The Bread Topic (2016–)

[kayb]

On 11/26/2016 at 8:23 PM, liuzhou said:

My secret bread weapon, but first some background.

 

I live just north of the Tropic of Cancer (I cross the imaginary line at least twice a week - yes it's marked on the highway). This means that it is warm to very hot here for ten months of the year. However, those two cool months are killers. Temperatures drop to around just over freezing, but it is very humid. Wet, and cold.

Now, I hear many of you cry "Above freezing? That's nothing! You don't know what cold is!"

 

The thing is that few people have any heating at home or in the office. Homes, shops, school classrooms etc are all unheated - most people think it just isn't worth the expense installing heating for just a small part of the year. Instead, we all just pile on more clothes.

 

Being a pampered westerner, I have the luxury of air-conditioning but I seldom use it and then only on the hottest summer days. I can't bear that drying effect it has. But I do employ an electric blanket on the bed. Which brings me to bread.

 

 

That is my bed. No, I haven't broken my foot or anything similarly serious. That square lump is my secret weapon.

 

I was having problems finding somewhere warm enough to prove my bread dough when it struck me - in the bed. So that is my loaf, sitting on top of the electric blanket (on the lower temperature setting) under my quilt and a blanket.  The loaf is in a tin and covered with an upturned Tupperware type box, allowing plenty of rise room without getting dough all over the bedding. Perfect solution.

 

Here is yesterday's "bed bread".

 

 

.

 

Brilliant!

 

On 11/27/2016 at 9:01 PM, chefmd said:

Sandwich loaf.

 

What recipe do you use for your sandwich loaf? I have several I like, but always up to try another one.

 

[chefmd]

@kayb I used King Arthur Sandwich bread recipe.  Did not like it very much, a little too sweet for my liking (I used about 20% less sugar) and a bit fragile.

 

http://www.kingarthurflour.com/recipes/king-arthurs-classic-white-bread-recipe

[FrogPrincesse]

A quick no-knead peasant bread with 20% whole wheat flour and 1/2 tablespoon almond oil (that you cannot really taste; this works better with a more assertive olive oil for example). I used the technique from Artisan Bread in 5.

 

 

 

[kayb]

5 hours ago, chefmd said:

@kayb I used King Arthur Sandwich bread recipe.  Did not like it very much, a little too sweet for my liking (I used about 20% less sugar) and a bit fragile.

 

http://www.kingarthurflour.com/recipes/king-arthurs-classic-white-bread-recipe

 

Thanks. Based on that, I probably won't try it. So far, I think the best one I've found is Rose Levy Berenbaum's soft white sandwich loaf.

 

[paulraphael]

My sourdough loaves are finally starting to look presentable. They've been delicious from the beginning, but have usually looked like something that's been sat upon.

The lactobacilli are in charge of the flavor; they seem to know what they're doing. I'm in charge of the esthetics, and have been a bit of a slow learner.

 

[Okanagancook]

Fantastic looking bread Paulraphael.  Now a little home made cultured butter to fill in those lovely bread holes.  

[Anna N]

 

 

To me there is still something magical about pulling a loaf of homemade bread from the oven before 8:30 AM.  This was the last of my dough from a batch of basic dough from Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day.

 

 

[rotuts]

If anyone bakes bread in the CSB , sometimes called the CSO  or Cuisinart Steam Oven,

 

Id appreciate your various Rx's

 

thanks

 

what Id really like to learn to do is small sourdough loafs   from home made starter which have been retarded in the refrig

 

then portioned out to fit in the CSB

 

when I used to do these loafs in the regular oven , two large at a time , they never rose as much as Id like , but were still

 

might fine loafs :

 

 

these were thems  

Edited December 2, 2016 by rotuts (log)

[blue_dolphin]

4 hours ago, Anna N said:

To me there is still something magical about pulling a loaf of homemade bread from the oven before 8:30 AM. 

It would be even more magical if it were to happen at my house !

A number of years ago (more than 10), I made a New Year's resolution to bake all my bread and not purchase any.  I kept the resolution and baked a couple of loaves, on average, every week.  It was usually edible, rarely what I had in mind, but I stuck with my resolution.

On the following New Year's eve, I breathed a sigh of relief and went back to buying bread.  Aaah!  Perhaps less rewarding but ever so nice to get ciabatta when I want ciabatta and whole wheat sandwich bread and sourdough....etc.

I follow this thread and am envious of the loaves I see here.  I occasionally buy a packet of yeast but then discard it after a few years.  I haven't baked a loaf of bread since so pulling a homemade loaf from my oven would be magical indeed!

[Anna N]

6 minutes ago, blue_dolphin said:

It would be even more magical if it were to happen at my house !

A number of years ago (more than 10), I made a New Year's resolution to bake all my bread and not purchase any.  I kept the resolution and baked a couple of loaves, on average, every week.  It was usually edible, rarely what I had in mind, but I stuck with my resolution.

On the following New Year's eve, I breathed a sigh of relief and went back to buying bread.  Aaah!  Perhaps less rewarding but ever so nice to get ciabatta when I want ciabatta and whole wheat sandwich bread and sourdough....etc.

I follow this thread and am envious of the loaves I see here.  I occasionally buy a packet of yeast but then discard it after a few years.  I haven't baked a loaf of bread since so pulling a homemade loaf from my oven would be magical indeed!

Aaah. But before you hang a halo on my head bear in mind that if I could step out and buy a loaf of ciabatta, or whole grain or even, heaven forbid, some squishy white sandwich bread, I probably would! 

As an aside, I just undertook the herculean task of cleaning out my freezer drawers. I was embarassed to realize how much of the space in the freezer was taken up by bread that was months old. I have an acute fear of finding myself without a slice of bread!

[Dave W]

Hello bakers,

 

Beautiful work in here as always. I recently made the challah from Peter Reinhardts book the Bread Baker's Apprentice. This is a supremely easy bread and the results are awesome. I have another, double batch in the mixer at the moment. 

 

 

Keep on baking!

 

 

[shain]

Baked two small focaccias this evening.

First one is with rosemary and garlic infused olive oil (the fried garlic scattered after baking), a little sesame and sea salt.

The second was topped with lightly caramelized onions, sesame, sea salt and a lot of tart sumac post-bake (I quite like sumac with onions in any form). Regular olive oil for this one.

Both were baked in a pan, placed on a baking steel in a 260dC oven - first covered for 15 minutes, then another 10 without cover to brown. During the last few minutes I missed the onion getting too dark, but luckily no bitterness came through.

 

 

Edited December 8, 2016 by shain (log)

[cakewalk]

Sourdough, with bread flour, semolina, rye, and buckwheat flours. Very nice loaf, but the crust needs work.

[Dave W]

Shain, that rosemary focaccia is on point!

 

Cake,

 

Regarding crust development, do you add any steam or spray your loaf with water before baking?

[cakewalk]

30 minutes ago, Dave W said:

Shain, that rosemary focaccia is on point!

 

Cake,

 

Regarding crust development, do you add any steam or spray your loaf with water before baking?

No steam this time, but I did brush with water before I put it in the oven. I was a bit anxious to get it done since it had already been hanging out for almost 48 hours, I had to leave the house shortly, and I didn't want the dough to sit in the fridge another night. The oven was already on from baking something else, so I just upped the temp, brushed some water on top so the sesame seeds would stick, and baked. So it's no surprise that the crust wasn't as crisp as I would have liked. The bread is very flavorful and I like the texture, so I guess all's well that ends well.

[DianaB]

Another topic I have really enjoyed catching up on after some time away.

 

I'm so glad that @Anna N continues to experiment with so many flour types and baking options.  So very many beautiful loaves, I would love to sample them all.

 

I continue to bake all of our bread, buying a commercial, even if 'artisan' style bread, would require best part of an hour plus the costs of driving to the nearest town, parking etc.  I continue to bake based on Eric Kayser's recipes which suit us.  I'm finally happy with our baguettes and our sandwich loaf, each recipe includes sourdough and dried yeast.  Not for the purists of course but these recipes take next to no time with a stand mixer and proofing box.  We are a household of 2 so we don't need a huge amount of bread and there are never leftovers.  

 

@Anna N I can only admire your tenacity in bread making.  You share that you live alone yet you produce bread that I'm sure any family would be delighted to enjoy.

 

@liuzhou, it is absolutely fascinating to learn about your cuisine, bread making included, and so a bit about the culinary culture you are a part of.  If anyone claims they can't make bread due to limited equipment or ingredients your posts here show that they just need to think a little more.  

 

there is so much beautiful and diverse bread written about here, impossible not to be inspired to keep working towards perfection, accepting that perfection in this sense is unique to each of us.

 

I am finally not too disappointed with the finish of my baguettes.  For a long time I just couldn't get the slashes right to allow vapour to escape.  Perfection?  No, but we enjoy this bread.

 

 

[Anna N]

@DianaB

Great looking baguettes!

 

 Finally time, energy and ingredients converged and I was able to make another loaf of the Pullman bread from Della Fattoria.

 

 

 

[Toliver]

22 minutes ago, Anna N said:

 Finally time, energy and ingredients converged and I was able to make another loaf of the Pullman bread from Della Fattoria.

Great looking bread...Picture perfect!

[rotuts]

is the advantage of a Pulman loaf that is has uniform crumb esp at the top ?

[dscheidt]

2 hours ago, Anna N said:

@DianaB

Great looking baguettes!

 

 Finally time, energy and ingredients converged and I was able to make another loaf of the Pullman bread from Della Fattoria.

 

 

Is there a pointer to that formula?  I need more reasons to use my pullman pans.

[Anna N]

1 hour ago, dscheidt said:

Is there a pointer to that formula?  I need more reasons to use my pullman pans.

Which formula?  The energy, time, and ingredients formula?  Or the recipe for the loaf?  If the latter then the recipe is in the Della Fattoria book.  I gave the ingredients to make the smaller loaf to fit in the 9x4x4 pan earlier in this thread.  

Edited December 15, 2016 by Anna N (log)

[Anna N]

4 hours ago, rotuts said:

is the advantage of a Pulman loaf that is has uniform crumb esp at the top ?

 I think there are a lot of reasons to enjoy a pullman loaf but I would say that it's not necessarily more advantageous than other loaves, just different. I like the tight crumb because it means I can slice it thinly. I like the symmetry of the square slice. I like that it makes a smaller slice than most sandwich loaves.  But it's not a nice crusty bread to have with soup nor a granary bread.  It just has its place in the world of breads in my  opinion.

[rotuts]

@Anna N  

 

very well put

 

thsnks

[cakewalk]

Took a break from those spritz cookies to bake some rye bread. Conventional yeast method, James Beard recipe. Won't cut them open until tomorrow. 

[Anna N]

 

It is a little lopsided because I lost my nerve tipping it from the brand-new banneton into the blazing hot Dutch oven. This is the Ken Forkish Saturday bread for my granddaughter who came for dinner for the first time in ages due to work and school commitments. I was astounded that it came out of the banneton without any issue at all. And it sang the bread song for ages.