and refrigerate it . You can stop at any point in the process and continue at your convenience or when the dough is properly chilled.

Making the Turns:

1) Gently but firmly press the rolling pin against the top and bottom edges of the square (this will help keep it square). Then, keeping the work surface and the top of the dough well floured to prevent sticking, roll the dough into a rectangle that is three times as long as the square you started with, about 24" (don't worry about the width of the rectangle: if you get the 24", everything else will work itself out.) With this first roll, it is particularly important that the butter be rolled evenly along the length and width of the rectangle; check when you start rolling that the butter is moving along well, and roll a bit harder or more evenly, if necessary, to get a smooth, even dough-butter sandwich.

2)With a pastry brush, brush off the excess flour from the top of the dough, and fold the rectangle up from the bottom and down from the top in thirds, like a business letter, brushing off the excess flour. You have completed one turn.

3) Rotate the dough so that the closed fold is to your left, like the spine of a book. Repeat the rolling and folding process, rolling the dough to a length of 24" and then folding it in thirds. This is the second turn.

Chilling the Dough:

1) If the dough is still cool and no butter is oozing out, you can give the dough another two turns now. If the condition of the dough is iffy, wrap it in plastic wrap and refrigerate it for at least 30 minutes. Each time you refrigerate the dough, mark the number of turns you've completed by indenting the dough with your fingertips. It is best to refrigerate the dough for 30 to 60 minutes between each set of two turns.

2) The total number of turns needed is six. If you prefer, you can give the dough just four turns now, chill it overnight, and do the last two turns the next day. Puff pastry is extremely flexible in this regard. However, no matter how you arrange your schedule, you should plan to chill the dough for at least an hour before cutting or shaping it.

Forming and Baking the Vols-au-Vent:

Yield: 1/3 of the puff pastry recipe below will yield about 8-10 1.5” vols-au-vent or 4 4” vols-au-vent

*You will need: well-chilled puff pastry dough (recipe below)-egg wash (1 egg or yolk beaten with a small amount of water)-your filling of choice

1) Line a baking sheet with parchment and set aside.

2) Using a knife or metal bench scraper, divided your chilled puff pastry dough into three equal pieces. Work with one piece of the dough, and leave the rest wrapped and chilled. (If you are looking to make more vols-au-vent than the yield stated above, you can roll and cut the remaining two pieces of dough as well…if not, then leave refrigerated for the time being or prepare it for longer-term freezer storage.)

3) On a lightly floured surface, roll the piece of dough into a rectangle about 1/8 to 1/4-inch (3-6 mm) thick. Transfer it to the baking sheet and refrigerate for about 10 minutes before proceeding with the cutting. (This assumes you will be using round cutters, but if you do not have them, it is possible to cut square vols-au-vents using a sharp chef’s knife.) For smaller, hors d'oeuvre sized vols-au-vent, use a 1.5” round cutter to cut out 8-10 circles. For larger sized vols-au-vent, fit for a main course or dessert, use a 4” cutter to cut out about 4 circles. Make clean, sharp cuts and try not to twist your cutters back and forth or drag your knife through the dough. Half of these rounds will be for the bases, and the other half will be for the sides. (Save any scrap by stacking—not wadding up—the pieces…they can be re-rolled and used if you need extra dough. If you do need to re-roll scrap to get enough disks, be sure to use any rounds cut from it for the bases, not the ring-shaped sides.)

4) Using a ¾-inch cutter for small vols-au-vent, or a 2- to 2.5-inch round cutter for large, cut centers from half of the rounds to make rings. These rings will become the sides of the vols-au-vent, while the solid disks will be the bottoms. You can either save the center cut-outs to bake off as little “caps” for you vols-au-vent, or put them in the scrap pile.

5) Dock the solid bottom rounds with a fork and lightly brush them with egg wash. Place the rings directly on top of the bottom rounds and very lightly press them to adhere. Brush the top rings lightly with egg wash, trying not to drip any down the sides (which may inhibit rise). If you are using the little “caps,” dock and egg wash them as well.

6) Refrigerate the assembled vols-au-vent on the lined baking sheet while you pre-heat the oven to 400ºF (200ºC). (You could also cover and refrigerate them for a few hours at this point.)

7) Once the oven is heated, remove the sheet from the refrigerator and place a silicon baking mat (preferred because of its weight) or another sheet of parchment over top of the shells. This will help them rise evenly. Bake the shells until they have risen and begin to brown, about 10-15 minutes depending on their size. Reduce the oven temperature to 350ºF (180ºC), and remove the silicon mat or parchment sheet from the top of the vols-au-vent. If the centers have risen up inside the vols-au-vent, you can gently press them down. Continue baking (with no sheet on top) until the layers are golden, about 15-20 minutes more. (If you are baking the center “caps” they will likely be finished well ahead of the shells, so keep an eye on them and remove them from the oven when browned.)

8) Remove to a rack to cool. Cool to room temperature for cold fillings or to warm for hot fillings. Fill and serve.

Most Requested Wedding Date

You know when you plan to do something on a weekend and you've known about the date for months? And the closer it gets, it seems like all of these other great events that you'd love to attend also fall on that same day? Today, September 5th was one of those dates for me.

Let me share a little glimpse into my life as a pastry chef.

I've had this wedding booked for this date since about March. As the months continued to pass, I continued to have requests for this same date (9-5-09) and found that of all the many Saturdays during the summer, this was THE most requested wedding date for the wedding season this year. Maybe it was because it's Labor Day Weekend and it's the last time folks can be out of town for vacations or weddings, but this was the date that people continued to call and ask about.

I must have had to turn down at least 6 or 7 potential wedding clients, as I am only able to create one wedding cake each weekend. I'm not sad that I had to turn away other clients, because I've been looking forward to creating this wedding cake for some time now. The clients were very nice to work with and they had planned ahead and were very organized in getting ready for this wedding (something I can really relate to--the organization thing, it's like finding a kindred spirit).

This week was wonderfully, crazy busy and I really had to stick to my detailed, day-to-day, hour-by-hour schedule to get everything done. I love it when the orders come pouring in and this week was one of those weeks. In addition to several birthday cakes, bridal shower cupcakes, and other dessert orders, yesterday was the last Farmer's Market of the season in our small town. In between baking the cake orders and baking the wedding cakes, I was baking desserts for the market--which went very well.

I love the variety of things I get to bake during the week. Here are a few things that were baked in the Jillicious Kitchen this week:

• Coconut-Macadamia Nut Hawaiian Cake
• Guava Chiffon Cake
• Hawaiian Coconut-Macadamia Nut Cupcakes
• Lemon Surprise Cupcakes
• Devilishly Moist Chocolate Cupcakes
• Vanilla Cupcakes w/Chocolate Buttercream
• Carrot Cake Cupcakes
• Macadamia White & Dark Chocolate Chunk Cookies
• Cranberry Oatmeal Cookies
• Pecan Chocolate Brownies
• Orange Chocolate Passion Cake
• "It's All About the Chocolate" Cake
• French Apple Galettes
  

Today's wedding was located at the Eugene Yacht Club, where the bride and groom love to go sailing and their wedding cake reflected this ocean and tropical theme. This was a very LARGE cake and when I arrived to deliver and set it up, I actually had to get some help in bringing in the bottom tier. Usually I can carry the cake tiers myself, but this 16-inch bottom cake tier was unbelievably heavy and I wasn't going to take any chances and possibly drop it.

I've been making wedding cakes for some time now, but I think I will always be a little nervous until the cakes are stacked and ready for the final decorations. Once the cake tiers were stacked and in place, I relaxed and finished some piping details and added the fresh flowers. Adding the finishing touches is always my favorite part. I was a little sad to walk away, leaving this cake that I've been working on for the past couple of days, but I know that it will bring much joy to the happy couple today.

Tropical Ocean Wedding Cake Details:

• Orange Chocolate Passion Cake w/Orange Chocolate Filling (8-inch, top tier)
• Vanilla-White Cake w/Raspberry Filling (12-inch, middle tier)
• Chocolate-Chocolate Chip Cake w/White Chocolate Cream Cheese Filling (16-inch, bottom tier)

Daring Bakers: Milan Cookies

Last week was a fun filled week consisting of a trip to the coast, shopping, catching up with my three best friends from my childhood (two of them stayed with me and we had so much fun staying up late), and two days of our 20th high school reunion events. Oh, and did I mention also filling dessert orders, including making desserts for the reunion? It was a busy week and before I knew it, the 27th arrived and well, here we are--the reveal day for this month's challenge.

The July Daring Bakers' challenge was hosted by Nicole at Sweet Tooth. She chose Chocolate Covered Marshmallow Cookies and Milan Cookies from pastry chef Gale Gand of the Food Network.

This month we had the option to make one or both of the recipes, and due to the lack of extra time I had this month, I choose to make the Milan Cookies, which seemed to be the quickest one. Also, I've made marshmallows before and I wanted to try something I haven't made before. These cookies were so quick and easy that if you ever have a last minute event to attend and need to bring something delicious, this is the recipe for you! (I know this from actual experience, since I just made these cookies an hour ago and it took less than 45 minutes from start to finish).

If you love Mallows (marshmallow chocolate covered cookies) I've included the link for that recipe as well.

*I've added notes or helpful hints in orange.

Milan Cookies

Recipe courtesy Gale Gand, from Food Network website

Prep Time: 20 min

Inactive Prep Time: 0 min

Cook Time: 1 hr 0 min

Serves: about 3 dozen cookies

Cookie Batter

12 tablespoons (170grams/ 6 oz) unsalted butter, softened

2 1/2 cups (312.5 grams/ 11.02 oz) powdered sugar

7/8 cup egg whites (from about 6 eggs)

2 tablespoons vanilla extract

2 tablespoons lemon extract

1 1/2 cups (187.5grams/ 6.61 oz) all purpose flour

Cookie filling (recipe follows)

Chocolate Filling

1/2 cup heavy cream

8 ounces semisweet chocolate, chopped *I used bittersweet chocolate which is a darker than a semisweet chocolate.

1 orange, zested *I used an orange oil, in place of orange zest.

1. In a mixer with paddle attachment cream the butter and the sugar.

2. Add the egg whites gradually and then mix in the vanilla and lemon extracts.

3. Add the flour and mix until just well mixed.

4. With a small (1/4-inch) plain tip, pipe 1-inch sections of batter onto a parchment-lined sheet pan, spacing them 2 inches apart as they spread. *I used Silpats, which worked great.

5. Bake in a preheated 350 degree oven for 10 minutes or until light golden brown around the edges. Let cool on the pan.

6. While waiting for the cookies to cool, in a small saucepan over medium flame, scald cream.

7. Pour hot cream over chocolate in a bowl, whisk to melt chocolate, add zest and blend well.

8. Set aside to cool (the mixture will thicken as it cools).

9. Spread a thin amount of the filling onto the flat side of a cookie while the filling is still soft and press the flat side of a second cookie on top.

10. Repeat with the remainder of the cookies.

*I piped different sizes and shapes (oblong, oval, medium rounds, small rounds, etc.--all shapes tasted delicious!)

Lavender Inspired Cupcakes

I like experimenting with cupcake flavors.

The flavor combinations are endless--so many possibilities! Cupcakes are quick and easy to make, you don't have to feel guilty by eating an entire cupcake in one sitting (see you can't say that about eating an entire cake) and with the right recipe they are oh-so-tasty!

Ideas or inspiration can come from different sources. Today it was the direct approach when my Mom made the comment "You should make lavender cupcakes," because I had some extra lavender-colored buttercream from a Birthday Gift Cake I had made for a client earlier today.



And as it just so happens, we grow lavender in several varieties, including English Lavender, which is the best one for baking (aka Culinary Lavender).



After doing some quick research online and reading about the different ways you can incorporate the lavender, I decided to use the lavender we had gathered in bunches and hung from a rod to dry out (we have this in a very small closet-like space which stays warm and is perfect for drying out flowers and herbs).



Next, I used a small coffee grinder that I use solely for grinding herbs and spices and it worked perfectly. I wanted the lavender seeds to be small, but not too small that it turned to a powder. I made my favorite white cake recipe, adding some lemon zest, lemon juice and towards the end of mixing, I added the ground lavender. I also tinted the batter a pale lavender color.

As I mentioned before, I had a White Chocolate-Vanilla Buttercream to frost the cupcakes with and I added some freshly cut lavender for decoration. Ta da!

*Although I love the smell of lavender, when it comes to incorporating it in my food, I tend to appreciate just a hint of lavender flavor, rather than it being the main focus. I added about 1 Tbsp. of the ground lavender for 1 dozen cupcakes, and for me, it was perfect. If you like a stronger flavor, I would maybe double or triple that amount.

Anadama Bread: First BBA Challenge

I'm becoming a social butterfly in the blog world. In the last month I've joined several baking groups and today is the first post for the newly formed Bread Baker's Apprentice group, which was started by Nicole over at her blog Pinch My Salt. I found her blog while perusing Peter Reinhart's blog and he had made mention of this new group forming and how they would be baking each recipe from his book The Bread Baker's Apprentice. Well, I have been a huge fan of his since I was in culinary school and have several of his books, including this one. Every recipe I've tried of his, has always turned out great, and so I decided it was time to get back into bread baking more often.

The goal of the BBA group is to make each recipe in the BBA book weekly and I'm going to do what I can to stay on this schedule in going through this book. I own many, and I do mean many cookbooks, but I can't say that I've made every single recipe in even one--so this challenge will be an exciting one and of course I'll be sharing it here each week.

I love cookbooks that give stories or backgrounds of the recipes and this very first one had just that. Here's an excerpt from Peter Reinhart, explaining how this bread's name came to be:

"...I felt duty bound to revisit one of the great New England breads, anadama, and to come up with a definitive version. There are conflicting stories of the origin of the name. Judith and Evan Jones, in their wonderful The Book of Bread, tell the story of a Rockport, Massachusetts, man who was upset with his wife not only for leaving him, but also for leaving behind only a pot of cornmeal mush and some molasses. The angry husband tossed the mush and molasses together with some yeast and flour and muttered, "Anna, damn 'er!" This was later amended by the more genteel local Yankees, as they retold the story, to anadama. Sounds likely to me."

After reading about the name of this bread I just knew it had to be a good one. I wasn't disappointed.

Anadama Bread

The Bread Baker's Apprentice, pgs. 108-110

Day 1 - Soaker

• 1 cup cornmeal, coarse grind (I used a medium grind that worked great)
• 1 cup water, at room temperature

1) The day before making the bread, make the soaker by mixing the cornmeal and water in a small bowl. Cover with plastic wrap and let sit overnight at room temperature.

Day 2 - Dough

• 4 1/2 cups unbleached bread flour (I used 2 cups a/p flour & 2 1/2 cups bread flour)
• 2 tsp. instant yeast (I didn't have instant yeast on hand, so I used a packet of active yeast instead)
• 1 cup water, lukewarm (90 degrees to 100 degrees F)
• 1 1/2 tsp. salt
• 6 Tbsp. molasses (I used Grandma's Molasses - Original)
• 2 Tbsp. shortening or unsalted butter, at room temp. (I prefer using butter, rather than shortening)
• Cornmeal for dusting (optional) *The cornmeal is great and adds an extra texture that works well with this bread.

2) Stir together 2 cups of the flour, the yeast, soaker, and water in a mixing bowl. Cover the bowl with a towel or plastic wrap and ferment for 1 hour, or until the sponge begins to bubble.

3) Add the remaining 2 1/2 cups of flour, the salt, the molasses, and shortening or butter and mix on low speed with the paddle attachment, until the ingredients form a ball.

4) Sprinkle flour on the counter or large cutting board. Move dough to the floured workspace and begin kneading (or mix on medium speed with the dough hook), you may need to add more flour as you knead the dough, enough that it isn't sticking to the counter.

The dough should be firm but supple and pliable and definitely not sticky. It will take about 10 minutes of kneading to accomplish this (or 6 to 8 minutes in the mixer). *I mixed it first in the mixer for about 5-6 minutes, since I never get to use my dough hook. Then I finished kneading it on the counter.

Check the dough by using the windowpane test, if it passes, you are ready for the next step. *Thanks to my "photo helper" aka Mom for holding up the dough.

5) Lightly oil a bowl and transfer the dough to the bowl, rolling it around to coat it with the oil. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and ferment the dough at room temperature for about 90 minutes, or until it doubles in size.

6) Remove the dough from the bowl and divide it into 2 equal pieces of 24 ounces, or 3 pieces of about 16 ounces. Shape the dough into loaves, and place them into the bread pans that have been lightly oiled or misted with spray oil (the larger loaves should go into 9 x 5-inch pans and the smaller loaves into 8 1/2 x 4 1/2-inch pans). Mist the tops of the loaves with spray oil and loosely cover the tops with plastic wrap. (I used glass pans, and they worked fine--just make sure they are well oiled, so the bread releases easily after being baked.)


7) Proof at room temperature for 60 to 90 minutes, or until the loaves crest fully above the tops of the pans. (If you want to hold back any of the loaves, place them in the refrigerator without proofing, where they will hold, or retard, for up to 2 days. Remove them from the refrigerator about 4 hours before baking and proof them at room temperature, or until ready.)

8) Preheat oven to 350 degrees F with the oven rack on the middle shelf. Place the pans on a sheet pan and remove the plastic wrap. Mist the tops with a spray of water and dust with cornmeal.

9) Place the sheet pan in the oven and bake for 20 minutes. Rotate the sheet pan for even baking and continue to bake for 20 to 30 minutes, or until the loaves are golden brown, including along the sides and bottom, and register at least 185 degrees to 190 degrees F in the center. They should make a hollow sound when thumped on the bottom.

10) When the loaves are done, remove them immediately from the pans and cool on a rack for at least 1 hour before slicing or serving.


*I set the timer for exactly 1 hour and only made it 26 minutes before cutting into the warm, oh-so-awesome smelling bread...

And the verdict you ask? Well, let's just say that I polished off three slices while it was still warm and yes, I will be making this recipe again.