Greetings all,
Last week I tried the Portuguese sweet bread from the book titled "Bread and Pastry" by Micheal Suas. All I can say is that it is pretty darn good! I highly recommend it.

Question, I noticed that the dough can double its original size 4 times. However, I baked after the dough doubled in volume from its final shape. Would it be better to wait till the dough doubles its original volume 3.5 times?

The following is the formula.

Preferment

• bread flour
• water 192%
• yeast 32%
• milk powder 90%
• sugar 45%

ferment for 1hr at 70 degrees

final dough

• bread flour
• water 40%
• eggs 15%
• yeast .4%
• salt 1.29%
• sugar 30%
• butter 14%
• sponge 35%

Mix all, wait till doubled in volume, shape, wait till doubled in volume, bake!

I baked with convection, a little steam, at 380F for 20-30mins. I also did a quick egg wash on 2 and sprinkled a little raw sugar. I plan on making a cinnamon sugar version and another one with fruit and nuts.

extra chunky chocolate chip cookies. (http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Best-Big-Fat-Chewy-Chocolate-Chip-Cookie/Detail.aspx)

so far, this is my best baguette to date. thanks to Jeffrey and James from King Arthur institute (really cool folks!). I have to remember to use a lot less flour and increase the steam. i think lack of steam turned my previous sourdough bake a darker color as suppose to a nice golden brown...i also was suprised by how well the baguettes turned out baking on the baguette pan. i was expecting less volume increase compared to direct hearth baking.

hi everyone.

i baked 2 1.5lb sourdough loaves. i was a bit off on my proofing scedule by a few hrs! btw, does anyone know how to achieve caremelization color? my bread comes out with a dark brown as suppose to golden brown. could it be an access of flour i used to dust the loave and peel? could it be from not using enough steam? my cast iron sizzles intensly for about a minute before it goes to a really slow simmer. for the bread, due to my unknowing scedule, i did a long first proof that lasted 18hrs @ ~45 degrees. in that time the bread almost tripled in volume. afterwards i shaped and then baked after the bread increased volume by 60%. i took some dough and placed it in a little tube shaped container; marked the levels, and waited for the dough to reach ~60-80% of its size. i did so to help with guessing when to bake. is my theory correct? i also did no fold and shaping.

this is a photo of the same bread recipe we baked at KA institute. it has a nice golden tan; a look i am trying to replicate.

below is a pic of the BBA poor mans brioche baked in a pop over pan. i was pretty happy with the results compared to my 1st attempt paper weights i baked last week.*is the outer layer suppose to be somewhat crisp? the insides were nice and fluffy.

the left is JH dinner roll and the right is the poor mans brioche shaped to be a hamburger roll.

with this baguette, i made a lot of progress. i finally baked a baguette that sang a little and had a sourdough taste =)

the below baguettes were baked using a baguette pan that can bake 3 at a time. unfortuantely the baguettes i prepped were too big for the pan since they all stuck together. however, even though if they didnt stick, i dont think i like the appearance. ill try again this week.

in addition to, my attempt of susans sourdough. this boule was shaped after being refridgrated for ~12 hours. i think this helped a lot in developing flavor.

just some pics from yesterdays bake. next time, i will do the second proof longer, increase hydration slightly, and reread scoring tutorial. not sure why the other side didnt get spring. maybe i didnt score deep enough? 

higher hydration

just posting some pics from last nights bake with my new oven. my new oven is off the chain. oven temps can reach set temperatures sooooo much faster compared to my older oven. in a addition to, i now get to play with the convection. im excited!

below is a underproofed 100% sourdough. it was getting late so i decided to bake early...

dough was autolysed for 40 mins + 2 stretch and folds every 30mins, refridgerated over night..

hey all,

here are some pictures of 100% sourdough breads. i am trying to achieve the wonderful ears as seen in many breads here in this wonderful forum. i think my issues are in the shaping and cutting too deep. will try again this weekend! i also notice my breads dont get that nice golden caramelized color. maybe 500 is too hot?

just cant seem to get the appearance id like. i think i am cutting too deep and not making a clean slice. accidently baked too long as well and i think i overproofed.

greetings all

here is another attempt at susan's sourdough bread. i incorporated some tips i learned from the thread discussion i started about creating a more pronounced slash mark. it seems i am almost there! hopefully soon i can acheieve a nice crusty appearance with the slash area exploding outward. for this cook, i sprayed the bread top with a little oil right before slashing. i then placed the bread on the stone and then sprayed with a little water. the bread baked ~2 minutes longer under the alluminum tray at 500 degrees. for the next half, i dropped the temp down to 475. it seems i could of maybe slashed a little deeper? any suggestions?

thanks all!

greetings all!

retried the raisin walnut sourdough recipe from my previous post. i am pleased with the results, however, i am still trying to achieve a better scoring and ear curl. i think i was slashing too deep. i will try the suggestions that i recieved from the discussion thread. thanks members of freshloaf!

next up at bat was another susan sourdough attempt. i made a mistake during the shaping phase which caused me to shape again and again and again. in doing so, nice bubblies were let loose. pooof....next time i will try to shape a better batard. even though the looks lack, the taste was on point. soft in the inside, and a nice exterior crunch. total time of the first and second proof = ~13hrs @ 86 degrees. this was double the recipe btw.

next up was another attempt at baguettes using anis method with sourdough starter. i am still striving for the nice crispy crusty explosive looking baguette. i 'think' it may have something to do with the flour. i am going to give the king authurs artisan flour a shot. supposedly its ~11.6 protein content. also, i forgot to turn down the temperature after placing the baguettes into the oven, i used KA AP which is around 13% protein?

next up is pizza using anis bouabsa mixing method. it is by far my favorite crust i have achieved to date. the only thing i would improve is using a starter for a little sourdough taste.