Grandma's Polish Sweet Bread

[Jean S.]

Oh heavens I don't want to change anything in this recipe that you wrote out!!! I'll be lucky to make it correctly! I can get that flour you suggested, and get the unsalted butter. I just wondered and now I know!
Now you could play around with it because you know what you are doing, lol! But not me.

There is no restaurant supply store in my town, I checked. According to google there is one in the town N of me, but with the winter weather appearing it can be a scary drive going up winding hills and down the other side ie freezing rain, heavy fog and such. Getting too old I guess. Maybe I can find a braver driver, lol.

The mat sounds like a good idea, as I have been looking at my kitchen and what work space I could use. What size would you recommend? I saw online they come in all different sizes, so I need your recommendation on size please.

My kitchen would be cold at night, guess I'll have to think about turning on the heat here for a few days to make the bread, it would be worth it to keep the Poolish in good shape. Once it ferments enough does it stay that way after I take it out of the oven, even in the cold? If I go that route?

I see the King Arthur site sells a lot of things I'll need. I might try that. Course it will probably be more expensive than a supply store, but more convenient for me.

I'll have to dig way back in my cupboard to see what my bread pans hold. I know the one my mother gave me, and said it was grandma's is bigger (bluish and whitish tint to the glass) than my other glass pan. An antique glass pan. Don't know if by baking in it, that those colors appeared. But it was that way when Mom gave it to me.

Oh and I agree about your thought on what your BIL said. Grandma must have told him how to eat it, lol. I was shocked when you told me.

Your sisters comment sounded like true baker talk, a language I don't speak.

The aroma sounds impressive. I am honored that you will keep grandma's recipe. Imagine those Bingo winners at the church who won a loaf of this bread, as that is what they did with it. Lucky folks indeed.

If I can upload the pic, it is the Original recipe written by my mother. A "gift" for you. I've carried that piece of paper with me about 30 years in search of making it.

 

[Jean S.]

PS. I sent my cousin your pic of the inside of the bread, just got a reply..."beautiful bread, takes me back"........He remembers the lamb mold of butter too, I don't, but he lived 5 minutes from grandma. In fact he said he had school lunch there at the grandparents every day. I lived 45 minutes away so only did holidays with the grandparents. But because they didn't speak much English, he never learned about them. Ate lunch, back to school. Grandma's origin/past is gone.

 

[Norcalbaker59]

Thank you for sharing the photo of the actual recipe. I’m going to printed and place it in my baking binder. I have a very deep interest in food history. Food truly connects us to family and community.

I was also very curious about this recipe given your description of the open crumb. Since enriched breads like this normally have a very tight crumb, I really wanted to make it to see if I could reproduce it.

I was also fascinated by the idea of a grandmother’s recipe that was produced with professional knowledge, in a commercial kitchen.

The 2 gallons water + 2 cans pet milk implies the mixing of the water and canned milk. To me that indicates baking knowledge beyond the home baker. Prior to commercial pasteurization of milk, it could not be added directly in a dough with yeast. Milk contains an enzyme that inhibits the development of yeast. The enzyme had to be destroyed before the milk was added to the yeast dough.

Canned milk is heated to evaporate the water. Heat is also how you destroy the enzyme that inhibits yeast development. It also condenses the milk, so the protein content is much higher than fresh milk. A cup of fresh milk has about 7g - 8g of protein. But an equal amount of evaporated canned milk contains about 18g of protein. Milk protein is an excellent way to develop the gluten in the flour for bread making.

Using evaporated milk in the poolish or sponge would provide all the benefits of milk, without having to scald milk. The home baker would not have known to use the evaporated milk in this way. It’s simply not common knowledge. I really am convinced there was a professional baker in your grandmothers circle of friends.

The silpat mat I used is 11 5/8” x 16 1/2”.

A poolish made with 1/8 tsp of active dry yeast should be good up to 24 hours after mixing. Yeast is a living organism. It consumes the starch in the flour. As it consumes the starch, it reproduces. At a certain point, it consume all of its food source. If additional flour is not added, at some point it will begin to die off.

It’s important that you not use more than that little scant 1/8 teaspoon of active dry yeast in the poolish. It will not look like much yeast. But given the long ferment time, starting with too much yeast will result in the yeast eating through it food supply.

When you first mix the poolish it will just look like a lump of stiff plain dough. But as the yeast reproduces, the dough will soften; air pockets (small holes) will eventually fill the dough. If after resting overnight the poolish still looks like a plain lump of dough with no air pockets, toss it out and start over.

It’s also important that you use active dry yeast. Do not use yeast that is labeled instant or rapid rise. Instant and rapid rise yeast are manufactured to develop 50% faster than active dry yeast. They are designed for use in doughs with a very short fermented time. They develop very quickly so if you leave the poolish overnight, they will plow through their food source before long. You will end up with a poolish with more dead yeast been living yeast.

 

[Norcalbaker59]

Would you mind telling me your grandmother’s first name? I would like to save the recipe in my binder under her name and included the background on how this recipe came to me.

When my grandmother passed away, my grandfather was so grief stricken my oldest sister and I attempted to console him by re-creating some of my grandmother’s dishes for him. Sadly, many of the recipes died with my grandmother as she had them memorized.

I don’t want my children’s favorite recipes lost to them. So I’ve been transcribing my recipes in lay terms and organizing in a binder. I think it’s nice for them to know how a recipe came into our family.

 

[Jean S.]

I am humbled is all I can say. The true Polish baker is unknown, I tried via phone calls and emails back there in MI. Grandma and Grandpa were true Polish who emigrated to the USA, separately, but they met here in the USA. Who the mystery professional baker is.....still a mystery. You not only touched my heart, but my cousins as well.

 

[Jean S.]

Would you mind telling me your grandmother’s first name? I would like to save the recipe in my binder under her name and included the background on how this recipe came to me.

When my grandmother passed away, my grandfather was so grief stricken my oldest sister and I attempted to console him by re-creating some of my grandmother’s dishes for him. Sadly, many of the recipes died with my grandmother as she had them memorized.

I don’t want my children’s favorite recipes lost to them. So I’ve been transcribing my recipes in lay terms and organizing in a binder. I think it’s nice for them to know how a recipe came into our family.

 

[Jean S.]

Well depending on how you spell it, her first name, yes more confusion. Is either Johanna, or Joanna. Her maiden name was Kaminski, which I just learned a few days ago. Her married name was Chomic.

I tried Ancenstry.com for her recently, there are a lot of them. I don't know if she was the "baker" or just one of the women? I called the one Polish bakery I knew back there, but they have never made this bread ie the holes and went to a different Catholic Church.

Here is a picture of them on their anniversary (60 yrs. or 65 yrs. ?). I love/laugh at grandpa's checkered coat it is blue and white, Hawaiian shirt, and the striped tie,(I was told he bought a new Cadillac every year and drove grandma the one block to the church) but this is how I knew them and loved them. The "kids" are my mom and aunts and uncles.

 

[Norcalbaker59]

I am humbled is all I can say. The true Polish baker is unknown, I tried via phone calls and emails back there in MI. Grandma and Grandpa were true Polish who emigrated to the USA, separately, but they met here in the USA. Who the mystery professional baker is.....still a mystery. You not only touched my heart, but my cousins as well.

Helping people hold on to their family traditions through food is important. I’m glad I was of help. And for me, I have another lovely recipe, from a woman who baked for love of family and friends. So for me it’s an honor to be keeper of her recipe.

 

[Norcalbaker59]

Well depending on how you spell it, her first name, yes more confusion. Is either Johanna, or Joanna. Her maiden name was Kaminski, which I just learned a few days ago. Her married name was Chomic.

I tried Ancenstry.com for her recently, there are a lot of them. I don't know if she was the "baker" or just one of the women? I called the one Polish bakery I knew back there, but they have never made this bread ie the holes and went to a different Catholic Church.

Here is a picture of them on their anniversary (60 yrs. or 65 yrs. ?). I love/laugh at grandpa's checkered coat it is blue and white, Hawaiian shirt, and the striped tie,(I was told he bought a new Cadillac every year and drove grandma the one block to the church) but this is how I knew them and loved them. The "kids" are my mom and aunts and uncles.

View attachment 1188

Oh that’s such a nice photo of your family. I’m going to add that photo to the recipe and the photo of the ingredients list.

I will note the recipe as Grandma Johanna Kaminski-Chomic’s Easter Paska.

Preserving a family history through food is a good thing.

 

[Jean S.]

Ok more questions. For the poolish can I mix the evaporated milk and water and then heat it up? Or does it have to be heated separately? Does it matter with what utensil I use to mix the water mixture and flour?

The thermometer I bought says it has to be inserted at least one inch. The liquids don't seem like they would be an inch deep, so did I get the wrong thermometer (it was $13)? It is a Taylor Digital Thermometer, instant read, hold feature. Not waterproof, I haven't seen any that say that yet.

I did find a silmat, bought the Unbleached King Arthur Bread Dough, 2 brands of active dry yeast (Red Star & Fleischmans) any difference in those?

Looks like I will have to buy the plastic bench scraper and the pannetone molds online. Most likely from the King Arthur site, unless you have another recommendation.

I was thinking of making the poolish first to see if I can do it right, I won't be using it just testing myself. Since I'll have to wait for some of the products, might as well try eh...

 

[Norcalbaker59]

1. Poolish. Yes you can mix water and evaporated milk. I just simply noted the temperature range that you need to be in for each liquid. If the evaporated milk was room temperature but the water was chilled it would change the temperature when mixed.

2. The Taylor is fine. Are used to use a Taylor. Just be sure not to submerge the controls/read out section in water. Also do not hold it over a pot of streaming liquid. Like soup, for very long as steam can penetrate the control mechanism.

3. Place the liquid in a narrow glass. Tilt it toward one side to cause the liquid pool. There should then be enough liquid to submerge the thermometer. Temperature is more a concern on the high end. Used will survive in the cold it will just simply slow it down to an absolute crawl. If the liquid heats of over 115° which it can very easily do when your heating it, the heat will kill the yeast. Bakers use 110° as the cut off point to ensure they don’t get into that danger zone.

3. I think purchasing from King Arthur flour is fine. They are a good source for a lot of baking products. And I like it that their products are usually competitively priced. There’s a lot of online sources that over-charge I’d not outright price gouge. King Arthur flour is a reputable and trustworthy online retailer. Many home bakers source through King Arthur Flour.

4. Both brands of yeast are very good. The only reason that I used the Fleischmans is it is more readily available in stores. The Red Star brand is commonly used in commercial kitchens. Since I bake a lot I buy Red Star yeast from the restaurant supply store in 1 lb bags. I store my used in the freezer. Yeast should not be subject to extreme heat. It’s I store it in the freezer, I measure out what I’m going to use the night before I mix my dough, and leave the yeast in a little dish on the counter to come to room temperature. Yeast has a shelf life of about nine months to one year if stored in the freezer.

If you feel more comfortable just playing around mixing the poolish that’s fine. It’s not a lot of ingredients to practice with. But you’ll find that it is really quite simple. What you want to see in the morning is a dough that has softened and spread out. It should look moist and increased in bulk. There should be bubble holes throughout. The door should be quite sticky.

While baking is science requiring proper measurements, temperature, etc. baking is also done by look and feel. After you take the bread a couple of times you’ll begin to understand with the dough should look like and feel like.

And just remember even the most experience of baker’s have failures. So don’t be discouraged so don’t be discouraged if the bread does not look and taste perfect the first time out.

 

[Jean S.]

Thanks. I know I will fail, but I also know I will be determined as it means a lot to me. That is why I thought I would start off slow with making the poolish.

Dumb question, but not, is the pannetone mold 6" T and 4 1/2 W or is it the other way around?

I measured the glass loaf pan at the base outside and it measures 7 3/4 L 3 3/4 W and 3" Tall. Would it work? Or could I split the finished dough in half and put in 2 glass loaf pans? And would I grease them?

Also I noticed some flour around the mat in some of your pictures, so do I need to flour the mat for kneading?

Can't believe it is so hard to find a scraper. Geez.........

 

[Norcalbaker59]

Lol...it ok, I understand when I first started baking. I had so many questions. We all do.

1. The mold King Arthur sells is about 6” in diameter and 4 1/2” high. That should be a good size for that amount of dough.

2. The loaf pan should be 10" long x 5" wide x 3" high. You could divide the and put 3/4 of the dough in the loaf pan. Then with the remainder, divide and shape into small balls an arrange in a small cake pan to make rolls.

3. Just use a little bit of flour to dust the mat. Because the dough will not stick to much on the mat you don’t need a lot of flour. Measure out 1/3 cup flour. Are used about 2 tablespoons of flour total in the kneading process. But if you use up to 1/3 cup, it should not make a major difference in the finished bread.

You can use the mat to fold the dough over on it self in the kneading. That way you don’t have to use a lot of extra flour.

Yes, it tough to find supplies when you don’t live in the center of a big city. I used to live in San Francisco; I could find whatever I wanted or needed for baking and cooking by walking a block and a half to a kitchenware store in my neighborhood. I now live in the middle of the Napa valley surrounded by grapevines. To get to a kitchenware store I have to drive 45 minutes into town.

 

[Jean S.]

Well more confusion and learning. I knew the words "PET MILK" it's a brand, well the store didn't have PET brand so I guessed.........wrong........ after researching PET milk on the web when I got home. I know you wrote evaporated, but it didn't stick as well in my mind as PET did. So 2nd trip to store to get EVAPORATED milk. I will give myself some grace as the baking isle was packed with people and I couldn't see all the cans, but I think that without the word PET I was lost.......hope it gives you a laugh.

When making the dough, that 1/3 dusting cup is extra flour correct? On top of the 3 cups needed for the dough?

I am having a hard time envisioning that the dough goes in such a long bread pan, when the pannetone mold you used seems so small.

Could I not divide the dough into my 2 glass pans?

It is a forever mystery on what pan my grandma used..........I know what the bread looked like, and the scallop edgings, and the bread looked like a large short mushroom...

I did check out the stores via the web N of me, and wrote them. They don't carry much of what I wanted, that dang scraper and what pan to use.....argh.

And I just opened the thermometer and it is broken, won't turn on/off or anything....argh!!!!!

Maybe by next Easter I will be able to make the bread! (j/k)

 

[Norcalbaker59]

1. Pet and Borden were the most popular brands through the 1960’. But Carnation seems to have the lock on the evaporated milk these days. So I just noted it as evaporated milk.

2. Yes, the 1/3 cup flour is extra to used for kneading and shaping. When people first begin to bake they have a tendency to use quite a bit of flour for kneading, shaping, and rolling doughs. I specified an amount to help you manage the use of extra flour. As you gain more experience and devise your own methods of handling dough you’ll begin to use less and less flour in kneading.

3. The panettone mold I used is 6 5/7” round and 4 1/2” high. It’s for a 750g loaf. If you look at the photo, you’ll see the loaf rose about 2 1/2 inches above the rim of the panettone mold. A 1.5 lb loaf pan has a capacity for a 650g loaf. So it’s smaller than the panettone mold I used.

Yes of course you can divide the dough and bake it in glass pans. Glass will conduct heat a little bit differently. Reduce the baking temperature to about 325°. Since glass can shatter if it’s subjected to extreme temperature changes. Make sure the glass loaf pans are not cold when you put them in the oven. And when you remove them from the oven place them on a cooling rack, or your stovetop, and not a cold countertop surface.

4. I don’t think the thermometer is broken. If you cannot turn it on or off, check the battery case for a plastic tab inserted to prevent the battery from making contact with the wire leads. Look up the instructions for changing the battery. Open the battery case. There should be a little plastic tab under or around the battery. Remove the plastic tab, then re-insert the battery. Manufactures place plastic tabs in any thing that is shipped with a battery inside. The tab prevents the contact so the battery does not get used up before the item is purchased.

 

[Jean S.]

1. Pet and Borden were the most popular brands through the 1960’. But Carnation seems to have the lock on the evaporated milk these days. So I just noted it as evaporated milk.

2. Yes, the 1/3 cup flour is extra to used for kneading and shaping. When people first begin to bake they have a tendency to use quite a bit of flour for kneading, shaping, and rolling doughs. I specified an amount to help you manage the use of extra flour. As you gain more experience and devise your own methods of handling dough you’ll begin to use less and less flour in kneading.

3. The panettone mold I used is 6 5/7” round and 4 1/2” high. It’s for a 750g loaf. If you look at the photo, you’ll see the loaf rose about 2 1/2 inches above the rim of the panettone mold. A 1.5 lb loaf pan has a capacity for a 650g loaf. So it’s smaller than the panettone mold I used.

Yes of course you can divide the dough and bake it in glass pans. Glass will conduct heat a little bit differently. Reduce the baking temperature to about 325°. Since glass can shatter if it’s subjected to extreme temperature changes. Make sure the glass loaf pans are not cold when you put them in the oven. And when you remove them from the oven place them on a cooling rack, or your stovetop, and not a cold countertop surface.

4. I don’t think the thermometer is broken. If you cannot turn it on or off, check the battery case for a plastic tab inserted to prevent the battery from making contact with the wire leads. Look up the instructions for changing the battery. Open the battery case. There should be a little plastic tab under or around the battery. Remove the plastic tab, then re-insert the battery. Manufactures place plastic tabs in any thing that is shipped with a battery inside. The tab prevents the contact so the battery does not get used up before the item is purchased.

 

[Jean S.]

I know in my minds eye what a PET can looked like (I never paid attention or noticed it was evaporated milk), and was shocked not to see it there. I did see you type evaporated, and I remembered it but didn't associate the 2 and what PET actually meant until I looked it up on the web and learned the history of PET Milk.

Ok, do I grease the glass pans? One is Pyrex which is for baking and the other (older one) is a Fry.
I can't imagine either shattering. I baked in both before trying to make this bread. Really drop the temp?

Get this.

I did take the battery out and looked for a tab, nada. I knew to do that.

Took it back, picked up another...........talked to a clerk before buying it.......she showed me the clear tab that was over the glass, oh gee a clear tab over the clear glass, it doesn't have a tab that says remove, nor do the instructions say "remove tab 1st". So put a clear tab with black numbers over black numbers that you can't see through to see that there were other numbers underneath it.........lots of other brands had a "remove" sticker attached to the fake cover.......not Taylor.

One might think it is obvious, but it wasn't to me, and I am not stupid, poor packaging imho. OK that is my vent.

 

[Norcalbaker59]

That’s very odd that Taylor doesn’t put a tab in the battery pack. I remember actually breaking a battery case once trying to get it open to remove the tab.

For me I just wish they would do away with almost all packaging. I absolutely hate product packaging. Unless something is super fragile I don’t want to have to pull out a chainsaw just to get the item out of the packaging. The packaging that frustrates me the most is that plastic that you cannot cut through with a standard pair of scissors.

I’m not familiar with Fry. But I would assume it will perform in the same way as the Pyrex. I normally spray my pans with Pam. But a light coating of oil will be fine for the loaf pans

If it is an extremely sticky dough, I make up something called baker’s grease. Just mix equal parts by weight of flour, shortening, and cooking oil. But you shouldn’t need baker’s grease.

Yes, When baking in glass you need to reduce the temperature of the oven. The rule with glass is reducing the temperature by 25°. Glass conducts heat more intensely than metal. Bread and cake bake from the outside inward towards the center. If the oven is too hot the outside of the bread will be almost burnt by the time the center is baked. Remember, you have to bake to temperature of 200°! and not by time or look of the bread.

Yes there were a lot of reports about shattering a few years back. And manufactures warn against the possibility of shattering, especially when there are extreme changes in the temperature.

 

[Jean S.]

That’s very odd that Taylor doesn’t put a tab in the battery pack. I remember actually breaking a battery case once trying to get it open to remove the tab.

For me I just wish they would do away with almost all packaging. I absolutely hate product packaging. Unless something is super fragile I don’t want to have to pull out a chainsaw just to get the item out of the packaging. The packaging that frustrates me the most is that plastic that you cannot cut through with a standard pair of scissors.

I’m not familiar with Fry. But I would assume it will perform in the same way as the Pyrex. I normally spray my pans with Pam. But a light coating of oil will be fine for the loaf pans

If it is an extremely sticky dough, I make up something called baker’s grease. Just mix equal parts by weight of flour, shortening, and cooking oil. But you shouldn’t need baker’s grease.

Yes, When baking in glass you need to reduce the temperature of the oven. The rule with glass is reducing the temperature by 25°. Glass conducts heat more intensely than metal. Bread and cake bake from the outside inward towards the center. If the oven is too hot the outside of the bread will be almost burnt by the time the center is baked. Remember, you have to bake to temperature of 200°! and not by time or look of the bread.

Yes there were a lot of reports about shattering a few years back. And manufactures warn against the possibility of shattering, especially when there are extreme changes in the temperature.

 

[Jean S.]

Nor does Taylor put a tab on their clear plastic wrap over the glass, nor extend it farther than the glass to make it obvious to remove it. I agree about UN-cutable plastic.

Google Fry Ovenglass and you will see that it is antique, ie grandma's bread pan. He was the first to invent such a thing (I believe). Interesting read in wiki, and interesting pics too on google, they show the same white smokey like glass as the one I have.