For the few and the brave...

 The time has arrived to bake the second batch of hand milled white flour.  This flour was the "pure white" flour that was milled on 27 Feb.  This has been aging in an uncovered container since then.

 Once again, I used my standard baguette recipe.  However after using the last of my last batch of white flour to make a pizza on Friday, I had some thoughts.  The last batch of flour performed very poorly for pizza.  Not that the crust wasn't crispy and tasty (because it was) but the rise had no oomph.  I considered that white flour is usually malted and that this lackadaisical rise bore all of the signs of a lack of alpha amylase action.

 So this batch of flour was malted.  I used a scant 1/8 teaspoon of diastatic malt to 15 oz of flour and blended it thoroughly.  I then proceeded to do my levain build for my baguettes.

 This time the levain was very comparable to that prepared with commercial flour.  If I was forced to find a difference, it would be that it was ever so slightly darker in color.

 The mixing of the dough went as I would have experienced with commercial flour.

 The bulk fermentation was also very much like what I have experienced with commercial flour, and, truth be told, it was a bit more lively than my last week's batch.

 During shaping, I felt no real difference this time; it felt like what I bake every week.

 After an hour for the final ferment, the loaves felt properly "proofed" which is what I would expect from commercial flour.  They were loaded, the oven steamed "as usual" and baked.

 The final result is pictured below.  Alas, the passing week has not improved my photography skills.

 

Compared to last week's loaves these are much better balanced.  The sacrifice in grigne comes from a more thorough final ferment.  The more thorough fermentation process has produced that good old open crumb that I have come to expect from commercial flour.  It had the proper translucent quality and was not a bit gummy (as it would be if I over malted.)

 The taste?  Like I baked with commercial flour.  I like it, but it really isn't much different than what I bake every week.

 Would I mill this flour again?  Perhaps.  With a yield of 15 oz of flour from 2 pounds of wheat berries, one must regard this as a luxury flour.  The increment in taste - except for that sweet, sweet taste that comes from knowing that I can hand mill a flour that is every bit as good as a high quality commercial flour - is not really worth the effort.  The dramatic change in fermentation behavior must be attributed to the malting of the flour.  Remember it is less than .05 oz per 15 oz of flour - as we see; a little goes a long way.  What I may work at is developing a semi-white flour and make sure that I malt it properly.

 When I pick up a sack of all purpose flour, I handle it gently.  I have a deep appreciation for what this really means.

 Happy Milling!

I received an email several weeks ago about this contest to come up with original recipes with sweet potatoes as the main ingredients. While I grew up in a country where sweet potatoes were more commonly used than regular potatoes in cooking, the contest prompted me to experiment in baking with sweet potatoes.  Whether I win or lose, I have come up with several definite keepers.  I came up with 5 recipes (recipes should be easy, and quick enough to make it to mealtime and be a part of daily meals).  There was no limit to the number of recipes to submit. Deadline is March 31st. I have made 5 and to me, that's enough, although I will still cook and bake with sweet potatoes. It was a pleasant learning experience.

 On the left is pandelimon (as we call it in the Philippines), which is what we would refer here in the US as some dinner rolls. The softness and taste is unbelievable; it rivals the rolls served in one of our favorite family restaurants here.

On the right is pandesal (a Filipino breakfast staple). The only difference is the way they are cut, and that pandesal is rolled in breadcrumbs.

 

Both can be enjoyed with butter or jam, or just plain, dipped in hot cocoa or coffee.

Recipe can be found in my blog.

Next thing I made was the Sweet Potato Cream Cheese Wheat Bread.

It is a dough (of course, made using sweet potato again), with cream cheese filling combined with sweet potato (inspired by a pumpkin cream cheese filling).

While the photo looks tempting, I was not too happy with it.

Then I made this dessert of baked sweet potato. While this entry will not qualify for  a "baking" post here in freshloaf, this delightful and rich dessert would pave the way for a baked "Hot Pockets" inspired sweet potato snack.

 

But first I had to make another dough to be able to make those sweet potato pockets.

Enter the Sweet Potato Cinnamon Rolls.

It was probably the best dough I have ever made for any cinnamon rolls.  So moist and soft, even after refrigeration!  And the best thing was that, the recipe could make a batch of three logs. A log could be frozen for use in another day. Everything is described in my blog. So the recipe I have there is good for 3 batches of 7-8 pieces cinnamon rolls. Being able to freeze them enables me to have them for at least 3 meals.

Since I had some leftover Sweet Potato Bake and I had enough dough from Sweet Potato Cinnamon Rolls to experiment with, I came up with a sweet vegetarian version of Hot Pockets, which I called Sweet Potato Pockets.  One or two pieces of this delightful snack is enough to fill my tummy in between meals.  They are also good as accompaniment to my evening coffee.

These are all the 5 entries I submitted to that contest. And like I said, whether or not I win or lose, I have already several keepers here, that I feel like a winner. One of my blog readers already tried the Sweet Potato Cinnamon Rolls, which happened to be her first ever baked bread/rolls, and she was so thrilled that everyone liked it. I guess I "recruited" her now into the world of baking. Maybe I should recruit her to the fresh loaf as well.

 

hi

this is my fresh loaves
it made of the artisan bread.
the dough is mixture
flour
water
salt
and...yeast

mix... leave it 2 days ..chilled
then make delicious bread
and here... i stuffing it by shredded cheese
....
the round loaf
made of
120 g sourdough starter
3/4 cup lukewarm water
1 1/4 tsp salt
1 1/2 tsp sugar
1 tsp instant yeast
1 cup bread flour
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
crumbled or shredded cheese, optional


Combine all the ingredients
except the cheese
in the bowl .
and then knead to make a smooth dough.

Flatten the dough on surface.
Sprinkle the cheese over it
and roll up the dough.
and shape it .
let it on the greased or parchment-lined baking sheet.
cover, and let rise until doubled, about 90 minutes.
until very puffy
and bake in a preheated 425 degree oven
for 25-30 minutes

:D

this is the fresh photos
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This is my natural own sourdough
It worked .. Organized life and an environment suitable for months ago

i make many things by it
bread
pancake
Bulgarian bread
focaccia
pantennone
Cinnamon rolls
buns