BBA Challenge: Casatiello
The next brioche in the BBA Challenge was an Italian variation, a casatiello, which is usually made with some type of cured meat and cheese. Reinhart suggests a good melting cheese such as Swiss, Gouda, Cheddar or any of their variations. For meats he suggests salami, pepperoni, bacon, pancetta, chorizo, or sausage. I chose some applewood smoked ham and provolone, two flavors I like together.
The bread starts with a quick sponge, followed by mixing and two risings. Casatiello is traditionally baked in paper bags or panettone molds, though I used a tall round 8-inch cake pan, which worked well. The bread was popular with my family, so much so that Monkey Boy took a huge hunk out of it while it sat cooling on the wire rack. We liked the slightly salty flavor of the ham and the Provolone melted just right. Even after a day the flavor was still present. Read more
BBA Challenge: Brioche Muffins
It’s been a month since I last posted a BBA Challenge bread, a deliberate decision on my part. Our air conditioning was out for 29 days and since the kitchen is the hottest room in our house even with functioning air conditioning, I just couldn’t bring myself to turn on the oven and add to the heat. In the winter I bake all the time and it helps keep the house warm, but we didn’t need that in the heat of summer without any air conditioning for relief.
The next bread for me to tackle in the challenge was the brioche, a decadent bread with plenty of eggs and butter and a rich flavor. Of the three options—Rich Man’s, Middle-Class, or Poor Man’s brioche—I chose the Middle-Class version, which has less butter than the ultra buttery Rich Man’s version. Read more
BBA Challenge: Whole Wheat and Rye Bagels
My first attempt at Reinhart’s bagels ended with flat wrinkled hockey pucks, so this weeks BBA Challenge was a welcomed opportunity to improve on my previous attempt. I made a whole wheat starter with one cup of rye flour in the final dough, and shaped my bagels in a small two-ounce size, perfect for little appetites. For the toppings, I used Alaea sea salt
For more bagel inspiration, check out the BBA Challenge photos in the BBA Challenge Flickr photo group.
BBA Challenge: Christopsomos (Greek Christmas Bread)
Even though it was originally intended for Christmas, this is a bread I would gladly bake any time of year. The BBA Challenge bread for this week was Artos, Greek celebration breads, and I chose the fruited Christmas version, Christopsomos. My family adored this orange and spice flavored bread, and I can easily imagine making a delicious bread pudding or French toast with this loaf.
For more bread inspiration, check out the BBA Challenge photos in the BBA Challenge Flickr photo group.
BBA Challenge: Anadama Bread
Last week when Nicole of Pinch My Salt casually tweeted about starting a challenge to bake every single bread in Peter Reinhart’s masterwork The Bread Baker’s Apprentice, I didn’t even think. My subconscious took over and my fingers seem to type of their own accord, “I’ll take on that challenge.” I’ve had the book in my personal collection for a few years and have attempted several of the breads, some on my own and some as Daring Baker’s challenges. His Napoletana pizza dough has become a regular in our kitchen and every time I make it I want to break into a rendition of That’s Amore or Funiculì, Funiculà. Though I’ve failed the first time around on some of his formulas (er, the bagels), I now have a chance to redeem myself…hopefully.
Well, there’s a bunch of us doing what we now call the BBA Challenge, about 200 to be exact. Yes, the challenge went viral, but we decided to be relaxed about it and just have fun. We’re working loosely on a schedule of one formula per week going through the book in order from beginning to end. The first challenge is the Anadama bread.
Each week I will post a photo journal of the loaf or loaves I made that week. After today, my posts on the challenges will be mostly wordless posts, merely an opportunity to show what we’ve been working on. For more bread inspiration, check out the BBA Challenge photos in the BBA Challenge Flickr photo group.
