April 6, 2015 - 4:55pm
Using Bread toppings
I have been baking bread now since Christmas using Ken Forkish’s book Flour,Water,Salt,Yeast. I have had good success. I also like to use banneton baskets. Recently I have been trying to add King Arthur’s Artisan bread toppings. When I sprinkle them into the floured banneton, the toppings simply slide to the bottom. I then tried spritzing the top of the loaf with water after I removed it from the banneton so the seed would stick but it ruined my nice circles of flour. This weekend I spritzed the banneton with water and sprinkled the topping in. It stuck well to the sides but my dough did not want to come out of the banneton. How do I apply this topping without causing more problems?
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You should apply the topping once you got the dough out of the banneton, that would also be the time to eggwash * if you want to use it * and sprinkle your topping.
Hello Kringle
Another method is to place a damp cloth in a cookie sheet type pan, roll the loaves through it then roll them through a second pan containing the seeds. If you use a minimum of bench flour while shaping the loaves and you finish by pulling a good firm surface skin onto the loaf, they may be tacky enough for the seeds to adhere without the roll in the towel.
A seedy good time to you
cheers
I stopped trying to use coatings with bannetons - all I got was the very top after (like you) all the seeds, etc. went to the bottom of the banneton.
So now I use a mister to either spray over the dough immediately before it goes into the oven, then sprinkle whatever on top (e.g. sesame, poppy seeds), or use the mister to dampen a parch of workbench then roll the dough over that, then into the tub with the bits in it, then into a tin.
My "Wholemeal Crunch" loaves. They're shaped, the rolled in a damp bit of the workbench then rolled in the tub with the flakes, seeds, etc. then proved and baked in a tin.
-Gordon
Gordon, they look beautyful!
I have no luck with loaf tins, can you please tell me for how long and on what temperature you bake your loafs?
I like to use a 50/50 mixture of wheat and wholemeal flour or a 80/20 wheat and rye flour mixture.
I think the tins are much nicer for everyday bread for my daughter to take to school and of course the toaster...
I like free-formed breads, using bannetons, etc. but sometimes a loaf in a tin is just what's needed. I make a couple of these once a week usually.
So that's my overnight yeasted wholemeal "crunch".
980g of 100% stoneground wholemeal flour, 590g water, 3g yeast (I'm using organic Bioreal dried yeast - buy from Shipton Mill), 12g salt. Mix that all together then leave, covered overnight. (I use the K-Mix & dough hook, or my big Hobart if it's free). The next morning, tip it out, divide into 2, shape into a boulle, leave for 5 minutes, then re-shape into a log - It's a bit of a sticky dough and needs light handling, so I dust the boulle with white flour, turn it over, flatten it gently into a rough rectangle, 2 turns/rolls from the top down, then lift, stretch sideways, fold thirds into the middle, then roll again into the final "log" shape.... wet that (roll it on the bench with some water sprayed) then roll it in the tub of seeds (wheat flakes, sesame, poppy, millet, sunflower) then into the tin to prove - usually only takes an hour or so. Into the oven at 240C with a cup of water in the tray at the bottom to try to keep the crust soft while it does the final spring, then down to about 210 after 12 minutes for another 22-25 minutes.
A very simple loaf and the slow overnight ferment does add to the flavour. I get my stoneground wholemeal from a local mill in Devon too (the wheats are grown in Devon & Dorset) I've done exactly the same with strong white flour too (maybe a touch less water)
The description of how I shape it may be somewhat challenging to interpret, but I've not seen anything like it online so-far. I was shown that way by someone local (which I've subsequently changed a little to suit me more) - it seems to work... Maybe I'll try to video it one morning.
the 2-stage heat/oven run is what I do for almost all breads - 250C for 11-12 minutes, then down to 210C (give or take) until baked - 22 minutes, or a little longer for a darker crust although I always use a temperature probe with Rye (97C) just to make sure as its so wet... I have occasionally stuck the probe into some of the bigger loaves I make - just to make sure, but I know my timings are mostly OK.
-Gordon
I do not use my fan oven when I bake brad in the tins and put it on the middle shelf.
Yesterdays bread I baked for 45 min. at 220 and had good spring but it stuck to the tin a bit , even so I greased the tin. pfff
Never mind, the loaf is so tasty.
100g unfed 90% hydration sourdough starter
350g wheat flour
250g rye flour
400g warm water
14 g fast acting dry yeast
9g Salt
2Tbsp olive oil.
Yes I know it sounds like a lot of yeast, but I wanted the bread ready for dinner and I can tell you, the taste is out of this world!
Rich, sour, dark and just YUMMY
I spoke to a german baker, he said he would use 1 cube of fresh yeast *42g * in a bread with that amount of rye flour, so I divided it by 3 to arrive at the amount for the dry yeast.
It took a bit over an hour to double and 40 minutes for the final proof.
Of course if I had the time I would use just 2 g of yeast and do a LONG cold bulk fermentation and the proof and bake.
Lesson learned, even a * fast * bread can taste BEAUTIFUL.
I've used commercial (organic/bioreal) yeast in sourdoughs in the past, although it's not something I regularly do. You get the flavour of the sourdough starter combined with the quicker rise of the yeast. (and the argument against is that the shortened rise time makes it lesser digestible than "pure" sourdough, as well as flavours)
It's something the real bread campaign frown over though - not with the yeast, but the fermentation time or a pure sourdough - they're looking for at least 4 hours ferment and when you add yeast it shortens that, somewhat!
-Gordon
You know, I love a pure sourdough bread, it is my fav. I love the journey that it takes from starter to finished loaf and taste BUT I am also a busy houswife that feeds a family of 6 and I do not mind at all baking hybrids, the taste is wonderful.
Of course a hybrid can not touch on the taste of a pure long fermented soudough loaf, it is a good second for me though when I am busy.
The one I made yesterday will be eating with lots of butter and a steaming hot bowl of green bean soup, nice and rustic.
I almost always put seeds and topping on my loaves. My approach is just before final shaping to lay the dough in the seeds. Most of my dough is high hydration and they stick just fine, if it is a bit lower I mist them a little. Once covered I do a couple tension pulls to create a good boule and that pulls the seeds around the sides and then they are placed in the banneton. This gives me the banneton shaping you like and well coated loaf too. Here is an example I put on my blog.
I am confused now, I use bannetons too and I do put my loafes seamside up, but than I would worry that all the lovely seeds stick to the banneton when I get it out.
Thanks for the comment. I really don't know if there is a "trick", but I never have seeds stick to the banneton. I flour the banneton as if there were no seeds, that might be what does it.
my family and I adore seeds in and on bread, it adds so much to the flavour.
I am forever picking the seeds from my plate after I finished my bread.
I flour my banneton and also put cornstarch in to make sure the loaf will not stick, so my loaf that shall be baked in the morning will be my seed test bread:)
Seam side up in a banneton as you then turn it over onto the baking tray, etc. and the seam is down - so hopefully stays closed.
Seam side down in a tin as it then stays down.
The exception seems to be (I think) Tartine when they seem to keep the seam up when it goes into the oven, then the split is a feature of the bread, however I don't use that method myself.
-Gordon
that is how I do it, I like to score the bread so that I know where it will open.
Seam side down in a tin is what I do also, that is when I can get the seeds on.
sorry about that.