PatrickT

Am I mistaken? If so I apologize. I thought he was the one who took all the photos of your baked goods. Is it you - or Matt?

Frozen sourdough two ways. This little experiment had its birth because I wanted to explore options for shipping sourdough to friends. Recipe (Tartine) and process for both loaves: 450g bread flour 50g whole wheat flour 375g water 100g starter 10g salt S&Fx3 with 30 min rests CFx2 with 30 min rest BF at 80F to 75% increase At this point, the process for the two loaves diverged, as noted below. For Loaf #1 (seeded): Preshape and rest 30 min Final shape and rest 30 min CR 18 hrs Par bake in preheated DO at 450F for 30 min covered (internal temp 197F); cool to RT Freeze in heavy plastic bag 48 hrs Thaw in proofer at 80F for 6.5 hrs (internal temp 74F) Bake in preheated DO at 450F for 30 min covered; 5 min uncovered; cool to RT For Loaf #2 (plain): Final shape, place in plastic-lined banneton and freeze in heavy plastic bag 48 hrs Thaw in proofer at 80F for 6.75 hrs (positive poke test) Bake in preheated DO at 450F for 30 min covered; 10 min uncovered; cool to RT Discussion: I saw the par baked loaf method explained by Foodgeek and the frozen dough idea mentioned by Connie David Hedgepeth-Smith, a member of the Sourdough Geeks Facebook group. Both loaves were delicious and had very good crust and crumb structure. The crust of the par baked loaf was considerably more chewy than the frozen dough loaf - almost "tough." The par baked loaf seemed to deflate a bit under its own weight while cooling. As a result (and doubtless due to the fact that the crust was essentially twice-baked), it had less overall oven spring than the frozen dough loaf. The frozen dough loaf was a bit more challenging to score, as the dough was at RT prior to baking. To answer the shipping question, the frozen loaf method would obviously be much simpler for a recipient to manage. Wildgrain is one company that specializes in shipping frozen, par baked bread and other baked goods. That said, I feel the frozen dough method yielded a slightly better loaf and could perhaps be final proofed and baked in a bread tin to simplify finishing.

Your breads are always perfection @Ann_T - and your post here is no exception. But I really have to call out your husband today for his impeccable photography. He consistently brings out the very best qualities of your baking and other culinary gifts!

I use mine with Tom Cucuzza’s Bulk Fermentation table to give me an estimate for percent rise and time in BF.

That’s a beauty! Love the color especially. 😍

I do and I love it. I use their Sourdough Home, as well, and as much as I initially resisted buying more gadgets, I have to say that both of them have really helped me become more consistent. I pretty much need all the help I can get. 😂

This morning’s bake was a toasted sunflower/poppy seed sourdough - a new recipe just posted by Brod & Taylor. It is positively delicious!! The combination of flours and seeds is just fabulous. Highly recommend giving this one a try. You won’t regret it!

I’m seeing the bakery opening next! 😂

Glad to hear it - and glad you enjoyed the video. It's one of my favorites.

I would have said no, but according to this recipe for Pate Fermentee on Epicurious, it can be frozen for up to 3 months! Who knew?!

So glad it's worked out well for you! I might try the Pate Fermentee method myself when I take a whack at Ann's baguettes. I'm sure your starter is just fine. They are far more resilient than we think. If you want a laugh on this subject, check out Tom Cucuzza's YouTube video 50 Ways to Kill Your Starter. It's hilarious - and actually quite educational.

Thanks very much @Ann_T! I'm delighted with the flavor of this loaf and am making it again for a luncheon with friends later this week. Your baguettes are always so inspiring. Definitely need to try making them again. It's been quite a while.

This was an interesting bake. I made a honey lemon whole wheat yesterday, with 25% whole wheat, the zest of an entire lemon, and lots of honey (which doubled the typical BF time). I inadvertently let the dough more than double and thought for sure it was going to be wildly over-proofed. Realizing my mistake, I quickly shaped it, popped it in the fridge for a 12.5 hour CR, and did a cold bake this morning. How the dough had enough left in the tank to provide this much oven spring is a bit of a mystery - I won’t lie. 😂

Those are beautiful!

Absolutely! Here’s the link to my post. It was 3 or 4 pages back.

Looks that way to me. A bit longer BF would open that up. It’s all about the taste though!

So glad you’re enjoying this method! Your success with it certainly speaks for itself. Definitely going to try this more myself this year.

Beautiful! What was the hydration of your loaf?

Granite Ware is exactly my choice now too! 😃 Love it. Lightweight, cools off in a jiffy, and is every bit as effective as cast iron in my experience.

Gotcha. Many of the sourdough recipes I follow call for a preheated Dutch Oven. When I do my cold bakes, the loaf goes into a cold DO and the DO goes into a cold oven. So easy!

From my perspective, no differences that I can tell - other than a significantly lowered risk of burning your fingers when you load your loaf! 😂

Love the cold start method! 😍

90/10 Central Milling ABC+ and Einkorn at 75% hydration. Really love the sweetly nutty flavor of Einkorn flour. Will try an 80/20 mix next time.

I made this recipe quite a while ago and completely forgot about it. It’s absolutely wonderful. Thanks for reminding me! Definitely going to make it again - and you’re right… this is the perfect time of year for it! 😃

Absolutely! I made mine with sourdough starter - but you could easily substitute yeast for it. I also used my wife's sugared pecans for this, but regular toasted pecans would be fine as well. Let me know if you try it!