The Fresh Loaf

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February 13, 2013 - 12:30pm
theresasc's picture
theresasc

Whoo Hoo! It worked!!

I have been reading up about starters, decided to jump in and find out what it is all about.  I tried doing the 1 Tb. water & flour deal that was on a recent thread but did not have very good luck that way.  Then I read about the pineapple juice starter, so I started up two, one with AP flour and one with WW flour, only I used orange juice instead of pineapple juice.

My starters finally started doubling up after about 11 days, so two days ago I built up the AP for a bake.  I used the 1-2-3 method of determining my starter/water/flour ratios for the bread, and shocking!  it worked!! 

The dough was quite a bit different from what I had been making using a poolish, and I did put it in the frig for about 3 hours after I mixed the dough up.  I then let it warm up and raise at room temperature, doing S&F's along the way.  One of the first things I noticed was that everyone is right, it takes ALOT longer to rise than a dough with commercial yeast.  It finally doubled up and I shaped it and let it raise in a banneton for about 1 -1/2 hours, then slashed and popped into my oven.  The loaf was really ugly coming out of the oven as I still have shaping issues and it seemed that one of my slashes caught up with my seam and blew the side of the loaf out.  Ugly or not, it is tasty!  The bread has a mild but better flavor than my poolish breads.  I thought that the poolish breads have been good, but this has been the best tasting bread, hands down!  I do not quite understand how it can be flavorful and mild at the same time, but there you have it - yummy!  The crumb is very open, a little chewy and the crust has a nice chew to it also.  I did not steam, I am tired of getting burned, so I wet the loaf down with my hands before popping it onto the stone.  Its ugly, but its good.  I feel like one of those old V-8 juice commercials and that I should smack my head and wonder why I did not try a starter sooner!

 

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February 13, 2013 - 5:50am
davidg618's picture
davidg618

Time and Temperature

I have a question I've not been able to answer to my satisfaction after searching online and favorite books. 

Many of my bread bakings begin with someone elses formula wherein I convert  or modify either ingredients and/or procedures.

The two changes I'm frequently unsure of are:

How much natural levain do I need to substitute for the commercial yeast called for?

How much should I reduce the called for levain (any type) when I adapt a straight dough, room temperature fermented to a chilled, retarded fermentation? And a variation of the question: converting a straight dough, room temperature fermented to a poolish or biga, and also chilled and retarded fermentation.

To date, I've had success doing all these changes, but formulae I bake routinely took a number of iterations to refine to a finale, and ones I've baked only once or twice have sometimes been less than what they might have been.

Can anyone point me at a book or online source for better guidance than trial and error, or share some rules-of-thumb with me?

Oops. I should also say I keep the original formula hydration the same.

Thanks,

David G

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February 12, 2013 - 10:31am
dylemma's picture
dylemma

5% Freshly Milled Rye Country Loaf

KAF Sir Galahad (AP) 95%

Fresh Milled Rye Flour 5%

Hydration 77%

Levain (25% of the flour is Whole Wheat, 100% hydration) 25%

Salt 2%

Using the "Tartine" method, I refreshed a mature starter with 90 degrees F water, and inocculated it 20%.  After 2.5 hours mixed the levain, 85 degrees F water and flours.  Autolyse for 30 minutes, then added the salt. The dough temperature ended up at 81 degrees F.   Two stretch and folds each hour for the first 2 hours, let sit until 25-30% rise.  Pre-shaped and benched for 30 minutes.  Shaped, placed in baskets and counter proofed for 1.5 hours. Then onto a 39 degree F retard for 17 hours.

The crust was thick and chewy, the crumb was soft and slightly sour.  Why only 5% rye you might ask, because my kids are always on the look out for "brown bread" and won't touch it.  So I figured I will slowly increase the amount as time goes by.    

-Derek

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February 11, 2013 - 8:26pm
punkchef77's picture
punkchef77

Pugliese

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February 11, 2013 - 11:05am
Yerffej's picture
Yerffej

KoMo Flour Sifter Attachment

Does anyone own one of these Komo sifters and if so,  how well does it work?

Jeff

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February 10, 2013 - 8:16am
davidg618's picture
davidg618

Fun Weekend Bakes

Saturday evening's dessert: Peach Upside Down Cake. (I had my piece sprinkled with a few drops of Amaretto.)

and Sunday morning's bagels. (Ciril Hitz Baking Artisan Bread, CHEWY Bagel formula converted to natural levain.)

David G

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February 10, 2013 - 7:39am
I676's picture
I676

Mark Bittman's Whole Grain "Sourdough" Article

So Mark Bittman had a piece in the NY Times today or yesterday on the deliciousness of whole grain bread, and how sourdough is the best method for making it. I tend to agree (warning: rank amateur's lay opinion), but I don't think that any of his recipes are actual sourdough. Instead, his sourdough rye just uses a sponge made with instant yeast and fermented overnight...strains of the Leahy no-knead bread phenomenon Bittman popularized? Nothing wrong with Bittman's rye recipe, but calling it sourdough seems like a real stretch.

Anyhow, an interesting read. And I must say, he makes a good point about why hobby baking is so alluring.

http://www.nytimes.com/2013/02/10/magazine/the-wheat-lowdown.html?ref=magazine&_r=0

[Edit: I read his rye recipe too hastily. My bad. (Very bad.)  He has you starting it with a pinch of instant yeast, but letting it sit at room for a few days with daily refreshment. That may not be a dogmatically perfect method, but surely lactic acid bacteria will grow and acidify the environment in that amount of time. It won't be a mature starter, but it seems like the resulting bread could be called sourdough, if we're not being too strict. The only question is whether wild yeast will have taken over at that point--or ever. I don't pretend to have any idea what happens when you put instant yeast in a starter and then ferment it for a few days. Surely the LAB come.]

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February 9, 2013 - 4:59am
Kneads_Love's picture
Kneads_Love

Challah -- Don’t Try This At Home

This is a post about how NOT to bake a challah. Not that it wasn’t delicious. It was. We totally just scarfed down, like half of it, still warm from the oven. I know… we’re shameless. But still and all, making it was a nightmare.

Here is the recipe.

Note: Do NOT follow this recipe. Even though this is maybe the sweetest, richest, eggiest challah I have ever tasted; chewy and doughy, with just the right amount of crust, there are 10,000 things wrong with this recipe. Baking it ruined my day. Maybe my life.

Sponge (Quick Starter)

Dissolve: 1 packet dry-active yeast

Into: 8oz Water (warm)

The mix: 1 cup (4.5 oz) All Purpose Flour

Chillax the starter for like 10 – 15 min.

Dough

Mix: 2 oz water

With: ½ cup honey

And: ¼ cup Vegetable Oil

And: 2 Eggs

And: 2 Egg Yolks

Beat together.

Add Starter.

Then mix in: 15.5 oz AP Flour

And: 1.5 tsp salt

I know what you’re thinking, “ok, so what’s the problem?”

The problem is that the consistency is like a thick pancake batter. Except it sticks to everything it touches.

I dumped it onto the counter and tried to knead it. Have you ever kneaded batter? I slapped it, stirred it, swirled it, pounded it, and scooped it. 25 minutes later, the counter, my hands, my arms, my shirt, the cabinets, were covered in sticky, wet formless dough. I alternated between using my hands and using a scraper to try to keep everything in the middle of the counter.

So, I decided to add some flour. Pouring the flour onto the counter and onto the dough and mixing it in. For 3 cups of flour I labored on this beast (yes, I know that I just used “a cup of flour” as a unit of time.)

It finally took on some shape. Still very sticky.

Oil a bowl and let it rise for 90 min. (try to get as much of it off of your hands and arms and into the bowl as you can.)

After the first rise, separate it into 2 balls. Let rest for 5 min. Cut each ball into 3 balls. Let rest for a few more minutes.

Roll out into strands. More flour was essential to being able to work with the strands.

Form 2 braided-Challah-shaped-thingies (Some folks refer to these as loaves.)

Mix 1 egg with about a 1/4 cup honey  and paint the loaves.

Let rise for 60 – 90 min.

Paint loaves again.

Bake at 375 for 35 min. Rotating baking pan after 20 min. When you open to rotate, also cover the loaves with some foil to prevent over-crusting.

Try to take it out when the internal temp is around 195. After 10 min, I poked it with my digi-pen and it was 205. Time to take it out.

Cool on wire rack to prevent bottoms from getting soggy.

The loaves were a touch misshapen but not as bad as they might have been.

I want to find a recipe for challah that is as sweet, eggy and doughy as this one but which is easier to work with.

Kneads_Love

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February 8, 2013 - 4:04pm
Crider's picture
Crider

Crider Sells Out

I'm approaching the age of sixty and I've been baking regularly for about ten years and doing it by hand. But a bug got in my soup more than two years ago when txfarmer posted the breathtaking blog "Sourdough Pan de Mie - how to make "shreddably" soft bread". She wrote and demonstrated about intensive kneading and how that was the secret to those amazing loaves. She showed different windowpane characteristics which developed as she cranked her mixer for rather long periods of time.

I was intrigued, to say the least. I even played around with long-time kneading by hand. I remember how I spent fifty minutes hand kneading a white dough until it finally showed signs of over-kneading. Not practical. A mixer is definitely needed for that kind of thing. But I never really liked the way home mixers appear to beat the hell out of the dough. It seems they spin way too fast, especially compared to commercial mixers, and especially compared to fork mixers and falling arm mixers. There were (are?) actual countertop falling arm mixers Artofex made. Santos still makes a fork mixer that gently turns the dough. It sells in the US, but $1,200? Not only couldn't I afford something like that, I'd rather use that kind of money to lie on a warm beach in Hawaii right now.

The truth, probably, is that these home mixers really aren't being harsh on the dough at all and I'm just clinging to my superstitious hand-knead ways. Temptation came when I saw a video on Youtube of somebody demonstrating a little Bosch MUM 4 Compact mixer, and when they turned it to speed one to incorporate the ingredients, it was slow — real slow. I loved that! I downloaded the manual for that machine to see if it is willing to operate on speed one indefinitely. It is!

Weird thing is, Bosch USA still doesn't admit they sell the things. All they feature on their website are the big MUM 6 Universals. But Pleasant Hill Grain happily sells them whenever they have some to sell. One ninety nine! You could get six MUM 4s for the price of one Santos fork mixer . . .

When it arrived I didn't have any flour milled or sourdough started for a big loaf, but I did have a sack of all-purpose white flour in the cupboard and yeast in the 'fridge. What could be more fun than a sandwich loaf? Haven't made a white sandwich loaf in years. I didn't do txfarmer's Pen de Mie, but I did a lean loaf at 65% hydration. I stood there and stared at the mixer for fifteen minutes as it gently, very gently kneaded the dough round and round on speed one. It was fun watching. Do you all stare at your mixer when it's kneading? Could have gone longer, but maybe next time. The dough felt and handled wonderful. Flour, water, salt & yeast. Why do supermarket bakeries refuse do make a simple sandwich loaf like this?

 

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February 8, 2013 - 12:14am
evonlim's picture
evonlim

my obsession with figs

 

Dried black mission figs, dried white USA figs, turkish dried brown figs, fresh turkish figs and fresh Japanese figs..

In the history of foods the fig is one of the earliest fruits to be desiccated and stored by men.  Sumerian civilization, Phoenicians, Ancient Greeks and old Chinese promoted fig culture and gave it sky-scraping fame. In China it has been grown since one thousand years back. Ancient Greeks offered figs to each other as precious gifts. Greek players used it to increase their potency and muscles.  

 Antediluvian king of Pontus Mithridates had ordered his citizens to use figs everyday to keep them away from diseases. It is said that in ancient Rome and Greek, farmers and slaves were given figs on a daily basis to increase their working capabilities. 

The fruit have both nutritional and medicinal values therefore it is regarded as functional food. It has property of keeping people physically and mentally strong. Dry fig has nutrition values more than its fresh variety. Protein, carbohydrates, calcium, thiamin, riboflavin, potassium, iron and high amount of fibers are its main constituents. It contains second highest amount of calcium after Oranges.  The major section has sugar which forms 51 to 70 %of the whole fruit.

Beauticians recommend it for beautification and personal care. Eating figs prevent cracking of lips and premature wrinkles. It puts off bad breath. The milky juice of green fig has necrotic property and can be applied to soften the thickening of skin of toe (Corn). Its sodium-free, cholesterol free, fat free and high fiber properties make it ideal food for dieters.  For those who are planning to quit smoking, figs can be an alternative. For long time it has been used to treat skin pigmentation, warts, mole and blisters. It is used as a medical dressing which applied on infectious skin to get rid of abscess. Its sugary pulp is ideal for making sweetener for dieters. 
 
Softening and soothing effects of figs provide relief from respiratory tract inflammation, cough, colds and aching throats. In folk medicine it is used as a demulcent for the irritation of soft skin tissues. Due to anti-bacterial properties it can inhibit bacterial growth.

For chefs and bakery product makers fig is a favorite ingredient for making of deserts, jams, jelly, cakes, pies etc. Adding figs to food products enhance both their taste and dietetic values. Presence of a substance known as humectants makes figs useful to keep the bakery products fresh and moist for long time. 

In south East Asia, Anjeer and Guava blended, together to make a healthy and refreshing fruit drink. In Mediterranean countries its extract is added in alcohol and tobacco. Dry roasted figs are pressed and grounded to use as alternative to coffee. In America fig puree is part of many sweet recipes.  Combination of figs and milk ensure sufficient supply of proteins, calcium and iron.  

In western countries green figs are available in can and tin and added to yogurt and cream to make deserts.

Figs are rich source of soluble and insoluble dietary fibers. Soluble fibers help to lower blood cholesterol while insoluble fibers prevent breast and colon cancer and heart attack.

in my case, this is how i enjoy fresh and dried figs...

 

Black mission figs in country boule

 

black and white..in flaxseeds sourdough

 

fresh turkish figs on toasted sourdough bread with walnuts and swiss chard

 

Japanese fresh figs on toasted sourdough bread with grilled gorgonzola and smoke salmon

 

 

Health benefits of figs

  • Fig fruit is low in calories. 100 g fresh fruits provide only 74 calories. However, they contain health benefiting soluble dietary fiber, minerals, vitamins, and pigment anti-oxidants that contribute immensely for optimum health and wellness.

  • Dried figs are an excellent source of minerals, vitamins and anti-oxidants. In fact, dried fruits are concentrated sources of energy. 100 g dried figs provide 249 calories. 

  • Fresh figs, especially black mission, are good in poly-phenolic flavonoid anti-oxidants such ascarotenes, lutein, tannins, chlorogenic acid...etc. Their anti-oxidant value is comparable to that ofapples at 3200 umol/100 g.

  • In addition, fresh fruits contain adequate levels of some of the anti-oxidant vitamins such as vitamin A, E, and K. Altogether these phyto-chemical compounds in fig fruit help scavenge harmful oxygen derived free radicals from the body and thereby protect us from cancers, diabetes, degenerative diseases and infections.

  • Furthermore, research studies suggest that chlorogenic acid in these berries help lower blood sugar levels and control blood-glucose levels in type-II diabetes mellitus (Adult onset) condition.

  • Fresh as well as dried figs contain good levels of B-complex group of vitamins such as niacin, pyridoxine, folates, and pantothenic acid. These vitamins function as co-factors for metabolism of carbohydrates, proteins, and fats.

  • Dried figs are excellent source minerals like calcium, copper, potassium, manganese, iron, selenium and zinc. 100 g of dried figs contain 640 mg of potassium, 162 mg of calcium, 2.03 mg of iron and 232 mg of potassium. Potassium is an important component of cell and body fluids that helps controlling heart rate and blood pressure. Copper is required in the production of red blood cells. Iron is required for red blood cell formation as well for cellular oxidation.

enjoy... a fig a day keep the doctor away too :)

evonlim

 

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