Blog posts

Finally... I've done it again. I must confess that I didn't get to baking very often in the last couple weeks. Of course I tried to bake every now and then, but most of the times just well known formulae like my potato-walnut-bread, or a simple white bread such as Hamelman's rustic bread, or something comparable.

I found it rather hard to fit the  baking into my schedule, as my days differ considerably and I always find myself busy when I'd like to bake.

The preparation of the “Torta di Biscotto di Nozze” is by far one of the most important jobs of all in Italian weddings. Members of the family prepare biscotti for weeks for that important day. Layers of different biscotti are arranged in a pyramid and decorated with icing covered with "Confetti" and ribbons - it sits in a place of honor on the main table.

The picture above shows the 5th Horst Bandel Pumpernickel I made, and the last 4 were made within the span of a month, yes, I am just a tad "obsessive". :P

I cannot find malted barely flour anywhere!  I have seen it in grain form, I guess I could just mill it?  Anyways I am in Seattle if anybody knows where to get some already milled let me know!

I am happy to say that Cliff's in Caldwell, Idaho does carry malted barley flour! Yay for localism!!

After many months, I have baked loaves from straight dough again, besides my pretty regular Zopf. I had refreshed my starters on Friday, but then the weekend presented itself in a way that I just couldn't keep up with a lengthy sourdough schedule, so in the fridge they went again, unused.

I made JoeVa's sourdough with Durum Flour and while very tasty there are more holes than crumb. Anyone know why? I followed his formula but added 1 TBLS. vital wheat gluten because I was using all purpose flour with the durum and thought the AP might need a boost. When I took it out of the fridge this morning it looked ready to bake so as soon as the oven was ready I put one in then baked the other when the first came out. This photo is of the second loaf. The crumb was not as open on the first but almost. You can see I did not get the lift that Joe got.

I baked two batches of bread today, the first being a batch of Whole Wheat Seeded Rolls.

I used the master recipe from Jeff Hertzberg and Zoë François's new book Healthy Bread in Five Minutes a Day as the base for these.  Portlanders: Jeff and Zoë are going to be at Powell's Tuesday evening.

I end a period of inactivity with a picture of croissants!

Well, I tried it: two different starters, each handled to emphasize yeast activity in one, flavor production (sourness) in the second. I have three starters, all from commercial sources. Two were purchased online, the third came from a well-known bakery, with even more well-known bakers. I chose one of the online-sourced starters; it's been consistently more active (measured by proofing times, and oven-spring) than the other two, and I chose the bakery-one for its good, but not overwhelming, sourness. I maintain the first starter at 100% hydration, I keep the second one at 67% hydration.