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pasdedough

This is an unusual enriched bread for me!

 

I started with Hamelman's levain bread with increased wholewheat recipe, but having seen some breads including cream cheese I could imagine how soft and creamy and substantial the crumb would be! I decided to add quite a bit of cream cheese, guessing that it would not add that much hydration, so I wouldn't need to make too many changes.

I usually work from Hamelman's metric recipes, but make 1/20th of the recipe, which gives on each large loaf. It fits in my casserole and it's by far the easiest way to scale down. 

I made my sourdough/levain in the morning before work (7.30 am). After about 11 hours it was ready to make the dough. I beat 100g of cream cheese into the water for the main dough, taking out about 50g of waiter initially, but I actually added that back in as I mixed and slap & folded. It took the whole amount of water plus cream cheese very easily. 

I don't have a mixer, so did an autolyse with the levain but without salt for about 50 minutes, then two sets of 100 slap and folds. 3 sets of stretch and fold, 40 mins apart, and I added a couple of big handfuls of broken pecans on the second set. I didn't manage to get the pecans distributed very well! 

I gave it another 90 mins bulk in the microwave with the light on, as my flat is about 15'c, then put it in the fridge for 21 hours.

Next day I took it out & let it come to room temperature, preshaped, and shaped (badly) and rolled it in oats, put it in my new banneton.

I should have let it final prove for longer but at 11pm I wanted to go to bed! It stuck to the banneton a bit coming out (I'd not floured enough right on the top couple of loops) but I got it out & tucked the torn bit under. It baked for 20 mins with the lid and another 25 without, smelling AMAZING.

this is the best tasting bread I've made yet, definitely! I'll be making it again (probably with walnuts so it is more savoury, although the pecans are lovely too).

Darling Jeffrey!

pasdedough's picture
pasdedough

An 85% semolina rimanciata, 15% strong wholewheat flour sourdough. 

24 hour retarded in the fridge. 

Lovely taste!

pasdedough's picture
pasdedough

 

A bread to use up some ingredients I had in the cupboard... I'm actually not a big fan of cranberries, but I had made a promise to an Italian friend for mince pies with homemade filling, and they were left over. (Also left over from the mincemeat is 3/4 of a bottle of brandy hooray).

I made a large loaf, unwise perhaps as I won't have much help eating it.

i built a levain the night before, with 30g starter, 200g water, 90g whole rye and 60g whole wheat. I also toasted 100g of coarse oatmeal and soaked with 60g cranberries in 150g nearly boiling water.

the next morning I added:

190g water

380g strong white bread flour

70g whole rye

and left to autolyse for an hour.

Then added the oatmeal, cranberries and salt and pinched in (tearing the dough a lot!)

I added pumpkin seeds as a last minute thought in the second and third of 6 stretch and folds. The dough was still tearing, but gaining strength too.

I left to prove in the fridge for 7 hours in the fridge while I went out, then 2 hours at room temperature.

shaped and put in a makeshift banneton for another 1 1/2 hours, then baked inside the Dutch oven until it reached 94c.

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the crust on this bread is totally delicious, with the very toasted oatmeal stuck on the outside. 

Inside, it is only very mildly sour (it was rushed & no space in the fridge to retard overnight). I think it is slightly bland and needed more salt (I used about 11g) and maybe a bit of honey. Next time I would like to use rolled oats, but less, to help with the dough and crumb structure. It would be nice with chopped dried cherries or raisins (I prefer either to cranberries).

Still, I am improving with every loaf, and this one is very good with cheese or peanut butter.

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pasdedough

This bread is 25% wholewheat, the rest strong white flour, I added a small hanful of semolina & 60g of golden flaxseed (soaked in water). My flatmate had requested a softer bread so it also has a little milk, oil and honey. Not sure about the exact hydration because I'm terrible at following a plan and not getting 'creative'...

I think that this crumb shows how much I'm improving at handling dough, it's really much better than the last breads ive made!

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pasdedough

Two challot for my family's rosh hashanah dinners, these had 3g of added yeast because I was nervous about them rising properly with only sourdough & the eggs, oil, honey that I used. Flour weight of each one was about 600g I think (I'd have to check back in my little book).

 

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