Every couple weeks or so, we send out a little roundup of new recipes, techniques, and tutorials that we’ve recently posted on the site. Occasionally we announce exclusive giveaways to newsletter subscribers as well. We won’t spam you with ads or share or sell your email address. Every email we send has a 1-click unsubscribe link if you decide it’s not for you.
Ten of One; One of Another
I’m a bit obsessed with efficiency and versatility in the kitchen, and breadmaking can be very satisfying on both of these fronts. As many bakers know, pizza dough also works for calzones and garlic knots, and an overproofed or too-wet dough can make a tasty focaccia, and cinnamon roll dough can become a babka…and many more examples.
A fermenting dough is full of opportunity and options. Sometimes I’ll just mix up a large batch of low-to-mid hydration dough (see the video below) without even having a plan for how I intend to use it. I have several hours to decide its fate (days if I refrigerate it early). Maybe it’ll be a crusty artisan bread or a pan loaf or maybe I’ll roll it out and stuff it with savory goodies like these stromboli.
In the recipe below, one large dough has two different outcomes: a crusty artisan loaf and ten chewy rolls. The dough is 25:75 rouge de bordeaux wheat and bread flour, 69% hydration, and has a heavy inoculation of sourdough starter. Many other flour options and starter percentages will work as well. Because of the rolls though, you’ll want to ensure your dough is dry enough to hold its shape during the final proof.
This video shows the dough feel to aim for by the second (or so) round of gluten development; sticky but able to be rolled with two hands:
These crusty and chewy rolls went in the oven first, about 40 minutes after shaping, and I’ve been enjoying them ripped open and stuffed with cambozola cheese, and also dipped in a leftover coconut curry stew.
Half of the dough formed into rolls and baked on a parchment-lined baking sheet at 425F for 25 minutes
This artisan style long batard was baked the next day, after an overnight refrigerated final proof. The slices are a perfect size for sandwiches, and for being lightly toasted and topped with bruschetta. I’ve been enjoying them with ricotta and fresh figs.
The other half of the dough formed into a long batard and baked in an oblong clay baking vessel at 500F for 20 minutes and 450F for 15 minutes
If you’d like to try the scoring pattern I did here, it’s best to work with chilled dough.
Flip the dough out of your proofing basket onto parchment paper.
For contrast once baked, sprinkle flour on the surface of the dough and very gently rub it in.
Now take a tracing tool such as a chopstick or potato nail, and draw though the flour the lines you plan to score along.
Finally make the cuts around the traced lines, followed by a deep score along the other side of the loaf.
Ten of One; One of the Other
Bread dough is versatile, and a big batch can be used in many different ways. This recipe shows you how to make 10 chewy sourdough rolls on a simple baking sheet one day, and from the same batch of dough, a crusty sourdough artisan loaf the next day.
Ingredients
Instructions
Autolyse
Mix
Gluten Development and Bulk Fermentation
Divide and Pre-shape
Shape
Final Proof
Bake
Shopping List
Heirloom Rouge de Bordeaux Wheat Berries
Rouge de Bordeaux Whole Grain Flour
High Protein Bread Flour
Mockmill Lino 100 Grain Mill
Sourdough Starter (Dry)
Breadtopia’s Choice Kitchen Scale
$18.00Dough Rising and Storage Bucket w/Lid – 6 qt. Round
Parchment Paper Sheets — 200 Sheets
$19.00Round Rattan Proofing Basket
Oval Rattan Proofing Basket
Breadtopia Clay Baker — Batard
Breadtopia Cloche Bread Baker — Round
Heavy Duty Baking Sheet — Netherton Foundry, UK
$49.00USA Pan Half Sheet Pan
$23.00Ten of One; One of Another