Bread, New Zealand Almond and Fig

Name: Bread, New Zealand Almond and Fig
Yield: 12 servings
Ingredients: Dough Starter; 3/4 cup Bread Flour; 1/2 teaspoon Instant Yeast; 3/4 teaspoon Sugar; 3/4 cup Water Flour Mixture; 3/4 cup Bread Flour; 2 tablespoon Bread Flour; 1/2 cup Whole Wheat Flour; 1/2 teaspoon Yeast; 2 teaspoon Oil; 1 1/4 teaspoon Salt; 1 cup Almonds

Bread, New Zealand Almond and Fig is a breads recipe made with Dough Starter, Bread Flour, Instant Yeast, Sugar, and Water Flour Mixture. Serves 12. Keep it handy for the next time you cook it.

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🍽 Serves 12

Ingredients

to taste
3/4 cup
1/2 tsp
3/4 tsp
3/4 cup
3/4 cup
2 tbsp
1/2 cup
1/2 tsp
2 tsp
1 1/4 tsp
1 cup

Method (preview)

1
Slivered (not sliced), coarsely chopped 1/2 cup dried Mission fig -- stems removed, cut into 1/4" -to 1/2" pieces, plus 1 whole fig -- for décor
2
Make the sponge.
3
In a mixer bowl or other large bowl, place the flour, yeast, sugar and water.
4
Whisk until very smooth, to incorporate air, about 2 minutes.
5
The sponge will be the consistency of a thick batter.
6
Scrape down the sides of the bowl Set it aside, covered with plastic wrap, while you make the flour mixture.
7
Combine the ingredients for the flour mixture and add to the sponge.
8
In a medium bowl, whisk together the bread flour (reserve 1/4 cup if mixing by hand), whole wheat flour, and yeast.
9
Sprinkle this on top of the sponge and cover it tightly with plastic wrap.
10
Mix the dough.
11
Add the oil and mix with the dough hook on low speed (#2 if using a KitchenAid) until the flour is moistened enough to form a rough dough.
12
Scrape down any bits of dough.
13
Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and allow the dough to rest for 20 minutes.
14
Sprinkle on the salt and knead the dough on medium speed (#4
15
KitchenAid) for 7 minutes.
16
If it is not at all sticky, spray it with a little water and knead it in. (It will weigh about 17 oz/ 490 grams.) Allow the dough to rest for 10 minutes.
17
Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured counter and roll it into a rectangle about 9" by 14".
18
Sprinkle with the chopped almonds and cut-up figs.
19
Roll up the dough and knead it for a few minutes to incorporate the almonds and figs evenly.
20
Shape it into a ball.
21
Add the oil and salt and, with a wooden spoon or your hand, mix until the flour is moistened.
22
Knead the dough in the bowl until it comes together, then scrape it onto a lightly floured counter.
23
Knead the dough for 5 minutes, enough to develop the gluten structure a little, adding as little of the reserved 1/4 cup of flour as possible to keep it from sticking. use a bench scraper to scrape the dough and gather it together as you knead it.
24
At this point, it will be very sticky.
25
Cover it with the inverted bowl and allow it to rest for 20 minutes. (This resting time will make the dough less sticky and easier to work with.)
26
Knead the dough for another 5 minutes or until it is very smooth and elastic.
27
If it is very sticky, add some of the remaining reserved flour, or a little extra. (The dough will weigh about 17 oz/490 grams.) Allow the dough to rest for 10 minutes.
28
Roll the dough into a rectangle about 9" by 14", and sprinkle with the almonds and cut-up figs.
29
Roll up the dough and knead it for a few minutes to incorporate the almonds and figs evenly.
30
Shape it into a ball.
31
Let the dough rise.
32
Set the dough in a 4-qt dough-rising container or bowl, lightly greased with cooking spray or oil.
33
Press down the dough and lightly spray or oil the top.
34
Cover the container with a lid or plastic wrap.
35
Using an oiled spatula or dough scraper, scrape the dough out into a floured counter, and press down on it gently to form a rectangle.
36
Fold the dough into a tight package or give it 2 business letter turns, and set it back in the container.
37
Oil the surface again, cover, and mark where double the height of the dough would now be.
38
Allow the dough to rise until doubled, about 1 hour.
39
Shape the dough, encrust it with almonds, and let it rise.
40
Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured counter and press down on it gently to flatten it slightly.
41
Round the dough into a 4 1/2" ball and lightly spray or brush the surface with water.
42
Scatter the almonds on a counter.
43
Roll the ball of dough in the almonds to cover it completely, pressing the nuts into the dough.
44
The loaf will measure 5" by 1 1/2" high.
45
Place it on the baking sheet or the La Cloche base.
46
Cover it with a large container, or cover loosely with oiled plastic wrap.
47
Let the dough rise until doubled, about 1 hour to 1 hour and 15 minutes.
48
Preheat the oven. Preheat the oven to 425F, or 45F if using La
49
Cloche, 1 hour before baking.
50
Have an oven shelf at the lowest level and place an oven stone or baking sheet on before preheating.
51
If using La Cloche, preheat the dome along with the oven.
52
Bake the bread.
53
If using La Cloche, carefully place the hot dome onto the base and quickly but gently set it on the hot stone or hot baking sheet.
54
Bake for 10 minutes.
55
Bake for 5 minutes.
56
Halfway through baking, turn the pan around for even baking.
57
Glaze the bread.
58
Meanwhile, in a small saucepan, mix the apricot jelly and water together.
59
Bring to a boil and simmer for 1 to 2 minutes, stirring constantly.
60
With a spoon, press the preserves through a strainer to make a smooth glaze.
61
When the bread is done, remove it from the oven and brush It with the hot apricot glaze.
62
Return it to the oven for 1 minute to set the glaze.
63
Cool the bread. Remove the bread from the oven and transfer it to a wire rack to cool completely.
64
For the best flavor development, in Step 2, allow the sponge to ferment for 1 hour at room temperature, then refrigerate it for 8 to 24 hours.
65
If using the hand mixing method, remove it from the refrigerator about 1 hour before mixing the dough.
66
Lean Meat; 0 Fruit; 2 1/2 Fat; 0 Other Carbohydrates.
67
Cambozola blue and Saga blue.
68
The crumb is dense and studded with chopped almond and dried figs, with one whole fig implanted right in the center, which, when cut, resembles a heart.
69
Dough Starter (Sponge): minimum 1 hour, maximum 24 hours
70
Minimum Rising Time: about 3 1/2 hours
71
Baking Time: 40 to 45 minutes
72
They are easier to chop than whole almonds, which also work well.
73
If unblanched, meaning the nuts still have their brown skin, they add a little more flavor.
74
Flour: 100% bread
75
Water: 54.5%
76
Yeast: 0.98%
77
Oil: 2.8
79
Calories 445 kcal
80
Protein 14 g
81
Sugar 12 g
82
Fiber 8 g
83
Total Carbohydrate 59 g
84
Cholesterol 0 mg
85
Sodium 543 mg
86
Saturated Fat 3 g
87
Fat 19 gm
88
They also missed the hearty whole-grain breads of their homeland: dense, seedy breads, thinly sliced and spread with butter and eaten simply that way, or used for various sandwiches.
89
After several years of making a living working for various business firms, and having four children, they decided to start their own bakery: Esther's German Bakery.
90
Robert and Esther's ad. To be able to bake real German breads had been a dream of his, too.
91
Rudy is generous with the seeds.
92
He plops a pretzel, top side down, into a bowl of seeds so practically the entire surface gets coated.
93
Then reserve a few ounces of dough from your first batch of pretzel dough in a resealable plastic bag and refrigerate it for up to 3 days, ready to add to your dough the next time.
94
If you don't plan on making pretzels anytime soon after your first foray, you can freeze the reserved dough for up to 1 month.
95
Thaw it overnight in the refrigerator.
96
4 cups cool tap water
97
To make the dough, sprinkle the yeast into the 4 or 6 tablespoons warm water in a small bowl or cup.
98
Stir well and let stand until the yeast is dissolved, about 10 minutes.
99
Add the barley malt syrup, if using.
100
In the bowl of a heavy-duty stand mixer, stir together both flour, the salt, and malt powder.
101
Add the butter.
102
Attach the flat beater and mix on low speed for 3 to 5 minutes, until the butter is in very tiny pieces and thoroughly incorporated into the flour.
103
Add the dissolved yeast and cool water and mix for a few seconds, until the dough masses onto the beater.
104
Cover the bowl with a kitchen towel and let the dough rest for 10 minutes.
105
Switch to the dough hook.
106
When it looks as if it will mass around the hook, reduce the speed to low and knead the dough for about 8 minutes, until it is smooth and elastic and feels quite firm; it will not be at all sticky.
107
Remove the dough from the mixer and knead it briefly on your work surface to feel its suppleness and firmness.
108
Cover tightly with plastic wrap and allow the dough to rise until it has doubled in size, 1 1/2 to 2 hours.
109
When you press a finger into the dough and withdraw it, the depression should remain.
110
Knead briefly.
111
Divide the dough into twelve 3-ounce portions with a bench scraper or sharp knife.
112
Reserve the extra dough in a resealable plastic bag and refrigerate or freeze it to use in your next batch of pretzels.
113
Roll each portion of dough into a ball and set the balls slightly apart on your work surface.
114
Cover them with a kitchen towel and let the dough rest for 15 to 30 minutes.
115
To shape the pretzels, roll a ball of dough under your palms on an unfloured surface, preferably wood, until it is about 23 inches long, with a fat middle, almost 1 inch thick, that gradually tapers to a thickness of about 1/8 inch at both ends.
116
If the dough resists and retracts, set it aside, covered with a kitchen towel, and work on another piece of dough.
117
When the dough is the proper shape and length, keep your hands on the end for 2 to 3 seconds, just to hold the dough in its stretched position briefly, then lift the dough by its ends, give it a quick twist in the air, and set it down on your countertop.
118
If you don't want to bother with these aerial gyrations, simply twist the pretzel into its proper shape on your countertop.
119
Set the pretzel on one of the prepared sheets.
120
Shape the remaining pretzels, placing 6 on each sheets, spacing them about 2 inches apart.
121
Cover the pretzels loosely with kitchen towels and let them rise for about 30 minutes, just until they've increased in size by about half.
122
If in doubt, err on the side of underrising.
123
When the pretzels have risen, place the pans in the freezer for 1 hour to firm the pretzels and make them easy to handle.
124
Put the coarse salt or the seeds in a small bowl large enough to contain a pretzel (or several small bowls if using more than one type of seeds).
125
Remove the pretzel from the freezer.
126
They should be completely covered by the liquid.
127
After 15 seconds, lift a pretzel out of the bath and let the excess liquid drain back into the bath.
128
If salting the pretzel, set it back on the parchment-lined baking sheet top side up and sprinkle lightly with coarse salt.
129
If coating with seeds, drop the dipped pretzel into the seeds, top side down, then lift the coated pretzel out of the seeds and replace it seed side up on its baking sheet.
130
Continue in this way until all the pretzels are dipped and salted or seeded.
131
During baking, the slash expands, giving the pretzels a light-colored center.
132
To slash the pretzels, let the dipped pretzels stand at room temperature for 10 to 15 minutes, just to soften them slightly making them easy to cut.
133
With one hand (gloved if the pretzels were dipped in lye) holding the pretzel in place, and the other holding a razor blade, make a deep cut into the side of each pretzel in a sweeping motion (you need not work swiftly).
134
Make the cut in an arc and go into the dough a good 1/4 inch or more.
135
Let the pretzels stand at room temperature until they are completely thawed, about 1 hour.
136
Adjust two oven racks to divide the oven into thirds and preheat the oven to 450°F.
137
Put the pans in the oven and bake for 5 minutes.
138
Reduce the heat to 425°F and bake 5 minutes more.
139
Open the oven door and quickly rotate the pans top to bottom and back to front, then continue baking for about 8 minutes more, until the pretzels are well browned and cooked through.
140
Remove the pans from the oven and immediately, with pot holders, peel the pretzels off the parchment and set them on wire cooling racks.
141
Cool completely before serving.
142
To dispose of the lye bath safely, add an equal volume of distilled white vinegar to the lye to neutralize it, and flush it down the toilet.
144
Calories 322 kcal
145
Calcium 6 % daily value
146
Vitamin C 1 % daily value
147
Vitamin A 1 % daily value
148
Potassium 250 mg
149
Magnesium 79 mg
150
Protein 10 g
151
Sugar 7 g
152
Fiber 2 g
153
Total Carbohydrate 49 g
154
Cholesterol 11 mg
155
Sodium 940 mg
156
Saturated Fat 3 g
157
Fat 10 g
158
Iron 17 % daily value

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