Paulchens FoodBlog?!

How do you spell catastrophe? I spell it: C-H-A-L-L-A!

25 October 2008 8 Comments

I have to admit and bow my head in shame: I am not doing well with doughs like Challa or Striezel or Pinzen…
They just never seem to work out and always lose their shape to a formless mass. Don’t get me wrong they taste good tho but when I try to bake them they always come out looking like the ugliest thing on earth you have ever seen.

The newest quest of the ever gorgeous Bread Baking Babes was a nightmare for me – and again, I lost the battle!
*sigh*
First I was terrified when I read at Sara’s blog – who is serving as kitchen of the month – which bread she chose.
Then I thought: So what just give it a try. It might even work this time!

I braved myself into the kitchen and worked on the dough. First everything went smooth and I was happy. I halfed the recipe ’cause I am alone and figured two loaves of bread would be way too much for me to eat.
The dough rose lovely and was wonderful and mellow to work with. I braided the bread and left it in the kitchen to rise a second time just like Sara said I should do.

When I came back about 45 minutes later I was horrified: My lovely pretty shaped braided loaf was a bubbly mass just like someone sneaked into my kitchen and sat on it :/

Bread Baking Babes: Challa, oh my THE catastrophe :/

I baked it tho because… well… what else should I have done with it? When it came out of the oven it smelled so good. Mmmmh, I tasted it and it was wonderful with some butter and honey!!

So I said to myself I’ll give it one more try. Maybe it was all my fault and I mixed something up with the cup measurings I am not too familiar with or got wrong when I divided the recipe.
I browsed through the Babe’s sites and found at Grain Doe the measurings in grams and ml.

Into my kitchen I went and gave it a second try. Well what shall I say?
It was not THE catastrophe it turned out the first time but it’s not too perfect either. To be honest I nearly completely skipped the second rising step. After braiding I just let it rest for about a few minutes until the oven was preheated to the needed baking temperature. Then in the oven it went.

The result? you can see it here:

I really do not know why my breads won’t hold their shape. The braids are almost gone again. But boy they are very tasty!!

Please go and look a t far more lovely breads at the Bread Baking Babes:

Notitie Von Lien (Lien), My Kitchen In Half-Cups (Tanna), Bake My Day (Karen), Cookie Baker Lynn (Lynn),I like To Cook (Sara) , A Fridge Full Of Food..And Nothing To Eat (Glenna), Lucullian Delights (Ilva), Grain Doe (Gorel), The Sour Dough (Mary aka Breadchick), Living On Bread And Water (Monique), Thyme For Cooking (Katie)

Bread Baking Babes Bread Baking Buddy

8 Comments »

Lien said:

Astrid, first of all I applaude people who just bake it a second time after the first one turned in to a blob.
And I must say this second one doesn’t really look all that bad to me! My first attempts to braid bread were a disaster, they never turned out like they looked on the pictures in books. But keep on doing it and you’ll get the hang of it. That proves this second loaf already, that looks good to me!
(maybe your dough was a bit too wet the first time? You could also try to make the strands by first rolling them flat and thaninto a strand, they’ll be smoother that way)

# 26 October 2008 at 8:40 AM

ilva said:

The second one looks good enough I think! I am impressed by your determination, that’s dedication! Anyway, who cares about what the bread looks like when they taste good. And I just have to tell you that even though my breads almost always behave, the rye bread I made yesterday, collapsed completely and is a sad sight BUT the taste is great! We just have to cut it in different more innovative ways for our sandwiches…

# 26 October 2008 at 8:57 AM

MyKitchenInHalfCups said:

Astrid
I read this 8 hours ago and have been puzzling over it ever since. Lien & Ilva are right. Taste is more important than looks – ;0) just like our moms taught us. And your second loaf looks very good.
That being said I know you like to be able to anticipate getting good results more consistently.
Perhaps as Lien suggests there was more liquid in the first than the second – measured one in cups and one in grams/ml. That could be some difference.
The other thought that occurs to me is perhaps your kitchen was warm and or these loaves are over proofed – did they need to go into the oven sooner. These times in recipes are guides not laws.
Several times we’ve discussed ascorbic acid as a dough enhancer that allows breads to rise and stabilize but your other breads don’t have this problem. That other breads don’t have this problem makes it harder to think about. Sorry if I’m so disjointed.
But maybe you’ve gone through all this, at any rate that’s all I can think at the moment.
I really admire your determination and much appreciate it. I know it’s the way I learn a lot.
Thanks tremendously for baking with us again.

# 26 October 2008 at 3:18 PM

Sara said:

Oh gosh, how strange! I am glad you tried a second time and I agree with Tanna that the second loaf looks pretty good. And taste is more important than looks!!!! Thank you so much for baking with us this month, I think you did wonderfully!

# 26 October 2008 at 4:10 PM

astrid (author) said:

Lien, Ilva, Tanna, Sara,

thanks for all your encouraging words, they mean a lot to me :)

yes, it tastes terrific and I loved it tho it did not look as pretty as I had hoped.

I cannot eat wheat so I had to replace it with spelt (as I always do without any negative side effects) flour. Spelt normally needs more liquid than wheat but this time I didn’t even use all the water given in the recipe it’s really kinda strange :/
Anyways I will keep practicing and as I really loved the taste of this bread I will certainly do it again.

as for the determination: there is one thing I promised Sher when we first mailed about the Bread Baking Babes and my doubts that I could do the same breads you all are doing and be a Buddy: She asked me to step out of my comfort zone and just give it a try – she thought that I can manage it and now every month when I see your breads I am determined to make some acceptable version my own…
It’s kinda way for me to remember her – keeping my promise! And it’s fun too, just like she promised to me :)

# 26 October 2008 at 9:58 PM

breadchick said:

Astrid, AH HA! I haven’t lost all my marbles as I seemed to remember you are our “alternate grain Buddy”. Taste is much more important than looks my dear!

I have the answer to your blob and not holding shape and it is in Tanna’s question as well. 100% Spelt flour breads don’t have the structure to hold up to free form breads (no gluten!) and while they will rise, they won’t rise as high as bread containing wheat (again that whole pesky no gluten for strength). So, you get a lovely braid that just collapses onto itself.

Here are a few options for using spelt to make free form bread. Try using a combo of spelt and rice flour when making the bread. While rice flour doesn’t contain gluten per se it is a bit “harder” flour than the spelt and will give the dough a bit more density. Other gluten free flours that you can experiment with include pea flour, amaranth, and buckwheat (not wheat). All these flours have a bit more “strength” than spelt for structure.

Cut the rise time back. You aren’t going to get the big huge puffy bread. Once you notice it starting to rise, get ready to put it in the oven. When I’ve baked alternative grain breads in traditional shapes, I’ve settled upon expecting 1/2 the rise I get with my wheat breads meaning about 3/4 of the time.

# 31 October 2008 at 6:43 PM

zorra said:

Ich musste etwas lachen als ich dein Fladen sah! ;-) Ich bewundere dich, dass du dich nochmals daran gewagt hast. Ich hätte keine Nerven dazu. Und wie gesagt, Geschmack kommt vor Aussehen. :-)

# 1 November 2008 at 10:25 AM

astrid (author) said:

hahaha Frau zorra! mir war nur leider nicht ganz so zum Lachen zumute… :)

Mary,
how good to see you!
Thanks for all your suggestions. I already used some of them on my Pan de Muertos and I think it worked way better! Let’s see when the breads come out of the oven!

# 1 November 2008 at 11:12 AM