Tuesday with Dorie: White Loaves

I have been looking forward to baking along with Tuesdays with Dorie ever since I heard rumors that they were starting another book of Dorie Greenspan's, called Baking with Julia. The added bonus of being able to bake along with Julia was icing on the cake. Dorie compiled recipes from Julia Child's PBS series in this book. The first selection for our bake along is White Loaves by contributing baker, Craig Kominiak.

I haven't made bread in the longest time, and never in a standing mixer, so I was a little nervous about making this as an introduction to the group. I decided to use bread flour because I had never used it before and really like the texture it gives the loaves.

Mixing the dough in the stand mixer really gave it a work out, but I was glad that I didn't have to do that part by hand even though I did stop it a little early so I could get my hands in it and knead it for a bit. Kneading dough is so relaxing and I love the feel of the smooth dough in my hands. The first rise for my dough was about 1 hour. I wrapped the bowl in plastic wrap and put it in the love seat in the family room and wrapped it in blankets. This is how my grandmother always made bread. You had to be careful when sitting on this one chair in the living room that she always used to let her bread rise in. We got into the habit of checking the chair first before plopping down into it. 

When it came time to shape the dough for the second rise, I used my Misto spray pump to put the olive oil in and it worked like a charm to spray the oil onto the saran wrap that I used to cover the loaf pans.

My second rise took longer than the 45 minutes the recipe said - it took 1 hour and 45 minutes - probably because my house is usually between 69 and 70 degrees in the winter and even with the extra blankets wrapped carefully around the loaves it took awhile for them to rise and they never did grow over the top of the pans like the recipe said - perhaps my first rise didn't rise enough.

When I took them out of the oven they were beautifully golden. I liked the tip of taking them out of the pan and inserting the thermometer into the bottom of the loaf. Mine were at 200 degrees in 35 minutes in my oven.

It was hard to let them cool before cutting into them because the kitchen was filled with the smell of freshly baked bread. There is just nothing like that smell! Once cooled, I took the loaves outside, along with some butter and jam, and cut a few pieces. We couldn't stop eating it! We used the bread for sandwiches and it was also good toasted. The bread was delicious no matter how we ate it. 

I want to thank Laurie and Julie for continuing Tuesdays with Dorie and choosing another great book to bake from. You can see the loaves they made on their blogs, slush and Someone's in the Kitchen. Julie's blog, Someone's in the Kitchen, also has the white loaves recipe. I am looking forward to seeing their loaves as well as the other bakers over at Tuesdays with Dorie.