So next week a couple of friends will be coming over for a socially distanced dinner in the carport. It still seems so weird having to think of the logistics involved for a simple visit; we have to be outside but it has to be sheltered, there is a sink immediately inside the lower door for hand washing and if anyone needs to use the facilities, we have the most direct route planned. There was a time when it was all about the food and trying to find a date that worked for everyone! I am grateful for the opportunity to see them and I wanted a meal that was simple enough to eat outside while managing to be special as well. I decided to do red beans and rice along with fried shrimp or roast beef po' boys.
With po' boys, so much of it's specialness comes from the bread; baguettes are wonderful but their interiors often have a bit of a chew that will make the sandwich fall apart. I am looking for a lightly crisp crust with a soft interior that can hold up to wet ingredients. I gave this recipe from King Arthur Flour a go today.
Simple recipe with 5 ingredients--6 if you count the water.
Lukewarm water and half of the sugar are mixed together.
The yeast is sprinkled over the top and the mixture is left for about 15 minutes or until it becomes nice and frothy.
In the meantime, I combined bread flour, salt and the rest of the sugar into a bowl. The olive oil was standing by, too.
In about 5 minutes the yeast mixture looked like this and it smelled great!
I let it go for the full 15 minutes and it got even more lively!
I added the rest of the dry ingredients.
Then used a spatula to incorporate the dry into the yeast mixture.
Once the shaggy ball stage was achieved, I popped the bowl into the stand mixer.
After about a minute on medium, the dough looked like this and I suddenly realized I hadn't added the olive oil. Good grief. It was sitting right next to the stand mixer, too. You know, so I wouldn't forget it...
I added the oil and to help it incorporate better, I added about a tablespoon of bread flour.
After 8 minutes, it was a nice, firm dough ball.
Slightly sticky but not unmanageably so.
I plopped it onto a lightly floured surface and kneaded for about 2 minutes
It handles nicely.
I sprayed the mixing bowl with nonstick and the dough ball went back in, covered with plastic wrap, for an hour.
After 30 minutes it had doubled in size.
I left it for the full hour and got an even airier texture.
I punched the dough down and divided them into 4 irregular portions, as is my tendency. The dough balls rested for 15 minutes.
The dough is rather stretchy so rolling it out to a 16"x3" loaf was challenging--it kept wanting to spring back in out itself. I flattened them slightly, per the recipe, to make them more fillable for sandwiches.
The loaves were covered with plastic wrap sprayed with nonstick and left for about an hour.
Into a 375F oven for 30 minutes; I swapped the pans around after 15 minutes. Though I left them in for a total of 33 minutes, they didn't look like they were going to get "deep golden brown" without drying out. They were definitely baked.
The crust was light and the interior was well-aerated. It is easy to split for sandwiches, too. I liked the texture but the taste was rather bland; I assume since it's intent is to be filled with many flavorful things, the bread's main purpose is to act as a vehicle for them. We'll see how it goes next week!
Here is the promised link:
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