Last night, I baked the 66% Sourdough rye in Hamelman's book. This is the highest percentage of rye I have ever worked with, so it was quite an experience. My favorite part about it is that it's a very fast bread to make. From the time I mixed all the ingredients together to the time I pulled the loaf from the oven, I think it was about 2 hours. The high percentage of rye requires very little proofing time, so this fits in nicely into a busy schedule.

I found that shaping the loaves was a little tricky. I really wouldn't say that I "shaped" them in the traditional sense. It was more like rolling out play-dough.

Despite how much I want to love it, rye bread is just a little too intense for me. The thought of taking a bite out of a big chunk of it makes me a little queasy. I have to slice it very thin, and even then, the taste is almost overwhelming. I wish I had to vocabulary to describe it... I almost get an umami flavor from it. Perhaps the best comparison is to a dark oatmeal stout or a fine bourbon, in that you would never want to gulp it, but only let it wet your lips.

Anyway, I was wondering what kind of condiments traditionally go with dense rye breads? I've heard that smoked meats are popular, but we don't have access to those right now. Dipping oil seems too heavy, but maybe some cream cheese or a thin pat of butter is all it needs? 

Any thoughts?

Eric

St. Nicholas Bread (aka Mannele) for the holiday season is on my list for fun holiday traditions to celebrate and I just realized this popular saint's feast day is fast approaching on December 6. 

But I know very little about the recipes, how to form the breads, or their cultural significance, and yet I think they are so cute and a fun tradition to celebrate~~so I'm wondering if any TFLers bake them or know of good pictures or blogs on the internet which show how they are made (and where to buy the little pipes that are often used to decorate his figure). 

I found the 'St. Nicholas' website that shows a few pictures and recipes and I remember a wonderful bakery in San Francisco that used to sell these figural breads around this time but that's about all I've found out.

http://www.stnicholascenter.org/Brix?pageID=148

http://www.theworldwidegourmet.com/recipes/alsace-mannele/

If possible, I would like to hear about personal experiences baking the breads or if your family had them and how they used in celebration or within the family.

Thanks so much.  J.

This past weekend I had my first go at baking with whole wheat (granted I don't have too much baking experience to begin with).  I decided to start with Flloyd's honey whole wheat bread with a few minor changes.  First, I combined all of the whole wheat flour and water with 1/2 tsp of yeast as a pre-ferment the night before.  It fermented about 1.5 hours at room temp, went into the refrigerator and was removed an hour or so before being added to the rest of the dough.  My second alteration was in the use of skin milk instead of evaporated milk and adding an extra 2 tablespoons of honey to balance out the sweetness.

Now onto my real question.  I followed the rest of the recipe to the "tee"  but my loaf ended up with a significantly dense crumb and was slightly flat (it sunk a bit from the proofing height).  Overall the taste was excellent including the crust.  I am hoping to make this bread again this weekend and am wondering what may be the root causes of my results.  Would increasing the hydration slightly to about 73% or so prove helpful?  Might the dough have been overproofed?  Thank you for your help in assisting a green baker find his bearings.

I thought it was interesting that Treehugger Online featured Hamelman's Bread in their "Green Gift Guide." Pretty neat, huh?

http://www.treehugger.com/galleries/2009/11/green-gift-guide-food.php?page=3

Hello! I am newbie here on the forum and thought I would throw this question out to the group...

I bake alot of bread, usually for me and my small family. It leaked out at the office and I was asked to contribute some bread to a charity function. I was thinking of making some oatmeal bread, 2-3 loaves, parkerhouse rolls 2-3 batches, some no knead, and then do some candy or hot cocoa mixes(which can be done earlier, if not the weekend before). I work a 9-5 Monday - Friday job, the event is on Saturday. I was wondering about a timetable for getting this done. I realize I may have bit off a lot, but this is for a very good cause.

My question is this, how would you work the timetable so that everything gets to the event fresh, I am expected to give everything to my friend on Friday afternoon, so she can set the table up that evening, the event starts Saturday morning. (It's a bazaar type event)

Thanks in advance for your thoughtful replies..

King Arthur Flour has free shipping on orders of $75 or more til Thursday

Hi all, I have some wild rice onion dough (from "Artisan Breads Everyday") in the fridge right now, will make some rolls tomorrow. Want to add a layer of Dutch crunch/tiger bread topping on them, and I found several recipes:

- BBA has a simple formula, which can be applied before/after proofing;

- this one applies the topping in the middle of proofing: http://bakingbites.com/2006/09/cooking-school-dutch-crunch-bread/

- this one applies the topping after proofing, before baking: http://www.cookingbread.com/classes/class_crackle_bread.html

- and this one applies the topping before proofing: http://bakemyday.blogspot.com/2008/10/hellooo-tiger-bread.html

Just wondering whether anyone here has first hand experience with any recipes? Either one of the above, or something else. I usually proof rolls more fully than a free standing loaf, does it mean I should apply the topping during/before proofing? Since it will get limited oven spring?

I finally found some sourdough starter at a health-food market while on vacation.  I had to buy some even though I am gluten intolerant.  Here's the question...

If I build on this starter for a while with gluten free flour, how much of the gluten will remain?

I really miss baking bread...hell, I miss regular bread.  The gluten free stuff sold in stores is (1) expensive, (2) really dense, and (3) doesn't taste that great unless heated.

Thanks,

Stephanie

I need some help here ... I made a nice beer poolish last night with the intention of baking a loaf today.  Well, things got in the way and the loaf just ain't getting baked until at least tomorrow.  The quesiton is: how long will a poolish sit happily in the refrigerator before it gives up the ghost and refuses to play the game anymore? 

Hi all,  has anyone tried to copy the Thanksgiving "Stuffing Bread" (I think it's called)  that Great Harvest makes around Thanksgiving?  I would love to get my hands on that recipe!

Thanks!