The Bread Topic (2016–)

[Ann_T]

On 11/27/2022 at 3:43 PM, Tropicalsenior said:

That makes two of us. I understand the basics but I'm afraid I'm a little too old or too lazy to figure out hydration, Etc.

I basically have my repertoire of breads that I have always made and my method of judging the hydration is to poke it.

That is the way I always did it as well.  But the problem arose when I was asked for recipes.  So I bought a scale and figure out

hydration.  Using grams is more exact than using cups.     My five cups of flour won't be the same as another person's five cups of flour.  But a 1000g of flour is a 1000g of flour. Same with

water/liquids. 

 

I put together a Hydration Chart if you are interested.

[Tropicalsenior]

34 minutes ago, Ann_T said:

But a 1000g of flour is a 1000g of flour. Same with

water/liquids. 

Thank you so much, I will give it a try but a lot of the problem with the bread here is with the wheat. All that I can get is a soft wheat product produced in Central America. I used to be able to get a good wheat product from Canada but I haven't seen it in about 5 years.

Even with other people's recipes, I still go by the feel of the dough and my expectations of the outcome rather than by their measurements of the liquid because even though I may be using the same flour everyday, the temperature and the humidity in the air can make my measurements different every time.

I will never in my lifetime be able to turn out a loaf of bread as beautiful as yours. I am happy to make bread that is 100% better than what I can buy here.

Edited November 30, 2022 by Tropicalsenior (log)

[Ann_T]

4 minutes ago, Tropicalsenior said:

Thank you so much, I will give it a try but a lot of the problem with the bread here is with the wheat. All that I can get is a soft wheat product produced in Central America. I used to be able to get a good wheat product from Canada but I haven't seen it in about 5 years

 Can you buy Vital Wheat Gluten? 

Not something I have ever had the need to buy, but I know that others add a tablespoon to so to flours that are lower in gluten.   

 

Another option I have read about is to add lemon juice to the dough.  This apparently strengthens the gluten strands. 

 

 

 

 

[Tropicalsenior]

9 minutes ago, Ann_T said:

Can you buy Vital Wheat Gluten?

I just recently found out about this. I can't get it here but a friend of mine brought me a bag from California. But between us we have the memory of a flea. She has been to my house twice and I went to her house for Thanksgiving and we forgot it each time. I may have it by January.

The lemon juice sounds like a good idea. Do you have any idea on proportions?

[Smithy]

1 hour ago, Ann_T said:

 

Another option I have read about is to add lemon juice to the dough.  This apparently strengthens the gluten strands. 

 

Please say a little more about this. Do you have an idea about how much lemon juice to add? Does the lemon juice affect the flavor? I've gone off the whole sourdough business (for about the fifth time) because my results are never as satisfying as what I can get in many grocery stores these days. The bread isn't sour enough to suit me, AND the texture isn't as nice as yours.

[Smithy]

2 hours ago, Ann_T said:

That is the way I always did it as well.  But the problem arose when I was asked for recipes.  So I bought a scale and figure out

hydration.  Using grams is more exact than using cups.     My five cups of flour won't be the same as another person's five cups of flour.  But a 1000g of flour is a 1000g of flour. Same with

water/liquids. 

 

I put together a Hydration Chart if you are interested.

 

This is such a handy chart for folks flummoxed by calculations! I've pinned a link to this post at the top of this forum.

[Tropicalsenior]

1 minute ago, Smithy said:

whole sourdough business

I forgot to ask, would you use lemon juice only in sourdough?

[Tropicalsenior]

2 minutes ago, Smithy said:

I've pinned a link to this post at the top of this forum.

It's better to pin a link to Ann's blog. She has wonderful recipes, a wealth of information, and it is just plain beautiful to look at and to drool over.

[Smithy]

11 minutes ago, Tropicalsenior said:

I forgot to ask, would you use lemon juice only in sourdough?

 

That's absolutely a question to ask Ann! But I think she mostly does sourdough - that is, her own strains of wild yeast. 

[Ann_T]

 

18 minutes ago, Smithy said:

 

Please say a little more about this. Do you have an idea about how much lemon juice to add?

 

I would assume since so little is used that it doesn't effect the flavour at all.

 

Rogers actually has this tip on the back of their regular flour bags.

They suggest 1 tablespoon for every 4 to 5 cups.

(Found this on a post on the Fresh Loaf site.) 

 

 

17 minutes ago, Tropicalsenior said:

I forgot to ask, would you use lemon juice only in sourdough?

No, it is used in regular bread dough.  Not sure if it is used in Sourdough as well.

 

I haven't tried it myself in any of my doughs.  But next time I make two batches at the same time I will add lemon juice to

one and report back if there is a noticeable difference. 

Edited November 30, 2022 by Ann_T (log)

[Anna N]

20 minutes ago, Smithy said:

 

Please say a little more about this. Do you have an idea about how much lemon juice to add? Does the lemon juice affect the flavor? I've gone off the whole sourdough business (for about the fifth time) because my results are never as satisfying as what I can get in many grocery stores these days. The bread isn't sour enough to suit me, AND the texture isn't as nice as yours.

Nobody asked me, but I used to be quite a bread baker, so I thought I would offer my bit from the Fresh Loaf Site. It discusses vitamin C rather than lemon juice.

“Vitamin C  is also used as a regular ingredient in commercial sourdoughs - it has beneficial effects on yeast [improved rise] and gives the sourdough a sour tang that would require too much time to produce naturally. The amount for home bread making is very small, on the order of a 1/8 to 1/4 teaspoon per loaf. King Arthur sells "sour salt" which is ascorbic acid to acidify breads to give them an increased sourdough tang.”

 

and here’s something about using lemon juice from the same site:

https://www.thefreshloaf.com/node/33316/lemon-juice-secret

 

Edited November 30, 2022 by Anna N
To add a link about using lemon juice (log)

[Tropicalsenior]

4 minutes ago, Anna N said:

sourdough tang.”

Good point, but right now I am looking more for texture that I am taste. On my Limited forays into sourdough I have been able to get the taste I just cannot get the texture with the lousy flour that I get.

I even have a mock sourdough recipe that gives me good taste but the texture is more like a Vienna bread.

[Anna N]

43 minutes ago, Tropicalsenior said:

Good point, but right now I am looking more for texture that I am taste.

So check the link that I offered on the use of lemon juice. 
“"To give your yeast breads superior lightness and volume simply add your own natural dough improver ... natural lemon juice ... to your favourite yeast bread recipe  1 tbsp for every 4-5 cups flour."

[Tropicalsenior]

44 minutes ago, Anna N said:

So check the link

A lot of very good information on this site. Almost too much. So many good links, so little time. Thank you!

[Ann_T]

I was feeding my sourdough starters yesterday and decided to use some of the discard in a batch of Ciabatta buns along with one gram of yeast.

Didn't start the dough until after 12:30.  I used my regular recipe, but increased the hydration to 78%.

Last bun came out of the oven at 8:00 PM. Destined for sandwiches.

 

Sliced one early this morning to check the crumb.

Edited December 1, 2022 by Ann_T (log)

[CookBot]

6 hours ago, Ann_T said:

I was feeding my sourdough starters yesterday and decided to use some of the discard in a batch of Ciabatta buns along with one gram of yeast.

 

Sliced one early this morning to check the crumb.

 

 

I'm beginning to suspect there's something in the water where Ann_T lives that's simply superior to what the rest of us have.

 

Or maybe she's made a pact with the devil.     😈     

 

Edited December 1, 2022 by CookBot
typo (log)

[Okanagancook]

49 minutes ago, CookBot said:

 

 

I'm beginning to suspect there's something in the water where Ann_T lives that's simply superior to what the rest of us have.

 

Or maybe she's made a pact with the devil.     😈     

 

If you have not gone to @Ann_T‘S blog which is referenced at the bottom of her posts, please have a look..phenomenal cooking and documentation.

[Ann_T]

4 hours ago, Okanagancook said:

f you have not gone to @Ann_T‘S blog which is referenced at the bottom of her posts, please have a look..phenomenal cooking and documentation.

Thank you Okanagancook.

4 hours ago, CookBot said:

I'm beginning to suspect there's something in the water where Ann_T lives that's simply superior to what the rest of us have.

 

Honestly CookBot, I think it is the Canadian flour I use. 

[Tropicalsenior]

28 minutes ago, Ann_T said:

it is the Canadian flour I use. 

I agree, the Canadian flour that I used to get here was great. The fact that she is a total magician probably doesn't hurt.

[Ann_T]

This morning's bake.

Sourdough Boule. Dough in the fridge since Monday morning, Removed last night and left on the counter until after 5:00 AM this morning.

Baked in the Netherton Spun Iron Cloche.

[Ann_T]

Just started three 500g batches of dough this morning.

Dough is in the first autolyze stage and then will go through 3 to 4 stretch and folds before I leave for work.

Then into the fridge to be baked over the next couple of days.

I'm using my new dough containers.

I'd been looking for a while for square containers with lids that were the right size for 500 to 600g batches and also the same for 1000g batches.

They also had to fit in the small fridge that I bought specifically for bread dough.

Found these Cambro brand containers at a restaurant supply store.

The 4 quart size came in a set of three and the 6 quart a set of two. They are the perfect size

[PatrickT]

20 hours ago, Ann_T said:

Found these Cambro brand containers at a restaurant supply store.

 

Love the Cambro containers. They make great bulk fermentation vessels, as well. Very easy to track the amount of increase in your dough as it's proofing.

[Maison Rustique]

I love those Cambro squares. Will have to look for them. It only took me 69 years to discover that square containers/cannisters fit everywhere better than round ones. I bought round Cambros some years back to use for dough and promptly pushed them to storage boxes in the basement because they are too difficult to deal with. I had no idea they made squares, but they just went on my Christmas list.

 

[Ann_T]

1 hour ago, Maison Rustique said:

I love those Cambro squares. Will have to look for them. It only took me 69 years to discover that square containers/cannisters fit everywhere better than round ones.

I have the big Cambro rounds which are great when doing large batches.  I wish I had bought the squares sooner.  They do fit better both in the fridge and in the cupboard. Took me a year

longer than you to figure it out. 😄

[Tropicalsenior]

@Ann_T my friend just brought me this.

Is this the one that you were referring to? It seemed to me that the one that I used before was just vital wheat gluten, not gluten flour. If not, I will just have to get on their website and see how they use it.

Edited December 6, 2022 by Tropicalsenior (log)