Blog posts

Jan. 16, 2021. This turned out to be a mini-miche.

The goals for this bake are to tweak the previous bake, #30, by increasing the percent of whole wheat, pre-soak the add-ins, and weigh some things so others can better replicate it if they want.  The poppy seeds and maybe the corn meal in the previous bake were not quite soft enough for my liking.

First mix. All mixing and folding-in was done with a silicone spatula/scraper.

I love adding Guinness to bread dough. It really adds a distinct flavor that is worth experiencing. It doesn't taste like beer so don't worry about that part.

I used some fresh ground whole wheat Ruby Red from Barton Springs Mill, freshly ground rye and freshly ground red corn flour. The cottage cheese doesn't add any flavor but does make the crumb softer.

Jan. 14, 2021.

This started out as a bake of Steve Gamelin's 50% WW loaf, as shown here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vcmS7uahscI

His formula is volumetric:

A continuation of JMonkey's Desem with a whole wheat soaker (the epoxy method outlined in Whole Grain Breads) and an aliquot jar for proofing.  Bulk fermentation ended at <= 25% and final proof ended at around 75%.

Notes:

1. It’s been a long time since I’ve put anything here. Just to try again, here are some pizzas and desserts I’ve been making. Sourdough purism has given way to practicality and flexibility in the Southbay kitchen and sanitarium. Pizzas and buttery layers are just easy and nice with some quick rise. Kouign-amann really isn’t that hard to make and well worth the effort. And we’ve been making pizzas 6 in a night lately. I had a college job at Gumby’s Pizza in State College, PA some years back, and it’s fun to sort of get the assembly line going.

After getting some great advice from the group I have been baking panettone this holiday season with considerably more success than in previous years. I have written out directions for my use next year and have added them here in case they are of interest to anyone else. I will post some pictures separately. Thank you all for your shared expertise!!  Charlotte

Getting some improvent by bumping Temps a bit and taking the stone out for a few minutes before baking.  It seems with my element setup that reaching an ambient of 450F gets the stone up to 550F which will scorch the underside of my loaves.  Today I jacked the top element a bit more and then just removed the stone for a few minutes to allow it to drop down to around 450F.  Results look better yeah ? 

I found this recipe in a German paper.

These are really nice, crunchy, and a good alternative to bagels. The basis is a wheat sourdough and they are dipped in syrup and sesame seeds before baking.

This is nothing fancy just a regular sandwich loaf. But is my first after having heart transplant. Getting back at it is best therapy. Unfortunately while I was out my starter didn’t make it so I’ll be just doing yeast for now. My schedule is hectic right now and just don’t want to worry about feeding and maintenance. I did some research and just wanted some more insight on is it just as simple as adding the amount of flour and liquid back to recipe to convert some of my sourdough to yeast for now? And do I just use as much yeast as I want to control how fast the fermentation?