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Saturday, November 24, 2007

Smokin' in the Baker's Hood

It's another fabulous challenge in the Daring Baker's hood and things were smokin' at my house.

This month's challenge was hosted by the amazing Tanna from My Kitchen in Half Cups. You can check out the recipe here of Tender Potato Bread. She also has a short clip of kneading the dough which is a great guide for bread baking newbies.

Round 1
I love these challenges and I play with them, much much more than is really wise. The first time I made the potato bread, I absolutely loved it. My downfall was my over confident attitude. Since I make a lot of bread I was very laid back.

The cooked potatoes were put through a ricer and immediately mixed with the hot cooking water. They dissolved to make a smooth consistent loaf. I flavoured the loaf with about two teaspoons of dried dill. The dough was quite sticky so I kneaded the dough directly in my huge stainless steel bowl until it was more firm, then I tranferred it to the counter top.

The rising, falling and shaping of the dough went without a hitch. Then I cooked it.

The top of the focaccia wasn’t very brown so I decided to play with my blowtorch. This is a new toy and oh so impressive in the eyes of my teenage son...

You can see this going wrong on so many levels…

The blowtorch took forever so I put it back in the oven to grill the top for a few minutes. Fast forward a few minutes and I’m yakking on the phone with a friend, my kitchen is full of kids and … is that burning I smell?!

I snatched the bread from the maw of my smokin’ hot oven and sent some over to my friend. Just so she could appreciate the depth and meaning of my shrieking at her over the phone.Round 2
I flavoured the bread with dill and caraway. The riced potatoes were mixed with the cooking water when it was cooler so there were little potato chunks in the bread. No problems. I stayed away from the phone.Round 3
Flavoured with just dill, used riced potatoes and rutabaga. No problems. I stayed away from the phone and watched Desperate Housewives instead.

32 comments:

glamah16 said...

The dill and caraway sounds good.

Megan said...

I like the idea of flavoring it with dill. Your idea is why I love the Daring Bakers. Next time, dill it is!

Nikki57 said...

Whew, it's good to know I'm not the only one who burns things because I forget that I was baking :)

Round two looks delicious!

zorra said...

Watching Desperate Housewives during baking would be dangerous for my bread! ;-)

Deborah said...

I can tell I'm going to love reading all of the posts because of how different all of the versions are going to be! I love the sound of the dill. And yeah, I have to practically sit in front of my oven so that I don't burn things!!

Rachel said...

Hey inspite of that, the breads still look lovely! Only the focaccia looks a wee bit burnt! was it?

April said...

Your bread looks great!

Anonymous said...

I can't stop laughing over your blowtorch! Man, you know how to LIVE!

And your bread is lovely too.

Barbara said...

Interesting use of the blow torch. I bought one recently but haven't used it yet. I'm glad you were happy with your first batch. It all looks good to me.

BC said...

Yes, the focaccia is a bit burnt or fragrantly smoked as I like to call it.

I love my blowtorch. I haven't successfully used it but we've set a few little things on fire. Oh man, is it fun!

breadchick said...

Great post! I love how your little rolls turned out and dill is a wonderful idea. Good job on this month's challenge.

Gabi said...

Distraction is just another spelling for disaster in my kitchen too :)
The blowtorch is an interesting idea...sounds fun.
Your bread turned out great in the pics!
xoxo

Anonymous said...

I love the idea of adding dill and caraway! And hey, I don't think that first batch was burnt...it was just pre-toasted!

Lisa K said...

I love dill! I should try that next.

Peabody said...

Ha, ha...how many times have I done the talk on the phone and forget about what is in the oven...oh my.
Round 2 seemed much better.

MyKitchenInHalfCups said...

Well, BC, between Desperate Housewives and the blow torch I'm glad to see you got some good bread out of it! Wish I had a bit right now.

T’s Treats said...

HEHE...baking and phones are evil..pure evil!!! Your breads look lovely though, glad your round of desperate housewives had better luck than the phone ;)

Gigi said...

great job on your bread!

Julius said...

What a hilarious post! :)

In spite of everything - the breads look good.


Julius from Occasional Baker

... said...

lovely breads and cool "torch" effect.

LizG said...

Smashing idea with the dill! I love the idea of using the blow torch. Hum...Foccacia flambé... :)

Helene said...

Well, talk about determination! Great DB spirit for pushing the envelope! Great job and great flavors!

the chocolate doctor מרת שאקאלאד said...

What a heroic recovery! very nicely done.

Julie said...

Oh wow, I would've loved to have seen some blowtorched bread, but the bread sticks and buns make me happy, too. I'm glad no homes were set ablaze in the making of this challenge!I love the idea of dill to flavor this bread!

Dolores said...

I'm intrigued by your addition of rutabaga. And I've learned my own lessons in staying away from the phone when the oven is on. :)

Robyn said...

well like they say three's a charm! It turned out great!

Bev and Ollie "O" said...

dill and caraway sounds like a lovely combination, bet they tasted really good! They certainly look good.

Fruit tart said...

Great post! The dill sounds tasty and your second round looks lovely. Rutabaga is an interesting addition.

Elle said...

Cool flavorings and awesome photo of blowtorched bread :) A little distraction is a dangerous thing. The rolls look great!

Christine said...

Great flavor combination. The crumb of your bread from the last picture looks excellent!

Christina ~ She Runs, She Eats

Jenny said...

LOL! Sounds like you had alot of fun, and definitely learned from this months' challenge! :-)

desie said...

i don't think i've had dill on bread nor caraway. sounds wonderful.