The Bread Topic (2016–)

[curls]

2 hours ago, Smithy said:

 

What a beautiful crumb! What recipe did you use?

Thank you @Smithy. 

 

Here is a link to the recipe

https://www.toineskitchen.com/recipes/bruin-brood/

[rotuts]

my friend baked these , down @ WoodsHole   (WHPS)

 

 

[PatrickT]

47 minutes ago, rotuts said:

my friend baked these

 

Beautiful crumb! 😍

[Ann_T]

On 1/21/2025 at 9:11 AM, PatrickT said:

Beautiful crumb! 😍

I agree with Patrick.  

 

 

Large Boule made from dough that had been given a six day cold fermentation.

[Ann_T]

I fed both my starters yesterday morning  and used 80g of discard in 220g of water and 220g of flour for a biga.

 

I still had some discard left so I mixed 30g of the discard with 30g of water and 30g of flour (1 oz each of discard, flour, water). For a very tiny biga.

 

Last night, I put the full size biga in the fridge and I used the little one in 600g of flour with 7g of salt

and just a tiny .5 g (less than 1/4 tsp) of yeast. This was insurance because I wasn't sure how strong the little biga would be.

I would skip the yeast next time. It really wasn't needed.

 

After the last stretch and fold the dough was left on the counter overnight from 8PM until 3AM for a 7 hour room temperature fermentation.

 

Baked one larger Batard and two smaller ones. All proofed in banneton proofing baskets.

[PatrickT]

I love trying new sourdough recipes and here's one I tweaked from a Facebook post I saw recently. This is 90% KA bread flour and 10% Khorasan, 80% hydration, with 20% mixed seeds (flax, black and white sesame). Excellent flavor, crust, and a very pleasing crumb. 

 

I'll also make a plug for a recent bread making accessory that I absolutely love: a very stylish, roomy bread box from Home Depot. It comes in different colors, has a magnetic, easy-open door that falls down flat on the counter, and can easily hold more than two full-sized loaves. The picture below shows a 500g flour weight loaf cut in half. It keeps my loaves fresh for days. Highly recommended!

 

 

[paul o' vendange]

A few of late.

 

Ötztaler Saatenbrot.  (https://www.mannbackt.de/2023/09/25/oetztaler-saatenbrot-echtes-alltagsbrot-mit-sauerteig-92448/?srsltid=AfmBOoqnXwXcQzivyHDuwz6LdkCGkMtJBXAI4QVYNM_lqmUS3qaRbtez)

60-40 blend of home-milled Khorasan and Central Milling´s T 85 flour, which would correspond to a T85 French or T 850 German flour.  With lievito madre. (mine)

Kerniges Toastbrot with flax seeds and oatmeal, lievito madre.  (https://www.facebook.com/groups/366444498953863/posts/915143520750622/)

Kraftiges Roggenschrotbrot. (book: Rustikale Brote aus deutschen Landen, by Bernhard Kellner.)

French country levain - 70% bread flour, 18% 50:50 blend of winter and spring hard red wheat, 9% spelt, 3% rye, all home milled. (adapted from the late French baker Gerard Rubaud).

Münchener Hausbrot, seen here. (Book: Der Brotdoc: Heimatbrote: Traditionsreiche Brote aus dem eigenen Ofen. Mit Sauerteig, Vorteig & Co, by Björn Hollensteiner, a friend of mine).

 

 

Edited February 3 by paul o' vendange (log)

[PatrickT]

1 hour ago, paul o' vendange said:

Ötztaler Saatenbrot

Lovely! Will have to try that one for sure. Thanks for sharing. 

[JoNorvelleWalker]

[ElsieD]

Once upon a time, I was introduced to Dave's Killer Bread by @Smithy.  We frequently bought the 21 grain bread and really, really liked it.  Unfortunately they no longer sell it in Canada, at least not in these parts.  I would like to make it, does anyone have a recipe for a bread that would be a decent replica?  TIA!

 

Edited to add:  looking for a non-sourdough recipe.

Edited February 12 by ElsieD (log)

[PatrickT]

1 hour ago, ElsieD said:

We frequently bought the 21 grain bread and really, really liked it. I would like to make it, does anyone have a recipe for a bread that would be a decent replica?

Well, I’ve never had the pleasure of trying this but now I’m intrigued. Maybe try this recipe and see how close it is? Let us know how it goes. Would love to try it if you think it’s a reasonably good clone.

 

 

[ElsieD]

Thank you!  I need to buy some of the items and when I do, I'll post my results.

[PatrickT]

20 minutes ago, ElsieD said:

Thank you!  I need to buy some of the items and when I do, I'll post my results.

Excellent! Her results look pretty great. Hope you have success!

[PatrickT]

@ElsieD Here’s another yummy looking multigrain recipe that might contain good elements and/or process steps to add to your final recipe version. Plus - her tip for slicing the final loaf is genius!

 

 

[ElsieD]

4 hours ago, PatrickT said:

@ElsieD Here’s another yummy looking multigrain recipe that might contain good elements and/or process steps to add to your final recipe version. Plus - her tip for slicing the final loaf is genius!

 

 

Wow, I just watched this and this bread looks amazing.  I'm going to get the ingredients for this one too.  Thanks again.

[PatrickT]

Agreed! I’m going to try that one for sure! Good luck with your bake!

[Acelestialobject]

My first ever sourdough bread with my first ever starter... I find the crust a bit hard. Is it supposed to be?? The bread inside though is quite soft and spongy and pleasantly tangy :))

[Ann_T]

Today's bake. Eight baguettes.

Started a 1000g batch last night, with the addition of a small pate fermentee, that had been in the fridge for 7 days. Added 700g water, 2g of yeast and 14g of salt.

After the last stretch and fold at 8:30PM, it was left out on the counter until 4:00 AM this morning.

[Smithy]

17 hours ago, Acelestialobject said:

My first ever sourdough bread with my first ever starter... I find the crust a bit hard. Is it supposed to be?? The bread inside though is quite soft and spongy and pleasantly tangy :))

 

There are ways to control the touchness / crunch of the crust vs. the tenderness of the crumb (the interior of the bread). I hope the bread experts will weigh in on this. How nice to see that you like the taste and texture of the interior! That's encouraging!

[Acelestialobject]

8 hours ago, Smithy said:

There are ways to control the touchness / crunch of the crust vs. the tenderness of the crumb (the interior of the bread).

Really?? I didn't know that. Does that depend on the recipe?? The one I followed was a King Arthur one that didn't mention anything about a tough crust.

8 hours ago, Smithy said:

How nice to see that you like the taste and texture of the interior! That's encouraging!

Hehe Thank you :)) 

[Acelestialobject]

Does anyone here know of a way to check the doneness of bread without a thermometer?? I have only baked cakes before so checking if the bread was done was kinda challenging for me

[ElsieD]

@PatrickT posted 2 videos above that showed how to make multigrain bread.  I'm curious about something.  One requires you to make a soaker of the seeds, the other does not.  One requires you to toast the seeds (soaker method) first,  the other does not call for toasting the seeds.  The first one I'm going to try calls for the non-toasted, non-soaker method.  However, toasting and soaking the seeds first 4appeals to me.  Do I need to adjust the amount of water the recipe calls for if using the soaker method?  Anything else I should be aware off if I do this?  Comments appreciated.

[PatrickT]

3 hours ago, ElsieD said:

@PatrickT posted 2 videos above that showed how to make multigrain bread.  I'm curious about something.  One requires you to make a soaker of the seeds, the other does not.  One requires you to toast the seeds (soaker method) first,  the other does not call for toasting the seeds.  The first one I'm going to try calls for the non-toasted, non-soaker method.  However, toasting and soaking the seeds first 4appeals to me.  Do I need to adjust the amount of water the recipe calls for if using the soaker method?  Anything else I should be aware off if I do this?  Comments appreciated.

Having just baked a loaf with a seed mix, here’s what worked great for me. Toast the seeds if you want to (not necessary but doing so can provide a nicely enhanced flavor). Soak the seeds overnight in a covered container. I measured out twice the weight of the seed mix in grams of water and didn’t adjust anything else in my dough - just added the soaked seeds (which had absorbed all the water). Worked perfectly for me. Just enough crunch in the seeds in the final loaf. Hope that helps! Can’t wait to see your result!

[PatrickT]

@Acelestialobject OK - I'm feeling badly that nobody jumped in to answer your questions, so I'll take a stab at them. I am by no means an expert, so take everything I say with a grain of salt. 😉

 

Firstly, regarding the hard crust, several things can impact this in my experience. I'll start by saying that most sourdough bakers actually like their loaves with crisp, crunchy, mahogany-colored crusts and spongy crumbs - and most of the recipes you'll find will pretty much attempt to deliver on that. You said you used a King Arthur recipe. Can you please provide a link to it? That will help a lot.

 

Some factors to consider:

• The flour(s) used. Higher protein flours (like strong bread flour) and whole grain flours can sometimes contribute to a harder crust. Some bakers use a lower protein white flour (like a good all purpose flour) and have great success with it.
• The baking temperature and time. Higher temps can cause harder crusts to form, as can over-baking. Judging by its appearance, I suspect that one or both of these factors contributed to the hard crust in your loaf. And something to mention here that might sound obvious - all ovens behave differently. 450F in my oven vs. 450F in your oven might produce a very different result. You'll find your sweet spot with temperature and time with repeated experiences with your oven over the course of baking many loaves. Be patient and make lots of notes to help guide your next efforts.
• An unenriched recipe (one with flour, water, salt and starter only) will generally produce a loaf with a harder crust than an enriched recipe (one that contains eggs and/or some kind of added fat - like oil or butter). Enriched recipes also typically have a more closed, softened crumb. Compare, for example, the KA recipe you used for your loaf with their recipe for Sourdough Sandwich Bread. See how different the crust and crumb look for that recipe? 

Secondly, you asked about how to tell when your loaves are done baking without a thermometer. The standard answer to this one is typically: "Turn the loaf over in your hands and thump the bottom with your finger. If it sounds hollow, it's done." Again, experience with your oven is going to help you nail this. Stick to the same recipe for a while and follow it explicitly regarding baking temperature and time. Then, judge your results. If the loaf seems over-baked (excessively dark, dry, super-crusty, etc.) try either shortening the baking time a few minutes or lower the temp a bit the next time you bake. Alternatively, if the interior of your loaf is noticeably underbaked and gummy, try lengthening the baking time a few minutes or raising the temp a little next time. After a few attempts, you'll find the right combination that produces the results you're after. You can then use that information as a starting point for the next recipe you try. And don't discount getting an instant thermometer at some point in the future. They're a bit pricey but you can use them for all sorts of things.

 

Hope this helps! Happy baking. 😃

[ElsieD]

1 hour ago, PatrickT said:

Having just baked a loaf with a seed mix, here’s what worked great for me. Toast the seeds if you want to (not necessary but doing so can provide a nicely enhanced flavor). Soak the seeds overnight in a covered container. I measured out twice the weight of the seed mix in grams of water and didn’t adjust anything else in my dough - just added the soaked seeds (which had absorbed all the water). Worked perfectly for me. Just enough crunch in the seeds in the final loaf. Hope that helps! Can’t wait to see your result!

 

If I read your post correctly,  if my seeds weigh 70 ounces, I would take 70 grams of the water called for in the recipe and use that to soak the seeds?  Then deduct the water used for that from the water called for in the recipe, and use that in the rest of the recipe?  I will have Amaranth seeds Monday so will do an overnight soak Monday night.