Bread-heads rejoice. If you've always wanted to learn the difference between a brioche, a baguette and a fondant, your prayers have been answered. Since 1982, Zingerman's has always carried the finest products in its deli.
Now, the Ann Arbor-based business is offering "bake-cations," essentially fantasy camps for home bakers, ranging from a day to a full week. And it's just a couple of hours' drive from Chicago.
Shelby Kibler is the bakery manager at Zingerman's, and talked with Steve about the various types of bake-cations at the bakery.
Shelby Kibler, Bread Manager
Zingerman's
3723 Plaza Dr.
Ann Arbor, MI
734-761-7255
www.bakewithzing.com
www.michigan.org
French Baguette - Poolish Method
Yields: 4 Baguettes
Ingredients, measured, weights
Poolish
All Purpose Flour, 2 1/3 cups, 0.75 lb.
Water 1.5 cups , 0.75 lb.
Instant Yeast , 1/8 tsp.
Final Dough
All Purpose Flour, 4.5 cups, 1.50 lb.
Water, 1.75 cups, 0.82 lb.
Poolish, 4 cups, 1.50 lb.
Instant Yeast, one-half tsp , one-half tsp.
Sea Salt, 1 Tbsp., 0.05 lb
Mixing the Poolish:
1. Put all three ingredients into a medium mixing bowl and mix together until all the flour and yeast is incorporated in the water.
2. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and allow the mix to ferment for 12-15 hours.
Mixing the Final Dough:
1. In a large bowl, add the water, poolish, and yeast and combine thoroughly with a wooden spoon.
2. Add half the flour and mix with a wooden spoon until the poolish and flour are well combined. The mixture will look like a thick pancake batter.
3. Add the salt and remaining flour and fold the mixture to incorporate the dry and wet ingredients.
4. Continue mixing the dough until it becomes a shaggy mass. Scrape the side of the bowl with the dough and spoon to pick up any dry bits.
5. Scrape the dough out of the bowl onto your working surface. The dough will be sticky. Please resist the urge to spread flour onto the surface.
6. Knead the dough for 5 minutes. Don't add additional flour during the kneading process! Adding flour means a drier dough, which means a less delicious baguette.
7. Spray your mixing bowl with non-stick spray or brush with oil. Put the dough into the mixing bowl and cover with plastic.
8. Ferment for 1 hour.
9. Dust the work surface with flour. Uncover the dough and turn it onto the floured surface. Fold the dough top to bottom, bottom to top, right to left, and left to right. Brushing any excess flour from each fold. Turn the dough over and return it to the oiled bowl.
10. Cover with plastic and ferment for another 1 hour.
11. Pre-heat the oven to 450 degrees F.
12. Lightly dust the surface of the table and turn the dough onto the floured surface. Fold your dough again as in step number 9. Leave the dough on the surface; cover with plastic and let rest for 30 minutes.
13. With a bench knife, divide the dough into 4 pieces.
14. Form the pieces of dough into ovals. Place the seam side up on a lightly floured table and cover with plastic. Let rest for 30 minutes.
15. After 30 minutes uncover the dough and lightly dust the tops with flour.
16. Roll into final baguette shape, approximately 18 inches long. Place the baguettes in the linen separated by pleats. Let the baguettes ferment for 45 minutes to an hour at room temperature. Use the touch test to see if the dough is ready for the oven.
17. When ready to bake score each baguette with 6 to 7 cuts.
18. Bake at 450 degrees F. with steam until golden brown.
19. Remove from the oven, place on a cooling rack and cool completely before eating.
Porter and Rye Bread
Ingredients measured weights
Beer (porter), 1 bottle 0.75 lb.
Active Instant Yeast, 1 tsp.
Brown sugar, one-quarter cup, 0.12 lb.
Lard, one-quarter cup 0.12 lb.
All Purpose Flour, 1.75 cups , 0.50 lb.
Whole Rye Flour 2 cups 0.59 lb.
Sea Salt 1 tsp.
(Optional)
Orange peel 1 Tbsp. 1 Tbsp.
Mixing the dough:
1. Make sure the beer is at room temperature. Pour the beer into a mixing bowl. Add the yeast and the brown sugar and stir to combine.
2. Add the lard and the all purpose flour and stir till the mixture looks like a batter.
3. Add the whole rye flour and the salt and stir to combine. This mixture will look like a thick paste.
4. Scrape the dough from the bowl onto your work surface.
5. Knead the dough for 6-8 minutes.
6. Spray the bowl or a container with non-stick spray or brush with oil. Put the dough into the container and cover with plastic.
7. Ferment for 45 minutes.
8. Give dough a fold: turn the dough out of the container onto a lightly floured surface. Fold it towards you about 2/3 of the way, then away from you. Then fold it in the same manner from left to right and right to left.
9. Put dough back into the container and let ferment for 45 minutes.
10. Pull dough from container and place on a lightly floured surface. Shape into desired shape and place on a surface sprinkled with cornmeal.
11. Pre-heat the oven to 425°F.
12. Let shaped loaf ferment for 1 to 1 ½ hours.
13. After loaf has fermented, use the finger poke test to see if it is ready to go into the oven.
14. When loaf is ready, bake at 425 degrees F. until baked through, about 35-45 minutes.
15. Cool loaf completely and enjoy!
Ginger Scones
Ingredients measured weights
Pastry Flour 3 cups 0.96 lb.
Granulated Sugar 1/3 cup 0.14 lb.
Baking Powder 1 Tbsp. 0.02 lb.
Sea Salt 1 tsp. 0.02 lb.
Ginger (ground) one-half tsp.
Butter one-half cup 0.25 lb.
(Diced into one-quarter-inch cubes and chilled well)
Candied Ginger (diced) one-half cup 0.18 lb.
Heavy Cream 1.5cups 0.75 lb.
Egg Wash 1 egg + 1 egg yolk + 1 Tbsp. water (beat together)
Pre-heat the oven to 400 degrees F.
Mixing the Scones:
1. In a mixing bowl whisk together the pastry flour, sugar, baking powder, salt, and ground ginger. Mix until well combined
2. Add the butter (that has been diced into small pieces and chilled until firm) into the dry mixture.
3. Working quickly cut the butter into the flour mixture, using a pastry blender. Cut until the mixture looks like coarse cornmeal with pea size pieces of fat.
4. Rub the mixture together with your hands to encapsulate the flour with the butter. Rub till the mixture looks less floury. Rubbing the butter into the flour will really help increase the tenderness of the scones.
5. Add the candied ginger and mix into the butter/flour mixture.
6. Pour the heavy cream into the dry ingredients and mix with a fork until the ingredients are just moistened. The dough will look rough.
7. Gentle knead in the bowl using a plastic scrape 6 times. The dough should come together.
8. Turn the dough onto a lightly floured surface and divide into 2 pieces and gently shape into 2 round balls.
Shaping and Baking the Scones:
1. Lightly sprinkle the work surface with flour. Place the balls of dough on the flour and pat or roll out the dough into disks that are ½ inch thick and proximity 7inches in diameter.
2. Cut each circle into 6 triangles. Place on parchment lined baking sheet with at least 2 inches between the scones.
3. Brush the tops of the scones with egg wash.
4. Bake the scones at 400 degrees F. for 10 to 12 minutes or until the tops and bottoms are golden brown.
5. Remove the scones from the oven and cool to room temperature before eating.
