The Cheese Board (19 page)
Authors: Cheese Board Collective Staff
Chocolate-Drizzled Stars, Trees, or Hearts
Here’s an easy holiday cookie. While it looks fancy, there is nothing to it. We make these in star and tree shapes during the winter holidays and in the shape of hearts for Valentine’s Day.
Preparation time including baking: 55 minutes
8 ounces bittersweet chocolate, coarsely chopped
Shortbread
cookies in shapes of stars, trees, or hearts (your choice)
cookies in shapes of stars, trees, or hearts (your choice)
Use a rubber spatula to drizzle lines of chocolate over the tops of the cookies, crisscrossing to create interesting patterns. Let the chocolate set for at least 2 hours prior to handling the cookies.
In the beginning, it was hard making decisions in meetings. I didn’t feel like I really knew what was going on. Some new people get right into voting, but it took me awhile to understand the place and feel confident voting.
—WILLA
I think the way we make decisions is fair. People are heard. Some people have more ideas than others do, but that’s no problem for me because I feel they have a lot more experience than I do. I am becoming more and more comfortable at meetings. At first I was embarrassed to talk. Now I speak more because I know people better.
—FRANCISCO
Our product is the result of our collective process. Everybody’s input is valued. Every bread you see on the shelf is the culmination of many minute decisions made by a series of bakers.
—CATHY
I had never baked or been in a bakery setting when I started working at the Cheese Board. People encouraged me to learn dough-making even though I had only been here three months. The trust that people had in me was pretty incredible. That trust adds to the feeling that we are really a part of our business. Both the product we sell and the process by which we run our business are important to me. While I very much care about what our product looks like, I love that so many of us get to make the doughs and bake. Sometimes the person who is making the doughs or baking isn’t always the best person for the job. But I am committed to, and love, the idea that we don’t just say, “Oh, these people get to do this because they are naturally good at it and these people don’t get to.” That, to me, goes totally against who and what we are. Everyone working here knows that opportunity is there for them if they want it.
—SHEHANNA
CHAPTER TWO
YEASTED BREADS
AT THE CHEESE BOARD,
we separate our breads into two categories: sourdough breads and yeasted breads. Since a sourdough starter is made from captured wild yeast, breads made with a sourdough starter technically belong within the yeasted bread group; however, what we mean by “yeasted” dough is a dough that is made with commercial yeast. The rising times are short compared to sourdough breads—you can easily make a yeasted bread in three to four hours, a fun way to spend a small part of your day.
The same principles apply when making a yeasted dough as when making a sourdough. It is important to use fresh ingredients, knead the dough long enough to pass the windowpane test, let it rise the appropriate time, and bake the loaves at the correct temperature. Some yeasted doughs, like the challah and the Sunday Bread, are very forgiving, with a lot of room for trial and error. The whole-wheat breads are a little trickier. Because of the dense quality of the grains in these doughs, they can become very heavy loaves of bread if not handled properly. Whole-wheat doughs tend to be stickier in the kneading stages than other doughs. Don’t be tempted to skimp on the water in order to make the dough more manageable—it is ample amounts of water and kneading that make these breads successful.
Many of the doughs in this chapter are shaped and then placed into traditional loaf pans. In the early years at the Cheese Board, all of the breads were shaped into rounds and baked on baking sheets, which made for an old-world rustic look. Then some of us began to complain that the only way to make a respectable sandwich was to use the two center slices. These loaf breads were developed to address the need of many Cheese Boarders (and their family members) for a proletariat sandwich bread: a hearty whole-wheat bread to smear peanut butter and jelly on.
YEASTED BREADS
The beauty of this place is the fact that we are owners and that we are so proud of this place. We really care about what we make. We feel like it has to be perfect; if it isn’t, we discuss it among ourselves and decide whether to pull it off the shelves or mark it down. I love that. That’s what the whole place is about. Everyone has a voice because it is
our
business.
our
business.
—ERIN
Challah
We make this braided egg bread every Friday morning, and more people reserve it on a regular basis than any other bread we make. Our challah is light and airy and faintly sweet. The tops of the loaves can be left plain and shiny, or sprinkled with sesame or poppy seeds, as you like.
MAKES 3 LOAVES
Preparation time including rising and baking: 3½ hours; active time: 50 minutes
2 tablespoons active dry yeast
1 cup warm water
4½ cups bread flour
½ cup sugar
2 teaspoons kosher salt
½ cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, cut into 1-inch cubes, at room temperature
5 eggs
2 tablespoons poppy or sesame seeds (optional)
In a small bowl, whisk the yeast into the warm water until dissolved. Let stand for 5 minutes.
In the bowl of a stand mixer or a large bowl, combine the flour, sugar, and salt.
If using a stand mixer,
add the butter to the dry ingredients and cut it in with the paddle attachment on low speed for about 4 minutes, or until it is the size of small peas. Add the yeast mixture and 3 of the eggs, and mix until the ingredients are combined, about 2 minutes. Switch to the dough hook, increase the mixer speed to medium, and knead for about 10 minutes, or until the dough loses its rough texture. Transfer to a lightly floured surface and knead by hand for a few minutes, until the dough is smooth and elastic.
add the butter to the dry ingredients and cut it in with the paddle attachment on low speed for about 4 minutes, or until it is the size of small peas. Add the yeast mixture and 3 of the eggs, and mix until the ingredients are combined, about 2 minutes. Switch to the dough hook, increase the mixer speed to medium, and knead for about 10 minutes, or until the dough loses its rough texture. Transfer to a lightly floured surface and knead by hand for a few minutes, until the dough is smooth and elastic.
If making by hand,
add the butter to the dry ingredients and cut it in with a pastry cutter or 2 dinner knives until it is the size of small peas. Add the yeast mixture and 3 of the eggs, and mix with a wooden spoon until the ingredients are combined. Transfer to a lightly floured surface and knead for 12 minutes, or until the dough is smooth and elastic.
add the butter to the dry ingredients and cut it in with a pastry cutter or 2 dinner knives until it is the size of small peas. Add the yeast mixture and 3 of the eggs, and mix with a wooden spoon until the ingredients are combined. Transfer to a lightly floured surface and knead for 12 minutes, or until the dough is smooth and elastic.
Form the dough into a ball and place it in a large oiled bowl. Turn the dough over to coat it with oil. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap or a damp kitchen towel and let rise in a warm, draft-free place for 1 hour, or until doubled in size.
Transfer the dough to a lightly floured surface and divide it into 3 pieces. Gently form each piece into a
loose round
and cover with a floured kitchen towel. Let rest for 10 minutes. Shape each piece into a
3-stranded braid
.
loose round
and cover with a floured kitchen towel. Let rest for 10 minutes. Shape each piece into a
3-stranded braid
.
Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper or baking mats. Place 2 loaves on a prepared pan and 1 loaf on the second pan, leaving plenty of room between the 2 loaves so they do not touch each other as they rise and bake. Cover the loaves with a floured kitchen towel and let them rise in a warm place for about 45 minutes, or until increased in size by one-third and a finger pressed into the dough leaves an impression.
Fifteen minutes before the loaves have finished rising, arrange the oven racks in the upper and lower thirds of the oven. Preheat the oven to 375°F.
In a small bowl, whisk the remaining 2 eggs. Using a pastry brush, brush the top and sides of each loaf with the beaten eggs. Repeat this step and sprinkle the breads with poppy seeds or sesame seeds.
Bake for 15 minutes, then rotate the pans front to back and trade their rack positions. Bake for another 20 minutes, for a total baking time of 35 minutes, or until the loaves are golden brown and sound hollow when tapped on the bottom. Transfer the loaves to wire racks to cool.
Note: This recipe can be made into 1 large challah for special occasions. Remove all but the middle rack from the oven, preheat the oven to 350°F, and bake the large challah for 45 to 50 minutes. This large challah is also beautiful shaped as a
2-stranded turban
.
2-stranded turban
.
Holiday Challah
In early September, our customers call to remind us to make this variation on our usual Friday challah for Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur. This celebratory bread is filled with dried fruit and shaped like an ornate turban.
½ cup golden raisins
½ cup diced dried apricots
½ cup dried currants
Add the golden raisins, diced dried apricots, and dried currants to the challah dough when the kneading is almost finished. Proceed with the regular challah recipe, shaping the dough into three
2-stranded turbans
.
2-stranded turbans
.
Every Friday I make the challah, joining the long tradition of challah makers at the Cheese Board. Although I make several other breads on Fridays, my whole day (which starts at 4:30
A.M.
) leads up to the rolling and baking of this bread. Our recipe is rich in eggs and butter, and sweetened with white sugar. We make four hundred pounds of challah dough, which is proofed in six twenty-gallon plastic bins. Four members gather around the rolling table, and for one hour we braid the straw-colored dough into 160 loaves. The sun shines into the store from the front window, and while some of the customers watch the bread-making process, we talk, laugh, and roll bread. Sometimes it seems like we will never be finished, and when we finally are, I want to roll just one more loaf.
A.M.
) leads up to the rolling and baking of this bread. Our recipe is rich in eggs and butter, and sweetened with white sugar. We make four hundred pounds of challah dough, which is proofed in six twenty-gallon plastic bins. Four members gather around the rolling table, and for one hour we braid the straw-colored dough into 160 loaves. The sun shines into the store from the front window, and while some of the customers watch the bread-making process, we talk, laugh, and roll bread. Sometimes it seems like we will never be finished, and when we finally are, I want to roll just one more loaf.
—CATHY
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