A First Post
Was it purely coincidence that a coworker mentioned that he likes rosemary in bread AND the BBB (Bread Baking Babes) chose to bake Tuscan Rosemary Bread this month? Well, I couldn't pass up the inspiration and opportunity to surprise my friend.
Reviewing the BBB blogs provided not only the basic formula, but also each baker's thoughts and experiences with it. The formula uses dry yeast, mainly bread flour, a little WW, plus a bit of flax meal and is enriched with milk and olive oil. There was a bit of debate over the saltiness (2%+ in the dough, plus coarse salt sprinkled on top) and several notes to increase the hydration, seeking a looser crumb.
Most of the breads I bake are sourdough and I've been exploring whole grains and various techniques for awhile, so I took their notes and my own (mental notes) and made a few revisions. Among them were to inoculate the levain with SD, sub out some of the bread flour for WW, autolyse the flours, flax meal and water before incorporating the rest, the addition of potato flakes, and to reduce the amount of oil and salt (and forgot to sprinkle the top!). And as I mixed the dough, added more water, as much as I dared...
So, the house smells like rosemary and I'm quite happy with the results, enough to share it with you all.
Bake on!
Cathy
Welcome to the site and nice looking bread. With all of the effort that you have put forth you might try going one more step and using real cooked potato which I think you will like.
Jeff
Thanks, Jeff, and I agree, real potato will be the 'go to' from now on. That was the tail end of the box-o-flakes and perhaps for the first time ever, not a single potato in the house. I'm looking forward to making this one again, but am always trying new things and feel fortunate to have found such supportive company!
Bake on!
Cathy