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Oatmeal and Sweet Date Bread (courtesy BBGA/Team USA 2005)

Hello,
I really enjoyed the recent course I took that was put on by the Bread Bakers Guild of America, and am grateful for being a member and for having the chance to participate. Another thing I really appreciate about membership in the Guild is access to Guild's online newsletter and formula archive. There's lots of good stuff in that archive!
 
Today's bake is Oatmeal and Sweet Date Bread, one of the Team USA 2005 formulas the Guild provides online.

Corn-Blueberry Muffins rev 2.0

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I posted an earlier version of this recipe, but I've refined it and it's pretty much awesome now. Makes 6 large muffins.

Preheat oven to 425F

Combine in large bowl:

  • 1.25 cups flour
  • 0.75 cups cornmeal
  • 0.25 cups sugar
  • 2 tsp baking powder
  • 0.5 tsp baking soda
  • 0.5 tsp salt (or 0.25 if you use salted butter below)

Combine and whisk together in small bowl:

Today's Sourdough

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I modified Mike Avery's San Francisco sourdough recipe by adding 3 stretch and folds over 2 hours.  I like this recipe for its nice sour flavor. Used my 100% hydration whole wheat starter. Proofed 11 hours overnight at room temperature, @ 75F here in sunny coastal New England, after shaping. Baked @ 400F for 20 minutes w/steam, then 35 more @ 375, with 10 minute, oven-off drying. I think it's a bit overproofed. I did not get the oven spring I expected, but very happy with the flavor and crumb. The slump on the left happened when it kind of slid off the stone on its way in.

Don's Woodfired Sourdough Bread

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If you’re anything like me, you’ve got a few sourdough starters lurking in your fridge. One I made from organic California grapes lovingly teased into fruition over 10 days some years ago. Another from rye flour that naturally ferments. And last fall’s brainchild, made from mountain berries plucked at 3600 feet. That last one yielded 6 lovely loaves and then promptly went into a funk.