The Fresh Loaf

A Community of Amateur Bakers and Artisan Bread Enthusiasts.

Most bookmarked

August 9, 2012 - 5:46pm
dmsnyder's picture
dmsnyder

Loafing in retirement: San Francisco-style Sourdough ("Take 4") and Hamelman's Sourdough Seed Bread

I am retired. This is the first full week since I retired, July 31. Already I see big problems. I no longer have to limit my baking to weekends and vacations. In principle, I could be baking bread any day ... or every day. But, I do not need to be eating more bread than I have been eating. I will certainly be gifting more loaves, but I have to find a new equilibrium. Ah, well. Life is good.

Anyway, this explains how I happen to be baking bread mid-week. 

My San Francisco-style Sourdough quest of last Spring was a ton of fun. Of the various tweaks I tried, my favorite version was "Take 4." (For the formula and procedures, see: My San Francisco Sourdough Quest, Take 4.) I believe I have baked this version about 5 times now, and, for me, it has been pretty consistant in producing my personal ideal bread of this type. Today was no exception. Crunchy, sweet crust and moist, chewy, complex-flavored crumb with moderate sourness. Excellent keeping quality.

It's been very hot in Fresno. My fermentation times for the levain builds were shorter than those indicated in my methods. "Watch the dough, not the clock" applies to levains as it does to final doughs. The times were not so short I felt I had to refrigerate any build, but I would have done so if the times to maturity were so short I thought flavor would be compromised.

Diamond scoring pattern

Cross-hatched scoring pattern

Crust close-up for the bubbly crust lovers

SF-Style Sourdough crumb

I also made the Sourdough Seed Bread from Hamelman's Bread today. In the past, I have generally made this as 500-600 g boules. Today, I shaped two bâtards of 1 kg each.

Sourdough Seed Bread cross section

Sourdough Seed Bread, crumb close-up

This particular bread profits greatly from overnight cold retardation. It is not bad baked the day it's mixed, but it is fantastically delicious if allowed those extra hours of flavor development. 

There are some gastrointestinal conditions for which the standard advice is to avoid eating seeds. If you have the misfortune to suffer from one of these, I suggest you not eat this bread. However, the heavenly aroma of this bread when it is sliced still slightly warm from the oven is not to be missed. So, bake it even if you can't eat it. Give it away ... but only after cutting a loaf and taking a few deep breaths. 

Happy baking!

David

Share
  • Facebook logo
  • Twitter logo
August 9, 2012 - 3:28am
thihal123's picture
thihal123

Help with my 1st starter

It is almost 24 hours since I first started making my sourdough starter and I haven't done the first feeding because I don't know if the starter is fermenting. Thing is, on top of the mixture is a layer of pretty clear water. Is that normal? I have stirred this mixture a few times and each time, after a while, some of the water seems to begin separating.

I followed River Cottage Bread Book's method of starting a starter:

1 cup flour (I used King Arthur Whole Wheat)
1 cup warm water

Using an electric beater, I beat it for 10 minutes on fairly high speed. Then, I covered the mixture. It's sitting in a small crock pot with a glass lid.

Is it normal for this starter to have some clear water separate from the mixture after about 22 hours? My mixture/batter isn't very thick. Do I have to begin over?

Share
  • Facebook logo
  • Twitter logo
August 8, 2012 - 2:12pm
txfarmer's picture
txfarmer

10,000 Year Vintage Miche - priceless?

Sending this toYeastspotting.
Click here for my blog index.

No, I am not exaggerating. I took a trip to Antarctic earlier this year. At the end the voyage, we had a charity auction benefitting envirnment research groups for Antarctic. I set my eyes on this bottle of 10,000 old glacier water, $200 later, it's mine. How would I use it? Making a bread of course!

What's better than a traditional miche to complement the history of this water? The formual is based on the SFBI Miche posted a while back by David (here). I have made it before (here) with my own twist, this time I did the following:
1) I used all splet flour(150g) in levain, then some of it in final dough (75g spelt) to make spelt ratio to be about 20%. For the rest of flour in final dough (900g), I used Golden Buffalo High Extraction Flour.
2) Used my usual 100% white starter
3) Baked it in my large Staub cast iron pot. Preheated at 500F for nearly one hour, slash, load the loaf, cover, bake at 450F for the first 20min, remove lid, lower temp to 430F, bake for another 40min, turn off oven, open the oven door a little, leave the loaf (in the pot) in oven for another 20min before taking out.
4)My cast iron pot is oval so I shaped the dough into a batard, which is not the "usual" shape for miche.
5)The scoring was at the request of my husband: he want something that looks like "glacier", that's the best I could do.
Everything else remained the same, including the 2KG size, wheat germ amount, as well as fermentation/proofing schedule.

This formula never fails me, and this time it's no exception. A good thing, otherwise I would be wasting some very pricy water.

Wheat germ is the highlight of this formula, but this time, I can taste the spelt adding more layers of flavor.

Very meaningful and delicious bread. That bottle of glacier water was sacraficed for a good cause.

Share
  • Facebook logo
  • Twitter logo
August 7, 2012 - 2:05pm
dabrownman's picture
dabrownman

15% Whole Wheat Bagels with YW and SD Desem Combo Starter

We had some yeast water and SD Desem starter left over from our 'Bun Experiment' yesterday where we compared YW with SD in buns.  We were going to use them up with a combo starter to make the same buns but we have too many buns after yesterday.

From left: poppy and not your usual; nigella and basil seeds.

What we did not have was bagels so we used them up on some 15% WW bagels.  Our last bagel bake was a much higher percent whole grain SD bagel with sprouts.  They were delicious.  This bagel recipe was still based on Stan Ginsberg’s recipe he published on TFL and is more traditional in grains with the whole wheat being in the combo yeast water and SD Desem starters only.

These bagels are by far and away the best ones we have ever produced.  If you want NY Jewish Bakery Bagels - these are the ones you want to bake - thanks Stan.  The crust was nicely browned and blistered.  They came out of the oven crisp and went to chewy as it cooled.  The crumb was open and moist yet had just the right bite a bagel should have.  The taste was very good with a slight SD tang.  They were delicious, just cooled, un-toasted with cream cheese.  No toasting necessary at all.

Method

We built the YW and SD Desem starters separately over (2) 3 hour and (1) 2 hour  build and then refrigerated them both for 48 hours.  Home ground whole wheat berries were used for both starters and accounted for all the WW in the final dough.

The water was mixed with the 2 starters to liquefy them.  The rest of the ingredients were added and mixed by hand to incorporate.  The dough was kneaded for 10 minutes by hand and then allowed to rest, ferment and develop for 2 hours covered with plastic wrap on the counter.  The dough doubled over that time.

The dough was them divided into (10) 128 g, folded into balls and then into 12” tapered, from middle to end, ropes.  The ropes were rested for 10 minutes and then formed into bagels by the ‘over the knuckles’ method where the ends were rolled on the counter to seal them together. 

The bagels were placed onto a parchment covered and semolina sprinkled cookie sheet, covered in plastic wrap and refrigerated for 20 hours.

After removing the bagels from the fridge, they were immediately simmered for 30 seconds a side in 1 gallon of water with 1 T of barley malt syrup and 1 tsp of baking soda.  The wet bagel bottoms were placed on a kitchen towel for 5 seconds after coming out of the water and then placed on parchment paper sprinkled with semolina which was on the top cover of the mini ovens broiler.

The mini oven was preheated to 500 F with the rack on the bottom.  A 1 cup Pyrex measuring cup with a rolled up dish rag, half full of water, was micro waved until the water boiled.  Sylvia’s steaming method was then placed in the middle of the parchment paper between (4) bagels at the corners.

The bagels were steamed for 8 minutes with the heat being turned down to 450  after 2 minutes at 500 F.  At the 8 minute mark the steam was removed, the bagels turned upside down, the rack rotated 180 degrees and placed in the upper position.  The Mini Oven was turned down to 425 F convection at this time.   After 4 minutes the bagels were turned right side up again, the rack was rotated 180 degrees and placed back in the lower position for an additional 4 minutes

At 16 minutes total baking time the bagels were deemed done.  They were nicely browned top and bottom and sounded like a drum when tapped on the bottom.  They were moved to wire cooling racks until cooled.

Dabrownman's 15% Whole Wheat  Bagels     
      
Desem StarterBuild 1Build 2 Build 3Total%
SD Desem Starter1400142.06%
WW152020558.09%
Water15208436.32%
Total Starter44402811216.47%
      
YW StarterBuild 1Build 2 Build 3Total%
Yeast Water25160412.06%
WW25206518.09%
Total Starter503669213.53%
      
Starter     
Hydration80.65%    
Levain % of Total15.94%    
      
Dough Flour %   
Bread Flour34050.00%   
AP34050.00%   
Dough Flour680100.00%   
      
Salt121.76%   
Water36253.24%   
Dough Hydration53.24%    
      
Total Flour788    
Total Water453    
T. Dough Hydration57.49%    
Whole Grain %14.34%    
      
Hydration w/ Adds58.86%    
Total Weight1,280128 g each for (10) bagels
      
Add - Ins %   
Barley Malt202.94%   
Diastatic White Malt20.29%   
Total223.24%   

 

Share
  • Facebook logo
  • Twitter logo
August 3, 2012 - 8:34pm
Foamheart's picture
Foamheart

Retired US Navy Bakers? Hamburger Buns

I didn't know where really to put this. I see there are some hamburger buns listed but I was hoping to get lucky.

Retired Navy Bakers?

I was on Submarines while in the service, although not a cook. The senior cook was always the baker, ours was exceptional. The baker’s watch was the mid-watch doing mid-rats then free till breakfast to bake the coming day’s needs. Did I mention our Chief cook was the best in the Navy? No matter what he wanted, he got. He was never harassed, and no one would ever refuse to spend some time helping. But I digress.

All Navy recipes are standard and dispensed with great care through completion of advanced schools. Sure each cook adds his secrets which he carries to the grave with him, but for the most part all standardized or so I have been told.

The humble hamburger bun was an unbelievable achievement. It’s like no other bread; it’s almost a dry, sweet, flour taste. It’s totally awesome. It was like a hamburger bun English muffin with a pinch of sugar. But the dough was that of light bread, not an English muffin consistency.

I was hoping that someone might be an ex-Navy baker or know how to come by those recipes. I am too old now to go back in the service so that is not an option. Besides it would seem maybe a bit extreme, but…… they were awesome buns.

If anyone can help I would appreciate it. Who would've of thought, the humble hamburger bun.

Share
  • Facebook logo
  • Twitter logo
August 3, 2012 - 6:15pm
wouldbeamateurchef's picture
wouldbeamateurchef

Hi introducing myself I am wouldbeamateurchef from the UK

Hi everyone,

 This is the first time I have signed up for a Artisan Bread Forum and from the looks of things I aint seen nuthin' yet.

 I am an unemployed disabled woman from the UK residing in Colchester, Essex and love cooking.

Breadmaking wise I am a proud owner of an Breville Breadmachine which I use for making doughs-with my help! My most successful loaf has been a 4 cup ( The US Cup System is so clever!) Bread with instant yeast, sugar, salt, olive oil, water that I let prove for24 hours First rise then second and final rise in tin +2.

 The results of which converted me to long risings which I understand are not advisable in some recipes ie Felicity Cloakes Wholemeal Bread recipe featured in the Guardian. The bread was springy, it bounced back! the dough was silky smooth, and it had a nice sourdough? taste? 

 Whatever it tasted richer for having proved it for so long.

 I look forward to learning more from this international forum of Artisan [home and Professional] Breadmakers.

Share
  • Facebook logo
  • Twitter logo
July 29, 2012 - 4:41pm
MickiColl's picture
MickiColl

Graham Bread

For a very long time I have been searching for a recipe for graham flour bread.  I have found one and it is excellent ..( thank you Mr Google) 

it is a James Beard recipe .. how can we go wrong ? here it is

Graham Bread

Adapted for 2 loaves from Beard On Bread

  • 3 1/2 tsp instant yeast1
  • 2 tbsp sugar2
  • 12 oz warm water (between 100° and 115° F)
  • 8 oz evaporated milk
  • 1 1/2 oz butter, melted
  • 1 1/2 tbsp salt
  • 2 cups graham flour3
  • 3 - 4 cups all-purpose flour

In a large mixing bowl, combine graham flour, salt, sugar and yeast. Pour the water, milk and butter on top. Beat well and add in all-purpose flour a cup at a time until it comes together into a firm dough.

Turn the dough out onto a floured board and knead for 10 minutes until it is smooth and elastic. Or, use a stand mixer fitted with a dough hook to do the kneading - it will take slightly less time and much less effort.

Form the dough into a ball and place into a lightly oiled bowl. Cover lightly with a clean towel and let it rise in a warm place until doubled (about 1 hour or two). Punch down the dough and cut in half.

Grease two 9x5x3" loaf pans4 well. Shape the dough pieces into loaves and arrange in the tins. Cover them back up with the towel and let them rise again until doubled (another hour or so). Slash the tops.

Bake in a preheated oven at 425° F for 10 minutes then reduce the heat to 350° F. Bake for 30 - 35 minutes. (The loaves will sound hollow when done or you can check their temperature - they should be at 190°F.) Let cool in the pans for 5 minutes, then turn out onto racks to cool completely. Slice and serve.

Notes:

  1. Instant yeast does not need to be proofed. It's wonderful stuff. If you use active dry, you will need to proof it in the warm water with the sugar for 5 minutes before continuing with the recipe. Also, use 4 tsp of active dry.
  2. Or honey, which is what I wished I had done and will do differently next time.
  3. Whole wheat can be substituted for graham, which is coarser because the different parts of the wheat are ground separately then remixed. You can make it yourself, according to Wikipediaby mixing all purpose flour with wheat bran and wheat germ. For this recipe, you would need to mix 170 g all-purpose (about 1 1/3 cups) with 30 g wheat bran (about 1/2 cup) and 5 g (3 tsp) wheat germ. Graham flour is very coarsely textured.
  4. This dough is firm enough, according to Beard, that you can just make free-form loaves if you don't have or don't feel like using loaf pans.

A recipe from http://kitchenmouse.rozentali.com/2010/05/graham-bread/

Posted by Cori Rozentāle onMay 3, 2010.

 

Share
  • Facebook logo
  • Twitter logo
July 29, 2012 - 4:18pm
dmsnyder's picture
dmsnyder

Miche, Pointe-à-Callière (from Hamelman's "Bread")

Miche, Pointe-à-Callière

I haven't made this one in a while. It is still a favorite. I made it with Central Milling's "Type 85 Organic, unmalted" flour. I retarded the firm levain overnight, but the bread was baked on the same day the final dough was mixed.

Episodic supervision and taste testing were provided by granddaughter, Naomi.

Miche, Pointe-a-Calliere, crumb

Tasting notes

Crunchy-chewy crust. Chewy crumb. Sweet, nutty, wheaty flavors with moderate sourdough tang, tasted 18 hours after baking. Naomi, who doesn't eat the crust on bakery bread, 1. Asked for a second slice. 2. Finished both slices to the last crumb and said the crust was her favorite part. 

David

Happy baker/grandfather

Share
  • Facebook logo
  • Twitter logo
July 29, 2012 - 3:45pm
pmccool's picture
pmccool

A surprising find

In the process of doing some searches relating to bread this past week, I encountered several recipes from a site named www.igaalliance.com.  In refining my search somewhat, I learned that the site would not display any information if I tried to visit the site by directly entering the address (or subaddresses).  However, if I used the search term "bread" and told Google to limit the search to the domain www.igaalliance.com, it would return a number of pdf links.  Each pdf is a separate recipe, presumably for use by IGA member stores.  None of the documents I viewed had any statements about copyright or proprietary information.

Whether there are recipes for things other than breads, I don't know.  I haven't looked into that.

Paul

Share
  • Facebook logo
  • Twitter logo
July 28, 2012 - 4:55pm
Felila's picture
Felila

What to do with ww sourdough bread with burnt crust

My last batch of wholewheat sourdough was a disaster from start to finish. I was distracted and didn't mix the starter thoroughly enough. Nonetheless, I mixed up the dough and waited for it to rise in the refrigerator. Rise was slow and I was worried that it would be dry and hard, so I mixed up the dough with some extra white bread flour, commercial yeast, water, and honey.  I retarded it for a day and baked it this morning. I was online and not paying attention ... the bread got too brown. Not quite burnt, but the crust is unpleasantly hard and strong-tasting. Inside is fine, but very sour. 

Ordinarily I would just cut up the bread and use it in bread pudding. There's a plastic tub in the freezer where I store the bread bits until I have enough for a batch of pudding. However, this bread is so intense that I think it wouldn't work well in bread pudding. 

I'm thinking that I could slice it thin, cut off the crusts, and make garlic bread. Once baked, I could freeze it. Or perhaps some sort of onion soup with bread? Any other suggestions?

BTW, the sourdough made with white bread flour turned out superb, so the day wasn't a total waste :)

Share
  • Facebook logo
  • Twitter logo

Pages

more