GSnyde's blog

If youda told me that the fluffiest bread I ever made would be 40% whole wheat, I woulda called you a liar.  But now I believe!

I baked five smallish loaves of the wonderful Five-Grain Levain.  Not much to add to my forum post on the subject (http://www.thefreshloaf.com/node/31273/adjusting-bake-time-and-temp-smaller-loaves), except some pictures.

Seeking a hardy healthy bread, I decided to try Hamelman's Whole Wheat with Mixed Grain Soaker.  It's 50% whole wheat, made with a pate' fermente', and has a soaker of millet, cracked wheat, corn meal and oats.  I also added toasted sesame, sunflower and pumpkin seeds.  It has a nice crispy crust, tender crumb and a wonderful nutty flavor.  This will not be the last time I make it.

I've been absent from TFL for about a month.  I had a rotator cuff injury that kept me out of the kitchen.  Then a couple busy weekends.  So I've only baked once or twice in the last 5 weeks, and didn't take any photos.

This weekend, we were home and I had time to bake.  I decided to try Hamelman's Vermont Sourdough with Whole Wheat for the first time.  A very nice bread.  As you can see, I baked boldly.  Thick crust and tender crumb.  Very wheaty flavor.  It would be a good base for a seed bread.  

A couple weeks ago I got a new cookbook, the recently updated version of Margaret Fox’s Morning Food.  It is chock full of great recipes for muffins, scones, omelettes, fritattas and other a.m. goodies.  It is also a great read, written with humor and charm.

For the first time in a few months, I baked some Tartine Basic Country Bread.   It remains among my favorite breads for crumb texture—it hits the perfect point for me between light/pillowy and chewy.