Blog posts

Hi everyone

I followed very carefully a recipe to make chocolate croissants. I was very proud to see how they looked when they came out off the oven, but I sliced them in half and you can see why I need your help

Here is what I did:

1. I mixed some water and the yeast and some of the flour, let it rest for 1/2 hour to make a "polish" 

and make something you are proud of.

Basic pain au levain, just posting to share in my triumphs as well as my failed attempts.
78% hydration
90% AP
10% White Whole Wheat

12 hour overnight retard

Followed the Tartine WW formula verbatim, used King Arthur's White Whole Wheat because it's what I had on hand. Final retard in the fridge for approx. 10 hours. These passed the poke test, but my instincts were still telling me they were underproofed? Above was the last loaf baked, and I let it proof on the counter for 30-40 minutes prior to going in the oven.
It was definitely the best loaf with the most spring. Any advice for me here? Is less noticeable oven spring indicative of an underproofed loaf?

It's a non-baking day (i.e. I don't bake for customers on Mondays), so of course what I end up doing is baking. I usually try out new recipes or variations on Mondays. Given that I got a lovely Pullman pan for Christmas, I decided to try Pain de Mie. This was a recipe from America's Test Kitchen "Bread Illustrated". I followed it exactly, but if I make this again I will cut the amount of yeast in half.

This is the continuation of my sourdough viennoiserie series. This time I used AP flour for the dough. I also have some milk that is going to expire so that's what I used as the liquid. For all the levain builds I also used milk as the liquid and fed it with AP. 

I've been baking this traditional sourdough for quite a while now.

The method is described here:

http://breadtopia.com/whole-grain-sourdough/

I changed it by using rye sourdough starter rather than wheat as called for in the description, and because I was a little low on whole wheat flour this particular bread has a higher proportion of spelt.

My recent effort in defiance of the 'vegetables belong with your main course only' claim: courgette (or zucchini to many) loaf - here's the link to the detailed recipe. Sliced and cooked courgettes plus some mashed potatoes - the bread has great texture, slices well so a good sandwich loaf, and it toasts like a dream.

This weekend's baking was totally different from my normal style. 

I dug out a package of IDY that I bought a year ago (it's been that long since i've used it) and made a focaccia.

It turned out good. I didn't manage to get a crumb shot, because i made it for a dinner party and, you know, its a bit awkward to stop everyone from eating while I take a few photos! LOL! But the crumb was nice and open, full of bubbles and I think that's how it's supposed to be.