The Bread Topic (2016–)

[chromedome]

13 hours ago, kayb said:

I don't believe that's possible.

 

Agreed. A palpable oxymoron.

[ElsieD]

I just baked this sourdough loaf and am happy with the way it turned out.  It did stick a bit on one side of the banneton  but I managed to ease it out with too much damage.  Can someone tell me if I can put the dough in a loaf pan for It's proof stage and bake it in that pan rather than baking it as a round?

[DianaB]

That looks beautiful @ElsieD.  I have transferred some of my bread straight to a loaf tin for the second rise rather than using a banneton. I was having similar problems with a part of the paton sticking and that causing some damage to the final product.  Still edible and still good of course.

 

I have nowhere near the expertise of other bakers on here but I rarely use a banneton these days.  Either I leave the dough 'free form' (as for a baguette, works also for a round) or it goes into the tin it will be baked in for the final phase.  Because there are only two of us I often bake smaller loaves (rolls in England, not sure about other variations of English), freezing portioned dough after the first rise.  As I've written elsewhere I would be lost without my Brod and Taylor proofing box, as would George the cat:

 

 

On on topic because there is bread rising in the box under George and 2 pots of liquid levain back right of the box... :-)

 

 

 

[ElsieD]

@DianaB thank you for answering my question.  There are only two of us as well, and the loaf I made is a lot (too much) of bread for two people.  I'll try freezing some of the fermented dough next time and also make up some buns for sandwiches.  I haven't made a lot of sourdough bread so do not have a lot of experience and freezing the fermented dough didn't occur to me until you mentioned it.  

 

A question about your proofer:  how does it compare to just leaving your dough on the counter to rise?  

 

Edited June 11, 2017 by ElsieD (log)

[lindag]

Diana,

I use that proofing box as well and it works like a charm.  You can dial up whatever temperature you need depending upon your conditions and whatever you're proofing and there's a water tray to add moisture to the doughs.

I leave mine set up in the dining room all the time but it's nice that it collapses down for those who want to store it.

What a great picture of George!

Edited June 10, 2017 by lindag (log)

[DianaB]

6 hours ago, lindag said:

Diana,

I use that proofing box as well and it works like a charm.  You can dial up whatever temperature you need depending upon your conditions and whatever you're proofing and there's a water tray to add moisture to the doughs.

I leave mine set up in the dining room all the time but it's nice that it collapses down for those who want to store it.

What a great picture of George!

 

 

I do love the proofing box.  Our climate is less than ideal for bread making but the box makes repeat results achievable.  It is also good for holding tempered chocolate.  Our's is stored flat when not in use due to very limited space but I would be lost making bread without it.  

[DianaB]

22 hours ago, ElsieD said:

@DianaB thank you for answering my question.  There are only two of us as well, and the loaf I made is a lot (too much) of bread for two people.  I'll try freezing some of the fermented dough next time and also make up some buns for sandwiches.  I haven't made a lot of sourdough bread so do not have a lot of experience and freezing the fermented dough didn't occur to me until you mentioned it.  

 

A question about your proofer:  how does it compare to just leaving your dough on the counter to rise?  

 

 

 

Sorry @ElsieD I got distracted and overlooked your question yesterday.  The proofer has transformed our bread making.  We can now hold dough at a constant temperature regardless of the weather.  The manufacturer provides a booklet that advises to attempt at 27c initially.  We followed that advice and we have kept to it.  There is no cooling facility so if you are in the tropics this is not the machine for you but otherwise it's advantages are that it folds down so needs very little storage space.  It can be assembled for use in seconds.  A small water tray is included so that dough rises in a slightly humid atmosphere preventing crusting.  

 

We have always made bread but the process was more stressful before we got the proofer.  Now any stress comes from trying a new recipe rather than worrying that the kitchen will be too cold to get the dough rising.  It is difficult to put into words the advantages the proofer brings but I certainly wouldn't want to be without it.

[Duvel]

"Laugenbrötchen", essentially little pretzl rolls. To be consumed during this years first BBQ (yes, I know I am late ...).

 

 

[ElsieD]

Brioche buns.

[Okanagancook]

Pita Breads.  A slightly different kind than usual.  I have been slicing them in half so they are thin; toasting them and then putting in sliced ham for breakfast.  Yum.

 

 

[ElsieD]

1 hour ago, Okanagancook said:

Pita Breads.  A slightly different kind than usual.  I have been slicing them in half so they are thin; toasting them and then putting in sliced ham for breakfast.  Yum.

 

 

 

Holy cow, those look fantastic.  Do you have a link to a recipe/method for those?  

[Okanagancook]

They are from here:  http://www.seriouseats.com/recipes/2015/08/perfect-pita-bread-recipe.html

 

I have made them on the stove top in a cast iron pan and this lot above I baked on my steel slab in the oven.  I like the oven baked ones better.  They are lighter in texture.

The tops don't get nice and brown like the bottoms....pitas are bottom side up in the picture.

You can toast them in a hot frying pan to get the top side brown.

I think I didn't roll ours out thin enough seeing they didn't get that puff like they are supposed to.

Tasty enough with the addition of whole wheat flour.

Edited June 19, 2017 by Okanagancook
Add more content (log)

[Okanagancook]

The article below the recipe is pretty good too:  7 Rules For Perfect Pita

[lindag]

Wow, I gotta try these, they look fantastic!

[ElsieD]

48 minutes ago, Okanagancook said:

The article below the recipe is pretty good too:  7 Rules For Perfect Pita

 

Thanks!  Just read the whole thing, including the comments.  I need to make these.

[Norm Matthews]

A friend posted this recipe and I filed it away to give it a try.  I had some problems but it still turned out pretty well.  First the recipe ingredients listed 3 eggs so I put them in and later realized that I was supposed to put 2 in the bread and save the third for a glaze.  Naturally I needed to add more flour to get it to proper consistency.  Then about 20 minutes before shaping it, my son needed to take the cat to the vet.  I went with him but put the bread in the refrigerator before we left. I figured we'd be gone for half an hour, maybe a little more.  Turned out it was almost 3 hours before we got back.  The cat is fine BTW.  So then it took a little longer for the bread to rise in the bread pans and longer to bake because of the larger mass of the two loaves. The crust is a little darker that it should be because it took a little longer to bake.   It's called milk bread and the recipe is here:    https://food52.com/recipes/39343-kindred-s-milk-bread  I promise it will look better the next time I make it.

 

Edited June 24, 2017 by Norm Matthews
corrects a typo. (log)

[Shelby]

2 hours ago, Norm Matthews said:

A friend posted this recipe and I filed it away to give it a try.  I had some problems but it still turned out pretty well.  First the recipe ingredients listed 3 eggs so I put them in and later realized that I was supposed to put 2 in the bread and save the third for a glaze.  Naturally I needed to add more flour to get it to proper consistency.  Then about 20 minutes before shaping it, my son needed to take the cat to the vet.  I went with him but put the bread in the refrigerator before we left. I figured we'd be gone for half an hour, maybe a little more.  Turned out it was almost 3 hours before we got back.  The cat is fine BTW.  So then it took a little longer for the bread to rise in the bread pans and longer to bake because of the larger mass of the two loaves. The crust is a little darker that it should be because it took a little longer to bake.   It's called milk bread and the recipe is here:    https://food52.com/recipes/39343-kindred-s-milk-bread  I promise it will look better the next time I make it.

 

 

Right now I want nothing more than to have a slice of this with butter...or plain...it looks fantastic.

[Norm Matthews]

2 minutes ago, Shelby said:

Right now I want nothing more than to have a slice of this with butter...or plain...it looks fantastic.

It's supposed to make good French Toast too.

[kayb]

2 hours ago, Norm Matthews said:

A friend posted this recipe and I filed it away to give it a try.  I had some problems but it still turned out pretty well.  First the recipe ingredients listed 3 eggs so I put them in and later realized that I was supposed to put 2 in the bread and save the third for a glaze.  Naturally I needed to add more flour to get it to proper consistency.  Then about 20 minutes before shaping it, my son needed to take the cat to the vet.  I went with him but put the bread in the refrigerator before we left. I figured we'd be gone for half an hour, maybe a little more.  Turned out it was almost 3 hours before we got back.  The cat is fine BTW.  So then it took a little longer for the bread to rise in the bread pans and longer to bake because of the larger mass of the two loaves. The crust is a little darker that it should be because it took a little longer to bake.   It's called milk bread and the recipe is here:    https://food52.com/recipes/39343-kindred-s-milk-bread  I promise it will look better the next time I make it.

 

 

That looks just excellent. I've been wanting to make a more brioche-y loaf, and this looks like a great one to try. Hopefully next week. 

 

(I am, btw, loving that I can bake all summer without heating up my kitchen by using the CSO!)

 

[rotuts]

depending on your living situation

 

deck , patio , balcony

 

you can take the CSB outside easily.

 

when it get very hot i roast my coffee , use my CSB , and iPot outside.

 

checking Accuweather for storms of course.

[lindag]

Yes

4 hours ago, rotuts said:

 

 

when it get very hot i roast my coffee , use my CSB , and iPot outside.

 

I like to do that with fried chicken...In summerI take my little fryer out on the deck and fry away with no fumes or grease to sully my kitchen.

[ElsieD]

No-Knead Harvest Grains Bread from King Arthur Flour.  This was very easy to make and has lots of seedy grainy goodness.  Excellent for toast (with peanut butter) but a bit on the heavy side.  Next time I will reduce the grains part a bit.

[blue_dolphin]

Focaccia with parsley & olives from Ottolenghi

 I took advantage of a cool-down in the local weather to turn on the oven and this popped out!

[ElsieD]

This is the second recipe I tried from the KAF site.  It is No-Knead Harvest Bread.  It has cranberries, raisins and chopped pecans in it.  It also has some Harvest Grains in it.  I had three recipes lined up to try.   The last one is 6 Grain Bread. 

[Shelby]

@cyalexa's hotdog buns.  I always get a craving for hotdogs after I watch the Nathan's Hotdog eating contest on the 4th of July.