Blog posts

Though I haven't posted about bread in a while, I have my reasons. No, I am still working at the bakery baking bread daily which hasn't made me bread-sick. I still am studying to complete my degree (end of this fall it looks like!) but I make time for the important things in life (like baking!). But what is keeping me away from bread is that I am working towards my American Culinary Federation Certified Pastry Chef title, which I hope to obtain this year. What that means is I have been baking a lot of genoise cakes, cookies and attempting Bavarian cream.

Once again Captain Kirk has saved the Federation.  A new shipment of quadrotriticale will be delivered to  Sherman's Planet.  But how are they to eat it?  Yes, it can be cooked liked rice or flaked and cooked into porridge.  But what if the good people of Sherman's Planet want sammiches?  What are they to do?

I'm still wearing a temporary cast on my left wrist/hand, but an x-ray, Tuesday, revealed no fracture. None the less, although relieved, the doctor prescribed an infernal nylon-velcro cast be worn until the sprained and bruised wrist heals: about three to four weeks. So, I've regained the ability to use the shift-key, but not the bowl scraper. No hand-mixing for me for the duration.

Back to the title:

Tre Franceses

“Pan Francese” simply means “French Bread” in Italian. It is a long, thin loaf that is the Italian version of a baguette. Daniel Leader has a formula in Local Breads which he titles “Italian Baguettes” and says are called “Stirato,” which means “stretched” in Italian. Michel Suas' Advanced Bread and Pastry includes a formula for “Pan Francese,” and we made this bread during the Artisan II workshop at SFBI.

Dear Susan,  or whoever answered my question regarding this dark loaf,   thank you for telling me what size to make it in my bread machine.  2 lbs.  This is regarding my question about the dark loaf from the cheescake factory.  Thanks again!  Laurie K.

Here's a sandwich roll that just might eclipse the Italian hoagie roll for best in show. It's got some egg in it which, along with the sesame seeds, adds a savory undertone that can hold its own against almost any filling -- no matter how wild you want your sandwich to be. And, because I've streamlined the process for home baking, this one's considerably easier to make.

I have been working like crazy lately, with so little time, I like to make rye breads: deliciou and fast.

First, it's the sourdough rye with walnuts from "Bread", however, I followed Hans's modification here, used SD levain only (no dry yeast) and baked smooth side down to get that lovely pattern on top. My hydration was 75%, bulk rise time 1 hour, and proofing time was 100min.

My learning path of baking with rye flour continues from last week where I started baking light rye sourdough with 15% rye flour. This week I increased the rye percentage to 20% and added sunflower seeds and grains (millet and pearl barley) to the bread.

ingredients:

400gm unbleached bread flour

100gm dark rye flour

1.5 teaspoon salt

1.5 teaspoon active dry yeast (SAF brand)

1 tablespoon each of brown sugar, dill weed, and dehydrated onion flakes

333 gm very warm water (just cool enough to put a finger in and not whimper or yank it out)

procedure: