GSnyde's blog

This is a variation on Hamelman’s Cheese Bread, using Cheddar and Jarslberg instead of Parmasen, and sprinkling Sesame Seeds on the loaves.  It all started because the fridge was full of cheese.  And I love cheese breads.  I have made the Cheese Board’s Onion-Curry Cheese Bread  (http://www.thefreshloaf.com/node/22549/some-spice-breads-%E2%80%93-one-sweet-and-one-savory) many times.  But I wanted to try something new.  So I flipped through several baking books, and found Hamelman’s Cheese Bread to be a good starting point.

I used a very active starter, left over from the Tartine Basic Country Bread, as the seed culture, and made the stiff levain per Hamelman’s formula.  The final dough was also from the Hamelman formula, but I substituted the surplus cheeses (sharp Cheddar and Jarlsberg) for the Parmesan in Hamelman’s formula.  And I topped the proofed loaves with a light egg wash and sesame seeds just before scoring and baking.

I recommend using parchment under the loaves to keep the mess off your baking stone.

Here’s the formula and procedure.

Overall Formula

Stiff Levain Build

Final Dough

Procedure

1.  Make the levain about 12 hours before mixing the dough.  Cover and let ripen at room temperature.

2.  Mix all final dough ingredients, except the cheese, at low speed for 3 minutes, then at medium speed for 3 minutes, to moderate gluten formation.  The dough should be quite stiff.  Add cheese and mix on low speed just until incorporated.

3.  Scrape the dough onto a board, round up into a ball and place in a lightly oiled bowl.  Cover the bowl and let ferment about 2 ½ hours, with folds at 50 minutes and 100 minutes.

4.  Divide into two or three loaves, pre-shape into rounds and let rest, covered, for 15-20 minutes.

5.  Shape into boules or batards and proof about 1 ½ to 2 hours at room temperature.

6.  Pre-heat oven to 500 F, with stone in place and steaming apparatus of choice (I used cast-iron skillet with lava rocks, plus Sylvia’s steamy towels).

7.   When proofing complete, move loaves to parchment covered peel.  Brush loaves lightly with egg wash, and sprinkle with sesame seeds.   Then score the loaves , slide the parchment paper onto the oven stone, and steam the oven.

8.  As soon as the loaves are in the oven, reduce heat to 450 F.  Bake with steam for 18 minutes, remove steam apparatus, reduce heat to 400 F, and bake another 16-18 minutes (too internal temperature of 206-207 F). 

9.  Cool on rack.

This bread is amazing when almost, but not quite, cooled.  And it makes nice toast.  The combination of cheese and sesame is really good!

Enjoy.

Glenn

This is true in bread baking, of course.  We are all more or less methodical, trying to get everything just right.   But everything is never just right.  Then, something inexplicably wonderful happens and the best bread ever known comes out of your oven.  And it’s either because you’re amazingly skillful, or pixies, leprechauns, angels or karma paid a visit.  In my case, I would bet it’s pixies.

The same is true in photography (that’s why they’re called “pixels”). 

Yesterday was a lucky day both for bread and photography.

The bread was Hamelman’s Five Grain Levain, a bread I’ve made 5 or 6 times.   This time I used real cracked rye—as called for in the formula—instead of the cracked wheat I’d been using.  And I scaled the dough into six mini-batards (or short, chubby baguettes).  They came out spectacularly well—crust, crumb, ears, spring, flavor.

Then, of course, I had to capture them on camera.  So I pulled out my new underwater camera, placed the cooling loaves in the sunny dining room, and … PIXIES!!

The shots below are in more ordinary light, but still nice.

May luck visit you all.

Glenn

Our holiday season was very relaxing, but we had guests visiting and I didn't get a chance to post on TFL much.  So, before we get too far into 2013, here are my last two bakes of 2012.

The first is my San Francisco Country Sourdough, a command performance since the batch from a few days earlier disappeared in a flash of hungry family.

Then, I used the Hamelman Vermont Sourdough with Whole Wheat to give a baking lesson to a visiting friend.

Both bakes were very satisfactory.  The Vermont SD came out nice and dark, the way we all like it.

By the way, these are my first bread photos with my new camera, a little Canon that's designed to be used under water (for an upcoming trip to the Galapagos).  It takes pretty good photos above water.

Ruins of Sutro Baths, San Francisco

And, so the sun sets on another year.

Best wishes for a breadful 2013.

Glenn

The traditional holiday meal on California’s North Coast consists of Sourdough Bread, Fresh Dungeness Crab and White Wine.  By family demand, I made some San Francisco Country Sourdough for the Crab feast.  It was the best I’ve ever made. 

The firm starter was fed the morning before the dough was mixed.  Then the evening before mixing, a liquid starter was made.  The dough was very active and airy.

The bread came out with a crusty crust and chewy crumb.  Excellent flavor.  The only problem is the holes are a bit too large and the horseradish sauce slops through.  

By the way, the formula can be found here (http://www.thefreshloaf.com/node/22679/spring-air…and-oven).

Happy Holidays to all, and may your feasts include great bread.

Glenn

If youda told me that the fluffiest bread I ever made would be 40% whole wheat, I woulda called you a liar.  But now I believe!

I’ve been making more whole grain breads lately.  But cold roast chicken sandwiches need Challah.  So, I started looking through my books for a whole wheat Challah.  Glezer?  Nope.   Hensperger?  Uh-uh.  Reinhart?   Not in the books I have (I know there’s such a formula in Whole Grain Breads, but I ain’t got.  Hey, Santa!  Hannukah’s almost over!).  So, whaddya know?  Inside the Jewish Bakery has this Honey Whole Wheat Challah formula!  So I gave it a whirl.  Floyd posted the formula here (http://www.thefreshloaf.com/recipes/honeywholewheatchallah).

This is a very rich bread.  Lots of oil and eggs and honey.  But it’s got whole wheat, so it’s nutritious.  The dough behaved very nicely.  Good moist texture, easy to handle.  I followed the instructions, except I used the Glezer strand-shaping method (roll out each piece into a flat circle, then roll up into a cylinder). 

 The loaves expanded hugely, both in the proofing and in the oven.  These are LARGE Challot.  And very airy and melt-in-your-mouth tender.  And deliciously eggy and wheaty. Never had sliced chicken found a happier place!

I highly recommend this formula.  Would be good for rolls, too.

Glenn

I baked five smallish loaves of the wonderful Five-Grain Levain.  Not much to add to my forum post on the subject (http://www.thefreshloaf.com/node/31273/adjusting-bake-time-and-temp-smaller-loaves), except some pictures.

Glenn

It’s been almost two years since brother David shared with us the formula for Walnut-Raisin Sourdough from San Francisco Baking Institute (http://www.thefreshloaf.com/node/21289/walnut-raisin-sourdough-bread-sfbi-artisan-ii).   I’ve made this bread three or four time times, but it’s been a long time.  Too long.  So I baked a couple little loaves yesterday.

This bread is essentially a pain de campagne with some toasted walnuts and raisins.  It has a nice semi-chewy crumb and a crispy crust, and wonderful complex flavor.  It’s also—for some reason—one of the best smelling breads I know.  My spouse and I prefer pecans to walnuts, and I used a combination of dried cranberries and golden raisins.  The bread is delicious all by itself, but is even splendider with some cream cheese.

I used Central Milling Organic Artisan Baker’s Choice white flour, Central Milling’s Organic Hi-Protein Fine Whole Wheat flour and Bob’s Red Mill Dark Rye flour.  The formula is shown below.

 The dough was just a tad underproofed.  So the bread was a tad underpoofed.

Pecan-Cranberry-Raisin Sourdough (Variation on SFBI Formula)

      Mix all ingredients until well incorporated.

      Ferment 12 hrs at room temperature.

Procedure

      Mix the flours and the water to a shaggy mass. Cover tightly and autolyse for 45-75 minutes.  Desired dough temperature: 78-80F.

      Toast the pecans, broken into large pieces, for 10 minutes at 325ºF. (Can be done ahead of time)

      Soak the raisins/cranberries in cold water. (Can be done ahead of time)

      Add the salt, yeast and levain and mix at Speed 1 until well incorporated (about 2 minutes).

      Mix at Speed 2 to moderate gluten development (about 8 minutes).

      Add the nuts and raisins (well-drained) and mix at Speed 1 until they are well-distributed in the dough.

      Transfer to a lightly floured board and knead/fold a few times if necessary to better distribute the nuts and raisins.

      Round up the dough and transfer to a lightly oiled bowl. Cover tightly.

      Ferment for 2 – 2 ½  hours at 70ºF.

      Divide the dough into two equal pieces. Pre-shape as boules. Let the pieces relax for 20-30 minutes, covered.

      Shape as bâtards or boules and place, seam side up. In bannetons or en couche. Cover well.

      Proof for 1.5 to 2 hours.

      An hour before baking, pre-heat oven to 500ºF with baking stone and steaming apparatus in place.

      Transfer the loaves to a peel. Score them. Transfer to the baking stone.

      Turn the oven down to 450ºF and bake for 15 minutes with steam, then another 12 minutes in a dry oven. (Boules may take a few more minutes to bake than bâtards.)  Done when internal temperature is 205 F.

      When the loaves are done, turn off the oven but leave the loaves on the baking stone with the oven door ajar for another 8-10 minutes.

      Transfer the loaves to a cooling rack.

      Cool (almost) completely before slicing.  (The loaves are still slightly warm after 60 minutes).

      **********

Enjoy!

Glenn

It should come as no surprise to you that I need to lose weight.   My weight-loss regimen is not from a book.   No one would buy a book called “New Diet Secret: Eat Less, Exercise More and Lose Weight!”   This diet along with a crazy busy work life has kept me from baking much lately.  And when I bake, I experiment with “healthy breads”.   I figure I’m not consuming empty calories if my bread has millet or whole oats or cracked wheat.  Plus, some of these more nutritious breads taste really great.

Today I baked a batch of Professor Hamelman’s “Five-Grain Levain”.  The formula includes bread flour and whole wheat flour and calls for a soaker of cracked rye, flaxseeds, sunflower seeds, and oats.  I may be missing something, but I only count three grains there: wheat, rye and oats.  Maybe he’s including the seeds in the grain count. He is a professor, so he must be right.

Anyway…I couldn’t find any cracked rye and my rye-cracker is in the shop.  So I substituted cracked wheat, thus producing a two-grain levain with seeds.   Otherwise, I followed the formula.  I made two batards, one about 1.5 pounds and one about 1.8 pounds, and a few rolls.  The rolls were semi-retarded at 55 F  (San Francisco November) while the loaves baked and the oven re-heated.  Here’s a family photo:

This bread is very moist and light of crumb, with a crispy crust.  Tons of flavor….as you can see below:

So lets talk about multigranularity.  I think the rye would have added a nice touch to this bread.  But I couldn’t tell you why.  I have made others of Hamelman’s multigrain breads and enjoyed them to varying degrees.  I have a sense of the flavor of each of the common multigrain bread ingredients.  But I haven’t experimented enough to know what combinations of grains and seeds I like best.  That is a project for the future.

Meanwhile, one question:  is there any reason why I couldn’t take this Five-Grain Levain formula and substitute other whole grains and seeds in the soaker? 

Hamelman’s Whole-Wheat Bread with a Multigrain Soaker (a bread with a yeasted pre-ferment) calls for cracked wheat, coarse cornmeal, millet and oats in the soaker.  And I like that bread a lot.  It has an overall hydration of 78% (plus 5% honey), while the Five-Grain Levain has an overall hydration of 98%.  So, of course, I’d need to adjust the hydration to reflect the thirstiness of the ingredients.  But other than that, are there any issues with grain/seed combos in sourdough I should take into account.

Thanks.

Glenn

I was going for the “light and fluffy” 100% whole wheat bread that Brother David has blogged about, taking cues from txfarmer and Professor Reinhart (http://www.thefreshloaf.com/node/22987/light-and-fluffy-100-whole-wheat-bread).   Having no mixer at our North Coast home, I tried to develop the dough to a windowpane by hand-kneading alone.  What I accomplished in 25 minutes of hand-kneading a dense dough (on Speed 2 as recommended) was a sore back and tendonitis in my elbow.  What I did not accomplish was a light and fluffy bread.

The formula is very nice.  The dough rose beautifully in both primary ferment and proof.  There was very little oven spring.

The bread is very delicious, and the smell was incredible.  I wouldn’t call the crumb crumbly.  It has a nice texture. But it isn’t fluffy and shreddable.  The flavor is so good, and the promise of fluffiness so compelling, that I will try it again. But next time it will be in SF, where the Bosch Universal Plus lives.

I do think I will undertake to make an exercise video someday called “The Baker’s Workout”.    It will feature this bread, along with a double batch of bagels, and a three-loaf bake of 100% hand-milled rye bread.  No grain, no pain.  Work it!

Glenn

Seeking a hardy healthy bread, I decided to try Hamelman's Whole Wheat with Mixed Grain Soaker.  It's 50% whole wheat, made with a pate' fermente', and has a soaker of millet, cracked wheat, corn meal and oats.  I also added toasted sesame, sunflower and pumpkin seeds.  It has a nice crispy crust, tender crumb and a wonderful nutty flavor.  This will not be the last time I make it.

Sorry for the lack of detail, but it's been a busy weekend.

Glenn