So I've been gone for a while. I haven't posted here in 2 years or so, but I have been baking periodically. Here are a few recent projects, some of which I'll elaborate on if there's any interest. I've been doing what I can living in a dorm, but I'm a bit limited in my baking capabilities.
The thing I feared most about college was that I wouldn't be able to bake bread anymore. Turns out, however, that my dorm building has a kitchenette on each floor - equipped with a small oven that begins to smoke if turned to over 450 F. Good enough for me. Here are a few of the loaves I managed to bake while pursuing a dual degree in Computer Science and English Literature. I didn't have time to post them until now.
Zhavaronki (bird-shaped rolls)
One of my favorite parts of baking bread is the scoring. It gives me a chance to get a bit creative and end up with a great-looking loaf. I am, however, no expert on scoring bread. It occurred to me that a good way to get some control over the way my slashes look would be to attempt some calligraphy. This worked nicely with a sourdough boule, made with a portion of whole wheat flour. I thought Hebrew would be the best language to attempt the slashes in, as the shapes of the letters remind me a lot of bread slashes. So here it is, along with a picture of the crumb.
I felt I owed the good people of TFL an apology for my previous bread (which, oddly enough, was very good!). That apology, it seems, will have to come in the form of these nice little dark rye batards.
We bakers are always looking for creative ways to extract lots of flavor from grains. For me, the search for flavor took me to my local supermarket.
There were quite a few posts on this website regarding the Jewish Rye from Secrets of a Jewish Baker. I figured it was time I gave it a try. To be honest, I realized halfway through that the recipe I was using was for one loaf, not two, so I had to knead together 2 smaller loaves halfway into the second proof. Anyway, not too pretty, but very edible!
On my last day of high school, I decided to make each of my teachers a loaf of bread. One of my teachers was vegan and from Milwaukee. For him, I made this challah in which the liquid used is a lager and the eggs are replaced with avacado (and a tiny bit of lemon to prevent browning), giving the dough a unique green tinge.
I shaped the dough into a trefoil knot, which I was convinced would look cool. It didn't.
Before baking, I glazed the dough with some molasses mixed with a tiny bit of water.
I've lurked on this website for quite a while and decided it was probably time to get an account.
I had recently gotten ahold of something called matsoon, a culture similar to yogurt or kefir, but from Armenia. Being the sort of person I am, I was determined to bake something with it.
