Bread Machine (134 page)

Grease a 13-by-9-inch baking dish (if you use glass, reduce the oven heat by 25°). Roll out the dough into a flat 12-by-12-inch square about
¹
/
₂
-inch thick. Using a 2
¹
/
₂
-inch round biscuit cutter with a smooth edge, cut out rounds. Using the handle of a wooden spoon to mark the fold, press (not all the way through) to make the mark lengthwise a little off center, dividing the roll into two sections—one
¹
/
₃
of the area and the other
²
/
₃
. Brush with melted butter. Fold the small half over the larger half. Press the folded edge gently with your finger to adhere. Repeat with the remaining rounds. Place in the baking pan, sides just touching. Let rise 45 minutes and bake for 25 to 28 minutes.

Snails

Makes 8 rolls

Cut the dough in half and divide it into 8 equal portions. Roll each portion into a 8-inch-long rope,
¹
/
₂
inch in diameter. Starting at one end and holding the other edge stable, wind the strip of dough around itself to form a loose spiral. Tuck the edge firmly under. Repeat with the remaining portions. Place the snails about 2 inches apart on the baking sheet. Let rise 45 minutes and bake for 15 to 18 minutes.

Fantan Rolls

Makes 12 rolls

Grease the cups of a standard muffin tin. With a rolling pin, roll the dough into a rectangle 18-by-14 inches,
¹
/
₈
to
¹
/
₄
-inch thick. Brush the surface with melted butter. Cut the rectangle in half lengthwise, then cut each half into 3 long strips of equal width. Stack the strips on top of each other to form a layered pile. With a sharp knife, cut in half. Cut each half into 6 equal portions. Place each portion in a muffin cup with the cut edge facing up (they will fan open as they bake). Brush each with melted butter. Let rise 45 minutes and bake for 15 to 18 minutes.

Butterhorns

Makes 16 rolls

Cut the dough in half to make 2 equal portions. On a lightly floured work surface, roll each half into a 10-inch circle. Brush with melted butter. With a sharp knife or pastry wheel, cut each circle into 8 equal wedges. Beginning at the wide end, firmly roll each wedge up toward the point. Place, point side down on the prepared baking sheets and curve the ends inward. Place the rolls about 2 inches apart on the baking sheet. Let rise 45 minutes and bake for 15 to 18 minutes.

Stuffing Breads

Stuffings for meat and poultry are a satisfying part of a meal and have universal appeal. They are comfort food. Over time, the humble stuffing has evolved into a really wonderful-tasting part of the meal. Having started out as a practical and thrifty stretcher for often lean game meats, stuffing is now a cornerstone of the Thanksgiving meal, and makes a Sunday chicken a special occasion. Stuffing enhances the flavor of a bird and absorbs its juice as it roasts. In fact, bread has come to be considered such a vital accompaniment to cooked birds that game birds that aren’t stuffed, like partridges or doves, are often placed, bacon-wrapped, on a bed of sliced, toasted bread for serving. Stuffings can also be used in preparing fish, pork, and vegetables.

Almost all day-old breads, whether white, whole wheat, multigrain, or flavored, are excellent stuffing bases. Many of the flavored breads in this chapter make especially nice stuffings. If you begin with a bread that is already very savory, all you need to do is moisten the cubed bread with an egg or broth and you have a stuffing. The recipes in this section have been developed with just that in mind. This is not to say these stuffing breads can’t be enjoyed out of hand—they are wonderful on their own. But I also see them as flavorful, convenient cooking shortcuts and I have included, in this section as well as in the rest of the chapter and the book, some very special entree recipes that call for stuffings. For real convenience, keep a loaf of stuffing bread in the freezer, at the ready.

Here are some hints for successful stuffings:

• A 1
  ¹
  /
  ₂
  -pound loaf of bread will yield about 10 cups of cubes, and a 2-pound loaf will yield about 12 cups of bread cubes.
  
• Figure on 1 cup of stuffing per person, baking the extra in a pan on the side. A 12-pound turkey will hold 4 to 5 cups stuffing; a Cornish hen will take about 1 cup; a large roasting chicken or capon will hold 3 to 4 cups; pork chops or trout hold about a
  ¹
  /
  ₂
  cup.
  
• Day-old bread is best for stuffings, unless your recipe calls for fresh. If you do not have any day-old bread, you can dry your fresh bread for stuffing. Cut it into
  ³
  /
  ₄
  -inch cubes (with or without crusts) and scatter the cubes on an ungreased baking sheet. Bake in a preheated 300°F oven until they are crisp but not browned, about 10 to 20 minutes. Or, place the cubes on an ungreased baking sheet and leave them on the kitchen counter, uncovered, to air-dry for 8 hours or overnight.
  
• If you are using really stale bread, soak it in chicken broth or milk to soften it first. Slightly stale bread doesn’t need soaking.
  
• Cut or chop the onions, nuts, fruits, and any other added ingredients to be approximately the same size as the bread cubes.
  
• Sauté onions before adding them to a stuffing.
  
• Never use raw meat, especially pork products, in stuffings. Pork sausage, giblets, oysters, or any type of raw meat must be cooked through before being added to a stuffing. The internal temperature of the meat or poultry will not be high enough to cook meat in a stuffing properly.
  
• Adding leafy vegetables or herbs, such as Swiss chard or parsley, lightens the texture of a stuffing.
  
• Stuff poultry right before roasting it. Never stuff it the night before, or it can spoil. If you make the stuffing ahead of time, refrigerate it until it is time to stuff the bird or meat. Other meats that are rolled and stuffed, like lamb and veal, are the exception, and can be prepared the night before.
  
• Spoon the stuffing in loosely, rather than packing it, to retain a nice texture after roasting and allow room for the stuffing to expand as it cooks.
  
• Any stuffing that will not fit into the bird or meat can go into a covered casserole (and can be refrigerated until there is room in the oven). Before baking the dressing, moisten it with
  ¹
  /
  ₂
  cup broth, white wine, or water, to substitute for the roasting juices. Bake, covered with foil, at 350°F, until the stuffing registers 165°F on an instant-read thermometer.
  
• After the meal, remove all the stuffing from the bird and refrigerate it separately. Rolled meats and stuffed pork chops don’t require this precaution.
  

PAIN DE PARIS

B
aguette dough used to be called
pain de Paris,
or Parisian bread. The French Bread cycle will give this dough three full rises with rests in between called
autolyses,
which are terribly important for developing the gluten structure, and therefore a good, chewy texture and strong flavor. While this dough is best when formed into the familiar long rod (program for the Dough cycle in Step 3 and see
Technique: Shaping Long Loaves of Pain de Paris for Oven Baking
), it can also be fully baked in the machine as instructed here. It has a traditional French starter known as a
pâte fermentée,
or “old dough,” a pre-ferment that is as thick and silky as a bread dough. This is a delicious bread, which I am very proud to share with you.

1
¹
/
₂
-POUND LOAF

For the pâte fermentée:

¹
/
₂
cup water

1
¹
/
₄
cups bread flour

Pinch of sea salt

¹
/
₂
teaspoon SAF or 1 teaspoon bread machine yeast

For the dough:

1 cup minus 1 tablespoon water

2 cups bread flour

1
¹
/
₂
teaspoons gluten with vitamin C

³
/
₄
teaspoon SAF yeast or 1
¹
/
₄
teaspoons bread machine yeast

¹
/
₂
cup pâte fermentée

1 teaspoon sea salt

2-POUND LOAF

For the pâte fermentée:

¹
/
₂
cup water

1
¹
/
₄
cups bread flour

¹
/
₄
teaspoon sea salt

¹
/
₂
teaspoon SAF or 1 teaspoon bread machine yeast

For the dough:

1
¹
/
₃
cups water

3 cups bread flour

2
¹
/
₂
teaspoons gluten with vitamin C

1
¹
/
₄
teaspoons SAF yeast or 1
³
/
₄
teaspoons bread machine yeast

³
/
₄
cup pâte fermentée

1
¹
/
₂
teaspoons sea salt

To make the
pâte fermentée
starter, place the starter ingredients /in the bread pan. Program for the Dough cycle; press Start. Set a kitchen timer for 10 minutes. When the timer rings, press Pause and set the timer again for 10 minutes. Let the starter rest for 10 minutes (the
autolyse
). When the timer rings, press Start to continue and finish the Dough cycle. When the machine beeps at the end of the cycle, press Stop and unplug the machine. Gently deflate the spongy starter, and let it sit in the bread machine for 3 to 12 hours, deflating it about every 4 hours. (If you are making the starter ahead of time, remove it from the machine at this point and refrigerate it for up to 48 hours. Bring to room temperature before making the dough.) You will have about 1
¹
/
₂
cups starter.