Chocolate Chip Whey Brioche and The Four Pounds of Cheese Project

A few weeks back Jeni invited me and many other people to to her special Facebook project to raise awareness for weeks period on what we waste food wise. We were asked to photograph and write about it. Here is the Facebook page , where a lot of discussion and tips are available. I had every intention to jump right in and photograph and blog about my own personal waste, but life got in the way with the new job and catering gigs. I am aware that I do waste, no matter how hard I try not to. The biggest culprit being the spoilage of my bi weekly organic vegetable box. I can’t make or eat the produce fast enough and it spoils quickly being organic. As a chef I’m old school, and raised by a mother who used everything up in the kitchen , as she learned from her mother. Bones, end and pieces all go into the pot. But there are some things you can’t save and use fast enough when its past being good. Here is a photo  of some stuff I threw out that week to make room in the fridge for more. Certain Someone gets on me all the time for this.

I got to thinking a lot about waste that week as my friend The Alchemist treated me to a cheese making course at Angelic Farms. I will post all about that later.They are all about the earth and lack of waste at the farm. I learned many things that day but especially how to use Whey, a run off product from making cheese after the curds form, that’s full of protein. It never occurred to me to bake with it, add it to smoothies, soups, even lemonade. So I dutifully froze a quart of Whey leftover from class , as I knew it would be a while until I got back to it.  I cringe about the Whey I have thrown out and wasted in earlier cheese experiments.

Then the other day I adventurously started the process of making Brie (it takes months to age, so that won’t be posted until later on the Fall). Naturally I had tons of Whey, I would say almost a gallon). As it was a rare day off packed with kitchen experiments, I dusted off the old Kitchen Aid and mixed some flour with just water salt and yeast and let rise overnight in the fridge , until I could get back to it. In my reading I saw most bread recipes with Whey called for fat, as the protein made a chewy but very tender  dough. So I bravely resolved to cut in the butter and eggs the next day to my starter dough, and it worked! I wanted a more of Brioche type of bread. I’m rather proud of myself for making a great recipe fully off the cuff. I’m am getting more confident as  a baker. I work now with a lot of Europeans who are very particular about their bread, and I took the brioche to work. They loved it and were impressed. That’s huge to me, as I love it when people enjoy my food. Unfortunately my shapes in the mini Panettone cups didn’t hold and the end result look like a limp part of the male anatomy ( according to one person) , but it was delicious , so who cares. I’m happy something I would have thrown away and wasted ordinarily in my past cheese experiments turned into something so good.


Chocolate Chip Whey Brioche
 
Prep time
Cook time
Total time
 
A rich Brioche type of bread made with Whey
Author:
Recipe type: Bread
Ingredients
  • 6 cups All Purpose Non Bleached Flour plus 1 cup extra for kneading and the later
  • 1½ tablespoon instant yeast
  • 2 tablespoon warm water
  • 4 cups of Whey
  • 2 tablespoons sugar
  • ½ teaspoon salt
  • 1 scoop of Meyenberg Powdered Goat Milk ( approx 14 grams or 1 tablespoon)
  • 2½ sticks unsalted butter at room temp
  • 3 eggs
  • 1 cup semi sweet chocolate chips
  • Egg wash of 1 egg beaten to 1 teaspoon heavy cream
  • Extra butter for greasing rising containers or baking tins.
  • Disposable Panettone baking cups ( no greasing needed)
Instructions
  1. The night before in the bowl of the stand mixer add yeast, sugar and some water . Let stand for a few minutes until dissolved and slightly foamy.
  2. Add the flour, powdered goats milk,whey, and salt.
  3. Mix with the paddle first, then switch to the dough hook. Make sure you scrape down the sides to incorporate all the ingredients.
  4. Grease /Butter a rising container with lid to hold the dough.
  5. Add the dough, which will be more on the wet side, and cover with lid.
  6. Place in the refrigerator overnight to slowly rise.
  7. The next day take butter out to become room temperature and soft.
  8. Take the dough out and add to the stand mixer bowl.
  9. The next few steps will get a little messy and the workout the stand mixer.
  10. Punch down the dough and place in the bowl of the mixer. Cut the butter into small pieces and add.
  11. Add one egg at a time.
  12. Slowly with the dough hook cut in the butter and eggs. The dough will be wet and messy so you can add slowly the extra flour ( 1 cup) to help bind the dough.
  13. The final dough should be sticky but not too wet.
  14. Once all is mixed, add the chocolate chips and continue to need on a low speed with the dough hook.
  15. Turn out and scrape the dough into a floured surface and finish kneading with your hands.
  16. Place back into the a clean container , cover and allow to rest for 3O minutes.
  17. Preheat oven to 400.
  18. Prep your baking tins or cups.
  19. Shape you dough into desired shapes for the baking cups or tins.
  20. Brush with egg wash and let the dough rise for another 30 minutes or so.
  21. Bake until golden. Depends on size and shape to determine if finished.
Notes
This is a two day or overnight process.

 

Sweet Potato Everything Bread… Necessity Breeds Invention

I had this big fat sweet potato staring at me for a week. As some people in this household are not to fond of them, and I wasn’t having a taste for it. I wanted to use  the sweet potato in  another way. I also had some Poppy Seeds that have been whispering for me to use them, every time I open my cabinet.
Sweet Potato + Poppy Seeds + Yeast =A beautiful relationship
I call this my Sweet Potato Everything Bread. I’m feeling pretty confident as a baker now, where I can take liberties with a recipe base and expand. One of my first Daring Bakers Challenges a few years back was a great Potato Bread which I have used from time to time and seems almost fail proof. Using that recipe as a base I decided to switch out the white potato for sweet. Unfortunately I did not have the total amount of All Purpose Flour and didn’t want to use more  Whole Wheat Flour , which was also required. I looked on my shelf and found some King Arthur’s Rye Blend Flour and used some of that with the other two flours. I figured if anything it would be a great experiment. I also made an egg wash with some honey . The bread was topped with Poppy Seeds, Sesame Seeds, Dried Minced Onion and Sea Salt. The recipe yielded enough for a 20 rolls and 1 medium sized loaf of bread to slice. Certain Someone, who is very picky about bread was pleased with the results. He liked it. I take that as a  huge compliment because Europeans are finicky about their breads and are often disappointed with the  commercial findings here in the United States. The loaf and rolls have a tender crumb that would be great with jams or savory items.
Sweet Potato Everything Bread
12 oz of sweet potato pieces
4 cups of water
1 Tablespoon and 1 tsp seas salt
2 Teaspoons Active Dry Yeast
6 Cups All Pupose Flour
1 cup Whole Wheat Flour
1 tablespoon butter at room temp/softened
Egg Wash
1 egg
1 teaspoon of milk or cream * Cream gives more glaze
1 teaspoon honey
Topping
2 Tablespoons Poppy Seeds
2 Tablesppons Dried Minced Onion
2 Tablespoons Sesame Seeds
1 teaspoon Sea Salt

Boil the sweet potato chunks with skin in the 4 cups of water and 1 teaspoon of the salt. Cook until tender. Drain the sweet potato, but save the water! Do not throw away the cooking  water as it will be used in the recipe. Peel of the skins and mash the sweet potato. Run  the sweet potato with the 3 cups of the cooking  water ( you may  have to add more water to make up difference) in a blender to make a smooth liquid mixture. Pour warm mixture into the mixing bowl of a stand mixer. Cool down until lukewarm .Add the yeast to sweet potato water and mix gently. Let rest for 5 minutes. It will start to bubble slightly on the surface.


Whisk together the all Purpose Flour and Rye Flour in a separate bowl to combine.  Add a few cups of this flour blend to the yeast , sweet potato mixture. Add the butter and salt and with the paddle attachment slowly blend to incorporate. Continue to add the remaining flour and the whole wheat flour as well. Switch to the dough hook. The dough will be sticky still but will start to take hold as more flour is added. It will still be a stickier dough however. With the dough hook , beat for several minutes ( about 8-10 minutes) until the the dough starts to hold its shape .Turn out into a clean bowl or container with lid. Cover and let rise in a  warm place for 2 hours or until double.
On a clean counter surface which is lightly floured,  turn out the risen dough and punch down and knead to shape. Place the rolls or loaves into the respective baking  tins and cover with plastic wrap. Let rise again for approximately 30 minutes.
Preheat oven to 450F
Mix the Seed Topping ingredients.
Mix egg,milk, and honey for egg wash.
After second rise, brush the formed dough with the egg wash and sprinkle with Seed Topping.
Bake at 450F until golden for about 30-40 minutes depending on size and shape of dough. If the topping starts to brown to fast . lightly cover with foil.
Remove from oven and let cool on wire baking racks for 1 hours or more to let bread rest.
I submit this to BYOB

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