"Don't be afraid to fail." Words to live by. I've been playing with a "starter" using your method. (Small ball of Dough with flour and water) and have had good success... and this is without a real counter top to kneed the dough. Which brings me back to Glen's quote. Yesterday, I was going to split the dough into 2 applications. The first, just regular 'bread' and the second, a sweet one. And then the problem kicked in. It not only didn't rise... it didn't come together in any kind of dough. Simply put, it was less dough and more like pancake batter. Having already used the flour (and being Scottish and not wanting to throw anything away) I went ahead and tried. The 1st came out a bit like corn bread with what was actually really good flavor. The second was mixed with Cinnamon and sugar, poured into an 8x8 cake pan... and became the most wonderful cake I've ever made. So again... Don't be afraid to fail. The results could be amazing! Thank you so much Glen.
@@BrokenMask100 That's why I think this channel is the best cooking channel out there. They will tell you when it fails, or when it could be better. I never get the feeling that they are BS'ing us. With too many channels, everything is always delicious, or the best ever. I don't trust them.
I used to work at two different pizza parlors and worked as a dough maker in a pizza crust factory. I don't know why people fear the dough. The only really important thing to remember is the water temperature. 100 degrees F or 38 degrees C for your water. The water temp allows the yeast to activate faster. The pizza places used a VCM or vertical cutting machine (think giant food processor) It only took about a minute and a half, then the dough was portioned and left to rise in the cooler overnight. I've probably made about 200,000 tons of dough. The batches at the factory were 5500 ounces each and we ran about 38 batches a shift.
The round focaccia that you treated like a pizza could actually be considered a sardenaira. In the original italian recipe it is described as a focaccia with tomato, onion, olives, capers and anchovy.
For anyone making bread at home theres a great test for if you've kneaded the dough enough, its called the window pane test. If you take a small piece of dough (about the size of a coin) and stretch it slowly you should be able to stretch it enough that you can see light through it before it tears. That indicates theres enough Gluten built up for proving, if it tears before you can see light through it then it needs more kneading.
I can never figure out why people would thumbs down a cooking video. If you don't like it move along. Brilliant - you've got this, and never mind the food-police ... LOVE IT!
Currently making a sourdough loaf and then this video comes out! Thank you, 'don't be afraid to fail' is my new motto. Leavened bread involves living organisms, so of course... we have to learn how to work with them and learn how to make them work for us :)
the bread videos have been great Glen, thank you for sharing your recipes... i just discovered focaccia last year, ihad it in an Italian place. it was damned good, so fresh and crunchy almost like it had been deep fried... sea salt and rosemary... and it was served with a dish of MORE olive oil for dipping...! it was the best part of the 3 course meal, no doubt.
Gotta say Glen your videos have been super helpful. It’s nice to have someone from Canada making this content too, ingredients will be pretty much uniform because of it. Hope things aren’t too crazy in TO.
Saturday I made your no-knead bread for the second time and it came out great I saved a ball of dough and made a levain to make pizza dough last night. The pizza dough didn't rise in the bowl although the levain was very bubbly. I was worried I had killed the yeast somehow so I kneaded in 1/2 tsp baking powder into the dough. I proceeded to make deep dish pizza and the dough came out perfectly bubbly and light. Any tips on if the levain based dough doesn't rise other than baking powder?
Put your dough in a warmer spot to rise and/or mix in some warm water with the levain when you initially form the dough. Yesterday our house was 68F and my pizza dough wasn't rising on the counter top and I had to use the oven to give it a warmer environment. My oven has a bread proof setting which keeps it around 90 - 100 F, but if you don't have that option you can just close it and keep the light on, or turn it on briefly to the lowest possible temp then shut it off and leave it closed. You want it to be warm but not hot - if the rack is too hot for you to touch, it's too hot for your yeast.
Just found your channel last week and am addicted. Thank you for all the great ideas and inspiration during the pandemic. I want one of those Bagged Milk tshirts!
There are records of bakeries selling leavened bread in ancient Egypt as early as 2000 BCE. Herodotus talked about leavened bread in ancient Rome and Greece about 200 BCE. We have whole loaves of preserved bread from Pompeii after Veuvius' eruption in 79 CE. Leavened Bread has been the staff of life for at least 4000 years. Bread is our goto comfort food. "Give us this day our daily bread" has been our prayer. Bread is a simple food eaten by princes and paupers. A tall, leavened sweet bread called kulich has always been eaten in the Eastern Orthodox at Easter, reminiscent of the greeting "Christos voskres" "Christ is risen" Challah bread is eaten on the Sabbath Panettone is an Italian Christmas bread, as is Stollen, in Germany. The smell of fresh bread baking in the oven has long been a symbol of the comforts of a warm home and a loving family. Thank you for showing us the many ways of baking simple and satisfying breads at this time when we can use all of the comfort we can get.
I am following along. I made the initial bread you made, then pizza last night. I keep feeding the original starter and 3 days in, it starts to turn sour like a sourdough starter! I'm so excited! I use a mixture of all purpose flour and whole wheat flour to feed, it rises beautifully! I can't wait to see other ideas to use this levain!
Really enjoying your channel. You are an adorable couple and the recipes are inspiring...perfect program to escape the current situation. Thank you. Be well.
I'm 3 loaves in reusing a bit of leaven from the previous day each time. still trying to figure out the rise. seems like as gently as I try to get it intro my dutch oven I knock all the air out and it really doesn't oven spring up as much as I would like. Gradually walking the hydration down from 70% to 50% to see what affect that has independent of technique
@@cyrillian13 interesting idea, so far I'm doing it the way Glen has where the Dutch oven is already pre-heated to oven temp. I might try without a Dutch oven next and do my last rise on a sheet pan
Hello dearest chef Glen and Julie 👋💐💕 I know you don’t like to be called “Chef” but you are really the best chef in the world 👌🌺 you break the fear wall of failure from my heart and my head 🤗💕 no more food police worries with you✌️I’m sharing with family and friends all your series and they are all happy and succeed to make their best brad ever 👍💝 thank a lot 🙏🌹🌿❤️ stay safe ✌️💖stay home and cook with Chef Glen 👍💚🌺
That's why he uses the levain method, to show that you can keep the yeast culture growing continuously. However, you do need a small bit of yeast to get started. There's always the option of making a sourdough starter.
If you mix flour and water in a mason jar or somerhing similar, then cover it with a piece of breathable cloth like a new dish cloth out of the packet to make sure no critters get in it, you can collect wild yeast from the air in your kitchen. Leave the jar of starter on your kitchen bench for a few days and it will start to ferment naturally.
@@alterlait2601 from a "live beer", yes. Also from the surface of an apple, grape, ....etc. The last two have been used for ages in making cider and wine, nobody bought yeast from elsewhere, it floats around in the air.. one trouble is that some wild yeasts may give an unpleasant flavour. And that most commercial beers are sterile.
Hi Glen, Love your recipes, but have you any control over the adverts that RU-vid puts in right as your saying something and cut a word in half, it really is irritating?
Almost indefinitely if chilled. It's a question of how fast the yeast reproduces, eventually dying in its own alcoholic piss. To slow it's reproduction keep it in the fridge. To temporarily stop it, put it in the freezer. I hope I'm right in saying that yeast will survive a domestic freezer for months, it becomes dormant. Alternatively, at room temperature, keep flushing away most of it, add fresh water and nutrient. Just don't let it get too densely populated, cos it dies.
I have been hugely enjoying this series! You got me to make my first loaf. I did not knead it enough but I will do it more next time. I like the idea of adding olives to the dough - do you think I should do that at an early stage or after the dough is created?
I did a no knead foccacia today (started yesterday). You really need to make sure it's swimming in oil and has oil in the bread. It's absolutely delicious when you toss Rosemary and salt on top. I had a bulb of garlic I wrapped in foil and roasted at the same time the bread was in the oven. OMG roasted garlic and foccacia is decadent. Such a treat to have time to make bread at home right now
This has been a wonderful series, it's rekindled my love for bread making (no expert here, but just love the process). Even without the pandemic atmosphere in the background, the lessons learned here are calming, uncomplicated and delicious. Thanks, Glen and Julie, for hanging in there with us. Stay safe, we need you two!
I loved that! It was fun to watch that quite young, handsome Glen making what looked like delicious bread. Yes, please. Reserect more of those older versions, please!
I just recently found you guys. You are fantastic and I love your outlook on cooking. I have shared your site with My son here in the USA and my daughter in New Zealand. I just don’t know where to start. I have one recipe from my grandmother in Everett, Washington, it is called Crazy cake similar to your war cake but a super tender cake from the depression era I think. Also a 1913 cookbook from Epworth, Iowa that I now want to experiment with. Keep taping. Stay safe.
I’ve cooked one of these in an iron skillet. I mixed the “toppings” into the dough instead of on top. I made one with just vegetables & cheese. I mixed in black olives, green olives , banana peppers , bell peppers ( green ) , mozzarella cheese & Parmesan cheese ( about a cup each). I’ve also made one with pepperoni , bacon & honey ham ( roughly a half cup each) with cheddar cheese ( sharp ) instead of mozzarella.
My no knead bread has been great! Unfortunately my biga/poolish for this recipe did not work. I left it out on the counter overnight, probably about 28 hrs total. My kitchen is on the cooler side overnight, low 60s F, but I thought it might be ok since these often go in the fridge overnight as well. It seemed to have some bubbles, but it was also watery on top. Any advice or tips would be greatly appreciated!
The onions and bacon make this tarte flambée adjacent. The sour cream would get you even closer! In the US I can get creme fresh, but fromage blanc is harder to come by. It's so good!!
Glen, thank you for the information... I am learning more about baking and you are making it simple and fun... I recently discovered your channel and an enjoying it. I cook for a living and have been for over 20 years but have been intimidated by baking... Thanks again for making it not so intimidating...
glen whats behind your counter, we always see you throwing stuff down there like spoons and trash but it just looks like you littering your floor. Give us a sneak peek
My favourite pizza is from NaRoma here in Hamilton...the toppings are Brie, prosciutto, carmelized onions, arugula, fig jam, and a balsamic reduction. Pure heaven!!! 😋❤️❤️😋
How long can you leave the Levain, starter? Is 2-3 days the most you can leave it or can you refrigerate it. Also I have read you can do feedings with the Levain if so how would you do that? Tough to make bread everyday and be able to eat it all. Thanks long time friend and love your content!
OH! Hahaha, at first, I was looking at the bowl thinking, "Glen is gonna put kimchi on focaccia? The madman!" Turned out to be bacon and onions, which made more sense. I think I need to adjust my resolution or maybe it's time for a bigger screen. 🤣 Looks fantastic. Thanks for keeping this series going. You've made my 10-day PTO far more tolerable with your content.
Hey Glen, I've been cultivating my yeast for a few days now and, like I've seen some other people in the comments saying, have been having a hard time letting it rise. It does bake well - nice crumb and texture -, but that's only in the oven. I see you proofed your dough for about 1.5 hours; I was thinking that maybe I wasn't doing it for long enough, but I've tested letting the dough rise for even longer than that. Any clues?
I used to work as an overnight baker at Panera Bread, and sometimes if we wanted a treat we'd use our meal allowance to make a fo'pizza - the standard asiago focaccia but we threw whatever toppings we wanted on it - I usually did chicken, onions, and black olives. They came out as a little personal white pizza that I'd usually get two servings out of :)
I am also curious how Jules comes in right when it's time to eat. More power to her! Leave Glen alone and look what he produces. Excellent entertainment. I was introduced via 1930's recipes, smile every time I see a new upload! Cheers from Northern Ontario. Flatten the curve!
again, just recently found this channel and started with the pandemic bread. You were not wrong. it was dangerous and my family and I ate the entire thing in a matter of hours. Delish. Working with the levain from that dough and I cannot help but wonder whether you can pull more than one levain or whatever from the dough so that you could essentially pull two working doughs the next day??? Appreciate it.
So I've been making no kneed bread for about a month now, and this was the first time I tried making something like this and WOW did it come out good. I did like a deep dish pizza and threw on whatever I could find in my fridge that was about to go bad and it was AMAZING. Thank you for this video Glen!
The first one is similar to "kenyérlángos" that we have in Hungary - it also has sour cream on it sometimes and/or cheese. The good thing in these recipes is that less is not always worse I could totally see these with the "only olive oil and pepper" topping crunchy and brown... I sometimes make one with a little garlic powder - carefully browned not to burn it.... it's just a different dish already. I have been keeping small "one portion" size doughs in separate containers in my fridge as they can last pretty long - even develop different flavours in the fridge. and the toppings can take in wastly different directions too. It is just so versatile.
There is freedom when it comes to baking if you're not afraid to try and by the way, I love this pandemic pantry series of yours. I've baked for a long time and I've never seen the dough ball and water before method... amazing.
Great content as always Glen! But you worry too much of people yelling at you in the comments that you didn't say the correct version of X! Just say it once is all that's needed, whether you say it once or a dozen times in a video, people are still going to complain you meant X instead of Y. And for that I say, don't worry about the haters
Very close to the way I make pizza. I mix the dough and while it is rising I get everything else ready for the topping. Then put it together and bake. Good video.
I really love your daily/weekly videos. My grandfather was always experimenting in the kitchen, so your videos make me really happy. My husband and I have been watching your channel for about a year now and we look forward to continuing!
Would you be able to do a 'sweet' cinnammon swirl or something with this dough? Many thanks, keep going with the info it has been immensely useful. Going to make the frozen maple dessert tomorrow as nearly out of icecream 😁
Question; why do you add the whole “biga” in your recipe? I mean is it necessary to do that instead of keep a bit door the new biga before making you’re bread recipe. I find that if you make a recipe with nuts and seeds, maybe a different kind of grain flower and than take a bit of, you are left with a “dirty” biga.
Thank you for this recipe! I made it my quarantine goal to learn how to bake bread. I made this today, it was my second attempt and by far the most successful. So much fun, I can't wait to bake more!
Glen, than you for this series. A lot of us are trying to make do with what we have, and your videos have inspired me to try things like this that I have just bought previously.
Hi Glen, I made your original pandemic no knead bread and I saved a piece of dought to make this focaccia. I'm a bit confused on the amount of flour as you stated you subtract the already cup of flour in the Levant but in the description you have the same 3 1/2 cups to make this focaccia as the same as the no knead bread. Can you please explain why it's not 2 1/2 cups instead?
@@GlenAndFriendsCooking oh I see ,thank you so much for your quick reply. I appreciate all your videos and advice. My no knead bread turned out wonderful 😊
Just wanted to say thanks for the videos, I really enjoy them since they bring me not only entertainment but also so much inspiration. Things I desperately need these times