This is another bread that is largely influenced by the time I spent in France. I have several French bread books that I acquired from outdoor markets, and a red-wine bread exists in both of them--one pairs it with pecans in the dough, the other with walnuts. This bread has character, and tastes more 'yeasty' than other breads, perhaps because of the small amount of wine/alcohol that flavors the dough. It is tangy
Yield: 12 red wine puffs
Ingredients:
450g all purpose flour
170 ml red wine (of your choice)
100 ml water
2 1/2 Tsp instant yeast
1 Tsp butter, softened
1 Tsp sugar
1 1/2 Tsp salt
35g walnuts coarsely chopped (sweetened, raw, or toasted--you can also substitute pecans)
Directions:
1) In a bowl, pour the red wine, water, butter, sugar, and yeast into a bowl and gently stir (you can do this in a mixing machine if you prefer, I do this dough by hand).
2) Slowly add flour, and stir together until a dough begins to form. Then add the salt and continue to stir/mix. Transfer dough to a lightly floured surface and knead until smooth and silky (about 5min). The dough will have a pale pink color. At this time, put the walnuts on the counter and on top of the dough and knead them into the dough until incorporated.
3) Place dough in a lightly greased medium/large bowl and cover with plastic wrap. Place bowl in a warm place for proofing for about 1.5-2hrs, or until doubled in bulk. Some people run the dishwasher and place the dough in that warm, humid environment. I have also set my oven to 200F for a few minutes and turn it off; then I wait for a few minutes and place my covered bowl in the warmed oven.
4) Remove the puffy dough from the oven and empty onto a lightly floured surface. Gently pat the dough and divide dough into 12 pieces (you can use a scale to weigh each piece for even baking times).
5) For each of the 12 pieces of dough, bring all of the corners of dough together to the center and pinch to form a ball. Roll the ball on the counter seem-side down to form a smooth ball. Leave the 12 rounds on the floured counter and cover with plastic wrap. Let the rounds of dough rest 30 minutes--they will grow a bit more.
6) Preheat oven to 375F. I prefer to use a pizza peel to load these breads onto a stone at the bottom of the oven. However you can also place the rounds on a lightly greased baking sheet or pizza pan and place them on a lower or middle shelf.
7) Bake the breads for 25-30 minutes. NOTE: every oven cooks differently, so assess the breads after 10-15 minutes. The slightly pink puffs should be golden/brown when done, and should sound hollow when tapped on the underside.
8) Remove buns from oven and, after a few minutes, transfer to rack for cooling.
NOTE: Due to lack of preservatives in the dough, the breads taste the best within the first few hours of baking. I would recommend freezing them if you plan to eat them more than one day after baking, as they will rapidly become stale.
Ingredients:
450g all purpose flour
170 ml red wine (of your choice)
100 ml water
2 1/2 Tsp instant yeast
1 Tsp butter, softened
1 Tsp sugar
1 1/2 Tsp salt
35g walnuts coarsely chopped (sweetened, raw, or toasted--you can also substitute pecans)
Directions:
1) In a bowl, pour the red wine, water, butter, sugar, and yeast into a bowl and gently stir (you can do this in a mixing machine if you prefer, I do this dough by hand).
2) Slowly add flour, and stir together until a dough begins to form. Then add the salt and continue to stir/mix. Transfer dough to a lightly floured surface and knead until smooth and silky (about 5min). The dough will have a pale pink color. At this time, put the walnuts on the counter and on top of the dough and knead them into the dough until incorporated.
3) Place dough in a lightly greased medium/large bowl and cover with plastic wrap. Place bowl in a warm place for proofing for about 1.5-2hrs, or until doubled in bulk. Some people run the dishwasher and place the dough in that warm, humid environment. I have also set my oven to 200F for a few minutes and turn it off; then I wait for a few minutes and place my covered bowl in the warmed oven.
4) Remove the puffy dough from the oven and empty onto a lightly floured surface. Gently pat the dough and divide dough into 12 pieces (you can use a scale to weigh each piece for even baking times).
5) For each of the 12 pieces of dough, bring all of the corners of dough together to the center and pinch to form a ball. Roll the ball on the counter seem-side down to form a smooth ball. Leave the 12 rounds on the floured counter and cover with plastic wrap. Let the rounds of dough rest 30 minutes--they will grow a bit more.
6) Preheat oven to 375F. I prefer to use a pizza peel to load these breads onto a stone at the bottom of the oven. However you can also place the rounds on a lightly greased baking sheet or pizza pan and place them on a lower or middle shelf.
7) Bake the breads for 25-30 minutes. NOTE: every oven cooks differently, so assess the breads after 10-15 minutes. The slightly pink puffs should be golden/brown when done, and should sound hollow when tapped on the underside.
8) Remove buns from oven and, after a few minutes, transfer to rack for cooling.
NOTE: Due to lack of preservatives in the dough, the breads taste the best within the first few hours of baking. I would recommend freezing them if you plan to eat them more than one day after baking, as they will rapidly become stale.