Ultimate Cook Book_ 900 New Recipes, Thousands of Ideas - Bruce Weinstein [141]
Gently push your fist into the dough to deflate it, then turn it out onto a clean, dry work surface that you’ve dusted with some all-purpose flour. Knead a couple of times, then shape the loaf into a half-flattened football.
Lightly grease a large baking sheet and place the loaf on it. Cover loosely with a kitchen towel and set aside in a warm, dry place until doubled in bulk, about 1 hour.
Position the rack in the center of the oven and preheat the oven to 400°F.
Once the dough has risen again, slash its top in three diagonal, parallel lines with a clean razor blade or a sharp knife, spacing the cuts about 3 inches apart. Cut down only about ½ inch, just until the dough pulls back a little.
Bake until browned, until the loaf sounds hollow when tapped, about 40 minutes. Cool on the baking sheet for 5 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to continue cooling.
To store: Cool to room temperature, then seal in a plastic bag and keep at room temperature for 2 days or in the freezer for up to 2 months.
Onion Rye Bread: Cook ¼ cup finely minced yellow onion in 1 tablespoon canola oil in a skillet set over medium heat, just until softened. Cook, then add the onion and any oil in the skillet with the canola oil called for in the recipe.
Dinner Rolls
These are simple dinner rolls, but you can shape them into Parker House, crescent, or monkey-bread rolls. If you like more crust, throw two or three ice cubes onto the floor of the oven when you put the bread in. Makes about 3 dozen rolls
One ¼-ounce package active dry yeast or 2½ teaspoons active dry yeast
1½ tablespoons sugar
1 cup warm whole milk, between 105°F and 115°F
3 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted and cooled somewhat but still warm, plus additional solid butter for greasing
1 tablespoon salt
3 to 3½ cups all-purpose flour, plus additional for dusting
Sprinkle the yeast and sugar over the warm milk in the bowl of a stand mixer or in a large bowl. Set aside until foamy, about 3 minutes. (If the mixture does not froth and bubble, start again.)
Stir in the melted butter and salt, then stir in 1 cup flour. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and set aside until enlarged like a sponge-type dough (that is, as if you made a muffin batter and then set it aside at room temperature until it became airy, thick, and foamy), 15 to 20 minutes.
If you’re working with a stand mixer: Attach the bowl and dough hook to the mixer, add 2 cups flour, and beat at medium speed until a smooth, soft, pliable dough forms, about 8 minutes, adding more flour in 1-tablespoon increments if the dough starts to stick or climbs up the hook toward the mixer.
If you’re working by hand: Stir in 2 cups flour, then lightly dust a clean, dry work surface with flour and turn the dough out onto it. Dust your hands with flour, then knead the dough for 10 minutes, adding more flour should it become tacky, until the dough is quite soft and smooth, about like a newborn’s skin.
Lightly butter a large bowl, gather the dough into a ball, and place it in the bowl. Turn the dough over so the top is lightly buttered, then cover the bowl with plastic wrap or a kitchen towel and set aside in a warm, dry, draft-free place until doubled in bulk, until you can make a permanent indentation with two fingers in the dough, about 1 hour.
To make Parker House rolls: Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured work surface. Do not flour the top of the dough, but roll it out until it’s a large circle about ¼ inch thick. Cut the dough into 2½-inch circles with a round cookie cutter or a thick-rimmed drinking glass. Fold a little more than a third of the circle over onto itself (sticky topside to sticky topside), press lightly to adhere, and set aside (each roll should look about like a pair of lips with the bottom lip stuck out). Lightly butter a large baking sheet, place the rolls on it, cover loosely with a kitchen towel, and return to the warm, dry, draft-free place until again doubled in bulk, about 40 minutes.
To make crescents: Turn the dough out onto