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Lately I've been having inconsistencies with the Levain I bake. Sometimes the cell structure is too tight and the taste too acidic, sometimes I get a tight crumb with no acidity whatsoever, indicating a lack of micro-organism activity, and sometimes, I get a beautiful open crumb and just a hint of acidity, which is my ideal pain au levain. This week, I baked my levain (which is always 80% AP, 10% WW, and 10% Rye), with 12% Prefermented flour and using a stiff levain 84-16 (AP:WW) instead of a liquid 50-50 to generate the fermentation. 

Greetings!

I have been reading this site for the past month and have finally cobbled together the courage to join the site and post a photo of my first attempt at KF's Field Blend 1.  Cooked in my DO, the crust didn't crack open as I had hoped it would and I was looking for more holes.  But as a first go with this, I was happy with the flavour (esp. 2 days later!!).  Very nutty and only a very mild tang (which came out after about a day).

I baked Ciabatta yesterday. Turned out quite well, the crumb is very yellow. It looks like the one in Ken's Artisan Bakery except more yellow. It is feather-light, with a very open cell structure. Flavor is AMAZING! Last time I tried Hamelman's 73% Hydration Ciabatta with a hand mix and it came short. So I tried (this bake) 80% Hydration, and got the results I wanted. The flour was Shepherd's Grain Low Gluten (11.2% Protein)

BIGA (30% Prefermented Flour) - 150g flour; 90g water, 0.1g instant yeast (I salted mine w/0.8g because of summer temps). Let stand 12-16 hours @ 70F.

Bagels ended very dark due to too much roasted barley malt flour. I added 10g for the 300g bread flour (for 4 bagels).

Process is from http://www.thefreshloaf.com/node/25154/hand-made-bagelsreally

Because of their color, they really look like s*** when I pre-shape them into 10 inch rolls. :)

Updated post with crumb shot:

I recently baked some of the Tartine bread, in batches of two boules. First attempt, I followed the instructions pretty much to the letter. One loaf was baked straight away, the other proofed in the fridge overnight. The flavour of these was good, with a nice mild acidity. Primarily though I want to get the texture of the crust and crumb suited to my liking, and if necessary tweak the flavour later when I'm more comfortable with the process. First loaf turned out well:

The last few weeks have been a blur of baking, as I have started selling at a new market which has a BIG appetite for bread.   The Waltham market has been around for 24 years and has a very large and loyal set of customers.  

This Saturday was our third week.    I say "our" as my daughter has gotten the market bug and has come to sell with me every week in Cambridge and now Waltham.   

A great bread from Hamelman lost in the shuffle, because it's not sourdough and doesn't have huge holes.

But a bread worth highlighting!  

I won't post the formula since it's in the book, but it's a straight-forward 80% hydration, 20% pre-fermented flour, 20% rye chops, 20% toasted sunflower seeds, 1.5% malt syrup.

Nothing new. Just a couple of our current go to breads.

San Francisco-style Sourdough Bread with increased whole wheat flour

San Joaquin Sourdough: Update

Happy baking!

David

Baking naturally leavened bread requires a bit more planning on my part now since I've been storing my starter in the refrigerator. My cold starter likes to wake up by being fed at least twice over 24 hours before being used to build a levain. Sometimes I will feed it only once, then do a three stage levain build (using dabrownman's build ratios and schedule). Either way, I have to plan to refresh my starter, build the levain, and make the dough. Even though there is very little active hands-on time, it still takes a minimum of 36 hours from cold starter to hot bread.

Well the great produce is really kickin into gear and the amazing fruit is just starting to show.  I opted to go with the Sunflower Sour Rye I made http://www.thefreshloaf.com/node/38296/farmers-market-week-30-sunflower-sour and make a few changes.  I reduced the Sunflower Seeds to 15% and added a Rolled Rye Soaker (10% rolled rye soaked in 150% it's weight of water the night before).  The rest remained the same but a very different loaf indeed.