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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  .

This is yet another bread, and one still to go,  that resulted from the panettone bake where huge excesses of levain waste was required to build the Italian starter.  In this case we had some YW and SD levain hanging around in the fridge.  But the first thing we did was boil the scald for 5 minutes stirring all the time before covering and allowing it to cool on the counter.

The levain build was like a French casserole where any veggie in the fridge goes into the pot.  The two leftover levains, some more AP flour and some more YW and SD seed went into this levain casserole.   We’ve never zombied a levain like this before so it was fun, if not eventful, from a risen dead perspective.

The levain sat on the heating pad as we autolysed everything including the cocoa and instant coffee, except the scald and seeds, with the Guinness Black Lager- a beer we hadn’t tasted before.  This ended up being a 58% Whole grain loaf not including the whole grain scald and soak.  After two hours we deemed the autolyse ready for its zombie levain.

After mixing with a spoon to get things acquainted, we did 10 minutes of French Slap and folds to develop the gluten sufficiently.  After a 20 minute rest we incorporated the multigrain scald using a few S&F’s and a few slap and folds to get the dough back into shape.

The addition of the wet scald, that took the hydration up to what felt like about 82% or more, made the dough much slacker than its old self.  After another 20 minute rest, the aromatic seeds were incorporated into the dough with some more S&F’s and a few slap and folds which were more interesting with seeds and wet dough flying all over the place.

After another 20 minute rest we did one last set of slap and folds to get some shape into the dough and immediately  panned it into a large loaf pan that had been de-stickified with spray. We coverd the top with wheat adn oat bran and let it sit on the heating pad for about 3 hours until it had grown 3/4th of the way up the tin and then we retarded it for 12 hours.

When we retrieved it from the fridge it had risen to within ½” of the top of the tin rim.  We let it sit on the counter, no heating pad this time, for 2 1/2 hours before heating up the mini oven with Sylvia’s steaming cup.

The dough had risen to the rim by the time it went into the mini for 12 minutes of steam at 450 F.  It sprang about 1/2 “under steam.  Then we removed the steam and turned the heat down to 375 F, convection this time.

We continued to bake the loaf until it reached 205 F on the inside rotating the loaf 180 degrees after 10 minutes and also de-panning it to ensure even baking.  After 10 minutes we rotated the de-panned loaf again.  A total of 45 minutes and the loaf was done.

It browned up nicely but we will have to wait for the crumb shots.  Once cooled we will let this bread sit for 24 hours before cutting into it for lunch tomorrow.  Here it is the following morning and I couldn't wait for lunch since there was breakfast first :-) 

Plain, toasted with butter or with cream cheese... this bread is tasty - just plain delicious.  The crumb is open, glossy and very moist with chewy bits.  The crust went soft overnight which allowed for very thin slicing without crumbling.   I could eat this bread every day and if stranded on a desert isle, it would be one of the 50 breads my apprentice would lug along.  Can't wait to try it toasted with pate.

Formula

my colorful sourdough breads...  using charcoal powder, goji berry, blueberry, japanese pumpkin.

Today’s Bread [2013.2.4_5]

・100g Apple Yeast Leaven
・150g Lys d'or (bread flour)
・35g Super Fine Hard (whole wheat flour)
・3g Sea Salt
・115g Water (total 70% hydration dough)

• 9 hours at room temperature (16~18C) bulk fermentation.
• Baked covered steel cans.

by jamcraft, on Flickr

There's lots of discussion and great information about starters on TFL. Everyone does things a little differently, and what works for you is best. Here's what works for me.

I typically make two sourdough loaves a week. Sometimes more, and sometimes I miss a week, sometimes two. Sometimes I make more than two loaves.

When I started baking sourdough I had a lot of questions and two constraints. First, I traveled a fair bit for work, often on short notice, so I needed a process that was not too fussy  - no twice-daily feedings, no big mason jar of goo on the kitchen counter.  Second, I hate waste; the idea of discarding half of anything bothers me. I addressed the first constraint by having Fred live in the fridge nearly all the time; and addressed the second by keeping him fairly small. Here's Fred:



That's a half-cup container, and it contains 2.5 ounces of Fred. He's a little guy. Fred is a 100% hydration starter, so he's 50/50 flour/water by weight.  Fred's hydration is not so important, but one reason 100% is nice because it makes the math simpler. Fred is too small to make bread by himself, I use him to innoculate a levain that typically ferments 12-14 hours.

I made the original Fred about 3-4 years ago using the great instructions on this site from Debra Wink. Pineapple juice rocks.

The evening before (or two evenings before if I am retarding the final proofing) I take Fred out of the fridge and build a levain. Sometimes, when I have presence of mind, I take him out an hour or two before I start to let him warm up a bit, but often I just take him right out of the fridge. This is what he looks like after being in the fridge for about 10 days:



Sometimes, after a week or so, Fred will blow his top in the fridge. Not a big deal, and if no one notices for a day or two Fred will create a dry crust on top to keep his innards moisty. Fred's a bit of a teetotaler: I very seldom see hooch, perhaps only after a couple of weeks in the fridge. If Fred looks all watery and hoochy, I might feed him once or twice, but usually I will let him warm up and he comes back to life.

I feed Fred in a 1:2:2 ratio: 1 part starter, 2 parts flour, 2 parts water. My experience  (YMMV) is that this ratio provides adequate food so that he will be in good shape to innoculate a levain in a week, and can tolerate cooling his heels for longer if necessary . I always (well, almost always) remove 2 oz (of the 2.5 total) to start the levain build:



There's just a little bit of Fred left (0.5 oz):



The 1:2:2 ratio means we need to add 1 oz of water and 1 oz of flour in order to make Fred the man he was.  So we add 1 oz  water (that's a chopstick, which works really well for mixing the remaining starter and water) and then 1 oz flour. I feed Fred with AP or Bread flour, but I always give him a little treat of rye:



The 2 oz of starter is built into the levain - in this case a stiffer levain for Pain au Levain. There's no waste; I haven't discarded any starter.



If the formula for the levain called for less than 2 oz of starter,  I decrease the amount of flour and water in the levain by the excess amount of starter. For example, if the formula called for 1 oz of starter, I would use 2 oz of Fred, but then reduce the amount of flour and water I add by 0.5 oz each (that's what I meant about the 100% making the math easier). (It could be that innoculating the levain with more than the amount of starter called for in the formula changes the flavor profile of the bread. That's okay; I'vehad no complaints yet, and I have other details of technique to work out before addressing that one. If I found that it did make a difference, I would simply scale Fred down.)

The levain I'm building often has a different hydration than Fred. Sometimes it uses a different type of flour, e.g. rye. No matter.

The chopstick doesn't work for a lot of stiff starter, so I switch to the handle of a wooden spoon.

The levain goes in the proofing box overnight. Fred goes in for an hour or so just to help get his juices flowing. (I'm writing this in New Hampshire in February - the proofing box is required equipment). Then Fred goes in the fridge and does not reappear for a week or so. It seems to take about 4-5 days for Fred to develop sufficient strength in the fridge. If I want to use him sooner I will take him out and place him on the counter or in the proofing box until he's bubbly.

The next morning the kitchen is at 63F, but the levain looks good:



Fred, flour, water, salt:

It's Carnival Time Again!   And, as I've been on a roll, baking everything I want (ok, I haven't tried Filo dough yet, but come on...)

So, for our Super Bowl party, I decided to attempt an Almond Brioche 'Bostock' inspired King Cake using my homemade Buckwheat/Rye Brioche dough.

The King Cake is light and fluffly, and has a great flavour of almonds from the paste and extract with a hint of citrus from the Meyer Lemon and a subtle nuttiness from the buckwheat. I don't like large amounts of icing on my cakes, so I went with a finishing glaze of lavender honey.

The next time I make it I may include more cinnamon to evoke more of the classic flavor, maybe even incorporating it more heavily into the almond creme, or making a cinnamon creme, or rolling it into the dough before flattening it out. Any suggestions are welcome!

Ingredients:

-------------

2 lbs "Buckwheat-Rye Brioche Dough" (Recipe Follows) or another brioche dough would work fine, I guess

4tbsp unsalted butter

1/2 cup almond paste

1/4 cup all-purpose flour

1 (duck) egg

1/2 tsp rose water (or citrus water like sweet orange water)

1/4 tsp almond extract

1/4 cup caster sugar

Zest of Orange, Satsuma, or Meyer Lemon

1/2 cup of sliced unsalted almonds

egg wash (1 egg w/ 1 tbsp of H2O)

---------------------
Almond Crème:
----------------------

Cream butter, almond paste, flour, duck egg, floral water, and almond extract in a food processor until uniform and smooth.

--------------------
Assembly of the Cake:
--------------------

There are two strategies possible for assembly of the cake, and I opted on the less traditional, but possibly more visually appealing.

_____________
Traditional Method:
_____________
Form Dough into 2 balls and roll them into two rectangles of approx 24"x12" and 1/8" thick.

Smooth Almond Crème onto the rectangle of dough, and then proceed to roll up the dough from one of the longer sides of the rectangle (jelly-roll style).

Braid the two strands together and join at the ends by pinching and using a little water.


________
My Method:
________
Form Dough into single ball and then into rectangle.
Roll Into a long rectangle, approx 26" x 8".

Visually divide the rectangle into thirds, width-wise and spread the Almond Crème on the center 1/3.

Create 'fingers' on the opposing sides by cutting opposing 1/2" width strips with a pizza cutter.

Place red bean inside. (I don't put plastic in my baked goods...)

Paint inside of fingers with egg wash, and fold over each other carefully (fingers on bottom only) in a criss cross pattern to create a braid, alternating left over right, lightly pressing together as you move to next pair of strands.

Carefully bend into a round 'crown' shape and seal on edges, preferably by braiding together and using a little water and pinch.
Allow the crown/braid to rest for 40 minutes.

Preheat oven to 350F with baking stone in center 20minutes before baking.

Immediately before baking, mix together sugar, zest, slivered almonds, and a little juice of the citrus and sprinkle over the top of the cake.

Bake without steam for 35-45 minutes until golden brown and bubbling.

Drizzle with a light coating of lavender honey and serve warm with French Roast café au lait!

----------------------------------

Buckwheat Rye Brioche Dough

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*Makes Approx 4lbs of dough

1.5 cups of 105-115F water

1.5 tablespoons of granulated yeast or 1/4 cup of sourdough starter, and adjust water appropriately given hydration level

1.5 tbsp. of Granulated Salt

8 eggs, beaten lightly

1/2 cup Local Honey

1.5 Cups melted unsalted butter

4 cups unbleached bread flour ! (or KAf, we need the protein)

3 cups buckwheat flour

1/2 cup Whole Rye Flour

Egg Wash

1) Mix starter or yeast, salt, eggs, and melted butter with water in a 5 quart+ container which isn't airtight.

2) Add flour without kneading, with a spoon or spatula or a food processor or stand mixer with a dough hook. The dough should be loose.

3) Cover and allow to rest and room temperature until the dough rises and falls. (approx. 2h at 75F)

4) Refrigerate briefly and it is now ready to use.

Use within 5 days, or freeze in 1lb portions.

Made a batch of hoagies this morning. I have baked these many times. Recipe is from http://www.pizzamaniac.com/archives/2005/08/10/grinder-hoagie-roll-recipe/

I mix, rest 20 min, add salt and OO, knead in Bosch compact 10 min, mostly on 2. Rise about 90 min (room temp 66 F)

All four were 195-196 grams,  pre-shape to logs, rest 10 min, shape, rise about 45 min, slash, mist bread and oven, bake at 450 in Chicago Metallic pans.

Any ideas why the one didn't open up like the other three?

Since it was cooler than usual they may have been a little underproofed relative to what passes for normal.

wayne