Artos!

Artos.  Pathos.  Logos.  Telemachus.  All good things.  Only one of them is bread.  Artos is a "Greek celebration bread."  Basically, there's like a ton of different kinds, and Greeks bake them at different celebrations.  Peter includes three different recipes for Artos -- the two with cooler names, Christopsomos and Lambropsomo, have dried fruit in them.  I think once fruit is dried, you've already done enough to it.  No need to effing cook that shiz.  So, I'm baking the boring one: "Greek Celebration Bread."  With no dried fruit.  But still a lot of this:

thanks rotten tomatoes.

Ooopah!  Or whatever.  Basically making this bread is like dancing with Joey Fatone.  (PS: Joey Fatone dances in this movie, yet he was still allowed to join Dancing with the Stars?!  Why?!)

So, for this bread I got to use my barm aka starter!  Yay!  I didn't spend a week making it for no reason!  Here he is, all ready to be made into a Greek star.

+ flour (I used all bread flour this time!  We'll see what happens!) + salt + yeast + cinnamon (and other spices I stole from B) + vanilla extract (I didn't have almond and extracts are like five billion dollars -- we'll see what happens) + orange zest! + egg + honey (asturiana!!!!!!) + oil + milk =

I think the asturiana will make this bread.  I mean, it pretty much makes everything b/c it's the best honey ever.

When I was kneading this, I could smell all the yummy spices and orange zest.  So international.  Now, I don't speak Spanish, Japanese, or French [or Greek].  But the way that body's talkin' definitely makes sense.  Basically it's artos' body language.  That's what you should get out of this story.

OMG.  This dough literally took for-ev-ver to rise.  Peter says it should double in size in sixty to ninety minutes.  I took a nap, watched an episode of My So-Called Life, and pretended to read for class.  It was still little.  I mean, it's cold outside?  But it's warm in here.  I mean, maybe the barm is bad (I kept it in the fridge a day longer than I should have without refreshing it).  IDK.  All I know is is that I let it rise for like two hours.  Woke up to this:

 

IDK.  What do you all think?  Did it double?  By this time, I didn't care.  I bouled that shit.

I tried to be artsy, too.  Then I remembered my camera is from the 1970s.  So it generated this.  Well, at least you can see how awesome our lightswitches are.  Or something.  So, I don't know why I bake bread on Thursdays (and by bake bread, I mean last week it was a Thursday and this week it was, too), but I like it.  The down side is that I always (I mean twice) think I have a lot of time before my 5:30 class, and then I don't.  So, once again, I let my baby boule become a grown up boule for probably too long.  But, I figured, whatever.  The stupid thing took two hours to rise in the bowl.

 

thanks what would toto watch.

PEACE OUT GREEK STYLE.  You know, just hanging out with Aiden in the back of a limo.  NBD.

Baby in the baby maker.

  

And the timer set.  I figured since I cut the recipe in half, I should cut the time in half?  I don't know if this makes sense.  Last time, it def look less time than the full recipe, but I don't remember if it took half the time.  Well, I'll check the baby in ten at any rate.  (Full loaf takes twenty, then twenty.)

Okay, so I think cutting the baking time in half worked.

 

OMG.  It looks delicious and smells so good!!  But, once again, Peter's rules are torturous.  I have to wait an hour for the bread to cool.

thanks afro city blog.

Like that, basically.  So, the artos has an optional glaze.  Made of sugar, honey, and some other stuff.  I was considering making it, but I put the bread in a plastic bag in the fridge when it's done, and the glaze would complicate that.  I was going to make a joke about glaze, but after looking it up on urbandictionary, I decided not to.  I am so cool.

Ek gunta ke bad -- OOHPA!

This was my attempt at a Greek dance.  Yeah.  I took a timer-picture.  OOHPA!!

 

Mmm.  This bread is really tasty.  I baked it for just long enough.  It's soft and cinnamony.  Yum yum, basically.  There are like two pictures from My Big Fat Greek Wedding online.  I wanted to use another one.  Geez.  <3

Anadama, The Sequel

It's the second day of Anadama Bread! Here's my soaker (which I mistakenly labeled a sponge yesterday) after hanging out overnight:

It looks pretty much the same, I guess. Next up = flour + yeast + soaker + water. Peter calls for all bread flour, but I used half whole wheat flour and half bread flour b/c I like whole grains. Also, I cut his recipe in half b/c I'm one person and my roommate never eats what I make. (Yep, I'm calling you out, B.) Yum!


That sat for an hour.  It then became:

Bubbly!  This + flour + salt + molasses + butter (I used salted.  So sue me.) =

Oh, my non-room temperature salted butter.  I'm such a bad baker.  Forgive me, Peter.  I stirred this up and ended up with something looking like solid haleem.

That needed some pretty-fying.  I hope, like haleem, it may look bad, but taste wonderful.  After some kneading, it transformed a little.  Like Pygmalion, basically.

Zac is there for a comparison.  Oh, my kneaded dough is pretty.  Back on the counter top, away from Zac, my dough sits sadly for 90 minutes, waiting to be reunited with Zac once again, for without that comparison, it just doesn't feel good about itself.

So sad.  It puffs itself up with pride that it just doesn't have.  Don't worry, little anadama.  You will be beautiful by the end of today!  First, though, continuing this Pygmalion metaphor, you must be shaped.

Ew.  This just looks gross.  Sorry, little Pygmalion anadama.  This little anadama then sits for (longer than) 60 to 90 minutes -- I left it out for two and a half hours b/c I had to go to class.  Yet, lo and behold, I find this upon my return!

WTF, anadama!  After I praised you?!  This loaf is def not "fully above the tops of the pans," as Peter indicates it should be at this time.  Maybe it's b/c I turned the heat in my apt down before I left for class.  Or because anadama wanted to be near Zac and despised me for moving it.  Whatever, don't give me excuses, anadama.  So, I decided it's time for baking anyway, b/c I didn't want to wait anymore.  I WANT BREAD.

Bread with cornmeal sprinkled on top.  Pants with cornmeal sprinkled on top.  FML.  I need an apron.  Or the dignity to not use my pants like a towel.  Or someone to write a Pygmalion-esque story about me.  Anyway, on to the next transformation!

The bread is HOME.  It's HOME!!  And I have a baby oven.  A baby oven for a baby baker.  I put it in the oven for 40 minutes.  I went on the low end b/c last time I baked bread in the oven, it ended up burning a baby bit.  (Can I use baby more in this blog entry?  We'll see.)

It's done it's done it's done!  So, it's kind of flat.  Not cresting above the pan.  Boo.  But, then I took it out of the pan!  It looks tasty!  Golden brown, just like Peter says!  Yaaay.  So Pygmalion metaphor, maybe not so much.  But I have to wait a whole hour to eat it!  Oh, Peter, why this insanity!?!?

Finally, after an hour!  Ta-daaaaaaaaaaaa!

Slices!  With butter and Benz's homemade peach jam (<3 <3 <3 <3) and The Office (which is a flashback-y episode by the way.  Bo-ring.)!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!  And so . . .

I am nervous!  But then, I am serene?  Idk, I took a lot of reaction pictures but they look horrible.  Anyway, I'm going to get back to watching this horrible episode of The Office.  And eat more anadama, which def is a Pygmalion story.

It's love.  <3

My First Post, (Not Really) First Bread!

Hola kids! So, this is my first post in my attempt to bake through Peter Reinhart's awesome book, The Bread Baker's Apprentice from beginning to end!! I like baking and I like this book. Plus, I feel super cool baking bread. And I need a hobby. I've baked a couple recipes from this book before, but I'm trying to be organized and complete something non-academic, so yeah.

Okay, so I'm beginning at the beginning, which is Anadama Bread -- a sandwich bread. Today, I made my sponge. Check it out.


(PS: Sorry, my camera is horrible.) Sweet. I'm excited! This is corn meal and water. I've never made a non-corn-bread bread with corn meal. Tomorrow, we bake! <3