Blog posts

I've been baking weekly and making progress with the occasional step backward. Today's bake is a wheat levain with sunflower and pumpkin seeds. I'm finally getting better at shaping my batards, this is dramatically better spring than in the past.

I've noticed something curious: I've usually made boules, two at a time, one baked in a combo cooker, the other in a Le Creuset enameled casserole of the same diameter. The one in the Le Creuset always has noticeably better spring. I've done this often enough that I'm pretty sure it's not my imagination . Has anyone else come across this?

  This is a healthy and tasty loaf.  The cream cheese really created a moist semi-open crumb.

I had just returned from a business trip in Vegas so I used my newly refreshed AP mother starter for this one and decided to add some dehydrated onions for some extra flavor.

I brought one loaf into work and it didn't last too long so I guess it was pretty good :).

Formula

https://www.centralmaine.com/2016/01/13/bread-made-with-seaweed-featured-at-maine-agricultural-trades-show-in-augusta/

This looks so interesting I am going to post it. You may get  a pesky pop up ad sorry about that!

After last week’s brick bake of a no levain pumpernickel Lucy decided to get some sourdough in there and cut back on the long, low bake by 5 hours and upping the heat.  It is loosely based on Mini Oven’s fine rye bread here Mini's 100% Dark Rye & Chia Recipe ...Love at 104% hydration.

I've a lil' free time so I'll post something for your eyes to feast on. Plus, I promised to put more effort into posting. Apparently, a handful of you are keen to read about my progress.

Several weeks ago I attempted rustic-style ciabattas. Repeatedly. In the photo above, that particular ciabatta contained a bit of durum semolina (pasta flour), about 30% baker's percentage. Absolutely gorgeous, nutty, buttery aroma, I remember, but too chewy crumb.

I'm a long time stalker to this site, and I finally made an account to see if I can get some advice about rye breads. A local bakery has an amazing "German Beer Bread" which I have been yearning to duplicate. In Germany, I picked up a book called "Rustikale Brote aus deustchen Landen" by Gerhard Kellner, or better known as Ketex. Below is the recipe, and I explain how I baked it. Ultimately, I have a question about the rather dense crumb. But don't let that discourage you from baking this thing- it is insanely delicious.

Steel-cut Oat Bread

Makes two large loaves. 

Steps1  evening before bake day

1. Refresh 100% starter to yield +200 grams for the next morning.  Overnight room temps can be 60F.  Use 50 gm whole wheat, 50 gm AP, 100 gm H2O and 30 gm natural leaven at 100% hydration.

Steps 2 - 12 , bake day AM.  Work at 70F

2. Pour 600 gm boiling H2O over 300 gm steel cut oats in a pot or bowl with a lid or cover.  Stir the oats once and  cover. Let steep 45 minutes.

I've been experimenting with some different biscuit recipes. They're not something I've every really had the urge to make before but we harvested our pigs and my family wanted biscuits and gravy! The three recipes I've used so far were for a plain buttermilk biscuit, a sourdough biscuit, and a buttermilk sourdough. So far the buttermilk sourdough is the crowd favorite but I recently found a recipe that requires an overnight proof of the buttermilk+sourdough+flour so I'll be trying that next.