The Bread Topic (2016–)

Anna N · September 1, 2021

Many of the recipes for raisin bread which I was able to find have a ratio of approximately 3 cups flour to 3/4 cup raisins. I know you want more fruit than that but one to one by volume of flour and fruit seems extraordinary.
I hope you find a recipe that works for the bread that you want to make.

**ElsieD** · September 1, 2021

This is one that I have been making. It has 2 cups of fruit and 3 cups of flour. I have done some googling for Dutch recipes and they all have the same ratio of fruit to flour by weight (much more civilized than cups). It does indeed look the recipe I want to make has too much fruit. I'm still wondering what is the best way to incorporate the fruit into the dough.

Anna N · September 1, 2021

45 minutes ago, ElsieD said:

I'm still wondering what is the best way to incorporate the fruit into the dough.

I don’t know if it is the best way but it is the way I used when I used to make bread.

Either before you put it to rise or when you are ready to punch it down follow the instructions here. You need to scroll down to get the folding directions. But that is more or less what I used to do. Think of it as pizza door and give it a 10-15 minute rest between folds if it fights you.

Ann_T · September 2, 2021

I've again neglected my sourdough starter. Can't remember the last time I fed it, but I'm thinking it was back in March.

So Monday, I took the starters out of the fridge (one fed with organic rye and the other with my bread flour)

and fed them both and spun off a third for a friend of Matt's.

Left them on the counter over night and by early morning they had more than doubled.

I fed them one more time Tuesday morning and used some of the discard to bake a sourdough biga.

This time the starters doubled in half the time and last night I used the biga to make a batch of sourdough.

Finished the last stretch and fold around 8:30 last night and left it on the counter to rise overnight.

Got up at 4:00 AM and shaped 8 baguettes.

They were ready to bake before 6:00 AM. It is easier for me to bake in the morning before work than after work.

I love my starter. Never fails even after months of neglect.

Edited September 2, 2021 by Ann_T (log)

Anna N · September 2, 2021

55 minutes ago, Ann_T said:

I love my starter. Never fails even after months of neglect.

Both your starter and your bread are amazing. I think that if some of us could only master the secret to keeping those starters alive…..

Perhaps it is not so much keeping them alive as recognizing that they are not dead but only playing possum.

Margaret Pilgrim · September 2, 2021

"Son coming for lunch bread" this morning.

**ElsieD** · September 2, 2021

5 minutes ago, Margaret Pilgrim said:

"Son coming for lunch bread" this morning.

Looks amazing!

Ann_T · September 6, 2021

@Anna N I'm always amazed at how quickly the starter bounces back. Just seems to lay dormant until it is fed again.

Today's early morning bake.

Started a Biga yesterday morning before leaving for work. 220g of flour, 220g of water and 1g of yeast.

Added it to 1000g of flour last night, along with 680g of water, 1g of yeast and 30g of salt. After the last stretch and fold, I put the dough container out on the porch. I wanted a slower overnight rise and it was the perfect temperature outside. Dough was ready to go at 4:00 AM. Divided into 8 pieces and loosely shaped and left for 50 minutes before the final shaping. Left to proof.

Started each baguette in the CSO on the Bread steam setting and after 12 minutes moved the baguette to the main oven to finish baking. Doesn't take long to bake 8 baguettes with this method.

Last baguette came out of the oven just before 8:00 AM

Sliced for breakfast.

**ElsieD** · September 6, 2021

This is the bread I mentioned above. In the end, I just mixed the fruit in using the Kitchen Aid. I looked at the amount of fruit that needed to be blended in and thought there was no way I could incorporate it by hand. I did cut back on the fruit. I used 4 cups of fruit instead of 5 1/2. I gave a loaf to my sister who thinks it's just great as does John. I thought it was too sweet. Just for a lark, I'll make this again using the full amount of fruit but leave out the sugar. I make a Peter Reinhardt focaccia bread with fruit that has no added sugar and suits me just fine.

**ElsieD** · September 6, 2021

Has anyone ever tried baking focaccia in a loaf pan?

Ann_T · September 7, 2021

Decided this morning to make Homestyle White.

Three different sizes.

I don't make this often but Matt loves it for sandwiches and French toast.

Sliced one of the loaves while still warm and buttered it for Moe.

shain · September 8, 2021

On 9/6/2021 at 9:06 PM, ElsieD said:

Has anyone ever tried baking focaccia in a loaf pan?

Which kind? The type high hydration is not likely to work - it won't cook through. The more beady kind, e.g. the style of those made with potatoes are really just bread and should work with the temperature adjusted.

**ElsieD** · September 9, 2021

On 9/8/2021 at 6:41 AM, shain said:

Which kind? The type high hydration is not likely to work - it won't cook through. The more beady kind, e.g. the style of those made with potatoes are really just bread and should work with the temperature adjusted.

It is a high hydration type. Next time I make it, I'll take a bit of it and put it in a mini loaf pan. We'll see what happens. I don't think it will work either, but we'll see.

blue_dolphin · September 9, 2021

On 9/6/2021 at 11:06 AM, ElsieD said:

Has anyone ever tried baking focaccia in a loaf pan?

In Breaking Breads, Uri Scheft makes focaccia in all sorts of shapes and sizes. Some approximate the length and width of a loaf pan but all are still basically flatbreads and are baked on sheet pans

Ann_T · September 14, 2021

Baked 8 baguettes and 8 small boules this morning.

Last boule out of the oven before 8:30 this morning.

Started two Bigas yesterday morning. Each the same. 220g of flour, 220g of water and 1g of yeast.

Last night, I made two batches of dough. Each with a Biga and 1000g of flour, 650g of water and 30g of salt. The baguette batch had the addition of 1g of yeast and the boule batch was just the Biga.

Both left out overnight for a slow rise.

Interesting, the batch with just the Biga was a slightly faster rise. I put that bucket outside around midnight to slow down the rise.

Brought it in after the baguettes were all shaped and almost ready for the oven. By the time the baguettes were out of the oven, the boules were almost ready to bake.

**ElsieD** · September 15, 2021

Upthread I wondered if I could make focaccia in a loaf pan. Today I tried making a mini one. My loaf pan was 5.75" x 3". Hydration percentage was 92% so a pretty wet dough. We had no trouble demolishing it. I'm going to try another one tomorrow but I will add dried cranberries and raisins to it.

blue_dolphin · September 18, 2021

From one focaccia to another....I made the focaccia from Breaking Breads (recipe online here), using the poolish option from the book and used some of the dough to make a shakshuka focaccia that's another of the options.

He bakes the batch in 8 mini loaves that I've heard others say are good for sandwiches so I baked most of them with just salt and olive oil. Oddly, most of my dimples filled back in but that's OK for my purpose. They're too big for one sandwich for me but I can easily cut them in half and make two.

Crumb...

...looks kinda more like a ciabatta. No oil in the recipe except what's needed for stretch & folds and it's shaped on parchment, then loaded on to a baking steel with a pizza peel so the heat from above and below make for a short bake time. I pulled the one above at the recipe's minimum 9 minutes but went closer to 6 min for the rest.

Here's the money shot for the shakshuka focaccia...

The recipe in the book calls for making a slow cooked matbucha that sounds excellent but I was lacking both time and tomatoes so I pulled out some of @ElainaA's roasted cherry tomatoes and I think they were an excellent substitution. That was my last bag from the freezer, so time to re-stock!

Duvel · September 18, 2021

13 minutes ago, blue_dolphin said:

Here's the money shot for the shakshuka focaccia...

Wow 😍

And that doesn’t even begin to describe how much I want that focaccia !

It is a long-standing deal that @Shelby will move in with me one day, but in case you fancy continental Europe, I‘ll make space …

blue_dolphin · September 18, 2021

2 minutes ago, Duvel said:

Wow 😍

And that doesn’t even begin to describe how much I want that focaccia !

It is a long-standing deal that @Shelby will move in with me one day, but in case you fancy continental Europe, I‘ll make space …

If @Shelby brings plenty of tomatoes, then we'll be all set!

Ann_T · September 21, 2021

On 9/18/2021 at 8:12 AM, blue_dolphin said:

Great crust and crumb.

Today's bake.

Moe reminded me that I hadn't baked bagels in a while so I did.

Cocktail size. Perfect size for serving with smoked salmon and cream cheese.

**ElsieD** · September 21, 2021

I made a mini loaf (6" x 4 1/2") using my focaccia recipe with dried cranberries and raisins added to the dough along with some cinnamon. I had slightly too much dough which resulted in a domed sort of loaf. I would have liked more colour on the loaf. This is great stuff, toasted and slathered in butter. Next time I make it I'll add more cinnamon.

lemniscate · September 21, 2021

I did a focaccia-like bread, eventually.

It started out I wanted to make more brezn (pretzels). But with sourdough starter. Then I got the idea to use pickle brine as the liquid. I added extra sugar and yeast, added no additional salt due to the brine. I also tossed in the remnants of red pepper flakes languishing in the pantry, maybe a tsp. I let it rise, and then got lazy and put it in the fridge for cold ferment. Two days goes by.

Then I didn't want to make pretzels anymore.

So, I dumped it in a square pan and hoped for focaccia. It looks like a focaccia, it's tangy and spicy (I put cracked black pepper on top before baking). Tastes good sopping up salad dressing at the bottom of the salad bowl.

Ann_T · October 5, 2021

Started a batch of dough Friday night.

1000g at 68% but with just one gram of yeast.

Left out of the counter overnight for a slow, slow rise.

Was ready to start shaping at 4:00 AM.

Last baguette was out of the oven before 8:00.

This has become my favourite time to bake bread. I'm always up early, usually by 3:00 AM and don't have to be at work until 10:00.

Edited October 5, 2021 by Ann_T (log)

kayb · October 5, 2021

On 9/18/2021 at 10:12 AM, blue_dolphin said:

From one focaccia to another....I made the focaccia from Breaking Breads (recipe online here), using the poolish option from the book and used some of the dough to make a shakshuka focaccia that's another of the options.

He bakes the batch in 8 mini loaves that I've heard others say are good for sandwiches so I baked most of them with just salt and olive oil. Oddly, most of my dimples filled back in but that's OK for my purpose. They're too big for one sandwich for me but I can easily cut them in half and make two.

Crumb...

...looks kinda more like a ciabatta. No oil in the recipe except what's needed for stretch & folds and it's shaped on parchment, then loaded on to a baking steel with a pizza peel so the heat from above and below make for a short bake time. I pulled the one above at the recipe's minimum 9 minutes but went closer to 6 min for the rest.

Here's the money shot for the shakshuka focaccia...

The recipe in the book calls for making a slow cooked matbucha that sounds excellent but I was lacking both time and tomatoes so I pulled out some of @ElainaA's roasted cherry tomatoes and I think they were an excellent substitution. That was my last bag from the freezer, so time to re-stock!

Kill me now. I don't look at this topic too often because it makes me curse the fates that caused me to develop celiac disease. But I'd deal with the aftereffects, for that.