Bread, confections topics of new books

Wouldn’t it be nice to have help in the kitchen to produce professional-looking bread and candy?

Home cooks don’t have to look further than two new cookbooks from the Culinary Institute of America in Hyde Park to turn out loaves and sweets like a pro.

“Artisan Breads” by Eric W. Kastel and “Chocolates and Confections” by Peter P. Greweling, both from Wiley, are two new offerings from the “At Home with the Culinary Institute of America” series that are likely to induce mouth-watering reactions without even trying a recipe.

Lush, lavish color photographs entice readers to delve into recipes that are clear enough for novices to make and inspiring fare for the more advanced cook.

I had the opportunity to interview the two chefs on their latest accomplishments for a feature in the Poughkeepsie Journal’s Sunday Life section, and I wanted to post about it as well. As a food enthusiast, I can tell you it’s great having the CIA as a resource here in the Hudson Valley.

These books are really lovely, and can be found at most booksellers and online.

Here’s an abbreviated version of the story, broken down into a Q&A format. The chefs also served up a couple of recipes to try to whet your appetite for more.

Here’s what they had to say:

Eric Kastel is a senior manager of bakery projects at Panera Bread and a former associate professor of baking and pastry arts at the CIA.



What sets this book about making artisan bread apart from the many others that are out there?

This book is more than just recipes. It is the road map to making great bread. Bread-making is foreign to most people. This is to educate them to make them feel more confident.

Can a novice pick up the book and feel confident enough to bake a loaf of bread? What about the more experienced baker? Will the book meet the challenge for him or her?

Yes, the novice can make bread from the book, but do the reading first to learn about ingredients and equipment, then about the process of making bread. Will the bread be its best the first time? Probably not, but it will improve each time making bread. It is like riding a bike — we have to learn first, then we will be able to make better bread.



Yes, the experienced baker will like this book. The experienced baker will really be challenged in the last two chapters, but will also enjoy all the other chapters.
 
The book was written with the idea of chapters 4 and 5 for beginners and some of chapter 7. Building upon what you made and learned, chapters 6, 7 and 8 will take you further into bread-making with the use of pre-ferments and advance mixing methods.

What can you say about the difference between a home-baked loaf of bread and a store-bought one?

Home baked bread is a form of your efforts and can be baked to your desire. By baking your own bread, you learn about the qualities of great bread and when you need to buy bread you will pick ones of better quality, or rather, you will be picky about your bread. Store- bought bread is rarely fresh out of the oven. Home-baked bread is fresh out of your oven and fills your home with a lovely aroma.

What are some of your favorite recipes?



Durum and Rosemary rolls, White bread (like Grandma's) Cheddar Onion Rye Rolls, Cinnamon Rolls and Sticky Buns, Durum and Whole Wheat Sourdough, Rye and Onion Loaves, Rye, Scallion and Walnut Loaves, Babka, Concha, Day of the Dead Bread and Almond Stollen. I just love bread — so many to choose from.


The following recipe for Pita Bread is from “Artisan Breads” by Eric W. Kastel.

(Pita Bread/CIA, Ben Fink)

Pita Bread

This recipe for the well-known Greek bread puffs during baking to create a small round — perfect for filling with hummus or any sandwich ingredients. Note that the baked bread should have little color and must be covered with a towel following removal from the oven to prevent it from drying out.

Yield: 14 pieces at 3 ounces

Poolish: 12-14 hours
First rest: 75-90 minutes
Final rest: 20-25 minutes
Bake: 500°F, 3-4 minutes

Poolish ingredients:

1. ¾ cup water, 55°F
2. 1 1/3 cups bread flour
3. ½ teaspoon yeast, instant dry

Final dough:

Poolish

1. 1½ cups water, 95°F
2. 3 tablespoons vegetable oil
3. 1 teaspoon malt syrup
4. 41/3 cups bread flour
5. 1 teaspoon yeast, instant dry
6. 1 tablespoon salt

• Prepare the poolish the day before you want to serve the pita. Combine the water, flour and yeast in a bowl and mix together by hand until homogenous. You will still have little lumps and the poolish will be very wet, looser than a dough. Cover the polish with plastic wrap and refrigerate for 2 hours. Remove and leave at room temperature for 10 to 12 hours. At this point, the polish will have fermented and will have bubbles visible on its surface.

• To make the final dough, put the poolish in the bowl of a mixer with the water, oil and malt. Combine the flour with the yeast, then add them to the bowl. Add the salt and place the bowl on a mixer fitted with a dough hook. Mix for 4 minutes on low speed, making sure to scrape down the bowl and flip the dough over twice during the mixing time.

• Then mix for 3 minutes on medium speed, making sure to scrape down the bowl and flip the dough over. At this point, the dough will still feel tacky but will have full gluten development. Place the dough in a lightly oiled bowl large enough for it to double in size and cover with plastic wrap.

• Allow the dough to rest and ferment in a warm place for 60-75 minutes, until when lightly touched the dough springs back halfway.

• Place the dough on a lightly floured work surface and divide it into 3-ounce pieces. Cover the dough pieces with plastic wrap and allow them to rest and ferment in a warm place for 15 minutes, until when lightly touched the dough springs back halfway.

• Lightly flour each dough piece and roll it out to a circle about 5.5 inches in diameter. Place each piece on a tray and cover with a lightly floured cloth. After rolling all the pieces, cover them lightly with plastic wrap. Allow the covered dough to rest and ferment in a warm place for 20-25 minutes, until when lightly touched the dough springs back halfway.

• Preheat the oven to 500°F with a baking stone.

• Using a piece of stiff cardboard or the back of a cookie sheet, transfer the pieces to a floured peel one at a time, then transfer them onto the baking stone. (You will not be able to bake all the pieces at once.) Bake the pieces for 3-4 minutes, until they puff up but brown very little.

• Remove the bread from the oven and place the pieces in a folded kitchen towel to cover them, help retain the moisture and keep them from drying out.

• Allow the stone to reheat for 10 minutes, then continue baking the remainder of the pitas. Once the pitas are completely cool, they may be tightly wrapped and kept at room temperature if they are not eaten immediately.

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Peter Greweling is the award-winning author of “Chocolates and Confections: Formula, Theory, and Technique for the Artisan Confectioner,” is a professor of baking and pastry arts at the CIA and a certified master baker and hospitality educator.

What are the challenges for the home cook when it comes to making candy?

Making candy at home is not terribly difficult for anyone who has an interest in cooking. One of the biggest challenges for the home cook is accuracy, in both quantities and temperatures. A digital scale, and a good quality thermometer will go a long way towards ensuring good results at home.
Many home cooks are intimidated by the thought of working with, and tempering chocolate. You must overcome this! Tempering chocolate is a simple procedure that requires no special equipment or talent. I have outlined a technique in my book that will enable everyone to temper chocolate with ease.

Is this book also geared for the novice and professional?

This book was written specifically for the food enthusiast, and while it will be useful to professionals as well, all of the recipes, techniques and ingredients were chosen with the non-professional in mind. The recipes are written in both volumetric and weight measurements (although weight is always preferable), the ingredients can generally be found in most grocery stores and the techniques do not require special equipment, such as a marble slab, and can easily be performed by any competent home cook. 


What are some of your favorite recipes?

In this book, I am partial to the fudge recipes; they come out with a beautiful texture and great flavors like Rootbeer Float. I always love soft caramels and this recipe will reliably produce excellent results, and also is used to make beautiful turtles. After you are comfortable with the basic recipes, the entire chapter of candy bars, called "Layers of Flavors," is, I think, spectacular. Your friends won't believe you can make these in your kitchen!

How can a regular cook put this book to good use?

If you are attempting candy-making in your kitchen for the first time, read all of the fundamental information about the tools and room conditions before you begin work. Begin with some of the more fundamental recipes, but above all, understand and master the fundamental techniques such as tempering chocolate and cooking sugar. Once you can successfully perform these techniques, every recipe in the book is within your reach.


Here is a recipe for Peanut Brittle from “Chocolates and Confections” by Peter Greweling.

(Peanut Brittle and Pecan Buttercrunch/CIA, Ben Fink)

Peanut Brittle

Peanut brittle is second only to fudge in the realm of homemade American candies. It is best made in the cold months, when the air does not carry as much moisture. Peanut brittle makes an ideal holiday treat.

Makes one 10-inch by 15-inch sheet.

1. 1 pound (2 cups) sugar
2. 4 ounces (½ cup) water
3. 12 ounces (1 cup) light corn syrup
4. 1 pound (3 cups) unsalted blanched raw whole peanuts
5. 1 teaspoon salt
6. 1 ounce (2 tablespoons) butter, unsalted, soft
7. 1½ teaspoons vanilla extract
8. 1½ teaspoons baking soda

• Lightly oil a 10-inch by 15-inch sheet pan or line it with parchment paper. Lightly oil an offset palette knife.
• Combine the sugar, water and corn syrup in a 4-quart saucepan.
• Bring to a boil, stirring constantly with a heat-resistant rubber spatula. Cover and boil for 4 minutes.
• Remove the cover, insert a thermometer, and cook without stirring to 240°F.
• Add the peanuts and cook while stirring to 320°F or until the batch is light brown.
• Remove from the heat; mix in the salt, butter, vanilla and baking soda thoroughly.
• Pour onto the prepared pan and spread to the edges using the oiled palette knife.
• Allow to cool to room temperature. Break into the desired size pieces. Store sealed in an airtight container.

For Cocoa Nib Brittle: Replace the peanuts with 4 ounces/1 cup cocoa nibs.

For Pecan Brittle: Replace the peanuts with an equal amount of coarsely chopped pecans.

For Sesame Brittle: Replace the peanuts with 8 ounces/1½ cups sesame seeds.

Keys to success

• If you use a rubber spatula, be certain that it is heat-resistant.
• Prevent scorching by stirring constantly and gently once the peanuts have been added.
• The batch will brown more when the baking soda is added, so it should be only very lightly browned when removed from the heat.