The Fresh Loaf

A Community of Amateur Bakers and Artisan Bread Enthusiasts.
MangoChutney's picture

Where's the Chocolate?

November 18, 2011 - 4:07pm -- MangoChutney
Forums: 

Like that little old lady in the "Where's the beef" ads, I am seeking the lost chocolate in chocolate chips.

We used to use the Ghirardelli Double Chocolate Premium Baking chips sold at Sam's Club.  The text on the bag read quite similarly to that on the 60% product advertised on their website, but it did not say 60% anywhere on the bag.  We were happy with these chips, which were shaped like any other chocolate chip but larger in diameter.  For half a year or more we bought several pounds of these chips every month.

JonnyP's picture

Mixer help needed for Polish Country rye

November 18, 2011 - 3:05pm -- JonnyP

Background:  I have made over 100 loaves, mostly using the sourdough "no-knead" meathod.  Now I have a 300W Kitchen Aid mixer on loan.  I have tried the following recipe several times:  http://www.lkphd.com/baking/2010/7/8/polish-country-rye-bread.html

My problem: gluten never seems to develop to anything even remotely like a "windowpane."  Worse still, after just 2 minutes in the mixer, the dough starts to break down, and become progressively more soupy

 

 

tn gabe's picture

% of acceptable loss

November 18, 2011 - 2:11pm -- tn gabe

What is generally considered an acceptable % of batch weight that doesn't make it into loaves? With preferments, levains, soakers, etc there is always some left behind. I imagine that there is a small bit of evaporation in play, too. Am I just a sloppy amateur? I try and calculate the batch total at about 2% over the loaf title. If the batch is eight 700g loaves, i usually shoot for 5.8kg total on paper to have enough dough for the loaves with maybe 25g left. Does this sound about right?

monicaembrey's picture

thanks

November 18, 2011 - 12:00pm -- monicaembrey
Forums: 

I want to thank each and everyone of you that took the time to answer my question. 

I tried to reply to everyone and ended up replying twice to one then couldn't remember who I replied to.  No i'm not goofy, just tired.  Lol

MNBäcker's picture

Nutrimill dust problem

November 18, 2011 - 10:24am -- MNBäcker

Alright, so I've used my Nutrimill for about a year now. Lately I have noticed that it's been "leaking" flour when milling grains. When I mill my Red Hard Spring Wheat berries, there's just a little that blows out the left front. But, when I mill Rye berries for my sourdough, there's actually a continuous stream of flour dust that gets blown into the air...!

raqk8's picture
raqk8

Hey everyone! For those of you who haven't yet experimented with sourdough, check out my new blog post! I've included the intro here, but please head over to Ovenmittsblog.com to check out the rest!

Sourdough 101 - About Sourdough Starters

 

This is my current sourdough starter. He’s about 6 months old, and extremely flavorful for such a young guy! My boyfriend says that it makes the best sourdough bread he’s ever had, hands down. It took a few weeks for him to get going, but one day I made a loaf and WOW! Flavor explosion. But instead of using him as an example, I’m going to make a new one to show you guys how. And maybe, if anybody is interested, I’ll give it away when I’m done!

What is a Sourdough Starter?

A sourdough starter is a culture of yeast and bacteria that you grow on a water and flour medium. That sounds technical. Basically, it’s a living thing that you can add to your breads for natural leavening (as opposed to commercial yeast) and a fermented, or “sour,” flavor.

Sourdough, or wild yeast, starters are grown using just flour and water (or sometimes pineapple or orange juice to keep away bad bacteria, as we will use here). There is no commercial yeast added to “get it going.” This will hinder the growth of a really good starter.

Wait. Isn’t yeast, yeast?? Unfortunately, no.......

To keep reading, head on over to Ovenmittsblog.com! As always, I appreciate any input or comments you have to give.

Thanks a bunch,

Raquel

bshuval's picture

100% rye bread -- take two (with pictures)

November 18, 2011 - 8:03am -- bshuval
Forums: 

A couple of days ago, I posted here about my failed attempt to make a 100% rye bread. I had followed a recipe by Hadjiandreou, and experienced some problems: I had a gummy crumb and flying crust. I received many helpful comments from the users of this community. The "post-mortem" of the bread suggested that the reason for my problems was excessive enzyme activity. There could be various causes for this (e.g. bad flour quality, insufficient acidification, etc.). 

ActiveSparkles's picture

Transporting bread

November 18, 2011 - 7:08am -- ActiveSparkles
Forums: 

I have made a loaf of white bread and some soft rolls for my aunt and uncle. The thing is, they are going to need to survive a journey of nearly an hour. I have no idea what to do to make sure they arrive in as good a condition as they left.

I have tried a carrier bag before, but that was a disaster as it made my bread go horribly soft.

I am considering wrapping them loosely in some baking paper and placing them in a loose bag, Any idea if this will work?

 

Any ideas in general would be greatly appreciated.
Thank you :)
Charlie

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