Beard on Bread (30 page)

Punch the dough down, then shape it into a ball and let rest for 2 minutes. Pull off equal pieces about the size of golf balls and shape into balls—about 2 dozen of them. Place them on a buttered cookie sheet about 2 inches apart or, if you want the rolls joined, about ¼ inch apart. Cover and let rise until doubled in bulk. Beat the remaining egg with the
cream and brush this onto the rolls. Bake in a preheated 375° oven for about 20 minutes, or until the rolls sound hollow when tapped on the bottom and are a lovely brown color.

• After the dough has had its first rising, punch down, let rest for 2 minutes, and then turn out on a floured board. Divide in half, shape into loaves and place in two buttered 9 × 5 × 3-inch loaf pans. Let rise until almost doubled in bulk. Bake at 375° for 40 to 45 minutes.

Bread sticks can be made in many different ways. For example, you can use ordinary bread dough, roll it into pencil-thin cylinders, and bake on a sheet sprinkled with cornmeal; or you can use
Parker House roll
dough, roll it into very, very thin cylinders, and bake without a preliminary rising on a buttered sheet sprinkled with cornmeal. The baking time is about 15 minutes at 375°, or until the sticks are browned.

Other types of bread sticks, like those done here, are given a slight rising after being shaped, and if they are allowed to rise still further, they make small loaves or what the French call
baguettes
, similar to French bread and pleasant to eat fresh or even warm. The bread sticks made from this dough taste yeasty and have a nice crunch to them. They will keep well for several days and are fun to serve with salads, as a snack with drinks, or with first courses.

[About 20 sticks]

In a large mixing bowl combine the yeast, sugar, and salt. Add the oil and ¼ cup of the water. Beat this mixture well with a wooden spoon for about 3 minutes. Add ½ cup of the flour and continue beating with the wooden spoon. Alternately add flour, 1 cup at a time, and water until you have a fairly soft dough, reserving approximately ½ cup flour for kneading. Remove the dough to a floured surface, and knead for several minutes until it springs back very briskly when you press your fingers in. It must be smooth and satiny, and all the flour on the board should be absorbed.

Let the dough rest on the board, covered with a towel, for about 5 minutes, then shape it into a roll about 20 to 22 inches long. With a very sharp
knife cut it into at least 20 equal pieces. Rest the dough again for 3 or 4 minutes, then, using the palms of your hands, roll out each piece as long as the baking sheet or sheets you will use. (Or roll them any size you like and cut them.) Oil or butter the baking sheet, sprinkle lightly with sesame or poppy seeds, and arrange the bread sticks on it about 1 inch apart. Let them sit about 20 minutes, until they just barely begin to rise. Just before putting them in the oven, brush them lightly with the egg and water mixture and sprinkle with coarse salt, sesame seeds, or poppy seeds. Bake in a slow oven (300°) for about 30 minutes, depending upon the size of the bread sticks. They should be nicely browned and very crisp.

These will stay crisp for several days, stored in an airtight container.

• To make
baguette
loaves, let the lengths of dough rise longer, or until they have doubled in bulk. Slash them with a sharp knife or a razor blade, brush with the egg wash, and sprinkle with coarse salt, sesame seeds, or poppy seeds. Bake as above; they will take about 40 to 45 minutes.

• To make twisted breadsticks, roll out as directed above. Using two hands, pick up the rolls and twist, turning clockwise with one hand, counterclockwise with the other. Return to baking sheets and bake as directed above.

These buns have beautiful texture, shape, and color, perfect for an elegant dinner or luncheon.

[18 buns]

Soften the yeast in warm water and stir in the sugar and salt to dissolve. In a bowl, beat 2 of the eggs and blend in the flour. Then stir in the yeast mixture and melted butter. Knead vigorously in the bowl with the hands, till the dough leaves the sides of the bowl and is elastic—about 5 minutes. Make into a ball, put in a buttered bowl, and cover with plastic wrap. Let rise in a warm, draft-free place for 1½ hours, or till doubled in bulk. Punch down and divide into 18 equal pieces. Roll the pieces into balls and arrange, well separated, on a buttered baking sheet. Let rise 30 minutes, or until doubled in size. Brush with the remaining egg beaten with a teaspoon of water. Bake in a preheated oven at 375° for 10 minutes, or until nicely browned. Cool on a rack.

Crackling bread, found in many countries, has always been one of the more novel breads. It was a way of using the crisp residue from rendering pork or goose fat. In Italy a dough like the
Pizza Caccia Nanza
is often braided into a rough loaf, with very coarsely ground black pepper and cracklings added. In America we’ve been cooking cracklings in both white bread and cornbread for a long time. Here I am going to give you an unusual Central European crackling biscuit that comes from George Lang’s excellent
The Cuisine of Hungary
, perfect for a goulash or a choucroute.

[About 12 to 14 biscuits]

Dissolve the yeast in the warm milk and stir in 1 tablespoon of the flour. Let proof for about 10 minutes. Mix the remaining flour with the egg, cracklings, rum, salt, pepper, melted lard, and wine. Thoroughly combine with the yeast mixture, turn out on a floured board, and knead extremely well. Place in a buttered bowl and turn to coat the surface with butter. Cover and let rise in a warm, draft-free spot until doubled in bulk, about 1 hour.

Punch the dough down, and let rest for 3 or 4 minutes, then roll out, fold over, and cover with a cloth. Let rest again for 10 minutes. Repeat
this process three times, rolling, folding, and resting. After the final rest period, roll out the dough to a thickness of ½ inch and cut into rounds 1½ inches in diameter or into squares. Score the tops of the biscuits in a lattice pattern with a very sharp knife and brush with the beaten egg yolk. Let the biscuits rest until the glaze dries, then place on buttered baking sheets and bake in a preheated 400° oven about 25 minutes.

Pita bread is that flat, round, softish bread called, among other names,
Syrian bread, Armenian bread, and
Middle Eastern bread. Its two layers are almost separated in the baking, and one can split it very easily to use with shish kebab and even with hamburgers, as well as all kinds of other sandwiches. It is also extremely good buttered, cut into strips, and baked in a slow oven to get quite crisp, to be served like Melba toast with soup or salads or cold fish dishes. It can be wrapped and stored in the refrigerator or frozen successfully.

Pita bread must not be allowed to get crisp when it comes freshly baked from the oven, but should be wrapped in foil or plastic to keep the bread loose and soft after the puffing up that occurs during baking. Although it can be made with all-purpose flour, it’s much better made with hard-wheat flour, which gives a better texture and rises better. Pita loaves are great fun to make.

[8 or 9 round loaves]

Dissolve the yeast and sugar in ½ cup warm water in a large mixing bowl and allow to proof. Then add the remaining 1½ cups water, along with the oil, salt, and 5 cups flour, mixing in vigorously, 1 cup at a time. (The dough will be rather sticky.) Turn out on a floured board and work in the remaining cup of flour or more if the dough is too sticky. Knead for a good 10 minutes or more until the dough is smooth and elastic. Shape into a ball, place in a buttered bowl, and turn to coat with butter on all sides. Cover and let rise in a warm, draft-free place for 1½ to 2 hours, or until doubled in bulk.