Rundstykker version II

Rundstykker

Rundstykker is a classic breakfast roll sold at all baker's shops in Denmark. In my family we had rundstykker on Saturday or Sunday morning. We would walk or bike to our local baker's shop down the street. Most weekends there would be a long line of people waiting in line for the breakfast rolls and newspaper. The last 10-12 years the baker's shops are more rare. Most grocery stores and gas stations sell cheap bake-off bread. (Bake-off bread: Half baked bread from big bread producers, finished off in the small stores.) People will still line up for good quality bread from the good baker's shops. 

I finally got the crumb right for these rundstykker. The crust is almost right, if you eat the bread not yet cooled completely, you'll have a nice crisp crust, like it should be. In my family we do like the warm rolls, and it is hard to resist the smell of freshly baked bread. 

Makes 8 rolls.

Ingredients:

• 3 g live yeast, or 1 g dry yeast

• 300 ml water, finger warm

• 25 ml milk

• 10 g salt

• 450 g all-purpose flour

• poppy seeds for sprinkling

Directions:

Dissolve the yeast in the water in  a large plastic bowl. I used a dough-rising bucket. 

Mix the rest of the ingredients in. You just have to mix the dough until all the flour is wet. Let the dough ferment in the bucket, lid on, on the kitchen counter over night or 7-10 hours.

Gently pour the dough onto a well floured surface. Fold the somewhat wet dough into it self until the surface is firmed up, and the surface got a good tension. Divide the dough in 8 (about 100 g pr roll), roll the dough into a round ball, brush the dough with water and dip it in poppy seeds. Place the rolls on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper.

Let the rolls rise for 30-60 minutes, loosely covered with plastic wrap. I raised my rolls in my oven on the proof-setting.

Preheat the oven to 450℉ (230℃).

Place the rolls on the lower rack in the oven. Splash about ¼ cup of water in the bottom of the oven, and close the oven quickly. You need the steam to get the best oven spring and crust. Bake the rolls for about 22 minutes, until golden.

Let the rolls/rundstykker cool before serving.

Enjoy!

Cheese bread

Cheese bread

Bread and cheese two things I really love, so why not combine the two?

The vibrant color and the spiciness from the pepper makes this bread great served with food or served with cheese and charcuterie.

Makes 1 large loaf.

Ingredients:

• 50 g fresh yeast, or 4 teaspoons dry yeast
• 500 ml water, finger warm
• 150 g whole wheat flour
• 625 g all-purpose flour
• 12 g sea salt
• 200 g sharp cheddar, grated
• 50 g sun-dried tomatoes
• 5 g (1-2 teaspoons) pink peppercorns, crushed
• 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
• egg for brushing

Directions:

Dissolve the yeast in the water, mix in whole wheat flour and 525 g of the all-purpose flour, until fully incorporated. Let the mixture rest for 15-20 minutes to hydrate the flour, (autolyse). 

Mix in the rest of the ingredients, adding the rest of the flour a little at a time, you might not need it all. Knead the dough for about 7 minutes until you have a shiny elastic dough.

Let the dough rise for about an hour, until doubled in size. 

Preheat the oven to 500℉ (260℃), with a baking stone/pizza stone inside.

Divide the dough in two, and roll it into two logs. Twist the logs and form a circle on a piece of parchment paper. Let the dough rise for another 20-30 minutes. Brush the bread some beaten egg, before baking.

Slide the parchment paper and the unbaked bread onto the baking stone. Lower the heat to 475℉ (245℃) and bake for 20-25 minutes until dark golden brown, and fully baked. 

Enjoy!

Birkes - a Breakfast Roll (Pastry)

Birkes - a Breakfast Roll

Birkes is a great pastry but without the sweetness. Birkes taste great warm with a slice of Havarti  or fontina cheese.

How to get warm birkes for your breakfat or brunch: Make the dough a day in advance and freeze the birkes when they are ready to put in the oven. Next morning, place the still frozen birkes on a parchment lined baking sheet and bake for 18-20 minutes in a preheated oven. 

Makes 12-15

Ingredients:

Dough:

• 100 g butter, cold
• 500 g all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 2 tablespoons sugar
• 50 g fresh compressed yeast (or 4 teaspoons dry yeast)
• 300 ml milk

Filling: 

• 100-125 g butter

Sprinkles:

• egg wash (1 egg +2 tablespoons milk)
• poppy seeds

Directions:

In a large bowl mix the cold butter with the flour, sugar and salt until the butter is fully incorporated. 

Heat the milk until finger warm and dissolve the yeast in the milk. Add the warm milk to the flour and knead the dough for 5 minutes on the stand mixer, until the dough is smooth and elastic. Let the dough rise covered for about 30 minutes at room temperature.

Gently ease the dough out onto a lightly floured surface. Roll the dough into a rectangle, the size is not important. Place thin slices of butter on ⅔ of the dough, leaving ⅓ bare. Fold the part without butter over half of the buttered dough, and fold the last ⅓ over like you are folding a letter. Like as in a puff pastry dough.

Let the dough rest for about 10 minutes in the refrigerator, before rolling the dough to a thin rectangle again, and making another letter fold. 

Preheat the oven to 435℉ (225℃).

Roll the now laminated dough a little longer, so you are able to get 12-15, 2-inch (5 cm) wide pieces. Gently place the birkes on a parchment lined baking sheet. Let the birkes rest 10 minutes covered.   

Brush the birkes with egg wash, and sprinkle with white poppy seeds, and bake them for 15-18 minutes. Cool the birkes for a little while, and serve them warm.

Enjoy!

Smørbirkes - Poppy Seed Roll

Smørbirkes - Poppy Seed Roll

Smørbirkes or poppy seed rolls is a classic roll found at most bake shops in the eastern part of Denmark. In Jutland a smørbirkes is a completely different thing.

The rolls are much like a brioche, just without the eggs. It's sweet and soft and pairs perfect with butter, jam and cheese.

Makes 15-18

Ingredients:

Dough:

• 100 g butter, cold

• 500 g all-purpose flour

• 1 teaspoon salt

• 2 tablespoons sugar

• 50 g fresh compressed yeast (or 4 teaspoons dry yeast)

• 300 ml milk

Sprinkles:

• egg wash (1 egg +2 tablespoons milk)

• poppy seeds

Directions:

In a large bowl mix the cold butter with the flour, sugar and salt until the butter is fully incorporated. 

Heat the milk until finger warm and dissolve the yeast in the milk. Add the warm milk to the flour and knead the dough for 5 minutes on the stand mixer, until the dough is smooth and elastic. Let the dough rise covered for about 30 minutes at room temperature.

Preheat the oven to 435℉ (225℃).

Gently ease the dough out onto a lightly floured surface. Divide the dough in 15-18 balls, even in size. Roll the ball to a 9-inch (22 cm) log. Using a rolling pin, roll the log longer and flat. Fold dough piece in half, and place it on a parchment paper lined baking sheet. Repeat with the rest of the balls. 

Let the smørbirkes rise covered for 10 minutes.

Brush the top part of the smørbirkes with egg wash and sprinkle with a nice layer of poppy seeds.

Bake the smørbirkes for 12-15 minutes until golden brown.

Let the smørbirkes cool on a wire rack and serve them freshly baked, or slightly reheated next day.

Enjoy!

Overnight Levain Bread

Overnight Levain Bread

I don't think this is a secret: I love to bake bread, and I love sourdough breads, as long as they are not overly tangy. A really sour sourdough bread is not worth the calories, in my opinion. But this bread I could eat every day.

I previously made Basic Country Bread a la Tartine, and it is hands down the best bread I have ever had. The only thing, I would love to be able to make the it with less wait time. This overnight bread is less work, and it is almost as good as the Tartine bread.

The rye flour and the dark bake of the bread, added great flavor to the bread. The crust was nice and crispy while the crumb had a great chewiness. Overall it is a great bread, close to perfection.  

Makes 2 loafs.

Ingredients:

Levain:

• 200 g water, 85-90℉/29-32℃
• 50 g mature, active levain (The one you keep in the refrigerator, and recently fed.)
• 200 g all-purpose flour
• 50 g whole wheat flour

Dough:

• 705 g all-purpose flour
• 125 g whole wheat
• 50 g dark rye flour
• 685 g water, 90-95℉/32/35℃
• 22 g sea salt 
• 220 g levain

Equipment:

• scale
• bowls (I use a plastic dough-rising bucket for the bulk fermenting)
• thermometer
• rubber spatula
• bench knife
• bread baskets for rising
• razor blade or matfer lame
• dutch/french oven

Directions:

You need to have a newly fed levain, mine was fed 2 days before starting this bread.

Day 1, morning:

Mix all the ingredients for the levain in a medium bowl. Mix it well so you don't have any lumps of dry flour. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap or a plate and let it rest on the counter for 7-9 hours. You can test the leaven's readiness, by dropping a spoonful into a cup of room-temperature water. If it sinks, it is not ready and needs more time to ferment and ripen. If it floats, it is ready to use. 

Day 1, afternoon (5-6 p.m.):

In a large bowl (I used the one for my stand mixer), combine the flours and the water, making sure not to have any dry flour. Let the mixture rest for about 25 minutes. This process is called autolyse, and basically helps activate the enzymes in the flour, and helps improve development of the gluten structure in the dough. 

Sprinkle the salt on top of the flour mixture. Add the 220 g levain and knead it for 3 minutes in the stand mixer. The dough will be on the wetter side, but will be elastic.

Transfer the dough to a  a plastic bucket, with a lid for the bulk fermentation. Let the dough rest for about 30 minutes, at room temperature.

Folds: 

You need to do about 2-3 folds during the bulk fermentation. To do a fold, dip your hand in water to prevent the dough from sticking. Grab the underside of the dough, stretch it out, and fold it back over itself. Rotate container one-quarter turn, and repeat. Do this 2 or 3 times for each fold.

After the first fold, place the dough in the refrigerator. Do another 2 folds before heading to bed.

Day 2, early morning:

Take the dough out of the refrigerator, and let it rest in the plastic bucket for about an hour. Gently ease the dough out of the bucket, onto a lightly floured surface. Cut the dough into two even parts.

Working with the dough you want to incorporate as little flour as possible. Work each piece into a round using scraper and 1 hand.  Build the tension by with the dough slightly anchoring to the surface as you rotate it. By the end, the dough should have a tight, smooth surface. Dust tops of rounds with flour, cover with a tea towel, and let rest on the work surface for 20 to 30 minutes. During this stage, (bench rest), each round will relax and spread into a thick pancake shape. The edges should appear fat and rounded, not flat or "dripping" of the edge. If the dough is flat or the dough is spreading too much, the dough has not developed enough strength during the bulk fermentation. And you need to re-shape the dough into a round for a second time and let it sit to rest covered once more.

Shaping the bread:

Be careful not to deflate the dough during this process. This final shaping builds up tension inside each loaf, so it holds it's form and rises substantially when baked. This is called "oven spring."

Fold the third of the dough closest to you up and over the middle third of the round. Stretch out the dough horizontally to your right and fold this right third over the center. Stretch the dough to your left and fold this third over the previous fold. Finally grab the dough farthest from you and fold this flap toward you and wrap it up and over, while rolling the whole dough package away from you, that the smooth underside of the loaf now is on the top and all the seams are on the bottom. Let the shaped loaf rest on the counter for a minute. Fold the other loaf the same way.

Line 2 baskets with clean tea towels; generously dust with flour. Using the dough scraper, transfer each round to a basket, smooth side down, with seam centered and facing up. Let rest at room temperature (75℉ to 80℉), covered with towels for 3 to 4 hours before baking, this will be the proofing of the  bread.

Baking the bread:

About 45 minutes before you are ready to bake the bread, preheat oven with the dutch/french oven to 500℉ (260℃), with rack in lowest position.

Flip one bread into heated dutch/french oven. Score top twice using a razor blade matfer lame. Cover with lid. Return to oven, and reduce oven temperature to 450℉ (230℃). Bake for 20 minutes.

Carefully remove lid and continue to bake until crust is deep golden brown, 20 to 25 minutes more.

Transfer loaf to a wire rack. It will feel light and sound hollow when tapped. Let cool.

To bake the second loaf, raise oven temperature to 500℉ (260℃), wipe out dutch/french oven with a dry kitchen towel, and reheat with lid for 10 minutes before baking.

Enjoy!