Double Boule white bread, it's one of my finest creations... seriously you'll go mad for this bread

New (best) white double boule; yeah, the name says it all.  It used to be a boule, Then it became a double boule then I altered the recipe again and again and now it's a double boule white loaf that I cook in a pan rather than free form.  I need to hear how you all love these loaves...

NOW then, you can cook this dough as loaves, in loaf pans, in big pans like me, as free-form loaves, as proper boules, as rolls, in muffin tins, however you can imagine.  Just make it, make this dough and enjoy the resulting delights, oh and let me know what you think.

INGREDIENTS

650 gm all purpose flour (yes, weigh it)
 (weigh it then remove about a cup of the flour and hold it aside)
2 1/2 tsp yeast
2 Tablespoons sugar
2 cups warm(ish) water
1 Tablespoon soft butter
2 tsp salt.

THE QUICKIE INSTRUCTIONS:

COMBINE
About 600 gm of the flour (no need to stress out, you're just dumping the rest in later), yeast, sugar and water in the bowl of a Kitchen aid mixer.  Mix to  loose ball, and turn off mixer.  Cover with a plastic bag and a towel (I don't know why, it's just the way *I* do it)  Leave it to proof/rise for about 15 minutes.

Can you use another mixer?  Sure.  

Can you do it by hand?  Absolutely  

Can you hire someone else to do this? Probably

IS your homemade bread worth the effort?  

What EFFORT?

ADD
the reserved cup of flour, salt and butter

MIX with dough hook until it's a ball that clears the side of the bowl.  The dough should be a little shiny but reasonably sticky.  There is no hands on kneading here.

DUMP the dough into a greased container with a lid and leave to triple, about an hour?

TIP the dough onto a floured surface and fold it onto itself a few times, NO PUNCHING, be gentle but not obsessively so, (pics and hopefully video below)

DIVIDE the dough into two and fold over into loaf shapes.  Put into a greased pan, 9.13 or whatever you have.

LEAVE to rise, about 45 mins?

PREHEAT oven to 425.  Turn down to 375 when  you put the loaves in the oven.
BAKE for 20 mins then spin and BAKE for another 15 or so.

REMOVE to rack to cool completely.  TEAR the loaves apart and EAT with joy.  EAT more.

This makes the best toast on earth and, well, I love this stuff.  It's a lovely morph of white and italian bread..  make it, let me know what you think!!

/tracy

HERE are the long winded version with play by play shots.....

OK, weight the flour, scoop about a cup out, add the salt to the cup of flour so you don't forget to add it, don't ask me how I know :)

  

Add all the water at once and mix it roughly, I slip the dough hook off the mixer and leave it in the dough, cover with a towel and leave it about 15 minutes.  OH look at the poof!

   

 Add the flour/salt/butter and start to mix with the dough hook.  This is the dough before it's ready and when it's ready :)

   Turn the dough over itself into a reasonable ball shape and drop into a greased bucket. Tap it down a bit and leave it to rise.  I ran to pick up my son and came back, 45 ins later to very happy dough indeed.   Gently tip it out onto a floured surface and press it out.  No punching or smacking or anything vicious, flatten it.  The pictures were hard because I had to do this with my left hand and try to get pics with my right.  I am trying to save up for some method to be take pictures and videos handsfree, hence the new 'donation' tab.  ANYWAY, this is my method

  

Roll the dough into a loose tube and cut it in half (ish)  I'm a notoriously bad divider

  

Flip the dough over and press each half out. Then start to roll the dough toward yourself, each time pressing the dough down into the seam... look what I mean:

  

I sort of press down with my fingertips then do  karate chop type press to seal then roll again until it's to the end.  Then pinch the seam together.  Roll it back and forth to make the loaf a little longer and put it in a greased pan.  NOW then, the pan, I use a steam pan that I got at a restaurant supply store.  There is no need to make a special trip, this works fine as a regular loaf or rolls or the two loaves in a 9x13 so don't fret over the pan.   

  

  

Put the loaves in a greased pan and sprinkle some flour on top.  Cover with a bag, trust me it's better than a towel, and let them rise till they're really poofy, 45 minutes or so?  I use the extra large vegetable bag I get at my local grocery store when I go to buy veggies.  Any bag will do.PREHEAT oven to 425  After 35 minutes or so, they're poofy.  LOWER the oven to 375 and pop the loaves in the oven.  BAKE on the lowest rack for 20 minutes then spin them an bake another 10-15, until they're done.

  THEN after it bakes... you get THIS:

Fresh from the oven, take it out of the pan quickly and transfer it to a rack... you'll have to go out because the worst part of this entire process is the eternal, painful, WAITING but WAIT you must, it'll be worth it.  Ok, you don't have to wait THAT long, give it an hour and DIVE IN!

  

  

Wait till it's cool(ish) to separate the loaves, they pull apart really easily. I'll update this post hen I do it but I wanted to get the recipe up for some people who are waiting for it. 

I have already heard the mean-girls (and boys) who tell me my bread isn't proofed right or rolled right or has too many pully bits, well that's fine... but I'll put any loaf of mine up against any beautiful loaf any day of the week.  It's not about beauty, it's about taste, it's food, and it's obviously homemade.  Want perfection?  Go to the grocery store  Want delicious, crazy delicious and easy?  MAKE this bread, make you and everyone you know happy.

/tracy

BabyAlice Pug enters a Halloween costume contest... I think she should win it...

BabyAlice needs votes...

Yes, I am using my platform here for shameless self promotion, well, not MY promotion but the promotion of BabyAlice pug in her Halloween pumpkin hat that I made her.

So, go here:

https://www.facebook.com/dixiepugsoftn/photos/pb.158573234329766.-2207520000.1445871355./461733700680383/?type=3&theater

and LIKE her, c'mon we can do it!

then I"ll cook more and post it for you :D hahahahah

THANKS!

My version of "Russian" burgers, I like mine with cheese, lots of it

I love cheeseburgers.  I hate making last minute cheeseburgers.  This poses a serious problem in the life and times of me.

I read lots of posts about cheeseburgers. Russian, German and Polish specifically and have developed this version of a combination of all of them.  Don't yell at me about authenticity, this is simply my version of a morph of many ideas and many methods, the final result of which is the recipe I share with you below that quite simply makes me a happy burger eating soul.

Seriously, make these.  Make a ton and freeze them, make a ton and serve a crowd.  They are absolutely worth the try.....

Tracy's "Russian" Burgers

INGREDIENTS

2 lbs Ground meat, beef/pork combo, or all of whatever meat floats your boat.
3 thick slices of white bread, broken up
1/4 cup milk
1 grated onion
salt, pepper
Fresh breadcrumbs to coat the meat
Beef stock cut with water, enough to generously cover the pan you'll hold your burgers in
plain oil

COMBINE the bread milk and onion in a large bowl, leave them to soak up together for about 10 minutes or so,

ADD the meat, salt, pepper

MIX well and divide into whatever size meatballs you like.  Use the bun you're going to contain them with and make them the size to fit inside.

ROLL the balls in breadcrumbs and leave them set and dry, on the counter for about 15 mins.

HEAT some oil in a shallow pan.  Use enough oil to generously cover the bottom of the pan.

FRY the meatballs, pressing them down slightly to look more like a burger and less like a meatball before you drop them into the fat.  Fry them until they are dark brown and lovely.

Don't worry about trying to cook them through, this is the makeup portion of cooking.  We just want them pretty.

Heat stock and water (1/2 1/2) in a pan large enough to hold the burger.

As the burgers cook, place them in the warmed stock, single layer please!

Cover the pan when they're all done and pop them into a 350 oven for about 30 minutes.

DONE

When you want to eat, take out however many burgers you want, cover them with cheese and pop them into an oven till the cheese melts, put in fresh buns with whatever toppings makes you happy and eat and eat and eat.

These freeze beautifully, hold for days and heat up in the microwave if you have to on a whim.

Here's the play by play beauty shots:

Here's the meatballs, slightly squashed and coated in breadcrumbs, just hanging out.

drop a few breadcrumbs in the oil to be sure it's hot.  Add the burgers gently and cook them till they're beautiful 

  

Do this in batches and transfer them to the warm stock as they're done 

  

oh, look at the action shot...  yes, i crowded the pan, it works anyway :)  

  

Covered and into the oven, 350 for about half an hour.  This is what they look like after 1/2hour, they actually plump up.  Leave them covered in the broth at room temperature until you need them.....

SO, when you want to eat, grab a couple of the burgers and put them on a sheetpan, cover them with Gouda cheese, seriously, it has to be Gouda. 

HEAT the burgers till the cheese melts.  WHILE they warm up, toast your buns and slather a little homemade aioli on them or whatever toppings make you deliriously happy.

SERVE up the hot melty burgers on the toasty soft yummy rolls and devour with abandon and joy in your soul. 

      
look at these beauties.  I love how the cheese oozes down the sides and makes a round burger coat of melty cheese for our soft, juicy delicious burgers.
  

Tell me how much you love these!! 

/tracy