I learned a very important lesson about yeast this past weekend. I learned how to KILL yeast. Who knew that you could kill yeast? I certainly did not!
I signed up to bring bread to the Easter meal on Sunday and was excited to try out a new recipe I found in my Cooking Light magazine for “No-Knead Overnight Parmesan and Thyme Rolls”. I loved the idea of making the bread the day before and getting the dirty work out of the way ahead of time. Perfect.
The rolls would have turned out beautifully too, had I not killed the yeast.
I followed the directions exactly as instructed, because with bread you can’t really experiment. (Well not the first time at least) This is a rare occurrence for me to actually follow a recipe. I typically look at the recipe, get a couple ideas about what to include, and then wing it from there. Not for this recipe. Not for Easter dinner. I wanted it to be perfect.
So I followed the directions and did everything just as the recipe said and when it came time to set the rolls out to let them rise – they simply would NOT rise. ??? I put them on top of the oven, near other warmed dishes, on the porch in the sunlight with the heater on… I tried everything to get them to rise. After leaving them out for a good two hours, I figured I had given my double batch a fair opportunity to rise and it was time to put them in the oven. I thought that perhaps they would rise once in the oven. Maybe? No, they didn’t. After baking the appropriate amount of time, I took my rolls out of the oven and stared at the pitiful looking centimeter tall blobs. They did not rise at all. I had failed. How frustrating.
I really had no idea what I had done wrong until chatting with my grandma at the dinner table that evening. I was explaining what I had done and the first thing she says is “did you kill the yeast?” I really didn’t even know how to respond, being that I did not know you could murder an ingredient. She went on to inform me that if you put the yeast in water that is hot versus warm, you will literally kill the yeast and the bread will not rise. I should have used just barely warmer than lukewarm water apparently, not water that had been heated to the point of boiling in the microwave. Oops. My thought process at the time was “the hotter the water is the better and the faster the yeast will dissolve”. I was wrong.
Well, there you go. I murdered my bread. Lesson learned. I suppose I should be thankful that I learned it so early on in life. I learned the hard way. May this be a lesson to you all – WHEN DISOLVING YEAST, USE WARM WATER AND NOT HOT WATER.
(Oh and I whipped up a batch of corn bread muffins quickly to bring to the dinner just in case the rolls did not turn out. Good thing too!)
No-Knead Overnight Parmesan and Thyme Rolls
Ingredients
1/2 teaspoon dry yeast
2 tablespoons warm water (100° to 110°)
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, divided
1 teaspoon dried thyme
1/3 cup 2% reduced-fat milk
1/2 cup (2 ounces) grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese, divided
1 tablespoon sugar
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1 large egg, lightly beaten
1.1 ounces whole-wheat white flour (about 1/4 cup)
5.6 ounces all-purpose flour (about 1 1/4 cups), divided
Cooking spray
1/2 teaspoon cracked black pepper
Preparation
1. Dissolve yeast in 2 tablespoons warm water in a large bowl; let stand 5 minutes or until bubbly.
2. Heat 1 tablespoon oil in a small saucepan over medium heat. Add thyme to pan; cook 1 minute or until bubbly and fragrant. Add thyme mixture and milk to yeast mixture, stirring with a whisk; add 1/4 cup cheese, sugar, salt, and egg, stirring well.
3. Weigh or lightly spoon whole-wheat white flour into a dry measuring cup; level with a knife. Using a wooden spoon, stir whole-wheat white flour into yeast mixture. Weigh or lightly spoon 4.5 ounces (about 1 cup) all-purpose flour into a dry measuring cup; level with a knife. Add all-purpose flour to yeast mixture, stirring well. Add enough of remaining all-purpose flour, 1 tablespoon at a time, to form a smooth but very sticky dough. Place dough in a large bowl coated with cooking spray, turning to coat top. Cover and refrigerate overnight. (Dough will not double in size.)
4. Remove dough from refrigerator. Do not punch dough down. Turn dough out onto a floured surface; sprinkle dough lightly with flour. Roll dough into a 12 x 7–inch rectangle. Brush dough with remaining 1 tablespoon oil. Sprinkle remaining 1/4 cup cheese evenly over dough; sprinkle with pepper. Beginning with a long side, roll up dough jelly-roll fashion. Pinch seam to seal (do not seal ends of roll). Cut roll into 8 (1 1/2-inch) slices. Place slices, cut sides up, on a baking sheet covered with parchment paper. Cover and let rise in a warm place (85°), free from drafts, 1 hour or until rolls have risen slightly.
5. Preheat oven to 400°.
6. Place pan in oven, and immediately reduce heat to 375°. Bake rolls at 375° for 12 minutes or until golden brown. Serve warm.
I signed up to bring bread to the Easter meal on Sunday and was excited to try out a new recipe I found in my Cooking Light magazine for “No-Knead Overnight Parmesan and Thyme Rolls”. I loved the idea of making the bread the day before and getting the dirty work out of the way ahead of time. Perfect.
The rolls would have turned out beautifully too, had I not killed the yeast.
I followed the directions exactly as instructed, because with bread you can’t really experiment. (Well not the first time at least) This is a rare occurrence for me to actually follow a recipe. I typically look at the recipe, get a couple ideas about what to include, and then wing it from there. Not for this recipe. Not for Easter dinner. I wanted it to be perfect.
So I followed the directions and did everything just as the recipe said and when it came time to set the rolls out to let them rise – they simply would NOT rise. ??? I put them on top of the oven, near other warmed dishes, on the porch in the sunlight with the heater on… I tried everything to get them to rise. After leaving them out for a good two hours, I figured I had given my double batch a fair opportunity to rise and it was time to put them in the oven. I thought that perhaps they would rise once in the oven. Maybe? No, they didn’t. After baking the appropriate amount of time, I took my rolls out of the oven and stared at the pitiful looking centimeter tall blobs. They did not rise at all. I had failed. How frustrating.
I really had no idea what I had done wrong until chatting with my grandma at the dinner table that evening. I was explaining what I had done and the first thing she says is “did you kill the yeast?” I really didn’t even know how to respond, being that I did not know you could murder an ingredient. She went on to inform me that if you put the yeast in water that is hot versus warm, you will literally kill the yeast and the bread will not rise. I should have used just barely warmer than lukewarm water apparently, not water that had been heated to the point of boiling in the microwave. Oops. My thought process at the time was “the hotter the water is the better and the faster the yeast will dissolve”. I was wrong.
Well, there you go. I murdered my bread. Lesson learned. I suppose I should be thankful that I learned it so early on in life. I learned the hard way. May this be a lesson to you all – WHEN DISOLVING YEAST, USE WARM WATER AND NOT HOT WATER.
(Oh and I whipped up a batch of corn bread muffins quickly to bring to the dinner just in case the rolls did not turn out. Good thing too!)
No-Knead Overnight Parmesan and Thyme Rolls
Ingredients
1/2 teaspoon dry yeast
2 tablespoons warm water (100° to 110°)
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, divided
1 teaspoon dried thyme
1/3 cup 2% reduced-fat milk
1/2 cup (2 ounces) grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese, divided
1 tablespoon sugar
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1 large egg, lightly beaten
1.1 ounces whole-wheat white flour (about 1/4 cup)
5.6 ounces all-purpose flour (about 1 1/4 cups), divided
Cooking spray
1/2 teaspoon cracked black pepper
Preparation
1. Dissolve yeast in 2 tablespoons warm water in a large bowl; let stand 5 minutes or until bubbly.
2. Heat 1 tablespoon oil in a small saucepan over medium heat. Add thyme to pan; cook 1 minute or until bubbly and fragrant. Add thyme mixture and milk to yeast mixture, stirring with a whisk; add 1/4 cup cheese, sugar, salt, and egg, stirring well.
3. Weigh or lightly spoon whole-wheat white flour into a dry measuring cup; level with a knife. Using a wooden spoon, stir whole-wheat white flour into yeast mixture. Weigh or lightly spoon 4.5 ounces (about 1 cup) all-purpose flour into a dry measuring cup; level with a knife. Add all-purpose flour to yeast mixture, stirring well. Add enough of remaining all-purpose flour, 1 tablespoon at a time, to form a smooth but very sticky dough. Place dough in a large bowl coated with cooking spray, turning to coat top. Cover and refrigerate overnight. (Dough will not double in size.)
4. Remove dough from refrigerator. Do not punch dough down. Turn dough out onto a floured surface; sprinkle dough lightly with flour. Roll dough into a 12 x 7–inch rectangle. Brush dough with remaining 1 tablespoon oil. Sprinkle remaining 1/4 cup cheese evenly over dough; sprinkle with pepper. Beginning with a long side, roll up dough jelly-roll fashion. Pinch seam to seal (do not seal ends of roll). Cut roll into 8 (1 1/2-inch) slices. Place slices, cut sides up, on a baking sheet covered with parchment paper. Cover and let rise in a warm place (85°), free from drafts, 1 hour or until rolls have risen slightly.
5. Preheat oven to 400°.
6. Place pan in oven, and immediately reduce heat to 375°. Bake rolls at 375° for 12 minutes or until golden brown. Serve warm.
