Everyone still remembers the hype that The Hunger Games movies brought along between 2012 and 2014. With the help of Josh Hutcherson’s character Peeta Mellark, bread became a big thing in the books. Therefore I present you the recipes to create bread that resembles all 12 districts in Panem!
Ingredients
Whole wheat bread
710 ml water, lukewarm (100-115ºF)
3⁄4 teaspoon dry yeast
1050-1120 gr whole wheat flour
2 1⁄2 teaspoons salt
2 tablespoons oil
White bread
7 gr active dry yeast
530 ml warm water (110° to 115°)
3 tablespoons sugar
1 tablespoon salt
2 tablespoons oil
875- 945 gr all-purpose flour
How to bake
Whole wheat bread
1. Proof the yeast in 100 ml of the water, with about a teaspoon of flour.
2. Let it sit covered until the mixture becomes bubbly and active.
3. Combine the rest of the water with the yeast mixture in a large bowl, and gradually add about half of the flour.
4. Stir the mixture about 100 times in the same direction, until it is well-mixed and strands are beginning to form.
5. Stir in the salt and oil.
6. Add the remaining flour 100 grams at a time, stirring well in between, until it is too stiff to stir with a spoon.
7. Turn out onto a lightly floured board and knead for about 20 minutes, adding flour as necessary to keep the dough from sticking to the board. The dough should be springy and nice to work with after you have finished.
8. When it has been sufficiently kneaded, cover it with a damp cloth for about 10 minutes and wash and grease the bowl lightly.
9. After it has rested, knead the dough a few more times and place it in the bowl, covered with the damp cloth, a plastic bag, and maybe a plate.
10. Let the dough rise until it springs back when you stick your finger in it, and it is about twice the size as it was before. This takes about 2 hours; longer or shorter depending on the room temperature.
11. Deflate the dough by punching or kneading it a few times, and let it rise again- this time, it should take about half the amount of time as it did before.
12. When the dough has risen twice, deflate it again and cover it with the damp cloth again for about 10 minutes until you are ready to use it.
White bread
1. In a large bowl, dissolve the yeast in warm water.
2. Add the sugar, salt, oil and about half of the flour.
3. Beat this mixture until it is smooth.
4. Then stir in enough of the remaining flour, 100 grams at a time, to form a soft dough.
5. Turn onto a floured surface; knead until it is smooth and elastic.
6. Place in a greased bowl, turning it once to grease the top.
7. Cover it with a slightly wet cloth and let rise in a warm place until the volume has doubled in size. This takes around 2 hours.
3. Punch the dough down and cover it with the damp cloth again until you are ready to use it.
Decorating
District 1 – Luxury
1. Take small balls of the white dough and roll them out with a rolling pin.
2. Then cut out star shapes with a star cookie cutter.
3. Lastly, top them with either edible glitter or Turbinado sugar.
District 2 – Masonry
1. Take small balls of the wheat dough.
2. Knead in some raisins and oaths to fortify the bread and make it “stronger.”
3. Then roll the bottom in cornmeal and top it off with more raisins and oats.
District 3 – Technology
1. Take small quarter-size dollops of the white dough and shape them into squares.
District 4 – Fishing
1. Take some of the white dough and knead in two small crumbled sheets of seaweed.
2. Don’t use too much, you’ll just need enough to be seen through the dough.
3. Then shape the dough into a fish by rolling out a log of dough and folding the edges on top of each other.
District 5 – Power
1. Shape small loaves out of the white dough.
2. Then use scissors to snip a lightning bolt pattern on top.
3. Fill the cuts with poppy seeds to make them really stand out.
District 6 – Transportation
1. Use the wheat dough to create the shape of a wheel.
2. Then use scissors to snip spokes around the outside.
District 7 – Lumber
1. Take four squares of wheat dough and four squares of white dough. The sizes should be around two-by-two inch/4×4 cm.
2. Alternate stacking the squares until they’re all on top of each other and take from one end and roll all the pieces together like you’re rolling up a scroll. Place on the baking tray seam side down.
District 8 – Textiles
1. Use white dough and roll small balls out flat.
2. Then carve the Mockingjay symbol onto a potato.
3. Bread rises fast so don’t stamp the bread until right before it goes in the oven.
4. Before it goes in the oven, brush the Mockingjay symbol with egg wash so it’ll stand out darker than the rest of the bread.
District 9 – Grain
1. Use the wheat dough to make loaves.
2. Then use scissors to score the top.
District 10 – Livestock
1. Roll out balls of the wheat dough.
2. Then flatten them out and fill them with a spoonful of cooked ground beef.
3. Then fold each side up into the middle and pressed the pieces together to make sure they are sealed.
District 11 – Agriculture
1. Use the wheat bread and add a spoonful of poppy seeds.
2. Knead it in and then roll it thin and cut into triangles:
3. Lastly, roll them into croissants starting at the wide edge of the triangle.
District 12 – Mining
1. Take the wheat bread and take small balls from which you pull pieces of and stuck them roughly back together. This will help to give the bread some texture.
Baking
1. Although each district bread is shaped differently, the bake times are similar for each.
2. After adding extra ingredients and shaping, let each district loaf rise for an additional 15 minutes.
3. Then brush with egg wash, except for the loaves coming from district 12.
4. Cook at 375°F/190°C degrees at 22-25 minutes for white bread and 25-30 minutes for wheat. Or until it is golden brown.
Recipe and idea, white bread recipe & wheat bread recipe
