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Tartine 80% Whole Wheat, GF Cornbread, Macarons

emkay's picture
emkay

Tartine 80% Whole Wheat, GF Cornbread, Macarons

I was in a Chad kind of mood this week, so I baked an 80% whole wheat boule ala Tartine.

Tartine 80% Whole Wheat

80% whole wheat flour
20% all purpose flour
5% wheat germ
85% water
2% salt
20% levain

  • 5 hours of bulk fermentation at room temperature (about 69 F) with S&F at 30, 60, 90, 120, 150 min.
  • Preshape and bench rest for 20 minutes.
  • Shape retarded in the refrigerator (about 38F) for 16 hours.
  • Baked in an enameled cast iron combo cooker at 450F for 45 minutes (cover on during the first 20 min).

The whole wheat bread tasted great, but it was a bit dense from being overproofed. 16 hours in the refrigerator is long time for 80% whole wheat, but my schedule didn't allow for baking it sooner. No biggie.

I bought some Cup4Cup, a gluten free baking blend made by Thomas Keller (of The French Laundry). I made cornbread muffins for a GF friend who would love to have cornbread stuffing for Thanksgiving. She loved the muffins and so did I. I couldn't tell that they were gluten free, but I think cornbread is something that can be made with mostly cornmeal/polenta and no wheat flour and still taste just fine.

GF_Cornbread_Muffins

Macarons

macarons

I took a macaron class on Saturday. I have been making macarons on and off for a few years now. Sometimes they turn out perfectly, and other times not so much. I wanted more consistent results so I signed up for the macaron class at the San Francisco Baking Institute. I highly recommend the SFBI. Whether it's one of the week long courses or weekend workshops, it's a treat to learn from the talented and knowledgeable instructors in a facility with high quality equipment.

macaron_fillings

During the 8 hour class, the 24 students along with our instructor, Miyuki, made 15 different flavors of macarons. We learned the French meringue method (uncooked sugar) as well as the Italian meringue method (cooked sugar) for the shells. She exlained the differences between the two methods as well as the pros and cons. Most of the fillings were premade for us, but the students made variations on a 64% chocolate ganache. There was chocolate, chocolate orange, chocolate strawberry and chocolate cherry ganaches. The other flavors were peppermint, eggnog, chocolate praline, raspberry, pistachio, lemon, passionfruit, cassis, rose, vanilla, and mocha. Each student took home a big box of macarons.

macarons_box

Comments

Janetcook's picture
Janetcook

Hi Mary,

Beautiful breads and macaroons!  You certainly have a talent for baking.  All are simply gorgeous and a delight to behold.

Thanks for sharing!

Take Care,

Janet

emkay's picture
emkay

Hi Janet - You're so sweet. Thank you for the kind words.

nmygarden's picture
nmygarden

Nice dark crust, crisp scoring very nicely done, Mary! And a virtual rainbow of macarons. Thanks for sharing!

Cathy

emkay's picture
emkay

Hi Cathy - I wish I could take credit for the bold bake by saying it was on purpose, but honestly, I think the crust turned out dark because it's 80% whole wheat flour. But in the end, it looked nice and tasted good too. Thanks!

dabrownman's picture
dabrownman

Mac's are a delight too!  Well done and happy baking Mary

emkay's picture
emkay

Hi dab- A while back I made some macarons that looked like little burgers. I'm sure your apprentice would like to try her hand, eh, paw at one of these...

dabrownman's picture
dabrownman

is licking her chops!  Is that a real hamburger and lettuce?

emkay's picture
emkay

Lucy could eat the bun (macaron shell), lettuce (green dyed coconut), and tomato (sliced sour cherry).  The burger patty is chocolate with ground sesame so she'll have to pass on the "meat".

Kiseger's picture
Kiseger

love the swirly scoring, and I like that crumb, nice and even so that runny cheese stays on the slice!  What gorgeous macarons, must be so much fun learning how to perfect them and I really want to taste the eggnog flavour, yum!!  All in, beautiful everything Mary!  

emkay's picture
emkay

Hi Kiseger - I didn't think I would like the eggnog macaron, but it ended up being my favorite out of the 15 flavors. Boozy eggy buttercream filling with a sprinkle of nutmeg - what's not to like? :) 

Mebake's picture
Mebake

All look great, Mary. Love that 80% tartine, and the macaroon lesson must have been worth it.

Thanks for sharing,

Khalid

emkay's picture
emkay

Hi Khalid - The class was so much fun and I learned a lot too. I can't wait to practice what I learned.

Isand66's picture
Isand66

Beautiful baking Mary.  Your bread looks perfect and those macaroons look better than most bakeries.

Regards,

Ian

emkay's picture
emkay

Hi Ian - I was pleasantly surprised by how well the macarons turned out in class. I hope I can get equally good results at home.