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the P and the C's blog

the P and the C's picture
the P and the C

I'm planning on doing some regular weekend baking and started this weekend with a batch consisting of a 70% hydration sourdough shaped in several ways. This batch made a boule, batard, baguettes, dinner rolls and sandwich rolls. 12% WW flour and 7% rye flour.

the P and the C's picture
the P and the C

I grew up having papo secos (pops), Portuguese buns, on a regular basis. Everything went in these things or just eaten as is or with soft butter. So, when I began baking bread I had to attempt these and have since made them a few times. When memorial day came around a while back I of course had burgers and I used my papo secos recipe to do so and the result was slamming! A few had sesame seeds and egg wash with honey and others were naked as a Jay Bird..... And not to disrespect the original I made the pops too.

Oh, and here's a Chicago dog I put together.

the P and the C's picture
the P and the C

Made a decent and straight forward white wheat sourdough today. Never had a crust crackle as loud and as long as this one did once pulled from the oven. It's went well with oil and balsamic.

the P and the C's picture
the P and the C

This morning I baked off two sourdough loaves that I mixed and shaped last night (2am). I made a 60% WW dough at 75% hydration and add two types of inclusions at the first fold.

The first half got some parmesan and Kerrygold Dubliner cheeses mixed in and the other half was studded with rum soaked dates, toasted pecans, and cocoa.

They both taste great and again, as a newcomer to this whole world, I'd love your input, comments and feedback.

 

the P and the C's picture
the P and the C

 Well, as I wait for the oven to preheat I suppose I can post about what I was pulling from the oven at 1:30am.

This all started from me asking in the forum about what I should try next and it was suggested that I give Hokkaido Milk Bread a whirl! Once I saw the Tangzhong method I knew I was going to have to do it. Next was to study and decide on the recipe, but there are so many versions and I couldn't settle on just one, so I adapted one of my own from several different ways. But I couldn't find anything to write on as the juices were flowing hence my decision to start on a toy until I could track down pencil and paper.

Basically, all I did was make the Tangzhong the night before and then mixed it all up in my KitchenAid and went to town on first proof, folding, second proof, dividing, preshaping, more proofing, rolling, shaping, panning, more proofing, preheating, egg washing, baking, rotating, baking, rotating, baking, cooling, decide I'm too impatient to wait, eat one while it's hot, go to be at 2am, get up at 5:30 am and  play with the two sourdough I left to proof before bed. Ok time to get them in the oven, I hope they come out fine.

 

 

 

the P and the C's picture
the P and the C

One of my favorite books on bread is Lionel Vatinet's A Passion for Bread. Ciabatta is a favorite of mine so it only seemed natural to try my hand at his version. I also wanted to see how well my hands would handle this wet dough.

Overall I was pleased with the results of this bread. It was great when dipped in some oil and balsamic. Although I don't think I'm ready for the big leagues at all but I'm excited to keep learning and trying new things!

 

the P and the C's picture
the P and the C

I spent the last few days working on a 75% hydration sourdough with 10% rye and 10% whole wheat. At the first fold I divided the dough in two and added some inclusions to each half. One half had kalamata olive, fresh rosemary and lavander while the other had hemp heart and flaxseed. For my first attempt I’m feeling ok with the results but I’m sure there’s room for improvements. I hope to gain more experience and confidence with the breads I try out.

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