The Fresh Loaf

A Community of Amateur Bakers and Artisan Bread Enthusiasts.

Same loaf and I love it when you give a loaf away and friends take pics....

not.a.crumb.left's picture
not.a.crumb.left

Same loaf and I love it when you give a loaf away and friends take pics....

knowing that you are dying to find out what it will look like inside and the love that goes into making it!  Kat

 

Everyone was so encouraging about the previous loaf that I tried again this morning.and see how consistent I can be.....again same old 71% white and this time I scored right by the side of the loaf rather than the middle....have not cut it yet.....:D

 

Hi All,

So sorry to be too late for solstice bake...I had 10 teenage boys in the garden on that evening for a World Cup football barbecue and baked lots of bread instead....it is amazing what boys can manage to eat in a short period of time!!!!

So, this is my go to 71% hydration mainly white loaf with a tiny bit of WW flour and they managed to have 3 of those with their sausages and burgers!

Comments

nmygarden's picture
nmygarden

Your bread turned out great! I'm sure the kids enjoyed it as much as they're enjoying the World Cup. Soccer is a terrific game that requires physical skills, strategy and team work, and in addition, is a lot of fun to play. You weren't late for the Challenge, you just had a more immediate commitment.

Cathy

 

not.a.crumb.left's picture
not.a.crumb.left

and nothing better than an incentive to bake for a rather unplanned commitment.... Kat

DesigningWoman's picture
DesigningWoman

I wanna make bread like that!

Carole

not.a.crumb.left's picture
not.a.crumb.left

I loved that Chocolate Sourdough! Must give that a go another time.... Kat

DesigningWoman's picture
DesigningWoman

I still have a long way to go to learn when bulk and proof are finished. Some newbies are gifted, and then…

But do give it a go, it tastes really, really good! I may never make brownies again. :-D

dabrownman's picture
dabrownman

hot dogs and sausages.  I like a nice sourdough like this on where you can cut a half slice for a hamburger or fold a slice the long way forthe longest hot dog or sausage.  The bread hlds up so much better than soft, fragile buns anyway too.

My Mom was amazed what 3 boys could eat and when I told her the basketball team was coming over for tostadas she knew it would be at least 100 of them just for the team not counting the girls, coaches and parents.  300 minimum for sure!  Epic it was and we don't use that word much ...like the Kill Bill gargantuan:-)  This bread looks like SFSD on the inside for sure, the outside is beautiful and someone better clean those ears - I'm talking about the boys now - good luck with that! Well done and happy baking NACL - required at 2% for bread!

not.a.crumb.left's picture
not.a.crumb.left

and when the number of invites were creeping up I put a firm stop to it and limited final invite to 10!   We had only two broken garden chairs that my husband fixed again in no time!  Those boys just don't know how strong they are and our furniture appears to be too flimsy.....!!!  Kat

leslieruf's picture
leslieruf

great bake Kat and I bet the boys loved your bread

happy solstice Kat

Leslie

not.a.crumb.left's picture
not.a.crumb.left

and I loved your rye bread but catching up on all those posts!!!

The best compliment it when someone just tucks in and demolishes our bakes isn't it?   Kat

bread1965's picture
bread1965

Anyone who makes bread that good looking should never apologize!

It's clearly worth the wait! Blister's and all.. very nice indeed!

 

not.a.crumb.left's picture
not.a.crumb.left

the blisters were not planned..just lucky, I guess...   Kat

suminandi's picture
suminandi

what a great looking crust!

not.a.crumb.left's picture
not.a.crumb.left

sometimes tempted to go darker with the crust without getting it burned of course....it is a bit like the 'I hate Marmite' v. 'I love Marmite' with the dark or lighter bread isn't it?

:D Kat

alfanso's picture
alfanso

really good shaping, great oven spring and bloom, lovely coloration to the crust, and a good consistent crumb.  What more could you want from this?  I can't imagine much else.

congrats.  Alan

not.a.crumb.left's picture
not.a.crumb.left

I was happy with this loaf especially as I am baking with a new oven and had a few share of flat loaves with little oven spring to dial in the right amount of steam and heat. So phew...this gave me hope! :D Kat

Lazy Loafer's picture
Lazy Loafer

This may be late for the solstice, but never too late! And when it's as gorgeous (and obviously tasty) as this bread, no need for excuses. It's so nice to see a 'plain' sourdough become a work of art, and then hear that it was inhaled happily by a bunch of boys. :)

Wendy

not.a.crumb.left's picture
not.a.crumb.left

as it otherwise is easy to loose sight of that....When I deliberate over my bread I get shrugs and "Mum it's just bread"....makes me smile every time...

To use the word 'art' in association with any of my loaves is a big compliment....thank you. Kat

Ru007's picture
Ru007

I'm so happy you finally got the ear you wanted! It looks great. Not to mention the crumb :) The whole loaf is fantastic. 

I thought i was the only one who made (veggie) burgers with sourdough bread and not buns! LOL!! Seems like its an actual thing! 

Happy baking Kat :)

Ru

not.a.crumb.left's picture
not.a.crumb.left

but nothing compared with that loaf you shared  on IG! Lovely pattern!  I need to stop baking the 'Mainly White' once I have dialed in my new oven....It was love on first sight from me but I don't think the oven agrees! Ha, Ha.....Kat

Ru007's picture
Ru007

the mainly white SD? It looks like a lovely loaf! 

Good luck with the oven, given the look of your loaves, the oven seems to be coming around!! 

 

not.a.crumb.left's picture
not.a.crumb.left

but time to move into different waters again...just getting ready for baking a Champlain after a while again..

I thought I try 65% hydration first and see how that goes....  My niece is visiting and she will love to get her hands into some dough!!! :D Kat

Elsie_iu's picture
Elsie_iu

I mean, you do know your loaf is cover worthy, right? I can almost hear the cracking of the crust when it was just out of the oven. That lovely ear is the strong evident of proper shaping, time control and scoring. It requires skills and practices to achieve crumb is this at 71% hydration, which you obviously have :)

It has to taste wonderful both by itself and made into a sandwich or burger with the sausages!

not.a.crumb.left's picture
not.a.crumb.left

and one must enjoy the good moments while they last! ha, ha....so I tried the same loaf again but scored this time right by the side of the loaf and I am rather happy with that ear too! I really must start to bake a different loaf now!    Back to the Champlain and see whether I can bake that with an ear.....Ha, Ha,   Kat

dabrownman's picture
dabrownman

Who told her the batard scoring trick?  Now ears will be twice as common as noses!

hreik's picture
hreik

Just stupendous.  Nicely done.

hester

not.a.crumb.left's picture
not.a.crumb.left

and it was nice to see it come alive on my new TV channel..especially with not enough steam and a lot of flat loaves.....:D

hreik's picture
hreik

pic

dabrownman's picture
dabrownman

Never seen an oven like that one.  Now Lucy wants a round window too

not.a.crumb.left's picture
not.a.crumb.left

it was love at first sight for me the moment I started baking and found out about them but when 'he' arrived a 

couple of weeks ago, I've found that he didn't appear to like me as much as my bread was awful! I had to go back to bake in DO once to 

gain confidence again and to to believe that is was Mr. Rofco  needing more tuning in and not my baking! Finally getting a feel, phew....

:D Kat

albacore's picture
albacore

And VERY professional looking! You must be getting serious if you've bought a Rofco.

I've occasionally been tempted but don't have the space. What did you do to unlock its secrets?

Lance

not.a.crumb.left's picture
not.a.crumb.left

I did not get the BIG B40 one but the 'half' size.B20..You cannot imagine the amount of agonizing over the decision whether the timing is right, the right size, the right timing with my baking and am I overindulging....then there was all the space related planning...bigger oven, more loaves, more retarding space, mixer needed or not and all of this in our cottage with no outdoor space or garage and a really awful unreliable family fridge!!!!

So, many people said go the B40 route and you will grow into it (which also needs to be hard-wired) whereas the B20 has a plug and as max. you can bake 6 X 500g loaves or less but bigger loaves. So probably a bit too small for a 'serious' microbakery depending on the volume you want to achieve....

In the end I thought for where I am with my baking and being able to bake more for family and friends and 'grow' slowly and 'organically' at my own pace the B20 was the right choice for me...... I also just now got from a friend who is in the wine cooler business  a little wine cooler ranging from 4C - 18C for a ridiculous price as it is a second in top condition  that with amazing 3D skills probably will retard 5-6 bannetons over night and again the volume that I am probably looking at...

Sorry, you probably did not expect such a long answer....I did get the steam pods that you can buy for it but may go a different route with the garden sprayer at some stage...

all experimenting...My only worry was whether I am yet a good enough baker  and my conclusion was to have reached a stage where you are kind of confident with some key formulas as the oven will test your confidence and make you doubt in the beginning whether it is the oven or just the baker!   So it was a bit a jump in the deep end but the idea was to bake more to learn more...There is some great advice on IG on Rofcos, if you ever go that way - people have been very  supportive and it is interesting how different bakers use it how it fits them...with pods or not, how long to warm up, when to let the steam out to adjust crust, shuffling loaves due to different areas in oven being warmer or not.......

Saying that, baking the volume I do right now equally could be achieved with an home oven (and I am always amazed when I see Danni's loading plan) but our oven here was huffing and puffing when I put it up to max heat on a regular basis and my husband was getting very worried that I would blow it up one day and burn the house down......so it is a luxury but l gave up to justify where I save money otherwise and why I deserve it and what happens, if my baking gets worse  - those hamster wheel thoughts and doubts- and just got it in the end with some nudges from supportive friends!!!!! So far very happy with my decision and people eating the bread agree too.....

Happy Baking!  Kat

p.s. my husband was so funny when it arrived and said where did I get that from Eastern Germany....(little joke as I am from Germany originally and no prejudice here......:D) but I have to say we all  just looooove Mr. Rofcos basic industrial look and functionality and the simplicity with the stone decks is great!!!!!

albacore's picture
albacore

Well, it looks very much at home in its kitchen setting! Does the outside get very hot?

And do you retard your loaves? I used to be able to get very good grigne in my Bosch domestic oven when I retarded.

I'm on same day bake at the moment and struggle to get decent grigne; scoring is much more difficult too.

Lance

not.a.crumb.left's picture
not.a.crumb.left

furniture and good clear out! What better motivation could there be! We were concerned that it might get very hot and people might get accidentally burnt but it is actually not that bad and pretty well insulated...it does get warm borderline hot but not too bad considering that I warm it up at 270C and it is amazing how long the stones keep the heat once they have been warmed up...I need to get a better system what I will cook in there after a bake to maximise usage! PIZZA!!!!

I always retard my loaves overnight as scoring is so much easier and even then still hard for me.....and also like the taste of longer fermentation but have not played around with a really long retard like some people on this forum...AND I am awful at judging proofing correctly when I proof at room temp! I really need to master that!

I agree scoring on ambient bakes is so much harder....some people mention putting the dough into the freezer for 20 min or so but I have not tried that myself....for some getting open crumb seemed to be the difference of ambient proofing for certain time and then putting into cold 3C fridge overnight.  I cannot do that as my fridge is too warm and this would be a recipe for overproofing in my case - and boy has that happen often before I realized what was going on!

Kat

p.s. Trying today a 65% Champlain today for the first time after a while with the new oven...don't have the wine cooler going yet as it has no proper space yet and keeps getting moved around....

albacore's picture
albacore

Thanks Kat - and good luck with the new set-up. I'm just having a go at an overnight bulk retard; 1st time ever!

We'll see how it goes. I still wonder at what you can get from four ingredients....

Lance

not.a.crumb.left's picture
not.a.crumb.left

Check what type of temp you've go in your fridge...then you can decide whether to put 'straight' into the fridge or maybe leave out until 50%ish rise and then into cold fridge  (I seem to remember that is what Dan is doing at the moment and he experimented with that as well as Leslie) ahh...and I vaguely remember Trevor mentioning it in a post......too.....

BUT if you have a 'warm 'fridge like me then be aware as it might over-proof...Happy Baking and its magical, isn't it.... Kat