Blog posts

A recent post pushed me to try the Wheat Challah but I don't own ITJB so i just formulated my own and thought it would give me a good recent to use the local soft white wheat.  I figure If I'm gonna add wheat I want something that might still have a soft bite.  To me challah is light, sweet, eggy, and yeasty. I made a short levain using the soft wheat which I timed and watched for bubbles as I wasn't sure if it would be strong enough to double.  I added .25% yeast to add that yeasty flavor and hopefully push it to a bit more fluffiness.

OK, so for all my dedicated fans, of which I'm sure are numerous, I apologize for my negligence in updates. You might have though I was outta the game forever, but you were so wrong. That is to say, I have recently concocted some delish-ass bread. The inspiration came from my long time friend and college Armun Liaghat, to whom this loaf is dedicated. Enough with the babble lets dabble.

My first bake from Ken Forkish's Flower, Water, Salt, Yeast.  Ken says to bake it down dark.  Okay!

This was baked at 475F n a hot covered DO for 20 minutes then uncovered and baked at 475 convection.  After 10 minutes turning at the half, this was the result and though Ken says bake for 20 uncovered, I thought things were dark enough using a convection bake.  This loaf really crackled and hissed once removed from the oven.

I just stumbled across a PDF scan of a book some here might be interested in. It is "Parsons Bread Book" and it self-describes as

A celebration of the art of baking bread and the great bakers of New York City by students at Parsons School of Design

It looks like a good read:-)

http://www.publiccollectors.org/ParsonsBreadBook.pdf

-sig

This bake took place on Labor Day weekend.  My pullman pans were silently mocking me from their perch in the cupboard, reminding me that the last time I used them, the loaves had ears.  Or eaves.  That isn't supposed to happen with pain de mie.  Chalk it up to overfilling the pans.

So I just keep on baking and we are back to whole grains.  Really wanted to make a wholegrain ciabatta and just sorta winged it together and built a Levain off of my White Seed.  A few changes might make this a bit more simplified but I'll write as i did (which was a bit whacky) and follow with a few changes.  

Total Flour: 1075 : 500 Hard White Wheat (46.5%) 500 Whole Spelt (46.5%), 75 White Bread Flour (7%)

Total H20:  925 + 28 (roughly used during folds) 88.6% hydration

Total Dough:  2040   (4 @ 510 g)

sunny dahlias in the gorgeous Volunteer Display Garden at WSU-Mount Vernon

beautiful orchard fruit, grown by the Western Washington Fruit Research Foundation at WSU-Mount Vernon




Hello everyone,

Day 2 of the Conference had so many good things going on.

Notes on the seminars and talks I was fortunate to attend on Day 2 follow:
Keynote Address – “Grow It! Mill It! Bake It!: Adding Value Adds Up” – Thor Oechsner
“Flatbreads from the Tandoor Oven” – Naomi Duguid and Dawn Woodward

local wheat, ripening in the sun


Hello everyone,
I attended the third annual Kneading Conference West this past weekend – a celebration of local wheat and grains, and a wonderful gathering of people interested in breeding, growing, milling and baking with them.