Young Baker Competition. Half Term Home Baking

 

Late in September, and with one week's notice of the event from the Publicity People, I approached my Level 2 students and invited them to enter the Young Baker of the Year Competition.  

This was hosted by Warburton's, who are one of the "Big 3" baking companies who dominate bread sales in the UK.   Six students entered and prepared their own recipes, which they spent a couple of weeks perfecting.   Of these, two were chosen to compete in the Regional Final held at Warburton's Bakery on the outskirts of Newcastle upon Tyne on Friday 15th September.

There were 5 students in the Final: 2 from Middlesbrough College, 1 from South Tyneside, plus Katie and Faye from Newcastle College.

The recipes are posted below.   There are also some photos from the event.   The loaves were made the day before and taken along for selected staff and managers at the Warburton's Bakery to judge.

Katie made bread using a local stout to make a traditional barm.   She also included a linseed soaker.   Fantastic recipe; malty with hydration at 75%: very attractive and flavoursome!   Faye used nettles, gathered from her own garden.   The bread was made with a white levain, and lightly spiced with roasted cumin and coriander.   Thanks Karin [hanseata] for your post which was the original source of some inspiration!

Hey, Faye was the winner!   She won £250, and now has a place in the National Final.   The prize for that is £1000, plus a work placement at a Warburton's Bakery!   The Final is a live "bake-off" at the HQ in Bolton, near Manchester, on 10th November.   How exciting; I can hardly wait to get on that train myself!

 

 

Baker Competition

Stout and Flaxseed Bread.

	Stout and Linseed Bread Recipe
Barm	Formula (g)		Recipe (g)
Strong White Flour		25		750
Beer		25		750
Yeast		0.2		6
Total		50.2		1506
Soaker		Formula (g)		Recipe (g)
Golden Linseed		10		300
Water		30		900
Total		40		1200
Final Dough		Formula (g)		Recipe (g)
Barm		50		1506
Soaker		40		1200
White Flour		50		1500
Brown Flour		25		750
Beer		20		600
Salt		1.8		54
Fresh Yeast		2		60
Total		189.0		5670

 

Bread Method

 

Firstly the... Over Night soaker-

 

Weigh out 300g of golden linseed into a bowl and add the 500g of cold tap water.

Leave over night in a cool place for approx. 7 hours.

Then the...Over Night Barm-Beer ferment-

Weigh into a large bowl 750g of strong white bread flour- preferably Canadian and rub in the 6 g of fresh yeast gently with your fingers. Then pour in 750 of dark Allendale stout. Just combine the mixture to a paste then cover bowl to make airtight. Leave this in a reasonably cool place over night. 6-7 hours.

 On the Day the...Final Dough-

 

Weigh out dry ingredient first, the white and brown flour into a large mixing bowl. Rub in the fresh yeast gently with fingers and pour the salt to one side of the bowl. Weigh out the overnight soaker and add this to the bowl then weigh out the barm and add this also. Weigh out and add the stout. Attach to a mixing machine then attach the dough hook. Place on number 1 or lowest speed for 10 to 15 minutes. Periodically scrape excess dough from the sides and bottom of the bowl. After 10 minutes of mixing take a piece of dough and check the elasticity-the window pane method. If the dough doesn't stretch out enough place back onto a slow mix.

When mixed, take the dough out of the mixing bowl. Lightly grease another large bowl with shortening/butter. Very gently knead the dough in the bowl, cover with a cloth and leave in a warm place for ten minutes. Take bread dough out of bowl and weigh into 1kg pieces, then shape each piece into ovals/ balls. Sprinkle a dusting of semolina and brown flour into large bread proving baskets and transfer each loaf smooth side up into each basket. Then place baskets into a prover for about an hour until the bread has doubled and is not over proved.

Transfer each loaf onto a peel finely dusted with semolina and slash each top with a lame as desired.

Pre-heat the baker's oven to 210°C. Place in the oven for up to 25 minutes and pump the oven with steam straight after the bread is on the oven sole. Open the dampers, and bake a further 5 minutes.   Cool on wires. [Photos Below]

Nettle Bread [Photos Above]

 

Makes a large loaf of 1000grams and a smaller loaf of 450grams.

Pre ferment -  Wheat Levain

Flour 284g

Water 170g

Total 454g

 

Final Dough

Flour - 568g

Salt - 16g

Yeast - 24g

Preferment - 454g

Water - 367g @ 20 degrees centigrade

Roasted cumin seeds - 3g

Coriander seeds - 4g

Dried nettle - 4g

 

Oven dry the nettles

Roast off the cumin

Crush the coriander seeds in a pestle and mortar

Boil 200g of water with a bunch of nettles and allow to cool

Place the flour, salt, preferment and yeast in a mixing bowl and the 200g of nettled water and 167g of cool water combined with a temperature of 20 degrees.

Place the mixing bowl on the machine and mix on speed 1 for 3 minutes

Then mix on speed 3 for 6 minutes until fully mixed

Mould the dough and rest for 5 minutes

Divide the dough into one small 450g loaf and a 950g loaf and shape

Place into baskets and place in the prover

Prove for 45 minutes to an hour at 35 degrees

Bake @ 220 degrees in a deck oven with the top to be set at 6 and bottom at 5 for 25 minutes.

Remove from oven place on wires and allow to cool.

To be fully enjoyed serve with cheese or soup.

 

 

I made the following breads at home over the half term holiday:

Pain Siègle

Material	Formula [% of flour]	Recipe [grams]
1. Rye Sour
Dark Rye Flour	10	169
Water	16.6	281
TOTAL	26.6	450
2. Final Dough
Rye Sour [from above]	26.6	450
Strong White Flour	90	1521
Water	51.4	868
Salt	1.8	30
TOTAL	169.8	2869

Pre-fermented Flour: 10%.   Overall Hydration: 68%

Method:

• Build/elaborate the leaven and ferment overnight for 18 hours prior to use
• Combine all the final dough ingredients, except the salt, and "autolyse" for one hour.
• Add the salt and mix the dough for 15 minutes to fully develop.
• Bulk ferment for 3 hours with 2 S&F...hourly intervals
• Scale and divide into 2 equal sized pieces.
• Mould round and place upside down in prepared bannetons.
• Final proof is 1½ to 2 hours. Cut the top of the loaf just prior to baking.
• Pre-heat the oven to 250°C. Bake with steam for 20 minutes. Drop the heat to 210 °C and bake a further 35 minutes.
• Cool on wires

 

White Levain with a Seed Soaker 

This was a cold soaker, using sesame and blue poppy seeds with no salt addition.   These were soaked for six hours prior to dough mixing.   I utilised an overnight retard for this bread.

Material	Formula [% of flour]	Recipe [grams]
1. Levain
Strong White Flour	33.3	480
Water	20	288
TOTAL	53.3	768
2. Soaker
Sesame Seeds	5.2	75
Blue Poppy Seeds	5.2	75
Water	31.2	450
TOTAL	41.6	600
3. Final Dough
Levain [from above]	53.3	768
Soaker [from above]	41.6	600
Strong White Flour	66.7	960
Water	20.8	300
Salt	1.9	28
TOTAL	184.3	2656
Overall Hydration	72%
Pre-fermented Flour	33.3%

Method:

• Elaborate the levain and make the soaker 6 hours in advance
• Mix all the ingredients to form the final dough, and fully develop this for 15 minutes.
• Bulk prove ambient for 2 hours.
• Retard overnight at 3°C in the fridge, covered.
• Scale and divide in 2. Mould round, top with a mix of the seeds and prove in bannetons.
• Bake profile is as Pain Siègle. Cool on wires.

 

Best wishes to you all

Andy