Blog posts

10/7/18 This post has been updated to include a sourdough starter here

Facebook friend and co-baker David Wolfe asked me to help him understand some terms in a German recipe. Google translate (always good for a laugh!) is not too fluent in professional German baking lingo.

Today was, well, not your ordinary Saturday.

Instead, the morning was spent in the company of 9 beginning bakers, ages 5-9 (and their adult "assistants").  Off-hand, I'd estimate more of the bakers were closer to the age 5 end of scale.  There were three dad/daughter combos, a couple of grandmothers with grandson or granddaughter, and the rest were mom and child.  All in all, some really nice kids.  We baked two different breads; one a cheese and onion scone (some opted not to use the onions) and the other a Cape Seed Loaf.  

Here's something probably a thousand people on this site have figured out before me, but just in case someone hasn't thought of this yet:

The problem: A 12 inch diameter dutch oven.  Handles boules quite nicely.  Still, you don't always want the boule shape.  The maximum size for a batard would be 12 inches of course.  Unless you don't mind a circular batard, which allows you (pi X diameter)  or 3.14 X 12 inches = 37.7 inches for your batard length, or at least external circumference.  Now that's a substantial batard.

Latest Update!
Next Tuesday I pick up my completed concession trailer and get busy!  I can't wait.  That means that in exactly two weeks (March 2, 2013) I'll be making the Sinclair's Bakery debut at the Bozeman Winter Farmers' Market!  I won't be bringing the trailer since it's an indoor venue, but instead will be baking in the trailer here at my place, then transporting the breads and pastries to Bozeman, just like a regular market. 

Are you ready for Urenika??......Purple Rewena....

Made with the Urenika potatoes from La Cigale last week

ready...

First success!

I was finally able to produce baguettes that I am happy about.

(didn’t have the nerves to post here until I had something to show off )

Thanks to txfarmer , I flowed the formula he posted under

Straight Method Baguette - a good starter baguette to practice on 

(with title alteration on the flour parts)

This is my version, and what I did: 

We bumped into a container marked as stock in the fridge.  We were looking for stock but inside was a once mature YW levain for panettone that we made on Feb 1st.   Here it was 2 weeks later and we still hadn’t used up all the excess levain build we had made trying to get to a panettone white levain.

happy valentine's day to all 

a heart shape country boule 

hot from the oven, the blue cheese is still bubbling ! smells goood to me :)

the crumb.. 

added pumpkin puree and pine nuts besides the smelly cheese 'gorgonzola'

evon

All I can say is WOW !!  These are fantastic. Thank you Ian for posting and da for continuing the adventure. I too made some changes . I adjusted the formula below to reflect them.

Main Dough Ingredients

200 grams AP flour  Starter at 65% hydration

175 grams AP Flour Starter at 100% hydration

300 grams KAF AP flour

112 grams semolina flour

100 grams rye flour

50 grams kefir cheese and 50 grams sour cream

50 grams Unsalted Butter (cut into pieces and softened)

16 grams Kosher salt