A Challenge: Recreating O'So Lo Rolls

[NulloModo]

I get your drift but I am still attracted to the breadmaker idea. I got a food processor when they were all the rage and still have blades and attachments around. Now where the heck did I put that thing? ensive

The one thing that I see being nice about breadmakers is keeping the mess contained to one unit,and they are probably easier to clean than food processors .

[2big4mysize]

they also provide the proofing chanber if you are making bread.

Can you say yummy I chickened and only used the dough setting and they turned out great now I got to get more supplies from Honeyville. next time I'm going to give it some vit C just to see what that does and leave out your sugar as the polydextrose and vit c can be yeast food too

[NulloModo]

Yeast will feed on Vitamin C?

In another forum (frequented by a lot of master bakers) I was asking for some tips on these as well. We came to the conlcusion that while the yeast would be able to feed off of inulin (which was in the original recipe) they can not feed off of polydextrose (which was subbed in being far cheaper/easier to obtain than inulin). Given that, I'm not sure if the polydextrose is actually doing anything other than adding bulk. I will perhaps try some without it, who knows, maybe it is a critical texture element.

BTW - I'm glad you liked the recipe.

[MotherOfGizmo]

I get your drift but I am still attracted to the breadmaker idea. I got a food processor when they were all the rage and still have blades and attachments around. Now where the heck did I put that thing? ensive

The one thing that I see being nice about breadmakers is keeping the mess contained to one unit,and they are probably easier to clean than food processors .

Yea, plus, you put everything in and the bread maker does everything for you--mix, knead, rise and bake! You can set it in the morning and come home to fresh baked bread--the house smells wonderful! Don't ever try the Atkins bread mix in it though--its HORRIBLE! blek!

[2big4mysize]

the acorbic acid damages the proteins to let the yeast react better to get the gluten developed more. isn't that going to help my rising?

[scott123]

Nullo, I was hoping that the yeast could break down the fiber component of the polydextrose. As much as I respect Jack's opinion, I'm still not giving up hope. I don't think there's any disagreement as to the yeast's ability to consume the polydextrose's carb constituent. That's pure glucose, so the yeast will have a field day with that, even in the small amounts polydextrose contains.

Don't forget, yeast can subsist on the trace carbs in the flax as well. And, if you're using gluten, that's plenty of yeast food too. With gluten and polydextrose, I don't think this recipe needs sugar at all. I'm pretty sure the yeast could be proofed with the polydextrose.

It's kind of tricky because your victory with these rolls coincided with your use of the packet of sugar for proofing. It don't think it was the sugar that did it, though, it was the kneading of the dough, and perhaps fresh jarred yeast. I still contend that if you go the sugar route, it can be cut to 1/2 packet with the same results.

[Fluffynomore]

I tried this recipe and baked it in a small glass loaf pan. The dough seemed way too wet for some reason. I put the one cup of warm water, but it never kneaded like dough. It definitely did rise.

The crust was excellent but the "bread" part was too raw-doughy. I tried turning the oven down and baking longer. I wonder what I did wrong? urplequ: I was wondering how it would be if I cut the water down or if there is another reason for this that I am missing.

[2big4mysize]

Nullo can tell you the kneading is the key just ask about his many failures when he started perfecting this recipe.

[NulloModo]

Lol, yes, kneading is key. I haven't tried successfully to do it by hand yet. If the dough doesn't look like bread dough, and if it doesn' thave enough time to proof, it just won't work. I have started proofing my individual rolls for almost a full hour in a warm box before placing them into the oven.

[Fluffynomore]

I didn't knead it by hand, but maybe I didn't wait long enough for it to proof before baking. I will try again.

Thanks for the help.

[scott123]

Fluffynomore, where did you get your WPI from? There might be slight differences between the locarber WPI (Trish) and Honeyville. I don't think there is, but until I find someone who's used both, I won't know for sure.

[lscoop]

Inulin Substitute?

I was trying to find inulin once and bought something that I thought might work as a substitute. It's liquid, however (I've never seen inulin so I have no idea whether it's liquid or solid).....
It's called Fiberfit, sweetened soluble fiber and the ingredients are Purified water, soluble fiber, sucralose, gluconic acid, guar gum, Irish moss. Preserved with less than 1/10th of 1% potassium sorbate and sodium benzoate.
Nutrient fats for 1 teaspoon (5g):
4 calories, 1 carb, 1 fiber (0 net carbs).
Any thoughts on whether this would work and whether the gluconic acid is something that the yeast could feed off of?
For anybody interested the product is made by Nutragenics, Inc. out of San Diego and their website is www.fiberfit.net

[scott123]

Laurie, the 'soluble fiber' listed in the ingredients may very well be inulin. It could also be poydextrose. It could also be some form of resistant maltodextrin as well.

Inulin is a solid and can be found here:

http://store.yahoo.com/iherb/inuflora2.html

As far as the gluconic acid being yeast food, I'm not sure. Since it falls beneath sucralose in the ingredient list, it's probably a miniscule amount (micrograms?).

If fiberfit did contain inulin, I'd still avoid it for use in this bread, as you might not want to add the sweetness from the sucralose - unless a sweet bread is your goal.

[lscoop]

O'solo Rolls - "Accidental" muffins

I made a futile attempt at the O'solo rolls today. I've never done very well with yeast. Although, unfortunately, the kneading and proofing steps are inseparable in my breadmaker, I still thought I could try it in the bread machine. The ingredients weren't so expensive, so I figured it was worth a try. My first mistake I realized quickly enough. You need to put the liquids in first, then the dry ingredients, and then, finally, the yeast sits on top of the dry ingredients until the heat is correct. Well, the problem with this recipe is that once I started putting ingredients on top of the cup of water, they started sinking into the water. When I finally put the yeast on top of the solids, the solids were less than 1/8" thick in the center, and nonexistent along the sides of the canister. With the first little knead (the machine makes "mini moves" for a while, which is not supposed to disturb the yeast) the yeast was for sure in the liquid. I let it go through its cycle, and, as I feared, at the end the dough was no higher than when it started.

I went out for a few hours and figured I'd play with it when I got back. This time I pulled out the quick rise yeast instead of the regular one, and it said to mix it with a dry ingredient first and then add it to the liquid. Well, the dough wasn't exactly a liquid, but what I did was first mix 1/2 packet of yeast with 1/2 cup of CarbQuik, put the mixture on top of the dough in the machine, and let it start its cycle again.

I let it go through the kneading and when it didn't seem to rise after a little while, I removed the dough, put it in a 6-muffin tin, and put it in a 130 degree oven with a cup of hot water. I turned off the oven, put a cloth over the tin and waited for 45 minutes. According to the yeast package, the size of the rolls should double in that amount of time. That didn't happen, but they did expand by about 25%. I then cooked the rolls and they did expand to an acceptable muffin size, but nothing like the O'solo rolls that wanted to float away in Nullo's photo!

The outside of the rolls had a nice firm texture, but the inside, while not liquid, wasn't really cooked. I wanted these for hamburgers, not to eat plain. So I pulled them out of the muffin tins, cut each one in half, and pressed them down a bit so that they were flatter and wider in diameter. I then cooked them longer and at this point I can compare them in look and texture to english muffins. The taste wasn't very good, though.

However, with a nice juicy burger in the middle and smothered with low-carb ketchup the texture of the bun was actually quite nice and I enjoyed the burger. So much for my "accidental rolls". Next time I guess I'll have to do it by the book and knead by hand I still want to get them right!

[NulloModo]

Lscoop -

I am not positive as to how bread machine work, as I don't own one, but I would recommend the follwing:

Mix all of the dry ingredients, minus the yeast, into a bowl. Proof the year with the water in a warm place for at least 15 minuts, then mix it in a bowl until it is all together, then put that resulting mass into the bread machine. That replicates most of what I do before kneading in the food processors (I now add the baking soda about three minuts into the kneading time).