How do you make Zopf without egg?
When I first saw Zopf at a farmer's market, I figured it was challah, but the salesmen (definitely not farmers) from Swiss Bakers assured me it wasn't and that it had no egg in it. It was really amazingly tasty. Since then all the recipes I have seen posted for Zopf have egg, and look identical to recipes for Challah. Does anyone have any experience making Zopf without egg? Thanks!
Varda
brotform use
Hello
I recently bought a couple of brotforms from Luckyclover. I have baked my sourdough in it a few times, but so far I have not been able to retain the shape of my boule or the loaf! I love to see the marks on my loaf, even though it kind of slides on the side, but I wish I could have the right shapes. I tried making it with less hydration this time and still the same result. I must mention that I cover the inside with rice and all purpose flour. Before, I used a plain glass bowl that I covered in similar way and the boules always came out just fine.
Science and sourdough
Two documentaries about bread on BBC4 this week...
Just a quick heads-up for any UK fresh loafers... BBC4 are showing two hour long documentaries about bread this week.
The first is 'Bread: A Loaf Affair' on Wednesday 24th March at 9pm (http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b00rm508)
then, 'In Search of the Perfect Loaf' on Thursday 25th March at 9pm (http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b00rm55q)
I'm sure they will be on the BBC iPlayer if you miss the broadcast though.
Enjoy,
Gary
The best time to use the starter
Hi there,
I've been baking sourdough breads for a year and maintain a very good starter which doubls itself within 12-15 hours.
I am trying to understand when it's the best time to use a starter.
Is it just after it doubles itself? Is it after the peek when it starts to fall? Does it matter?
Thank you,
David
Open Crumb is a result of gluten development, does yeast play any part ?
In this link, 6 posts down, and David thoroughly explains what causes open crumb; gluten development & techniques = trapped gases.
I knew this but I also thought that yeast = rise, aids in open crumb, the higher the rise the more open the crumb.
Is this wrong ? Then is yeast strictly to increase volume of the dough and start stuff breaking down in the dough ?