PatrickT

250g mini loaf (#2 of 2), 100% Central Milling Old World Bread Flour, 70% hydration. The 500g of original dough was mixed, divided in half, and refrigerated on Tuesday morning. It sat there until today (Sunday) for a total of 123.5 hrs, followed by a 3.5 hr countertop proof… all on 1 gram of yeast. EDIT: Crumb shot added. A bit wonky, but really tasty nonetheless!

You are far too kind - thank you! 🙏 I’ll be forever searching for your consistently glistening, open crumb, but I’m pleased with this effort. I’m baking up two 250g loaves, one tomorrow and one Saturday, so the journey continues! 😃

Better crumb than my last bake. In terms of taste, you can tell it’s a sourdough, but it’s very pleasantly - almost surprisingly - mild.

This is the world-famous Thibeault Dough and process. 😃 Sourdough loaf, 100% Central Milling Old World Bread Flour, 70% hydration (modified upwards from 63% for this thirsty flour), 10% inoculation, 59.5 hr cold retard, 9.25 hr initial proof, 2 hr final proof. Crumb and taste test to follow. As always, thank you @Ann_T for all of your mentoring in this group!

Thank you @Ann_T - I’ll wait a bit and update my notes accordingly. 🙏

@Ann_T Quick question. I’m making a sourdough version of your dough this morning with a countertop final proof. My notes say to allow a 30-40 min rest after final shaping, but what typical increase in volume is that for your loaves? Thanks in advance!

@Ann_T Very helpful proofing pics - thank you! Another question. When you make a sourdough version of your dough, you follow exactly the same process, correct?

Thank you! He even has a bunny tail! 🤣

@Ann_T My crumb is very tight, but my dough was very stiff and had that second, unplanned cold ferment. I think if I tweaked the hydration a bit for this blend and baked it straight from the final proof, it would be better. I’ll try that next time. That said, it is beyond delicious. The flavor of this loaf - with the 20% WW and long cold fermentation - is very reminiscent of a mild sourdough. I could eat this every day and not tire of it.

Thank God I didn't disappoint your early morning waiting! LOL To be honest, I am simply blown away that I actually baked that. Your process is just so incredibly simple! And what I love about it most is that you can essentially have bread ready to bake any time you want it. I'm going to try to maintain this, like you do, for a week or two and see if I can continually reproduce these results. I should also tell you that I shared your process with a fellow bread baker friend in Thailand. He and I have been commiserating with each other over our less than impressive bakes. We decided to both try your process together. He just baked his loaves yesterday (72 hour cold fermentation, 1 gram of yeast) - here are the pics. His words: "Could well be my best loaf ever." 😃 Thank you so much for all of the mentoring and inspiration you provide to all of us here. You're making disciples! 😂

@Ann_T This just might be the finest loaf I've ever baked. 😂 Initial cold retard for 72 hrs, counter proof for another 10 hrs, and a final cold retard for another 14.5 hrs, then baked right out of the fridge - all on 1 gram of yeast. This is Central Milling Organic Old World Bread Flour (80%) and King Arthur Organic Whole Wheat Flour (20%). The dough was VERY stiff at 63% during the stretches and folds, so if I were to use this blend of flours again, I think I'd up the hydration to something in the 65-70% range. Anxious to see the crumb and taste it. I'll try a sourdough version of this next - maybe exactly the same process! @Cyberider So much for the pancake! 🙃

Absolutely love it - the flavor, texture, and color are all just wonderful. Even the way the dough feels as you’re working with it is amazing. Highly recommend it!

It may turn out to be the most flavorful pancake I've ever made! 🤣

@Ann_T Well - this should be interesting. 😃 I made a 500g batch of dough (80/20 BF/WW) for your recipe on Wednesday. Took it out early this morning so it could warm up and proof on the counter. It took about 10 hrs to increase a little over double in size. Pics of the dough below. I was originally going to bake it now, but my wife needed the oven, so I needed to pivot. I decided to shape it, pop it in a banneton, and stick it back in the fridge to bake in the morning. LOL Have NO idea if that is going to work or not - we'll see. That means this dough will have undergone (1) an initial cold retard for 72 hrs; (2) a counter proof to double+ in volume for an additional 10 hrs; and (3) a final cold retard for what will turn out to be about another 13.5 hrs - all on 1 gram of yeast! Have NO idea if this will work or not, but I'll post my bake results in the morning.

FoodGeek's Artisan Sourdough Bread, 80% Central Milling Organic Old World Bread Flour and 20% Flourist Organic Whole Grain Rye. Made this for a neighbor who had outpatient surgery earlier in the week. I'll be giving him this today, along with a pot of home-made chicken noodle soup, to help promote the healing vibes. 😃

Perfect - that’s what I thought. I appreciate your reply! 🙏

Hi @Ann_T - quick question for you. When you remove your dough from a long, cold retard (example here), you typically allow it to rest on the counter for 8 - 8.5 hrs before shaping. During that time, do I recall you saying correctly that your dough approximately triples in volume? Just wanted to be sure I had noted that correctly. Thank you!

Gorgeous! Trying the Yudane/Tangzhong method is definitely on my list. Just got my first bag of CM Old World Bread Flour today. Anxious to try it!

Thank you! You loaves, as always, are like art works. 😍

Banana Bread 2.0 from Maurizio Leo's The Perfect Loaf, made with ripe sourdough starter. I used my wife's sugared pecans in place of the walnuts in the recipe. Great rise in the Pullman pan. Really easy and absolutely delicious recipe that's bound to become a family favorite.

Yup - exactly right. I’ve used this before and it works well.

Love the Cambro containers. They make great bulk fermentation vessels, as well. Very easy to track the amount of increase in your dough as it's proofing.

Alternatively, there are food safe elastic covers in various sizes that would allow you to do the same thing. 👍

I use a shower cap with my bannetons for the final proof. Before I put in the dough, I rinse the inside of the banneton with water, shake off the excess, and sprinkle the inside generously with rice flour. Works like a charm for me! Gorgeous looking loaf, by the way! 😃

Looks like that’s a keeper. 🙌