The Fresh Loaf

A Community of Amateur Bakers and Artisan Bread Enthusiasts.

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March 29, 2006 - 8:51pm
Suiseiseki's picture
Suiseiseki

High fibre bread recipe (draft)

This is just a draft; I have yet to try it. Using the amounts in brackets should theoretically make one loaf with approximately 70g fibre. Please forgive me if I got the percentages wrong; I'm still trying to switch from measuring in cups.

Ingredients 58.75% (240g) All purpose flour 2.08% (1 tbsp) Vital wheat gluten (80% protein) 39.17% (160g) Dark rye flour 77.11% (315mL) Water 0.88% (1.5 tsp) Yeast 1.79% (1.25 tsp) Salt 4.99% (1 tbsp) Honey (will probably use molasses instead as soon as I get some) 3.43% (1 tbsp) Butter 3.00% (85g) Wheat bran

Method (written for one loaf) Sponge 1.2g yeast 125mL water 120g AP flour Combine yeast with water, then stir in flour until evenly mixed. Cover & let stand at room temperature for 5 to 5.5 hours.

Dough Everything else Mix evenly into sponge. Knead until dough passes the windowpane and/or knuckle tests. Let dough rise covered in a greased bowl until doubled in bulk and passes the poke test (dough does not recover from poking/dimpling). Shape into loaf and let rise covered until doubled. Baking time and temperature have yet to be determined because I honestly don't know.

Hockey puck? Door stopper? Slimey pancake? Miraculously wonderful? What do you think?

March 29, 2006 - 12:22am
KazaKhan's picture
KazaKhan

A little less rapid...

I started today with a generic sponge that I used to make my standard white loaf & baguette, flax seed plait and some choc-chip hot cross buns. I wasn't sure at first if it was going to work out today trying a sponge and bulk ferment. So no bread improver and less yeast than usual. I started mixing the sponge at 12:30 and the first loaf was into the oven at 4:00. Now that I'm using two cast iron trays on the bottom of the oven to which I add a tray of ice between them, I'm getting a very nice bloom. Despite the ugliness of the buns they were quite nice. I couldn't post a picture of the loafs crumb, I've used up my monthly quota at flickr :-(

Flax PlaitNice Bloom Choc-Chip Hot Cross BunsBaguette & Pieces Flax Seed Crumb

March 28, 2006 - 10:35am
Joe Fisher's picture
Joe Fisher

Satisfaction

There's just something satisfying about eating a sandwich on bread you've made yourself. Soft, delicious bread. A sense of accomplishment. Anyone can go to the store and buy bread, and sometimes even more cheaply than I can make it for (I don't want to think about how much I spent in molasses on my last pumpernickel).

It's funny, because not that long ago, it would have been completely commonplace to eat your own bread. We've become a society so dependent on having others do things for us.

I'm a woodworker, and there's a similar satisfaction to working with tools you've made yourself. Again, the craftsman of old would have scoffed at such an idea, having made 95% of his own tools. Today, you can buy tools just about anywhere for 1/2 of what it would cost you to make them.

But then cost isn't the point, is it?

-Joe

March 28, 2006 - 1:35am
timtune's picture
timtune

Bread, crepe, curry...hmm

Well, again. It's time to update my blog on what i've been up to.. :P

A few days ago, i decided to try an italian chestnut flour i purchased some time ago. So i made a chestnut bread with 15% WW & rye.
Here's it -

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Today,well...actually about an hour ago, we just had a lil green coloured indian crepe called 'Pesarattu', and fish curry (which was actually fish carcass...but still with quite an amount of meat & plenty filling). The 'Pesarattu' is made entirely with mung beans, or 'green bean'. Spongier than 'dosas' with a nutty/beany flavour. I still like 'dosas' though.

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March 27, 2006 - 8:45am
Kitchen Witch's picture
Kitchen Witch

Starter is off and running

Well I had ordered a sourdough started from the friends of Carl a while back and never got around to activating it. So I got a coupla containers over the weekend and activated it according to the book Classic Sourdough by Ed Wood,( 7pm) well it took off incredibly fast.....but there was a layer of hooch in the middle by morning. So around 9:30am I decided to wash it also according to the book, by 11am it had risen 1 1/2" and was still on the rise, we went away and when we returned home aroung 4 in the afternoon it had risen a good 2". Well I washed it again at 4 and by 7pm it was ready to be divided again, so I divided it at 7 and by 8 it was cralwing out the top of the containers.(It had risen over 2 cups and 2 1/2 ", in an hour ) So I divided it and washed it one final time at 8pm and tossed it into the frige for the night, over night it had risen over an inch in the fridge. This morning I took one container from the fridge and am making Cinnamon raisin nut Bread also from the book so we will see how it turns out.

March 26, 2006 - 6:04pm
JohnnyX's picture
JohnnyX

Success at last!!!

After many months of making french bread, I have finally achieved the results I have been striving for! Delicious open crumb,and crunchy crust. All my practice has finally paid off. For me, shaping has been one of my biggest weaknesses. Now hopeully I can achieve this again.
WOOOHOOOO!!!!! =)

March 26, 2006 - 3:37pm
KazaKhan's picture
KazaKhan

My Week

Monday...
Preferment

Tuesday...
2nd

Wednesday...
Pizza

Thursday...
Bread

Friday..
Cake

Sunday...
PizzaMore BreadCrumb

March 25, 2006 - 9:00pm
Floydm's picture
Floydm

My Ciabatta

My Ciabatta (sung to the tune of "My Sharona")

my ciabatta
Oooh my little crusty one, my crunchy one.
Making you was awf'ly fun, My Ciabatta!
Your crumb is my fav'rite one, my fav'rite one.
When you gonna be done, My Ciabatta!

my ciabatta
Ready to munch, don't want to wait
for you to cool. Cooling on the rack, wire rack,
Time to eat. My my my i yi woo! M M M My Ciabatta...

my ciabatta

This was my best ciabatta to date. The two three things that seemed to make a difference were extremely slack dough (75% hydration), lower than usual yeast (cut it by half), and pressing it extremely thin before putting it in the oven. Other than those few changes, the dough and technique were basically the same as my daily bread.

Good stuff. More baking tomorrow.

March 23, 2006 - 5:34pm
KP Crumbworth's picture
KP Crumbworth

Today's Loaf

I made a boule today that was one of my better efforts.

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It tasted very good, but I think I can go wetter.

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I'm also looking for more of a blistery crust- one that crackles a bit more. I'm really trying to get the mix of crackle, shatter, and chewiness just right which is kinda tough doing 1-2 loaves per week. I have BIG plans this weekend which include deep dish, and regular pizza as well as a ciabatta, and another wetter boule.

Fun Stuff,

KP

March 22, 2006 - 6:48am
Joe Fisher's picture
Joe Fisher

The quest for 100% whole wheat Nirvana continues

I'm determined to make the Whole Wheat recipe in the Bread Baker's Apprentice work. This will be my 3rd try.

Got started last night.

I put together the soaker with stone ground rye flour. It was 4.25oz flour to 6oz water. Covered, left on the counter.

Then I put together the poolish. I used KA whole wheat flour. 6.75oz flour, and 6oz water. The directions say to "mix the flour and yeast, and add the water until it forms a thick paste. Stir only enough to hydrate the flour."

First problem: 6oz of water was not even enough to pick up all the flour. I had to at least double the water to make something that didn't resemble Play-Doh.

I got it to a "thick paste" consistency, and waited a few hours for the first bubbles. I then popped it in the fridge, where it waits for me now.

More to come, hopefully with pictures!

-Joe

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