Recent Blog Entries

I had a really rough start trying to get wild yeast to colonize on everything from a bag of NoName All Purpose to grinding some wheat berries into a rough flour with a spice blender; I think I've tried every starter recipe out there including a few from books.  I couldn't figure out what I was doing wrong so I sent off a SASE and cleaned the fridge of my other experiments when "Carl" arrived. Stuffed far in the back neither regions of my refrigerator was a ziplock of rye starter that was forgotten about, so I decided to try and revive that at the same time (I don't know what recipe I used, but its a very stiff starter, more like dough than batter) as Carl. I now have two starters and a kitchen that smells really nice on baking days. Flavour otoh still eludes me and will be working on how to bring out the tang.

I used the Alaskan sourdough recipe over on the Carl Griffith pages and divided the dough into three loaves (two boules and a loaf of cinnamon bread). I think I over proofed the loaves just a wee bit, but it's a bit hard for me to tell because I normally jump the gun and under-proof.

This time the loaves popped and crackled as they cooled on the rack.

The mouse holes are intentional. I haven't been deflating my dough after the initial mixing and have instead opted to use stretch and folds and a very gentle hand. I'm not sure what it is about this style of slowed down making/proofing/baking, but it makes for a wonderful grilled, or toasted, crumb.

I just wanted to thank everyone here who, without realizing it, has allowed me to pull loaves like these out of my oven. I've learnt a lot from this site.

And, if you think there's room for improvement let me know I'd appreciate the tips.

Today I baked the bread as described on this blog:

http://www.wildyeastblog.com/2007/07/08/my-new-favorite-sourdough/

I fed my starter yesterday evening, and it had more than doubled in volume this morning. After a quick trip to the local reform store, or "Ekoplaza" as this store is called, for some whole rye flour, I started the dough following the instructions. Made half of the recipe, opting to bake two 500 gram breads. 

Kneading and then S&F during bulk ferment went fine, so I then set up a couche from parchment paper. Shaped into two small batards and proofed for 2.5 hours. I had never really transferred bread from a couche to a peel, but I assumed I had to flip them on something and then put them on the peel, because they were supposed to proof seam-side up. This proved to be a bit of a problem because the dough had sticked to the sides of the couche. Guess I'll be getting me some cloth to use next time, I'm sure that would work better. You simply can't put flour on parchment paper, fold it so the paper is perpendicular to the table and expect it to stick ;). 

Eventually it did work out great though :) :

Edit:

Here are two photo's of the crumb. Didn't make them yesterday because the bread was still cooling. Thanks for the compliments!

Not drawing as long a titular bow as you might think! These two master craftsmen have much in common.

Rubaud bakes only one variety of mixed-grain sourdough bread, endlessly repeating his formula and process (while tweaking according to changing seasonal conditions and grain variations). By all accounts his bread is magnificent - the home version I (and many others here) have made using local flours and his formula/process certainly is. Farine has provided a series of terrific blog posts on Rubaud. See here.

Jiro is an 85 year old sushi master whose modest stool-and-counter establishment in a Tokyo subway station, Sukiyabashi Jiro, has been awarded a 3 star rating by Michelin. No other sushi establishment has been honoured so.

(NB: I'm not a fan of elitist food Bibles like the Michelin Guide - or of western food critics who rock up to an Asian country and start making pronouncements on purveyors of the local cuisine - but that's another conversation. While the Michelin Guide has put Jiro on the global foodie map, he has long been acclaimed in his own country and is considered a national living treasure.)

Like Rubaud, Jiro uses only premium quality ingredients, and has no "secrets". He is a master because he has single-mindedly devoted his life to his craft. The attainment of excellence through narrow focus applies to both Rubaud and Jiro. In Japanese terminology, both are shokunin - craftsmen who have become masters through repetition of process over many years (although Jiro has carried this to extremes, having committed 70 of his 85 years to developing his sushi-making expertise!!).

I became aware of Jiro via a terrific film, Jiro Dreams Of Sushi. It's currently running on limited release in Australia, but may have been released a few weeks ago in the States. Hopefully, it is still showing. If so, HIGHLY recommend TFLers seek it out. While sushi and bread may seem worlds apart, the similarities I have alluded to between Jiro and Rubaud point to much common ground. And while you will surely be able to pick up this little gem of a doco on Blu-Ray/video not so long from now, the drool factor of beautifully composed close-ups of utterly delectable-looking sushi on the big screen will be compromised on home theatre systems, no matter how high end.

Anyone who loves great food will love this film. If you're into sushi, it's an absolute must-see.

If you want further details on Jiro and the movie, I have written an expansive review. See here.

Cheers all!
Ross

We were inspired by Varda’s recent Priests Hat  Altamura Style Bread Revisited here: http://www.thefreshloaf.com/node/28663/altamura-style-bread-revisited 

and thought we would convert it to our new, nearly normal, 3 day, multi-grain with sprouts and seeds process – no nuts this time.  We reduced the semolina and added some; rye, 6 grain cereal, white WW, AP and bread flour. 

 I suppose we like the way the dough was shaped the most and what drew us to this take onAltamurastyle bread.  With our college age daughter home for the summer, she wanted to learn how to bake and cook so when she moves off into her apartment next year she won’t starve.  So she learned some French slap and folds and regular S& Fs on this loaf.   But didn’t make it out of bed early enough to do the unusual Altamura Priest’s Hat shaping.

 The dough rose well during the 20 hour retard period in the refrigerator and, after coming to room temperature the next morning, it nearly folded itself into the hat shape.  At about 2 ½ hours it was ready for the oven having passed the poke test.

 The crust browned very nice and dark, the way we like it, the seeds and sprouts were popping out here and  there.  Best of all the crust was very tasty. The crumb was fairly open with all the whole grains, seeds, and sprouts but the taste and texture were just great.  We really like how this bread tastes.  The SD tang was deep and complex so the 3 day process worked.  Can’t wait to taste it tomorrow.  Formula and methods follow the lunch shot.

It took years of genetic engineering to get a home grown heirloom tomato color to match Green Rooibos, Honeybush, 4 Fruit Tea but even longer to get the same tonato to match the shape of Altamura 'Priest's Hat' Bread.

Method

Start the sprouts by soaking the berries in water for 5 hours then spread them out on a damp paper towel, cover with another paper towel and then cover in plastic.  Set aside to sprout until needed – about 1 ½ days.

Start the SD levain build by following the 3 builds 3 hours apart and then refrigerate overnight.

Start the autolyse by combining the flour and water in the mixing bowl, cover with plastic and refrigerate for 24 hours.

Remove the levain and autolyse from the fridge and allow them to come to room temperature - about 90 minutes.

Mix with a dough hook, the levain and the autolyse in the mixing bowl on KA 2 for 4 minutes add salt and continue kneading for an additional 2 minutes .  Place in a well oiled bowl to rest for 15 minutes.  Do a few minutes of French slap and folds and let rest for 15 minutes, then do 4 S&F on 15 minute intervals.  Add the sprouts and seeds on the 3rd S&F and allow to rest for and ferment for 1-2 hours after the 4th.  Form into a boule and refrigerate overnight.

 Remove from refrigerator and allow dough to come to room temperature – about 90 minutes.  Flatten gently into a 8 x 18 rectangle and form into a priests hat by folding in half  from the short end and sealing the top edge.  Then fold up from the short end again but only go ¾ of the way up sealing the top and sides.  Allow to proof on parchment paper, on a peel, inside a trash bag until it passes the poke test about 90 minutes.

 Preheat oven to 500 F with steaming method and stone in place for 45 minutes.  Slide hat onto the stone and turn the oven temp down to 425 F after 4minutes.  Allow to steam for another 12 minutes.  Remove steam, turn down to oven to 425 convection this time, and allow bread to bake turning every 8 minutes, 120 degrees, until center reaches 205 F.  Turn off oven and leave on stone for 10 more minutes, with the door ajar, too allow skin to crisp up.  Move to wire rack to cool completely.