Black Magic bread
Black bread trend is for long time on the market (and I do not think about whole grain flour but black color bread) and in my holiday I decided to try to bake the same black beauty. There are two ways to get black color bread: with squid ink or with active carbon. It is almost impossible to find squid ink in my small town Vinkovci, but I also read it can give specific taste to the bread, so I decided to use active carbon. It is not dangerous for your health if you are using it in small quantities. It is also without smell and taste, had only function to color bread, pasta, etc. I bought active carbon at the pharmacy, as powder. I did put 1 and a half tea spoon but I believe only one would be enough. I usually bake without measuring every single gram of ingredients, I just follow my favorite color and taste. And, at the end, to give little bit of kick, I add some cayenne pepper…..nice color and interesting taste at the second bite!
At first I wanted to bake mini burger buns, but because it was spring and the right time for little cuties – bruschetta
Ingredients:
150 g buckwheat flour
150 g white flour
1 tea spoon active carbon
½ dried yeast
1 tea spoon of sugar
Little bit of salt and pepper
1 small spoon cayenne pepper
150-170 ml lukewarm water
50 ml olive oil
Mix all dry ingredients, add olive oil and knead medium hard dough with lukewarm water.
Let it rise in a warm place for one hour. After that place bread dough on the baking tray, let it rise for half an hour and before baking coat with salted water. Sprinkle with white sesame or some other seeds.
Bake in preheated oven 200 C for about 20 minutes, then additional 10 minutes on 180 C (depends on oven). After baking, transfer bread on the rack to cool down.
Chestnut bread
I love Chestnut, baked, cooked, as dessert, ice-cream and I was thrilled to see chestnut flour at the shop. It is not easy to find it, but you can usually buy it at the bio shop, which does not surprise because it is gluten free flour. Chestnut flour is pretty hard to work with and has to be mixed with other flours. I mixed it with whole grain flour (50:50), although advice is to use less chestnut and more other flour (that you can knead better and that bread do not crumble too much). But I could not resist magic smell of chestnut and I did it my way.
And before I even kneaded this bread, I had feeling that I already smell fresh baked bread with irresistible chestnut smell, crispy crust and soft inside. To bring even more this magic smell, I add some honey and toasted walnuts. With 300g flour (150g chestnut and 150g whole grain flour) I used approximately 150-170ml lukewarm water and ½ dried yeast. While kneading, do not be discouraged with this not really compact dough that you cannot knead as any other bread. I did knead with my hands for only short time and I let it rise for several hours at the warm place.
Final result, baked chestnut bread, did literary took my breath away! I made long bread like baguette, that need to be, straight after baking, very carefully (because it could be broken easily) placed on the rack to cool down. But, it is worth every slowly move once you smell this sweet chestnut magic all around your house.
Straight away I had idea to prepare bruschette with this aromatic, slightly sweet bread… with melon and ham, maybe little bit of finely chopped walnuts with honey? Well, let’s start with bread….
Ingredients:
150g chestnut flour
150g whole grain flour
½ dried yeast
1 tea spoon brown sugar
2 soup spoon honey
50ml brown butter
150-170ml lukewarm water
1 handful toasted walnuts, finely chopped
Little bit of salt
Mix all dry ingredients, honey, butter together and knead medium hard dough with lukewarm water. At the end add toasted and chopped walnuts and let it rise in a warm place for two hours (it is not going to rise like bread from white or any other flour, but it is not necessary), then I did knead shortly again and I let it rise for additional two hours.
After that place bread dough on the baking tray, let it rise for half an hour and before baking coat with salted water. Bake in preheated oven 200 C for about 20 minutes, then additional 10 minutes on 180 C (depends on oven).
After baking, transfer bread on the rack to cool down.
Mediterranean bread
I like fresh spices like parsley, rosemary, basil, thyme, mint and my favorite bread is the one with one or more spices. This time I baked Mediterranean bread with whole grain flour, olive oil, finely chopped rosemary and thyme, as well as semi dried tomatoes.
And I can eat it whole only with homemade olive oil from my olive oil dealer, dear friend and early morning bird Mariana.
Ingredients:
300 g whole grain flour
½ dried yeast
Little bit of salt, pepper and sugar
50 ml olive oil
150-170 ml lukewarm water
1 tea spoon finely chopped rosemary
1 tea spoon finely chopped thyme
10 finely chopped semi dried tomatoes
Mix all dry ingredients together and knead medium hard dough with lukewarm water. At the end add semi dried tomatoes and let it rise in a warm place for one hour.
After that place bread dough on the baking tray, let it rise for half an hour, before baking coat with salted water. Bake in preheated oven 200 C for about 20 minutes, then additional 10 minutes on 180 C (depends on oven).
After baking, transfer bread on the rack to cool down.
– Croatian version-
Black Magic kruh
Trend crnog kruha (pri tome ne mislim na kruh od crnog brašna, već kruh crne boje) traje već duže vrijeme, pa tako mu ni ja nisam odoljela. Dva su najčešća načina dobivanja crne boje: sa sipinim crnilom i s aktivnim ugljenom. Sipino crnilo naći u Vinkovcima je teško, ali sam pročitala da se može osjetiti u kruhu specifičan okus pa sam se odlučila na aktivni ugljen koji je bezopasan za zdravlje u malim količinama, a kako je bez okusa i mirisa, ne mijenja okus kruha i ima isključivo funkciju bojanja. Kupila sam aktivni ugljen u apoteci, ima konzistenciju sitnijih granula te sam ga prosijala kroz cjedilo. Otprilike sam stavila žličicu i pol, iako vjerujem da bi i samo jedna žlićica (za kavu) bila dovoljna. Kako sam na VI s vagom kada radim s brašnom jer radim po okusu i intenzitetu boje, jednostavno pokušajte s jednom žličicom na ovu količinu brašna. A da kruh ne ostane jednoličnog i dosadnog okusa, dodala sam kajenski papar koji je dao, pored posebne boje, i malo zanimljiviji okus na drugi griz J!
Prvo sam htjela oblikovati mini peciva za burgere, ali kako sam istovremeno pekla kruh od kestenovog brašna i mediteranski kruh, odlučila sam ispeći i jedan crni kruhčić te napraviti zanimljive bruschette…pa krenimo redom.
Potrebno:
150 g heljdinog bršna
150 g bijelog brašna
Žličica i pol aktivnog ugljena, prosijanog
Pola vrećice kvasca
Žličica šećera
Malo soli i papra
Žličica kajenskog papra
150-170 ml mlake vode
50 ml maslinova ulja
Prosijati obje vrste brašna i dodati prosijani aktivni ugljen, sol, kvasac, šećer, papar, maslinovo ulje, kajenski papra te s mlakom vodom umijesi srednje mekano tijesto. Prekriti folijom i krpom te ostaviti na toplom mjestu da se volumen udvostruči.
Oblikovati kruhčić, ostaviti pola sata da se diže u modli za pečenje, prije pečenja premazati slanom vodom. Po želji posipati sezamom ili nekim drugim sjemenkama.
Peći na 200 C prvih 20 minuta, a potom smanjiti temperaturu na 180 C i peći još 10 minuta (temperatura i vrijeme pećenja ovisi o pećnici). Nakon pečenja pažljivo prebaciti kruh na žicu za hlađenje.
Kestenov kruh
Obožavam kestene..pečene, kuhane, u kolačima, sladoled od kestena….i baš sam se obradovala kada sam na policama trgovine u Münchenu vidjela brašno od kestena. Nije ga lako naći, ali u pravilu ga ima u dućanima zdrave prehrane. Nije ni čudo jer se radi o brašnu bez glutena. Kestenovo brašno je prilično teško za raditi pa se u pečenju miješa s drugim brašnima. Ja sam ga miješala s crnim brašnom i to u omjeru 50:50 (iako se savjetuje, radi lakše obrade i manje mrvljenja, da se koristi manji udio kestenova brašna, ali ja nisam mogla odoljeti čarobnom mirisu kestena pa sam radila po svome).
I prije nego sam umijesila kruh već sam osjećala miris svježe pečenog kruha s neodoljivim mirisom kestena, hrskave kore i mekane unutrašnjosti. Pa da još malo pojačam okus, dodala sam meda i blago preprženih oraha. Na 300g brašna (150g crnog i 150g kestenovog) koristila sam između 150-170ml tople vode i pola vrećice kvasca. Kod miješenja neka vas ne obeshrabri prilično kompaktna smjesa koja se neda mijesiti kao uobičajena brašna, ja sam mijesila kratko rukom i ostavila na toplom da se diže nekoliko sati. Malo je reći da me konačni rezultat i više nego obradovao. Oblikovala sam duži kruhčić (poput baguette) kojeg je nakon pečenja potrebno pažljivo premjestiti na žicu za hlađenje jer se lako lomi, ali što je to pored bajnog okusa i mirisa koji se širio kućom.
Odmah mi je sinula ideja pripremiti bruschette s ovim aromatičnim kruhom slatkastog okusa… uz dinju i sušenu, tanko rezanu šunku…možda malo sitno rezanih oraha u medu? Pa krenimo…
Potrebno:
150g kestenovog brašna
150g crnog brašna
½ vrećice kvasca
žličica smeđeg šećera
2 jušne žlice meda
50ml smeđeg maslaca
150-170ml mlake vode
1 šaka preprženih oraha, sitno narezanih
malo soli
Pomiješati i prosijati obje vrste brašna. Dodati kvasac, sol, šećer, med, maslac i s mlakom vodom zamijesiti tijesto. Pred kraj umijesi orahe, prekrij smjesu folijom i krpom te ostaviti na toplom da odmori (neće se udvostručiti kao kod uobičajenih vrsta brašna, ali nije ni potrebno). Ja sam ga nakon dva sata premijesila i ostavila još dva sata da se diže.
Oblikovati kruhčić, ostaviti pola sata da se diže u modli za pečenje, a prije pečenja premazati slanom vodom.
Peći na 200 C prvih 20 minuta, a potom smanjiti temperaturu na 180 C i peći još 10 minuta (temperatura i vrijeme pećenja ovisi o pećnici). Nakon pečenja pažljivo prebaciti kruh na žicu za hlađenje.
Mediteranski kruh
Obožavam svježe začine, peršin, ružmarin, bosiljak, timijan, mentu i među najdražim kruhovima su mi upravo ti sa začinima. Ovaj put ispekla sam mediteranski kruh, od crnog brašna s dodatkom sitno sjeckanog svježeg ružmarina i timijana te sušenih rajčica uz neizostavno maslinovo ulje. I najradije bih ga cijelog pojela toplog uz samo jedan dodatak – domaće maslinovo ulje s Korčule od moje Mariane.
Potrebno:
300 g crnog brašna, prosijano
½ vrećice kvasca
malo soli i bibera
žličica šećera
50 ml maslinova ulja
150-170 ml mlake vode
žličica sitno rezanog ružmarina
žličica sitno rezanog timijana
10 sitno rezanih polusušenih rajčica
Brašno prosijati te dodati šećer, kvasac, sol, svježe začine, maslinovo ulje te s mlakom vodom umijesiti mekano tijesto. Pri samom kraju miješenja dodati sitno sjeckane polusušene rajčice. Prekriti folijom i krpom te ostaviti na toplome da se udvostruči.
Oblikovat kruhčić, ostaviti pola sata da se diže u modli za pečenje, prije pečenja premazati slanom vodom.
Peći na 200 C prvih 20 minuta, a potom smanjiti temperaturu na 180 C i peći još 10 minuta (temperatura i vrijeme pećenja ovisi o pećnici). Nakon pečenja pažljivo prebaciti kruh na žicu za hlađenje.
