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Hey All,

I have been baking bread like crazy over the last three months.   I've tried a lot of things, I've received a lot of great advice in the forums, many breads haven't worked very well since I am so inexperienced, but now I have a list of breads that either came out pretty well or I hope that with more practice will eventually turn out pretty well.   In order to consolidate what I've learned so far, I will try to bake a bread a day (or so) with seven breads that I would like to get right.   I'll start with the easiest, and since it is also quite delicious, I'll ca

Taking Part in a Baking Competition

Way back in early January, not long after I first started posting on TFL, I found an invitation in my e-mails to compete in what becomes the baking world cup: La Coupe du Monde de Bolangerie, next taking place in 2012..

Mulino Marino is (small) miller near Cuneo (Piemonte) that work hard to produce a high quality stone grounded organic flour. HERE the link to the web site where you can read more about the history, the products etc.

I like Passover and I like Matzah - especially the Yehudah brand whole wheat matzot that they sell at Whole Foods. I like matzah with butter. I like matzah with honey. I like it with brie or stilton on it. I like it in our kosher-for-Passover versions of Lasagna, Spanakopita and Nachos (which we call "Matzagna," "Matzakopita" and "Machos"). And for quite some time now, I've wanted to make my own matzah for Passover. I bake our own bread, make our tortillas - how much harder could this be?

Not much, it turns out.

I have been working on Sam Fromartz's mixed yeast and levain, long ferment method for baguettes. I know Hamelman prefers the poolish preferment method and I have to say I like the aroma that comes off the poolish better than almost anything. So, I decided early this morning to start the poolish and spent the day rereading the chapters on preferment of yeasted breads in Bread.

Decades ago, my elementary school teacher Miss Yeung wrote down 'Simplicity is Beauty' in my graduation autograph book.  Even though I knew every word in this phrase, it was too complicated for a 6th grader who was then indulging in Hello Kitty and Melody dolls to fully appreciate the profound meanings behind it and I haven't given it much thought since. Today, the same phrase just dawned on me when I completed Mini Oven's 100% rye. Isn't this bread a true reflection of the message my teacher was trying to convey years ago?  It's a simple loaf made with Mini's magic ratio.

Intrigued by the beautiful Baguette's that Sam Fromartz has been baking, I continue to plod along, improving my skills at baking this simple(?) bread. The original post on his blog can be found here.

Alright as promised, here is the instructions for my Bagels.  I don't do the whole percentage thing, I am a by feel baker, so my flour measurements aren't set in stone.  First thing ya want to do is preheat your oven to 450 degrees.

1 1/2 cups water

1 1/2 tsp. sea salt

2 tsp. reg. instant yeast (not quick rise)

1 1/2 tsp. sugar

1 1/2 tsp. Barley malt syrup 

1 T. canola oil