baking group of women, who baked 1 bread a month, talked, laughed, learned,
drank and shared together. It has been a very special time. Thanks Tanna and
Karen (baking soda), who started this group, for asking me, I have loved every
year and every bread of it. And I’m proud to say I’ve baked them all (120). I had such fun looking at them all, and thinking: Oh that was a good one, and this one so delicious, wow we really baked a lot of divers breads. Happy birthday to all Bread Baking
Babes, former and current ones and all Bread Baking Buddies too!
And on a sad
note, this is the last time I’ve baked with the Bread Baking Babes, 10 years has
been great, but I decided to step aside after all this time and all these
breads and leave my Babehood. Thanks girls for all the fun. But now we first turn
to this months wonderful bread to celebrate 10 years of Bread Baking Babes.
the ROYAL CROWN TORTANO. Then I baked the bread twice with two
different kinds of white flours and they turned out pretty good.This time I
used Canadian strong white flour, didn’t wander from the recipe like I did
then; So I did let the bread rise upside down and I didn’t hold back on the
water and remembered to save my potato water for it. The only thing I did again was being scared that it wouldn’t turn out
good in the end.
This is a slow riser. My bread dough
ring started out nice and plump, before I covered it with plastic and a tea
towel. My daughter passed the kitchen counter where the bread was rising (or
not) and lifted the towel, just to be sure there wasn’t anything under it (she
wanted to put something on it), that’s how flat it was. It was hardly 2 cm high
and had spread out a lot. O no, how will this ever become the glorious festive
bread that I (k)need this month? Well nothing to do about that, just plop in on
the fierce hot baking stone, pour some hot water in the tray underneath, close
the door and don’t look at it for at least 20 minutes. This bread felt the
pressure of becoming a festive bread for this anniversary and it puffed up like
a balloon. Now we were talking! It turned out to be the best, airiest, chewiest
crumbs and perfect crust I have baked when making this recipe. Is that luck or
did I really learn something in those 10 years! A very happy baker that 
!
beautiful bread to bake and we would be delighted if you would bake along to
celebrate 10 years of Bread Baking Babes and Buddies! Bake, tell us about it
and sent it to our UberBabe Tanna, who started all this fun together with Karen
10 years ago. Deadline 29th of this month. Happy baking!
Don’t forget to check out the other Bread Baking Babes, current and former ones! I will add their links as they come online at the bottom of this post.
Royal Crown’s Tortano (revisited: BBB Challenge #1 & #120)
Recipe Quantity:
One 1200 g tortano
Time required for
recipe: About 19 hours, with about 20 minutes of active work
Note about recipe: start this recipe the night BEFORE you
want to bake the bread.
The Evening Before Baking: Make the starter and if you
like the mashed potato.
The Next Morning: Mix the dough and let it ferment for
about 4 hours. Shape it, proof it for about 1 1/2 hours, and then bake the
bread for about 45 minutes.
baking: making the pre-ferment:
1/4 tsp instant yeast
240 g (about 40ºC)
100 g unbleached bread flour
85 g small potato
Stir the yeast into the water in a glass measure and let
it stand for 5 – 10 minutes. Add 90 g of this yeasted water (discard the rest)
to the flour and beat this very sticky starter until it is well combined. Cover
with plastic wrap and let it ferment until it is full of huge bubbles and sharp
tasting, about 12 hours. If your kitchen is very warm and the pre-ferment is
fermenting very quickly, place it in the refrigerator after 3 hours of
fermenting. In the morning, remove it and allow it to come to room temperature
30 minutes to an hour before beginning the final dough
Preparing the potato:
For efficiency, you may want to prepare the potato the night before. Quarter
it, then boil it in water to cover until it can be easily pierced with a knife
tip, about 20 minutes. Drain; if desired, reserve the water for the dough.
Press the potato through a ricer or sieve to puree it and remove the skin.
Store it in a covered container in the refrigerator.
Bake day: mixing the dough
575 g unbleached bread flour
420 g water, including the potato water if desired,
lukewarm
Pre-ferment
14 g honey
60 g potato puree
15 g salt
By stand mixer:
With your hands or a wooden spoon, mix the flour and water into a rough, very
wet dough in the work bowl of your mixer. Cover the dough and let it rest
(autolyse) for 10 – 20 minutes.
Fit the mixer with the dough hook. Add the pre-ferment,
honey, potato and salt and the mix the dough on medium speed for 15 – 20
minutes, or until very silky and wraps around the hook and cleans the bowl
before splattering back around the bowl. This dough is almost pourably wet.
Fermenting and
turning the dough:
Shape the dough into a ball and roll it in flour. Place
it in a container at least 3 times its size and cover tightly with plastic
wrap. Let it ferment until doubled in bulk and filled with large air bubbles,
about 4 hours. Using plenty of dusting flour, turn the dough 4 times in 20
minute intervals, that is, after 20, 40, 60, and 80 minutes of fermenting, the
leave the dough undisturbed for the remaining time. Do not allow this dough to
over ferment or ferment to the point of collapse, for the flavor and structure
of your bread will suffer.
Shaping and proofing:
Turn the fermented dough out onto a well floured work
surface, round it and let it rest for 20 minutes. Sprinkle a couche or wooden
board generously with flour. Slip a baking sheet under the couche if you are
using one for support.
Sprinkle a generous amount of flour over the center of
the ball. Push your fingers into the center to make a hole, the rotate your
hand around the hole to widen it, making a large 4 inch opening. The bread
should have about 30 cm diameter.
Place the dough smooth side down on the floured couche or
board and dust the surface with more flour. Drape it with plastic wrap and let
it proof until it is light and slowly springs back when lightly pressed, about
1 1/2 hours.
Preheating the oven:
Immediately after shaping the bread, arrange a rack on
the oven’s second to top shelf and place a baking stone on it. Clear away all
the racks above the one being used. Preheat the oven to 230ºC.
Baking:
Unwrap the bread and flip it onto a floured peel or a
sheet of parchment paper. Do not worry about damaging the bread as you handle
it; it will recover in the oven as long as it is not overproofed. Slash it with
4 radial cuts in the shape of a cross. Slide the loaf onto the hot baking stone
and bake until it is very dark brown, 40-50 minutes, rotating it halfway into
the bake. Let the bread cool on a rack.
Glazer)
__________________________
Check out what the rest of the Bread Baking Babes (current and former)
baked for this 10th anniversary:
