Blog posts

As a home baker in Japan there are quite a few constraints that can make baking more challenging than baking in a full western kitchen. With a bit of effort and improvisation good bread is still quite achievable. 

Let's start with fermentation. For the first few years I've used a digital temperature controller connected to a kotatsu (traditional heated table) to maintain a somewhat consistent temperature for doing bulk fermentation or growing sourdough starter. And it worked...surprisingly well. 

This blog post is used as an index to the bakes I've done and posted here for quick reference in the future

I’m continuing to explore the uses for the stiff sweet levain and today’s bake is my first use of it in a baguette. So I made adjustments to the Yorkville Sourdough Baguette recipe (the original recipe is posted here Poppyseed Crusted Yorkville Sourdough Baguettes – Breadtopia)

A few days ago, @pul posted some lovely pics of creamy, yellow semola loaves that reminded me of the community bake of a year or so ago and my good results from that exploration. ...which got me ruminating and scheming on following @pul's lead.

So down the rabbit hole of @dmsnyder's, @Franko's and @dabrownman's meanderings on Pane Tipo Altamura I dropped, deciding eventually to follow @pul's lead with a few modifications.

I love miso if you haven’t noticed from some of my posts including my most recent Miso 100% WW Sourdough.  Not running out of miso requires advanced planning for a couple of reasons.  First it takes about a year to ferment the rich red miso that I love and having the koji rice on hand to make the miso.  We have a sake maker here in Toronto in the Distillery District which is a good walk from where I live and that is where I have purchased the frozen koji rice.

Using my home fermented miso I decided to try using it with a 100% whole wheat sourdough bread which I hadn’t tried before.  

If you’re interested in making homemade miso here is the post where I started a new batch most recently with a link to the detailed post outlining how to make it from scratch.

Sweet Rye Bread for Bread Machines

Version 2.0.3
3 February 2022
(by troglodyte)

Introduction

This rye bread recipe is designed to yield a quick and easy Jewish deli style rye sandwich bread from a two-pound bread machine, such as the dual-paddle Zojirushi models. This recipe may be used with the delay timer if you follow the instructions. You can bake it in loaf pans in the oven, too.

Ingredients

First Ingredients:

Blogs are my favourite part of The Fresh Loaf. I'm delighted to participate in a community of knowledgeable bakers who inspire me. However, writing blogs is challenging because I need to think about "usability" from the readers' perspective. "Usability" means how easily an intended audience can process information to achieve their desired purpose. That purpose might be entertainment, education, or completing a procedure such as a recipe. We run into usability issues all the time when we're confused, lost, or frustrated by writing (or interfaces, or diagrams, etc.).

More baking with the red wheat this time i milled the wheat with my kenwood and the intention was to make it 50% with millers single origin white flour which is rated at 12% protein. i had already soaked and sprouted some of the red wheat a couple of days earlier to the Chit stage and it was my intention to add this to the mix too that was a 20% addition. i put the sprouts through the liquidiser, i did need to add a bit of water to ensure the sprouts kept falling to the blades as initially they were getting hung up on the sides of the container.