"The Bread Baker's Apprentice" by Reinhart

[McDuff]

This is the pumpernickel rye from page 246. I added some onion and caraway to it, and got some liverwurst, as this bread screams for nitrate laden fatty meats and sharp cheeses and hot mustards. I have a bowl of firm starter ready to make a basic sourdough tomorrow. The mother culture is several years old, from Crust and Crumb, and I've made that book's sourdough a lot. BBA is a little different in that Reinhart cuts way back on the amount of firm starter, down from I think 127% to 49%.

Edited April 6, 2005 by McDuff (log)

[FoodMan]

This is the pumpernickel rye from page 246. I added some onion and caraway to it, and got some liverwurst, as this bread screams for nitrate laden fatty meats and sharp cheeses and hot mustards. I have a bowl of firm starter ready to make a basic sourdough tomorrow. The mother culture is several years old, from Crust and Crumb, and I've made that book's sourdough a lot. BBA is a little different in that Reinhart cuts way back on the amount of firm starter, down from I think 127% to 49%.

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This bread is beyond awsome. Why on earth have I not tried it yet?! I need to fix that. Any tips or hints we should know about?

Also, Marcia congrats on a great looking sourdopugh loaf! Did u follow PR's (not PH's ) recipe for basic sourdough to make it? or did u use some other one?

Elie

[Marcia]

Also, Marcia congrats on a great looking sourdopugh loaf! Did u follow PR's (not PH's ) recipe for basic sourdough to make it? or did u use some other one?

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Thanks Elie for your congrats on my loaf! Yes I followed PR's (not PH! PH is Pierre Herme, isn't it? How silly I am, hohoho...) Seed Culture instructions and Basic Sourdough Bread recipe.

McDuff and Jake, well done with your loaves, they look great!

I'm baking another sourdough tomorrow, it's retarding in the fridge right now.

Anyone else is baking a loaf this weekend?

Marcia

[Jake]

I'm hoping to try baguette or ciabetta, if I can get rid of the SO for the day and have some time!!!

[I82Much]

Made the sticky buns this morning

A lot of work, and very time consuming

Coming out of the oven

Unfortunately, even with the conservative time estimate, turned out to be a bit too long

This one looks OK...

But the pan as a whole is a tad overdone on the caramel side :-/

[Behemoth]

Made Ciabatta again yesterday...only this time part of the oven ignited when some pile of crumbs on the floor got too close to the element. Anyway, as I cooled the oven down to clean it out, I threw the proofed ciabatta (ciabattae?) in the fridge so they wouldn't overproof. Took them out about 2 hours later, and baked after about 1 hr out of the fridge. I was really worried they would be messed up, but they were actually better than ever. Unevenly sized but evenly dispersed holes, really perfect. Which leads me to wonder...

I would love to be able to do everything but final baking a day ahead. If I could do that, I would be able to bake our bread more than once a week. What is the best way to work this? Do you refridgerate the dough after the final proofing, and if so, do you shove the whole thing, couche and all, in there? Plastic wrap? How long does it need to return to room temp before baking? What's the longest I can leave it in the fridge? I've seen instructions for sourdough bread, but nothing on rustic ciabatta-type breads.

[jackal10]

Its the same as with sourdough.

Throw the nearly proofed douch, couche and all into the fridge. The support from the couche is important.

Personally I bake from cold.

[Behemoth]

Its the same as with sourdough.

Throw the nearly proofed douch, couche and all into the fridge. The support from the couche is important.

Personally I bake from cold.

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Thanks jackal...do you wrap the whole thing in a plastic bag to keep it from drying out?

[jackal10]

Thanks jackal...do you wrap the whole thing in a plastic bag to keep it from drying out?

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Depends what sort of crust you want. For 12-24 hours or so I just cover with a cloth. The slight drying gives a crisper crust.

For longer term retardation I would put them in a loose plastic bacg.

[Behemoth]

The slight drying gives a crisper crust.

Amazing how things make so much sense when you stop and think about them for a minute. Will definitely be expermienting with this. Thanks!

[FoodMan]

I made a batch of the sourdough bread this weekend. Divided into two loafs, one plain boule, and one batard with olives. Both are excellent and very flavorful, but that olive one was so good it was pretty much gone by the next day.

Today’s breakfast was PR’s Cinnamon Rolls. I highly recommend those they are soft, flavorful and very addictive.

Elie

[fiftydollars]

I have a cloth-lined basket that I would like to use to proof bread, but I'm worried the tacky dough will stick to the cloth. How do I prevent this?

[vengroff]

I have a cloth-lined basket that I would like to use to proof bread, but I'm worried the tacky dough will stick to the cloth. How do I prevent this?

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Dust it with flour.

[vengroff]

This week I did more pain a l'ancienne and another apple wheat boule. I think I slightly overhydrated the ancienne. It's was more challenging to work with than in the past.

Edited April 16, 2005 by vengroff (log)

[ellencho]

So this weekend I attempted the Italian Bread recipe on page 172. I made two loaves instead of the 9 hoagie rolls.

First I made the biga

Then I let it rise for four hours at room temp before transferring it to the fridge.

This is the biga after spending the night in the fridge.

I then cut up the biga and mixed it in with the wet and dry ingredients.

That mixed for 10 minutes.

Then I took the dough, and separated it into two bowls to ferment.

This is what it looked like 2 hours later.

I then formed them into two loaves.

The loaves proofed for an hour, and then I slashed them.

Here they are all baked - can anyone tell me if I should be slashing my dough deeper than I did? I think the loaves look ok but I'm thinking there should be more slashing definition no?

Here's a pic of the crumb.

All in all, I think I did pretty well for myself, a novice home baker. I thought it had a good texture and good taste, and a good non-overpoweringly yeasty aroma.

[Behemoth]

Ellen, from what I've gathered, you need to slash at a very sharp angle on the diagonal, almost parallel to the surface to get a good ear. Here it looks like you slashed straight down. I wouldn't turn down a slice though, it looks delicious!

I just made ciabatta again. Such a creature of habit but I really love the process, and that particular bread. I love how the surface texture exhibits so clearly how you folded it before proofing, and the air bubbles stretch as the dough rises in the oven. The rusticity almost has an asian aesthetic in a way, you know? Or maybe I need to have less of a caffeine buzz

[ellencho]

Ellen, from what I've gathered, you need to slash at a very sharp angle on the diagonal, almost parallel to the surface to get a good ear. Here it looks like you slashed straight down.

DOH! I'll definitely try that next time. Thanks for the advice.

Edited April 17, 2005 by ellencho (log)

[Wendy DeBord]

Beautiful photos and documantion Ellencho. Thie thread should be published into a book.

[vengroff]

Has anyone tried the casatiello? I'm planning to pick up some salami at Salumi in Seattle and give it a shot next week. What could possibly be better than a bread that is it's own sandwich?

[FoodMan]

Has anyone tried the casatiello?  I'm planning to pick up some salami at Salumi in Seattle and give it a shot next week.  What could possibly be better than a bread that is it's own sandwich?

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Yeap I have! and there is almost nothing better. Unfortunatly my father in law ate the whole loaf, after I took just one slice and left it on the counter. I used leftover salami and provolone to make mine.

Elie

[lovebenton0]

haven't posted here for a while and just going through the thread i must say there's been a lot of great looking bread produced.

my latest from the BBA was the sourdough rye onion bread with carraway seeds.

a very moist and flavorful bread. the onion in the loaves and the way the onion bakes to darkened bits in the crust... so wonderfully aromatic. we've eaten it cut fresh with butter, toasted, in grilled swiss cheese sandwichwes, and buttered then grilled quickly over coals alongside a pork roast.

just a few pics, not a complete storyboard of the development of this bread...

i'm very pleased with the rye barm and plan to use it for a mixed grain sourdough next week.

stirring oil into rye barm starter before adding to flour mixture

after bulk fermentation

loaves fresh from the oven (with those bits of onion)

the crumb...

i loved this rye, but we're ready for a change after eating two loaves so the plan is to bake a lighter bread this week. i want to do something i haven't tried yet....

[vengroff]

I did the casatiello yesterday and I have to say the recipe produced an outstanding result.

It began with a briochelike dough, shown mixing here.

That was the sponge, eggs, flour, sugar, and salt. The next addition was butter.

Unfortunately, because I was making a double recipe, my little 5qt kitchenaid was overwhelmed and I had to fall back on hand mixing to properly incorportate all that butter. Once this was done and the dough was good and smooth it was time to fold in the meat, in my case Armandino Batali's signature Salumi salami, which had been diced and quickly sauteed.

That was followed by aged imported provalone from DeLaurenti at Pike Place market. The cheese had been aged to the point that natural fissures had begun to appear and it was easy to shred into appropriately sized pieces by hand. But it was still soft and creamy enough to melt exquisitely, as we will see a bit later on.

I chose to proof and bake the bread in 7" paper panettone molds sprayed with a light coating of olive oil. It took a total of an hour for the center of the bread to fully bake. Here they are piping hot from the oven.

Here's one of the two after it cooled a bit and I removed the paper.

Just as the book said, the cheese had bubbled through a few thin spots on the surface. But otherwise, a nice crisp golden brown crust had developed all the way around the loaf.

I was very happy with the development of the crumb.

The sweet richness of the bread was balanced by the salty nuggets of salami, each with just a hint of the ginger that Armandino adds to the recipe.

Finally, the cheese, which melted during baking, left some nice voids in the crumb, lined with cheesy goodness.

If you haven't tried this recipe yet, I recommend that you give it a shot. A few of my friends initially balked at the idea of "meat bread," as they called it, but once they tasted it they were convinced. I think it would probably also make great toast to pair with some scrambled eggs.

[Marcia]

Vengroff, absolutely fantastic bread!! The close-up picture of the crumb makes it almost edible in my computer!! Well done!! Looks great and I'm sure it tastes delicious. It's so nice when we things turn out so good as this one, isn't it?

I-want-a-Kitchen-Aid.

Marcia

[lovebenton0]

omg! Vengroff, you've convinced me... i'm going to have to try the casatiello. your loaves are stunning. i can almost taste it toasted with eggs on the side, or sandwiched inside, already.

[FoodMan]

Do I need to add my compliment to the rest of them, sure I do. Vengroff it is almost lunch time and those close-ups are really pushing my limits. Maybe an early lunch is in order.

So, what are you planning to serve it with? if anything at all.

Elie