I made it yesterday by hand, which I have NEVER done since realizing my bread machine makes a perfect dough. Kneading a stick of butter into dough? By hand? Well, if Joanna Chang can do it, so can I. Also, I have always made something "with" the dough: cinnamon rolls, not rolls, etc. It's the sturdy side-kick, but not the star attraction.
The adjusted recipe dough is too wet to knead using 3 cups of flour. I had to add approximately 3/4 C more flour, which throws off my 75% hydration calculation (my original notes SAY this, but I didn't adjust before using the recipe). Another issue is I used "jumbo" eggs because that was all that was available which means more moisture than the calculated water amount value for "large eggs" that l typically use. Also my sour cream seemed off--it was really watery which added even more moisture.
Results:
The first rise of the dough was incredibly high: it tripled at least. I didn't pick up on the fact that it was sitting on top of the stove burner rack while I was baking chicken for dinner. So there was probably too much heat involved.
Punched down, the dough was easy to roll out with a light sprinkling of flour. Usually I put the dough in the refrigerator overnight which re-hardens that stick of butter. But I didn't think of that (apparently I wasn't thinking MUCH during this whole process) and just proceeded forward. I rolled the dough into a standard log, rather than the traditional braided effect as I wanted to view and test the interior dough over the next couple of days. If it were braided, I would have more exterior texture and less interior texture.
The recipe needs more raisins; it calls for 1/2 C which isn't anywhere near enough for me. Sun Maid Golden raisins are my only choice and I noticed that over half of them had tiny hard stems still attached. I manually reviewed each raisin and removed those, invoking Quarantine Useless Waste of Time #306,687,110
Also, the dough needs more salt. I just now realized Grandma and Mom would have used salted butter and I only use unsalted butter. So either use salted butter or add at least another 1/2 tsp of salt.
Also, I think the dough needs more sweetness. I will be increasing the sugar to 1/2 C next time and possibly even more after that test. But to quote my mother this morning: "I don't like sweets! But I like Sweet Bread because it's not sweet." I obviously get my tenacious logic skills from her.
On the second rise of the shaped loaf, the dough again doubled. I brushed it with the beaten egg whites (with 1 TBL water and a pinch of salt added) and popped it into a 350 degree oven. Set the time for 15 minutes, rotated and then another 15 minutes. The top and bottom were a dark golden color. However, over the course of an hour, the finished dough collapsed to a lower version...almost like a mutant size biscotti loaf before it is sliced. So I'm guessing the thickest part of the interior wasn't completely baked. I've really come to depend on my Thermapen for cases like this, but am pretty sure my BASAL thermometer won't cut the mustard here.
The texture is divine. It has to be one of the most tender bread crumbs I have ever made. I won't know about the tangzhong effect for another day or so because longevity is the key I'm looking for there. I'll keep you apprised.
https://recipeswap.org/fun/wp-content/uploads/swap-photos/Paska2.jpg
The adjusted recipe dough is too wet to knead using 3 cups of flour. I had to add approximately 3/4 C more flour, which throws off my 75% hydration calculation (my original notes SAY this, but I didn't adjust before using the recipe). Another issue is I used "jumbo" eggs because that was all that was available which means more moisture than the calculated water amount value for "large eggs" that l typically use. Also my sour cream seemed off--it was really watery which added even more moisture.
Results:
The first rise of the dough was incredibly high: it tripled at least. I didn't pick up on the fact that it was sitting on top of the stove burner rack while I was baking chicken for dinner. So there was probably too much heat involved.
Punched down, the dough was easy to roll out with a light sprinkling of flour. Usually I put the dough in the refrigerator overnight which re-hardens that stick of butter. But I didn't think of that (apparently I wasn't thinking MUCH during this whole process) and just proceeded forward. I rolled the dough into a standard log, rather than the traditional braided effect as I wanted to view and test the interior dough over the next couple of days. If it were braided, I would have more exterior texture and less interior texture.
The recipe needs more raisins; it calls for 1/2 C which isn't anywhere near enough for me. Sun Maid Golden raisins are my only choice and I noticed that over half of them had tiny hard stems still attached. I manually reviewed each raisin and removed those, invoking Quarantine Useless Waste of Time #306,687,110
Also, the dough needs more salt. I just now realized Grandma and Mom would have used salted butter and I only use unsalted butter. So either use salted butter or add at least another 1/2 tsp of salt.
Also, I think the dough needs more sweetness. I will be increasing the sugar to 1/2 C next time and possibly even more after that test. But to quote my mother this morning: "I don't like sweets! But I like Sweet Bread because it's not sweet." I obviously get my tenacious logic skills from her.
On the second rise of the shaped loaf, the dough again doubled. I brushed it with the beaten egg whites (with 1 TBL water and a pinch of salt added) and popped it into a 350 degree oven. Set the time for 15 minutes, rotated and then another 15 minutes. The top and bottom were a dark golden color. However, over the course of an hour, the finished dough collapsed to a lower version...almost like a mutant size biscotti loaf before it is sliced. So I'm guessing the thickest part of the interior wasn't completely baked. I've really come to depend on my Thermapen for cases like this, but am pretty sure my BASAL thermometer won't cut the mustard here.
The texture is divine. It has to be one of the most tender bread crumbs I have ever made. I won't know about the tangzhong effect for another day or so because longevity is the key I'm looking for there. I'll keep you apprised.
https://recipeswap.org/fun/wp-content/uploads/swap-photos/Paska2.jpg
