(re-post)
It got very blustery on Saturday and even though it wasn't all that cold the thought of bread put to rise on a Winnie the Pooh day got me trying something to make it more cozy.
I had half of the simple bread dough in the frig with an Oct 21 date on a note on top of it which meant it was coming up to the two week limit or "use before".
Six muffin tins got oiled and then some cornmeal sprinkled on the bottom. Last time I used half the recipe to make buns I made them bigger and got four. This time I decided to see what would happen if I divided that amount into sixths. This time I made no attempt to shape the dough, just wet my hands and scooped out a sixth of a hunk at a time and plopped this into the tin. No extra flour; no kneading. I really do like this way of making bread!
Here's where the "cozy" part comes in. I had doors and windows open so it was cool in the house and a good wind was blowing across the counter where I normally would set bread to rise. I got a plastic dish pan and put some hot water in it, then set the muffin tin pan onto the hot water (it was just about floating), put this on that breezy counter and covered the dishpan with a folded wool blanket. Left it to rise for the usual forty minutes. The dough rose even with the top of the tins. And what you see in the above photo is how they looked a minute or so after they came out of the oven after about 25 minutes at 450 degrees.
I had to immediately cut one open (and take it outside to get a picture; I must figure out how to take indoor photos without them looking ghostly) and this is what it looked like.
What was different is that the crust was all over crusty – top, bottom, sides. Not too thick but also not too thin and the bottom had a wonderful cornmeal taste and crunch.
When the buns had cooled I cut open another one to see if the crust had 'mellowed' as it often does. Nope!!! Still crisp and crunchy. The inside still soft and tasty.
I guess the moist rise must have been the cause of this. Next will be to see how they reheat after freezing.