'Fiona' plaited enriched ww spelt with scald
Edited to change the photo to 'Fiona ii' with an improved plait and glaze.
My 10-yr-old neighbor came over today to learn to bake bread. I was very surprised at her kneading skills, developed by making 'slime' at home. We made a sandwich loaf, an enriched plaited loaf, and a crusty batard.
This is the plaited loaf, which she christened Fiona. It is the Laurels Kitchen Loaf For Learning made with fresh-milled spelt.
The only change to the dough is, instead of the two tablespoons of oil we made a milk and honey scald, and after the dough was fully kneaded we kneaded in the scald along with 4 tablespoons of butter. And by 'we' I mean she did, because she did all the kneading for all three loaves, by hand.
The bulk proof was about an hour and a half, the 2nd proof was about 35 minutes, and the final proof after plaiting was about 20 minutes.
We washed it with a mix of egg white, water, and honey, but it wasn't as glossy as I wanted so next time I'd leave the water out.
Here are some crumb shots. It came out suuuuuper soft and fluffy, with a hint of tanginess balanced by a honey scent. This bread is spectacular. So tender and springy and delicious. I will definitely make it again.
Comments
That must have been so much fun to share your love of baking and skills with your neighbor. The loaf looks great and the formula sounds flavorful. For a shinier glaze I use a whole egg with a little water and salt. Let the glaze dry for a couple of minutes and apply again.
Happy baking,
Ian
Thanks for the glazing tip, Ian! Do you find that an egg scent comes through from the whole-egg glaze?
I love salt on bread but for this one I really wanted the focus to be on subtle sweetness and honey scent. I do want to start playing with toppings though, like sesame seeds and salt.
You don’t taste the egg. It just is used for a glaze. The salt is mixed with the egg and water and helps the glaze as well.
Glazed 2nd time around using a whole egg, with a little salt and little honey added. I didn't put any water though, so it went in a little thick in spots. It's definitely shinier than the last one!
Looks like success!
I like everything about this post, especially the part about kneading slime – cross-training 😄! The bread looks really, really good with a nice soft crumb. Good stuff all around.
Thank you for the comment! We were happy with this, especially since it was a last-minute idea to throw in a scald and a bunch of butter at the end of kneading. The two of us were a bit wild-eyed trying to figure out how to handle and plait the very floppy dough divisions. But for a first-ever effort at an enriched bread we were pretty happy. It doesn't look perfect but it's soooo yummy. And the scald means it is staying moist the next day! So nifty.
Very nice take on a plaited loaf, love that it is all whole spelt. So fun to work with your teenaged neighbour, she has great kneading skills and wonderful to share your love of baking bread with her.
I like to use an egg and milk wash, one egg, a pinch of salt and a bit of milk. The salt will break down some of the proteins in the egg while to loosen them up and the milk will also thin out the egg wash making it smoother to brush on your bread. When I use an egg wash like this, I don’t steam the bread.
There are other options of course, you can use water which can also give a nice shine to your crust if you have brushed off any excess flour from the dough. In that case you’d probably want to steam the bread. Cornstarch wash is another option as well that is often used with rye breads.
Benny