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paulm's blog

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paulm

I'm relatively new to sourdough and am trying various formulas in search of a basic white sourdough.  Here are my latest attempts:

Hammelmans Vermont Sourdough:

 

And here is the associated crumb shot:

 

BBA Basic Sourdough:

 

And here is the associated crumb shot:

 

I think my handling during shaping is what is causing the closed crumb but the crust and taste (especially when toasted) has been great.  I think I am leaning towards the Vermont Sourdough (the 3 oz of rye gives the crumb a nice color and taste).  It could have used a longer bake for a darker crust.  I baked the Vermont Sourdough directly on a stone and the BBA Basic Sourdough in a pre-heated Dutch Oven and both had pretty good oven springs.  All in all, I was pretty satisfied and will continue to practice my shaping to see if I can open the crumb up somewhat.

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paulm

As I was feeding my starter (Ralph), rather than discarding I fed the discard and used it to make my first sourdough cinnamon rolls.  I'm up to my ears with sourdough pancake mix and just couldn't bear to flush half of Ralph.  I happened on the following recipe in COOKS.COM and with only very minor adjustments, I made the cinnamon rolls shown below.


SOURDOUGH CINNAMON ROLLS
Printed from COOKS.COM

1/2 c. starter
1 c. evaporated milk
2 c. flour
1/4 c. butter
3 tbsp. sugar
1 egg
1 1/2 c. flour (approx.)
1/2 tsp. soda
1 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. salt
2 tbsp. melted butter
1/4 c. brown sugar
1 1/2 tsp. cinnamon
1/4 c. raisins
1/4 c. chopped nuts
Melted butter

Combine starter, milk and flour (2 cups) in a large bowl. Cover and leave at room temperature overnight. Next morning, beat together the butter, sugar, and egg. Blend into sourdough. Combine 1 1/2 cups flour, salt, soda, and baking powder and mix with other mixture. Turn out on floured surface and knead until shiny. Add flour as needed.

Roll out to an 8 x 16 inch rectangle. Brush surface with melted butter, sprinkle with brown sugar, cinnamon, raisins, and nuts. Roll up dough, cut roll at intervals, dip in butter and place in 9 inch square pan. Let rise about 1 hour and bake at 375 degrees for 30 to 35 minutes.

 

 

I eliminated the nuts (allergies) and used granulated white sugar rather than brown sugar (pantry deficiency).  I made an orange glaze using the zest of one orange,  juice of 1/2 orange and 1 2/3 cups powdered sugar.  Waiting for them to cool before I can report on the taste but they smell devine.

 

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paulm

Has anyone else been receiving notification of new content for old blog entries?  I just received an email listing blog entries (78 new posts) the majority of which do not have current entries.  For example, there is an entry from zolablue about Clear Flour where the most recent post to it is March 18, 2010 (the posts range from May 9, 2007 to March 18, 2010).

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paulm

In a continuing attempt to improve my handling of higher hydration doughs, I baked Jason's Quick Coccdrillo Ciabatta Bread and a Focaccia bread.  They actually turned out good enough that I wasn't ashamed of them so here are some pictures.

Jason's Quick Coccdrillo Ciabatta Bread

 

Crumb

 

Focaccia Bake

 

Focaccia Crumb

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