The Fresh Loaf

A Community of Amateur Bakers and Artisan Bread Enthusiasts.

Hi from Adelaide, South Australia

120ThingsIn20Years's picture
120ThingsIn20Years

Hi from Adelaide, South Australia

Hi people. I've just joined the forum after searching around for what looked like a worthwhile site. 

I'm currently a few years into attempting to learn 120 things over the next 20 years, and breadmaking is my latest "thing".

 

So far I've made (to my eye at least :) ) an extremely nice looking (very small) loaf that tasted like glue as my first attempt.  

 

I'll have my head down for a while reading old threads, but no doubt you'll see more of me in the months and years to come. 

I'm also known as Bullwinklle II on various forums.

Isand66's picture
Isand66

Welcome aboard!

Keep baking and eventually the bread will taste as good as it looks.

Autolyse's picture
Autolyse

If you haven't already come across one of our great SA treasures , be sure to give the Lauke flours a go... They make a great bread flour  and flour range that is readily available in a lot of our supermarkets, specialty stores or at their mill door. ( no I don't get endorsements from them) hahaha.. I just have a kitchen full of it :-) Also as a suggestion try fresh yeast, available in some continental deli's as a small block. Again... Welcome ... Just a warning 'bread making is addictive' 

120ThingsIn20Years's picture
120ThingsIn20Years

I already have more bread in the house than I can use, and I'm making more. I just need to make loaves that are a little better, and then I can give them away. Mrs Bullwinkle is going to get sick of slightly too heavy loaves soon :)

I missed your post there for some reason. 

Too much flour on the screen probably :)

 

 

Floydm's picture
Floydm

Welcome, 120Thingsin20Years!

My wife is still laughing at your user icon, which she thinks is the funniest on the site to date.

-Floyd

120ThingsIn20Years's picture
120ThingsIn20Years

I'm torn between...

1. What user icon, that's just a photo.

2. Thanks! And that's only the top bit of it.

:)

 

 

120ThingsIn20Years's picture
120ThingsIn20Years

It's a funny thing, but no matter how much you try to disguise yourself with groucho glasses, it just seems to draw more attention to yourself :)

I'm at the final pre oven stage on my second loaf as I type. 

I'm having a bit of trouble getting it to rise after the first rise and final shaping, but I'll get there. I love this stage in learning a new "thing".

It's strange knowing that in a couple of months I'll be able to make bread or whatever it is I'm currently learning. 

It feels good... like new love :)

 

 

StuartG's picture
StuartG

Heaps good to see you on the site (an in-joke for the fellow South Australians around here).  Good luck with the baking and enjoy spending more time reading about your new subject than you thought was going to be possible.

All the best,

Stuart

120ThingsIn20Years's picture
120ThingsIn20Years

Thanks Stuart. 

I've already learnt heaps :)

I went through the lessons at the top of the page and watched the videos people have recommended. So much to learn.

But after one more fail, I discovered my many year old jar of yeast had failed. 

The end result of a new packet of yeast, was at one stage this...

It fell over in the end, but I'm getting there. 

I blog my failures, but I'l spare you good people the details :)

It's so nice to see all this reliable info. My education before this place was all over the place, and I didn't really feel I could tell which bits were worth learning and which were not. 

I think I've found my bread making home. It's always tricky to find a good forum when I take on a new "thing".

Thanks everyone for all the information. 

And yeast. I'd like to thank yeast.

(that's yeast the organism -  It occurs to me there is probably a user named "Yeast". I should probably thank them as well, but I don't know them yet :) )

 

120ThingsIn20Years's picture
120ThingsIn20Years

Aussie Pete's picture
Aussie Pete

Hi from Cessnock NSW,

I agree with Autolyse on the use of the Laucke bread flour range.

Look for the Wallaby bakers flour  by Laucke. Great products with a lot of info for beginners as well. They are based in South Australia.

laucke.com.au/Cheers...........Pete
120ThingsIn20Years's picture
120ThingsIn20Years

I'm finding the lessons and handbook at the top of the site amazingly useful. 

Thanks to whoever/everyone for creating such a useful and straight forward list of helpful info. 

I'm guessing it's helped a stack of people like me.

I think it's answered ALL my questions so far. I cant wait until it stops knowing the answers. That might mean I'm getting somewhere :)


Thanks again. This site is excellent. 

Aussie Pete's picture
Aussie Pete

Hi Bullwinkle(sounds better than 120TTD20),

Hi I'm from Cessnock NSW. I just wanted to back up what AOTOLYSE has stated about Laucke bread flours. To me no other comes near their product range.

They have some great recipes to search for and make a tremendous bakers flour called "Wallaby" in a five kilo bag. A good source of information on their web site for learning how to bake bread also.

All the best............Pete

120ThingsIn20Years's picture
120ThingsIn20Years

Wallaby. Cool, thanks people. 

 

That was made with Laucke white bread flour from a 4 year old bag. I see no "Use by" date so can I assume it doesnt go off? It's all but finished now anyway, so I'll try whatever Wallaby is. 

I have a bread maker (palsonic) that I used every day for a few years and then intermitantly for the last few years, and tried lots of different flour and recipies. I settled on Laucke crusty white for most of my boring dayly loaves. 

In my bread maker 

I cant remember if it was 2 or 3 and 1/3 cups white Laucke flour

2tsp yeast

a bit of salt

and around 250-260 ml of water 


set to "French" made the best loaf for me. 


This is the first time I've made a loaf by hand, and I plan on growing some wheat in my aquaponics system, and grinding it by hand in an attempt to make a loaf really from scratch. 

Kneeding is hard work enough, but I'm really looking forward to husking and grinding :)

 

Then I need to learn how to make fire :)

 

 

 

Aussie Pete's picture
Aussie Pete

Hi again,

Yeah that crusty white from Laucke is a good bread mix. It has all the other ingredients required for a good loaf mixed in with it such as salt etc. It is specifically designed for for bread machines like your palsonic. Nothing else needs to be added other than water and yeast. It's a great flour to learn for getting the feel for bread for beginners like us. Or for people who want a home cooked loaf of bread without becoming "breadheads".

When your looking to do something more than a crusty white sandwich loaf that's when you start using Laucke "Wallaby" bakers flour. That's because that is all it is, a good quality high protein flour with no other ingredients. You have to do the rest. It will open you up to being able to do more  bread styles and recipes outlined on this site. Check out their pizza base recipe on the back of the 5 kilo bag that it comes in. So simple yet my best to date.

Cheers for now.............Pete

120ThingsIn20Years's picture
120ThingsIn20Years

Hopefully I'll pick up a bag of Laucke Wallaby today. 

What's in the crusty white that's different? 

So much to learn.

Aussie Pete's picture
Aussie Pete

Hi again,

When buying your flour check out the ingredients on the box of laucke bread mix and look at the information on the bag of Wallaby to note the difference. Or if you visit their web site you can find out there.

I tip my flour into a large food safe airtight plastic container and I no longer have the wallaby packet to read from. The bread mix packets are designed for your bread machines. A "ready mix" so to speak.

Cheers............Pete

120ThingsIn20Years's picture
120ThingsIn20Years

The Wallaby Bakers flour ingredients - Wheaten flour, Thiamine, Folic acid

But my 10kg cloth bag of crusty white pre-mix doesnt list it's ingredents...

Strange. 

I think there might have been a pamphlet in with the yeast, but it was years ago that I bought it.

 

 

 

Aussie Pete's picture
Aussie Pete

There is a box of crusty white containing 4 X 600gr packets of bread mix flour.

Check here for crusty white............... 

http://laucke.com.au/      

Check here for Wallaby flour

http://laucke.com.au/

 

 

megsan's picture
megsan

Hi 120ThingsIn20Years, I'm from Mount Gambier, SA. Welcome to the forum. I have discovered so many great recipes that I am using over & over again. My passion is sourdough and I make some great loaves these days...and I can make some duds too! But it definitely does become an addiction!

120ThingsIn20Years's picture
120ThingsIn20Years

I'm already lost to it :)

I just hacked the handles off a frying pan with a glass lid in an attempt to make some dinner rolls with some steam :)

My kitchen is covered in Wallaby flour, and I cant see the keys on my keyboard any more.

And I still have a hundred or so addictions left to learn :)

 

120ThingsIn20Years's picture
120ThingsIn20Years

Steam is my friend!

I got some extra rise in the oven for the first time. 

I'm not sure if it was because of steam, or because of the fact that there was nowhere to go but up. 

120ThingsIn20Years's picture
120ThingsIn20Years

I've decided to take this last batch to a dinner party tomorrow ...tonight .. 

As a result I havnt opened it up to see if it actually worked. I thought I'd leave it all pretty. 

I'm all risk :)

Wish me luck :)

I'm quite confident though because it got that extra rise in the oven. I put a stack of cast Iron in my little oven, and preheated it properly. Then I took the lid and handle off a non stick frying pan that had a glass lid. I left the lid on for all but the last few minutes, and had to turn it over again. It heats from the bottom. 

Does anyone use a webber?... (BBQ thing with a big domed lid. I'm not sure what they call them in whatever part of the world you might be from) My real oven has a door that doesnt close properly so I cant really use it.

Hang on. Dont answer that. I'll be a decent citezen and do a search. 

 

120ThingsIn20Years's picture
120ThingsIn20Years

Hmm. wood smoke. I see it's been done :)

Guess what I'm going to try next :)

120ThingsIn20Years's picture
120ThingsIn20Years

I'm a bit stuck in my searching. 

 

I was wondering if anyone could point me in the direction of a food science kind of approach with some information on what each different acpect does to a loaf. 

ie...

wet dough does...

dry dough does...

more salt does...

more yeast does...

temperature, rise amout, length of rise time etc etc etc

I notice everythinfg from glue to bread to pasta all pretty much use the same ingreadents, and I'm just seeking a better understanding of what does what, to a loaf, so I might do some trouble shooting. And also just get a better understanding of what is going on. 

I've found much of this information from reading through the posts, and should have been taking notes as I went and creating my own table, but I didnt :)

I think I'm after a table or bullet list of what each factor contributes.

So if anyone has any links to something along those lines, can you please let me know. 

Does such a table exist?

 

 

 

120ThingsIn20Years's picture
120ThingsIn20Years

Using baker's flour instead of pre-mix breadmaker flour for the first time just made me understand why all the recipies seemed to call for so much salt. 

The pre-mix must just have the salt in already. 

I've made a few recipies and added the amount of salt they mention and the bread was disgusting. I guess double the salt will do that :)

*slaps forehead* I thought you were all crazy :)

 

 

Aussie Pete's picture
Aussie Pete

Hey Bullwinkle,

Maybe my communication wasn't clear enough. I was trying to get you to find the difference in ingredients  listed on the crusty white box and the bag of Wallaby flour so you could see for yourself why crusty white is a pre mix ready to go.

Anyway all is good and glad your on your way.

Cheers.............Pete

120ThingsIn20Years's picture
120ThingsIn20Years

I understood, but couldnt find the ingredents. 

Thanks anyway :)

Cara Great's picture
Cara Great

I have trialled many many ways to bake the perfect loaf over the years.... Here are some foolproof tips

DO add oil and a few tbs sugar because this gives a higher rise.

DON'T add salt because this inhibits the rise and can kill off the yeast. 

Make sure your dough is only just past sticky and kneed it until it feels smooth

Double prove your dough! Don't just put it in a warm place with oiled gladwrap and let it double in size or sit for the usual recommended 1/2 hour. I let mine triple in size for however long that takes and then renead it and put in in its oiled pan to prove, again, letting it rise to more than double its size.

Common issues with dough not rising and being dense are, 

Not enough kneading

Not proving long enough

Using old yeast that's lost its punch

These are tips to give you a sure fire high rise, light bread!