Blog posts

Not much novel in my baking life lately.  

Last weekend I tried bagels using 50% Type 85 flour and 50% High-gluten white flour (Sir Lancelot).  The results were ok, but not as good as my previous formula (75% High-gluten flour and 25% bread flour).  These were too extensible (could have lowered the hydration with the lower gluten flour blend) and the ends didn't want to cohere.  The flavor was nice, but I think I'll stick with the proven recipe.

This was going to be a blow-by-blow account of reviving a starter that had been dried for travel.  Yeah, my eyes are starting to glaze already, too.  So this will get more of a Readers Digest treatment.  And I'll try to stay awake until the end.  What you do is up to you.

Here's the back story: Man lives in Pretoria, South Africa.  Man has sourdough starter.  Man will repatriate to his home in Kansas City.  Man does not wish to lose his starter or begin a new one after his return.

Still with me?  Good.

This is my salute to the land of pinyon pines and sage brush, aka home.  I can't resist buying locally gathered pine nuts every autumn, even if it means shelling them myself.  Of course, shelling them myself means my fingers smell like pine pitch for days but that's half the fun - at least I don't have to go out and fight the squirrels for them.

When I visited my cousin Uta in Delmenhorst/Germany, we went into a Turkish bakery with the most beautiful display I've ever seen. Everything was made on the premises, you could see the oven and the work bench, and a wonderful buttery aroma filled the air.

This is really Hamelman's Vermont Sourdough, with buckwheat instead of rye. 

Working with buckwheat flour seems like the kitchen equivalent of very wet cement. I'd be inclined to be even more aggressive about folding, especially earlier in the bulk ferment, and I'd bake straight from cold, rather than leave the overnight-proofed boule out for an hour before baking, but all told, I'm pleased with the result. The buckwheat provides a very delicate texture that adds a certain elegance to the bread, and the taste is delectable.

What do you do with the fruits of a couple of less than successful attempts at a Dark 100% Rye bread?

Altus!

What is altus you ask?

Old bread …namely, ground up leftover rye bread usually soaked in water.

In my case its old (ugly) dark sour 100% rye bread that is soaked overnight in water. I also crumbled dry altus and fed my rye starter portions of this along with normal rye flour.

I have been quiet on TFL, mostly, for several months, posting a comment in a thread only rarely, and not taking/making/having time to post any of my baking.  Life has been good, but very busy, and so has work.  Good, and very, very busy.  What time I've had free I've not wanted to spend in this same chair, and at the same computer, where I make my living all day (and night too, sometimes), but I have still found some time to bake.  Not a lot of time, especially last spring and summer, but some.  I can proudly say, however, that no "store bread" has come into this ho

I ordered the Brod & Taylor proofer yesterday and, received it today!  OMG, I'm thrilled with it.

 It is larger than it appears in the video's..which I love.

 I have folding leg cooling racks pictured to show how they fit in the proofer.  A 1/4 sheet pan 'cookie sheet with extended handle ends is pictured'  and, a banneton, both would fit very nicely.  I do recommend these to go with the proofer.  They will come in very handy.