Grandma's Polish Sweet Bread

[Norcalbaker59]

I recognize that bakeware. My grandmother had a covered baking dish made of that type of glass. It had a caddy so you could place the hot dish on the dinner table without damaging it.

 

[Jean S.]

I recognize that bakeware. My grandmother had a covered baking dish made of that type of glass. It had a caddy so you could place the hot dish on the dinner table without damaging it.

 

[Jean S.]

Oh I am so glad you recognize it from your grandmother! As this Fry was my Polish grandmothers! Maybe they are meeting up in heaven now, something in common.

May attempt the poolish today. But I do have a few "have to do" things today as well. And I don't want to rush myself, and mess it up ..........still may happen. But I'll learn the thermometer and if I have to right glass for the liquid to measure temp.

Baby steps.

 

[Jean S.]

Ok, the poolish went into the warm oven. At noon. When can I look to see if it is doing anything, hours wise?

And I didn't turn the heat on here, so it is 60 degrees at noon in here.

When do I know that the poolish is at its peak? And how long does the peak last?

Baby steps.

 

[Jean S.]

I think I have a fail. The yeast in the liquid didn't look foamy like your picture/and like you said. But I saw no granules either. It has been 5 hours now in the oven, and although I do see air holes in it, it sure didn't seem like it grew much. I expected it to really grow double in size. Am I wrong?

UPDATE: Looking at it with the plastic off (which has condensation on it) maybe it is ok? There are air holes underneath. I'll try to post pictures of it. It did grow but I don't know if it is enough. I used a glass bowl, the design is on the outside of it, not inside. Put the plastic back on, and back in oven although that is dead cold now.

Ok, here are 3 pics at 5 hours, what say you?

 

[Norcalbaker59]

Don’t worry. The poolish has a very small amount of yeast in it by design. its meant to develop very slowly. 5 hours is just the start. This poolish is designed to ferment for 12 to 16 hrs. There are bubbles forming in there. So the yeast is alive. Don’t mix it. Just let it sit in his bowl and it will be fine. Have faith.

If at this point it was full of bubbles, it would over ferment by morning. Over fermenting means the yeast has eaten through its food source. Do you remember I mentioned my concern that the poolish was developing a bit too fast because my house was very warm? The poolish had too many bubbles too soon, which meant is was gobbling up its food source. I actually moved the bowl of poolish over to the granite countertop since stone stays cool. By dropping the temperature under the bowl, it’s slowed the development of yeast down.

That’s ok if the yeast did not look foamy when you added it to the water and evaporated milk. The purpose of putting the yeast in the liquid is to dissolve it, not bloom it. It’s such a tiny amount of yeast that dissolving it better distributes the yeast throughout the flour, And that way the dough will develop more evenly.

When you actually make the bread, and you make the second dough to mix with the poolish, you’ll be using a lot more yeast. So when you sprinkle it over the liquid and let it set 10 minutes it will certainly bloom into a foam.

 

[Jean S.]

Don’t worry. The poolish has a very small amount of yeast in it by design. its meant to develop very slowly. 5 hours is just the start. This poolish is designed to ferment for 12 to 16 hrs. There are bubbles forming in there. So the yeast is alive. Don’t mix it. Just let it sit in his bowl and it will be fine. Have faith.

If at this point it was full of bubbles, it would over ferment by morning. Over fermenting means the yeast has eaten through its food source. Do you remember I mentioned my concern that the poolish was developing a bit too fast because my house was very warm? The poolish had too many bubbles too soon, which meant is was gobbling up its food source. I actually moved the bowl of poolish over to the granite countertop since stone stays cool. By dropping the temperature under the bowl, it’s slowed the development of yeast down.

That’s ok if the yeast did not look foamy when you added it to the water and evaporated milk. The purpose of putting the yeast in the liquid is to dissolve it, not bloom it. It’s such a tiny amount of yeast that dissolving it better distributes the yeast throughout the flour, And that way the dough will develop more evenly.

When you actually make the bread, and you make the second dough to mix with the poolish, you’ll be using a lot more yeast. So when you sprinkle it over the liquid and let it set 10 minutes it will certainly bloom into a foam.

 

[Jean S.]

I appreciate the details you just gave me. It told me a lot. Because I wondered about the timing and such. When to start making the dough at what "hour" of the poolish. I haven't studied your notes further than the poolish. I've read them but not studied/absorbed them. Timing is inherent to you with baking, for me, nada.

Today was the coldest we have had. Even the news was full of how cold it is here today. I saw snow in the mountains in the distance. So full on "winter" already arrived. It is supposed to warm up, but not "warm CA style" in the days ahead. The valley where I live may or may not get 1 snow a year, and it only lasts a couple of days, and isn't a lot. I grew up in MI, so I know snow very well.

Ok, I won't stress about the poolish for the night. I look forward to seeing it in the AM.

Please understand how badly and how long I have waited to make this bread.

 

[Norcalbaker59]

We have rain tonight. We need it, but I wanted to make caramel. Can’t make caramel in humidity. Hopefully we’ll get a few dry days before Thanksgiving so that I can make the caramel for my cake filling. I have my holiday desserts planned out. I don’t want to make last minute changes.

 

[Jean S.]

We have rain tonight. We need it, but I wanted to make caramel. Can’t make caramel in humidity. Hopefully we’ll get a few dry days before Thanksgiving so that I can make the caramel for my cake filling. I have my holiday desserts planned out. I don’t want to make last minute changes.

 

[Jean S.]

Well enjoy the rain for a bit. You don't get as much as here. You bake all day every day it seems. A real love.

Well here are the pics 15 hours into it. I do see more air hole.

 

[Jean S.]

I am getting confused as to timing, I take it I make the poolish the day before, at what hour of that do I start making the dough? How do you coordinate it all?

 

[Norcalbaker59]

The poolish looks good.

Just make the poolish before going to bed. My baking and cooking routine is to measure all my ingredients out before I start. Then I organize the ingredients in the order I will use them. That way I follow an orderly process.

When making a bread with two doughs, I measure out all the ingredients for both doughs.I organize all my ingredients for each dough on a tray. If there are ingredients that need to be refrigerated, I place those ingredients back in the refrigerator. I place a sticky note on the tray listing the items in the fridge as a reminder

The reasons I won’t mix anything until everything is measured out is to ensure nothing is left out and the mixing is orderly. And too, measuring and organizing the ingredients in the order they will be used helps me memorize the mixing steps.

Timing for this recipe

Day 1: whenever you have time.
- Measure our all ingredients for both doughs
- Organize ingredients
- Before bed mix poolish

Day 2: in the morning
- 1 hour before mixing, place refrigerated ingredients on the counter to come up to temperature
- Organize all tools in work area. You don’t want to dig around in a drawer looking for a bench scraper with hands covered in sticky dough
- Organize ingredients in work area
- Read through the recipe. Reading through the recipe will help you remember the mixing steps
- When the ingredients are at the correct temperature, start mixing.

NOTE: if you cannot mix the bread dough until the afternoon of Day 2, mix the poolish a couple of hours before bed. Leave the poolish on the counter. Then just before going to bed place the poolish in the refrigerator. Refrigeration will slow the development of the yeast.

In the morning remove the poolish from refrigerator. Leave it out until you’re ready to mix your bread do in the afternoon.

===

Since the milk is heated, it’s just waiting for the egg and butter to come to room temperature.

Since you mix the poolish the night before, you need to begin mixing your dough in the morning.

 

[Jean S.]

The poolish looks good.

Just make the poolish before going to bed. My baking and cooking routine is to measure all my ingredients out before I start. Then I organize the ingredients in the order I will use them. That way I follow an orderly process.

When making a bread with two doughs, I measure out all the ingredients for both doughs.I organize all my ingredients for each dough on a tray. If there are ingredients that need to be refrigerated, I place those ingredients back in the refrigerator. I place a sticky note on the tray listing the items in the fridge as a reminder

The reasons I won’t mix anything until everything is measured out is to ensure nothing is left out and the mixing is orderly. And too, measuring and organizing the ingredients in the order they will be used helps me memorize the mixing steps.

Timing for this recipe

Day 1: whenever you have time.
- Measure our all ingredients for both doughs
- Organize ingredients
- Before bed mix poolish

Day 2: in the morning
- 1 hour before mixing, place refrigerated ingredients on the counter to come up to temperature
- Organize all tools in work area. You don’t want to dig around in a drawer looking for a bench scraper with hands covered in sticky dough
- Organize ingredients in work area
- Read through the recipe. Reading through the recipe will help you remember the mixing steps
- When the ingredients are at the correct temperature, start mixing.

NOTE: if you cannot mix the bread dough until the afternoon of Day 2, mix the poolish a couple of hours before bed. Leave the poolish on the counter. Then just before going to bed place the poolish in the refrigerator. Refrigeration will slow the development of the yeast.

In the morning remove the poolish from refrigerator. Leave it out until you’re ready to mix your bread do in the afternoon.

===

Since the milk is heated, it’s just waiting for the egg and butter to come to room temperature.

Since you mix the poolish the night before, you need to begin mixing your dough in the morning.

 

[Jean S.]

Thanks for all that instruction, it will help.

22 1/2 hours into it and there is ton of air holes.

Now I just need a scraper!

 

[Norcalbaker59]

Thanks for all that instruction, it will help.

22 1/2 hours into it and there is ton of air holes.

Now I just need a scraper!

It actually good you made the poolish to see how it’s done. You watched it fully develop. So now you will better understand what you are looking for in a poolish that is ready to be mixed into a dough.

Few holes means it no where near ready.

Too many holes too soon means it developing too fast. So you either have to use it sooner, or put it in a cooler environment to slow the development of the yeast.

If the dough is so full of holes that it looks like lace, then you know it’s over fermented.

 

[Jean S.]

It actually good you made the poolish to see how it’s done. You watched it fully develop. So now you will better understand what you are looking for in a poolish that is ready to be mixed into a dough.

Few holes means it no where near ready.

Too many holes too soon means it developing too fast. So you either have to use it sooner, or put it in a cooler environment to slow the development of the yeast.

If the dough is so full of holes that it looks like lace, then you know it’s over fermented.

 

[Jean S.]

Yes now I know.

If I had a scraper I would attempt the entire thing, but as the recipe is teaching me, have patience.

How long can the PET milk be good in the can refrigerated? Or do I need to move it to some kind of tupperware, and even then how long will it last? At least it isn't expensive.

From what you have written I need to watch your videos you posted here again to learn about 2 techniques you used, correct? The F one and the slap one. Sorry for abbreviations.......still foreign words to me.

I threw away the poolish but did note that the 22 hour poolish looked the same as the 26 hour one, it didn't look lacey until I went to take it out of the bowl and the texture was indeed lacey. So it was a good practice and learning run.

I admire the way you could tell that a pro was involved in this due to the ingredients used. Great detective work!

 

[Jean S.]

I went scrolling back through all these pages to look for a few things you said, found them. I realize I didn't put any hot water in the oven with the poolish. Should I have? Or is that just for the final dough?

And I realized some of the pictures were not of the poolish but of the dough part. I didn't notice that before.

And I didn't spoon the flour into the measuring cup like you said. I remembered the tapping part though, lol.

I've printed out all the information you generously shared with me. And bookmarked those videos about kneading for myself.

I like your container that had quart marks on it to be able to see when the dough had doubled in size. Is it available in a regular store?

I almost bought a scraper from one of the links you posted but they kept asking for a company name, I got a little intimidated.

Oh my I asked so many questions. I was so anxious (been waiting 30 years) and now that I know it can be done, I am calmer, lol.

 

[Jean S.]

Sigh. More questions.
A room temp egg? In shell let it warm up, or room temp out of shell? Whisk it too?

I noticed the difference in scrapers when I watched that one video, one is for the bowl, and flat edged one for picking the dough up. I have seen flat edge items but they also cut (Sharp edge), is that what you are using?

I have one of these. I used it for chopping but wonder if I could use if for either the bowl or for the dough.