[BakerAunt]

So, now I'm looking at Italian flours at this website:

https://brickovenbaker.com/pages/information-about-caputo-flours

I'm thinking that this one might be close to what would work for Rosetta rolls, but at $16.95 per 5 lb. bag, it is not inexpensive:

https://brickovenbaker.com/products/antimo-caputo-rinforzato-00-flour

I wish that they would state their shipping costs without making the buyer have to do the checkout steps first.

[BakerAunt]

Wow! 3D printers are amazing. Thanks for posting that picture, Mike.

Thanks, Len for the advice on flour. It certainly helped when I turned the rolls back over.

• This reply was modified 5 years, 4 months ago by BakerAunt.

[BakerAunt]

If Italian wheat varieties are not as strong as American varieties, that may be why Cass told me to use half KAF All Purpose and half Bob's Red Mill Artisan Bread flour.

I've also wondered if Italian flour already has malt added to it. The KAF and BRM artisan bread flours certainly do.

I will need to give some thought to what I might do differently next time. I still think that the shaping of the balls before they are stamped may play a part.

The taste of the Rosetta Rolls is wonderful, so even if I were never to achieve the hole and the perfect design, I would still bake them.

[BakerAunt]

Today I baked Whole Wheat Sourdough Cheese Crackers from dough I made up last week (or was it longer?)

While I like my quartz kitchen countertops, one drawback is that they are white with specks, and sometimes it is difficult to see where the parchment ends against the countertop. The parchment also slides while I'm rolling out the dough. A more serious problem is that when I put a metal baking sheet on the counter, after transferring the dough to cut into crackers, the rubbing of the metal on the quartz leaves black marks that I have to rub off. I had been moving the baking sheet to the dining room table, a not so efficient solution.

Today, I had a brilliant idea. A long time ago--back when King Arthur carried unusual and useful baking items, I bought what they called a "tagliere," or Italian kneading board. I had to look up the name to write this post and discovered that is actually the word for cutting board. What I have is a spianatoia or kneading and pastry board. It is made of wood--my husband says either maple or birch--with a lip on the underside in front that pushes against the counter and a backsplash 2 1/2 inches high. The dimensions are 24x16 inches. I used it a lot for kneading breads, hooking it on the edge of my kitchen table, although I then had to scrape off the flour that stuck. After I discovered Silpat mats, I tended not to use it. The kneading board has been sitting in the kitchen area of our garage apt., and I was thinking a few weeks ago that I wish that I could find a use for it.

I sent my husband to fetch it, wiped it off, then discovered it is a perfect fit for my kitchen peninsula. I rolled out the crackers on parchment on it, and I did not have the sliding, and I could see where the parchment ends. As an added bonus, the 3/4 of an inch I gain made it much easier to roll out the crackers--much less bending over and so much more comfortable. I've found a place to store it between the cabinet and my wooden rolling cart. I am so pleased.

[BakerAunt]

Thanks for the tip, Mike. I'll try that next time I use a stamp for rolls.

I'm thinking as well that, in addition to the stamp, there may be a technique in how the ball of dough is shaped. I looked at some online pictures, some at The Fresh Loaf, and they are close to what I was trying to do at the end, but not quite.

Another possibility for getting that hollow in the center may be the kind of flour. I saw some discussion of that, with one person suggesting low protein flour and another advocating high protein. I think that the latter is correct. I could try using more of the BRM artisan bread flour next time. I noted as well that a lot of people were baking the rolls much darker, but I don't think that is right. I believe my recipe is from Daniel Leader, and he says the color of sand.

Another person swore by using the convection setting on the oven so that there is heat over and under.

So, no hole in the one I sliced today, and I doubt there will be any with a hole. I had it as a sandwich, with onion sauteed in olive oil, then put on the plate while I scrambled an egg. I put that on the rosetta roll, put the cooked onion rings on top, and ate it for lunch. Ideally it would have had bell pepper as well, but the one we have that is almost turned red in the house is slated for pizza this weekend. Why the scrambled egg sandwich? Because Cass remembered eating the rolls this way, and it is my way of toasting him. 🙂

[BakerAunt]

Italian Cook--the crust is chewy, not hard, with a pillowy soft interior. I note that some I am seeing on line seem darker than mine, but I do not think mine are under baked. There seems to be a raging debate on how strong the flour should be. I certainly like the taste! My husband asked about a whole grain version; I told him that I have not mastered the white flour version!

Mike--I agree that something is needed to prevent sticking, so that the stamped roll can be easily picked up, before being turned down on the baking sheet. I was relieved that the floured pan worked well for the long refrigerator rise, and that there was no sticking after baking.

[BakerAunt]

Well, I didn't get the hollow center, at least not in the four we had tonight, although I did serve the ones at dinner with less design. I'm hoping the one that has more of the design, which I will cut for lunch tomorrow, will have a hollow, but I think that I need more practice with the stamp. Here are my notes from the first attempt. Pictures will have to wait.

Rosetta Rolls (Notes on Baking)

On Sunday, October 25, I mixed up the biga at 8 p.m. I followed Cass Avona’s suggestion to use half King Arthur AP flour and half Bob’s Red Mill Artisan Bread flour. (The recipe states “unbleached bread flour, preferably high gluten.) I used the metric weights for ingredients. I put it in a 2-quart dough bucket, lightly coated with olive oil (no specific oil was mentioned). It was to rest in the container on the counter for an hour before refrigerating, but it was rising so fast (house temperature about 74F) that I moved it to the refrigerator after 35 minutes. When I checked it an hour later, it was at the top of the dough bucket on the lid. I oiled a 4-quart dough bucket and moved the dough to it for the overnight time in the refrigerator.

On Monday, October 26, shortly after noon, I put the biga in a bowl, added the water (70F) and broke it up with a spatula until most of the water was mixed in. As my 7-quart stand mixer does not do well with small amounts of dough, I used the Zo bread machine to mix and knead. The recipe states a Kitchen Aid mixer on speed 4 for 10-12 minutes until smooth and elastic, and that is equivalent to what the bread machine does. I stopped the bread machine 16 minutes into its cycle, which after the initial mixing of several minutes, should give the correct kneading time, and the dough was smooth and elastic. I put it into a 2-quart, lightly olive oiled, dough bucket.

This rise is to be for 35-45 minutes (at 70-74F kitchen). I put it on the dining area table, which is a bit warmer than the rest of the house but registering at 67F. Bread machines do add some heat in the mixing, which I hope will give the dough sufficient warmth. Due to the coolness of the room, I gave it an extra 10 minutes, for a total of 55 minutes.

I patted the dough into a rectangle that would make it easy for me to divide it into twelve pieces. Forming the pieces into balls was initially difficult, as the dough is slightly tacky. As I worked, I found it best to take a piece and start folding it in on itself with one hand, while holding it with the other hand. The directions call for an unfloored countertop; I used my Silpat mat. Using the stamp will take some practice. I found that it helps to flour it. It also helps to pick up the resting ball of dough and move it before stamping (less sticking). It is still tricky getting them onto the silicone turner, so that they can be put, stamp side down, onto a floured baking sheet. (I wondered about using parchment but decided to follow the directions exactly. I might, next time, try putting the ball of dough on a wide silicone spatula and stamping it on that before moving to the baking sheet. I discovered that I needed to press down the rosetta stamp completely into the dough. I finished at 2:10 p.m. and put the baking sheet, covered in saran, in the refrigerator for the required 3-8 hours. My plan is to bake them after the spaghetti squash lasagna that I am making for dinner, as the oven will be close to temperature and can be heated up to 500F from there.

I was able to flip over the rolls with a silicone spatula when I took them out of the refrigerator after about five hours. The design was not that distinct, and on a some it did not show up at all. After a 20-minute rest at room temperature, the pan went into the oven. I used the third rack up. They had nice oven spring and after ten minutes had developed good color, so I removed them. (The directions say 10-15 minutes but best when lightly baked.) We each had two with dinner. Neither had a hollow, but they do have a lovely light texture and delicious taste. I will try one that has a bit more of the rose design at lunch tomorrow and see if it has any hollow area. I will do some reading about how to best stamp them before I give the recipe another try.

[BakerAunt]

Your dinner sounds delicious, Italian Cook. I would never have that issue with my husband, as he does not care for wine. However, he did consume all the raisins a few weeks back, thereby forcing me to substitute a dried fruit mixture in the granola.

On Monday, I made another batch of yogurt.

For Monday dinner, I made my Spaghetti Squash Casserole. Prior to making it, I also made the sauce for it from a bunch of our tomatoes that have ripened inside. We had it with microwaved frozen peas and Rosetta rolls. Between the cooking and the baking project, it was a long day in the kitchen, but we have leftovers for the next few days.

[BakerAunt]

I have turned them over. I'm not sure just how well the design has stayed. They go into the oven in about 10 minutes.

[BakerAunt]

I am in the midst of a long baking project. Cass and I talked about Rosetta Rolls, and he asked if I would be interested in baking them. There was a long discussion about these Italian rolls on the King Arthur Baking Circle. (I think that discussion did get transferred to Nebraska Kitchen under the threads category.) To my knowledge, no one from the BC or NK ever tried baking them. Cass sent me a recipe from Il Fornaio and Italian Independent Bakers, and he generously sent me a real Rosetta stamp. I made the biga last night. Today I added the additional water, flour, salt. I decided to knead in the bread machine, but to cut it off after about 12 minutes. The dough is now on a short ferment in a dough bucket on the dining room table. After it is divided, shaped, and stamped, it will spend 3-8 hours in the refrigerator before baking. I'll report back later today.

I have taken a couple of pictures and will take others along the way. Whether I can figure out how to upload them to Nebraska Kitchen remains to be seen.

[BakerAunt]

We are also eating leftovers, in our case, from the maple-glazed pork tenderloin. I am roasting Queen squash every night to go with it. Last night we had the squash with a bit of maple syrup and maple sugar put on near the end of roasting, with leftover bulgur on the side. Tonight, I'll stuff the squash with the bulgur near the end of roasting.

[BakerAunt]

On Sunday, I baked Whole Grain Pumpkin bread, using as my basic recipe the one from Lemon Poppy that is posted at Nebraska Kitchen. I use barley as my wholegrain flour and add flax meal and milk powder. I cut the sugar to 1 ¾ cups and use half oil and half buttermilk, as Lemon Poppy suggested. I baked the recipe as six small loaves; I sprinkled two loaves with orange and black decorating sugar and the other four with autumn color decorating sugar. I will freeze those four.

[BakerAunt]

On Saturday, I baked Bernard Clayton’s Dark Grains Bread, with some tweaks of my own. I used molasses, as he specifies, because honey, which I have substituted in the past, is more expensive. We have a good local person from whom we buy it, but I try to reserve it for eating (mostly my husband puts it on his oatmeal), and I use it sparingly in recipes. I really miss trips to T.J. Maxx, Ross, and Big Lots where I could buy a German honey that I would use in baking. This bread sometimes has more rise than at other times. I might try some gold yeast as part of the yeast next time.

Note: We cut it at lunch the next day. While it is a firm bread, it is not a dense loaf, so the rise is what it should be. The taste is terrific; the molasses blended in well.

[BakerAunt]

I voted today--the first day that in-person voting opened in my small town. They cut the hours back from 8-6 to 8-3. There will be early voting next Saturday as well, same hours. I arrived shortly after 9:30, and it took 90 minutes, most of the first hour standing outside in 40F weather. I congratulated myself on wearing a hat and a light fill jacket with hood. Some people were not dressed for the cold. The room for voting was small, with just two machines, which were wiped down and sanitized after every voter. We were given a disposable glove to wear on the right hand. There was the usual person in line who wore the mask under the nose, and another who kept taking hers off to talk--and no, I don't care if she is tested every day. Still, I know that I had it easy when I think of people in other cities who are standing in long lines for hours.

[BakerAunt]

It can depend on the temperature in the house. When it is cooler, I find that it takes longer.

[Author]

Posts