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We took last week's more tame bake and decided to gussie it up some.  There is just no way to hold my apprentice back when it comes to gussieness.  She decided to add some walnuts and re-hydrated black mission figs (one of our favorite combinations for fruit and nuts in bread) and some pumpkin and sunflowers seeds

These new additions went along with last week’s ground sesame and flax seeds, Toadies, red and white malts and VWG.  We cut back on some of the whey and white whole wheat flour and replaced them with more water and our special mix of 75% extraction home ground flour consisting of 25% rye, 25% spelt and 25% Kamut and 25% farro.

Since we again used the 25% sifted out bran portion to feed a smaller levain, we ended up with 85% whole grain bread instead of 100% like last week.  With all the fruit, nut and seed additions, I didn’t honk that Lucy would notice that some of the whole grain was missing.  We need some sifted bran and middlings for the next batch of Toadies.

Even though the 85% hydration was the same as last week’s bake the dough felt more wet and sticky.  This was probably due to some of the whole gain missing and that the re-hydrated figs may have carried some extra water with them.  In any even the dough was more slack for sure and hopefully this will open the crumb some more and still provide proper lift.

We followed a similar method to last week with one exception. We built the levain on Tuesday instead of Wednesday so that it could sit in the fridge for 48 hours to get more sour.  Since all of the whole grain bits were in the levain we autolysed the dough flours for 3 hours while the levain was warming up and finishing in final doubling.  The levain was refrigerated when it showed a 25% volume increase after the 3rd feeding.

We did 12 minutes of slap and folds since the dough felt slacker.  We incorporated the ground sesame and flax seeds, along with pumpkin and sunflower seeds, during the first set of (3) S&F’s that were performed 20 minutes apart.  The figs and the walnuts went in on the 2nd set and by the end of the 3rd set everything was well distributed.

After a short 15 minute rest the dough was pre-shaped and then shaped into a short squat batard to fit our oval basket and then it was placed into a used trash can liner and immediately retarded in the fridge for 20 1/2 hours.  It wasn’t quite were we wanted it when it came out of the fridge so we let it warm upon the counter an hour.

The dough was then un-molded on the parchment covered mini broiler top, slashed and  placed into the 500 F preheated mini oven that was steaming with 2 of Sylvia’s steaming cups and a ¼ cup of water thrown into the bottom of the mini oven as the door was closed.  Three minutes later we turned the oven own to 475 F.

We let the bread steam for 16 minutes before removing Sylvia’s steam generators and turning the oven down to 425 F, convection.   We rotated the bread every 5 minutes and in 25 minutes the bread tested 203 F when it was removed to a cooling rack.  So, this time the total bake was 41 minutes.

The bread bloomed OK but didn’t spring that much.  It might have been over proofed a little bit. It must have been that extra half and hour in the cold.  It browned well and had the crust that the mini oven puts on bread nearly every time but without the blisters.  The kitchen smelled like bake day for sure even without any aromatic seeds in the mix  - I knew my apprentice forgot something!

This bread is one that you won't forget.  Earthy, nutty, seedy, with a hint of sweet figs.... just plain tasty.  The crust is boldly baked, thick and it stayed crunchy too.  the crumb is soft moist and fairly open for a near whole grain bread with lots of stuff in it.  If you are all alone on a deserted island, this is the bread you want to have in your knapsack.  It made one of the tastiest grilled chicken sandwiches with the typical fruits and veggies, some pickled veg from the sausages last night and a slice of brie - Yummy!

Formula

Brunch with this bread the next morning.  Delicious!

This weeks bread was Sesame Poppy Seed Sourdough.

I was really happy with this weeks bread. It has great flavor and really looked great. I used two preferment's to get good complex notes without having a really long rise time. It is a little crazy I have only 3 hours to get 100 loaves out the door most days. I never thought it was possible but I have learned a lot of tricks. I do want to get some banetons so I can have my bread do a long slow rise in the walk in overnight. There isn't a bakery around here that does real sourdoughs with a long ferment. Last week I took 65 loaves of my bread to the local farmers market. The farm team goes every week but for some reason they couldn't sell more than 15 loaves. This week though I sold all 65 and really got to connect with the people in this community. I feel like I am really starting to change people from the white wonderbread superstore bread that we have here. So that is what has gone on this week. 

Next week: maple oatmeal bread.

We decided at lunch time to have sausages for dinner and needed some buns.  I went to the KA web site to get a recipe for some that would be ready in 6 hours max.  I found a no knead recipe to use as a basis but decided to make a poolish with a pinch of ADY.  We put the whole wheat in the poolish to get it wet as long as possible and put half the honey in the polish too.

After 2 hours we mixed everything else in and did 10 minutes of slap and folds.  This is pretty wet dough at over 82% hydration.  It eventually came together so it was not sticking on the counter.  We did 2 sets of S& F’s at 15 minute intervals and then let the dough rest for 20 minutes before shaping into 4 hot dog buns and 2 thin hamburger buns.

We let them proof or 2 3/4 hours on the counter on parchment, on the mini oven’s vented top of the broiler pan, in a trash can liner.  We mixed melted bitter with cream to brush on top and into the 350 F mini oven they went ready or not.

We baked them for 9 minutes on the bottom and then moved them to the top and rotated them while turning the temperature down to 325 F, convection this time.   They didn’t brown as much as we though they would but they tested done at 200 F so we took them out and brushed them with the creams butter mixture again..

I didn’t get any pictures of them coming out of the oven because the girls were starving but I did get a picture of the left over Boudin sausage left over and the 2 hamburger buns.  These could have proofed about an hour longer but dinner had to be served.  The buns were soft and moist and tasted great though.  No one complained which is unusual around here.

The hamburger buns didn't go to waste.  Yummy with grilled fries, some veg and a salad!

 I wanted to make a fairly uncomplicated bread with a good portion of spelt flour and while I was at it I decided to add some walnuts since I love nuts and my new apprentice Max is quite the nut as well.

My wife picked up some chocolate infused olive oil on close-out at William Sonoma so I figured that along with some chocolate vinegar would be a good compliment to the mix of nutty flours along with the walnuts.  I'm not sure you really end up tasting too much chocolate flavor but it did add some nice chocolate undertones to the final bread.

New Apprentice Max Loving the Sand

I let the flours autolyse with the water overnight for around 12 hours before mixing in the other ingredients and let it bulk ferment for another 12 plus hours before baking it off.

The final bread was a nice nutty, chewy bread perfect for some hard cheese or olive oil.  The crumb was nice and moist and open and the spelt flour really added a wonderful taste to this one.

Levain Directions

Mix all the levain ingredients together  for about 1 minute and cover with plastic wrap.  Let it sit at room temperature for around 7-8 hours or until the starter has doubled.  I used my proofer set at 83 degrees and it took about 4 hours.

 Main Dough Procedure

Mix the flours with the water for about 1 minute.  Place it in a covered bowl and let it sit at room temperature or in your refrigerator overnight for around 12 hours.

The next day cut the starter in pieces and add it along with the oil and vinegar to the dough and mix on low-speed or by hand for 4 minutes.  Next add the chopped walnuts and mix until incorporated for about 1 minute.  Remove the dough from your bowl and place it in a lightly oiled bowl or work surface and do several stretch and folds.  Let it rest covered for 10-15 minutes and then do another stretch and fold.  Let it rest another 10-15 minutes and do one additional stretch and fold.  After a total of 2 hours place your covered bowl in the refrigerator and let it rest for 12 to 24 hours.  (Since I used my proofer I only let the dough sit out for 1.5 hours before refrigerating).

When you are ready to bake remove the bowl from the refrigerator and let it set out at room temperature still covered for 1.5 to 2 hours.  Remove the dough and shape as desired and cover with a moist towel or oiled plastic wrap.  The dough will take 1.5 to 2 hours depending on your room temperature and will only rise about 1/3 it's size at most.  Let the dough dictate when it is read to bake not the clock.

Around 45 minutes before ready to bake, pre-heat your oven to 500 degrees F. and prepare it for steam.  I have a heavy-duty baking pan on the bottom rack of my oven with 1 baking stone on above the pan and one on the top shelf.  I pour 1 cup of boiling water in the pan right after I place the dough in the oven.

Right before you are ready to put them in the oven, score as desired and then add 1 cup of boiling water to your steam pan or follow your own steam procedure.

After 1 minute lower the temperature to 450 degrees.  Bake for 35-50 minutes until the crust is nice and brown and the internal temperature of the bread is 205 degrees.

Take the bread out of the oven when done and let it cool on a bakers rack before for at least 2 hours before eating.

Hi there,

I would appreciate some help with baking rolls.

After shaping them in to balls and then proved they end up as flat as a pancake.

Is there some sort of special baking tin to keep the shape or does anyone know where I am going wrong ?

Thank you in advance

Back to basics for this bake.  This is my go-to, everyday bread.  I follow Hamelman's formula by the book.  I thought it would be warm enough to bulk ferment on the counter, but not much had happened by the time of the first stretch and fold, so I put it in the oven with the light on for a while.  At two and a half hours, the dough was still not where it should have been, so I did another stretch and fold and continued to ferment in the oven with the light on and off.  In another hour it looked good, so I shaped and then did the final proof in the refrigerator as usual.  I'm happy with how it turned out.  A good save.

Dave

I had a lot of trouble with using knives to score my bread, and I ordered the French bread cutter, Bordelaise, from Amazon.  It makes doing this so much easier. Love it!  Made a 9-grain boule today, and the markings looked good. My husband even remarked about it!  It was well worth it, as I think it only cost about $15.

This is the first loaf I have baked using flour from my new Grainmaker mill—and the last loaf I will bake in this kitchen that I have been posting from for almost two years. We are moving house this weekend and amongst the piles of packed boxes and chaos I thought it might be a fitting end to try and find some time to bake a loaf and upload a post about it.

You see, it was my new Komo mill and the excitement of milling my own flour that encouraged me to start actively contributing—after many years of lurking—on TheFreshLoaf. So it seems the thrill of my new Grainmaker mill should be a fitting close to the time we have spent in this lovely old house.

... anyway, best get back to it ... these boxes aren't going to pack themselves.

Cheers,
Phil

this loaf is my second attempt baba BBA book! this recipes gives a soft and flavorful loaf for sandwich or eat alone. Gonna have it with tomato and cheese for breakfast tomorrow.

So, Tartine Country bread it is. I chose to try the much revered country recipe before venturing into more complex breads in Tartine book. Generally, I followed Chad’s instructions to the letter, including the shaping method depicted in his book.  The recipe yielded good sourdough bread, with moist interior, crackled crust, and smooth eating qualities with no acidic notes whatsoever. It is a really good bread, especially for those who have just ventured into making their own sourdough breads at home. I loved it, and loved the subtle creaminess of its crumb, and the lovely carmalized tones of the crust.

To balance things out, and to further try the performance of my newly sourced French whole non organic Rye flour, I baked a recipe from Hamelman’s book Bread: 80% Rye sourdough with a rye flour soaker. This time, I skipped the yeast altogether and added 1 hour to the bulk ferment which added up to 2 hour total bulk fermentation.  This was the first time I used a recipe that calls for a scald, I was surprised by the moistness it lends to the crumb even after 48 hours of cooling. The flavor after 36 hours was mildly acidic, and the crumb was still moist. The bread was good, period. I’ll wait for a total of 72 hours to judge the bread flavor as it evolves, but I’m not anticipating a surprise.

What I’ll be doing from now on, I think, is to mill my organic rye flour or purchase dove farm’s whole rye flour and use it in the sour. The rest of the dough’s rye would be from the non-organic rye flour.

-Khalid