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The following is taken from Michel Suas' description of mountain bread (page 223, Advanced Bread and Pastry): "Combining rye levain and white flour this bread began as a staple in the mountainous regions of Switzerland.  The long shelf life created by the sourdough process was an adantage in a time and place when bread was baked only once a week.  The hole in the middle of the crown [I didn't make a hole in the middle of the crown because I don't have a clue as to how to do that--will research the issue later] was used to hang the mountain bread to a pole fixed high on t

I have been considering milling my own grain, especially Rye and WW recently. After looking at the details of the process, I have come to the conclusion that if you want to produce tasteful high quality flour, sifting is necessary. The whisper mill type impact mills shatter the grain and make sifting impractical. Essentially all of the grain is included in the flour since it is processed so finely.

My wife recently picked up a copy of Leader's Local Breads, and I am part way through reading it.  I needed to bake this weekend, so thought that I would try a formula from the book.  Based on what I had available, I opted for the Pain au Levain, using my existing sourdough starter to prepare the levain for the formula.  I also chose to add sunflower seeds to the bread, following one of Mr. Leader's options.

I decided to make sesame semolina yesterday.  I haven't baked with duram for over a year.  The dough was a bit more hydrated than I expected, so I had to throw in a bit more duram and bread flour than anticipated.  All in all, the bread came out better than I had hoped.  Next time, I will throw in the sesame seeds into the dough instead of just on the exterior.

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Norm's Onion Rolls

Norm's Kaiser Rolls: These Kaiser Rolls (AKA hard rolls, vienna rolls, bulkies) were made with the same dough used for onion rolls.

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I thought this might be a nice idea for those of you looking for different ideas for your bread shaping.  I made these three breads into 12 ounce rolls.  It's a great size for freezing as it thaws relatively quickly, and also it's nice because you can eat the whole loaf before it gets stale since it's 'half sized'.  It'll also work well as a dinner loaf - just thaw, wrap in foil, then toss it in the oven during the last 10 minutes with whatever you're baking and you have a 'fresh baked' loaf to enjoy.

This week I am going to be a baking fool! I have some time and I have been behind so I am going ro catch up granted,nothing earth shattering should appear as usual. I wanted to start out the week with some pizza dough from Crust & Crumb and I am leaning towards Pizza II. I will say it is better with about 72 hours in the fridge utillizing a slow rise. PR says it should hold about 48 hours but mine is doing well after 72 hours (much more taste and great texture). My fresh ingredients are slowing down in  the garden but I still have plenty herbs.