So here we are...baking again. Thank God. Seriously. Grocery store bread really does suck. Eating that crap through my entire pregnancy almost killed me. Since the bouncing baby boy is now sleeping a lot better than before, baking once again commences.

This was a riff on Eric's Fave Rye. I forgot the sugar and caraway so it isn't really right. I plan on making it again.

This was my final formula for my everyday, I-need-something-tasty-that-I-can-be-lazy-with bread. The write-up on my new and improved blog is on my new and improved blog.

Next up I'm hoping to tackle San Joaquin Sourdough and some bagels. All this week.

Maybe a little too ambitious?

I have two loaves proofing in my fridge right now.  I've heard that I can go directly from fridge to oven.

Questions:  How would I do that.  I normally bake a 2.5 pound loaf (78% hydration) en Cloche for 45 minutes at 425, 20 covered and 25 uncovered.

Do I modify the time?  Do I modify the temp?

Any insights and suggestions would be very helpful.

Thanks,

Thane

I have recently been making all of our bread at home because our middle son has so many food intolerances that it is just safer (not to mention cheaper and tastier!) to make everything.  Also everything has to be dairy free because he is lactose intollerant.  I usually substitute rice milk and canola oil or extra virgin coconut oil for the milk and butter.  I have done pizza dough, pita, dinner rolls and hamburger buns all with excellent results.  My sandwich loaves are okay but I haven't been WOWed by them.  I usually try to do a long ferment with my sandwich loaves because I love the flavors that are created and the ease at which gluten is developed with less kneading.  BUT, I tend to have problems with large bubbles in the crust that mess up the whole loaf.  I have been slicing the tops to reduce this isn't truly fixing the problem - if I didn't slice then I would still have the large holes.  I probably need to knead the bread more of differently but I have trouble with my wrists and don't want to overdo it(for my sake).   I really want to make a whole wheat sandwich loaf that tastes good but can't seem to pull it off.  Maybe I haven't found the right recipe or technique yet.  Right now I am using half whole wheat half bread flour and also adding vital wheat gluten because if I use all whole wheat nobody wants to eat the bread! I could really use some good recipes and tips to help me make a good sandwich loaf for my family.

Jennifer

I used to make a 100% whole wheat sandwich bread from a white flour recipe I adapted. It had a low hydration, and was prepared in the classical mix-knead-rise-shape-rise-bake. Sometimes I would add other grains to this basic recipe. My loaves were rather dense, and often they would not rise very much. I think I may have overworked the dough in an effort to get that elusive window pane. BUT they tasted great!

Then I learned about whole wheat and hydration, plus a few "new" tricks that I thought would help me get bigger, lighter loaves. So recently I've been baking 100% whole wheat at 70-75% hydration, doing an autolyse, and using the refrigerator for 18 hour ferments with about 3 stretch and fold sessions thrown in. My loaves came out much higher and lighter. BUT I noticed 2 things: first, a very noticeable bitter taste which I never had before, and secondly, a "crumbly" crumb that would barely hold a slice of bread together.

Can anyone help me explain this? I might mention also that my original recipe called for 2 tbsp of instant yeast. I reduced this to 1 1/2 tbsp in view of the long ferment, but maybe it was still too much? Because the dough would still rise rather fast even in the fridge, and each time I did a stretch and fold I'd have to de-gas the dough so it might have risen too many times.