The Bread Topic (2016–)

[Captain]

23 hours ago, curls said:

Wonderful crumpets

Crumpets!???

although looking delicious they appear more muffin to me.

[curls]

1 minute ago, Captain said:

Crumpets!???

although looking delicious they appear more muffin to me.

What do Australian crumpets look like and how do they differ from muffins? 

[JoNorvelleWalker]

 

[curls]

2nd loaf of sourdough bread. More loft and more tang!
Like the 1st loaf, was a 1/2 batch of Maura Brikman's recipe which uses 20 grams of sourdough starter discard (full batch would use 40 grams of starter).
https://www.kingarthurflour.com/blog/2020/04/06/dont-be-a-bread-hostage

 

 

[Captain]

This image is what we know as Crumpet. Notice the holes. A vital part of the cooking an as a result not something you could cut in half.

Yummy butter and honey trapped in the holes.

[ElsieD]

24 minutes ago, Captain said:

This image is what we know as Crumpet. Notice the holes. A vital part of the cooking an as a result not something you could cut in half.

Yummy butter and honey trapped in the holes.

 

In Canada we would call what you show a crumpet.  They are fairly thin, and so cannot be split in half and  honey and butter are the two best partners for a toasted, warm, crunchy on the outside crumpet.

[curls]

4 hours ago, Captain said:

This image is what we know as Crumpet. Notice the holes. A vital part of the cooking an as a result not something you could cut in half.

Yummy butter and honey trapped in the holes.

They look delicious. Do you have a recipe for making them?
 

The KAF crumpets definitely look different from yours. I don’t know enough about crumpets to say if the ones from the King Arthur Flour are mislabeled or another type of crumpet. I do know that their taste and texture is nothing like English muffins.

[JoNorvelleWalker]

8 minutes ago, curls said:

They look delicious. Do you have a recipe for making them?
 

The KAF crumpets definitely look different from yours. I don’t know enough about crumpets to say if the ones from the King Arthur Flour are mislabeled or another type of crumpet. I do know that their taste and texture is nothing like English muffins.

 

Modernist Bread has a lengthy dissertation on crumpets vs. English muffins.  Not to mention recipes. I have assayed neither crumpets nor English muffins, though they are on my list to do.

 

[curls]

9 hours ago, JoNorvelleWalker said:

 

Modernist Bread has a lengthy dissertation on crumpets vs. English muffins.  Not to mention recipes. I have assayed neither crumpets nor English muffins, though they are on my list to do.

 

Alas I do not have a copy of Modernist Bread but I am glad to know that they cover this topic. 
 

I did find this article but don’t know if we should consider Bake magazine to be an authoritative source... https://www.bakefromscratch.com/crumpets-vs-english-muffins/

Edited May 3, 2020 by curls (log)

[dtremit]

12 hours ago, curls said:

The KAF crumpets definitely look different from yours. I don’t know enough about crumpets to say if the ones from the King Arthur Flour are mislabeled or another type of crumpet. I do know that their taste and texture is nothing like English muffins.

 

Given (as you say) the texture of the KAF crumpets is already different from an English muffin, I suspect that if you cooked them longer on the first side (and way less on the second) they'd turn out more like the ones in the picture.

[Smithy]

I've never had an English muffin that I liked, and I've never had a crumpet that I didn't like. In my experience the flavors, as well as the texture, are completely different. I suspect a crucial difference in the batter.

[ElsieD]

https://www.google.com/search?ie=UTF-8&client=tablet-android-samsung-nf-rev1&source=android-browser&q=saveur+crumpets

 

Here is a recipe for crumpets.  I haven't made them so can't comment.

[curls]

1 hour ago, dtremit said:

 

Given (as you say) the texture of the KAF crumpets is already different from an English muffin, I suspect that if you cooked them longer on the first side (and way less on the second) they'd turn out more like the ones in the picture.

I suspect that you are correct. Will try that next time!

[Smithy]

I confess that making crumpets has been on my to-do list for a very long time, given the difficulty I have finding them in stores. I'm pretty sure there's a recipe from @andiesenji floating around here somewhere, although I haven't found it. What I have found is this discussion, with a rough recipe, from @jackal10. 

 

Edited to add: of course we have a topic on crumpets! Here it is. Okay, back to the normal program.

Edited May 3, 2020 by Smithy (log)

[Ann_T]

On 4/22/2020 at 2:44 PM, Kim Shook said:

They are SO good!!!  I'm thrilled:

I have a question, though.  I only have instant yeast and the recipe calls for active dry.  It never occurred to me that would make any difference.  But I just noticed in the comments section on the recipe that if you are using instant, you should use 1 2/3 t. rather than 2 1/4 of active dry.  In other words I used more than I was supposed to.  But they are perfect.  So, I just ignore that instruction, huh?

Very nice.  Texture looks perfect.

@curls, nice scoring.

 

Fed my starter on Thursday and made a biga. Bread hand-mixed on Friday and left in the fridge until Saturday.

Baked four Boules Saturday night and there was enough dough for

Matt to have a large cheese and olive pizza.

 

Edited May 4, 2020 by Ann_T (log)

[Eatmywords]

Wow, such beautiful photos in this thread.   I've gained 10 lbs since this pandemic and I blame my wife for about half of it due to her increased baking.  She recently began with the sour dough starter and loving it although complaining a bit how needy it is.  (caught her muttering a quote from Bourdain's Kitchen Confidential - 'Feed the bitch, feed it or she'll die').  This was her latest boule and clearly best effort - great balance of tang, chew, and perfect crust.  

[Smithy]

The discussion about crumpets finally inspired me to try making my own. It was a bit of an adventure. It's so long since I needed to sift anything that I couldn't remember where I stored my sifter.  The search had a side benefit: I found a food mill I'll need in a few days before I remembered where the sifter is kept.

 

For a bit more about the process, and for a link to the recipe I used (thanks to @Franci) see this post. Here's the finished result:

 

 

When I bite into a crumpet slathered with butter and said butter squirts me in the face, I figure I've gotten the holes right.  

[ElsieD]

13 minutes ago, Smithy said:

The discussion about crumpets finally inspired me to try making my own. It was a bit of an adventure. It's so long since I needed to sift anything that I couldn't remember where I stored my sifter.  The search had a side benefit: I found a food mill I'll need in a few days before I remembered where the sifter is kept.

 

For a bit more about the process, and for a link to the recipe I used (thanks to @Franci) see this post. Here's the finished result:

 

 

When I bite into a crumpet slathered with butter and said butter squirts me in the face, I figure I've gotten the holes right.  

 

They look lovely......but where's the honey?

[Smithy]

Just now, ElsieD said:

 

They look lovely......but where's the honey?

 

Sorry, not my speed! 

[Ann_T]

Okay, I really need to make Crumpets.    I want mine smothered in butter just like @Smithy's

 

I have two sourdough starters. One rye and the other one I spun off from the rye and I feed it with my white bread flour.

 

I fed them both yesterday and used the discard from the white in a batch of baguette dough and the rye discard went into a batch of rye dough.

 

I didn't make preferments, I just added the discard for added flavour and reduced the amount of yeast I would normally use.

The baguette dough went into the fridge and I took it out this morning and will bake later.

 

The rye bread was baked yesterday.

Going to make Moe a sandwich on rye for breakfast. 

Edited May 6, 2020 by Ann_T (log)

[David Ross]

Last week a friend told me to try this technique to create a starter using up any potatoes on hand that are starting to soften and are past their age for serving.  I think she just pulled the recipe from somewhere, but two of us tried it at home and it was an utter failure.  A sticky, gooey, slimy mess that obviously couldn't be used to bake anything.  The basics are you peel and cut the potatoes then boil them in water.  Spoon some of the potato water into a glass jar, add flour and sugar, and stir.  Cover the jar with a cloth or paper napkin and secure with a rubber band.  Leave at room temperature.  I'm sure we got the recipe quantities wrong, but anyone here have experience with this type of potato starter?

[Ann_T]

Today's bake. Six Baguettes.

[JoNorvelleWalker]

1 hour ago, Ann_T said:

Today's bake. Six Baguettes.

 

How do two of you get through six baguettes before they stale?

 

[Ann_T]

7 hours ago, JoNorvelleWalker said:

 

How do two of you get through six baguettes before they stale?

 

 Bread does freeze well.

And no one turns down fresh bread so two were given away. The smallest one was cut and Moe had a couple of slices with some Brie, for a late lunch and Matt split the remainder  and made a sandwich. So that just leaves three. Two went into the freezer. That leaves one for breakfast toast  and maybe a brisket sandwich for lunch.

 

 

[Kim Shook]

@Ann_T - I would love to have someone offer such bread to me!  

 

Made a loaf of the ATK sandwich bread:

I was worried about it because the dough was wetter and stickier than it has ever been.  I usually end up adding an additional 1/2 cup of flour while it is being kneaded (the recipe says up to 1/4 cup), but I’ll bet I added almost a full cup not to mention what was on the board for the final slap-together before the first rising.  Plus it didn’t have any crown at all – it was as flat as if it had had a lid on it!  But the texture ended up being fine:

The holes are slightly larger than usual, but it tastes fine and isn’t tough at all.  A very forgiving dough!