NatiGO's blog

So, I've been absent from my blog, but it doesn't mean I haven't been baking.

Lately I've been baking almost exclusively the Rustic Bread by Floydm. I never made loafs with preferments, so it was new, but I liked doing it.

I also recently acquired a Le Cruiset pot, so I baked in it for the first time. And I have to say, it was the most beautiful bread I have ever baked!

I made half a recipe, I thought it was too much. But now I'm doing the whole one! It's very good.

I loved how it looked and how it tasted. I'm addicted to doing this recipe. And using my pot.

One of the times I baked two loafs, one in the pot and one in a regular opened pan, and the difference was huge!

I would like to bake it in a batard shape, but I'm afraid I won't get that beeeeautiful crust as in the pot. What is the best way to make that same steam on an opened pan?

One thing I would like to say is that before joining here, for me, the whole process of making bread would take like 2 hours tops. One hour was enough time for a bread to rise (no wonder it was always heavy). Now, I plan myself ahead, and usually take a whole day off when I want to bake. And it's paying off.

Thank you!

So, as I planned, this weekend I made another change in the bread from Lesson One, and added some seeds and grains.

To the 1/3 whole wheat recipe I added 2 tbls of quinoa, 2 of flaxseed and 3 of sunflower seeds.

I didn't knead it, I started folding it until I felt everything was mixed together. 45 minutes later I folded the dough a couple of times, 45 minutes later again folded it, shaped it in a loaf pan, then 45 minutes later it was baked. It rose pretty well, and it tastes delicious. The only difference I could see is the color, it is a little bit more pale than the other two I baked before.

One thing didn't work, I tried putting some sunflower seeds on top of it with oil, but they all fell. What should I use so they stick?

What do you think? :)

So, after the success with the loaf from Lesson One I've decided to change it a little before going to the one from Lesson Two.

I usually bake loafs with whole wheat flour, for the health reasons and all. So I decided to turn it into a whole wheat bread. I read a lot about how it is difficult to bake a 100% whole wheat bread, that it won't get fluffy, it doesn't develop as good as white loafs. And I also read that the "secure" amount is 1/3 of whole wheat. And that is what I did. 2 cups of white flour and 1 cup of whole wheat flour.

I noticed I had to add a little bit more water so I could feel it the same as the first one, but I forgot to measure it.

Again I should have let it rise a little bit more before going to the oven. 

What do you think, was this the right way to go? 

The next thing I want to do is add some seeds and grains. When is the right time to add them to the dough? I read in the handbook that the dough should not be kneaded as a regular one, because the sharper grains will cut the gluten strands and allow the CO2 gas to escape. So I'll have to stretch and fold it, that is new to me, we'll see how it goes!

So, I just found out I have my own blog here. When I sign in I thought I would like to keep a register of my "experiments", and I was thinking of creating a blog for it, it turns out I already have one :D

Since I started again with my baking, I will use this blog to register what I'm doing, so I can keep track and check my improvement (hopefully).

This first entry is about the first bread I made with the help of TFL. The bread from Lesson One.

This one got me to understand a little bit more about the process and it was delicious.

One thing though, often happening to me, I should wait a little bit more after putting it in the loaf pan before going to the oven.

If by any chance anyone reads this, I have one small question, is there a difference if I use the word "bread" of "loaf"? (I mentioned in my introduction, English is not my main language).