Ross's Maryland Bakery

Dave Zac · Post by **Dave Zac** » Sat Aug 03, 2013 00:32

Ross, you always hear " bake until the loaf sounds hollow". I have trouble with that. Any idea what the actual internal temperature is of that "hollow" bread is? 190?

ssorllih · Post by **ssorllih** » Sat Aug 03, 2013 00:36

Bread is certainly done @ 190 F. I often bake until just barely starting to color so that I can reheat or toast later .

ssorllih · Post by **ssorllih** » Sat Aug 03, 2013 15:24

I finished working for money before noon yesterday so when I came home I started small batch of bread. Just a half pound of flour. I made a plain bread but would have done better with the egg/milk/water combination for the liquid. This dough behaved as I wanted but was very hard. Anyway while the bread was becoming bread I thawed some frozen chopped spinach and grated some cheddar cheese about 1 cup maybe a bit more, I beat 2 eggs and added a tablespoonful of corn starch( the corn starch binds the stray water and keeps things from getting soggy) I stirred the cheese and the very carefully drained spinach (I squeezed it into a ball to wring the water out) and put the mixture back into the fridge. I chopped an onion and a bell pepper and set that aside. When it came time to put the show on the road I rolled the dough out thin like for a pizza and anointed one half with marinara sauce and then the spinach/egg/cheese mix. Then I laid salmon slices down for about a half pound and topped that with peel raw shrimp salted and peppered and topped with the onions and peppers. Then I folded the other half of the dough over the top and sealed the edge. I brushed the top with chopped tarragon and butter. Then I slid it from the cornmeal coated peel onto a cornmeal coated baking stone in a 425°F oven and baked it for 45 minutes It finished at 190°F internal temperature.
Nancy told me that I was going to have to make this many more times in order to get it perfect and she reminded me that perfection is an impossible goal but That I am to keep trying.
When next I make this I will include pictures.

Post by **Bob K** » Sat Aug 03, 2013 16:27

AS in a lot of things it goes by feel but here is a good guideline

internal crumb temperature just a "reasonable guide" to doneness

Start with the number 205F for "lean" breads or 195F for "sweet" breads . Add 5F if you like your bread "well done, almost dry", or subtract 5F if you like your bread "very moist".

Yes, crumb temperature is a better guide to doneness than most others (the "thump" test is awfully imprecise, "color" is just plain awful and shouldn't be used at all, etc.). But crumb temperature is still just a guide. It can be fooled, especially when your goal temperature is quite close to 210F (i.e. very near the boiling point of water).

Use internal crumb temperature together with other guides such as wall clock time, the recipe, and especially what happened last time. It's good ...but probably not so good it can be used all by itself all the time.

ssorllih · Post by **ssorllih** » Sat Aug 03, 2013 16:33

BobK, Good to have you join us. You reply indicates more than a little experience with baking. Glad to have you add when you can and correct when you see the need. I have never met anyone that can't learn a little more. Enjoy the forum.

Post by **Bob K** » Mon Aug 05, 2013 19:42

Trying to figure out posting the pics. Some Ny/NJ style onion rolls:

IdaKraut · Post by **IdaKraut** » Mon Aug 05, 2013 20:21

Bob,

Since I'm a Jerseyite, I would love to see your recipe for these. I really miss those hard rolls from back East that were hard on the outside and soft and airy on the inside. I've yet to duplicate these in a home oven.

Yours look delicious!

ssorllih · Post by **ssorllih** » Mon Aug 05, 2013 20:21

Bob K, Most of us here us photobucket for posting pictures here.
The rolls look grand. Please share the recipe.
I have been encouraging the use of bakers percentages because their use enables the making of any size batch with good results.

IdaKraut · Post by **IdaKraut** » Mon Aug 05, 2013 20:24

I second Ross's recommendation to use baker's percentage. I never use measuring cups anymore since they are never repeatable; weight measurements are the way to go.

Post by **Bob K** » Tue Aug 06, 2013 01:04

Well Guys I don't have this one written in bakers % but here goes:

8 rolls (or 10 if smaller)

Flour - 453Grams 1 lb

IDY - 6G 1.5 teaspoon (Dry Yeast)

Salt - 6G 1 teaspoon

Sugar 4G 1 teaspoon

Malt syrup or powder 1 Tablespoon

Lard 12G 1 tablespoon (or use oil)

1 Egg

Water 1 1/4 cup 256G

I use a small stand mixer ( Bosch Compact) and use the dough hook for around 10 minutes. Or you can knead by hand. Divide dough into 8-10 equal balls, form rolls, let rise for 1 or so hours and bake at 400F untill done.

Topping-
Rehydrated dried onion flakes. (Fresh onions just don't work or taste the same)
A little Veg oil and salt.
Poppy seeds

Notes:
Lard rules - oil is OK
APurpose flour for a lighter roll, bread flour for heavier, moister.

Rudy- If you want them to look like they were made in years past push down the center just before baking and add moisture (steam) for a crisper hard roll crust.

I make a batch of dough and freeze in pacs of 2 rolls (dough balls)....bake as needed.
Defrost in fridge over night, let sit at room temp for a few hours and....

Remove from wrap and form rolls (let rest 30 minutes or so before shaping)

Use a floured surface

Place onion/ oil mix on un floured surface and press formed roll into mix

Place on baking sheet, cover and let rise for 1 to 1.5 hours.

Bake at 400f untill done

ssorllih · Post by **ssorllih** » Tue Aug 06, 2013 01:42

First class instruction!! Thanks Bob K. You are going to be most welcome here. I may have to relinquish my chair.

ssorllih · Post by **ssorllih** » Tue Aug 06, 2013 02:13

Bob K's rolls recipe Including the egg 69% liquid 1.5% salt and yeast 1% sugar, allow about 3% for lard and malt. I have gotten malt syrup from home brew supply places, be sure to seek it without the hops.
edited to correct for egg. large eggs are about 2 ounces or about 58 ml. plus the water.

Chuckwagon · Post by **Chuckwagon** » Tue Aug 06, 2013 04:29

ssorllih wrote:

I may have to relinquish my chair.

In your dreams pal! YOU are the man!

ssorllih · Post by **ssorllih** » Tue Aug 06, 2013 04:36

HaHaHaHa!!!

IdaKraut · Post by **IdaKraut** » Tue Aug 06, 2013 15:42

Bob,

Wow, thanks so much for going to all the trouble to list the weights of ingredients. I will most definitely make these once the weather cools off a bit.

I suspect the great hard rolls were produced in ovens that had steam injectors, which is very difficult for the home cook to duplicate. I've tried spritzing the inside of the oven with water and the rolls did come out great but quickly softened once cooled off.

So, would you recommend high gluten bread flour for hard rolls? I use Gold Medal Supreme high gluten for pizza, maybe that would work?

My wife's a vegetarian so I will have to make half with oil but mine will have the lard.

Ross's Maryland Bakery

How to spend several hours making supper.

Dave zac