The Fresh Loaf

A Community of Amateur Bakers and Artisan Bread Enthusiasts.

David's SFBI miche, and Pastry class 4

Mebake's picture
Mebake

David's SFBI miche, and Pastry class 4

So, here i am again. I've been too lazy and tired to comment or blog; the weekend class is draining me off and i don't have much energy to bake anything.

First is Pasry. The last two classes (4 sessions) were on cakes which we managed to finish on time. As shown, we've baked using the foaming, creaming, and altogether techniques. A shining example of the altogether was the chocolate cake; the queen of all cakes which brought an end to our cakes lesson.

Next week is: yeasted products!  Two days, to accomodate the useage of preferment i guess. I'm so excited :)

   

  

The cake was almost entirely decorated by the Pastry Chef, not us.

For bread, i chose to bake an SFBI miche that David Snyder blogged about often.  I wanted to stay true to David's recipe but i didn't, BIG MISTAKE!  The recipe's dough was somewhat stiff and considering the freshly milled whole wheat flour, i decided to increase the hydration to roughly 80%. The second deviation was to retard the shaped loaf for 21 hours instead of David's overnight (for scheduling purposes). On the day of baking, i removed the dough from the refrigerator and allowed it to sit for an hour while the oven was heating. The dough was well risen, and in very good shape. I preshaped , shaped, and molded it into a lined bowl. When ready, the dough was loaded into the oven with steam apparatus in place. I peeked through the oven glass, and watched the dough spread to a typical Miche disc.

The bread's flavor was very nutty. sweetish and wholegrainy, and packed a good deal of nutrition. I'll definitely have another shot at the formula soon, with-out changes. Thanks David!

-Khalid

 

Comments

Faith in Virginia's picture
Faith in Virginia

That all looks so wonderful.  I'm green with envy I would love to take a class like that.  Thanks for the updates.

Mebake's picture
Mebake

Glad you liked them, faith. Why don't you look around, there should be classes for pastry making around you. I've chosen the amateur course which i can afford paying a bank loan for. The professional course is almost double the price, at around 7k $. 

-Khalid

 

 

Faith in Virginia's picture
Faith in Virginia

The stars and planets have not aligned properly for me to take a class like that.  Money, time, present responsibilities and future commitments....blah, blah, blah stuff are holding me back at the moment.  Perhaps one day.  So for now I'll just enjoy reading about your great adventure and dream of a day when the stars and planets align.

 Thanks,Faith 

Mebake's picture
Mebake

I totally agree; financially it is a burden. Why are pastry classes so expensive really escapes me, especially with such a low paying career. I never thought i would be financially able to join such a class, but like you said.. stars lined up, or better yet: God's will has approved.

Hang in there, and don't let go of your passion. I know you'll do it one day.

-Khalid

Isand66's picture
Isand66

Beautiful cakes Khalid.  I'm sure you will surpass your instructor In your decorating ability in no time.  Even if you deviated from Dave's recipe a little it looks like the results were not too shabby:)

Regards

Ian

Mebake's picture
Mebake

Thanks, Ian! That is a compliment i don't think i deserve. I'll try to do my best, nonethless.

-Khalid

bakingbadly's picture
bakingbadly

If you're tired, no worries, take a nice long rest. You definitely deserve it. I"m sure members of TFL wouldn't mind, considering how hard working you are. ;)

Those cakes look might scrumptious, by the way. But if given the choice, I'd pick your miche over the cakes. Healthy and delicious!

Happy baking,

Zita

Mebake's picture
Mebake

Aren't we all alike? I'd pick the loaf too :)

Thanks for the lovely compliments, Zita!

-Khalid

dabrownman's picture
dabrownman

cake covered in chocolate icing and then with ganache is a keeper.  You know it tastes great but I would like to have a tastes to make sure:-)  The SFBI bread is beautifully scored and we love the bold, blistered crust!  So what is the whole grain % on this bread.  Home milled flour will force the hydration up some.

The crumb looks perfect fo make sandwiches.  I can imagine all kinds of things hanging out between 2 slices of this fine bread.  Well done all the way around Khalid

Happy Baking

Mebake's picture
Mebake

Thanks, DA!

The cake was decadent! haven't had the time or the will to replicate this beauty.

The Miche contains high extraction wheat flour, but i fiddled with flour combination to arrive at a percentage close to it.

-Khalid

dmsnyder's picture
dmsnyder

Regarding the miche: Its appearance and your description of the flavors do not suggest that "mistakes" were made. I know that the formula I posted makes delicious bread, but I don't see exactly where your modifications produced bad bread.

Happy baking!

David

Mebake's picture
Mebake

Not bad, but far from genuine. I have to give it a second try soon.

Thanks for sharing this wonderful formula David!

-Khalid

holds99's picture
holds99

Your bread looks great.  I really like your crust and crumb.  I'm not a big fan of huge holes in the crumb.  In my opinion your crumb is just about perfect, and from your description of the flavor, it sounds delicious. 

Best to you,

Howard

Mebake's picture
Mebake

Thanks for the compliment, Howard. There is room for improvement, though.

-Khalid

varda's picture
varda

and quite the decorations - I can imagine him shooing you all away while he decorated.   For your miche, it sounds like your changes were reasonable and flours do vary, and it was good yes?   -Varda

Mebake's picture
Mebake

Yes it was good, but not that good.

The cake's crust was hard due to the absence of tin base (baked on baking sheet with aluminium foiled wrapped around the tin). All was good in the end.!

-Khalid