Baking with Myhrvold's "Modernist Bread: The Art and Science"

[Kerry Beal]

 

 

compleat wheat version of sandwich loaf -  baked in CSO

[repiv]

 

Modernist Challah.  I know I did multiple things wrong, one of them being not using osmotolerant yeast as I didn't realize the typo / oversight of not listing it in the recipe.  I think it was underproofed as a result?  I aired on the side of caution as the room it was proofing in was a bit hotter than 70f.  It was very dense and very much on the dry side.  Its also very much a possibility I have never had real challah, however.

 

Did a 5 strand braid which seemed fairly simple and I got progressively better.  The full 2kg recipe was nice for learning how to braid and roll the strands... but I think I'll be halfing it if possible next time.  4 loafs is a lot of challah, but my friends appreciated the free bread.  Baked in my brand new cadco xaft115.

 

I have Sourdough Starter Attempt #3 going.  I've moved to a glass jar to see if my container was the reason it was not behaving correctly.  I need to find a source for rye flour locally too as I really want to try the 100% rye.  I've only found the Bob's Red Mill Dark Rye so far.

[Kerry Beal]

2 minutes ago, repiv said:

 

Modernist Challah.  I know I did multiple things wrong, one of them being not using osmotolerant yeast as I didn't realize the typo / oversight of not listing it in the recipe.  I think it was underproofed as a result?  I aired on the side of caution as the room it was proofing in was a bit hotter than 70f.  It was very dense and very much on the dry side.  Its also very much a possibility I have never had real challah, however.

 

Did a 5 strand braid which seemed fairly simple and I got progressively better.  The full 2kg recipe was nice for learning how to braid and roll the strands... but I think I'll be halfing it if possible next time.  4 loafs is a lot of challah, but my friends appreciated the free bread.  Baked in my brand new cadco xaft115.

 

I have Sourdough Starter Attempt #3 going.  I've moved to a glass jar to see if my container was the reason it was not behaving correctly.  I need to find a source for rye flour locally too as I really want to try the 100% rye.  I've only found the Bob's Red Mill Dark Rye so far.

If it's too dry to eat - slice, dry well in oven and use for a nice lemon bread pudding - alternate bread, globs of lemon curd and custard. 

[Kerry Beal]

 

 

 

Gateau battu 

[Chris Hennes]

3 hours ago, Kerry Beal said:

Gateau battu 

That looks really dark on top -- is it really that dark in person?

[Kerry Beal]

12 minutes ago, Chris Hennes said:

That looks really dark on top -- is it really that dark in person?

It's pretty dark with the egg wash - but doesn't taste burned at all. The pics in the book and online show it pretty dark as well.

[Kerry Beal]

Makes fabulous french toast - sucks up eggs like a sponge.

 

 

[kevinkeating]

Yesterday got around to trying the direct ciabatta recipe (using my new Ankarsrum mixer). The fermentation moved pretty fast, but fortunately I was around to manage it, and I'm pretty happy with the result. It was a really slack dough at 88% hydration (here in Italy the standard ciabatta uses only 80% hydration - my guess is that it's due to the differences in flours...next time I'll probably stay closer to that level) but handled well enough with a generous dusting of semola rimacinata. Final proof on a couche and baked uncovered on the back of a baking sheet with a tray of boiling water on the floor of the oven for the first 20 minutes of so. The crumb was quite open, creamy and translucent and very tender. 

[Chris Hennes]

In line with @Kerry Beal's French Toast above, this morning I had some leftover mature levain (I always make a bit extra, and I had a change of heart about which breads to make today so had even more than usual). I combined it with salt, sugar, baking soda, an egg, and enough milk to get the consistency I needed and made "sourdough" pancakes. Of course these aren't really leavened much by the levain, that's what the baking soda was for, but they turned out pretty well. I think using baking soda instead of baking powder was a tactical error on my part, it neutralized too much of the acidity from the starter. Next time I'd use baking powder, I think.

[Kerry Beal]

Used the modernist brioche recipe for praline and raisin buns

 

 

 

 

[Eric Srikandan]

Inspired from last weekends Babka, I've made a cinnamon filling and going to make something akin to cinnamon rolls.

[Chris Hennes]

San Francisco Sourdough

 

A deliberately sour sourdough, via the inclusion of a bit of rye flour in the final stiff levain. I made mine with a 24-hour final proof in the refrigerator -- done for timing reasons, but it resulted in a very nicely flavored loaf.

 

 

[Chris Hennes]

Surfer Sourdough

 

A high-hydration sourdough. Nice flavor, but the texture and aesthetics leave something to be desired.

 

 

[Chris Hennes]

Sourdough with Porridge

 

I made this one with a cornmeal porridge made from a fresh Oklahoma cornmeal courtesy of @Tri2Cook. The addition of a porridge makes for a pretty slack dough, I think it would have been a better-looking loaf if it were made a bit lower hydration. The flavor is excellent, of course.

 

 

[Okanagancook]

Beautiful breads Chris!

[Chris Hennes]

Chocolate Cherry Sourdough

 

As if I could make it through a weekend of baking without making this one! By popular demand, this time with a mix of bing and tart cherries, dehydrated overnight (which was not long enough to reproduce the dryness of commercial dehydrated cherries, so they have a different texture this time around). I also made the dough a bit lower hydration so it was easier to work with. I don't think the texture suffered for it.

 

 

[Smokeydoke]

Chocolate Cherry Sourdough looks amazing.

[Smithy]

7 hours ago, Chris Hennes said:

San Francisco Sourdough

 

A deliberately sour sourdough, via the inclusion of a bit of rye flour in the final stiff levain. I made mine with a 24-hour final proof in the refrigerator -- done for timing reasons, but it resulted in a very nicely flavored loaf.

 

Chris, can you comment on how this sourdough compares with true (that is, made in that area) San Francisco sourdough?  Every time I think I have it right, I get a chance to taste the local stuff and realize how far off I am. 

[Chris Hennes]

9 hours ago, Smithy said:

 

Chris, can you comment on how this sourdough compares with true (that is, made in that area) San Francisco sourdough?  Every time I think I have it right, I get a chance to taste the local stuff and realize how far off I am. 

 

With the caveat that although I’ve been to San Francisco several times, I’ve never lived there, so I’m not an expert on the nuances, I think this bread is closer to a San Francisco style than their baseline recipe. The sourdough I’ve had in SFO was even more sour than this one, however, so I think some experimentation with levain maturity is in order.

[JoNorvelleWalker]

Is there any mention in Modernist Bread of Georgian cheese breads, khachapuri?  Or other Georgian breads?  The index is no help, and I confess I have not finished reading MB cover to cover.*

 

 

*or more properly, covers to covers.

 

[Kerry Beal]

Started working on the SF Sourdough this am (stiff levain now in fridge until morning) - but realized I needed something to hold the family over so did the Pain Rustique with an extra 40 grams of light rye. Forgot to save some of the dough for my next pate fermente.

 

 

It made two loaves - but one is pretty much eaten.

Edited February 6, 2018 by Kerry Beal (log)

[Kerry Beal]

 

SF Sourdough - sent a loaf to school with the child - when we went to pick her up one of the Educational Assistants commented how it tasted just like the bread she'd had down at Fisherman's Wharf

Edited February 8, 2018 by Kerry Beal (log)

[Kerry Beal]

Cinnamon Raisin Swirl 

 

 

 

[Kerry Beal]

American pumpernickel - onions added after first turn as I failed to read recipe through before starting.

 

[Chris Hennes]

German Sunflower Seed Rye Bread (p. 4•402)

 

This is a quite compact loaf, but not as dense as I expected based on the writeup. It's made with a very high percentage of rye levain, plus some rye flour and a small amount of wheat flour. The sunflower seeds are toasted and soaked before including, plus some extra sprinkled on top. A starch slurry would have helped a lot there, the seeds didn't want to stick to the top, they come off too easily. The taste and texture are quite good, though it's a bit of an odd-shaped loaf because it's so short.