The Fresh Loaf

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single handed baker

yozzause's picture
yozzause

single handed baker

I was always amused as an apprentice that in the award rates for bakers there was a category for single handed baker  i could just imagine some poor soul that had been in a loosing argument with the dough dividing machine. Of course it actually referred to a baker employed on wages working alone doing the whole kit and caboodle.   

Anyway i am currently a single handed following a rotator cuff and repair to a full width tear of the tendon in my right arm six weeks with an abductor sling on both night and day  fortunately that came off last week and now a further six weeks with physio and passive exercises.

Today's bake was a sour dough  Multi grain with home brew lager and a dash of molasses

300g multi grain mix flour

300g sour dough culture (100%hyd)

100ml home brew lager

9g salt

9g molasses 

all the ingredients brought together for a quick mix then allowed to autolyse for about 20 min then a further 5 min mix and another autolyse for about 20 minutes and a further mix for about another 5 min in the kenwood chef.

the dough was then stretched and folded after an hour and repeated  and then made up and into a cake tin  allowed to prove for 1 hour and into the fridge with cling film overnight the next morning it was put outside into a warm spring day for an hour or so then brought in and washed with an boiled arrowroot (starch) paste to help stick the sesame seed and give the dough piece some protection from the fierce heat of the oven.

 No scoring was attempted as the dough was below the top of the container and it was fairly fully proofed hence only a small amount of oven spring shown in the photos

i was pleased with the loaf it had a nice open texture and an excellent taste.

the dough has risen quite well and close to full proof

a small amount of oven-spring no tearing of the crust

 

the cut loaf revealing  a nice open structure and the graininess of the mixture

 a few slices with some dislodged sesame seeds

all in all very happy with the result excellent taste and not to bad for a single handed result

regards Yozza 

Comments

AnnaInNC's picture
AnnaInNC

Hope you get back to normal soon !  I recently had right wrist surgery with a cast up to my shoulder. I survived with the fold method rather than kneading but still had trouble holding up the container to remove the dough since moving the fingers alone was painful. But, like you, out of the cast, out of braces, and into physical therapy !  

Happy baking !

anna

yozzause's picture
yozzause

Thanks Anna, its amazing how quickly we can adapt, but a blessed relief to start getting back to normal. Fortunately i have plenty of accummulated sick leave to cover the abscence from work for the 3 months. 

Regards Yozza

ehanner's picture
ehanner

Very nice looking loaf. I like that you baked it in a round cake type pan. Great idea. The crumb is perfect.

Eric

yozzause's picture
yozzause

Thanks Eric

The cake pan was particulary convenient, it was perfect for the boule shape, it was able to give some support to the final  loaf, and the cling film was able to seal for the refrigeration phase and maintain the moist environment on the dough surface. The pan also allowed a fuller proof as the dough piece itself remained un-disturbed going to the oven. 

Yozza

highmtnpam's picture
highmtnpam

yozzause  That would be a great loaf with three hands!!   Pam

highmtnpam's picture
highmtnpam

yozzause  That would be a great loaf with three hands!!   Pam

SylviaH's picture
SylviaH

It looks delicious!  Nice work putting it into a pan...it can't be easy baking while healing from surgery, glad to hear and see your on the mend.

Sylvia

jyslouey's picture
jyslouey

Pity I can't try this as I have no experience working with a sourdough culture. 

Did you use a cake tin with a removable bottom or is this in one piece?  I have a 7.5" cake tin with a removable bottom and I'm wondering flip the dough onto the flat piece after second proof in a banneton, rest it on jam jar or tin can inside the round tin , lift it up and in goes the flat piece into the cake tin!!  The only disadvantage it that it is going into the oven unheated but still gives a slack dough some support. 

Thanks for your suggestion re soaking raisins in some alcohol.  It was yummy and the rasins were just right, not too mushy.  Judy

yozzause's picture
yozzause

Hi Judy

The cake tin was convenient to put the dough piece into for the retardation in the fridge overnight, just a plain old cake tin but with a rub with butter, the bread just fell out when baked.

I am glad the raisins worked out for you.

you can easily make this bread with yeast if you don' have the sd culture, if the formula says 100% hydration equate that to 50% water and 50% flour for your yeast quantity it will depend on how fast you want to have the dough moving along, 2% will give you a fairly fast dough if the finished temp is around 78 degrees 1% will be twice as long a bulk fermentation period if finished at the same temp. I'm not sure whether you can the multigrain flour mix in HK.

There is a company here Basic Ingrediants  that does mail order for home bakers, and where i originally got my sour dough culture from. I have attached the link for you to have a look see

"Basic Ingredients Homebread" homebread@optusnet.com.au

regards Yozza

jyslouey's picture
jyslouey

I have a packet of Wessex Mill Mixed Grain bread flour that is a mix of wheat flour, malted wheat flour , rye flakes, sesame seeds, poppy seeds, wheat bran and barley malt flour and suggests using 7 grm of yeast , 500 grms of flour, 10 grm salt, 25grm butter and 320 ml water. It seems a lot of yeast but that's the suggestion to use with a bread machine. If I work that out in % that would come to 64% hydration and 1.4% yeast so that doesn't seem so much yeast afterall and 2% salt & 5% butter.  How should I equate that in terms of 50% water/50% flour to replace the sourdough? I've worked witih rye flour a couple of times and each time I have had trouble with the kneading as it was very sticky.  I may give this recipe a try and I hope I don't end up with another dense loaf.   I've only used this flour mixed with a bit of bread flour but never 100% on it's own. 

Judy

yozzause's picture
yozzause

Hi Judy, you dont need to take into consideration the flour and water that would have gone into the mix via the sour dough as you will be using yeast anyway not sour  dough starter. The yeast quantity isn't overly high but this is where you can gain some local knowledge if you can determine the finished temperature of your mix and  then take the time that it takes to attain a full proof, very usefull to mark where the dough comes to on the proofing container and put another mark where you estimate doubling will bring it up to as a guide. Then you will know that X % yeast will give you a bulk fermentation time of Y! at a given temperature..

You may prefer a blend of white and multi grain but you never can tell till you try it. SO notes and camera Judy, ACTION

Regards Yozza  

PS it would seem that you have a better range of flour than we do here, i loved trying different ones when i was in the uk on holiday. 

EvaB's picture
EvaB

been there done that except for the sling thing, I had muscle problems not a tear in the rotator or whatever, but it sure was a pain for a year until we got it back to normal. Can't imagine bakign bread with it so you do better than I did.

The bread looks wonderful, and probably tasted great.

yozzause's picture
yozzause

Hi Eva and others

Thanks for your kind thoughts , everything is coming along in leaps and bounds, I saw the surgeon yesterday and he was really pleased with the way it was progressing and given me time off work to 29 Nov, so still a little way to go yet. i have been pleased with the recovery as i was told this is a particularly painfull op and recovery, but has so far been pretty easy. Must be the baking part of the rehabilitation. 

In fact i can feel a bake coming on right now

regards Yozza