Blogs

I made some rolls a few weeks ago with bits and pieces of left over hard cheese. I just grated them and added to the dough. I also had just a scrap of Gouda, that I cut in chunks and threw in as well. They came out fine. Mostly a shrap taste from whatever the predominate hard cheese was. I liked the occasional smoked smoked bite from the Gouda.

When I saw a Smoked Gouda at the Costco last weekend from a local dairy, I decide I would give some cheese rolls another try. I tend to more whole grain when cooking only for myself. Figuring everyone would want some cheese bread, I decided to go with mostly white flour. Since my starter is on a white whole wheat, I went with a country style mix on the dough.

 Overall Formula:

300g Bread Flour* 60%

150g White Whole Wheat 30%

50g Rye 10%

325g Water* 65%

10g Salt 2%

0.5 Tablespoon Instant yeast ~0.5%

180g Smoked Gouda 36%

*I used a 20% of the flour as a preferment sourdough at 100% hydration.

100 g White whole wheat

100 g Water

 Mix all ingredients, except for the cheese. Knead by hand for minute or so, and fold into the dough. I cut these a little uneven in size so they would give different size pockets in the rolls.

 Stretch and fold 3 times 20 minutes apart. Let rest another 20 and divided.

 I was a little pressed for time when I started on these. My starter was at room temperature (approx. 70°), but I used warm water to bring the dough temp up a little quicker. I also kept everything in a warm oven the whole time (approx. 85°). I had formed these all as rounds. They proofed in about an hour and a half.

 Bake at 400° for just under 20 minutes. I checked at 15 originally and they were pretty much done by then, so I covered with foil. I didn't want them to brown up much more, but wanted to be sure to have the cheese melt.

 I let them rest about five minutes.

 They came out pretty good, I thought. I had two right then.

I've made similar versions before with other semisoft cheeses, as rolls and bread loafs.  With rolls you tend to get a little more seeping out the sides or you could used a little less cheese, I suppose.  I have plenty of cheese left.  I may try this as a loaf next and squeeze a little more cheese in.

Take care, Todd

From eGullet

In our ever increasingly busy world, leave it to Fleischmann's (yes, that Fleischmann's) to come up with the product we all need - and in many varieties.

Yes, it's their Simply HomeMade No Knead Bread Mix (in four flavors) - and it's as simple as making bread in under an hour.  Here are the ingredients for the Stoneground Wheat Bread:

This is another ‘Post Panettone Levain Build’ bake.  It is amazing how much wasted starter you can; will, end up with when making the Italian levain for panettone!  Not to worry….we came up with another bake that used up all of left over SD and YW levain; 392 g worth, with the exception of 100 g of SD levain we are saving for the Valentine Rose Vienna Bread bake with the Three Twisted Sister GMA’s on Monday.

These near white levains had been in the fridge for a few days and were a little sleepy so we gave them 108 g of our whole Rye, spelt and WW mix with 125 g of water and let it sit out on the heating pad to warm up and get perky again.

While the huge, now 625 g YW/SD levain. was waking up, we autolysed the dough flour; half WW and half bread flour with the salt, Toadies, VWG, malts, honey, molasses, and Guinness Black Lager for 2 hours.  The only thing left out were the pumpkin and sunflower seeds.

The huge levain ended up being 45% of the total weight if you discount the 100 g of seeds.  This is about 3 times as large as normal for our baking.  Ian uses large levains per Peter Reinhart but I’m not sure he has gone this big!  We have tried this before but forgot what is was like so my apprentice thought this was the perfect time to continue our 'try it and see if we like it' method - our Mikey Technique of bread discovery.

Once the autolyse and the levain came together, we did 10 minutes of slap and folds to get this 80% hydration dough to come together.  I wasn’t at all difficult since we had 60% whole grains, most of it whole wheat, which really soaked up the beer.  After 10 minutes the dough had a great feel, was smooth supple and exhibited fine gluten development for higher percentage whole grain bread.

 After resting for 15 minutes we did 3 sets of French Folds to incorporate and distribute the seeds and further develop the gluten.  We then let the dough ferment on the counter for an hour before retarding it in the fridge for 12 hours.  It more than doubled in the fridge just like John01473’s  did yesterday.

We allowed the dough to warm up on the heating pad for 2 hours before gently shaping it into a batard, loafish, oval shape that would fit nicely into the non stick sprayed, Romertopf, clay baker we got at Goodwill many months ago but never used it to make bread.  It made a fine Sunday Chicken though.  We had soaked the Romertopf in a 5 gallon bucket on the patio for a couple of days waiting for a good time to use it.

This bake was also inspired by Raluca’s boldly baked 65% whole wheat bread and lamberta72 buying a Romertopf and Bobkay1022 posting pictures of a very nice bake in his Romertopf  that healso  got at Goodwill like I did!  So it was time to put these additional inspirations together with Ian’s big levain and long bulk retard in the fridge.  It is not too odd, as odd things can go,  how things can come together for a bake with a little Fresh Lofian help.

After 4 1/2 hours in the Romertopf for final proofing on the heating pad, the bread was ready to be slashed and baked.  Slashing was made with my favorite French bread slicing knife,  We put the Romertopf in the very cold Old Betsy and fired her up to 460 F.  When she beeped that she was at temperature, we set the timer for 20 minutes of steam.  After 20 minutes we removed the lid and turned the oven down to 425 F, convection this time.

After another 10 minutes, rotating every 5 minutes, we removed the bread from the Romertopf and placed it on the stone and continued rotating it every 5 minutes to ensure even browning.  15 minutes later we turned the oven down to 400 F; convection and tented the top with aluminum foil to keep it from browning too much.  The bread reached 205 F 15 minutes later after a total baking time of exactly 1 hour after the oven beeped when reaching the original 460 F.

There was no reason to crisp the crust on the stone for 10 minutes with the door ajar and the oven off as this bread was very brown and crust crisp as all get out.   It was certainly a looker from the outside and the rise and spring were very good indeed.  We are impressed with the Romertopf, as much as we are impressed with Ian’s large levain, bulk retard, warm, shape and proof method.  If the inside is as good as the outside this should be one of those bakes we look forward to doing again.

The crumb wasn't as open as the rise, spring and bloom would have us believe but the crumb was light and moist with lots of smaller holes that must have added up to the rise and spring we saw on the outside.   Sometimes bread can fake you out.  It also tastes well rounded and has a deeply flavorful profile.  There is a slight SD tang that was muted by the YW.  The seeds came though nicely too.   All in all, it is  a very nice WW sandwich bread which is what we were after.  I'm sure my wife will love this for her lunch sandwiches - I know I will.  It is good be nearly out of panettone levain too - only  100 g to go:-)

It's a grilled pepper jack,  brie with pastrami cheese sandwich.  Great bread makes great sandwiches!  And don't forget the salad and fresh fruit, citrus, melon and veggies with a home made pickle.

If you eat right you can have some lemon cheese cake with chocolate sandwich cookie crust once in a while.

Formula

Have not posted any of my baking results recently, so I thought that I would share a photo of the 75% whole Wheat Bread from Ken Forkish's book.  It was pretty darn good, but since it was more healthy, not as much of a hit as the white.  :P

I like to make brioche, is that kind of viennoiserie perfect for all purpose, from savoury salads to the most delicious deserts and sandwiches. Those simple doughs don´t need more than herself to be deliciousness.

 Cheers,

Fagus

I wanted to make some baguettes today. I had some excess active firm starter. I usually make sourdough baguettes with a liquid starter, and my best sourdough baguettes take two to three days to make, but why not try a formula for one day baguettes with firm starter?

I decided

1. To make 3 ficelles weighing 200 g apiece.

2. At 70% hydration.

3. Using 25% pre-fermented flour.

4. And to use a bit of instant yeast to have the baguettes done before dinner time.

Procedures

1. Mix the firm levain and ferment for 12-14 hours at 70º F.

2. Mix the flour and water in the final dough to a shaggy mass and autolyse for 30 minutes.

3. Add the salt, yeast and the firm levain is 12 pieces to the dough and mix thoroughly. Transfer to a clean, lightly oiled bowl and cover tightly.

4. Ferment at 70º F for 2-2 1/2 hours with folds at 40 and 80 minutes. The dough did not double but showed many tiny alveoli. (Visible through the walls of my glass bowl.)

5. Divide into 3 equal pieces and pre-shape as balls or logs.

6. Rest for 20 minutes.

7. Shape as baguettes.

8. Proof at 70º F for 45-60 minutes.

9. Transfer the loaves to a peel and score as desired.

10. Bake at 460º F with steam for 12 minutes then in a dry oven for another 8-10 minutes. Note: These are light and thin loaves. For larger baguettes, the baking time would need to be increased to a total of 22-25 minutes. If a lighter-colored crust is desired, the oven temperature should be decreased to 450º F.

11. Cool for 30 minutes (at least) before eating.

 I treated each of my three baguettes differently, as seen. I made one into an epi de blé, one into a seeded baguette and one was made as a traditional baguette.

The crust was crisp and the crumb was tender – just a bit chewy. The crumb structure was nice and open. The flavor was good, but not great. There was no perceptible sourdough tang and less sweet flavor and less complexity than I want in a baguette.

I think this formula, with the added yeast, resulted in a short fermentation that did not allow for full flavor development. In addition, the levain I used had been taken from my refrigerated stock starter and only fed once. 

My judgement is that this formula is worth playing with. Next time, I will use a starter that has been fed at least twice and will omit the instant yeast.

David

So this is my first post on this site. First I just want to say this site and all the members of the community are awesome. I am a school trained pastry chef and things have changed quite a bit sense I was last in the industry. Things like stretch and folds and autolysing were not used a decade ago when I was in school or in a commercial kitchen. This site has brought me up to date on quite a few things and for that I am thankful.

So on to my bread. I live in Sonoma County CA and also have lived in San Francisco. Growing up in the North Bay I have been very fortunate to have great bread everywhere. There are several great boulangeries in the area that produce what they call a sweet french bread. Being school trained I know that such a thing might be misnamed (and in France might get you some stern talking too). Normally french bread is a basic four bread ie flour,water,salt and yeast and sometimes starter. The bread in particular I am trying to re create also contains malt and shortening listed as ingredients. So in following with two of my favorite boulangeries I am also going to call this sweet french bread (all my chefs are probably going to yell at me for this lol). 

Cheers

Punkchef77

Note-I know I am going to catch flack for this but all my measurements are in volume (my scale is busted and I'm kinda broke)

Also I am super lucky to have Keith Giusto baking supply within 10 minutes of my house. Centeral Milling flour is awesome and if you have a Costco in your area I suggest picking up some of the organic APF. Its the same as the Bee Hive lightly malted organic APF and about half the cost.

Sponge 

1-1/2 c High mountian (bread flour 14%)

1/4 tsp Instant yeast.

1/2 tsp Diastatic malt

1 c cool water

Mix the above and let it do its thing for at least 4 hours 

Main dough

All of the sponge

1-1/2 c High mountian

2 tsp Shortening (melted and sloghtly cooled)

2 tsp Non Diastatic malt

1-1/4 tsp instant yeast

1 tsp salt

Mix all but the salt yeast and salt autolyse for 30min.

Add salt and yeast knead for 7-8 min speed 2 on KA

Let retard overnight in the fridge.

Shape into baguettes let proof in a couche then bake at 525F with steam for the first 10 min then lower the oven to 450F for about 15 more minutes.

I will post photos ASAP.

A variation on a Tartine formula......

Decided to try my hand at a Baguette, even though I have never really had much luck with them. 

Not bad, but my scoring need work.....

Good taste and a pretty good crumb too....

I think my Baguette dough was a little to wet, better luck next time.

Cheers,

Wingnut 

Formula:

KAF-Lancelot 100%

Water 77%

Levain (100% hydration) 25%

Salt 2%

Polenta 60%

3T Rosemary 

4 hour bulk rise.

2 hour counter proof

16 hour retard @ 39 degrees Fahrenheit

The crumb was extremely moist, sweet, and slightly sour.  The crust was thin and crisp.  I was hoping for more of an oven spring upward as oppose to sideways, but given the amount of polenta and water added it just didn't happen.  Still one of my favorites.       

I have baked a bread once every two days, so I’ve got solo many things to tell you, but the day is just not long enough.

Need to spend it with our wonderful 7 months old daughter, as well as baking bread, cooking some food and working on some exciting things that involve yarn and crochet, but more on that at the right time.

Today I want to tell you all about my first attempt at baking a whole wheat sourdough bread, well it’s not entirely whole wheat just 65% whole wheat, but your know what? We loved it like that and that’s why I want to share it with you.

I have used a recipe from the Weekend Bakery for this bread as well and I really need to thanks Marieke and Ed for posting about it and answering all the questions and comments they receive! Their website it’s simply a treasure  . 

Time schedule:

Day 1: Make the preferment leave for 12 hours at room temperature to mature. I don’t know exactly what the temperature in my kitchen is over night…I guess not above 21C.  I usually leave my preferment for around 12 hours until it’s nice and bubbly and has not sunk. You can test if it’s ready by putting a spoon of it in a bowl of water if it floats it’s ready  .

Day 2: Make the bread

• Mix the preferment with the water and flour.
• Leave to rest for 20mins (autolyse)
• Add the salt and mix for 6 minutes on low speed
• Leave to rest for 50mins
• Perform 1st stretch and fold
• Leave to rest for 50mins
• Perform 2nd stretch and fold
• Leave to rest for 50mins
• Shape the bread
• Proof it for 150mins
• Bake at 230C for 48mins

Sourdough culture: I use a 100% hydration sourdough culture: 90% whole wheat, 10% dark rye. 

Recipe for 1 loaf (aprox. 69% hydration)

Flour: For this loaf I used strong white organic flour from Shipton Mill and organic whole wheat flour from the same mill.

Ingredients for the preferment

Make it 12 hours before you want to start on your bread.

Method for the preferment

Dissolve the starter in the water, this is what I start with always. Add the flour and mix until well combined. Cover tightly with cling film and leave it to rest at room temperature for about 12 hours or as I said above: until it’s bubbly and floats. 

Ingredients for the bread

Final baker’s percentage (including preferment)

Method for the bread

I dissolved the preferment in about 2/3 of the water and then added it to the flour. Mix and add the rest of the water until you have quite a weird and not smooth mass of wet flour coming together. Do NOT add the salt at this point.

I covered the bowl and left to rest for 30 minutes for the autolyse.

When the 30 minutes are up I add the salt and mix for around 6 minutes on low speed. I used the Kitchen Aid with the hook attachment this time. If you want to knead it by hand do it for about 10-15 minutes.

Transfer the dough to a clean greased bowl (I used an oil spray to grease the bowl), cover it with cling film and leave it to rest for 50 minutes. 

When the 50 minutes are up you are ready for your first stretch and fold. If you are not familiar with this technique watch this video from the Weekend Bakery, that I find really useful.

I did my stretch and folds directly in the bowl, but you can either tip the dough onto a lightly floured surface or you can initially place your dough in a large rectangular container so you can do them directly in there.

Now cover the bowl again and leave to rest for another 50 minutes. Do another stretch and fold (the last one) and again leave to rest for 50 minutes.

After this final rest you need to shape your bread. I shaped this one as a boule again. I moved my shaped boule in a floured banneton, placed it in a plastic bag that I closed tightly and left it to proof for 2 hrs and 30 minutes.

You will need your oven to reach 230C so start pre-heating sometime after the proofing period has started, depending on your oven.

To bake the bread I use a 3cm thick granite baking stone, that needs at least 1h20 minutes in a 250C oven to heat up properly.

So, after the 2hrs and 30 minutes of proofing, I tipped my bread on a baking sheet scored it with a cross and put it in the oven.

I also keep in the oven one of the trays, while it is pre-heating, so it gets hot hot. Then, immediately after transferring the bread on the stone, I add a cup of hot water to the tray below to create some steam and shut the door quickly.

I baked this bread at 230C for 45 minutes. To get a nice crust open the oven door 5 minutes before the baking time is up, to release some of the steam. If your oven is as small as mine you will need to reduce the heat to about 215C, I think, after about 10 minutes otherwise the top of your bread will be burnt. I did it but a bit too late and you can see some of my “ear” got burnt  .

Resulting bread:

This is a very nice and tasty bread. It had a nice crust and crumb and very was very nutty and tasty, especially with butter. Alex enjoyed it very much toasted with butter and orange marmalade as well  .