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Super SD Sandwich Bread Formula & Method

DanAyo's picture
DanAyo

Super SD Sandwich Bread Formula & Method

How we miss TFL user, “TX Farmer”. While active she was a prolific baker and everything she did was top shelf and excellent. Her BLOG has so many bakes that it fills 21 pages of her bread links. I was thrilled to find TX Farmer’s BLOG Index.

Lately I have been searching for the perfect sandwich bread. I thought it could only be achieved using commercial yeast. But her SD Sandwich Bread set me straight! This lady is a “Bread Wizard”. The formula seems somewhat unusual to me, but I followed it and her method to the letter. At this it took faith to not deviate a bit. The results were miraculous.

Caroline, thanks for the tip of greasing the pullman pan with butter. Look closely below at the dough in the pan. You can see the smeared butter on the sides. You are right when you say how golden brown and slightly crunchy it is.

Great Tip, Benny! The “reverse roll” worked swell.

I hope this post excites others to try this bake…



The crumb super soft, light, and shreddable.
The crust is thin with hints of buttery goodness (thank you Caroline) and has the perfect sandwich texture.
The flavor has a very slight hint of sourdough. It differs from the mundane sandwich bread that is stocked in all grocery stores.
And WOW, does the loaf look beautiful.

TX Farmer, I hope you can see this. I am thankful and appreciative for the time, expertise, and willingness to share this bread and so many others.
God Bless You!
Danny

The spreadsheet is set to 1000 Total Dough Weight.
If you want 850g TDW, multiply all ingredients by .85
If you want 1500g, multiply by 1.5

 Update -
After testing various Levains. It looks like TXFarmer’s formula and method produces the very best flavor profile for me. Her fermentation temperature of 73F can be difficult to achieve on warm days, so that is the reason experimentation with various Levains were conducted. If improperly fermented, the flavor was a little too sour for sandwich bread, IMO. It will require a temperature controlled retarder during warmer months.

The following leavening agents were tested and are separately posted to replies below -

  1. TX Farmer’s levain (starter (100%hydration), 13g milk, 22g bread flour, 41g) I was concerned about sour milk during the ling ferment, but it was a problem.
  2. Yeast Water Levain
  3. Sweet (brown sugar) Levain
Ming's picture
Ming

Very nice toast bread Danny. I thought trailrunner suggested to butter the pan, no? I have bookmarked some of TX Famer's posts, her baguette posts were unreal. Thanks.  

DanAyo's picture
DanAyo

It was Caroline! I’ll edit the OP to correct that.

Thanks,
Danny

barryvabeach's picture
barryvabeach

Danny,  great looking bread.

DanAyo's picture
DanAyo

I’m planing to jump on the “Benny Wagon” and go 100% Whole Wheat soon. TX Farmer’s bread turned out so nice, I want to try THIS ONE.

idaveindy's picture
idaveindy

I'll accept a little credit for getting Dr. Benny on the >50% WW band-wagon.

https://www.thefreshloaf.com/comment/482249#comment-482249
Econprof's picture
Econprof

I love Txfarmer’s sandwich bread formulas. I have made them many times and they always turn out beautifully. In fact, I think they brought me to this site.

Her laminated Pullman loaves are also a lot of fun.

Benito's picture
Benito

Your loaf looks perfect Dan.  I was surprised how great and soft a 100% WW loaf could be but I’m so happy with my 100% WW SD Hokkaido milk bread formula.  I look forward to your 100% WW loaf.

alfanso's picture
alfanso

You and Benny are going to cause me problems.  Now I also have to put this one on my short list.  The two of you get in the way of me drifting back into standard bake territory in lieu of a beautiful bread like this and my new preoccupation with the Pullman pan.  

This looks great and has a 5 star approval from you.  Is there a reason that you opted for the lid rather than have each lobe of dough crest as tx does? 

DanAyo's picture
DanAyo

 

Al, I've done them both ways, opened and closed cover. I like the uniform slices. Also Caroline's tip to butter the sides, top and bottom of the pan really adds a nice touch.

I recommend you try the rolls inserted in the pan. It makes the dough rise higher than the log shape. If I were baking uncovered, the TDW would be raised to something like 1000g. 

MTloaf's picture
MTloaf

Was what we called it with the primary colored balloons on the bag. The name also implied it's nutritional value but it was versatile bread, a joy to eat and has some nostalgia attached to it. A slice of bologna, Kraft American cheese, yellow mustard and iceberg lettuce was all my Dad wanted in his lunch box.

Only in appearance does your bread resemble that product. Yours is a very nice bake and it would have been hit out of the park but there was a roof over the stadium;-} I may give this recipe another go. Did the final proof take 6 hours? Was there much expansion during the cold retard? I am amazed at the amount of growth you got during the final proof.

Don

DanAyo's picture
DanAyo

Don her timing worked out perfectly. I used the Brod and Taylor so I know the temps were spot on. 6 hr @ 73F. 

The retard showed little to no growth. I increased the TDW to 875g instead of her recommended 850. The eight seemed light for a large Pullman. But with an initial YDW of 950 there was only 840 when it was weighed for dividing. The dough was mixed using a Kitchenaid for 18-20, so maybe there was some water loss there. 

trailrunner's picture
trailrunner

Perfect. I use several of TX's formulas. Her banana bread SD that has no liquid except bananas is remarkable. I have made it a number of times. I love the crust. It looks just like mine that I posted the other day , so glad the butter worked well. It does raise the bar on flavor for so little effort. Will look forward to the WW 100%. I have 3 small pieces of the last pullman so will need to get busy any day now. c Thanks for the credit ( Hearts hearts emoji) 

 

trailrunner's picture
trailrunner

duplicate

 

 

DanAyo's picture
DanAyo

I wonder if the milk used in the levain soured some over the 12hr BF at 73F?

If so, maybe it added to the flavor.

mwilson's picture
mwilson

Looks great Danny!

Great rise, high specific volume no doubt, but according to TXFarmer a TDW of 850g would have sufficed... What do you think about that?

It's a great formula but for me personally, I'd ditch the egg whites, they'll just make the texture firmer. I would sub the egg whites with more milk. Which would then make it similar to my SD Sandwich loaf on my blog, which I was pretty happy with.

DanAyo's picture
DanAyo

Mike if you have time, let me know what you think of this experiment using variations of eggs.

 https://youtu.be/haQf0LLDZnc

He prefers egg yolks. But for this bake whole eggs were used to prevent waste. The texture could in no way be considered firm. It was delightfully soft and light.

The actual TDW used was 840g. I’m not sure there was enough dough for a perfect (over flowing) rise if the cover was not used. Upon completion (2hr @ 73F) of Final Proof the dough had filled 80-85% of the pullman. If I remember TX Farmer right she recommended an inch above the pan for the uncovered version.

mwilson's picture
mwilson

840g in a 13x4x4 tin?? that's good going! Nice!

Specific volume must have been 4.5 plus!

I saw that video when Ilya posted about it, yeah all is as expected tbh.

Egg whites do add to the texture (protein = texture = chew).

Take for example panettone and pandoro both are similarly enriched in terms of sugar and butter but while panettone requires inversion after baking the pandoro doesn't and the difference between them is that pandoro typically uses whole eggs while panettone uses only egg yolks. It is clear that the egg whites give extra structure (protein) and prevent a pandoro from sinking post bake.

It was Nico (nicodvb) that first alerted me to the negative effect of egg whites, as they tend to cause a rapid drying of the finished product and I can only concur based on my experience. 

Mini Oven's picture
Mini Oven

I find egg white helps the bread "stale" more quickly but 50%milk with water tends to counter that if you can put up with the softness milk provides.

DanAyo's picture
DanAyo

This bread is beyond marvelous!
This morning as I crunched a piece of toasted bread, I tried to think of a way to describe the bite and texture. It is similar to Chess Puffs. 

The slices are 3/8-1/2 inch thick and they were frozen before toasting. I wished I could push my hand through the computer screen and give everyone a taste! :-)

Can’t remember ever eating a bread like this before…

JonJ's picture
JonJ

Great bake Dan, and thanks for the cheese puff chuckle.

Adding this one to the list, it is about number 12 on my list of future breads, love having a list, but getting out of hand now...

-Jon

trailrunner's picture
trailrunner

I likened it to croutons with the added buttery flavor it’s sublime! So glad you are enjoying. c

JonJ's picture
JonJ

Dan, meant to ask how long you kneaded for and how? Txfarmer's post had a long spiel on the kneading and getting that right.

Thanks

DanAyo's picture
DanAyo

Jon,
TXFarmer was adamant about intensive kneading for success of this bread. I used a KitchenAid because that is what she used. My dough was kneaded around 20 minutes. It amazed me how much kneading a relatively low hydration dough could tolerate. Like she wrote, when the dough was properly developed, it was difficult to polk a hole through it with your figure. And the edges of the hole was cut clean and not ragged.

 

shyam's picture
shyam

Wait so you don't do yeast and warm water first til the yeast gets bubbly? You just mix the yeast in with the other dry ingredients? I've been trying to up my bread game, I always do the yeast in warm water first because I think I saw it in an online recipe somewhere but I'd happily dump that step if it helps get me bread that looks like yours! Looks delicious.

DanAyo's picture
DanAyo

The image below was taken after the stiff levain, tangzhong, and milk were incorporated using a stick blender. It works very well when “creaming” a stiff starter in the liquids. For this bake a Tangzhong was added. I’m not sure it is needed, though.

 I’m not sure it is possible to make a bread that is any softer. There is a moderate SD flavor, but not so much that it overwhelms the sandwich ingredients. To be honest, it might be better if the sour was dialed back a tad more.

 Another batch of goodness getting ready to be frozen for later use.

 

 

 

 

 

 

alfanso's picture
alfanso

You have the lidded and un-lidded versions in one photo.  Was this a set of two bakes at the same time?  It has a most beautiful set of domes and sheen.  And the crumb looks heavenly and a little like a silky cotton candy.

On my short list.

Alan 

DanAyo's picture
DanAyo

Yes, 2 large pullmans were baked at one time. Silky cotton candy is an excellent description. After eating typical SD for decades, this bread is a welcomed addition to my repertoire. The neighbors are raving about it.

I feel confident that 3 large Pullman loaves could easy be baked at once in a home oven. A large pullman loaf sliced thinly gives me ~35 slices.

It makes great sandwiches especially when SD sometimes overwhelms the fillings. Love sour, but it doesn’t always pair well with certain flavors.

Benito's picture
Benito

Another pair of home runs Dan, well done.  This type of bread is so soft and fluffy, nothing else compares.

Benny

headupinclouds's picture
headupinclouds

That looks like front page material.  It is nice to see another great recipe from the archives revived.

foodforthought's picture
foodforthought

Dan,

Your post intrigued me. It sent me on a frankly shaky quest, but thanks. Thanks also for highlighting @txfarmer's excellent trove of experience. Like @dmsnyder, she imparts much useful, actionable knowledge. I have to admit, I was scratching my head and insecure through the entire process of building this dough, but the results were pretty darn good. I wanted to share a few observations that were unexpected.

I scaled @txfarmer's recipe up to build 1200 g of dough using a bit more than 600 g of 50/50 AP/BF flour. I should have expected it from the levain proportions but I was quite surprised at how dry the levain felt, really more of a biga than the 100% hydrated levains I normally use. The use of milk in a levain was also new territory for me. I was skeptical when I saw the levain after it's overnight countertop ferment. There was very little visible evidence of change after 12 hours.

Crossing my fingers, I proceeded to mix the dough which seemed exceedingly wet and loose for a 74% hydation dough. I really didn't know what to expect, having no prior experience with dry levains or egg whites (@24% flour weight!). So I machine kneaded it for at least 35 minutes and I never got close to @txfarmer's level 3 windowpane. Anticipating a total failure, I proceeded to bulk ferment for 3.5 hours, a bit longer than @txfarmer directed, adding 30 minute interval stretch and folds to try to increase what I perceived to be poor gluten development. The dough still seemed quite wet and undeveloped. 80% hydration ciabatta glop has more structure than this dough had by the end of bulk.

After overnight in the refrigerator, I finally observed increased structural integrity in the dough though the mass seemed quite small for it's weight. I proceeded with @txfarmers procedure and had little trouble with pre-shaping and shaping the slightly sticky dough. I did not scale the portions as is evident from the illustrated result. Amazingly, the dough actually rose to a respectable height over a 7 hour proof. The crumb came out quite nice and the crust is just fantastic...reminiscent of a delicately crisp, crunchable brioche.

So thanks again for getting me out of my comfort zone and reminding us all of @txfarmer's legacy. I am still amazed that a dough which failed to meet most, if any, of the expected standard development benchmarks worked at all. I am once again reminded that brute force is often bested by yeast and time. Patience is a virtue that I suppose need more of. I've gotten a bit complacent about using CY in my buttermilk white bread sandwich loaves (variant of King Arthur sandwich), but will now maybe attempt to evolve that into a sourdough levain, poolish formula.

DanAyo's picture
DanAyo

Your descriptions of the dough at various stages is the same as my experience! The fermented dough was a little sticky and moderately wet. My dough also did rise much during the 2 hour BF at room temp. Like you the dough rose nicely during the overnight retard. The pre-ferment is a biga and should be very stiff. Although is loosens up quite a bite at maturity. It is a little challenging to incorporate it with the Final Milk.

When working with TX Farmer’s breads it is best to have faith in her formulas and methods. This gal works the details out for us!

I have already baked the SD version and it flopped badly for me. BUT, I didn’t follow her complete instructions. I SHOULD HAVE. Added a Tangzhong and autolysed the Final Flour and milk overnight in the fridge. Bad, bad, bad…

I am baking the SD version again today.

Danny

DanAyo's picture
DanAyo

This is my fourth bake. The results are easily reproduced if you don’t venture off the reservation. The last image will show you what happened when I deviated from TX Farmer’s formula and method.

This bread makes the best sandwiches and toast. It has become one of my three favorite breads (not counting Chocolate Babka) of all time.

The bread below was my third attempt. I added a Tangzhong and autolysed the flour and liquid overnight. I think the overnight autolyse may have been the culprit. This one bombed…

I don’t think the Tangzhong is not necessary. IMO, following her directions is best. Forget the Tangzhong.

 If you try this bread, it would be best to follow her formula and process very closely. After you succeed, tweak away. Personally, I’m sticking with TX F…

 

gavinc's picture
gavinc

Excellent sandwich bread, I'm very impressed. I'm not the adventurous type and usually stick to the published formulas and processes unless I get reliable advice and suggestions.

Gavin

The Roadside Pie King's picture
The Roadside Pi...

The look and description of the texture are making my mouth water! 

TerryT's picture
TerryT

I appreciate all the upbeat posts and excitement surrounding this bread. The pictures are nicely done.  But...  I've baked this bread twice now.  I don't have a mixer, pure hands and forearms here and kneaded, and kneaded and kneaded.  Last bake I had the Olympics on (Super G) which gave me the motivation to aggressively knead for 30 minutes (31 to be exact).  The first time I tried this, I kneaded for 23 minutes.  Window pane test passed, so I proceeded.   Got some good rise on both the first and second bake.  After baking, crumb was good, springy, but slightly on the dry side.    When making sandwiches, it didn't work well with uneven toppings (tomatoes, avocados, etc..).  The bread tended to break.  So my conclusion:  this bread was good, but simply not worth the (manual) effort.   At least in my opinion, not better than the BBA recipe.  And the BBA recipe is whole lot easier and the bread more forgiving when making sandwiches. 

DanAyo's picture
DanAyo

TX Farmer was specific about Intense Kneading. She said that she had produced the bread, kneading by hand. But it was a beast! It takes somewhere near 20 minutes with a spiral mixer to develop the dough to her recommended consistency. According to TXF, proper kneading is most important.

I’ve baked 4 successful large loaves so far. None have been remotely dry and all turned out pretty much the same. Glad to hear the BBA bread worked out so well for you.

I wouldn’t use hand mixing for this particular dough.
Sorry it didn’t work out for you.
Danny

DanAyo's picture
DanAyo

A Raisin Yeast Water was used to replace the SD Levain. The last bake used SD, but it didn’t adhere to TXF’s temp and timing. Consequently the flavor was a bit too acidic for my taste. I decided to give YW a try, knowing that the bread would not produce sour flavors.

The bread was definitely not sour. As a matter of fact it was a tiny bite bland when compared to the properly fermented SD version. It is very good but the properly fermented SD version is a tad better, IMO. Crust, crumb and texture was identical.

I measure the pH of the crumb. It ranged between pH 5.6 & 5.75. The readings varied a bite, depending on where the probe was placed.

By the way -
The TDW was decreased to 800g from 850. It filled the covered Large USA Pullman nicely. WOW! This bread is super light and also super soft, both crumb and crust…

 

 

 

MTloaf's picture
MTloaf

The YM does seem to add a certain sheen to the crumb that is quite appealing. I agree it doesn’t bring much flavor to the final product in my limited experience with it but the lifting power is pretty phenomenal. 
I think you have it right that theT65 would not withstand intensive kneading. Besides being a sacrilege using baguette flour for an enriched pan loaf. (No offense Caroline:-) For the same money you should try the King Arthur organic flours. They are plenty strong and have a very nice flavor. 
Don

trailrunner's picture
trailrunner

I’m not familiar with KA organic but will definitely take a look. I guess I’ve been “ wasting” my T 65 cause I love it and toss it in everywhere 😂. Guess I need my hands slapped! 

After watching the French baguette baking video that was linked recently he loves T 80 so will try that as well after all the T 65 is gone. 

trailrunner's picture
trailrunner

I’m not familiar with KA organic but will definitely take a look. I guess I’ve been “ wasting” my T 65 cause I love it and toss it in everywhere 😂. Guess I need my hands slapped! 

After watching the French baguette baking video that was linked recently he loves T 80 so will try that as well after all the T 65 is gone. 

MTloaf's picture
MTloaf

A similar parochial school that I went to where they used a ruler on the knuckles…often. I was only trying to stay a step ahead of the French baguette police.

I have to say my second bag of T65 has not been as good as the first one but still pretty good but even more difficult to work with. Maybe just not a vintage year for the wheat crop. I learned recently that the quality of the wheat is better in drought years and while the yield is lower the protein is higher. If you can find the KA organic flour it really is quite good. 

trailrunner's picture
trailrunner

I haven’t opened the second bag from L’Epicerie yet. It’s in the fridge downstairs sealed up. I have ordered the organic both times. I haven’t felt the first bag was hard to deal with but I didn’t make baggies. Will let you know when I use out of the new bag. 

interesting about the drought conditions producing a better wheat. if that’s the case then US wheat will be getting better and better if they can find a wheat that will tolerate drought since we seem headed that way more and more in the grain belt . 

Lots of info as you found on drought and high protein! Kansas in the US particularly. France as well and severe in 2021 as it has been for several years. Assuming the flour just purchased is from this past year 2021 

Thank you for this information. 

 

https://www.google.com/search?rlz=1CDGOYI_enUS676US676&hl=en-US&sxsrf=APq-WBvfePp-3_TdKbmDF10oWBIdwerWgg:1646721692827&q=Drought+in+France+2021&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwiiyq2s9LX2AhUroHIEHWJcAzkQ1QJ6BAgIEAE&biw=414&bih=826&dpr=2

 

What do you find difficult/ different with the T 65 before and now? Thank you. c

MTloaf's picture
MTloaf

was too good to be true. It lasted over a year and I had stored it in a 5 gallon bucket with a Gammo lid. I brought it with me to our our new home that we recently moved into where I have been struggling to adjust my bread baking to a new environment. I used the last of it here and it was still the same or maybe the gluten had gotten stronger as the flour aged. My first baguettes with the second bag was almost a disaster. The gluten was much weaker, the dough was quite sticky it fermented much faster and the aroma coming from the oven was not as distinct. I have lowered the hydration from previous and that has helped some but I have decided to set it aside for a bit to see if aging it might improve things. I may try to make the first YW baguettes if Alfanso doesn't beat me to it;-) I think the strength that the YW brings to the party might help with this flour.

trailrunner's picture
trailrunner

For the info. I am still on my first bag. I never store flour at room temp except a current 5# quantity . All of my whole grains are stored at room temp in sealed bags but nothing like a gammo lid on a  bucket. 

So far it’s worked well. I haven’t noticed any change in the response of the T65 from this first bag which is basically at an end but I haven’t used it 100% in anything but pizza dough. 

I will not have time until May to explore the new bag. Vacation and babysitting grand babies comes first! I will follow along to see what everyone else is doing as I ride my bicycle 😊

JonJ's picture
JonJ

Lovely to see that you're still continuing with these txfarmer loaves.

Reading this made me hunt for a video where he measures the pH of the crumb for yeast vs levain breads:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CcBlwoLuWpI

(14:00 into video, interesting method)

Note just how much higher his pH is for the yeast bread - 8.39! And the enormous difference to levain: 4.92

Guess there is a reason after all that we call it sour dough.

This yeast water crumb at 5.6 (or 5.75!) is interesting and explains (in part) why we can push the fermentation of YW breads so much further, don't you think!

DanAyo's picture
DanAyo

“ This yeast water crumb at 5.6 (or 5.75!) is interesting and explains (in part) why we can push the fermentation of YW breads so much further, don't you think!”

At this time it seems that the gluten degradation eventually caused by acids will break down a SD dough quicker than the less acidic YW. At shaping this loaf was elastic and only with the greatest reluctance did it give up the gas bubbles when it was rolled out. As mentioned early, there was another quality that the YW dough possessed. I think it is called plasticity.

A tip that I think helped during the final shaping -
Even though I try to keep excess flour off the dough to prevent it from not sticking during the shape, this problems haunts me. Example - I have a hard time getting the dough to stick during the process of stitching. Excess flour is not the problem. In an effort to cure this, the dough is painted with water on surfaces that need to adhere to one another. It seems to be working.

trailrunner's picture
trailrunner

Glad the YW levain worked out for you. It certainly looks beautiful. I wonder if using a different flour would add more flavor. Since the T65 is my " go to" white flour now in all my bakes that use a white flour I would give it a try if you are still working on a formula. The Sonora is also a lovely white flour with more heft so that would be a possibility to give it more flavor. So many bakes and so little room in the tummy !!!   

The shape and crust are gorgeous !!  c

DanAyo's picture
DanAyo

Delete - duplicate

Hadn’t done that in a while.

trailrunner's picture
trailrunner

But heavier yes. Since my hefty rye takes a LOT of weight to fill the Pullman. It's so amazing the difference. I hope you try the T65 . I do think it will need a lot less mixing as it gets the gluten development by barely touching it. So I would be cautious on that. 

I haven't use the Sonora yet in a yeasted or SD bread but will soon. I used it in a skillet corn bread and it was outstanding taste wise. Always so much to learn. Congratulations on another successful bake. c

DanAyo's picture
DanAyo

I like the idea of T65! According to my taste, it may need a little more sugar. 10.5% originally, thinking 15.

If you know of a lighter bread than this, let me know. I can’t see how that can be possible. 800g filled a covered large USA Pullman.

Caroline -
Do you think the French T65 will hold up to intensive machine mixing?
TXFarmer is adamant about intensive dough development. And I am on that train…

trailrunner's picture
trailrunner

I mentioned above I don’t think T 65 likes intense mixing . 

JonJ's picture
JonJ

How about trying a small sample in the food processor, to see if it can handle the most intensive machine mix of all? Since I think you're an experimentalist at heart!

DanAyo's picture
DanAyo

Jon, I think the food processor would wreck the dough in short order - too much heat.

BUT, I may try mixing a batch if T65 in my spiral mixer set to low speed. Also setup a cold water bath in the kitchen sink. The dough temp could be monitored with a infrared heat gun. Once temps rise the mixer bowl could be set in the water bath. In addition to this, there would be a number of rest periods to allow the gluten to relax and not get stressed as the dough developed.

French T65 is worth the effort. I know of no other flour than compares to it for taste.

 

 

DanAyo's picture
DanAyo

This bake followed TX Farmer’s SD Sandwich Bread except Benny’s Sweet SD Starter was used. The goal was to produce a bread with great flavor that wasn’t too sour, yet complex in taste. The YW version was a tab bite less complex than the original SD Sandwich Bread.

Benny’s Sweet Starter uses 
100% flour
45% water
34% brown sugar
34% sd starter (100% hydration)

Fermented Levain 11hr 15min @ 77F

Measure rise of 3.75 (99ml begin 371ml end) 371/99=3.74747
Levain Dough was super strong and pulled a great windowpane at maturity.
Dough mixed to Intensive Development quicker than typical SD Starter.
Begin pH 5.14
End pH 4.32
Levain tasted sweet at maturity The dough was BF ~5.30 hr @ 77F. As expected it only rose about 33%.
Retarded overnight. It always rises in the fridge (39F), which is highly unusual for other doughs.
Reduced the TDW to 760g. 

The bread shrank a little, which was not an issue with the other bakes. Maybe 800TDW is the sweet spot for a large covered USA Pullman. The flavor was definitely not sour. It did taste somewhat complex, but still not as complex as TXF’s original formula and method. She ferments at 73F which can be an issue in our warmer months. Maybe the retarder can set to hold that temp, haven’t tried before. All in all a great tasting bread with a slightly less moist crumb. It may be because I used 100% KABF  for the first time. Other bakes used 50/50 (KAAP/KABF) Image below shows bread upside down, similar to hanging a Panettone. The top crust still sank. Benny suggested putting the un-panned loaf back in the oven for 10 minutes.   I would think that this Sugared Starter might work well in a Panettone.
Shush… Michael gonna’ blow a gasket if he gets wind of that! LOL   
Benito's picture
Benito

Overall nice bake Dan, glad to see you try the stiff sweet starter.  When used with 100% whole grain there is less of a pH fall during fermentation which is as to be expected.  I agree it looks like you should increase the TDW a bit for an all white flour dough in that pullman pan.  Yes, I do think placing the bread back in the oven at the end of baking out of the pan would help stiffen the crust to prevent collapse.

DanAyo's picture
DanAyo

Benny, the pH of the levain fell 0.82, nearly 1.0. But isn’t it possible for one bread with a pH of “4.0” (for example) to be much more sour than another bread with the identical pH? The bread was not sour at all according to my taste.

There is such much I don’t understand in regards to pH and bread flavor.

Benito's picture
Benito

I believe our mouths taste the actual acids ie acetic acid,  lactic acid etc..  The pH is felt by our mouths, like the sharp sting when we drink something acidic after biting the insides of our mouths.

So regarding your question, I’d say a whole grain bread with a pH of 4.0 will taste more sour than a white bread with a pH of 4.0 because the TTA of the whole grain bread will be higher.

MTloaf's picture
MTloaf

All aboard! A Pullman for the Sugarland Express. Did you deduct the sugar in the levain from the final dough? The brown sugar acted like a liquid in my levain. I found that the levain and the dough to be a slow out of the blocks but then move really fast so I am not surprised you had growth during the retard. If the sides of the loaf collapse inward when cooling it  needed more time in the oven. Benny and i are starting to sound like an echo lately. I look forward to seeing the slices.

Sound like you are already found the Goldilocks spot in Txfarmer's original recipe but it never hurts to keep looking which goes without saying.

Don

DanAyo's picture
DanAyo

Yes the sugar in the levain was deducted from Total Sugar.

The first sweet starter attempt was mixed white white sugar. Bad Idea! It took 24hr to ferment. From now on it’s brown sugar for me…

Benito's picture
Benito

Dan, by the way, I never do a cold retard of my enriched breads because I don’t want them to taste sour.  There si so much flavour and texture from the enrichments that I don’t feel that is much to be gained by a long cold retard.

Benito's picture
Benito

Don is this a case of great minds thinking alike or fools seldom differ?  I hope it is the former.

Puhantnf's picture
Puhantnf

Oh, the bread looks very cool; thanks for the formula. I will definitely try it out.

Puhantnf's picture
Puhantnf

Oh, the bread looks very cool; thanks for the formula. I will definitely try it out. There are also a couple of very useful pieces of advice in the comments that are also worth considering when cooking. Sandwich bread has an important place in our family as we adore cooking them when we go camping. We take the bread, a lot of vegetables, souses, meat, and our favorite pans - https://www.amazon.com/pie-iron-for-campfire-cooking/dp/B088H42W2L. We cook everything together, involve the kids in all the processes, and eat them even more special. If I manage to cook the bread, we will no longer buy it in the supermarket.

DanAyo's picture
DanAyo

TX Farmer states ~6 hours rise time for final rise. This last bake took it 12 hours at 76F, but came out high and light. The bread rose 2” above the pan. I think the sugar has an effect on this.

Danny