My baguette improvement. Thanks to everyone on TFL.
I would like to thank everyone on TFL, especially David (dmsnyder) and Jane (Janedo) for sharing your recipes, techniques and experience about bread baking. 3 months ago, when I decided to learn how to make my own bread, I was doing everything wrong and the results were hard and dense hockey puck bread. I've been making bread everyday, sometimes twice a day, but was not getting good results. I've been gradually improving but not till recently, after I joined TFL, that I was getting the results I was looking for. I still have a lot to learn but without TFL, I would have given up on bread baking. Thank you soo much everyone.
Here's a picture of the Kayser Monge baguette that I made yesterday. I modified the recipe a bit, because I felt like experimenting. The pictures were taken by my "in-house photographer" (husband). :)
This recipe had KA WWF mixed into it and we noticed a sort of raw flour taste/smell in the bread. I had made the same baguette the day before without KA WWF and it did not have the raw flour taste/smell. Is it normal for the bread to taste and smell like raw flour when whole wheat is added? Maybe its an acquired taste and I'm just not used to it yet??
Doesn't it feel good when thinks start working?
How much WWF did you use (percentage of total flour)? WW can give a "grassy" flavor at times. I often add 5-10% whole rye or white whole wheat to "white" bread doughs. The white whole wheat sometimes give a "perfumey" smell and flavor. I like adding rye better. I don't get any rye flavor, but it seems to bring out more flavor from the wheat flour somehow.
David
Sylvia
Thank you David and Sylvia.
I use 3% of white whole wheat. I think I'll try using rye flour intead. I was at Draeger's Market in Danville, CA yesterday and found a lot of wonderful stuff there. Its my favorite market. I wanted to buy confiture de fraises (strawberry jam) made in France but it was $16 and I couldn't bring myself to buy it ,although I had no problem buying a jar of it in Paris for 8-10 Euros. I also bought some Superfine "00" flour. I think I'm going to experiment with this "00" flour.
Melody
Beautiful job, Melody. I'm no expert on strawberry jam, but at $16 a jar I'd pass too. If you can find E.D. Smith Strawberry preserves (made in Canada) sold at CostCo and I assume other places (Whole Foods?) you might like that. It's wonderful, lower in sugar than the typical sickening sweet varieties and reasonably priced.