It's week 8 in the Inside the Jewish Bakery Challenge - Semester 1. This week is Onion Rolls. Sadly, I'll be sitting out the next few dessert-heavy weeks.

Once my confusion over how to deal with the onion mix was clarified (thanks all) this proved to be an easy, fast bake (in terms of actual prep). My notes follow:

• I used 1 oz of the onion water and 9 oz plain water
• My egg was almost a full ounce heavier than called for
• I used 100% milled wheat, a 50/50 mix of hard red and hard white.
• My cooking time ended up being around 25 minutes.

These are tasty and the outside is crunchy. They aren't overpoweringly onion-y, which I'd been concerned about. I think the flavor would be improved if I make a soaker with the whole wheat next time and let it sit in the fridge overnight prior to adding yeast. I'll make them again for sure.

I've been reading this site off and on for quite awhile and finally decided to register on the forums now that we're a little closer to actually being able to bake bread again. After living in a wall tent for two years, a slice of fresh-baked bread will be a slice of heaven.

We're modern homesteaders building an off-grid cabin in the sub-arctic boreal forest, at the end of the road, in a remote area of the Alaskan Interior. Our ultimate vision is to be as self-sufficient as possible and have a sustainable homestead, growing/raising/hunting/foraging and preparing/preserving the majority of our food. We heat and cook using wood primarily, but do cheat a bit with a small propane stove, mostly in the summer for quick reheats and consistent temps while canning... we will not be having a conventional propane range and oven in the cabin (at least we're not planning on it). Since we've been cooking on our tiny wood heatstove in the tent, everything as been stovetop, and anyone who has ever tried to bake in a rigged stovetop oven knows this is quite painful and far from predictable. So far, I can manage biscuits and pizzas most of the time, but rolls and bread continue to elude me. Once the cabin is finished, we're planning to build a large wood-fired brick/mud oven in our outdoor kitchen for all our baking, and I dream of those wonderfully crusted rustic loaves. It's ambitious, but so are the rest of our dreams :)

The biggest obstacle is that I am not much of a baker. Really, I think I was born without a baking gene. Everything always tastes nice, if it doesn't explode in the oven or you can manage to chew it. Friends who bake tell me I have a heavy hand and punish my doughs too much. I think with more practice, I might be able to correct that, but I'm also really excited to try out long ferments, high hydration and no-kneads breads because I think the less I actually touch the dough, the better it's chances of survival! From my research, I also see that these methods help acheive/maintain a good crumb in breads made with 100% whole grains & multi-grains, as well as with home milled flours, which is what we'll be primarily using after I get comfortable practicing with commercial AP & bread flour. I have a mild wheat gluten intolerance, so I'm looking forward to using less wheat flours in my breads and experimenting with varying quantities of buckwheat, rye, oat, potato, and millet. Sourdoughs also seem to work better with my system, so it's a good thing that we both think there is no such thing as bread that is too sour! We both like bread that bites back :) I'm sure I'll be asking lots of questions and sharing many failures before I start posting any successes!

If worse comes to worse, I can hope that my husband inherited a baking gene and I can share his adventures while I dedicate myself to the more mundane kitchen art of simply cooking.

A couple days ago, I tested my new KitchenAid Grain Mill's output with a formula calling for about 30% whole grain flour. It was very good. In fact, the flavor of that bread has improved over two days. Even as I dipped my toe in the home-milled flour waters, I knew that the real test, for me, would be how the flour performed in a 100% whole wheat bread.

Most of my breads are made with levain, but my favorite whole wheat bread has remained the “Whole Wheat Bread” from BBA. This is made with a soaker of coarse ground whole grains and a “poolish” made with whole wheat flour. I have used bulgur for the soaker in the past. Today, I used coarsely ground fresh-ground hard red winter wheat, the same wheat was used finely ground for the poolish and final dough. The formula can be made as a lean dough (plus honey) or can be enriched with oil and/or egg. I used both.

The KitchenAid Grain Mill does a great job with coarse grinding. I found that, with the first pass, the particle size is rather variable. It seems to even out by putting the flour through the mill again at the same setting.

I ground the rest of the grain at the next to finest setting. I put it through 3 passes of increasing fineness, actually. The flour ends up somewhere between semolina and AP flour fineness, at least by feel. This slightly coarse flour, fresh-ground, seems to absorb a bit less water than the KAF WW flour I usually use. I ended up adding about an extra tablespoon of flour to adjust dough consistency during mixing.

Bulk fermentation, dividing, shaping and proofing showed no differences I noticed from the behavior of this bread made with KAF WW flour. However, there was a remarkable difference in the aroma of the bread during baking and cooling. It filled the kitchen with a wheaty smell that both my wife and I found absolutely lovely. (As I write this, the bread is cooling. I hope it tastes as good as it smells!)

Another remarkable difference is that the color of the loaves is quite a bit lighter than loaves made with KAF WW flour and exactly the same other ingredients and the same baking time and temperature. I thought this might be because the KAF WW has malt added, but it is “100% hard red whole wheat,” according to the ingredient list on the bag.

The flavor of the bread is just perfect, to my taste. It has a wonderful whole wheat flavor with not a bit of grassiness. It is very slightly sweet. I used a very mild-flavored clover honey, and I cannot find any distinct honey taste in the bread. The flavor is bolder and more complex than this same bread made with KAF WW flour. I'm sold!

As I've written, above, Reinhart's whole wheat bread from BBA has been my favorite. I've made other whole wheat breads from formulas in Hamelman's “Bread” and Suas' “Advanced Bread & Pastry” that I found less tasty. I am now wondering how they would be if made with fresh-ground flour. Hmmmm …. This is shaping up to be a project.

David

I wanted to make brioche from whole grains and I wanted it to rise really, really well.

I have found thanks to TFL and also to Reinhart's book that it is really important to 1) pre-ferment, and 2) do a soaker, for autolysing. I don't measure so I use my judgment when I bake. I'm that kind of baker.

The formula would be something like this. About 3C of a mixture of red winter wheat and white winter wheat, milled as fine as possible in my Fidibus stone grinder. About 1/2 C of white flour that I would eliminate the next time and replace with more home milled flour.

2 eggs

1 stick of butter (16 tablespoons), high fat European butter, smashed a bit to soften it but straight out of the refrigerator

1.5 teaspoons of salt

2 tablespoons honey

1/8th tspoon of IDY, then a further 1 tspon

Hydration to about 55% I would guess, using water, with the remaining coming from the eggs, the honey, and the butter that all contain water

I didn't want my brioche dough to be too slack so I used about a cup of flour and a scant 1/8th teaspoon of IDY and let it sit for about 24 hours as a biga. I also made a soaker with 2C of flour and 1/2 teaspoon salt so it was not quite fully hydrated and left it covered for the same amount of time. There was some dry flour visible and not enough water to make it congeal into a ball. I wanted the further hydration neededto come from the added ingredients.

After 24 hours, I mixed the soaker and the biga in a food processor. I like the food processor for this. I added two eggs, the remaining salt, and the honey and the rest of the IDY. Then I added the butter. At this point the hydration was too much and the dough resembled a sticky batter. I added 1/2 cup of flour, this was King Arthur bread flour as I didn't want to grind any more and I had run out of home milled flour and was too lazy to grind more :)

Now I took it out of the processor and did a few stretch and folds. Then I got it into a ball and refrigerated it for about 6 hours. When I removed it, it had risen nicely. I folded it and put it in the loaf pan and let it rise for probably too long, but I was out and about. About 8 hours actually. It had risen to the point where it almost overflowed the loaf pan.

I baked it at 350F to start with, 18 minutes, then down to 300F for about 40 minutes. It is my experience that lower temperatures and longer cooking times ensure the bread isn't gummy, as bread made from home milled flour tends to become overly hydrated and you have to bake longer to dry it out.

This is the lightest best rising bread. I don't think it's because of the small amount of conventional flour, although it could be. I think it's the soaker, the biga, and the food processor.

Next time I'll have more home milled flour on hand and will do it 100% with home milled flour.

The flavor is very good. The bread isn't too crumbly as sometimes brioche tends to be. You can't taste the egg in it. It has a rich brioche quality with a lot more flavor than a white bread brioche and makes magnificent toast.

If you want to explore *fresh* home-milled flour from whole grain but don't own a grain mill, I am willing to mill your grain for you.

I own a Nutrimill grain mill which can mill wheat, rye, spelt, kamut, rice (brown or white) and other grains of similar size.

You must have purchased the grain and be willing (and able) to come to a location in upper Manhattan. I will mill your grain for you on the spot at no charge. This offer is only for TFL members and is primarily for home bakers who wish to have from 1 to 5 lb of freshly milled flour for home use.

Interested home bakers should PM me for further instructions.

Hello all, I'm so glad I found this site! I recently purchased a schnitzer pico flour mill. Like others on the forum, I'm having a few problems using the new flour. I'm hoping to improve my doughs and share results with you.

andromeda

For over 3 years I've been baking artisan style breads in my (really lousy) gas oven without a baking stone but was never quite satisfied with the result. I finally purchased a good baking stone. This is my first effort with the baking stone...

Sourdough Sesame Seed Batards with Spelt Flour

The height of each of these batards is about 4 inches (compared to the 3-1/4 inch height I got without a stone) for a similar type of dough and prebaking dough weight.

The recipe (one of my own devising) uses a white flour 100% hydration sourdough starter. About 20% of the total flour weight is spelt flour (home milled from organic spelt). In an attempt to add sesame flavor to the bread without compromising rising, I use 8% sesame seed meal, which is ground from whole sesame seeds using a small electric coffee mill. Additional sesame seeds are on the outside of the dough. Dough hydration is 68%

I am pleased with this first effort using my new baking stone, although I obviously need to become familiar with this newest addition to my bread baking equipment arsenal.

Onwards and upwards - SF

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For those who are interested, this stone is a Dacor baking stone. It is 1/2 inch thick and measures 15" x 20". This was a good size for my oven, as my oven rack measures 17" x 25". I believe that smaller size baking stones from Dacor are marketed under the brand name Old Stone Oven; these smaller stones are widely available.

The stone was purchased from fantes.com for $50 USD plus shipping. The packaging was excellent and shipping was prompt.

I am including two images of this baking stone from the fantes.com site in this post to give an idea of what the baking stone looks like...

I recently had relatives visit from Atlanta.  They think I am a little whacky to be baking my own bread (even if they enjoyed it immensely).  I can handle it.  I know this is the best thing for us right now.  The part that is discouraging, is they suggested that I do not grain my own flour - that everyone she knows that has done that has gone extreme in her opinion.  

I am now discouraged from trying this.  I keep reading about how healthy it is, and I am wondering if any of you who have taken on this extra step have any regrets.    My oldest son (14) yesterday walked into the kitchen, sliced a piece of homemade sourdough, and said "Mom - your bread baking is the best thing that ever happened to me".  He was teasing of course, and trying to flatter me, but the pleasure I have provided from my new found culinary hobby of simple bread baking is astounding.  We eat much less junk - my husband has lost weight even though he gets his food cravings satisfied.  A simple piece of toast with avocado and garden fresh tomatoes is enough to satisfy any food craving.

What do you think flour millers?  Is it worth the abuse from the naysayers?  

Hello, just a quick question which I don't think I've seen addressed here, but are there any Bread cook books that are targeted for those of us who mill our own flour at home?

Thanks,

Dennis

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Belief has no affect on reality.

My Website: http://www.roadtobetterliving.com