Blog posts

I wasn't going to bake this weekend because I made some 'San Jooaquin Sourdough' with flax and sunflower seeds during the week. Last night my wife mentioned seeing a recipe for Stollen in the latest Martha Stewart magazine and I have noticed a number of TFL posts on Stollen lately . I recalled seeing  recipes in BBA and also Crust so I drug them out and compared ingredients and decided to go with Reinhart. I have made his cinammon raisin bread twice before, it was a big hit, so I decided as long as I'm going to spend the day I might as well do it in a big way.

I have a problem. Admitting that you have a problem is the first step to recovery, right?

So here I am, 7 weeks after giving birth to a wonderful baby boy...and I have 12 loaves of bread in various stages of becoming tasty, crusty goodness.

[center][/center]

I'm really excited about this crusty loaf that I had formed into a ring. The bread turned out fabulously. I used a relatively new way of shaping that I learned from watching this YouTube video and then left the shaped bread in the fridge overnight and baked it the next morning. The crust is even more caramelized and crispy and the crumb has a wonderful nutty flavour.

KAF printed this recipe in a recent catalog (click on "recipe" to get there).  I totally love them!  I bake them a couple times a week.  They are very very crunchy...sort of like thin biscotti.  They are SO easy, and healthy too.  I make them for my chip-loving husband as a much better choice for him.  So I've found that slicing them into long strips (with a pizza cutter after the dough is rolled) makes them easier to eat (roll out the dough on your counter (thin!), it's not stick

Can anyone suggest any websites that are offering free shipping this time of year?  I am looking to purchase sourdough starter, bannetons, etc. and would prefer to purchase them without the additional shipping costs.

While I am at it, Merry Christmas and Happy Healthy New Year to all..thanks for your generosity in sharing and exchanging with me.

Belle

I have been getting my stiff starter ready to make Pandoro and Panettone....and decided to not throw out the extra starter and make  Pain au Levain. I started in the morning with coffee and  got every thing together and realized that I didn't have any heat in the house....burrrr.....threw my coat on...mixed and shaped the dough in record time and put the breads to proof in the warmest place in the house...my oven.

You know, the old "ice-cubes-in-a-hot-skillet" routine is soooo...like...last summer, isn't it? ;)

A few relatives suggested that they would love a loaf of bread as a holiday gift this year.  I took that idea and had a little fun.  When we gathered last Sunday, I brought a basket containing five different types of bread in different sizes and shapes for them to choose from.  It was very fun to share my love of baking and everyone went home with a few loaves.  Here's the basket:

A failed endeavour this time, when i hoplessly tried to braid a wholewheat challah as per Peter Reinhart's Wholegrain book, and ended up fusing the braids into a lump of dough and making a boule instead! I may have to reduce the hydration in the challah next time, and the braids may well hold shape.

Anyway, into the Boules i ventured, and this is how i made it:

(All directions are in accordance with P.R Wholgrain breads)

1- Day (1):

- Warm water 1.25 cups + Yeast 1 tsp (not recom. by P.R)+ fine wholegrain flour 3.1 cups