Cherry Chocolate Bread

I combined two recipes to make this and modified as I went:

https://www.theperfectloaf.com/dark-chocolate-cherry-sourdough-bread/ 

https://www.recipetineats.com/easy-yeast-bread-recipe-no-knead/#wprm-recipe-container-43976 

Ingredients:

3 cups (450g) flour , bread or plain/all purpose

2 tsp (1 Fleischmann’s RapidRise packet) instant or rapid rise yeast 

2 tsp (12g) cooking / kosher salt , NOT table salt

3 tsp (12g) sugar 

2 cups (315g) very warm tap water, NOT boiling or super hot (ie up to 55°C/130°F)

7 tsp (16g) unsweetened cocoa powder

2 tbsp (16g) canola oil (or other neutral-flavor oil)

1/3 cup (90g) Dark chocolate chunks (or chips) 

90g Dried sweetened tart cherries (about half of a great value 5oz bag)

Outside of class prep time: ~3 hours

Preheat time: 30 minutes

Cook time: 30 minutes

Briquettes: 35-40, 15 on bottom, the rest on top

Instructions:

1. Bloom the Cocoa Powder: Put the oil in a medium saucepan over medium heat and heat until very warm, 2 to 4 minutes. Add the cocoa powder and whisk continuously until the powder dissolves and the mixture becomes thick, about 3 to 4 minutes. Remove the pan from the heat and let cool. (Pro tip: start whisking immediately or the cocoa powder will burn)

2. Mix Dough: Mix flour, yeast, salt, and sugar in a large bowl. Add water, then use the handle of a wooden spoon to mix until all the flour is incorporated. Pour the bloomed cocoa onto the dough and mix it in until it’s thoroughly incorporated. If you want the dough to be completely dark in color, mix the cocoa in well at this point, but if you’d like a more marbled bread look, mix it more gently and stop before it’s fully dispersed. Dough will be wet and sloppy – not kneadable, but not runny like cake batter. Adjust with more water or flour if needed for the right consistency. (see attached picture)

3. Rise: Cover with cling wrap or plate, leave on counter for 2–3 hours until it doubles in volume, it’s wobbly like jelly and the top is bubbly (see attached picture). If after 1 hour it doesn’t seem to be rising, move it somewhere warmer. 

4. Optional – refrigerate for flavour development: At this stage, you can either bake immediately (move onto Step 6) or refrigerate for up to 3 days.

5. Take chill out of refrigerated dough – if you refrigerated dough per above, leave the bowl on the counter for 45 – 60 minutes while the oven is preheating. Cold dough does not rise as well.

6. Preheat oven – Put empty dutch oven on briquettes, Preheat to 450°F (about 30 minutes)

7. Mix cherries and chocolate in: pour about half of the cherries and chocolate into the bowl. Put some flour on your hands, and stretch and fold the dough to lightly mix the cherries and chocolate, then pour in the rest. Stretch and knead the dough until the cherries and chocolate are relatively well-mixed in the dough. During this process, try as best you can to roll/fold the dough into a round shape. 

8. Transfer to paper: Put a large piece of parchment/baking paper (not wax paper) on top of the bowl, then flip the dough upside down onto the paper (i.e. seam side down, smooth side up). You can reshape it into a more round(ish) shape or just leave it be. Don't get too hung up about shape. In fact, lopsided = more ridges = more crunchy bits! Using a sharp knife, score the top of the loaf.

9. Dough in pot: Remove the lid of the hot dutch oven. Holding the edges of the paper, drop the paper with the dough on it into the pot, place the lid on. (because the lid is hot, having a friend help with this is very helpful)

10. Bake for 30 minutes, lift paper and bread out of the oven, cool for 10 minutes before slicing. (to keep the top from burning, I took about half of the briquettes off the top for the last 10 minutes)

Tomato Focaccia

 Recipe adapted from Urban Farm & Kitchen, No Knead Tomato Focaccia 

Ingredients:

-4 Cups All-Purpose Flour

-2 Teaspoon Kosher Salt

-2 teaspoon Instant Yeast (1 package)

-2 Tablespoon Extra Virgin Olive Oil

-2 Cups Lukewarm Water

For Baking and Garnish:

-1/4 Cup Extra Virgin Olive Oil - For oiling the dough and oven

-1 Cup Cherry tomatoes - sliced in half

-2-4 Tablespoon Fresh Rosemary

-1/2 Cup Parmesan Cheese 

- Flaky Salt

Instructions:

1. Mix in a large bowl the flour, salt, yeast, olive oil, and room temperature water with wooden spoon. 

2. Knead the dough for 6-8 minutes and let it rise for 1 hour after drizzling olive oil on top. 

3. Deflate the dough and shape it into the dutch oven and let it rise for another hour or two as you get your coals ready. 

4. Dimple the dough when your coals are about ready and drizzle olive oil over the dimpled dough. Add in cherry tomato slices into the dimples and press on rosemary and sprinkle most of the cheese.  

5. Get ready about 30 coals with a little more coals on the top than the bottom of the oven.

5. Let the bread cook in the dutch oven for about 30-40 minutes, make sure to watch and take it out when the bread looks golden and the cheese is roasted well.

6. After removing the bread from the coals sprinkle on the rest of the cheese and the flaky salt. 

7. You can let it sit for 30 minutes for better cutting or enjoy right away.

Roasted Garlic Rosemary Parmesan Sourdough

 

Dutch Oven Sourdough: Roasted Garlic Rosemary Parmesan

(1 loaf – or split for two flavorful halves!)

Ingredients:

Sourdough Base:

• 100g active sourdough starter
  
  

• 350g room temp water (hold back ~50g)
  
  

• 500g bread flour
  
  

• 9g salt
  
  

Garlic Rosemary Parmesan Inclusions:

• 1 head garlic, roasted
  
  

• ¼ cup (or 1 small packet) fresh rosemary, finely chopped
  
  

• ½ tsp onion powder
  
  

• ½ tsp oregano
  
  

• 2 tbs grated parmesan cheese
  
  

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Make the Dough:

1. In a large bowl, mix 100g starter with ~300g water until dissolved.
   
   

2. Add 500g flour and mix until just combined.
   
   

3. Cover and rest for 30 minutes (autolyse).
   
   

4. Add remaining 50g water and 9g salt, then mix until well incorporated.
   
   

5. Cover and rest another 30 minutes.
   
   

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Build Strength (Stretch & Folds):

1. Perform a set of stretch and folds, then rest for 30 minutes.
   
   

2. Repeat this process 4 more times (over about 2.5 hours total).
   
   

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Bulk Fermentation:

• Let dough rise 4+ hours, until ~50% larger and bubbly on top and sides.
  
  

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Add Inclusions (Split Dough for Variety):

After bulk fermentation:

1. Pre-shape your dough and rest for 20 minutes.
   
   

2. Split dough in half (if making two flavors).
   
   

3. Flatten each half and layer in inclusions (see below).
   
   

4. Roll up the dough, adding more as you go for even distribution.
   
   

5. Shape into a ball and place into floured proofing baskets.
   
   

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Garlic Rosemary Parmesan:

• Roasted garlic (1 head)
  
  

• ¼ cup fresh rosemary, finely chopped
  
  

• ¼ cup grated parmesan
  
  

• ½ tsp onion powder
  
  

• ½ tsp oregano
  
  

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Jalapeño Cheddar (Optional Variation):

• ¼ cup Pickled jalapeños, chopped and patted dry with a paper towel
  
  

• 3 oz sharp cheddar cheese, cubed
  
  
  

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Cold Proof:

• Cover and refrigerate overnight (8–12 hours).
  
  

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Outdoor Bake (Dutch Oven):

1. Light 35 charcoal briquettes.
   
   

2. Once ready, place 15 under and 20 on top of the Dutch oven.
   
   

3. Preheat oven with lid on for 20 minutes.
   
   

4. Line with foil tin or parchment.
   
   

5. Place dough inside, spray with water or toss in ice cubes for steam.
   
   

6. Cover and bake at 450–500°F.

        Note: About 20 minutes in, I started another batch of 20 briquettes to keep the heat going for the bread.

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Baking Time:

1. Score your dough 10–20 minutes in for a clean bloom.
   
   

2. Check after 30 minutes, then every 15–20 minutes until crust is golden brown.
   
   

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Cool & Serve:

Let cool for at least 1 hour wrapped in a clean towel or on paper towels.

Soft and Pillowy Naan Bread

Ingredients

• 3 teaspoons dry active yeast
• 1 Tablespoon sugar
• 1 cup warm water -236 grams
• 1/4 cup olive oil
• 2/3 cup plain greek yogurt
• 1 teaspoon kosher salt
• 3 1/2 cups all-purpose flour (plus or minus a couple of tablespoons) – 420 grams, plus more (about 30 grams) for rolling out
• melted butter – to add after cooking, optional

Directions

• Activate the yeast. In a large standing mixer (or you can make this by hand too), combine the yeast, sugar, and warm water. Stir with a spatula and wait for the mixture to get bubbly.
• Add the yogurt, olive oil, and salt, and stir again. Then attach dough hook, and start adding flour. Start with two cups of flour, and then mix. Continuing adding more flour, a little at a time, until you get the right consistency. The dough should start pulling away from the sides of the mixer, and it should be just slightly sticky. You want the dough to be a little sticky but not too much.
• Remove the dough to a greased bowl, and shape it into a ball. Cover with a clean dish towel, and set it aside to double in size in a warm corner of your kitchen. This will take approximately one hour. (If you're not going to cook the dough immediately, you can split dough into quarters, place in sandwich size ziploc bags in the fridge for up to a couple days. It will rise in the fridge but just slower.)  
• Sprinkle some flour on a clean working surface, like a large cutting board or a baking mat. Place the dough on top of the flour, and slice it in approximately 12 wedges.
• Preheat your dutch oven to medium/high heat over coals.
• Meanwhile, roll out one naan at a time, using a rolling pin (and plenty flour) to get a very thin, flat shape. Carefully lift the naan to the hot grill pan. Cook on one side for a minute or two. You should see bubbles forming on this first side. Then flip and cook on the other side for 30 seconds to a minute, or until nice and golden brown.
• Remove grilled naan to a clean towel, and immediately brush some butter on top. Continue rolling out one naan at a time and grilling, until all naan breads are done and piled up high on the towel.
• Serve immediately, or let cool, and store in a storage bag or airtight container.

Gluten Free Dutch Oven Banana bread

Made in a 12in Dutch oven with parchment liner. 

4 medium very ripe bananas

2/3 cup butter, melted

1 teaspoon baking soda

2 pinches of salt

1 1/4 cup sugar

2 large eggs, beaten

2 teaspoon vanilla extract

3 cups Bob's Red Mill Gluten Free flour blend

1. Mash the bananas and add the melted butter in a bowl. 

2. Mix in the baking soda and salt. Stir in the sugar, beaten egg, and vanilla extract. Mix in the flour. 

3. Add chopped walnuts and chocolate chips if desired. I like to sprinkle the chopped walnuts on top of the poured batter. 

4. Pour the batter into a Dutch oven lined with parchment paper. 

5. Cook at 350 degrees F. The original recipe says 55-65 minutes if you are using a loaf pan, but cooking mine directly on parchment took closer to 30 minutes to bake. Check if done with a toothpick that comes out clean. 

This recipe is a Dutch Oven alteration of the recipe in this link:

https://www.simplyrecipes.com/recipes/banana_bread/

Cheesy Garlic Breadsticks with Fresh Herbs

 1 lb pizza dough

4 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted

3 garlic cloves, minced

1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese

2 tablespoons fresh parsley, chopped

2 tablespoons fresh basil, chopped

1/4 cup grated parmesan cheese

salt and pepper to taste

Instructions:

1. Preheat the Dutch oven with 10 coals underneath and 14 coals on top

2. Roll out the pizza dough into a rectangle, about 1/2 inch thick

3. Mix the melted butter and minced garlic. Brush this over the dough

4. Sprinkle the mozzarella cheese, fresh parsley, and basil over the dough

5. Add the grated parmesan and season with salt and pepper

6. Place the dough in the dutch oven, cover, and cook for 15-20 minutes until golden brown

7. Cut into strips and serve warm.

*my recipe had enough dough to make 2 batches of this. It turned out really nicely. You want to keep heat up but be careful to not add to many coals under the dutch oven or the bottom of the breadsticks will be extra crisp. This one is tough to make camping, but is great if you are at home and are able to cut these up in a clean space. Definitely something to impress company with!

Love in a Slice of Bread

 Love in a Slice of Bread

1 1/2 cups water

1 heaping tablespoon of wheat sourdough starter

1 1/2 tsp salt

White flour to consistency

1/3 cup white chocolate chips

1/3 cup cinnamon chips

Make dough and let sit for 8 hours. Form into ball. You cook this by using a mini dutch oven inside your larger dutch oven, but you can also try using a normal bread pan. Line whatever you're cooking the bread in with tin foil. Preheat larger dutch oven to 500 for 20 mins with small dutch oven inside. Then put bread in the small dutch oven and bake for 20 mins on 460. Then without opening oven, turn heat to 360 and bake another 25 mins. (For a total of 45 mins). Take bread out and cool on rack for an hour (or not actually an hour, because I'm impatient hahaha).

Usually this is made in a normal oven but I just did it inside my 12 inch, with a few stones so the mini dutch oven wasn't sitting directly on the bottom. The whole temperature thing is lowkey crazy but just put a ton of briquets on at the start and then take some off as time goes on and let them burn down. Once it looks golden on the top you can stab it to check if it's done.

This recipe looks complicated, but it's WORTH IT. trust :)

Pretzel Bread

Ingredients

Dough:

•  1 cup milk
• 2 tbs butter or margarine
• 2 tbs brown sugar
• 1 envelope Fleischmann's RapidRise Yeast
• 2 tsp salt
• 3 cups all-purpose flour, or more as needed

Boiling Solution:

• 3 qt water
• ¾ cup baking soda

Egg Wash:

• 1 egg
• 1 tsp water
• coarse salt

Directions:

1. Heat milk and butter until warm (100 degrees to 110 degrees F); the butter will not completely melt.
2. Combine with undissolved yeast and brown sugar in a large mixer bowl.
3. Stir in salt and 2 cups flour, beat for 3 minutes.
4. Gradually add enough remaining flour to make a soft dough.
5. Knead on a floured surface until smooth and elastic, about 8 to 10 minutes.
6. Place in a greased bowl, cover and let rise for 1 hour, or until doubled in size.
7. Combine boiling solution and bring to a boil.
8. Punch dough down and form each piece into a tight, smooth ball.
9. Boil loaf in the solution for 2 minutes, turning after 1 minute.
10. Brush with egg wash and cut a cross in the top.
11. Generously grind salt on top (or sprinkle)
12. Bake for 15 minutes at 400 deg (21 briquettes on lid, 7 underneath)
13. Bake for an additional 30 min at 350 deg (no need to remove any briquettes) 

Note:

• Use 21 briquettes on lid, 7 underneath 
• Best to bake in a baking pan or any other pan that fits in dutch oven
• Elevate pan inside dutch oven with rocks
• Use parchment paper to avoid sticking on the bottom
• I did the boiling part beforehand to save time with the baking