Blog posts

Well my nieghborhood has turned into a reclamation camp.  I had EMS and Technical Rescue workers from as far away as the State of Illinois set up in front of my house for two days:

These people are here to help my friends and neighbors, so I baked a big batch of Pulla -- 4 loaves to help feed our helpers.  It was a hit with the Fire and EMS people on the scene.

My Wife had a request for me to make some Roasted Garlic Bread so here they are.

[URL=http://s1292.photobucket.com/user/Steelhead503/media/Baking/627bake1_zps791b006f.jpg.html][/URL]

today i toasted a slice of the Cherry YW Sprouted winter wheat SD with roasted balsamic strawberries, sesame seeds , purple carrot and black mission fig bread. i got a whiff of balsamic tang as i opened my mini toaster .. caused my mouth to water! yum! i thought with a smile :)

i had it for lunch.. like so

Topped with procioutto and grilled flat white peaches

A 60% Fresh MIlled Whole Rye with toastd dried onion and toasted dill seeds

Starts with a Rye Sour which makes up 25% percent of the dough. 

.25% yeast gives it quicker and more predictable times for me to fit it in.  

Mixed on speed 1 for about 7 minutes, then to speed 2 (on a 4 speed mixer so not very fast and developed for a further 7 minutes, scraping the bowl every couple and coaxing the dough off the bowl a bit)  It pulled a away slightly and showed signs of development but not true window pane pass. But also not too sticky.  

  A couple of nights ago I grilled some ripe plantains brushed with some olive oil and sprinkled with some cinnamon sugar.  As you can imagine it tasted amazing and I could have eaten the whole thing all by itself.  Luckily I managed a small amount of self-control and saved enough to use in a bread.

I have made a plantain bread in the past, but this time I used a completely different flour mix and ingredient list and I have to say it couldn't have come out any better.

Entered six items in Baked Goods category, with the following results:

First Place Sourdough and Best of Yeast Breads Division:

Old School Jewish Deli Rye (ITJB pp. 74-76)

First Place Other Breads:

Sweet and Rich Challah (ITJB pp. 33-34)

Second Place (Rolls, Sourdough, Cookies):

Is being enjoyed at the cafe this week.

Catherine

Gorgeous!!

5 braided Challah

After our last crack at buns that was a ADY poolish / YW version found here:

http://www.thefreshloaf.com/node/33585/yw-poolish-hot-dog-buns

we decided to try a YW version only that also included a Tang Zhong portion of flour with the intent of further softening the crumb.

Peter Reinhart's Multigrain Struan Bread

Reinhart's Crust and Crumb was one of the first baking books I bought. It introduced me to the basic concepts of bread baking. It was the first cookbook I had encountered that dealt with the science underlying the techniques described. Never mind that some of what Reinhart wrote in that book was not exactly correct, and some of his terminology was idiosyncratic. I didn't know better at that time, and the book inspired me to learn more and make breads I wouldn't have attempted otherwise.