I think that would work. I plan on doing the same thing tonight. I guess we’ll find out. That would essentially be a cold ferment, which should actually lead to more flavor. I think fully kneading the dough wouldn’t really be necessary then, either. Just thoroughly mixing, like it says. Anywho, that’s my plan.
The other thing I’m curious about with this recipe is the purpose of the baking powder and baking soda. There’s not much of it, and with the yeast, I can’t see what those are doing other than maybe providing an initial boost to the rise?
I’m also questioning the total flour amounts now that I look at it. My mother doesn’t really write things down, either, and she’s been making these so long she just does it by feel. But as I look at this, that doesn’t look like a lot of liquid for that much flour. I don’t know. Use at your own risk, I guess. I’m going to do some experimenting, lol.
Ok, I dug through my email history to find the email where my mother sent it to me. Her comments were:
Keep in mind this is my mother’s, probably acquired when she lived in Chicago one winter in the 30s.
I have learned that the first “enough flour” is usually between 3 and 4 cups, depending on the humidity. If it is very humid, you want a sponge slightly thicker than “thin paste.”
The “mix thoroughly” after adding last 4 dry ingredients really means “knead.”
Just experiment.
Sorry. It’s milk. Period. Not buttermilk, not sour milk, not clabber. I warned you; this is an old recipe. I failed to send you my “updates”:
I use 1 cup Carnation Evaporated milk and 1/2 cup water to begin.
Since we can no longer get the “yeast cakes,” I use the other 1/2 cup water (warmed) to dissolve the two packages of dry yeast.
I also use butter now, not shortening.
My spouse uses 375 for his brioche. He thinks “hot cakes” =pancakes and is very intrigued by letting the thin paste rise before mixing in the rest of the flour. Maybe afraid too much gluten will develope if the flour is added all at once.
He had a guess for the banking soda and powder. You are mixing your acids and bases and getting a bubbling rise/aeration. Storing it in a cool place will mean that reaction is slowed and still going when ready to bake.
This isn’t really all that unusual. It’s basically a preferment, like a poolish. If it called for less flour, I’d say that’s exactly what it is, but 3-4 cups of flour would be 360-480 grams, and with 240 grams of liquid, that’s a lot less hydration than a preferment usually is. Still…I suspect that’s the basic purpose.
I’ve been on the cusp of buying one for a while - how thick is yours if I can ask? Most of the ones I see advertised are 6mm/0.25" but some are thicker (and correspondingly heavier, and boy are they heavy!).
Ok, having done the first part, it is basically a poolish. I wasn’t factoring in the butter. It’s very high hydration dough at this stage, and you can’t knead it. You can just mix it. I’ll check on it in an hour or so and keep you all updated.
Alright… so I got to the first part and am letting it rise a bit in an off oven with the light on (since my house is a bit chilly today). I think it is thicker, so that’s probably good since it’s been humid today. I did milk with some heavy cream added in, so we’ll see how that does…
Ours is about 1/4” thick, and around 16x24” and, yes, rather heavy.
I have been thinking about letting it live in the oven full time, instead of moving it back and forth from the cupboard. I’m not sure what’s stopping me.
And do you think 1 or 2 packets of yeast?
Feedin’ my fam!