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I've been baking my way through Hamelman's "Bread". Sometimes I don't always go in order- and right now, I'm stuck on the Sourdough Rye section. I decided to go with the "80% Rye with a Rye-Flour Soaker" (page 213) instead of starting with the first (40%) rye of the chapter. I deviated from the formula a bit as I baked a single pullman loaf instead of the 2 free-form loaves specified. I'm not afraid to shape rye- actually, I'm looking forward to seeing what it's like...but I do like the look of a pullman loaf. Same way I'm attracted to Volvo's, Frank Lloyd Wright architecture and cubism.

So just reporting back from the croissant front, it got all rather messy (really my fault though), as the margarine was too soft. But nothing gets wasted so I added more flour, shaped one part of the dough into rolls and the other into a braided loaf. It turned out well in the end, and I'm going to give the croissants another shot.

So below are the rolls made from spelt four (white), soya drink and margarine, topped with poppy seeds. 

Recently, I was thinking why there are more famous Master Chefs in the world than there are Master Bakers.  A Michelin-starred restaurant cannot have poor quality bread to be earning a Michelin star.  No way.  But the issue here for me is:  Can bread be a stand-alone meal, complete in all its nutrition, but more importantly, in its artistry and flair, technique, and satisfaction, such that once you have it, your body and mind do not desire other food? 

This is my first blog, so I joined the website a couple weeks ago, already tried a few recipes and I'm joining the chorus of gratitude, thanking everybody for sharing their lovely recipes. My aim is to put up a few recipes myself. Just a little bit about my baking, as I'm on a wheat and dairy free diet, I adjust pretty much every recipe to my own needs, so far it worked. Phew! But I haven't baked much with yeast, my regular bread would be made with baking powder, quite nice.(Will put the recipe up soon).

Hello all,

This is my second bread post on TFL and I'm loving this site!

I recently baked Pain au Levain from Hammelman's book 'Bread..."  This is the second formula I've tried from this book, following two fairly sucessful attempts at Vermont Sourdough.  There are a few differences between the two.  Vermont SD starts with a liquid levain while PaL starts with a stiff levain.  Hammelman calls for whole rye in Vermont SD while calling for medium rye flour in PaL.  Also, a long final ferment is called for with Vermont SD while it is recommended not to go for the long ferment with PaL.  I didn't vary from the formula and had pretty sat

My first try at chocolate sourdough was a success!  Chewy, not too sweet, the kids loved it, the crust was perfect!  Oh, the joy! And the calories and the treadmill to come...he, he, he.  Thanks for a great recipe SP!

I have just made my first successful sourdough loaves and I am excited.

Also my first blog entry and first post ever. Been lurkin for a while but I decided to post today's bake. I think they turned out pretty well. Crumb is amazing but I still have more work to do on my shaping and scoring. Thanks to everyone who made this recipe happen.

Crumb

Shape