Monday, November 26, 2007

Daring Bakers November Challenge

Can we say Noobs ARE US

So this is my first challenge as a daring baker, and yes challenge it was.
We were given the recipe for a wonderful homemade potato bread.


We all had to follow the same recipe, and the only changes you could make was how you shaped your bread, and seasoned it.
All seasonings had to be savory, no dessert.
I decided to make one loaf, a foccaccia loaf, and some mini pizzas.
I used Yukon Gold potato's and boiled them the night before to save on time.


The dough was incredibly sticky. Much more then I expected and I had lots of problems kneading it. The real disaster came though when I put it in my large mixing bowl to rise. Me thinking oh the heat from the oven will help the yeast rise better sat the bowl on top of the stove above the oven.
Yes this is the part where you all yell at the screen "no don't do that" or "what in the world were you thinking"
Apparently I wasn't thinking very well, because my plastic bowl melted. It cooked the bottom of the dough rising in the bowl, and I almost set my kitchen on fire.
So i cut off the bottom of the dough that had cooked, and put the rest back into the steel bowl it originally was mixed in.


It looked like disaster though had been averted and I continued on in spite of the melted plastic smoke in my kitchen. Above is the mini pizza's. I managed to burn the cheese on them, and peeled it off. Luckily the bread part was fine, so i just seasoned it and used them in bento's i made for my family that was coming to visit for Thanksgiving.








This is the wonderfully incredibly sticky potato dough i like the potato mushed chunks in it.



























My Foccaccia bread was drizzled with an egg wash and Hazelnut oil. (I wanted to try something different) I put dried rosemary, ground salt, and Fresh chopped garlic on it. It turned out beautiful smelled good, and no one in my family would eat it. Most of it got thrown away.










My potato loaf was a bit overcooked on the top. It also didn't rise as much as I had hoped but over all was pretty good.











Oh my poor sweet potato bread.
I was very excited about this challenge and felt like it was definitely a growing experience. I'm pretty sure though I will never ever make this recipe for potato bread again.
Which is kind of sad since I'm a very strong lover of potatoes.

27 comments:

T’s Treats said...

WOOT to our first Challenges!!! your breads look wonderful and man I so didnt think of mini pizza's. woohoo...maybe next time we will get to do the Challenge together ;)

... said...

your first challenge turned out great. I had some difficulties also, but I am happy that I made it through it. I'm a better baker because of this challenge.

Helene said...

Hot dang! Talk about taking risks!!I am very impressed with your determination ! Welcome aboard, you have the true valiant spirit of the Daring Bakers!

Anne said...

I'm glad you made the challenge...truly you are a Daring Baker!

ostwestwind said...

I am sorry to hear that your are not satisfied with your results, they look so great. I had to do some modifications and my family loved it

Sheltie Girl said...

You did a wonderful job on your breads. I'm sorry your family wouldn't eat it...I have the same trouble with mine sometimes.

Welcome to the DBers!

Natalie @ Gluten A Go Go

carmachu said...

Looks great! Congrats.


Of course you had time to bake, time to take all those photos, and not one of the bentos you promised....:D

Gretchen Noelle said...

Congrats on your first DB challenge. I agree that I may not actually use this recipe again, but I appreciate that it made me try something new.

slush said...

Aww, Im so sorry it didnt turn out for you! But thats what being a DB is all about victories and failures. You did a fantastic job!

breadchick said...

Glad you got through your 1st Challenge pretty well intact! Great job and welcome to Daring Bakers!!

Anonymous said...

You did this with true Daring Baker spirit! I wonder why no one ate the focaccia, it sounds and looks great, as does everything else.

Julie said...

Congrats on your first challenge and on your perseverance! Bummer that it was so traumatic. Your breads all look tasty, though.

Anonymous said...

Sorry you were disappointed with your bread. Welcome to the Daring Bakers!

Angel said...

Thankyou Everyone!! I was so suprised to get so many wonderful comments. It was a hard project, but don't get me wrong I totally felt it was worth it. I also learned a lot. Um... specifically invest in all metal or ceramic mixing bowls lol.
I love Daring Bakers!!

Dolores said...

Perserverance is one of the hallmarks of a daring baker, and you've shown your stick-to-it-iveness in spades with this one. Congratulations, and welcome to the insanity. In December let's try not to set fire to anything, 'k? :)

cupcaketastic said...

As my dad ALWAYS tells me

"It's all part of the journey . . . ."

And I feel like hitting him, but your future breads will thank you for this experience. Welcome to the Daring Bakers.

Robyn said...

Oh wow! Now that's a daring baker! But it looks like your rolls still turned out great! Nothing like a challenge.

Deborah said...

Oh my goodness! I can't believe the bowl melted on you! You still did a great job on your first challenge.

Gabi said...

I've done that plastic melting thing only inside my oven (long story) -so I'm sorry -it's really frustrating and stinky...
But your focaccia is beautiful and you made your 1st challenge- great job!
xoxo
Gabi

Katie said...

Yay! Congratulations on completing your first challange and overcoming all the obsticals. Your breads turned out lovely.

Shayne said...

Bread can be a hard one to make and the only reason I did as well as I did on mine was becasue I made a rye bread a few months ago that is very sticky too.

and the bowl melting, I am so sorry that is just something that you would have to go through because I too place my bowls on the stove with the oven on.

why didn't anyone eat the focaccia? I would think that it would have been good but I have never had hazelnut oil so what do I know.

Welcome to the group and you will have so much fun with it even if it is a melting disaster that is how we learn new things, trust me I know I am not a baker.

Tiffany @ Lattes And Life said...

Aw sheesh, I just had to laugh at your adventure!!! "learning experience" yea, sure!! LOL....

MyKitchenInHalfCups said...

You certainly took the dare and it baked up beautifully. Welcome to our crazy group! Now let's see what December brings us. No more melting plastic I hope!

Elle said...

Glad you avoided the kitchen fire and good for you that you salvaged the rest of the dough. The foccacia looks beautiful...too bad your family didn't care for it, but you did a great job. You have true Daring Baker spirit! Glad you are a Daring Baker.

Amanda at Little Foodies said...

Melting bowls, nearly setting the kitchen on fire. You Daring Baker you! Can't believe your family didn't eat the focaccia. Looks great, even the well done loaf! Well done on your first challenge Angel.

Christine said...

Great job on your first challenge! Even if it wasn't as you thought and you had some challenges, you hung in there. Nice pick with the hazelnut oil for the focaccia!

Welcome to the DBers!

Christina ~ She Runs, She Eats

creampuff said...

Congratulatoins on your first DB challenge!