The Fresh Loaf

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CaptainBatard's picture
CaptainBatard

When making Pan D'oro recently I realized...it being winter in the North East and my house hovering around 62-65*(by choice)I had to come up with a better way of keeping a constant temperature for my sweet starter. I could always fall back on the old pot holder trick (3 folded pot holders=76*) in the stove door with the light on. It works in a pinch but, I always run into this problem of proofing temperature. In the summer it is too hot (I can't bake or i have to use ice water baths) and in the winter it is too cold. I've been tooling around with many ideas on how to make a proofer work... a plug-in car refrigerator/cooler or wine vault for the summer and a heater/light bulb for the winter. The Pan D'oro made it happen. I turned again to the internet and with the help of MC@Farine  I found a design for a proofer that Steve@Bread cetera posted @Fresh Loaf, and I took it a step further. I went looking for a thermostat for reptiles.... and ended up at Craigs list with the perfect solution... a Ranco ETC microprocessor  temperature controller thermostat that plugs into the heating unit or refrigeration system. It really takes the prize and i got it for a good price from a home brewer who started making babies and his wife made him stop making suds. After fooling around with it...I have found... I can control  the internal temperature within a degree of where i want it to be......the only thing I would consider changing is the probe. I have found that i can insert it into the dough and and get spot on readings...a new tip to the probe would make it perfect! The rest of the proofer is make shift.  I got a sheet of insulation board from Home Depot and cut it to fit my in my pantry. The heat source is a 75 w light bulb. I also have an indoor outdoor thermometer i had laying around that sound an alarm if it goes past a set temperature...just as a fail safe.My original intention was to get a small refrigerator or wine vault so I could bake all summer without a problem. The project has been put on hold...I have been busy packing my house to rent for an extended trip to France in the very near future. Iam going to try to find a way to take it with me! If you have any question comment below...or drop my a note...

Cheers...

                                                                   

 

 

 

 

yozzause's picture
yozzause

Whilst dividing my sour dough culture the other evening a sudden urge to take advantage of the cooler weather (36 deg it has been over 40) and bake came over me. I decided to make a small dough and was thinking of making some bread sticks so added a goodly amount of olive oil to the mix.

Any way as the stretch and folds were done and the time wore on i decided to change to a loaf instead so the dough was shaped and later put into the fridge as i went to bed.

I awoke at 3am so took the dough from the fridge to allow time to warm up before baking b4 work, 6.30 into the oven and then just enough time to cool.  pictures taken at work and available for morning tea.

the small loaf did not go that far but it was enjoyed by us all. i currently have a sour dough rye that i bought to work and will bake either tonigh when i get home or will refrigerate for tomorrow morning  to take along to a bbq with friends we haven't seen for years

yozza

 

CaptainBatard's picture
CaptainBatard

I have been pretty busy since the Holidays, packing up my house to rent, in anticipation of going on an extended adventure to France in the very near future...but that doesn't mean I don't have time to make bread! I always like to have some bread in the house and these day I making experimenting with Miche, Pointe-a-Calliere ala Shiao Ping. It is funny that the three times I have tried this recipe, the process has been less than text book....but in the end were very tasty! The first two times there were hydration problems... I opened  up my new  proofing chamber (see blog above) after 1 1/2 hours into the final proofing to find a puddle of dough stuck to the parchment paper. I scrapped it off, reshaped it twice,said a prayer and it honestly turned out to be an exceptional bread.  Yesterday's bake did not go any easier! I thought I would use some of the water from the final dough and  make a slurry of the stiff starter...so it would be easier to incorporate into the doughby hand. That was a bad idea...it turned out to be a real mess tiring to add it to the clay like dough by hand. By the time I had a good smooth, silky dough after many stretch and folds I was ready for a nap! But it survived the intensive care unit better than I did. When baked and cooled over night wrapped in linen, it was honestly the best tasting bread I have ever made. The whole Miche experience reminded me of something Max Poilane said in  a book I am reading about breads and pastry shops in Paris.

"  The best bread I ever tasted was one that didn't work....it fermented to long and it was full of holes like Gruyere. But, oh, what a taste. Bread unlike pasterine, is very forgiving. You can make mistakes and still end up with a  bread that tastes good...."

 

                                          

 

                                                           

 

Another bread that I have really enjoyed making and eating was one that come from Susan at WildYeast. It is the Cranberry Semolina Crown which I substituted apricots and hazelnuts. I just can't get enough of it......

 

                                                          

This is being sent to Susan @ WildYeast -Yeastspotting

 

utahcpalady's picture
utahcpalady

So I have been messing with my non acidic starter to see if I could correct that and get some sour to my sourdough.  I added 1 tsp of cider vinegar to one starter and fed it after 12 hours, then 1/2 tsp to another starter and fed it 3xs (every 8 hrs), and then made a control loaf that was with the original starter.  Now I don't have proofing baskets so when I put them in the fridge they were in greased glass bowls, so I think I can correct the shape.  The one loaf that had the best shape I just plopped out of the bowl onto the stone and didn't try to gather up the bottom before placing it on the stone, like the others.  Live and learn, and hope for baskets for Valentines day.

utahcpalady's picture
utahcpalady

Chocolate Sourdough - take 2

I don't know if you can tell by this picture, but I got quite the oven spring out of my chocolate sourdough this time.  The loaf just split in two,the guts of which bulged out.  So, I am guessing I need to work on my slashing technique.  It was really yummy and crumb was great, but I kinda laughed when I pulled it out of the oven.  I did steam  the oven this time right from the beginning, whereas I forgot to the first time I made this recipe.

Yes I know you all envy my bread saw.  Wish I could find them again.  I got it 14 years ago at the Park City arts festival in Utah.

ques2008's picture
ques2008

I wanted to do this at the end of 2009 - my way of saying thanks to everyone here who blogged so enthusiastically, sharing their knowhow.  But client work got in the way, so I managed to complete it only today.

I signed up on TFL about 11 months ago, not having an ounce of experience in bread baking.  After taking the plunge, I realized dough and yeast weren't aliens in my small universe, and I should have made friends with them a long time ago.  So yes, there are a hundred ways to "skin the cat", and I'm learning those ways slowly.  I have now started taking that sourdough journey which I kept postponing.  I won't get it up to perfection in one crunchy chomp, but I will be posting my first sourdough shortly.  I followed the lead by DMSnyder who was kind enough to point me to Susan's wild yeast site.

In the meantime, I've got this cruel propensity for making pseudo bread...and pseudo poetry.  Here's what I think of some of you, and for those whose names I missed, I didn't do it intentionally.  TFL is a great talent magnet, and it has attracted the best and the brightest.  But instead of a blog, I've done a blubfest (in not so nauseating proportions). 

              

 

First, hats off to Floyd - our host, Drupal programmer and fund-raiser,

So busy, he forgot our domain, but acted quickly on it - like a laser!

The Fresh Loaf has come full circle, and then featured in Saveur,

Mercy, Mercy!  What he's done for humanity and for our levure!

 

"It's nice to get up in the mornin" says Captain DMSnyder,

We know why.  With those loaves, he's getting all that fibre.

Generous, he shares a baker's dozen of tips on shaping and scoring,

Greek bread, Suas and torta de patate - in his hands, they're never boring!

 

Seen ehanner's twisted boules and white thyme bread yet?

Steps look complicated but they'd make an excellent bet.

PMcCool's, "I think I'm starting to get a hang of this" should be our mantra,

He finally found the flours he needs...in South Africa!

 

Hans Joakim - fully disguised as the vampire in Twilight,

His schrotbot, cocoa almond sponge...dare take a bite?

His patisserie so beguiling, seductive...such teasers, my he's a genius,

I read his posts like an addict, they're far from tedious.

 

Psst...Shiao Ping is looking for Waldo, should we join in the search?

She's shooting birds and exotic fruits up on a perch.

Taking a break from the heat, she prefers to be al fresco,

A fine lady who didn't leave her heart in San Francsico!

 

Last year I asked Marni about the round challah and she gave me the link,

When it came out of the oven, I was charmed and gave it a wink.

Debra Wink, Debra Wink, what a brain you've got,

Your love for science has made us more an educated lot.

 

Levieto natural con segale integrale, now that's a mouthful,

But JoeVa made it and he wasn't in the least boastful.

Let's not forget Susan and her wild yeast blog - a real treasure chest,

Norwich sourdough, sesame sourdough, all at their best!

 

Guess who forgot the salt the other day?  Maxiemolly!

But no matter, she's got that gorgeous array, by golly.

I spotted Milwaukeecooking somewhere in this flood of blogs,

Her sun dried tomato with parmesan, I could give it lotsa hugs!

 

History trivia for you:  who in 1976 made her first challah?

Hint:  she said, "it cheaper than therapy", ha-ha-ha!

Trailrunner, who else?  Caught a glimpse of Txfarmer's sourdough pandoro?

No doubt it'll pass the test, because he's detailed and thorough.

 

TattooedTonka posted a step-by-step on bagels,

Was he guided by his dog or by his angels?

Was that SylviaH in New Orleans, forking beignets at Cafe du Monde?

Perhaps...but we know her Christmas panettone had texture and bone (I mean "tone")

 

1/3.5/4.16 - not lottery numbers but MiniOven's rye loaf formula,

At least she's open and isn't as secretive as Coca-Cola.

Speaking of formulas, DocTracy has a love affair with excel spreadsheets,

Instead of counting sheep, he'd rather crunch numbers...and not bake with beets.

 

Breads and spreads, critters and crawlers were in davidg618's open house,

Did those delicious smells trolly outside, attracting the neighbor's mouse?

Arlo says he can't stop baking and loves his liquid starter,

Bake away Arlo, but don't let it expand...am talkin about your garter.

 

Stephanie Brim came up with 100% whole wheat needing more honey,

But looks like she's got it down pat, giving Julia a run for her money.

Yippee's milk sandwiches and 3-stage Hamelman 90% rye,

I'd be in her dining room in a second, and don't wanna say goodbye!

 

Also to MC (Bombance), simusi yoshi, proth5, LindyD, Meedo and Paddy's cake,

I'd love to nosh and quaff, shall I meet you "loafers" by the lake?

Pamela alias xaipete - haven't seen you of late,

Please come back so we can again watch you bake!

 

Thank you all,

ques2008 (sharon)

 

 

 

 

 

Doc Tracy's picture
Doc Tracy

Well, it's been quite a rainy week here in Arizona. Their predicting up to 4 inches of rain here in the desert, even more in the higher country with up to 4 feet of snow up in the higher mountains! Winds up to 60mph this evening! It's been a wild couple of days with a big storm the night before last, rain all day today and so much more yet to come. We just pulled up the awning on the camper to keep it from blowing away!

The house is still a long way from being done. Today we had to call the contractors as they had done some work on the roof and taken up the plastic that my husband had put down. You guessed it, flooded the house. I swear, they are doing more damage than the fire did, trying to fix the fire damage! Last week, they were tearing up the floor and left the refrigerator unplugged with medical supplies. Would you believe in excess of $10,000 in medical supplies were destroyed by that little mistake?

I've been doing a lot of baking, needless to say, although I'm sorry I didn't take any pictures for you. Tuesday, I baked a wonderful Oatmeal Cinnamon Raisin bread from Hamelman's "Bread", using my new excel spreadsheet (if you'd like the copy of the spreadsheet email me at tracy@doctracy.org). Yesterday, I made Eric's Fav Rye. This is the second time I've baked this and it's one of my favorite formulas. This time I added the onions, made it freestanding instead in loaf pans and used 2/3 AP to 1/3 WW. (I can't find 1st clear in Phoenix and seems to be working well without it so haven't ordered it online yet).  This is just the best deli rye bread. We had pastrami/swiss sandwiches today that were wonderful. The only problem that I had is with a new stone that I added to my little camper oven yesterday. It seems to have intensified my heat on the bottom of my loafs, causing them to burn long before they were baked in the middle (like at 8 minutes, charred!) so I nearly ruined the poor things! I think I have that solved by lifting the rack/stone up to a higher shelf (I have oh so much room to play around in this tiny oven, not) but it may take a few more trials to get the hang of it. I continue to use the stepping stone in the bottom of the oven to increase thermal mass, I am just hoping the pizza stone will help with crust.

Last night I also made some molten lava cake for a treat, which I've been promising my husband for some time. Wow, was that yummy! I used Paula Deen's recipe but substituted all bittersweet Ghiardelli's chocolate instead of part semi-sweet. I didn't have the orange liquor so I used brandy and vanilla instead. They were just like a very expensive restaurant's. (except for the one that fell apart on the cutting board before scraping into the serving plate, LOL! Thank goodness that was the extra, used the syrup from that one for the garnish. Maybe once a week, or less I have to make something decadent for a special treat.

Can't make those too often though, we'll both have to do extra time at the gym and I've been really lazy about that. My husband, he gets up at 4am and heads to the gym every morning but I've been a lazy bum lately.

Today, husband requested some "of those seedy crackers, like the expensive ones from the health food store". Ok, I think I can figure that request out! So, I put together some whole spelt flour, sesame seeds, cayenne, poppy seeds,black pepper,salt, garlic powder, a little olive oil and water. Would you believe they are really incredible? I rolled them out on my new silicone mat (I bought the cheap imitation and cut to fit my mini-oven).  They  turned to be just the ticket for him to take to his class tonight for a snack, along with a couple of carrots.  I think he'll be wanting these for his lunch box twice a week when he has classes. Well, at least he's not eating junk food!

Now I'm trying to think of something to use my neglected white starter for. I'm thinking either Vermont Sourdough or San Joaquin sourdough will be just the ticket. I have neglected the poor starter for at least a couple of weeks now, it's probably time to feed. I've also been looking at an apricot sourdough loaf. Than again, something with spelt or semolina would be nice. Oh, so many breads, so few mouths to feed!

Let me know how the spreadsheet is working. My husband said if he'd known I was going to hand it out to the public he would have made it look a little prettier, with a border, title, that sort of thing. He even suggested that maybe I should get in touch with JH himself and see if he'd like to  publish it as a helper to his book.

Tracy

 

 

pmccool's picture
pmccool

I took the day off from work today with the stated purpose of looking for a car for my wife.  The company has provided me with a leased vehicle but that leaves my wife stuck at the house most days.  With a 45-60 minute commute in each direction, it isn't practical for her to take me to work and then use the car for the rest of the day.

Every country has its bureaucratic quirks (I cringe when I think of what expats from other countries must encounter when they arrive in the U.S.) and South Africa has its own.  One of those quirks being that you must acquire a particular form from the government before purchasing a car.  After standing in line 2 hours, we finally reached the window; only to be told that the form would be issued one month after filing the application and that that particular office would be closing by the end of January, so we would need to make our application at a different office.  After some gnashing of teeth (ours, not the clerk's), we set off in search of the other office.  We started to make a turn at an intersection and were T-boned by an oncoming car.  Both of us thought that the way was clear; our view of the on-coming car must have been obstructed by a stopped vehicle on the opposite side of the intersection.  My wife's side of the car took the impact, just behind her door.  The force was strong enough to send our car spinning into the guardrail, thereby destroying the front of the vehicle, too.  Since my wife's door was wedged shut, the firemen cut off the door before she could be extricated.  Fortunately, after a number of x-rays and a thorough examination at the hospital, she was pronounced well enough to be released and a co-worker took us home.  She will be very sore for a few days but the doctor thinks that some light therapy will soon reduce the effects of the mild whiplash she experienced.  All in all, we are very blessed that a potentially fatal encounter has only left us shaken and bruised.  The other driver suffered a cut on his forehead but didn't speak of any other injuries.

Everyone working the accident scene was very professional and competent, from the police to the paramedics to the firement; even the tow truck driver.

My therapy is already in progress.  I have a batch of Reinhart's N.Y. Deli Rye under construction.  I think the onions have cooled enough to stir into the starter, so I'll do that and head to bed.

Paul

AnnieT's picture
AnnieT

Thanks for the reminder - I finally remembered to go to the hardware store to buy lava rocks. I asked for the ones for barbecues and they produced a fancy box of expensive and large rocks. I had the idea that the lava rocks would be small so I asked for the ones used in landscaping and found a bag for $4.95 + tax. Now I am wondering - did I get the correct ones? I had been thinking of "scrumping" some from the empty house next door but they were pretty grungy. Thanks also for the instructions for cleaning them - I know somebody once mentioned the fumes and I assume this would take care of that problem, A.

sergio83's picture
sergio83

So I think I finally figured out how this thing works... well, well enough to put up some pictures and some text around them-- this is how my 66% hydration (3 1/3 cups of bread flour and 2 1/3 cups of water?) came out.

The fork is to show how runny the dough-batter is.  I kneaded for about an hour-- though i could have stopped after 45 minutes, and I think this is what I ended up with (I took the pictures a while ago so I'm not really sure)

Okay now I get it, that was when I started to get tired of kneading.  After an hour, it looked like this:

hmmm... yeah, i'm such a mess, all my pictures are a mess i'm not sure what's from what-- anyway, i'll get to the good part--

so i baked the bread and this came out:

A sad flat little spaceship of a baguette... pitiful, oh pitiful, feel so sorry for me, as aretha would say.  And then:

MY BEST CRUMB EVER!!!!! It's not the best thing I've seen on this site, but it's the best i've managed to do!

and of course

Proving, to me at least, that it's what's on the inside that counts :)

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