The Fresh Loaf

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meadmaker's picture
meadmaker

Hello and welcome to my Blog!

After deciding to make some bread today, I discovered this site while googling recipes for yeast/starters.

As my baby, Tyler, and I are both coming down with a cold, I planned to stay at home today and what better thing to do than make bread! Well, two more reasons for this; first, I'm making some Ethiopian Doro'Wat for dinner so am making some 'authentic' Injera Bread to go with it.. from Teff flour and water. Second, I wanted to make some bread for myself as the cost of the [bad] bread in my area is now too high for our small household budget. So, hazzah!... Challah bread it is. :-)  I just remembered how nice the Challah bread from Wholefoods in La Jolla, CA, is; they sell some organic baked-same-day bread from a baker out there and woooh! Yummy! How hard could it be?

------------

Challah bread came out looking beautiful! However, the taste was bland. :-P  The only place I skimped was using old bread flour. Will try again. Meanwhile, the Injera dough is still sitting, waiting for the Doro'Wat to be done which will be in about 40 minutes. At that time, I'll add salt to the dough to stop the yeast, then make them on the griddle. Stay tuned!..

 

trailrunner's picture
trailrunner

I have had a busy but very productive day . I made the decision to do a large bake of the Nury so that I could really study the wet dough and make adjustments as the day went by rather than having to wait 1-2 weeks to bake again. We have a large party coming up so the bread will be perfect for that. Gotta watch my Saints win the Super Bowl !

I took a lot of pics in sequence so that you can have an idea of how the dough should look at different stages. I know this has helped me a lot in dealing with the artisinal breads . I hope it will help others too. I didn't get picks of the levain or the dough during folding...sorry..I will get the amazing windowpane next time I promise.

I made enough levain so that I could make 3 double batches. I then made 3 large loaves from each double batch so the loaves came out really nicely sized for sandwiches etc.  You will also see that I used rice flour on the counter when cutting the wet dough. The first batch this was an experiment since I don't like the way flour works at all on a counter under wet doughs. After seeing how splendidly this worked I will use it always. Almost none of the rice flour sticks to the dough but the dough , in turn ,doesn't stick to the counter at all so transfer to the parchment is simple . I sprayed the dough cutter with water and wet my finger tips. This prevented anything from sticking to anything else. I had semolina on the parchment because we like the taste so much with the rye bread. I also learned that the dough cutter makes an ugly straight sided loaf so after the 1st one of those I took my wet fingertips and reshaped the cut sides/ends of the loaves after transfer.

Here are the pics...starting with the dough as it came out of the fridge. You will note there are 3 buckets. I took one out waited 45 min and took another out and waited again 45 min and then took out the last. You will see the difference in the dough as it bubbled up while attaining room temp. The 45 min wait between each batch gave time for the 30 min bake and then upping the temp in the oven to 500 again and allowed time to cut and transfer the dough. The formula says to bake at 350 but if you preheat to 500 and then immediately turn back to 460 it allows for misting the bread w/o cooling the oven too much.

just out of fridge after 24 hr. retarding: Photobucket after 1 hr: Photobucket all three buckets--45 min. lag between them starting from left to right : Photobucket dough poured out onto rice flour : Photobucket cut with wet dough cutter--note straight sides of dough...didn't make this mistake again :) Photobucket into the 500 degree oven and quick spritzt with water several times and turn back temp to 460: Photobucket great oven spring ! Photobucket first 3 finished loaves: Photobucket gorgeous open crumb: Photobucket my reward: Photobucket

turosdolci's picture
turosdolci

A carrot cake with an Italian twist, this is a light moist cake that is an old recipe of my family. Sorry folks I forgot to add the bolg address.   

http://turosdolci.wordpress.com/2010/02/01/carrot-cake-with-mascarone-maple-cream/

breadbakingbassplayer's picture
breadbakingbass...

Hi All,

This is a little out of order, but it will have to do.  Here are some pics of a 100% Hydration Whole Grain Muesli Bread that I baked on 1/21/10 in response to Vincent Talleu's post here:

http://www.thefreshloaf.com/node/15959/100-hydrated-bread

I will try to post the recipe when I get home tonight.  The basic proportions are 95% WW, 5% Rye, 15% Muesli, 100% hydration based on the WW and Rye flours.  Enjoy!

Recipe: 2540g total dough weight

95% WW Flour - 874g

5% Rye Flour - 46g

15% Muesli - 138g

15% Raisins - 138g

6% Agave Syrup - 54g

10% Firm Sourdough Starter - 92g (60% hydration)

2% Kosher Salt - 18g

125% Cool Water - 1150g

3/8 tsp Active Dry Yeast

Instructions:

0:00 - Measure out and mix all ingredients in a large bowl with a wooden spoon, place into well oiled plastic container and cover.  Dough will look like a gloppy batter.

0:05 - Cover and let rest (autolyse) 1 hr 55 minutes.

2:00 - With wet hands, turn dough (stretch and fold) in oiled container, cover and let rest for 30 minutes.

2:30 - With wet hands, turn dough (stretch and fold) in oiled container, cover and let rest for 30 minutes.

3:00 - With wet hands, turn dough (stretch and fold) in oiled container, cover and let rest for 30 minutes.

3:30 - With wet hands, turn dough (stretch and fold) in oiled container, cover and let rest for 30 minutes.

4:00 - Turn dough out onto well floured surface, divide into 4 equal pieces (635g each), place in lined baskets well dusted with coarse wheat bran.  Proof for approx 45 minutes.  Place baking stones on 2 levels in oven (top rack should be on the 2nd space from top, and botton rack should be on bottom space), place steam pan in appropriate place in oven, preheat with convection to 550F for 45 minutes.

5:00 - Place loaves directly on baking stones using a wooden peel (2 per stone), add 1 cup of boiling water to steam pan, close door.  Turn oven down to 450F, turn off convection, bake for 18 minutes, rotate loaves between the stones, bake for another 18 minutes.  Loaves are done when internal temp reaches 210F.

Notes: I used Gold Medal Whole Wheat Flour, Arrowhead Mills Organic Rye Flour, Bob's Red Mill Muesli.  Also, I think I lied a little... The hydration is actually 125%...

Good luck!  Please let me know if you have any questions...

Tim

Ninathebaker's picture
Ninathebaker

A quick review - Sherry Yard’s the Secret Books of Baking is one of the finest books on Baking. She has created Desserts for Grammy Awards;Emmy awards and academy awards too.Even the most elaborate pastry creations can be broken down to simple pastry that anybody can master,that’s what Secrets of Baking is all about.Her book is like a bible to me.Not only does she talk about how ingredients work she also talks about how recipes are interlinked. Her Deep Dark Chocolate Tart and Halsey tart is to die for.I tried the "Danish Braid Bread" from her book and I must say it was just perfect….simply outstanding!!! This bread is called the “Vienna Bread” in Denmark and in the rest of the world it’s the “Danish Bread”.When I had decided to bake this bread,the looks of it made me a li’l nervous but it wasn’t that difficult as I had anticipated it to be.Sherry made it a lot easier .I tweaked the recipe a li’l to suit my taste. Here it is for your eyes….

Photobucket

Danish Dough-(called the D`etrempe)
1 ounce fresh yeast or a tbsp active dry yeast
½ whole milk
1/3 cup Sugar
Zest of 1 orange,finely grated
1 ½ tsp Vanilla Extract
2 large eggs,chilled
¼ Cup fresh orange juice
3 ¼ cups All Purpose Flour
1 tsp salt

For the Butterblock(called the Beurrage)
2 Sticks butter,unsalted
¼ Cup All Purpose flour

Filling
3 Pears ,peeled and finely chopped
½ C Sugar
1 tsp Ground cinnamon
½ tsp Vanilla extract
¼ Cup lemon juice
2 tbsp butter

For the Egg wash
1 large egg plus 1 large egg yolk

Dough - Combine yeast and milk in a bowl of standing mixer,mix on low speed.Slowly add sugar,orange zest,vanilla extract,eggs and orange juice and mix well.Combine flour and salt and li’l by li’l .Knead the dough for five mins more until smooth. Add a li’l more flour if its sticky.Wrap in plastic and refrigerate for 30mins.

Butter Block – Combine butter and flour in a mixer.Cream on medium speed until smooth and lumpy.Set aside at room temperature.You should it end up with fully creamy texture,which should be easy to spread.
Once the Dough is chilled,transfer it to a work surface.Using a rolling pin,roll the dough into a rectangle (close to 18x13inches) and ¼ inch thick. L’il dough can help if its still sticky.Spread butter evenly over the center and right thirds of the dough.Fold the left edge of the dough to the right, covering half of the butter block.Fold the right third of the rectangle over the center right.This is the first turn.

Place this on a baking sheet ,wrap in a plastic film and refrigerate for 30mins.Place the dough again on a floured surface, the open ends should be on your right and left.Roll again to a rectangle, fold the left third of the rectangle over the center third and the right third over the center third.This is the second turn. Again refrigerate the dough for 30mins.Roll out,turn and refrigerate the dough two more times,for a total of four more times.Refrigerate the dough after the final turn for at least five hours to overnight.The Danish dough is ready to use.

Filling – Toss the pears with all ingredients except butter.Melt butter over medium heat.Saute the pear mixture intil soft and caramelized.Cool it.(The original recipe called in for Apple Filling)

Make the Braid - Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Roll the dough into a 15x20inch rectangle,1/4inch thick. Place it on the baking sheet.Create a fringe down one long side of the pastry by making parallel,5 inch long cuts with a knife,spacing them 1 inch apart.Repeat on opposite side.Spoon the filling down to the center of the rectangle.Starting at one end,fold the strips of fringe over the filling,alternating one by one,right,left,right and so on.When the last strips have been folded,trim them neatly.

Egg Wash - Whisk together egg and yolk in a small bowl.Using a pastry brush,lightly coat the braid with the egg wash.

Photobucket

Bake - Cover the braid with plastic film and allow it for proofing for about 2 hours,or until doubled in volume or light to the touch.Preheat the oven at 400F.Place on the center rack and bake for 10 mins.Rotate the pan from back to front,turn the oven temperature down to 350F and bake for 8-10mins.The original recipe called in for 15-20mins,but mine was done in less than 10 mins.Cool and serve the braid.The cooled braid can be wrapped tight and stored refrigerated for upto 2 days or freeze for a month.

Photobucket

Verdict – Aesthetic looks makes it all the more appealing.Good texture makes it all the more intriguing. This pastry tastes and looks best when it is filled with a fruit filling that isn’t very juicy.I love love loved it A must try recipe!

dmsnyder's picture
dmsnyder

 

I baked Gérard Rubaud's pain au levain for the second time this weekend. For background and detailed procedures, see my previous TFL blog entry. Gérard Rubaud Pain au Levain

I altered my procedure in two major ways: First, I followed MC's suggestion that I try this bread with a single levain build, rather than the three builds used by Gérard. Second, rather than mixing the flours for each build, I weighed out the total flour mix and then used the necessary portions of it for the levain and the final dough. In addition, following Rubaud's lead, I scored these loaves very lightly, and I baked them at 450ºF, which yielded a lighter-colored crust.

When I made this bread a few days ago, I had problems with the proofed loaves sticking to the couche and to the transfer peel. MC said that Rubaud does not flour his couche. He dusts the bottoms of the loaves with a high extraction flour. I dusted my couche with some coarsely ground whole wheat flour, and this worked better than the AP flour dusting had. I also dusted the tops of the loaves with AP flour to prevent sticking to the covering folds of the couche. As a result, the baked loaves have a quite prominent flouring. I don't find this particularly attractive, so I'll try to avoid it in the future.

 

 

Levain

 

Ingredient

Amount (gms)

Ripe levain (stiff)

37

AP flour

35

Whole wheat flour

9

Spelt flour

4.5

Rye flour

1.5

Water

28

Total

115

 

Final dough

 

Ingredient

Amount (gms)

Ripe levain (stiff)

115

AP flour

322

Whole wheat flour

82.5

Spelt flour

41.5

Rye flour

14

Water

377

Salt

10

Total

962

 

This bake was essentially identical to the first in oven spring, crust consistency, crumb aeration and, most importantly, flavor. The flavor, as described before is simply astonishing.

 

This bread is highly recommended.

 

David

Submitted to YeastSpotting

 

trailrunner's picture
trailrunner

I used the rice flour in a linen lined basket and WHAT a difference. Sunddenly, as you said, the loaf comes out like teflon and the slash...well all I can say is WOW ! I used about 1 tsp of rice flour and lightly rubbed it into the linen napkin. I turned the shaped pain de campagne into it seam side up and waited 1 1/2 hrs, preheated the iron pot for 30 min at 500 and then turned the loaf out and slashed. Placed in pot/closed/reduced oven to 460 and baked for 30 min lid on and 15 min lid off to 207 degrees. The loaf carried on like crazy when I got it out of the oven,,,snap, crackle, pop and I got GORGEOUS cracks too. Who would have thought that someone who has baked bread for this many decades could still get so excited ?? Thank you again Hans for the rice flour tip...my baking will now move forward at a different pace as far as slashing...you are the best. c

risen/slashed note linen lined basket w/ rice flour:

Photobucket

fresh from oven :

 Photobucket Photobucket

old iron pot for cloche baking:

Photobucket

moxiemolly's picture
moxiemolly

Wow, I made Floyd's blueberry and cream cheese braids today (started them yesterday) and they are AMAZING! I did one by the book and made the other with a smear of the cream cheese filling sprinkled with chocolate chips, YUMMY! In case you haven't come across his post here is a link:

http://www.thefreshloaf.com/recipes/blueberrycreamcheesebraid

I highly recommend trying it. One note, my oven cooks a little fast because it has a convection option so this bread only needed about 25 minutes. Here are some pictures of the process:

The braids before going into the oven, the large one is blueberry:

 

The braids right out of the oven, it was really hard to wait 30 mins before cutting:

 

A close up of the delight:

 

 

A slice of blueberry heaven:

 

And a shot of chocolate loveliness:

 

 

Thanks Floyd!

jacobsbrook's picture
jacobsbrook

Thank you Shiao-Ping for sharing your wonderful skills as both a baker and a true artist!  Also thanks to MC for sharing with the "inspiring" story from Vermont.  After reading the blogs from Shiao-Ping and Farine I decided why not try???  Maybe the flavor will be what I am seeking. 

I followed as best as I could the formula that Shiao-Ping described, with only timing and my lacking a standmixer being an issue.  Therefore I used an autolyse of the flour, water, and starter, minus the salt for 30 minutes.  Then 6 stretch and folds one every 30 minutes.  After pre-shape and shaping, the dough was placed into the couche  and off to the fridge.  It remained in the refrigerator close to 14 hours.  In the morning the the cold dough went directly into the pre-heated oven at 500F with steam for the first 15 minutes and dropped to 450F for the remaining bake.  I am happy with the resulting loaves.  The flavor is mild and light and I agree with others that the resulting loaves are surprisingly light. The best description I can think of is "YUM". 

I cannot wait to see how they "age".  As usual my scoring leaves much to be desired, but you can't see that when it is sliced for a sandwich.  :)  

Once again thank you to the Artisans of TFL.

Best regards and well wishes.

 

JoeVa's picture
JoeVa

Last three weeks I baked really bad bread and I know why: the flour.
Nelle ultime tre settimane ho sfornato del pane veramente brutto e so perché: la farina.

Most of the (bread) flour you can buy at the market is not so good, at least where I live (Italy). It's too strong or too weak or enhanced with ascorbic acid or made with all Canadian and US grain. So, I've seen liquified dough, super strong plastic dough, very strange dough behavior ...
La maggior parte delle farine (per pane) che si possono comprare nei negozi non sono così buone, almeno dove vivo io. O sono troppo forti o troppo deboli o migliorate con acido ascorbico o fatte totalmente con grani Canadesi e Americani. Così, ho visto impasti liquefatti, impasti molto tenaci quasi di plastica, impasti dal comportamento davvero strano ...

Last week I said - I want a decent flour. So, I asked an Italian forum (my first message) if someone could suggest me a miller or reseller of good bread flour near where I live. The first reply was from a Madam (Angela) who lives just 2 km from my home. I don't tell you all the details, but she gave me a 3 kg of Caputo Rossa flour. A flour I always wanted to try! Great!
La settimana scorsa ho detto - voglio una farina decente. Così, ho chiesto su un forum italiano (il mio primo messaggio) se qualcuno poteva suggerirmi un molino od un rivenditore di buona farina nelle mie vicinanze. La prima risposta è stata di una Signora (Angela) che vive a 2 km da casa mia. Non sto a raccontare tutti i dettagli, ma alla fine mi ha regalato 3 kg di farina Caputo Rossa. Una farina che ho sempre voluto provare! Fantastico!

Molino Caputo is a miller located in Naples, famous all over the world for pizza flour. But they mill also flour for bread, croissant, babà, sfogliate. The flour I received is the one in the red bag (00 rinforzato), a medium strength flour (W 280:300, P/L 0.5:0.6) made with a selection of high quality Italian and North American grain.
Il Molino Caputo è sito a Napoli, famoso in tutto il mondo per la sua farina per pizza. Ma macinano anche farina per pane, croissant, babà, sfogliate. La farina che ho ricevto in dono è quella nel sacco rosso (00 rinforzato), una farina di media forza (W 280:300,P/L 0.5:0.5) fatta con una selezione di grani nazionali e Nord Americani.

What should I give Angela to thank her? A million dollar question ... Bread.
Cosa avrei dovuto regalare ad Angela per ringraziarla? Domanda da un milione di dollari ... Pane.

A simple sourdough bread, with a touch of whole grain (5% rye, 5% wheat), a soft dough (65% hydration).
Un pane semplice a lievitazione naturale, con un pizzico di grano integrali (5% segale, 5% frumento) dall'impasto morbido (65% idratazione).

                

                DSC03369

Yes, I cut it half, before give it to Angela, to check the quality of the crumb.
Sì, l'ho tagliato a metà, prima di darlo ad Angela, per controllare la qualità della mollica.

                

                DSC03381

Bread does friend!
Il pane fa amici.

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