Blog posts

 The last set of experiments was to determine whether the use of fruit based yeast in the absence of flour in the starter would result in more fruit flavor in the final loaf. Much time and effort went into weaning my standard sourdough starter from a diet of wheat flour and water to a diet of pure fruit puree.  This starter was used to create a boule with the starter, AP flour and peach puree. The result was less than spectacularly peachy. 

I have eyed Hansjoakim's post : here ever since he blogged about using his excess ripe rye as a leaven for a Pain au levain with Wholewheat from Hamelman. Hans has generously posted his recipe, and i, sickened from my failures with liquid white levain, and attracted by the description of the flavor, finally decided to try it yesterday.

My assessment ritual with new loaves (I only do SD) is as follows:

1. When the 2 hour cooling period is up, I slice an end off, spread it with a little unsalted butter, and share it with my partner.  Exchange oohs and aahs (when appropriate).

  Just what's needed, right?  Another pizza dough.  There's nothing glamorous about this one, either.  That's what I love about it - it's dependable above all else.  It makes a nice pizza and some pretty good sandwich rolls.  The triple batch gives me enough dough for a pizza the size of my pizza stone and sandwich rolls for a week's worth of lunches.  This has become my standard survival bake when I don't have time for anything else.

Pain de Campagne using a Stiff Wheat Levain and a portion of Gilchesters Organic Farmhouse Flour

Leaven Build

It might makes you feel less guilty eating croissant. These croissants were made with 20% whole wheat flour.

Would it be classified as wholegrain croissants:P?

I used the recipe from Michel Suas's Advance Bread and Pastry. The recipe used preferment. The dough was quite soft and pliable and was relatively easy to work with when it came to rolling and lamination. 

I was intending to give today's bread to someone, but the dough was too long for the peel and the end stuck to the handle as I was loading it into the oven, pulling a bit of dough away. I think I'd better keep this one for my partner and I...

Gives new meaning to the term 'bread porn'!

OTOH, it's marvellous how the perspective changes when viewed from a different angle. But I still don't feel it's appropriate to gift a bread that looks like a...

Hello,

This is today's bread.  It is a 10% rye, the rest a 50/50 mix of KA bread + AP, at an overall 72% hydration.   2-lbs.

20% was the levain sour (125%) for 18 hrs @ 44F, and then heated up.  60% was the flour soaker at 55F (78%), same 18 hrs,... and then also heated up.   :-)