Blog posts

Today's bake involved my interpretation of the Tartine Semolina loaf along with baking the boules simultaneously in a Cloche and in a Combo Cooker. The finished loaves follow! The black crumb is primarily a combination of poppy seeds and black sesame seeds. The Combo Cooker loaf is on the left and the Cloche loaf is on the right.

A plate of pastries

Today, I made Peter Reinhart's Rich Man's Brioche from BBA. I've never made such a rich, buttey bread, but it was delicious. I could only eat one slice, but with raspberry jam, it made the best breakfast.

I posted this on the blog my brother and I share ( http://bakingacrosscountry.wordpress.com/ ) We're both trying to complete the Bread Baker's Apprentice challenge, and also, I'm completing a high school project about artisan breads.

Anyway, here's the post!

Kalanty was one of the many breads we made in class this week. I really liked this bread the best because of the toasted sesame seeds worked into the dough. Just before baking we rolled the tops in more sesame seeds and then scored the tops two different ways for different looks. We baked these breads in deck ovens with steam. One loaf was baked directly on oven bottom and the other was baked on a sheet pan. I could not tell much difference in the two loafs. I will do this bread again at home.

Hello,

I'm going to try making an olive bread recipe and it calls for a "salt starter". I have no idea what this is. I'm not sure if this is just regular salt, sea salt, or something I'm supposed to create. I tried googling it but that wasn't any help. Could anyone offer some assistance.

Thank you!

Darren

We baked a miche the last day of the SFBI Artisan II (sourdough baking) workshop. This was one of the breads we mixed entirely by hand. The students' miches were scaled to 1 kg, as I recall, but our instructor baked a couple larger ones, using the same dough.

Well, the other day when I wrote about the Queensland floods, I didn't actually get on to write about that, but that's what came out.  Thank you to those who offered encouragement and hope through your replies.

Saturday 1/15/11.  Today, I am musing on my bread-ucation.  Sort of a milepost marking.  I have been baking for five months.  But I am beginning to feel somewhat knowledgeable about a narrow category of breads, due in large part to (1) The Fresh Loaf and readings recommended here and advice given here, and (2) an enthusiasm for baking that has me making lots of bread as often as I can.  I learn stuff every time I handle dough and bake bread.

Winter started with a bang this year and seemed like it would never let up!  After two months of slapdash, subsistence baking I finally managed to find enough time (and energy) to bake some decent sourdough.

A simple miche based on Leader's method in Local Breads seemed like just the thing so I mixed up a double batch using about 75% WW flour and 25% bolted "Turkey" flour.  With my kitchen being nice and cool the dough fermented for about 7.5 hours.  Loads of flavor.  Just what I've been craving.  I feel much better now.

Marcus

Ok, I admit, my bookshelves are literally crammed with books, and I know that I haven't finished reading the three I got for Christmas.  Bread Baker's Apprentice, King Arthur Flour Baker's Companion, and Taste of Home Baking... all really nice books and this gives me TONS of recipes.  I am doing the BBA Challenge, so that has slowed me down from simply reading the book from cover to cover.