Table Bread - Restaurangakademiens Brod

Restaurant Academy Bread or

Restaurangakademiens Brod

This is a bread from the book "Swedish Breads and Pastries" by Jan Hedh.  It is an excellent book and I recommend you should check it out.  I made it last Sunday because we were having a blizzard and I didn't have anything else to do.  Here is the recipe to make two loaves.

2 cups water
3 tsp yeast
3-1/2 cups plus 2-1/2 tsp white flour
2 1/2 tsp sea salt

Dissolve yeast in water with a whisk, pour over the flour.  Add salt.  Knead at the highest possible in a machine until the dough loosens from the bowl, which can take 15-20 minutes.

I used the Kitchenaid mixer and a dough hook, I kneaded at the fastest speed I dared.  It took about 20 minutes and really sounded like the mixer might take off from the counter a do a few laps around the kitchen.

Transfer dough to a lightly oiled plastic container, cover and let rest for a hour.  gently place the dough on floured surface.  Divide in half and very gently shape two loaves on a baking tray.  Let them rise at room temperature for 1 hour.

I used a baking stone.  The point of being gentle is you really want to avoid breaking any bubbles in the dough.  I probably needed to knead it a little longer (or faster).  The dough was a little sticky so I lost some gas bubbles.

Preheat oven to 480 degrees.  Put the loaves into the oven and squirt some water in with a squirt bottle.

I put in about 1 tbs of water.  The water steams up and simulates the humidity in a wood fired brick oven. 

Bake for 10 minutes then turn the heat to 400 degrees and bake for another 30 minutes.  Let the loaves cool on a rack.

This bread was really, really good.  It had a delicious crispy crust and a sturdy, chewy crumb.  I  enjoy baking these different breads, or changing my old recipes to see what I can make.  It's like a cool, edible chemistry lab.

By Dad