Blog posts

I tried the quick fermentation method of 4 hours and a long proof and it did not bode well. I am convinced that my usual method is what needs to be used. Tried and true, and there is no swaying me. Being my apartment runs cooler and even if i start my dough relatively warm, the dough temp falls to quickly and there's not way to regulate it. I've done the oven light method and tried turning the oven on and off to warm the dough, but I've come to realize that just like with all things, a little extra time and a longer ferment is just a better way to go.

MW Baguette recipe -  Yields 3 full size (60cm) baguettes scaled at 330-340g each. Target baked weight 250g.

Note that I didn't roll to 60cm but 40cm as I don't have a wide oven. Achieving those dimensions and weight can be tricky in a domestic setting especially with sourdough.

French baguette specs.: ~250 grams of which ~200g is flour, 60cm length.

I’ve made an error by setting the CBK to the wrong recipe. The “fail safe” feature prevents power failures from losing settings by holding the current for at least 15 minutes. BUT - if you need to change the current recipe it is very difficult to change.

Is there any way to “reset” the machine so a new recipe can be entered?

I guess I can use this space as somewhat of a daily journal and blog my current thoughts are ideas. I recently started selling my sourdough after multiple people have requested to buy my bread. It's nice to hear people enjoy what you're making, but doing it for fun and trying to make money from it are two different animals. Messing up when you're having fun, that's easy, scrap it and start over again. When you're selling bread for money, there is less room for error and, in my opinion, more focus and making sure everything is perfect.

These rye cakes use rye starter discard and are taken right from this page:

https://www.beetsandbones.com/russian-whole-grain-rye-cakes-korzhiki/

My try at reproducing them came out almost exactly like them (I made a half recipe, or 4 cakes). I did increase the baking powder by about 50%, which is intermediate between what I would use for scones (UK)/biscuits (US) and the recipe. Mine seem to have risen more, and maybe that was the reason.

In Singapore roti prata is sold at just about every food centre, very cheaply available at about $1 a piece. I've loved these ever since I was a kid and it's something I have missed a lot since moving away.

Conceptually they are easy to make. White flour is mixed with salt and water, rested, then stretched somewhat acrobatically, oiled with ghee, folded into an envelope (or twisted and spiralled) and fried on a hot pan with more ghee.

In the last few months we have had several threads on rice flour gluten free loaves.  Some seemed more successful than others, and some seemed to be a little quirky as to how well they would bake up without collapsing.  There was also a GF thread the other day, which produced a loaf that looked like bread but used psyllium and xantham gum.  I don't need to eat gluten-free but I got curious. I didn't want to include either psyllium nor typical gums that are often used for GF products so I needed some other approach.

For the last few weeks, Winter seemed to be finally giving up it’s hold on the Northern California foothills of the Sierra Nevada, so we planned a picnic to kick off the next 4 months of picnics. Of course it rained all day and kept to mid-forties temperatures, so we migrated indoors, but the conversation, salads, wine and blackberry pie were still enjoyed by all.