238 replies to this topic

[Aloha Steve]

Rose Levy Beranbaum's Banana Feather Bread

I made it free formed in a feather pattern, at lest that was my attempt

It looks great, smells great, the taste well I think it is going to be great. Here's why the "THINK"

When I did the sponge, I let it sit for only 15 minutes and then put the flower mixture on. Rose says to let the sponge sit for an hour before putting flour mixture on, or if you'd like, let the sponge "work" for 8-24 hours to develop more flavor, before putting flour mixture on. Realizing that I had not followed directions and her suggestion to let the sponge 'work', I decided that I would let it sit with flour mixture on top of the sponge, leaving it for 20 hours on my kitchen counter. Again, had I read and followed her instructions, it says after a hour to put in the fridge for anywhere between 8-24 hours to coax more flavor.
Ahhhh, cooking 101...read the recipe once through or more, till one understands what one is making and how to make it. !

My kitchen is cool, it sat in the mixer's SS bowl, so fingers crossed it came out alright.

Edited by Aloha Steve, 17 January 2010 - 06:50 PM.

[Aloha Steve]

Savory Asiago, Apple & Rosemary Bread

I substituted Gruyère for the Asiago. The crust is super but I think I did not let the bread cool long enough before cutting and eating. I think tomorrow it will be more tasty.

[Stephanie Brim]

I'm in the middle of testing a new recipe for honey whole wheat that uses a somewhat bastardized form of Peter Reinhart's epoxy method. Considering the overall hydration is something like 78% (!) it will hopefully bring about a nice, springy loaf.

I'll try and post a photo if my camera doesn't hate me too much tomorrow.

[Aloha Steve]

Savory Asiago, Apple & Rosemary Bread

I substituted Gruyère for the Asiago. The crust is super but I think I did not let the bread cool long enough before cutting and eating. I think tomorrow it will be more tasty.

I really tried to like it. Had a little piece last night and today. Cut the top off thru the rest away, figured the Muffin top theory, tried a little piece that way.........its history, Round Filed it all.
Can't win them all......gonna get back on the horse tonight and make something from P.R.'s ABED

Edited by Aloha Steve, 19 January 2010 - 08:53 PM.

[Stephanie Brim]

Okay. I need some help here. Can someone make this and tell me what you think? I think that the method plus the ingredients are what gives me the bread, but I need a confirmed second opinion that it's good.

What we're going for here is a 100% sandwich wheat bread that isn't too heavy, is soft enough for peanut butter, and my 2 year old won't turn her nose up at. She likes white breads, loves sourdough and light rye, but she's stuck on this no whole grain thing.

I'll put the ingredients as I used them and then the baker's percentages (roughly) next to them. It's enough for one 8.5x4.5 loaf and a few rolls, so the entire recipe would probably work in a slightly larger pan.

A couple things to keep in mind. I use instant yeast here. Also, my kitchen temperature is about 68-70 degrees. My milk was cold from the fridge and my water was room temperature and bottled. My butter was half melted, half not. None of this was completely scientific. Had it been, I would've been able to calculate for 500g of flour instead of 550g.

Soaker

200g (36%) whole wheat flour (KA or other finely milled)
115g (21%) white whole wheat (KA or other finely milled)
35g (6%) gluten flour (I used Arrowhead Mills)
260g (47%) milk (I used 1%)

Mix together all ingredients so that the flours are thoroughly moistened and set aside for at least an hour at room temperature.

Biga

200g (37%) whole wheat flour
150g (27%) water
5g (1%) instant yeast

Mix together all ingredients in a separate bowl from above and set aside for an hour or so, also at room temperature.

Final Dough

all soaker
all biga
50g (9%) butter
75g (14%) honey
12g (2%) salt
25g (5%) milk

Break up both the soaker and biga into small pieces and put in the bowl of a stand mixer. Add the butter, honey, salt, and milk into the middle of the pieces and turn the machine on low until they are starting to become incorporated into the dough and the dough itself is starting to stick a bit more to the dough hook. Once it starts to become dough, move up to medium-low speed (3 on my KA Pro) and go for about 4 minutes. It doesn't really take too long to become a nice dough due to the long autolyse that all the flour got.

I did 2 letter folds (pat or stretch out dough and fold in thirds like a letter, both top to bottom and left to right) at 30 minute intervals through the bulk fermentation, which takes about 2 hours. After the second fold let the dough completely double in size before moving on.

Once fermented, split the dough into enough for a loaf (750g or so is what I used) and a few rolls (I did one long free form batard). Proof until almost double, or about an hour. Score or not, brush with butter or not, and then bake in a 350 degree oven for 30 minutes (your rolls should probably be done now), then turn the oven down to 325 degrees and bake for another 10 or so minutes.

[Aloha Steve]

Authentic Pumpernickel w Raisins RLB Bread Bible

Came out, I think, exactly as Rose meant it to. I weight the doug before first proof, she said it was supposed to weigh 29.2 ounces (from memory) mine weighted 29.5

Deep, rich, earthy taste, offset with the raisins and sesame seeds. My favorite type of bread.

[Katie Meadow]

Steve, have you ever made the pumpernickel in Baking with Julia? We made it recently and it was fantastic. Just curious to get a comparison. We don't have RLB's bread book.

[Aloha Steve]

Steve, have you ever made the pumpernickel in Baking with Julia? We made it recently and it was fantastic. Just curious to get a comparison. We don't have RLB's bread book.

Katie is the formula called Pumpernickel Loaves or Rustic Pumpernickel ?
I don't have Baking with Julia, but I have found those two recipes.

[Katie Meadow]

The recipe in Baking with Julia is Pumpernickel Loaves. If your head starts to spin looking at the list of ingredients, that's probably the one. The addition of prune lekvar to the bread dough astounded me. We had just been given some home-made fig goop by relatives for the holidays, so we subbed that.

If lekvar is a new one for you (my husband was completely baffled) it's a thick fruit paste that's used as filling for pastries, cookies, etc. If you've eaten a prune danish, you've had it. I would guess that any thick fruit butter could be used if you don't want to take the trouble to make prune butter, which I didn't. However, it isn't difficult or expensive to make, but is pricey to buy or mail order. I imagine it's easier to buy a bag of pitted prunes in Hawaii than it is to buy a jar of lekvar. Apple or apricot butter might be good too in this bread. Actually the fig paste we were given was a bit bland and I was just as glad to use it up. We're only talking 1/2 cup for two VERY big loaves of bread. Given that this bread takes a certain commitment, I would consider making prune or apricot butter for next time.

[fairfranco]

This is my first loaf i've done in a long time and I've done a couple before really. This on is my first with a biga and the first time I've used steam in the oven. Pretty pleased with how it's come out.

I used mostly white flour with a little wholemeal and a few poppy seeds thrown in and made 2 smallish loaves.

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[Aloha Steve]

Steve, have you ever made the pumpernickel in Baking with Julia? We made it recently and it was fantastic. Just curious to get a comparison. We don't have RLB's bread book.

Hi Katie, I've looked over the recipe and its ingredients are similar but different. The plain yogurt, vegetable shortening & prune lekva are not in the one I made. The yogurt and solid vegetable shortening (Crisco) are off putting to me. The prune lekva sounds like it would taste terrific, in bread, on bread or a bit on a spoon !
To answer your question directly I don't have any comparison as I have not made or tasted it.

Edited by Aloha Steve, 23 January 2010 - 10:55 PM.

[Aloha Steve]

I bought and just received my new and LAST, so help me, bread book.
"Bread: A Baker's Book of Techniques and Recipes" by Jeffrey Hamelman. He is the Bakery Director at King Arthur Flour and for better or worse I've married myself to KAF products.
I made his Semolina bread today, with sesame seeds and my wife said, after it cooled on the rack: "Close your eyes, a little more seeds, you would think we were eating bread in Paris" I agree the bread is fantastic. While I find the text book (teaching) part difficult, I bought it for the recipes and the first one, is a Superbowl contender.



The bottom is not dark like in my poor picture. Great oven spring in this bread.

[LizD518]

Whew, it's been a long time since I posted something here.

Today I had my first tangible success with a whole-grain bread!

The recipe I used is from a Jeff Basom. I found the recipe online here. This is a bit of a departure for me, because I am normally all about the weights and reproducibility. None the less, It seems to have worked out ok.

The dough is made with 2 cups (I know! cups!) of whole grains (I used a mixture of brown rice, barley and moong dal), and I sprinkled the top with Kalonji seeds instead of using the glaze he recommends in the recipe.

This recipe is definitely a keeper. The only think I will change for next time is to use a higher oven temperature than 350. The crust doesn't get that nice foxy brown color before the inside is up to 210F.

Anyway, here are the two loafs I made:

I just made this bread and it came out great - probably my best loaf of bread to date. Thanks!!

[Isabelle Prescott]

Steve, have you ever made the pumpernickel in Baking with Julia? We made it recently and it was fantastic. Just curious to get a comparison. We don't have RLB's bread book.

Hi Katie, I've looked over the recipe and its ingredients are similar but different. The plain yogurt, vegetable shortening & prune lekva are not in the one I made. The yogurt and solid vegetable shortening (Crisco) are off putting to me. The prune lekva sounds like it would taste terrific, in bread, on bread or a bit on a spoon !
To answer your question directly I don't have any comparison as I have not made or tasted it.

Whenever I have a recipe that calls for vegetable shortening I substitute butter. I checked out the video and found it interesting how they used a sling made out of a kitchen towel to hold the loaf while it was rising. Does anyone here do that?

[isomer]

I just made this bread and it came out great - probably my best loaf of bread to date. Thanks!!

Glad it worked out for you!

[Kerry Beal]

I've been fooling around with a recipe from the Australian Thermomix board posted by an energetic woman from Spain. She's calls it Yogurt Bread and it is all purpose and rye flour based. I've adapted it to use whole wheat, all purpose and some grains that I've flaked with my flaker. I included some sunflower seeds and topped with flaked cereals, sunflower seeds and sesame.

Makes a tasty loaf.

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[Aloha Steve]

I've been fooling around with a recipe from the Australian Thermomix board posted by an energetic woman from Spain. She's calls it Yogurt Bread and it is all purpose and rye flour based. I've adapted it to use whole wheat, all purpose and some grains that I've flaked with my flaker. I included some sunflower seeds and topped with flaked cereals, sunflower seeds and sesame.

Makes a tasty loaf.

Kerry, did you make this all in a Thermomix, except the bake ?

[Kerry Beal]

I've been fooling around with a recipe from the Australian Thermomix board posted by an energetic woman from Spain. She's calls it Yogurt Bread and it is all purpose and rye flour based. I've adapted it to use whole wheat, all purpose and some grains that I've flaked with my flaker. I included some sunflower seeds and topped with flaked cereals, sunflower seeds and sesame.

Makes a tasty loaf.

Kerry, did you make this all in a Thermomix, except the bake ?

/yup - ground the hard wheat to make the whole wheat flour - bunged in everything else - kneaded 6 minutes. Let rise in machine. Used fresh yeast. Less than 2 hours start to finish.

[Aloha Steve]

I've been fooling around with a recipe from the Australian Thermomix board posted by an energetic woman from Spain. She's calls it Yogurt Bread and it is all purpose and rye flour based. I've adapted it to use whole wheat, all purpose and some grains that I've flaked with my flaker. I included some sunflower seeds and topped with flaked cereals, sunflower seeds and sesame.

Makes a tasty loaf.

Kerry, did you make this all in a Thermomix, except the bake ?

/yup - ground the hard wheat to make the whole wheat flour - bunged in everything else - kneaded 6 minutes. Let rise in machine. Used fresh yeast. Less than 2 hours start to finish.

Holy Mackerel, reason number 37 to get one of these contraptions!

[Ciao Ling]

A great thread. It stimulated to get my hands into some dough again. For convenience, I tried the master boule from Artisan Bread in 5 mins for the first time. It was OK but I did not like the crumb. I then moved back to the Lahey no-knead which I have done many times. That was much better, but like anything else, sometimes it doesn't get you what you crave. I cracked open Maggie Glezer's Artisan Baking and made the Acme baguettes which add both a poolish and scrap dough into the recipe. Now I am getting somewhere.

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[franktex]

This might be a dumb question, but some bread recipes call for butter at room temp(Brioche/Challah). Why can't I just melt the butter to liquid? It seems like it would mix in better instead of room temp?

[MikeJ]

Standard white sourdough (10% rye) boule and, I guess, batard.

[MikeJ]

Also, from a few weeks ago now: standard white sourdough (left), Hamelman's sourdough seed bread (right).

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[isomer]

Nice looking breads, MikeJ!

[Marlene]

This might be a dumb question, but some bread recipes call for butter at room temp(Brioche/Challah). Why can't I just melt the butter to liquid? It seems like it would mix in better instead of room temp?

You can, just be sure to cool the melted butter. Hot butter tends to kill off yeast.

[LizD518]

I have what may be a silly question. Can I take any bread dough and make rolls instead of one or two large loaves?

Further questions: Shaping - any tricks or anything to keep in mind?

Rule of thumb for baking times and temps?

Thanks!

[Aloha Steve]

RLB's Tyrolean Ten-Grain Torpedo
It tastes great, its a keeper. I used KAF Harvest Grains Blend for the grains.

[Marlene]

I have what may be a silly question. Can I take any bread dough and make rolls instead of one or two large loaves?

Further questions: Shaping - any tricks or anything to keep in mind?

Rule of thumb for baking times and temps?

Thanks!

Almost. Brioche and challah dough certainly.Sandwich dough, yes. Cibatta dough, not really, it's much too wet. Technically you could with baguette dough or sourdough bread as well, but they will be more along the lines of crusty rolls, not soft dinner rolls.

Shaping for rolls? most rolls are 2 - 3 ounces in dough weight. Take a chunk of dough, and roll it on the counter under the palm of your hand, with your fingers cupped. Don't be afraid to exert pressure. The dough should spring up into a tight ball in your hand and be smooth.

Rolls are usually baked at around 400, brushed with some sort of egg wash and take anywhere from 12-18 minutes.

Edited by Marlene, 09 February 2010 - 04:51 AM.

[LizD518]

I have what may be a silly question. Can I take any bread dough and make rolls instead of one or two large loaves?

Further questions: Shaping - any tricks or anything to keep in mind?

Rule of thumb for baking times and temps?

Thanks!

Almost. Brioche and challah dough certainly.Sandwich dough, yes. Cibatta dough, not really, it's much too wet. Technically you could with baguette dough or sourdough bread as well, but they will be more along the lines of crusty rolls, not soft dinner rolls.

Shaping for rolls? most rolls are 2 - 3 ounces in dough weight. Take a chunk of dough, and roll it on the counter under the palm of your hand, with your fingers cupped. Don't be afraid to exert pressure. The dough should spring up into a tight ball in your hand and be smooth.

Rolls are usually baked at around 400, brushed with some sort of egg wash and take anywhere from 12-18 minutes.

Thanks Marlene! I think I am going to attempt rolls on my next batch of bread - whenever that turns out to be!

I made two small loaves of Whole Wheat English Muffin Bread this past weekend. I was going to make English Muffins and decided as it was rising that I didn't feel like standing over the griddle and cooking them, so I just divided the dough in two parts and made two small loaves. They didn't really rise all that much in the oven, but they have a nice tight crumb without being too dense and they taste great!

[Ciao Ling]

On a baguette obsession. Wanted to try a baguette au levain compared to the Acme baguette I made before. There is a recipe online by Samuel Fromartz of his amateur best baguette in Washington D.C., blog post here. I also made a boule using levain from Daniel Leader's Local Bread. The results are good, but I don't think my starter was fully active and thus less of a dough rise and oven spring. It was more obvious with the boule than the baguettes as the leavener in the baguette recipe is not all levain but also uses some commercial yeast. I mixed the starter about a week ago and it wasn't as active as previous starters I have made, but I didn't have any mature starters and didn't want to wait. This is a wetter dough. The overnight retardation certainly led to great natural sugars, thus the great caramelization of the crust which was also shattered nicely. The crumb was also good. I used King Arthur French Style flour to come closer to the Type 55 softer wheat they use in France. I put the baguettes a little too closely together and some touched so those don't have a full circumferential dark crust. I haven't cut into the boule yet as it just came out of the oven.

Here is a good bread equipment buying tip. I used a brotform I just bought and wanted to see how it worked as it was from a discount wholesaler that I read about from The Fresh Loaf. The round brotform is only $6.00. They also picture it with King Arthur products making me wonder if they have supplied King Arthur at some time. The 9" on KA is $29.95. You do have to order $50 worth of products before the order can be placed. I bought several brotform and bannetons and will split if with a friend.

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