The real deal.
I am making Silverton's rosemary olive oil bread. It's a two-day bread, meaning that you make the dough, shape it, and then refrigerate it overnight. However, an unexpected guest has come and is excited about the bread. If I bake it tonight will the bread have under-developed flavor?
Thinking about baking with a cover and steam injection, but I don't have that equipment. I put my baking stone on the top shelf of the oven, slightly over 3" down from the top element of the oven. My pan o' rocks for steam was on a middle rack. I misted the baguettes before they went in the oven and then baked with steam at 515 for 10 minutes and another 12 after removing the rock pan. Far and away the crispiest crust I've gotten yet.
I have been reading a little about sourdough starters. I have a basic questions do you use the same kind of starter no matter what kind of flour you are using for your bread. Should there be different starters for rye, white, whole wheat or do they get made from the same starter. I see some starters are made using whole wheat or rye how does this effect a bread that doesn't use the same flour in its original recipie.
What is "real" pumpernickel? I don't just want to make brown-colored bread. I want the rich, moist, authentic (whatever that is) pumpernickel I remember from my childhood. I'd like to make it without commercial yeast, if possible. Do any of you have any favorite pumpernickel recipes? If you do, can you also tell me what is special about the recipe (I have a lot to learn so any information you have is very helpful).
Is there a standard hydration level for a liquid levain vs. a stiff levain? I was reading Leader's Local Breads this morning and noticed that his liquid levain has about 130 % hydrated vs. his stiff which has about 50% hydration. I've also been readin Michael Suas's Advanced Bread and Pastry and notice that some of his SD formulas call for a liquid levain while others require a stiff starter.
I want to start baking some whole wheat breads. Can I pretty much take reciepes that I have now with white flour and substitute whole wheat flour and maybe add some vital wheat gluten? I realize texture will be different and most wheat bread recipies usually use some white flour but I'm interested in doing 100% whole wheat. Do you think this will work? Can I take my Kaiser rolls recipie and just substitute whole wheat?
The last two loaves of bread I baked have shared a strange problem I hadn't encountered before: they turned into pancakes after proofing. I'd love to know what I'm doing wrong.
I am trying to create my own distinctive docking pattern and wonder if there is a rule about how many cuts you can make into a boule of any particular size. I see boules pictured on this site that have 7 or 8 slashes. Does anyone understand the science behind this enough to know if I have to make the slashes more shallow the more of them I create?
