The Fresh Loaf

A Community of Amateur Bakers and Artisan Bread Enthusiasts.

Weekend baking

hansjoakim's picture
hansjoakim

Weekend baking

Comments

Janedo's picture
Janedo

Wow! That's a weekend baking craze! They look wonderful. Do you freeze them for the future or eat them right away? It would have been great to see the crumb of the Treuille bread, it looks so puffy and lovely.

Jane 

hansjoakim's picture
hansjoakim

thanks jane:) apart from the treuille bread and another semolina, all the loaves went straight to the freezer. i'm sorry i didn't snap any photos of the treuille crumb... i promise to do so the next time i bake one! i was a bit worried about that one, because i wanted to bake it without scoring it before putting it into the oven. i think it was just on the verge of overproofing, but it still got a nice lift when i put it onto the hot baking stone. i've baked some very nice bread from treuille's book, but i usually reduce the amount of yeast that he calls for in his recipes.

dmsnyder's picture
dmsnyder

I am impressed by both the quality and the quantity!

Do you really, really like semolina breads, or were you doing a systematic comparison?


David

hansjoakim's picture
hansjoakim

hi david!

thanks for your kind words :) i've been admiring your breads for a long time, so hearing that from you means a lot to me!

this was actually the first time i've baked any semolina breads at all. i was basically just excited to try out something different. whenever i've been browsing hamelman for new recipes, i always thought "hmm... looks interesting. should bake those someday" when i came to his semolina formulas. well, enough of that!

it's a bit strange that he calls for a "flying sponge" for those two pre-fermented semolina breads, because most all other breads in that chapter are based on his "usual" 12-16 hrs. poolish, bigas or pate fermentees. perhaps he feels the subtle sourness of a slow pre-ferment is a bad match with the airy, slightly sweeter semolinas.

dmsnyder's picture
dmsnyder

Thanks for your kind words.

You may be correct about Hamelman's reasoning. I have read those recipes for semolina breads and have made one of them. I thought he was just introducing another technique, but, on reflection, it was probably for a particular reason like the one you suggested.

Of the 4 or 5 breads I've baked with durum or semolina flour, my favorite so far is the Tom Cat's Semolina Filone from Maggie Glezer's "Artisan Breads."

http://www.thefreshloaf.com/node/8114/tom-cat039s-semolina-filone-maggie-glezer039s-quotartisan-breadsquot

Since I've been making mostly breads with higher hydration doughs lately, I've been seriously thinking about trying one with durum flour, probably a Pugliese (sp?).


David

Mini Oven's picture
Mini Oven

Mini O

apprentice's picture
apprentice

Hi Hans, those are some gorgeous breads! I went looking on the site to see if I could benefit from someone else's experience, because I plan to make Hamelman's beer bread this week. And there you were!

Actually, I'm on a longer quest to produce a sprouted barley bread and have been learning a lot about barley in the process. Makes me want to try ALL the neat recipes I find, one of them being JH's beer bread.

My questions for you (or anyone else who knows) as follows. Hamelman's formula calls for 1.6 oz. (1/4 cup) malted barley in the home version. If I understand correctly, he's referring to husked malted barley kernels but says that if unavailable, unmalted barley can be used instead. So far, so good. My only question there is whether you scale the amount before or after roasting. I'm assuming you lose a little in the roasting process? Maybe not enough to matter?

Next, I also found organic barley malt extract locally (non-diastatic crystals). Is that the same thing as he's asking for, only the roasting and grinding's been done for you?

Finally, could you also use barley malt syrup? Anybody know a general substitution rule for malt syrup vs. powder to get the right amount?

Thanks!

hansjoakim's picture
hansjoakim

i guess i cheated on the beer bread, as i simply used some liquid barley malt extract that my local store carries. i simply did a 1:1 substitution for the roasted barley in the original recipe, and, at least to my taste, it worked pretty well.

i'm sorry to say that i know virtually nothing about barley, so i can't really offer any advice on your other questions... )-;  hopefully someone else on here knows!

apprentice's picture
apprentice

It's no cheat if it works, Hans! Just shows your versatility. And truly, if that bread tastes as good as it looks, you did a fantastic job. I'll probably try the powdered extract. Will let you know how it turns out.

Mini Oven's picture
Mini Oven

but it tastes great!   I soaked some barley for a few days then drained it and dried and roasted it in my hot oven until it was brown.  Blenderized it and just a teaspoon or two per 350g flour adds lots of flavour and little dark flecks to the crumb. 

Mini O

apprentice's picture
apprentice

How about Mini O's Amazing Blenderized Barley Extract? :)

apprentice's picture
apprentice

sorry that I sort of hijacked your blog entry! I got too excited. About time I started a blog of my own on this site. That's where I'll report on the ongoing barley bread quest and undoubtedly, other future obsessions. (My mise en place is all done for the beer bread for tomorrow, including a nice nut brown ale from a local micro-brewery.)

Your weekend bake was phenomenal! Set the bar pretty high for those breads. I look forward to hearing the details and seeing the results of your ongoing experiments.