Chile bread pt 2

1 Servings

Ingredients

Quantity Ingredient
See part 1

Directions

add the remaining ingredients.

knead everything up by hand or in a kitchenaid or bread machine--whatever works for you. you might need to add a bit more flour to finish the dough, which should be soft=A0 and springy without being too sticky to handle.

round it up into a nice neat ball, plunk it in a greased bowl, cover, and leave it to rise until doubled--anywhere from an hour or so (for heavily yeasted versions) to 2 or 3 hours (or whatever, for pokey sourdoughs).

i prefer to shape this dough into a torpedo (press the ball of risen dough into a cirle, then roll up the circle like a jellyroll and pinch the seam), let it rise again until *almost* doubled (around 45 minute to an hour or longer, depending), slash the top, then bake it in at 450 degrees on quarry tiles, spritzing with water every 3 minutes for the first 10 minutes. this yields a rustic loaf with a great crust. you can suit yourself, though--bake it in loaf pans for sandwich slices, or make it into rolls or a round loaf or a flatbread, or bake it on a cornmeal-dusted cookie sheet instead of tiles. a cooler temperature (350-375) will give you a softer crust. total baking time will be from approximately 20-25 minutes (for 450 degrees) to 35 or 40 minutes (for 350 degrees).

***nonsourdough version: dissolve the yeast in the water and then stir in the flours as above.

this recipe turned out a lovely reddish brown loaf with great flavor and only a mild warmth from the chiles--not enough for me, but perfect for nonchileheads. next time i'll increase the habs to a full teaspoon and add a couple of dried chipotles to the guajillos. i'll also probably experiment with other roasted seeds--sunflower, sesame, and flax make a good mix.

another way to go would be with diced roasted chiles (mark miller adds these) and diced cheddar or jack cheese, maybe a handful of slivered sundried tomatoes, and a pinch of ground coriander in with the oregano...? Posted to CHILE-HEADS DIGEST V3 #341 by love@... on May 31, 1997

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