WendySusan's blog

Its summer in New England and its been a fairly nice summer but lately its been hot and humid.  I know some folks live in this kind of climate all year round or in hot, dry climates but for me, baking in the summer presented a challenge.

This time, I think I got it right.  Rising times are exponentially increased since its at least 20 degrees warmer in the house....with the a/c running....than in the winter time.  It took me a few tries to get good looking loaves.

I set my starter out the night before and when I woke up in the morning, the container had exploded and starter was everywhere.  It floated so I knew it was ready.

Since I started on my baking excursion, I have become everybody's bread supplier.  I got a text from my recently college graduated son, who is touring for two weeks with his punk emo band....Mom, we're coming to stay at my apartment for a night...we're arriving late...can you make some vegan bread for us?  Yeah, right.  And of course Mom came through....since all the bread is flour, water, and salt...and maybe a little yeast since I was short on time....of course its vegan.  But for the rest of the band who isn't....I added a huge salami and some cheese!

Next thing I see is a picture on Facebook of him with one of the loaves and a lighter with the caption "bread bowl" and I think we can all picture what he meant.  ;-p

Those loaves were a bit over proofed but still tasty. This batch was spot on.  2-3 hours of bulk ferment with an initial period of slaps, whacks and folds, then stretch and folds every 20-30 minutes for the next hour and BF for the next 1.5 - 2 hours.  I took a hint from Dabrowman and didn't bother with anymore proofing in the bannetons than the time it took to heat the oven and they rose just enough.

I even took a small amount of dough and made a "mini bowl  boule for my reply to the Facebook post!

Wendy

I mixed up a batch of dough using Hamelman's Deli Rye as a guide.  I did substitute a little KA Sir Lancelot for the whole wheat I usually use because 1) I was out of whole wheat and 2) I wanted to see what Sir would add to the mix.  I also added yeast because I needed to bring one of the loaves today and couldn't wait hours!

The recipe:

675 grams KA Bread Flour
125 grams KA Sir Lancelot
200 grams Hodgsons Rye
600 grams water
300 grams Rodney
20 grams salt
7 grams SAF Yeast 

Put together in the usual method.  Added all the ingredients except for the salt and yeast.  Let autolyse for 30 minutes and then added the salt and yeast.  The addition of the yeast really reduced the rise/proof time which is just fine with me these days.

Bulk ferment was two hours with a few stretch and folds spaced out.  Then it was bench rest, shape and into the bannetons.  I could tell things were lively as I had to pat down quite a few bubbles on the skin.

The loaves only needed 30 minutes of proof time and then baked in the dutch ovens.  Scored with my nice, new walnut lame...this baby really ups my skill.

And the final result...no crumb yet as they just came out of the oven and one of them is going on a road trip!

Practicing my slasher skills....

Signature T-Rex / W

Today's adventure in baking involved the rest of the spelt flour, some orange juice, buttermilk, cranberries and honey.   The 50% spelt loaf came out nicely...after my burned, failed 100% attempt, so instead of leaving well enough alone and making another one, I decided to branch out.  I also wanted to use up the buttermilk and orange juice.

The recipe:

250 grams Spelt flour
250 grams KA Bread flour
200 grams levain
50 grams honey
100 grams orange juice
100 grams buttermilk
100 grams dried cranberries
10 grams salt
6 grams SAF yeast
Some brown sugar...I didn't measure

Soak the cranberries in the orange juice for 20 minutes and prepare the rest of the ingredients.

Measure the spelt and bread flours, add the slightly warmed buttermilk, honey and prepared levain and mix well.  Allow to autolyse for 30 minutes.

Add the cranberries and juice, salt and yeast.  Mix well using your preferred method.  I used 5 minutes of slaps and folds.

I allowed the dough to rise in my warm microwave for 30 minutes...it was almost double...and then gently pressed it down and stretched and folded one more time before putting it into another 30 minute rise.

I then split the dough and allowed it to rest for 10 minutes before I stretched it and sprinkled some brown sugar on it and folded and rolled it up before placing it in parchment lined baking tins. Proofed to about 85% and then baked for 40 minutes at 375 dF after sprinkling a little more brown sugar on the top.

I also neglected to take any pictures of the preparation but the final result and crumb are pictured below.  

And while not as pretty as other loaves I've taken from the oven, these really are tasty.  A hint of sour from the levain and buttermilk, a little sweetness from the honey and brown sugar and tartness from the cranberries.

 The verdict from my in-house, not so independent taste tester was that the loaves are a keeper.

Today in addition to the Hamelman Challah, our rye starter was floating so we needed to put together bread.

Inspired by Hamelman's Vermont Sourdough with increased whole grains today's dough is really a 1.2.3 with an emphasis on pumpernickel...simply because I didn't feel like working at it.

384 grams of floating starter, 768 grams of water and @1100 grams of flour split:  200 Whole Wheat, 300 Pumpernickel and 600 KA Bread.  I actually dropped the bread flour a little because of the increased whole grain pumpernickel.

Did the usual, 20 minute autolyse, added my salt and because of the added whole grains I was tempted to put in a pinch of yeast..oh the horror!  But in the end I didn't!

Love the slap and folds....they really work the dough into a workable mass although I tend to find pieces of dough in the weirdest places...stuck to the wall, the underneath of the cabinets  I then did some stretch & folds every 30 minutes for the first two hours with a total bulk ferment of 3.5 hours because we needed to leave the house for an event.  Into the bannetons for their overnight slumber "in zee külher.

This morning I heated the oven, upended the bannetons onto parchment and scored.  I was a little worried about one of the loaves...

It looked like it flattened out and although the scoring was sufficiently deep, halfway through baking when the covers were removed, it looked like the weren't going to split.  I helped it along and reopened those wounds...probably not the best technique but what the heck....this is all one big experiment anyway.

He looks a little evil but happy!

The loaves that came out looked pretty good.  The crumb really nice....But the flavor!

OMG...Ron is in heaven so much so he called our friend in Germany to brag.  He says it smells like the air outside the brewery in his home town of Eschwege!  There are random yummy sounds coming from the family room so I guess it came out ok.

Any suggestions on improving scoring are welcome.  The loaves were cold from the fridge warmed up just as long as it took to get the oven to 475 dF.  I used just a razor blade and it went in very deep and at an angle but still didn't give me that split the way I expected.  I will just keep practicing!

Baking makes me happy!

Wendy

We usually have some Challah in the freezer and we like to make weekend french toast with...but we were all out.

My go-to recipe for Challah has been the Ciril Hitz recipe we were given in our October bread baking class.  I even used it for the Easter bread basket.  Since I bought Hamelman's Bread, I decided to use his recipe.

This recipe calls for high gluten flour which I actually had on hand....if not I would have replaced it with bread flour.  Sir Lancelot was called to duty along with the bread flour, eggs and yolks, canola oil, sugar and an additional couple tablespoons of honey.  In actuality I should have replaced a couple of the sugar tablespoons with honey but I just added more...hey...food for the yeast and a slightly sweeter bread.

Hamelman's recipe doesn't require a sponge like Hitz so I piled all of the ingredients into the mixer bowl.  After the first three minutes on low I could smell the mixer bogging down.  I knew there was no way I was going to complete another five minutes on second speed.

I dumped out the bowl onto the counter and started working the dough.  There were still dried bits of flour and it was like trying to knead a deflated soccer ball and was very dry.

Inflexible dough...looks like a chicken doesn't it?

I added another quarter cup of water to the dough and worked it....and worked it....and worked it....no need to go to the gym today!  What a work out.

I kneaded and pushed and pulled and slapped and whacked and beat the crap out of that piece of dough.

Eventually it started looking like what I was used to seeing and was stretching pretty good when slapped down.  This took about 10-15 minutes.

Into the proofing box....my microwave with a cup of boiled water.  After an hour I punched down gently per the instructions and left it for another hour.

At the end of the second hour, the dough was begging to be let out.

It was beautifully flexible, stretchy, golden and worth the work out!  The turned out extremely extensible.  After an initial rolling and then a rest, it stretched very well.

In Hamelman's book he has a number braiding examples.   

This one is called the Winston but I decided to leave it flat.

This used 6 strands and I took the other three, braided them and curled those into a ball.

Back into the proofing box for the requisite time while I run to the grocery store because I used up all the eggs!

Baked for 30 minutes at 380 turning and swapping the trays half way and we have some nice looking loaves.  And it was delicious!  The small round one will be eaten now and the long large one cut in half and frozen.

Also on the agenda today is a variation of Hamelman's Vermont Sourdough with Whole Grains....done the 1.2.3 way...its bulk fermenting now but in a couple hours will be put into its cold overnight slumber so we have fresh bread tomorrow morning!

Happy Baking.

Wendy

and I think I'm getting the hang of this sourdough thingy.  This week I baked twice, once was a 1.2.3 with a lean toward Rye and today was Hamelman's Vermont Sourdough which is fast becoming a favorite.

I love the 1.2.3 method because I don't have to really think about anything.  I just apply my math and voila....bread.  Guess I didn't score deep enough although the circular design is there.

Signature W...

Today's Vermont Sourdough also came out very nice and all that's left is half a loaf...out of two loaves.  I added a few sunflower seeds to the top of one of the loaves before placing in the oven for a nice change.

My technique is definitely improving and working very well for me is to proof them in the fridge overnight and take them out when I preheat the oven.  This then finds me putting dough together late at night, slapping, stretching and folding.  They are definitely easier to score....and as you can see, I'm getting better every time!  

My husband just loves having fresh bread all the time and if there is any "old" bread left when the new gets baked, the wildlife get a treat.  I've thrown out a few loaves into the yard and they disappear within a day or two so everyone benefits.

What's up next?  Probably a Forkish Field Blend which competes with the Vermont Sourdough for favorite bread.  

So I've now made the 1.2.3 Sourdough twice this week.  Today's batch was made for knitting club along with some Weitzenbrötchen and I was selfish...only bringing one loaf instead of both.  At the end of knitting club there was only one lonely roll and slice of bread!  And the next knitting club is going to be sourdough baking club as I've been asked to share my knowledge.

I really like this recipe because it is so simple.  Started my levain the night before and built to 250 grams, it actually passed the float test.....wow...it really works!

I added 500 grams of 95 dF water to dissolve the levain following the advice of one of my mentors...why I never thought of that I'll never know.

My flour was 750 grams divided as 500 grams of KA bread flour, 150 grams of Hodgsons Rye and 100 grams of KA White Whole Wheat.

I let this autolyse for 30 minutes, then added 12 grams of salt.  I was preparing this on my lunch hour yesterday I was only able to do 3 stretch and folds in 20 minutes intervals before heading back.  Hubby refuses to touch the dough.  I left it to bulk retard for four hours.  

When i got home from working, I shaped, rested and shaped according to custom and then put the bannetons in the fridge.

This morning I tried doing a poke test but I think because the dough was cold, the poke test was retarded as well!  They were very easy to score when cold and to place in the dutch ovens.  I think I'm going to use this as my go to method for our every day bread.

Today's loaves....trying some different scoring designs.

And to prove it wasn't a fluke....here's Wednesday's loaf and crumb shot:

Stumbling across a video from Der Back Profi making Kaisersemmel, this morning I just had to try them.  And I can't find where I stumbled over it!

The recipe is posted on his website along with a video of how to shape the Kaisersemmel, but I needed to make a few minor adjustments for my kitchen.  It is very similar to the Weitzenbrötchen recipe from Karin aka hanseata, which has been a staple in our house.  I had to have help from hubby translating from German.

500 gr. Tipo 00 Flour
10 gr. Kosher or Sea Salt
10 gr. Barley Malt (I used non diastic)
5 gr. sugar
40 gr. butter, softened
7 gr. dry active yeast
60 gr. milk
180 gr. very warm water

Combine all the ingredients into the bowl of your mixer.  Mix on low speed for 2-3 minutes till all the ingredients are incorporated.  Continue to mix 4-7 more minutes at medium speed until the dough pulls away from the sides of bowl, adjusting hydration as needed.

Allow the dough to rest for 15 minutes.  Pull off a small piece and perform a window pane test...the dough should be soft, supple and able to pull thin.

After 15 minutes rest, divide the dough into 12 pieces of approximately 80 grams per piece and form into balls.

Take each ball and form into a kaiser shape by following the instructions here.  Place each roll upside down on a cookie sheet lightly dusted with flour.

Allow to sit under a tea towel for 25-30  minutes. Meanwhile heat the oven to 475 dF with a pan in the bottom for steam.

Carefully turn each roll over onto a parchment covered baking sheet.  Before placing in the oven, spray the rolls liberally with water.

Place the pan in the oven and immediately pour hot water or drop a handful of ice cubes into the steam pan.  I used ice cubes this time.  After 3 minutes turn the temperature down to 425 dF.

The recipe calls for keeping the oven steamed.  Since I don't have injection in my oven, I kept an eye on it and after baking for 10 minutes I turned the baking tray for even baking, and added more ice cubes.  Total bake time is 18-20 minutes.

This first time out I feel they could have proofed a bit longer or even been cold retarded 6-12 hours, similar to the Weitzenbrötchen recipe.  I may try that recipe with this shaping technique. But according to my panel of independent taste testers....delicious!  

Finally I have a new place to lose my extra loaves besides the freezer and birds so I am again trying to perfect my technique.

Today's bread is Vermont Sourdough from Jeff Hamelman's book Bread.  In his book, all the recipes are written in bakery sized formulas along with a home version which is written in pounds and ounces so I needed to convert them to grams.  I also upped the rye a slight bit and added a little whole wheat but kept the formula in the same balance.

My Levain
75 gr mature starter
125 gr. warm water
125 gr. whole wheat flour

Allowed to ferment in my warm microwave with a boiled glass of water for about 10 hours until bubbled and risen.

Final Dough..I think I calculated it correctly this time.  I'm still trying to learn the technique behind those spreadsheets so its calculator and paper!

600 gr bread flour
80 gr whole wheat flour
100 gr rye flour
419 gr water
17 gr salt
325 gr levain

Mixed all of the ingredients together except the salt and allowed to autolyse for 30 minutes.  You can leave it for up to an hour according to his book.

Mixed in the salt well and allowed to bulk ferment for 1.5 to 2.5 hours.  Again in the microwave with boiled water.  After 30 minutes I stretched and folded the dough, reheated the boiled water and put it back in the microwave.  It now being 11:00 at night....why do I get these urges so late? ...I decided to perform one more stretch and fold and put it in the refrigerator for a cold overnight bulk ferment.  At 3 a.m. or so during my nightly bio break I pulled it out of the fridge and left it on the counter.  By 7 a.m. it was looking great!  Spilled it out and preshaped it.

This dough is slightly dryer than some of the breads I've been making recently which contributed to making it easier to split and prepare for the bannetons. Or maybe I'm just getting it.

Another recommendation I decided to try today is taking a small bit of the dough and placing in in a shot glass to monitor its rising.   It is just about an inch deep in the glass coming to the top of the word Berlin so by my calculations it should be ready for the oven when it reached the yellow part of the coat of arms design.  This took about three hours.  I plan to use this technique going forward.

I'm still working on my slashing technique and am thinking my homemade lame is not upto par or I need to put the loaves in the fridge for 30 minutes before baking....I'll try that next.  In to the hot dutch ovens....

I took the little proofing ball of dough and threw that on foil and tossed it in the oven.  It was ready after 30 minutes and was a nice little preview of what  hopefully was contained in side those full sized loaves.

Forty minutes later out come these beauties! 

And the crumb shot.... I think we have a winner.

Hubby has been bragging to the owner of his favorite service station and he had previously brought over a piece of baked goods for him to sample.  He was headed out so I gave him a loaf to drop off.  This was a good opportunity to lose one loaf and build relationships!! LOL! Maybe he'll get a good customer discount next time.

Still practicing even though we are up to our eyeballs in baked goods, I had the bright idea to use up a piece of cheddar in the fridge in a loaf of bread.  I figured the Pain au Bacon would be a good starting place.

I think I got fairly good oven spring though probably still could be better.  This picture is of the loaf I slighly deflated getting it in the dutch oven.  The other loaf went in the freezer.

The bread is moist and tasty with big chunks of bacon and cheese spread throughout. Scoring didn't matter since I covered it up with a layer of shredded mozzarella.

I'm going to back off the baking for a few days.  I'm running out of people and places to stash my loaves!

And here's a picture of my homemade Lame....razor blade and chop stick.