Recipes

These are the recipes that I used to make the bread and the ginger cookies.

The bread recipe comes from The Bakers Manual, by Joseph Amendola. Note that this fellow has multiple other books, some with similar titles. This one is simply The Bakers Manual, Fifth Edition, 150 Master Formulas for Baking. The recipe in the book is very succinct, so I added notes as to what I think some of the obscure (well, to me, anyway) terms mean. I could be wrong.

2 lbs bread flour
1 lb 5.33 oz cool water (2 2/3 cups)
.55 oz fresh yeast (about 5 teaspoons)
1 tsp diastatic malt powder (I used barley syrup)
.5 oz salt (1 tablespoon)

In mixer bowl, autolyze (blend) the flour and water and allow to sit for twenty minutes.
Add the yeast and malt to the dough.
Knead on low speed until just combined.
Add the salt.
Increase speed to medium.
Mix for ten minutes (should be at the windowpane stage)
Ferment (ie, first rise) for 90 minutes, turning twice.
Divide and preshape.
Bench (let the dough rest) for 15 minutes
Shape the dough into whatever you're making.
Couche the dough(place in heavily floured towel formed into ridges to control how it grows).
Retard (slow down fermentation) in a refrigerator overnight
Take from refrigerator and proof (let rise) until the dough doubles or more.
Score the dough.
Place on baking stone. (I sprinkled it with cornmeal. Not sure if that was really needed.)
Bake at 450 with steam for 25 or so minutes, until golden.
Allow to completely cool.

This is the recipe for the Ginger cookies.

Spicy Ginger Cookies

2 cups all purpose flour
2 1/2 teaspoons ground ginger
1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon ground cloves
1/4 teaspoon ground allspice
2 teaspoons baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt

3/4 cup crystallized ginger, chopped
1 cup plus 2 tablespoons dark brown sugar, packed
1/2 cup solid (not liquid!) vegetable shortening, room temperature
1/4 cup sweet unsalted butter, softened
1 large egg, slightly beaten
1/4 cup molasses

confectioners sugar

1. Combine first 7 ingredients in medium bowl; stir until blended.
2. Add the chopped crystallized ginger to the flour mixture; set aside.
3. Beat the brown sugar, solid shortening, and butter in large bowl until smooth and creamy.
4. Add the egg and molasses to the sugar mixture and beat until thoroughly blended.
5. Add the flour mixture to the egg mixture, 1/3 at a time, stirring to combine them.
6. Cover the flour/egg mixture and refrigerate for at least one hour.

7. Heat oven to 350F; grease one or two cookie sheets; put a small amount of confectioners sugar into a bowl for dipping the cookies.
8. Roll the dough into 1 inch balls.
9. Roll each cookie in the sugar, completely coating it, and place on tray about two inches from nearest cookie. The cookies will spread to about double their size.
10. Bake until slight cracks appear in the top of the cookies - about ten minutes.
11. Cookies will be very soft. Allow to cool before removing from tray.
12. Transfer to wire rack to complete cooling.