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RobynNZ's picture
RobynNZ

Today 11 March is the first anniversary of the Tohoku earthquake/tsunami/nuclear disaster. On the island I live on people gathered at a beach this morning in remembrance. Our beaches were closed by the tsunami warnings last year and of course there have been a series of major earthquakes in Christchurch - we identify with the people of Japan.

I was asked to be a volunteer for a fundraising initiative, by the respected Japanese culinary author, Elizabeth Andoh. She had come up with a plan to develop a book based on Tohoku cuisine. Her publishers, Ten Speed Press,  suggested that it be an ebook. The volunteers tested Elizabeth's recipes and provided feedback on the book's content, which is rich not only with recipes but with background and with heart. Guidance for vegan versions is also given. The book, KIBO, is being sold online for under $US4,  a portion of the proceeds will be donated to Japan's recovery efforts. My final task as a volunteer is to spread the word.

So here is a link to an excerpt of KIBO for those of you interested to take a look:

http://www.scribd.com/doc/81496605/Excerpt-and-Recipes-From-Kibo-by-Elizabeth-Andoh

I am to lead a tour group to Japan in April (sadly last year our tour was cancelled), the tour will last a fortnight and then I'll have a further fortnight's private stay, with friends. Since I was last in Japan I joined TFL and learned a lot more about the bakeries there. I really enjoyed Pat's (proth5) and Jeffrey Hamelman's blog reports from Paris this last week and hope to check out the bread made by the bakeries the members of the winning Japan team come from. 

Robyn

Please note I received Floyd's approval before making this post.

sam's picture
sam

Hello,

Here was some rolls I made today.   I started with a poolish because I did not want any sour at all, and dumped a bunch of real sugar, honey, butter and milk into it.    Came out great, and these are very tasty.

The recipe I did:

Poolish:

140 grams whole-grain flour mix (I did a mixture of WW + rye)
167 grams white bread flour
338 grams whole milk
0.6 grams instant yeast

Final Dough:

All poolish
622 grams white bread flour
186 grams eggs
93 grams whole milk
93 grams butter
93 grams unfiltered honey
93 grams cane sugar
23 grams instant yeast
19 grams salt

Simple procedure:

1) Mix poolish, and let ripen.  12 hrs or so.
2) Cream the butter + sugar.
3) Mix everything together.
4) Bulk ferment 1 hr.
5) Shape into 40-60 gram rolls (I was not exact).
6) Let rise fully.
7) Brush with egg-wash, then bake at 375F for 30 mins.
8) Enjoy. :)

 

 

 

Delicious.   :)

Happy baking!

 

Franko's picture
Franko

 

Country Loaf with Mixed Grains & Seeds

It took a little while, but eventually I got tired of eating the same bread week after week for my sandwiches and decided to change things up a bit. For over 3 months my 'go to' bread had been a Country Style Bread/Pan de Campagne that I adapted from Chad Robertson's 'Tartine Country Bread' back in November of last year and posted on in early January of this year. http://www.thefreshloaf.com/node/26796/january-bakingpane-de-campagne-red-fife-and-rye-barley-mash-loaf  A very good bread, but enough is enough.

By adding a 7 grain soaker, some toasted sunflower and pumpkin seeds, and an extra flour (barley) to the Pan de Campagne formula, I came up with something I hoped would have the same reliability as the Pane de Campagne, but with additional body and flavour. With a bit of tweaking in the first two mixes the third bake resulted in what I'd imagined from the beginning,which was a crumb that would stay relatively moist and chewy from the first slice to the last. The high hydration in this formula is a major factor in this of course, but I discovered that the final dough weight and how my oven works is a big part of the equation as well. After experimenting with different dough sizes, it became clear that the sweet spot for my oven and the type of texture I was after resulted from doughs weighing between 900-1000 grams. The shorter bake time that I can get away with on the smaller size loaves leaves just the right amount of moisture in the crumb to give it a good chew and mouth-feel. The texture alone makes it a very satisfying bread to eat, with the mixed grains and toasted seeds adding plenty of flavour to the mild/medium sour background. The bread is quite filling, so I tend to slice it on the thin side, finding that a 900 gram loaf will meet my needs for an entire week of sandwiches and often a bit more.

 This is a very wet and sticky to work with during the initial development stage, but it does get easier to handle after the first of it's 3 stretch and folds. If you can avoid the temptation of dusting it down with additional flour, and work it through a few minutes of slap & fold to a medium development, the payoff in the final result is worth the effort.

Although the dough could be mixed, fermented and baked in a day, for convenience sake I do the primary 3 hour bulk fermentation in the Brod & Taylor proofer, then round the dough loosely and put it in the fridge for anywhere up to 20 hours before it's final shaping, proof, and bake. All the mixes I've made of this bread have performed reliably, resulting in a full flavoured loaf with good eating and keeping qualities, putting it high on my short list of everyday breads.

Procedure for: Country Loaf with Mixed Grains & Seeds 

  • Levain

  • Mix 1/2 of the AP flour and remaining ingredients for levain and ripen for 12-15 hours @ 70F/21C, feeding at midway point with the remaining AP flour. 

  • Final dough:

  • DDT-76-78F/24-25C

  • Autolyse the flours and water for 1 hour. 

    Mix all ingredients except the salt, soaker and toasted seeds on 1st speed for 3-4 minutes until dough is uniformly smooth. Add the salt and continue mixing for 7-8 minutes on 2nd speed until the dough has come together, although it will only show slight development. Scrape the dough from the bowl to an unfloured or very lightly floured surface and work the dough using the slap and fold technique for 4-5 minutes, or until you notice the dough beginning to tighten and become moderately developed. Important not to develop past this stage for best results in the baked loaf. Press the dough out to a disk and spread the seed soaker and toasted seeds evenly across the dough. Fold the sides of the dough over the seeds and gently work them into the dough with a kneading action until evenly distributed. 

  • Bulk ferment at 76-78F/24-25C for 3 hours giving 3 stretch and folds at 60,120 and 150 minutes. After the last S&F relax the dough on the table for 30 minutes then round loosely and put in a bowl and cover with plastic. Place the dough in refrigerator over night, or for up to 20 hours. Remove from fridge and leave the dough to sit at room temp for 45 minutes. 

  • Whether shaping as a batard or boule, shape as tightly as possible without tearing the dough. Place in a floured banneton or brotform or free shape, then transfer to a proofing box. 

  • Final rise of 2-2 1/2 hours @ 78F/25C, or until slightly less than fully proofed. 

  • Place on a parchment covered peel, score as desired, and bake in a preheated 500F/260C oven with stone, using preferred steaming method.

  • Reduce oven heat to 460F/237C after 10 minutes, remove the steaming apparatus, vent the steam and continue baking for 20 minutes, rotating the loaf periodically for even colouring. Check the colour and reduce the heat if necessary, baking to an internal temperature of 208-210F/97-112. * Note* heavier loaves of 1200 grams or more will require longer secondary baking times.

  • Turn the oven off, prop the door open slightly and leave the loaf in the oven for 10-15 minutes to cool gradually.

  • Wrap the loaf in linen and place on a wire rack for 12 hours or longer before slicing. 

 Rye & Barley Mash Loaf- revised

The day before I baked the Mixed Grain & Seed loaf, I did a second bake of the Rye & Barley Mash Loaf that I first posted on in the link above, something I've been meaning to do since eating the last slice of this delicious bread. I love this bread for its assertive, complex, and long lasting flavour, the way it makes the house smell as it's baking, and that it's a pleasure to eat just as is, without toppings. With this latest mix I made two changes to the formula by adding a dark chocolate coloured barley malt and increasing the overall hydration. I haven't noticed any significant difference in the flavour from the added malt, but it did give the loaf a darker colour that I feel it needed. The increased hydration was to see if it would help open the crumb a bit more than the last loaf, which it did to some extent. The loaf had 48 hours rest before the first slice was taken but the crumb was still very moist, not gummy, but not fully set either. Two more changes are in order for the next bake of this bread, the first will be to bake it for a longer time at a lower temperature to see if that will help with the crumb set-up, and for better caramelization. The second change will be to use the largest Pullman tin I have for all future bakes, considering how quickly this bread seems to disappear. Just as size was an important factor in the Mixed Grain & Seed loaf, so it is with this bread, albeit for entirely different reasons.

Links to revised procedure and spreadsheet formula for Rye and Barley Mash Loaf below. 

 For procedure click here  For formula spreadsheet click here

Cheers,

Franko


 

PastryPaul's picture
PastryPaul

This is the time of year when I adjust, test, convert and create reicpes and formuale. I have no doubt that many cookbook authors lurk these pages, and this rant is, respectfully aimed at you or your publishers, or both.

We all know that scaling ingredients is the way to go, yet most books, and internet recipes etc. insist on providing volume measurements. Some might say this is old... The topic of weight of flour has been discussed ad nauseum here and many other places. Knowing what a cup of flour SHOULD weigh in no way helps in converting recipes.

When an author writes up his/her recipe he/she is trying to get a quantity across. Saying "1 cup" is meaningless. US cups are 237ml, UK Imperial cups are 285, and Australian cups are 250. To further complicate the issue, some authors say to scoop, some spoon and level, yet others advocate fluff, spoon and level. If I know that my AP's true weight is 123g per US cup, it does not help me when I have no idea what you, the author, intended the conversion to be.

http://www.artisanbreadinfive.com/2008/10/18/no-knead-whole-grain-baguette-buns-with-extra-sourdough-kick-this-time-weigh-out-the-ingredients points out what they assume a cup of flour and a cup of water are. I appreciate the effort, Jeff and Zoe.

I am very perplexed since I assume every single formula and recipe started out weight-based and was converted to volume in an effort to reach mainsteam home-based cooks. If I may make a suggestion, stop insulting your readers' intelligence and stop dumbing down recipes. At the very least, put a note in the book of what you mean by "a cup." There's nothing worse for an author's reputation than having recipes that don't work out. True, the recipe's failure is probably due to faulty measurement on the reader side, but they will blame you.

Here's another idea... one that your publishers might love... Build a companion web site where you can actually sell scales to your readers!

Zoe and Jeff use 140g per cup, many others use 150g per cup. Maybe you guys can just post here what you mean by "cup" of flour etc.

End of rant

proth5's picture
proth5

For those of you who have not read it, Mr. Hamelman blogged quite movingly about how the fraternity of bakers who had participated in La Coupe du Monde de la Boulangerie became and remained friends despite their positions as competitors.

Of course, not all of us travel in such exalted circles. Some of us soldier on in the trenches trying to be of service to the Bread Bakers Guild of America (BBGA). Since I am (as our chief conspirator Laverne tells me) one of the few members who both speak French and are crazy enough to spend mornings dragging people around Paris, I volunteered to be a guide for some of the Guild’s Paris bakery tours.

These were not famous bakeries by any means – these were places where one or two people labored daily to turn out a lot of bread six or seven days a week.

My first stop – at La XXX - was a bit a surprise to the people staffing it that day.  They had been told about the BBGA, but had not been expecting us that morning.  Nevertheless, the baker who was in charge that day took us to every corner of the bakery, answering detailed questions about his techniques and formulas (although he slyly told us that he had his secrets which he would never tell) letting us stick fingers into his levain to taste it and letting us handle dough to understand its consistency.  When a question was asked about how he did the lamination for his croissants, he weighed out a piece of dough and laminated it for us. All this was done in a space where the baker and his assistants could barely move, let alone accommodate a group of nosy Americans who asked him to stop work every few minutes to snap pictures. He gave us samples of anything where we showed interest. He collected a number of cards and promised to visit us in the USA someday. Although I doubt that he wants to visit my personal “bakery”, I am sure that the pro bakers on the tour would give him the same warm welcome.

Our next stop will remain nameless, but even though they had never heard of the BBGA and had no idea why we would want to see their bakery, the person in charge of the front of the house let us all go in to their subterranean bake shop. (Yes, we are all going to have a little sit down and figure out how we do this whole tour thing better next time.) Generous of them, I must say. I had already brought shame upon myself by getting lost in Paris, but now thinking about it, I believe the universe was trying to keep me away from this bakery.  It seemed eerily familiar and as we rounded the corner to the sweltering area containing the oven and the shaping machine, I knew I had been there before. There was the Naked Baker – clad only in an apron (below the waist) and flip flops. I had toured this place at the last Coupe du Monde and the proprietor had described him as “Le Vrai Boulanger Français!” He stood impassively feeding dough into the shaper (and in case you were wondering most of the baguettes you find in Paris – even the better ones - are fed through a shaping machine – not hand formed) unconcerned with our presence. But still, those of you who work in places that actually make things – would you let strangers on to your factory floor?

Since I was starting to get the feeling that things had not been arranged as well as they could have been, I decided to go in person to check out the stops on the next day’s tour.

The folks at Boulangerie de XXX told me that they had never heard of the BBGA and were just too busy to accommodate a tour. When I persisted, they agreed to host us on a tour at 10:30AM the next day. After negotiating all of this (and after checking out the action at the Coupe) I had to retire to my hotel for a martini. I had the feeling that it would be a bumpy day.

Our first stop on that morning was a bakery who was the winner of the 20xx “Best Baguette in Paris” contest.

They were expecting us, and in the midst of their morning production jammed us in to their tiny, tiny production area where the more than busy baker patiently answered every question that the group asked. He told us the formula, the mix schedule, the dough temperature, the fermentation schedule and the bake parameters. He posed for pictures, paused his loading routine to show us how to score and then. And then. He thanked us for coming to visit him. That almost made me melt and I was starting to fray just a bit with the translation duties.

Now Wednesday was the ceremony to name the winners at the Coupe and the tour of Boulangerie de XXX had a good chance of causing us to miss it. We determined that we would like a quick tour – but as we found out – that wasn’t possible. The sole/head baker (who had suffered the breakdown of his shaping machine that morning) was just too generous with his humor and information.  Then he started slicing bread and giving us samples (and the bread was quite delicious!) – well, not just samples, but entire loaves of bread – for free – for us to take. I was chatting away with his wife about how we might get a much better tour next time and who we should contact when one of my tour members tugged at my sleeve.  “He’s cutting up more bread – tell him to stop.” I nearly had to throw myself in front of the slicer – he wanted us to taste a few more breads and he wanted to give them to us. (And yes, we got back to the Coupe exactly one minute before the announcements were made.)

I have seen no more generous people than when bakers deal with bakers. It is, the best that I can understand, a fraternity/sorority of people who face such similar challenges that they cannot help but be kind to each other. (For you Star Trek the Next Generation fans, you will remember the episode “Darmok” where the commander of an “alien” ship decided that shared danger and sacrifice with Picard would create understanding where none had been possible before.) I have now seen enough of these French bakeries to know that there is nothing we haven’t seen in the US. The equipment is the same – even though it is crammed into spaces so small that most of us would say we couldn’t put a bakery in them. It is the hands and the heart of the baker that make the difference, but the hands and the heart of artisan bakers are more alike across the big waters than they are different. Heart to heart – this is what happens when bakers come together. Of all the experiences this week in Paris (and I do love Paris, make no mistake, and I can misbehave here pretty good) it was the coming together of people with similar passions that I will remember best from this trip. I even had a good time at our Guild gathering – the kind of event that usually has this little introvert running for the door.  There was some small talk, some chit chat, but then the subject quickly became “tell me about your bread.” When we can talk from those places in the heart, we truly communicate.

As I put this into final edit, I realized that this would go out to the “interwebs” and that all sorts of people would know where we had been and perhaps try to take advantage of this incredible generosity and I cannot bear that, so I took out the names of the bakeries. For those of you who must know – because you will actually be going to Paris in the near future -  use a PM, and if I feel I “know” you well enough I will supply the details.

mcs's picture
mcs

Greetings everybody!
Today was 'Fundraiser Day' at the Back Home Bakery in Kalispell, MT with all of the profits from the sale benefiting  the Flathead High School French Club.   A small crew of high school students worked the final shift baking, packaging, and delivering croissants, palmiers, and pains au chocolat for their happy customers.

It started a few weeks ago as the students took orders for different combinations of pastry boxes so we could get our work order.  Next two shifts of teacher, student, and parent volunteers came up to the bakery to shape everything (a new experience for all).  Lastly, this morning we baked and packaged everything and even had a little left over to feed the worker bees. 

Ready for the grand totals?
Croissants: 198
Palmiers: 264
Pains au Chocolat: 319

Not too shabby, huh?  Check out the pictures below to see how well everything came out. 

Good job everyone and I hope you enjoyed your time in the bakery!

-Mark
http://TheBackHomeBakery.com

 


cutting and shaping Croissants

 

 


Pains au Chocolat and Palmier shaping

 

 


more shaping of Palmiers and Croissants

 

 


finishing the croissant shaping and then begins the baking and packaging

 

 


lots of eggwashing and 'bien cuit' Palmiers

 

 


Pains au Chocolat and Croissants fresh from the oven

 

 


a beautiful box of pastries

dmlfl1's picture
dmlfl1

I have a new, unused Baparoma Steam Baking Master pan that is still wrapped in the original shrink-wrap (never opened).  The recipe and use and care cards are wrapped and unopened.  The instruction book is included.  I am asking $60 and buyer pays shipping.  It is about 5 lbs to ship.  They are hard to find and this one is mint.

Isand66's picture
Isand66

I have not made rolls in a while, so I figured it was time to give it a go.  I was going to make some straight onion rolls from the recipe in Inside the Jewish Bakery by Stanley Ginsberg and Norman Berg, but I decided to try something a little different.  I used the onion topping recipe from the book and created a nice soft dough using some smooth style ricotta, whole eggs and a combination of durum flour and bread flour.  To make it interesting I used my usual amount of white starter at 65% hydration to create a beautiful smooth and silky dough that smelled good enough to eat by itself before baking.

These rolls are great with or without the onion topping, and are nice and light and airy with a slight sourdough flavor.

Ingredients

Dough

15 oz. Refreshed Starter (65% Hydration)

4 Large Eggs lightly beaten, (8 oz. total liquid)

5 oz. Smooth Style Ricotta (you can use regular style or fresh if you can make it)

6 oz. Water (90 degrees F.)

11 oz. Durum Flour (King Arthur Flour or similar)

9 oz. Bread Flour (King Arthur Flour or similar)

2.5 Tsp. Salt, .63 oz. (Sea salt or table salt)

Onion Topping

1/2 cup, 1.5 oz. Dehydrated chopped onions

1 1/2 cups,12 oz., Boiling water

1 Tbs., .5 oz. Vegetable oil

1 1/2 tsp., .3 oz., Black poppy seeds

1/4 tsp., .1 oz., Table salt or sea salt

Directions

Cut the starter into about 8 pieces and mix the eggs and water with the starter to break it up.  Next add the rest of the ingredients and mix either using your stand mixer on low-speed for 2 minutes.  Let the dough rest for 5 minutes and then mix on medium speed for 4 minutes.  If necessary add some additional liquid or flour until the dough comes together in a nice silky and smooth ball.

Take the dough out of the bowl and place on your work surface.  Knead it by hand for 1 minute and form it into a ball.  Let it rest for 10 minutes.  After 10 minutes do a stretch and fold from all sides and form it into a ball again.  Let it rest another 10 minutes and then do 1 additional stretch and fold and immediately put it in a lightly oiled bowl.  Cover the bowl and let it rest at room temperature around 70 degrees F. for 2 hours.  After 2 hours put it in your refrigerator for 1-3 days.

Either the day before or while the dough is resting, prepare the onion filling.  Pour the boiling water into a bowl with the dehydrated onions and let sit for around 30 minutes.  Drain through a strainer and spread out on a paper towel to absorb as much moisture as possible.  Mix the onions with the remaining ingredients and either refrigerate in a sealed container or bag or use when cool.

When you are ready to make your rolls take the dough out of the refrigerator and keep it in its bowl at room temperature for 2 hours.  After 2 hours the dough should be ready to shape.  Using a piece of parchment paper or cookie sheet place about 1/2 of the prepared onion mixture on your surface of choice.  Cut the dough into 3 oz. pieces and form round rolls making sure each roll is nice and tight.  Press the top of each roll into the onion mixture and place a cookie sheet with parchment paper.  Cover the rolls with a clean lint free towel sprayed with water or a piece of plastic wrap lightly sprayed with cooking spray.  Let the rolls rest at room temperature for 2 hours.

Around 30 minutes before baking the rolls, prepare your oven and pre-heat at 425 degrees.  I used my usual set-up for steam and added 1 cup of boiling water to a pan on the bottom shelf but for rolls you could omit this step and you will get softer rolls if that is what you desire.

It should take around 20-25 minutes to bake the rolls and they should be nice and brown on the bottom and top.  When done, let them cool on a wire rack and enjoy.This post has been submitted to Yeast Spotting at http://www.wildyeastblog.com/category/yeastspotting.

As you can see the crumb is nice and open and airy.

dabrownman's picture
dabrownman

Sticking strictly to the Jewish bialy recipe by using onions, I strayed slightly from the rest of the traditional recipe and mixed it up into a Mexican / Japanese fusion sort of breakfast bread pizza thing that anyone would think is completely natural, if a little strange and weird, for the most part.  OK it is real strange and weird!

I also combined a nearly real Polish and a mostly fictitious Russian version of the bread dough with the standard Eastern European one with various modifications to it too.  But we won’t talk about that for fear that too much change may not be good for anyone in the long run.    These are just delicious.  The garlic chives comes through in the crumb and taste.  Onions and chorizo are very tasty with some onions and chorizo going crisp on top.  The spring was 100% - explosive, like yeast water breads tend to do.  The crumb was as good as one could expect for openness, soft, moist and chewy.  The crust was crispy but became chewy as it cooled.   Recipe follows the pictures.

Yeast Water, Rye, WW, Garlic Chive, Onion, Cheese and Chorizo Bialy’s

Levain Build

20 g KA AP flour

20 g milled Rye berries

25 g milled WW berries

65 g yeast water

Grind berries and combine with the yeast water and let sit on counter overnight – 12 hours.  Then add :

50 g KA AP flour

25 g milled rye berries

30 g milled WW berries

40 g yeast water

50 g water

Let sit for 4 – 6 hours until doubled, then add:

Dough

125 g KA unbleached bread flour

10 g instant potato flakes

65 g water

1 tsp each of molasses and barley malt syrup

1 T softened butter

1 T chopped fine garlic chives

5 g salt

Place all except salt and garlic chives into mixer bowl and knead with dough hook for 5 minutes and then cover and let sit  for 60 minutes.  Add salt and knead for 2 minutes.

Do 5 stretch and folds on a floured work surface where you incorporate the garlic chives.  Move to an oiled bowl and bulk ferment at 80 F for 1 hour - do 5 stretch and folds on a floured counter at 30 minutes and return to oiled bowl.  At 60 minutes divide into 6 balls and flatten into a 4-5 “ disk that is about  1/2” thick on parchment lined cookie sheet .  Place in a tall kitchen plastic trash can liner and let proof at 80 F for 1 hour.

Sauté 1/4 pound of home made Mexican chorizo in 1 tsp of olive oil until it just starts to caramelize.  Remove from pan and add 1 tsp of olive oil to the pan and sauté 1 medium red onion until caramelized.  Mix chorizo and onion together in a bowl.

Use back of wetted spoon to depress the middle of the dough disk to ¼” thick and dock the depression with a fork to persuade it not to rise.  Place 1 -2 T of onion and chorizo mix in the depression and cover with 2  cubes of pepper jack cheese.

Preheat oven to 500 degrees and bake for 10 minutes until brown. Remove the parchment at the 5 minute mark.  Move to wire rack to cool.

 

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