The Fresh Loaf

A Community of Amateur Bakers and Artisan Bread Enthusiasts.

Advice re: what to bake for fussy parents

leo_mancini's picture
leo_mancini

Advice re: what to bake for fussy parents

Hi all,

 

I need some advice. I really like to make a tartine style sourdough, which after around 5 years I believe that I get a consistently good result. 

My parents though don't appear to appreciate that style of bread. They are Italian, they like a white style bread, and like the supermarket style softness. 

 

Can someone suggest a recipe for an italian style loaf that I could try, something like a 'pane di casa'. I do have a sourdough culture so I feel bad not to bake with it, though am happy to bake with or without it. Just interested in some suggestions.

 

Thank you. 

Mini Oven's picture
Mini Oven
clazar123's picture
clazar123

Mini's link looks wonderful! My mouth was watering just staring at that picture. ZolaBlue had beautiful loaves.

Chad Robertson's breads are wonderful, also, but I went through his book this am to see if there was a candidate for you and I learned something. Chad's recipes are "all in"-either they are totally lean or totally enriched-there is no middle road. I had never noticed that before. I think the parents would like something that has a little bit of enrichment and a bake designed for a softer crust.

How about a simple high hydration ciabatta? It is soft but not a sandwich-style loaf.

Found it! Dave is a wonderful baker. This looks more like the "Italian Bread" I was thinking of:

http://www.thefreshloaf.com//node/8858/sourdough-italian-bread

The one thing I am sure of is that they love any bread you make for them. It is wonderful when your children demonstrate beauty and accomplishment and use their time to make a gift for you. I think they will really love this loaf as it shows you are being considerate of their preferences.

Bake some delicious love and don't hold back on the sesame seeds!

 

 

 

Postal Grunt's picture
Postal Grunt

I suggest that you consider using some white whole wheat flour (15-20%) in the loaf you intend to give to your parents.Depending on what's available to you, the end result crumb appearance can be between an off white to a light gold color. You might experiment with soaking the WW before you mix your dough to see if it adds a bit more sweetness to the loaf..

leo_mancini's picture
leo_mancini

Hi there thanks for the links that looks quite good and my parents do appreciate a softer crust I might try David's recipe.

 

I have not heard of white whole wheat flour that's different than all purpose or white flour?

 

 

clazar123's picture
clazar123

White whole wheat behaves the same as red whole wheat but it lacks the tannin bitterness and red/brown appearance of whole wheat. If you use it, treat it identically to red whole wheat. It has a need for a long soak or autolyze and the crumb will have whole wheat denseness.

leo_mancini's picture
leo_mancini

 

ok great, looks like I've got a lot to learn.

I've been baking the San Francisco sourdough - Tartine bread for years and tend to come back to that one for me personally. I've tried a few others from the Tartine bread book, though they tend to have a stronger flavour which the family doesn't appreciate then it forces me to eat the bread (which I don't really mind all that much). 

 

Looking forward to being more inspired to try different recipes. 

Will definitely look at http://www.thefreshloaf.com/node/5500/pierre-nury’s-rustic-light-rye-leader  and http://www.thefreshloaf.com//node/8858/sourdough-italian-bread

 

I do though get a little bit nervous when thinking about baking bread that doesn't use the cast iron pot or 'dutch oven' to create steam. 

This will be my big barrier when baking Italian style breads. I'm not sure whether I'll get it to work as well. 

 

Alright Thanks all.

 

clazar123's picture
clazar123

Lots of ways to make steam!

http://www.thefreshloaf.com/node/20162/oven-steaming-my-new-favorite-way

http://www.thefreshloaf.com/node/14146/another-twist-steaminghttp://www.thefreshloaf.com/node/30020/my-steaming-method

And there are more-just search "steaming oven".

Or keep using the dutch oven method. The Italian crust will be softer by virtue of the enriched dough. To guarantee a softer crust, either oil the crust after coming out of the oven or wrap in a towel to cool.