Lucy Does Double Duty After Her Promotion to First Class Baker’s Apprnetice
It has been awhile since Lucy had to do any bread baking and she was certainly into doing so again with her new title she happened to earn on her 15th birthday – May the 12th. She had been a 2nd \Class for so long she thought that was as high a title there was in the Bread Making Fantasy World (BMFW).
Pork Carnitas El Pastor (with grilled fresh Pineapple) naked and then with all the fixings. Carnitas sauce, Crema, cilantro, green onion, mango salsa and sliced avacado.
Since our last bread post we also celebrated Cinco De Mayo and Mother’s Day too! Who knew May was so packed with stuff with Memoria Day still to come. With all the May happiness going on, it isn’t so strange, even with her laziness, that Lucy baked two identical breads, 16 hours apart that looked totally different yet tasted so similar.
Don't forget the Veggie Tamals but there were Chile Verde chicken ones too
Yeah, she be lazy more than anything else so she only whipped up one recipe but divided it up after the bulk ferment to shape 300 g of it into a Squat Bag that she retarded for 24 hours and then put the rest of the dough into a wide pan to make a loaf of sandwich bread for her Momma with a 40 hour retard. Lucy is sweet like that when she isn’t biting you or upchucking on your toes for no reason at all.
And Pork Enchiladas.With amber Dos XX's and Prickly Pear margaritas and chips with home made beans. It was too good ....What am I saying?
This one had 25.35 % whole grain evenly divided between red and white wheat with an equal amount of rye tossed into the Nutrimill. Instead of making a bran levain, we used half the whole grains for the 12.7% pre-fermented whole 100% hydration, levain to make the 2 loaves. So, half the whole grains were autolyzed for 2 hours at 100% hydration for the dough flour.
The baguette was sliced at a 45 degree angle to make bruschetta with mu SIL recipe from Houston! Delish!
The levain was started with 17 g of NMNF Whole Rye Starter and it was retarded for a full 24 hours after it doubled to bring out the acetic acid for this rather large amount of levain. Normally, with the temperature around 90-100 F, we would be in the 7% range for the pre-fermented flour but We had planned for two large loaves instead of 1 and a half since the baguette was only 300 g.
The volunteer cherry tomatoes are going gangbusters producing this many every day!
3 different gains are never enough for a committed floozy baker of any class; like Lucy, so she added 8% each sprouted spelt and sprouted Khorasan to the mix to up the flavor another notch or two and let’s face it, sprouted grains make any bread ferment and taste better. Are they a revolution like Peter Reinhart says? Well maybe a serious uprising, but he was trying to sell a book too.
The wofe wanted rids for Mother's Day so I said OK and added chicken and mild Italian sausage to her request and the salad of course! Last night I made the bruschetta topping and used that for the salad dressing - Killer!
Being old as well as lazy, we have taken to skipping an autolyse for the white dough flour but have added a step to compensate, We mix the levain in with the dough water and add it to the dough flour, mix it with few slap and folds and then sprinkle the 2% pink Himalayan sea salt on top and letting it rest for 40 minutes. We added enough dough water to get the overall hydration up to 78%
The loaf sliced beautiful and thin like she likes it and was soft moist and open too. Best of all she loves the way this bread tastes! It really is delicious.
We started the gluten development with 200 slap and folds. Then did 2 more sets of 40 and 10 all on 22-minute intervals. 22 minutes may seem odd but that was where the timer was already set on the iPhone and Lucy is way too important to change it now that she is 1st Class all the way. The dough didn’t seem to notice but it wasn’t talking either.
Nothing wrong with a big, juicy Kansas City Strip now and again especially with grilled salmon for the feint of heart:-)
Then we did 3 sets of 4 stretch and folds from the compass point on 30-minute intervals. We lopped off 300 g of dough with the scraper for the baggie and shaped both pieces. The baggie went into a rice floured tea towel lining a basket and the loaf went into a sprayed wide loaf pan instead of Yippee’s Pullman this time.
You have to have a good breakfast on Bake Day, Banana Strawberry SD pancake or any other day, Kale and veggie omelette :-)
Into the fridge they went for their 24 and 40 hour retards. We needed a baguette for bruschetta. The cherry tomatoes that came up volunteer this year are really starting to go into overdrive producing at least 50 Husky and Sweet 100’s every day. Nothing like a fully vine ripened cherry tomato especially when used for bruschetta and bruschetta requires great SD bread grilled on an open flame.
How about Bruschetta with ribs?
We let the baguette sit outside in the 100 F heat to warm up as the oven heated to 500 F with the 9x13 pan of lava rocks on the bottom rack, a stone on the middle rack and a stone on the top rack. We unmolded the baggie, slashed it 4 times and into the oven it went as we put 1 cup of water on the lava rocks, closed the door and let it steam at 450 F for a short 8 minutes.
It is tiny lump of dough and 8 minutes is plenty for steam and another 8 minutes at 425 F Convection will get it to 206 F on the inside. It just isn’t enough time to get it dark on the outside but, with it going on the grill to toast, I didn’t want it to be dry on the inside to start with. The loaf went in the next day, after 2 hours on the counter, with 18 minutes of steam (2 ½ C of water on the rocks) and then 18 minutes of 425 F dry heat using convection.
The loaf browned up very nicely and both were blistered. I brushed the loaf with water after it came out of the oven to make sure the crust was nice and soft after it cooled and wrapped in plastic overnight. The baguette was more open but still made the best toasted slab for bruschetta imaginable.
There are few Minneolas left on the tree - perfect for this mornings breakfast
Both of these are some seriously tasty bread for sure. I don’t think it is possible to make a better white bread when it comes to taste. NMNF sourdough with a retarded whole grain levain and long retarded proof, 25% whole grain with 15% sprouted grain and using several different grains makes for about the best white bread that can come out of your kitchen.
We love home made soup of all kinds, even with packaged noodles
Here she is with her 15th birthday. buzz cut and new purple - K State bow. She's the best even if only a First Class Baking Apprentice:-)
Comments
DAB , I dont know what is making me salivate more the food or the bread...
Cooking and baking go hand in hand to make for a healthy appetite! Gald you like both and happy baking TS
DAB , I dont know what is making me salivate more the food or the bread...
Lucy has outdone herself this time! Everything looks amazing. The breads must taste fantastic and the food is exhausting to look at ?. Those fresh tomatoes must be tasty...it’s a long time until I have any fresh tomatoes...I have yet to plant them as it’s been so cool here lately. Max and Lexi want to come stay with you since I don’t cook quite the variety as you ?.
Unfortunately I just lost my job again so I guess I will have more time to bake and cook now..
Happy Baking, cooking and eating!
She seems t enjoy them more with a bone! Sorry to hear about the job. Its a shame Amazon is no longer coming to your home town with all of those great $150 K jobs:-( Something will turn up - it always does. Nice to have have mire time for the black ones too! The tomatoes this year are killer. I picked nearly 2 quarts of them earlier today! No way we can eat them all before we leave fr Seattle mid ext week for a visit of the kids and meeting then new poochie - Mabel! It has been cool here - only 2 days over 100 F so far this year. Its only 82 F today for eh high and not to be over 90 for the next 10 days either. You really don't want to leave town when it is this nice!
This bread is about as tasty as a white bread can be and the food has been pretty good lately too. Making monthly burgers tonight. on Kaiser rolls - which are really Franz Joseph rolls since they were invented in Austria by their famous bakers for FJ before the Germans stole them for the Kaiser!
Good luck with the job search and happy baking Ian.
I WANT ONE OF EACH! Including the baking apprentice! Your pictures are so delicious looking.
and take Lucy home with you! She is always looking for greener pastures and she did upchuck on my toes this morning after breakfast but has been munching on Cheez-its since then so she is feeling better now. glad you like the food and happy baking C123
with dem der baguettes. She couldn't shape that one any better. Living up to her new status. And a fine crumb too. I occasionally slice the bags on the bias too to make them little bigger for toppings like that bruschetta with tomatoes and basil. And her Dad sure does know how to cook.
alan
Class BA/s who would try to do a baguette at 78% hydration and a 24 hour retard but she is too stupid to think about anything or know better either.. She really growled at me when I took it out of the oven and barked Don Baggs would bake that puppy dark and you know it! She was tight the bruschetta would not have suffered any! Thinking about your baby!
Gald you like the food too, Happy baking Don Baggs
Class BA/s who would try to do a baguette at 78% hydration and a 24 hour retard but she is too stupid to think about anything or know better either.. She really growled at me when I took it out of the oven and barked Don Baggs would bake that puppy dark and you know it! She was tight the bruschetta would not have suffered any! Thinking about your baby!
Gald you like the food too, Happy baking Don Baggs
Sister, you made the big time - First Class! Love the buzz cut and ribbon, too, they're perfect to start the summer.
You all eat great! Carnitas, grilled food, hearty breakfasts, home-grown tomatoes and salads, tasty and healthy. And if this bread counts as 'white', though it has 25% whole grain flours in it, then I'm sold. I've had less time to bake lately, mostly keeping the freezer stocked with breakfast bread (60%+ whole grain, seeds, nuts and dried fruit) that I can toast at the office and pair with fresh fruit. Each bake is different, depending on what is on-hand, but in all, similar. Maybe it's time for some white bread.
It's good to hear from you and to see what you've been up to. All the best,
Cathy
- something different every bake! But niw that I eat way less bread an have my wife weened of of story bought Oroweat I bake way more white bread but it has to have at eat 20% whole grains in it. White bread is too boring and doesn't taste good at all - comparatively. It's like SD vs yeast bread - no contest. Every once in a while I will sneak in one of my favorites though. Diabetes keeps my bread intake way down on the carb side!
How are Millie and Tilly? Lucy sends her best to them. Glad you like the post and happy baking Cathy!
I want to live in your house, so I don't have to cook!
I checked Lucy's age; she could be older than you if she were a human. She could be your master!!!
Happy cooking and baking, Dab!
Yippee
I say we both go to HK and move in with Elsie so neither one of us has to cook and we could eat even better and healthier too:-) I haven't been to Hong Kng since at least 1982 or so. I miss the horse races in Happy Valley:-) We are going to Seattle next week to visit the kids, meet the dog and have some fum for a change! Next weekend it is supposed to almost be 80 F there Yea! But no sun of course.
Glad you like the post Yippee and happy baking
It's good to be away once in a while.
Carnitas is a great treat on its own. When you add grilled pineapples and another half a dozen of fixings, these tacos can't be beat! I'm craving tacos now thanks to you, must make some form of tacos next week! I'm not one to go crazy for meat, carbs are more my thing. Despite that, the grilled chicken, sausages and ribs are too die for! Nothing goes better with them than a healthy and tasty salad. I don't see anything wrong with serving them with bruschetta though :) Omelettes and pancakes are two of my favorite breakfast foods. They're served for lunch quite often in my house as well. Love all the fresh looking fruits, especially the ripe red cherry tomatoes. Must go very well with your baguette. I wasn't cooking much this past week as I've been studying for my exams. Still one to go on Monday...
Lucy's doing so well she's definitely proved that she deserves her new title. Keep up with the fantastic cooking and baking!
down your forearm to your elbows:-) Delicious! This morning my wife said, hey buddy, I'm having half of that kale, red pepper, free onion, pepper jack and mushroom omelette, She said when did you start putting Kale in there and I said a young baker turned me on to the new Hong Kong Omelet:-) It is our new favorite getting some more savory in there.
You give me a glass of wine or a beer, pizza, smoked meats, tacos and salads and I'm not going to be happier for a long while as long as there is chocolate and some ice cream to wash it all down. Those are the 7 basic food groups. OK, you can put veggies in with salad and bread in with pizza and still keep it to a round 7 if you put fresh fruits and berries in with the wine.
I think she was a 2nd class for nearly 5 years before Lucy got her promotion. She deserved it too if you can overlook all of her silly mistakes and outright catastrophes of epic proportions:-)
Glad you like the post Elsie. Hopefully Yippee and I and won't really be moving in with you till you get your own place - hopefully in Monaco:-) Happy baking till then!
A great job supervising her Dad's yummy-looking cooking & baking. Long-overdue promotion. She reminds me so much of our golden lab/retriever (died age 15). They sure know how to work those eyes to guilt you into something (food or petting).
but it is nit her fault since she was bred to drag badgers out of holes in the ground and you have be pretty stupid to do that. So she compensates in other way like being a totally determined and committed in a way that only German breading can bring out. She hangs in there and fight hard fr her titles. She has n quit in her but she does get tired faster now a days and enjoys a her 18 hours of sweet dreams a day! She has 'those eyes' for sure and can get her way always one way or another.
Happy Baking MBb.