Hello bakers!

My name is Jem, and I recently got my DREAM JOB at a local bakery here in Vermont.  I don't start until after the holidays, on January 3rd, to be exact.  I have NO experience in a professional bakery...only in my home.  I have been baking cookies, cakes, muffins, breads, and everything else since I was young.  (I'm still young though, I'm only 21!)  It all started with an easy bake oven for my 8th birthday, and then spritz cookies with my mom for Christmas....after that, I was in love.  I have made tons of my own recipes for all sorts of sweets.  My family-favorite ones are:  Whoopie Pies, Oatmeal Cream Pies, Peanut-Butter Double Chocolate Cookies, (A mouthfull), my truffles, and my Peanut Butter Chocolate Sour Cream Cake with Peanut butter Cream Cheese Frosting and a Chocolate Glaze.  Not only is the last one a lot to say, it also has a million colories and tastes like heaven!

Anyways, that is just the beginning of my story.  Hope to write more soon!

~Jem

I've been taking it easy with the baking lately due to the excessive heat in center city Philadelphia, which has been hovering around 100 for the past few days now. I always feel guilty running the air conditioners and the oven at full tilt simultaneously, half expecting Al Gore to knock on my door and give me a lecture. Regardless, I had the itch to bake, and so I went back to one of my favorite recipes, the Vermont sourdough from 'Bread'.

Levain Build

• Bread flour: 4.8oz
• Water: 6oz
• Mature culture (firm): 1oz

Final Dough

• Bread flour: 1lb, 8oz
• Whole-rye flour: 3.2oz
• Water: 14.8oz
• Salt: 0.6oz
• levain: all of above

The levain should be made 12-16 hours prior to the final dough, however with the high temperatures of the day I only gave mine 10 hours.

Mix all of the ingredients for the final dough, less the salt and allow to autolyse for 20 min. Add the salt and mix for 2min.

Bulk ferment for 2.5hr with 2 stretch and folds.

I used all of the dough to make a single boule. Proofed for 1.5hrs... again this was shortened from the actual recipe due to excessive heat in my apartment.

Bake @ 460 for 40 min (first 10 covered).

Happy baking

Ben

I made Hamelman's Vermont Rye again the other day and it didn't really come out right.  After letting the levain sit for 15 hours, I made the final dough and threw it in the fridge for bulk fermentation overnight.  The next morning it had grown in size somewhat but was so soupy (somewhere between batter and dough) I couldn't handle it.  Furthermore, I had to add a ton of flour just to get it to the point where I could feel comfortable transferring it to a banneton.  I then retarded it for another 12 hours and baked it..  It came out alright, if a bit spongy.

Thoughts?

is it a bad idea to retard bulk fermentation?  Does this get in the way of the autolyse?

.. pardon my French but this loaf, a Brotkunst Original, deserves a French Title in my opinion.

The formula of this loaf builds on (any) Pain au Levain and develops a quite particular color, extraordinary flavour and almost sweet smell by the addition of wine-soaked Walnuts and Oat Berries.