The Fresh Loaf

A Community of Amateur Bakers and Artisan Bread Enthusiasts.

Weekend Bake

MichaelH's picture
MichaelH

Weekend Bake

Hamelman's 5 Grain Levain is becoming one of our everyday favorites. Baked per the formula in Bread with added wheat germ.

 

Comments

SylviaH's picture
SylviaH

Hope you post a crumb shot later!

Sylvia

MichaelH's picture
MichaelH

Thank you Sylvia, unfortunately this one went to a convelescing friend. When the freezer is empty I will make some more.

Michael

jyslouey's picture
jyslouey

Looks really good.  I wish I could make something like this.  I'm new to bread baking and have no idea what a 5-grain Levain is.  I'm checking this up right now!!

jyslouey's picture
jyslouey

Took one look at the recipe and this is totally out of my league...:(.  What a pity.

 

rossnroller's picture
rossnroller
Took one look at the recipe and this is totally out of my league

You know, I have a strong feeling it's only out of your league because you tell yourself that. Why not give it a go? I honestly think just about all of Hamelman's breads are accessible to the home baker. One step at a time, follow the recipe, weigh accurately, use the ingredients he specifies, and my bet is that you will pleasantly surprise yourself!

Post the evidence here so we can share in your glow!

Cheers
Ross

PS: Nice-looking bread, MichaelH!

jyslouey's picture
jyslouey

Hello Rossnroller,  I very new to bread-baking and have a natural fear for numbers and maths and I'm intimidated by the talk of  hydration percentages.   I'm totallly clueless about sourdough breads; I'm not even sure if I've ever even tasted one,  I have a simple wholewheat bread recipe and I've tried adding caraway seeds to the loaf for the sake of variety.  I think I can just about handle the same recipe and maybe throw in a handful of grains and pumpkin seeds but I'm sure it won't taste the same as what MichaelH has made. My wholewheat bread could do with a bit more shine, right now it looks a bit dry.  I've managed to pick up some very useful  tips on kneading from TFL and hopefully I can produce a slightly improved loaf with grains but it won't be anything close to what MichaelH has produced here.  Here's a pic of my wholewheat loaf w/caraway seeds. 

Cheers,

Judy

rossnroller's picture
rossnroller

You know what you're comfortable with. Sourdough bread isn't difficult, though, IMO. As with everything, you just need some knowledge and experience. If you're interested, you'll find lots of info here, and plenty of folk happy to share their knowledge.

Your bread looks nice!

Best of baking to you.

Cheers
Ross

Noor13's picture
Noor13

Hmmmm looks great.

I love Hamelmans breads. Will give this one a shot I think:)

rayel's picture
rayel

Very nice crust, shine and texture, A really great scoring, and picture too.  Ray

MichaelH's picture
MichaelH

Thanks all for your comments, this really is a delicious bread.

Judy, follow Ross's advice and give it a try. We have all baked breads that don't turn out the way they should, but flour and water are cheap and you'll never progress unless you try.

Good Luck

Michael

jyslouey's picture
jyslouey

that I spent the weekend reading some bread books and decided to have a go at trying to make a multigrain loaf.  I've never worked with multigrain flour before but thought I could make it by adapting it to a simple wholewheat loaf recipe that I have.  I was a little worred at first  that it would be a very dense loaf, but I'm glad that it turned out fine eventually.  It's nothing like the sourdough bread above but at least I managed to make something quite different to my wholewheat loaf.  It tastes better too!!

MichaelH's picture
MichaelH

This loaf looks great. The important thing for me is that the bread tastes good and is superior to what you can buy in a store. I'm sure yours passes that test.

Michael