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In addition to the baguettes I made yesterday, I also mixed up my first batch of Susan's Sourdough. I built my firm starter last week and it was ready to go for today's bake. I converted my 80% hydration starter to both a 50% firm starter and a 100% hydration starter. Instead of the 25g white whole wheat called for in the original formula, I used 25g Medium Rye.

The "Magic Bowl" method is great. I can't believe the oven spring on this little loaf! However, I made quite a few mistakes on this loaf.

Today was a good day :-) I made baguettes.

I used the Pain a' l'Ancienne formula as recorded here: http://www.thefreshloaf.com/node/8524/philippe-gosselin039s-pain-à-l039ancienne-according-peter-reinhart-interpretted-dmsnyder-m

I find Hamelman's Pain au Levain formula very attractive (page 158 of "[i]Bread[/i]").  A friend asked if I could do spelt sourdough for her.

with this baguette, i made a lot of progress. i finally baked a baguette that sang a little and had a sourdough taste =)

the below baguettes were baked using a baguette pan that can bake 3 at a time. unfortuantely the baguettes i prepped were too big for the pan since they all stuck together. however, even though if they didnt stick, i dont think i like the appearance. ill try again this week.

Would you believe it? France too succumbs.

"The decline of French bread over the past few decades is one of the saddest aspects of the ransom paid to progress, and much of the blame must simply go to good old greed."

...and rounding up this year's interns at the Back Home Bakery was Brendan visiting from Washington, DC.  He came prepared with two-handed-roll-making-skills and a willingness to work his hardest at everything.  Thanks a lot Brendan for all of the help;  hope to see you running your own bakery some day.

-Mark

http://TheBackHomeBakery.com

I recently got a message from someone here whom I respect a great deal, both as a person and as a baker. However, one part of his message stung me: the part where he says, "I don't remember seeing any original recipes or methods from you." That got me thinking about what I bake, how I bake, and most importantly, why I and others bake, and whether "original recipes or methods" are or ought to be a measure of bona fides as a baker.

Lady (most of the time) Oreo and I

This is Biga Ciabatta following the formula in Reinhart's BBA (incidentally the only bread book I have right now). Turned out pretty well considering this was my first time making ciabatta and I messed up on the biga. I did not knead the biga at all and put it into the fridge after mixing and left it. Still came out great! Always a nice suprise. I also had to bake these on parchment on a sheet pan as I did not have a stone. I just got my stone yesterday so I'm eager to try it out!