YEAST BAKING:

Comments Off on YEAST BAKING: | September 29, 2019

Aberdeen Rowies or Butteries

Ingredients: Bread Dough: 3 teaspoons sugar 25g (1oz) fresh yeast 375-450ml (13-15fl oz) warm water 500g (1lb 2oz) very strong white bread flour, slightly warmed

Fatty Dough: 325g (11oz) solid vegetable fat 1 level tablespoon salt 150g (5oz) very strong white bread flour

Preheat the oven to 425°F/220°C/Gas 7. Grease baking sheets.

Method: Bread Dough. Dissolve the yeast and sugar in a little of the water and leave for 10 minutes. Add to the warmed flour along with most of the remaining water and knead in to make a soft sticky dough. Knead until smooth and pliable and leave to rest for 10 minutes.

Fatty Dough. Cut up the fat and sprinkle with salt and flour. Knead till thoroughly mixed. This can be done in a food processor.

Cover the work surface with a thick layer of flour and place bread dough on top. Flour the top of this and spread it out with well-floured hands or a rolling pin till it is rectangular and about 1cm (½ inch) thick. Spread half of the fatty dough on top. Fold down a third to the centre and up a third – as for making puff pastry. Turn and roll out again to 1cm (½ inch). Repeat this procedure with remaining fatty dough. Repeat the procedure one more time using plenty of flour to prevent sticking.

Divide the dough roughly into 50g (2oz) pieces. Flour your hands well. Take up a piece of dough, toss it to coat evenly with flour. Place on the baking tray. Press down with four well-floured fingers so that it spreads out. Continue with the rest of the dough, leaving a space between each butterie for rising. To finish the shaping, once they are all on the baking trays, flour four fingers outstretched on the left hand and a clenched fist on the right hand. Press out using both floured hands until they are about 5mm (¼ inch) thick.

Proving: Oil a sheet of clingfilm and cover the rowies. Leave for about 20 minutes in a warm place until they double in size.

Bake the rowies for 18-20 minutes in a fairly hot oven until they are crisp and golden. Leave on the tray for about 10 minutes till they have cooled a little then stack them together, on their ends, on the tray. It is important to leave them to cool on the tray.

Baps

These light, floury breakfast rolls. Ingredients: 500 g (1lb) strong white flour 2 teaspoons salt 25 g (1oz) fresh yeast, 1 tablespoon dried or 1 pkt Fast Action yeast 1 teaspoon sugar 300 ml (10fl oz) water and milk, warmed 50 g (2oz) lard. d

Method: Pre-heat the oven to 425°F/220°C/Gas 7. Grease baking tray. Sift the flour into a bowl, add salt and put aside to warm. Meanwhile cream fresh yeast and sugar together and then mix with the milk and water (or add the dried yeast to the milk/water and dissolve it. Mix in the Fast Action yeast to the dry ingredients). Rub the lard into the flour, then add the liquid and knead together till smooth and pliable. Leave to rise till doubled in size — about an hour.

Knock back, knead and then shape into baps. Oval baps are usually about 10cm (4 inch) long by about 7cm (3 inch) wide at this stage before rising. Round ones are about 10cm (4 inch) diameter. Once shaped, brush with milk, dust with flour and cover with oiled clingfilm to prevent drying out and set in a warm place to prove. When they have risen, dust again lightly with flour and bake for 15 minutes. Cool and eat warm.

Oatmeal Bread

Ingredients: 175g (6oz) rolled oats 50g (2oz) lard/butter or 4 tablespoons oil 2-3 teaspoons salt 125g (4oz) molasses or treacle 450ml (16fl oz) lukewarm water 25g (1oz) fresh yeast (1 tablespoon dried or 1 pkt Fast Action yeast) 600g (1½ lb) strong white bread flour 2 eggs 2 tablespoons rolled oats to coat tins 2 × 1lb/500g loaf tins.

Method: Pre-heat the oven to 375°F/190°C/Gas 5. Grease the tin well with lard or oil and coat the base and sides with rolled oats. Put oats, lard, butter or oil and salt into a bowl. Dissolve the molasses in the lukewarm water and pour over the oats. If the yeast is dried, activate it by mixing with a little of the warm molasses water. If fresh, mix the yeast with a teaspoonful of sugar. Add the yeast (you can just stir in the packet of Fast Action yeast) to the oats and stir in half of the flour. Beat well for three or four minutes. This can be done with the mixer. Beat in the eggs and then work in the remaining flour gradually till the dough is soft and sticky but not too dry. Leave for 10 minutes to rest.

Turn the dough onto a board and knead till it is smooth and elastic. Cover with greased clingfilm and leave to rise in a warm place for about one and a half hours or until the dough has doubled in size. Knead the dough for a few minutes and then divide into two. Shape into loaves and put into tins. Cover with greased clingfilm and put back in a warm place till they have risen to double their size again. Brush with milk and sprinkle on top with rolled oats. Bake for 30 minutes to one hour or until they make a hollow sound when tapped on the base. Cool thoroughly.

Scottish Cream Cookies or Iced Cookies

ingredients: 750g (1½ lb) strong plain flour 250ml (8fl oz) milk 50g (1oz) fresh yeast, 1 tablespoon dried yeast or 1 pkt Fast Action yeast 1 teaspoon salt 4 tablespoons sugar 125g (4oz) butter, softened 2 large eggs Pre-heat the oven to 425°F/220°C/Gas 7. Grease 2 large baking trays.

Begin by warming both the milk and flour separately to blood heat (37°C). Yeast will work much more efficiently if everything is warm. If using fresh yeast, blend it with a little of the milk, if using dried yeast, dissolve in some of the milk and leave until it begins to froth up. Make a well in the centre of the flour and add most of the milk, (add the Fast Action yeast now if using), salt, butter and eggs (keeping back some of the egg for glazing). Bring together with your hands till it is a soft, sticky dough, adding more milk if necessary. If it is too wet, add more flour. It should be transformed during the kneading process from a soft sticky mess to a smooth, silky, rounded ball which comes away from your fingers easily. If the gluten content of the flour is poor, achieving this result is impossible. Always use a strong flour.

Rising: Cover the bowl with a wet towel (dough likes a damp steamy atmosphere for rising) or oiled clingfilm and leave in a warm place till it has almost doubled in size. Knock all the air out of the dough, give it another knead to redistribute the yeast and shape the dough into 25-30 small round buns about 5cm (2 inch) in diameter. To prove that the yeast is still working, place in a warm place again, cover with a film of very lightly oiled clingfilm and leave till they have doubled in size. Brush with an egg and milk glaze and bake for 10-15 minutes.

Cream Cookies Split when cold and fill with whipped cream. Dust on top with icing sugar.

Iced Cookies Make up a fairly stiff water icing, colour and coat the top of the cookie.

Selkirk Bannock

Ingredients: 500g (1lb 2oz) strong plain flour 125g (4oz) butter 250ml (9fl oz) warm milk 50g (2oz) sugar 15g (½ oz) fresh yeast or 1 × 7g sachet Fast Action yeast 250g (9oz) sultanas 1 egg yolk beaten with a teaspoon water for glazing.

Method: Sift the flour into a bowl and add the sugar (add the Fast Action yeast now if using). If using fresh yeast, dissolve in a little of the warm milk. Melt the butter and add to the warm milk. Cool to lukewarm and add to the flour. Mix to a soft pliable dough and knead until smooth, about five minutes. This can be done in an electric beater with a dough hook or in a bread-making machine. Put into a floured bowl and dust on top with flour. Cover with oiled clingfilm and leave in a warm place until it doubles in size. Knock back to remove air and knead in the sultanas. Shape the dough into a round bannock and place on a greased baking tray. Cover it with oiled clingfilm and leave it in a warm place until it doubles in size. Brush with the egg yolk. Bake for about 45 minutes, reducing the temperature if the bannock is browning too quickly. To test for readiness, tap on the base – it should sound hollow. Remove and cool on a rack.