Blog posts

It's been a little while since I last told you people about the progress of the bakery here in Belgrade/Bozeman/Big Sky, MT.  In fact, in my last blog entry I was writing about the soon-to-start Big Sky Farmers' Market.

Last night was market #7 up in Big Sky, and this past Saturday was the #9 Bozeman market at the Gallatin County Fairgrounds in downtown Bozeman.

Both of them have gone well, with the Saturday market being more of a breakfast focus and the Wednesday market primarily being dinner/appetizer based.

We based this bun recipe on Ian’s and Cleo’s fine hamburger buns that can be found here: 

http://www.thefreshloaf.com/node/33946/hamburger-onion-parmesan-buns

I have made sourdough rolls using the Tangzhong method before and they usually come out great.  I decide to change it up a bit and used buttermilk instead of cream or milk and added some sour cream for an added flavor boost.  I also added some fresh parmesan cheese and used rolled oats, white rye and spelt flour to try to make it a little healthy.

I have to say when these were baking the whole house smelled amazing.

I recently baked the Pain de Campagne from Ken Forkish's Flour Water Salt Yeast and was very pleased with the result.  This is a "hybrid" bread formula, meaning it is made with both a levain starter and a small amount of commercial yeast.  After a long room-temperature bulk fermentation, the loaves are shaped, placed in bannetons, and then put in the refrigerator to retard overnight befoe baking.  Forkish directs you to bake the loaves right out of the fridge.  I've often wondered about this method as I have come across conflicting advice from various experts an

Well this here is the bread I grew up on back in Westchester, NY. For me NY Rye is a light Rye with a tight moist super flavorful crumb crumb. The crust is soft and chewy and much of the flavor of the loaf comes in the chew. I used to be able to just pull the crust off in a ring around the slice and each separate from the interior as a kid.  And yes I sometimes squeezed the insides and ate as a dough ball.  But the best is simply sliced and served with butter.

About a month ago I ran across the website "The Italian Dish" which contained a post titled Amazing Artisan Bread for 40 Cents a Loaf - No Kneading, No Fussing, No Kidding.

This is the author's take on the no knead bread baking technique and the book: Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day.

Pizza Bliss Redux

August 26, 2013

 My first batch of Ken Forkish's “Pizza Dough with Levain” (See Pizza Bliss) produced the best pizza crust and, after freezing, some of the worst I've had. But I did learn a tremendous amount from the comments and the information generously shared by other TFL members, and my second batch will exploit what I have learned.

I hope everyone has had a good summer, baking and otherwise.  Judging from TFL blogposts, it's been a great one for many.  My only indoor project has been the following formula and process.  I recommend it to anyone with a mill, a fine tamis and willingness to go to a little extra trouble for a nice flavor.

This is my third attempt at BBA. I made a little twist to the swirl replacing it with my expiring strawberry jam and flaxseed. This gives the bread a little extra crunch. But the crumb is a little dry not sure if its because I overbaked it.

I still have to work on my shaping skills. it looks a bit.......odd.

This is my first go with Vollkornbrot.  I have no reference on how this bread should be.  So those of you familiar with vollkornbrot if you could give me your honest opinion of what you see and if I need to make any improvements.

The bread tasted great with a tough crust...difficult to slice but the crumb was moist and had a nice bite.  It was amazing how the bread improved with age.

Thanks Faith