Isand66's blog

Earlier in the week I attempted to make a bread using a raspberry dessert wine and I didn't take my own advice and used too much wine in the bake.  It did not develop properly and the final bread ended up gummy and is now food for my compost pile.

For my next bake I wanted a more simple bread and after watching an episode of Lidia Bastianich's TV show on Italian cooking I had a craving for a nice hearty Italian Durum Semolina type bread that you can dip in sauce or olive oil.

I recently made bread with Kamut which has a similar color and nutty flavor like Durum wheat and I wanted to combine the two together along with some organic Bread Flour I just received from KAF to add enough gluten to pull it all together.  Kamut wheat does not have a strong gluten structure so it's important to combine it with a flour that has a higher protein level.

I have to say that this dough came together as a nice silky moist and tacky dough and was easy to work with.  The final bread had a wonderful yellow crumb which was nice and open.  The crust was just chewy enough as to be ideal and made this a joy to eat dipped in some olive oil with a little roasted red pepper.

If you make this bread I guarantee you will have a hard time stopping yourself from finishing the entire loaf in one sitting!

Levain Directions

Mix all the levain ingredients together for about 1 minute and cover with plastic wrap.  Let it sit at room temperature for around 7-8 hours or until the starter has doubled.  I usually do this the night before.

Either use in the main dough immediately or refrigerate for up to 1 day before using.

Main Dough Procedure

Mix the flours, and 375 grams of the water together in your mixer or by hand until it just starts to come together, maybe about 1 minute.  Let it rest in your work bowl covered for 20-30 minutes.  Next add the salt, starter (cut into about 7-8 pieces), and olive oil and mix on low for a minute.  Add the rest of the water unless the dough is way too wet.   Mix on low-speed for another 4 minutes.  Remove the dough from your bowl and place it in a lightly oiled bowl or work surface and do several stretch and folds.  Let it rest covered for 10-15 minutes and then do another stretch and fold.  Let it rest another 10-15 minutes and do one additional stretch and fold.  After a total of 2 hours place your covered bowl in the refrigerator and let it rest for 12 to 24 hours.

When you are ready to bake remove the bowl from the refrigerator and let it set out at room temperature still covered for 1.5 to 2 hours.  Remove the dough and shape as desired.  I made 2 loaves using my bannetons.  Place your dough into your proofing basket(s) and cover with a moist tea towel or plastic wrap sprayed with cooking spray.

The dough will take 1.5 to 2 hours depending on your room temperature.  Let the dough dictate when it is read to bake not the clock.

Around 45 minutes before ready to bake, pre-heat your oven to 500 degrees F. and prepare it for steam.  I have a heavy-duty baking pan on the bottom rack of my oven with 1 baking stone on above the pan and one on the top shelf.  I pour 1 cup of boiling water in the pan right after I place the dough in the oven.

Right before you are ready to put them in the oven, score as desired and then add 1 cup of boiling water to your steam pan or follow your own steam procedure.

After 1 minute lower the temperature to 450 degrees.  Bake for 35-50 minutes until the crust is nice and brown and the internal temperature of the bread is 205 degrees.

Take the bread out of the oven when done and let it cool on a bakers rack before for at least 2 hours before eating.

My wife is not a big fan of my multi-grain breads and I'm always getting on her for not trying more of my breads.  For this reason I agreed to make her an English Muffin bread, which was simple and plain.  Well you know by now if you follow my posts that I don't know the meaning of the word simple so here is as close as I could bring myself to make a simple English Muffin style bread.

I used a similar recipe that I have used for my last batch of English Muffin and baked it in a loaf pan and the results were better than I expected.  It tastes like an English Muffin but you can taste the Durum flour I used in the starter and a hint of the cheese I added in.  I used a blueberry cheddar cheese to make it interesting but in hindsight I should have added more than I did to really get the flavor.

The bread came out with a nice English Muffin open crumb and makes great toast.

English Muffin Bread Main Dough

165 grams Durum Starter (you can use your regular Sourdough starter at 65% hydration instead if desired.  I had this left over from one of my previous bakes)

620 grams European Style Flour (KAF or use Bread Flour with a little Whole Wheat)

300 grams Greek Plain Yogurt (I used Fage 2%)

235 grams Water (85-90 degrees F.)

50 grams Cheese (I used grated Blueberry Cheddar.  Add in final mix)

26 grams Sugar

10 grams Salt

12 grams Baking Soda

Semolina or Cornmeal for Dusting

Directions

Mix flour, starter, water and yogurt in your mixing bowl and mix for 1-2 minutes to combine.  (Note: in my English Muffin recipe I did not add the water until the second day, but I forgot and mixed it up first and it didn't seem to hurt anything).

Cover the bowl and let it sit out at room temperature overnight or for at least 9-10 hours.

The next morning add the rest of the ingredients and mix for a minute.  Knead the dough either with your mixer or by hand for around 4 minutes, adding additional flour if necessary.  Next place the dough in a lightly greased bowl and let it rest covered for 1 hour at room temperature about 70 degrees F.  After the rest form it into a loaf shape and place it in a greased bread pan and let it rise covered with a moist towel or greased plastic wrap for another hour until the dough rises about even with the top of your baking pan which in my case was about a 50% rise.  This bread will get a huge lift in the oven so don't worry if it doesn't rise too much while resting.

Pre-heat the oven to 350 degrees F. and when ready to bake add your steam per your normal method and bake for around 45 minutes to an hour until the internal temperature reaches 200 degrees.

Let the bread rest on a rack for about 2 hours and then enjoy!

I don't know who's more excited about my KAF order...me or Mookie!

I was bored the other day so while surfing the internet for bread sites I revisited Breadtopia.com and was pleasantly surprised with some of the different flours and grains they offered for sale.  I decided to buy one of the ancient grains Kamut and also so hard red winter wheat called Turkey Whole Wheat Flour.  Below is some information from their website if you are interested.

Turkey Red Wheat, once the dominant variety of hard red winter wheat planted throughout the central U.S., is back in production in Kansas.  “Turkey” variety hard red winter wheat was introduced to Kansas in 1873, carried by Mennonite immigrants from Crimea in the Ukraine, fleeing Russian forced military service. In the mid-1880s, grainsman Bernard Warkentin imported some 10,000 bushels of Turkey seed from the Ukraine, the first commercially available to the general public. That 10,000 bushels (600,000 pounds) would plant some 150 square miles (10,000 acres). By the beginning of the twentieth century, hard red winter wheat, virtually all of it Turkey, was planted on some five million acres in Kansas alone. In the meantime, it had become the primary wheat variety throughout the plains from the Texas panhandle to South Dakota. Without “Turkey” wheat there would be no “Breadbasket.”

The Kamut flour is very similar to durum flour and here is some more information from their website.

Kamut® is an ancient grain and the brand name for khorasan wheat, a large amber wheat grain closely related to durum. Kamut is appreciated for its smooth, buttery, nutty flavor, and its high protein and nutritional content.  It contains a high mineral concentration especially in selenium, zinc, and magnesium with 20-40% more protein compared to modern-day wheat. It has a higher lipid to carbohydrate ratio, which means the grain produces greater energy and has a natural sweetness to counterbalance the occasional bitterness present in traditional wheat.

I went this weekend with my wife to the outlet stores and discovered a new store that sells only New York State wines, beers and spirits.  I picked up a mixed 6 pack of ales, stouts and ciders and decided to use the Black Cherry Hard Cider in my next bake.

I made a levain using my AP starter and some of the Turkey flour and AP flour.

For the main dough I used the Kamut flour along with Turkey flour, some molasses and dried onions that I reconstituted in some water and the Black Cherry Cider.

I followed my normal procedure below for making a miche and I must say I was very happy with the results.  You can taste the nuttiness of the 2 flours along with the hint of cherry from the cider.  The crust was nice and thick but the crumb was a bit tight which was probably due to the high percentage of the Turkey flour along with the Kamut flour.

Levain Directions

Mix all the levain ingredients together for about 1 minute and cover with plastic wrap.  Let it sit at room temperature for around 7-8 hours or until the starter has doubled.  I usually do this the night before.

Either use in the main dough immediately or refrigerate for up to 1 day before using.

Main Dough Procedure

Mix the flours, and 275 grams of the cider together in your mixer or by hand until it just starts to come together, maybe about 1 minute.  Let it rest in your work bowl covered for 20-30 minutes.  Next add the salt, starter (cut into about 7-8 pieces), molasses, and rehydrated onions and mix on low for a minute.  Add the rest of the cider unless the dough is way too wet.   Mix on low-speed for another 3 minutes.  Remove the dough from your bowl and place it in a lightly oiled bowl or work surface and do several stretch and folds.  Let it rest covered for 10-15 minutes and then do another stretch and fold.  Let it rest another 10-15 minutes and do one additional stretch and fold.  After a total of 2 hours place your covered bowl in the refrigerator and let it rest for 12 to 24 hours.

When you are ready to bake remove the bowl from the refrigerator and let it set out at room temperature still covered for 1.5 to 2 hours.  Remove the dough and shape as desired.  I made 1 large miche but you can make 2 boules or other shapes.  Place your dough into your proofing basket(s) and cover with a moist tea towel or plastic wrap sprayed with cooking spray.  The dough will take 1.5 to 2 hours depending on your room temperature.  Let the dough dictate when it is read to bake not the clock.

Around 45 minutes before ready to bake, pre-heat your oven to 500 degrees F. and prepare it for steam.  I have a heavy-duty baking pan on the bottom rack of my oven with 1 baking stone on above the pan and one on the top shelf.  I pour 1 cup of boiling water in the pan right after I place the dough in the oven.

Right before you are ready to put them in the oven, score as desired and then add 1 cup of boiling water to your steam pan or follow your own steam procedure.

After 1 minute lower the temperature to 450 degrees.  Bake for 35-50 minutes until the crust is nice and brown and the internal temperature of the bread is 205 degrees.

Take the bread out of the oven when done and let it cool on a bakers rack before for at least 2 hours before eating.

My last bake was a lemon sourdough which ended up as food for the squirrels unfortunately.  I decided to recover from that calamity and baking a good wholesome multi-grain bread.

I made a soaker with a bunch of different grains and let it sit for 24 hours in a bowl with hot water to soften it up.  The grains will soak up about 75% of the water which will end up making your dough very moist.

This bake came out excellent with a great dark and thick crust and open and moist crumb.

Soaker

45 grams Malted Rye Berries

80 grams Groats

75 grams Soft White Wheat

275 grams Boiling Hot Water

Mix water in a bowl with other ingredients and let sit covered at room temperature for 24 hours.

Starter Build 1

36 grams Seed (Mine is 65% AP Flour Starter)

114 grams European Style Flour (KAF)

45 grams Yeast Water

30 grams Water (85 - 90 degrees F.)

Mix seed with water to break up for a few seconds and then mix in flour until the starter form a smooth dough consistency.  Put it in a lightly oiled bowl and loosely cover and leave at room temperature for at least 6-10 hours.  The starter should double in volume.

Starter Build 2

150 grams European Style Flour (KAF)

95 grams Yeast Water

Mix the Yeast Water and flour in with the starter from Build 1 for about 30 seconds to a minute until all the ingredients are incorporated.  Cover and leave at room temperature for at least 6-10 hours.  The starter should double in volume.

Main Dough

Ingredients

425 grams Starter from above (It's possible you could have a little left over from above but I had exactly 425 grams)

100 grams White Rye Flour

100 grams Potato Flour (KAF)

300 grams European Style Flour (KAF)

All of the Soaker from above

325 grams Water (90 degrees F.)

16 grams Sea Salt (or table salt)

22 grams Honey

Procedure

Prepare the soaker 24 hours before you want to bake the bread.  When the soaker is ready, make sure to drain any of the water it has not soaked up.

Next mix the flours together with all the water except for 90 grams for about 1 minute and let it autolyes covered, for 30 minutes in your mixing bowl .    After 30 minutes add the levain, honey, salt and the soaker and mixed on speed #1 for 1 minute or by hand until everything starts to come together.  Add additional water as needed and mix  for 4 additional minutes.  Note that this is a very sticky dough so don't be afraid to use all the water but make sure you don't end up with soup.

Since this dough is very wet I put it directly into my oiled dough rising bucket and did a couple of stretch and folds.  Rest it in the covered bucket for about 10-15 minutes and do a total of 2-3 additional stretch and folds within 2 hours.  After 2 hours and several stretch and folds (I did a total of 3) place the dough in your refrigerator for 12 - 24 hours.

The next day I let the dough sit out at room temperature for 2 hours.  After 2 hours I formed it into 1 large miche and put it into my floured cloth lined basket.

Let the dough sit at room temperature for 1.5 to 2 hours.  It should start to get a little puffy but it won't rise a lot so don't be alarmed.

Score the loaves as desired and prepare your oven for baking with steam.

I pre-heat my oven to 505 degrees F. about 30-40 minutes before baking.  I add 1 cup of boiling water to a heavy-duty sheet pan on the lowest shelf in my oven and I have 1 oven stone on the top shelf and one above the steam pan.

After placing the loaf in the oven I add the water and lower the temperature to 450 degrees.  Since this loaf is so large I had to lower the temperature after 30 minutes to 425 degrees and baked another 35 minutes until it reached an internal temperature of 205 degrees F.

Let the bread cool for at least 2 hours or longer until you try it.

Okay, I'm back to my normal self again baking abi-normal breads.  I've made bread with corn flour before, but this time I wanted to use a slurry of roasted corn as well as use corn flour in the sourdough starter.  I also wanted to add some cheese and I thought some nice salty tasting Feta cheese would be a good combination.  The bread is just about to come out of the oven and I can smell the corn and feta cheese all throughout the house.  Not exactly a great thing to control my hunger while on a diet, but such is life.

This is a very wet dough, even though the overall hydration is only 72%, by adding the corn slurry it really increased the moisture content of the dough greatly.  I tried to bake this using a bundt pan mold from my wife's collection. I should have probably baked it in the mold but instead I removed the dough and it kind of flattened out and melded together into a big round blob shape.  I scored the loaf and it did get some good oven spring but next time I will bake it part of the way in the bundt pan and see what happens.

The final bread, while not resembling the intricate bundt mold I used, did come out great with a nice crispy crust and open and tasty crumb.  The bread is nice and moist and really came out amazing.

If you make this recipe, make sure to roast your corn first or you will lose that special sweet flavor that only roasted corn can impart.

I also used avocado oil which I am not sure what it actually added to the flavor profile, so feel free to substitute olive oil or any oil of your choice.

Directions

Starter Build 1

95 grams AP Flour (KAF)

55 grams Corn Flour (Bob's Red Mill)

50 grams Seed Starter at 65% hydration (If you use a 100% hydration starter you need to adjust the water amount and flour amount to compensate)

90 grams Water at room temperature.

Mix all the above ingredients together for about 1 minute and cover with plastic wrap.  Let it sit at room temperature for around 4-8 hours or until the starter has doubled.  I usually do this the night before.

Starter Build 2

75 grams AP Flour

25 grams Corn Flour

75 grams Water at room temperature

Mix all the ingredients into the starter from step 1 until they are incorporated.  Cover with plastic wrap and let it sit for 4-6 hours or until doubled.  You can then refrigerate for up to 1  day or use in the main dough immediately.

Main Dough Ingredients

425 grams  Starter from above  (Note: you will have a little extra starter from above so make sure to weigh it out)

350 grams European Style Flour (KAF, you can sub Bread Flour with a little bit of Whole Wheat)

100 grams Durum Flour ( KAF)

75 grams Potato Flour (KAF)

50 grams Corn Flour (Bob's Red Mill)

77 grams Feta Cheese

17 grams Seas Salt or Table Salt

22 grams Avocado Oil (substitute olive oil if necessary)

425 grams Water at room temperature

155 grams Roasted Corn Slurry (Instructions below)

Total Flour (Including Starters and Seed Starter)

802 grams

Total Water (Including Starters and Seed Starter)

576 grams

Total Hydration: 72%

Procedure

Roasted Corn Slurry

I used a grill pan to do this since I still have too much snow on the ground to get to my barbecue.  Either way, you want to shuck 2 medium ears of corn, spray on or brush on some olive oil and add sprinkle some smoked hickory salt, onion powder, garlic powder and cheese powder. Wrap in aluminum foil or if you have the husks you can wrap them back in the husks.  Grill for about 15-20 minutes until you have a nice char on all sides.

Let the corn cool down and cut the corn from the cobs and place 155 grams in your food processor and give it a whirl until the corn starts resembling a slurry.  You don't want to overdo it since you want some texture to the corn to remain.

Main Dough

Mix the flours, oil and 385  grams of the water together in your mixer or by hand until it just starts to come together, maybe about 1 minute.  Let it rest in your work bowl covered for 20-30 minutes.  Next add the salt, starter (cut into about 7-8 pieces),and corn slurry and mix on low for a minute.  Add the rest of the water unless the dough is way too wet (note this is a very wet dough but you don't want soup).   Mix on low-speed for another 2 minutes.  Next add the cheese and mix for 1 additional minute.  Remove the dough from your bowl and place it in a lightly oiled bowl and with wet or oiled hands do several stretch and folds.  Let it rest covered for 10-15 minutes and then do another stretch and fold.  Let it rest another 10-15 minutes and do one additional stretch and fold.  (Feel free to do additional stretch and folds if necessary).  After a total of 2 hours place your covered bowl in the refrigerator and let it rest for 12 to 24 hours.

When you are ready to bake remove the bowl from the refrigerator and let it set out at room temperature still covered for 1.5 to 2 hours.  Remove the dough and shape as desired.  As mentioned above I used a bundt pan mold.  I shaped the dough into 2 batards and placed both of them in the mold and sealed them together.

 Next I covered the dough with a moist tea towel.  The dough will take 1.5 to 2 hours depending on your room temperature.  Let the dough dictate when it is read to bake not the clock.

Around 45 minutes before ready to bake, pre-heat your oven to 500 degrees F. and prepare it for steam.  I have a heavy-duty baking pan on the bottom rack of my oven with 1 baking stone on above the pan and one on the top shelf.  I pour 1 cup of boiling water in the pan right after I place the dough in the oven.

Right before you are ready to put them in the oven, score as desired and then add 1 cup of boiling water to your steam pan or follow your own steam procedure.

After 1 minute lower the temperature to 450 degrees.  Bake for 35-50 minutes until the crust is nice and brown and the internal temperature of the bread is 205 degrees.

Take the bread out of the oven when done and let it cool on a bakers rack before for at least 2 hours before eating.

   Every once in a while I feel the need to make a more simple bread; one that will make a great sandwich.  With that in mind I decided to make a version of a Pain Au Levain using some French style flour from KAF, whole wheat and some dark rye flour and toasted wheat germ in the final dough.

I used my normal over-night retardation procedure for the bulk rise and decided to use one of my new baskets I purchased at Good Will over the summer.  Unfortunately I added so much rice flour to the basket to prevent the dough from sticking that some of it got onto the bread itself and when I went to shape it I de-gassed the dough too much.  I was trying to get a nice tight skin on the dough and the rice flour was preventing this.  Lesson learned, but in the end while the crumb ended up a little tighter than it should have been, the flavor was nice and deep with a good crust.

Directions

Levain Ingredients & Directions

200 grams French Style Flour (KAF, or use AP Flour)

100 grams Whole Wheat Flour (KAF)

105 grams Seed Starter at 65% hydration (If you use a 100% hydration starter you need to adjust the water amount and flour amount to compensate)

178 grams Water at room temperature

Mix all the above ingredients together for about 1 minute and cover with plastic wrap.  Let it sit at room temperature for around 7-8 hours or until the starter has doubled.  I usually do this the night before.

Either use in the main dough immediately or refrigerate for up to 1 day before using.

Main Dough Ingredients

458 grams  Starter from above

350 grams French Style Flour (KAF)

50 grams Dark Rye (Pumpernickel Flour, KAF)

54 grams Toasted Wheat Germ (KAF)

17 grams Seas Salt or Table Salt (I used Hickory Smoked Sea Salt)

312 grams Water at room temperature

Procedure

Mix the flours, and 275 grams of the water together in your mixer or by hand until it just starts to come together, maybe about 1 minute.  Let it rest in your work bowl covered for 20-30 minutes.  Next add the salt, starter (cut into about 7-8 pieces) and mix on low for a minute.  Add the rest of the water unless the dough is way too wet.   Mix on low-speed for another 3 minutes.  Remove the dough from your bowl and place it in a lightly oiled bowl or work surface and do several stretch and folds.  Let it rest covered for 10-15 minutes and then do another stretch and fold.  Let it rest another 10-15 minutes and do one additional stretch and fold.  After a total of 2 hours place your covered bowl in the refrigerator and let it rest for 12 to 24 hours.

When you are ready to bake remove the bowl from the refrigerator and let it set out at room temperature still covered for 1.5 to 2 hours.  Remove the dough and shape as desired.  I made 1 large batard shape but you can make boules or other shapes.  Place your dough into your proofing basket(s) and cover with a moist tea towel or plastic wrap sprayed with cooking spray.  The dough will take 1.5 to 2 hours depending on your room temperature.  Let the dough dictate when it is read to bake not the clock.

Around 45 minutes before ready to bake, pre-heat your oven to 500 degrees F. and prepare it for steam.  I have a heavy-duty baking pan on the bottom rack of my oven with 1 baking stone on above the pan and one on the top shelf.  I pour 1 cup of boiling water in the pan right after I place the dough in the oven.

Right before you are ready to put them in the oven, score as desired and then add 1 cup of boiling water to your steam pan or follow your own steam procedure.

After 1 minute lower the temperature to 450 degrees.  Bake for 35-50 minutes until the crust is nice and brown and the internal temperature of the bread is 205 degrees.

Take the bread out of the oven when done and let it cool on a bakers rack before for at least 2 hours before eating.

.

  Stranded in my house for another day since Nemo swamped Long Island with 20 -30 inches of snow I needed some more bread to eat. I decided to make some nice soft and tasty rolls that will be great for sandwiches and/or snacking.

I had some left-over starter from my last Cherry Sourdough Bread so I decided to combine that with some of my AP starter along with some cream cheese, milk, butter, maple syrup for some sweetness and assorted flours.

I have to say the rolls came out great and I already ate 2 before dinner! I need to build up my strength for an early AM drive to the train station to trek into the city. Normally this would not be a big deal, but I'm afraid it may take me longer to drive to the station than the actual train ride to Manhattan.

I used multiple toppings including toasted onions, cheese powder and poppy seeds but these rolls will work with just about any topping you desire.

Directions

The night before refresh your starter and if you have some oat flour make an additional starter using 50% oat flour to bread or AP flour. The oat flour starter was kept at 100% hydration while my AP starter was at 65%.

You need to have a total amount of starter at 375 grams.

Main Dough Ingredients

200 grams AP Starter at 65% hydration

175 grams Oat Flour Starter at 100% hydration

300 grams Sir Lancelot High protein Style Flour (you can substitute bread flour if necessary)

112 grams Durum Flour (KAF)

100 grams White Rye Flour (KAF)

102 grams Cream Cheese softened

50 grams Unsalted Butter (cut into pieces and softened)

16 grams Seas Salt or Table Salt

30 grams Maple Syrup or Honey

353 grams Milk (I used 2% but you can use which ever you prefer) at room temperature

Procedure

Mix the flours, maple syrup and 300 grams of the milk together in your mixer or by hand until it just starts to come together, maybe about 1 minute. Let it rest in your work bowl covered for 20-30 minutes. Next add the salt, butter, starters and cream cheese and mix on low for a minute. Add the rest of the milk unless the dough is way too wet. Note that the dough should be rather moist so don't be afraid to add the rest of the milk. Mix on low-speed for another 3 minutes. Remove the dough from your bowl and place it in a lightly oiled bowl and do several stretch and folds. Let it rest covered for 10-15 minutes and then do another stretch and fold. Let it rest another 10-15 minutes and do one additional stretch and fold. After a total of 2 hours place your covered bowl in the refrigerator and let it rest for 12 to 24 hours.

When you are ready to bake remove the bowl from the refrigerator and let it set out at room temperature still covered for 1.5 to 2 hours. Remove the dough and divide into around 10-12 pieces depending on the size of your rolls and form them as desired. Place them on a parchment lined sheet pan and let them rest.

Cover them with a moist tea towel or sprayed plastic wrap for 1.5 to 2 hours. Around 45 minutes before ready to bake, pre-heat your oven to 500 degrees F. and prepare it for steam. I have a heavy-duty baking pan on the bottom rack of my oven with 1 baking stone on above the pan and one on the top shelf. I pour 1 cup of boiling water in the pan right after I place the dough in the oven.

Before putting the rolls into the oven, apply an egg wash and your favorite toppings.

Place the pan with the rolls in the oven, add the boiling water or which ever method of steam you prefer and lower the temperature to 450 degrees. Bake for 20-30 minutes until the rolls are nice and brown.

Take them out and let them cool on a bakers rack for at least an hour before eating.

The storm has come and it has delivered as promised.  Here on the South Shore of Long Island where I live we spent most of the morning digging out of 20+ inches of icy heavy snow.  In between the snow plowing and digging I managed to shape and get my latest bread in the oven.

Using the 36 hour technique I adapted from TxFarmer's blog posts on The Fresh Loaf, I made a hearty style loaf with my favorite cherry flavored tea, fresh chopped cherries and some oat flour.  I used the oat flour in the levain as well as the final dough.  Some potato flour and malted wheat flakes were added to round out this dough.

The end result was a nice moist crumb with a great chewy crust with cherry chunks.  This was a large loaf and took almost 2 hours to bake.  I lowered the temperature to 425 F. to prevent the crust from getting too dark which is one of the reasons why it took so long.

This exciting technique takes a while but it is worth it. I actually let the dough retard longer than 24 hours called for in the recipe due to my schedule and I don't think it effected the final bread either way.

Directions

Starter Build 1

104 grams Seed Starter (Mine is a 65% White AP starter)

100 grams Oat Flour (KAF)

200 grams European Style Flour (KAF)

203 grams Water at Room Temperature (80-90 degrees F.)

Mix ingredients in a bowl until thoroughly combined.  Cover the bowl and let it sit at room temperature for around 8 hours.  The starter should almost double when ready to proceed.

Starter Build 2

All Starter from Build #1:

35 grams Water at Room Temperature (80-90 degrees F.)

Mix ingredients in a bowl until thoroughly combined.  Cover the bowl and let it sit at room temperature for around  4 - 6 hours.  The starter should almost double when ready to proceed.

Main Dough Ingredients

300 grams  Starter  from above (note: you should have a small amount left over)

450 grams European Style Flour

200 grams Oat Flour (KAF)

100 grams Potato Flour

100 grams Malted Wheat Flakes

20 grams Seas Salt or Table Salt

88 grams Fresh Cherries (Pitted and chopped)

600 grams Cherry Tea Iced  (Make sure the tea is ice-cold before using.  I added the hot tea to ice cubes)

Procedure

Mix the flours, malted wheat flakes and the ice tea together in your mixer or by hand until it just starts to come together, maybe about 1 minute.  Put the dough in a slightly covered oiled bowl and put in the refrigerator for 12 hours.

The next day add your starter and salt to the dough and mix by hand until it is thoroughly mixed and evenly distributed.  Due to the high water content in the 100% hydration starter this dough is very easy to mix by hand and is very silky and smooth.

Bulk rise at room temperature for 2-3 hours until it grows around 1/3 in volume doing stretch and folds every half hour until it has developed the correct amount of strength.  During the last stretch and fold flatten out the dough slightly into a rectangle and add the chopped cherries.

Put the dough back into the refrigerator for around 20-30 hours.  I ended up letting it go around 30 hours.

When you take the dough out of the refrigerator you want it to have almost doubled in volume.  Mine only rose about 1/3 in volume.  Let it rise at room temperature for around 2 hours or until the dough has doubled from the night before.

Next, shape as desired.  I made a large Miche and placed it in my cloth lined basket.  Make sure you use enough rice flour with flour in your bowl/basket to prevent this moist dough from sticking.

Cover the dough with a moist towel and let sit at room temperature for 1.5 to 2 hours.

Score as desired and prepare your oven for baking with steam.

Set your oven for 500 degrees F. at least 45 minutes before ready to bake.  When ready to bake place the loaves into your on  your oven stone with steam and lower the temperature immediately to 450 degrees.   Since this loaf was so big I ended up lowering the oven after 35 minutes to around 425 degrees.  When the loaf is nice and brown and reached an internal temperature of 200 degrees F. you can remove it from the oven.

Let the loaves cool down for at least an 3 hours or so before eating as desired.

Cat-Angel Bell Weathering the Storm

The Dolphin is Trying to stay above the snow

Misty waiting for some Cherry Sourdough.....okay so she's waiting for some Kibble!

Today's the Superbowl and I was asked to make some pretzel rolls to bring to the party we're going to.  I made a batch for Christmas Eve which everyone raved about so I used the same recipe I found on the TFL website.  I also couldn't help but try my own variation using my sourdough starter, pumpernickel flour and cheddar cheese.

I wasn't sure how they would turn out, but I do have to say they didn't dissapoint and rival the original.  Come on....who doesn't like cheese?

These are not hard to make except for the food grade Lye bath they go into.  Many people say you don't need to use Lye and can use baking soda.  I have not tried baking soda yet since I still have plenty of the Lye.  The Lye gives the pretzels a hard dark brown crust which is not easy to obtain with anything else. Feel free to use baking soda instead and increase the amount used versus the Lye.

Caution:  When using the Lye make sure you wear gloves, long sleeves and protective eye gear. Also, never add Lye to hot water or it will bubble over and probably burn you.

Main Dough Ingredients for 10 rolls at about 110 grams each

145 grams AP Sourdough Starter at 65% or adjust flour and water accordingly

437 grams Bread Flour (KAF)

200 grams Dark Rye (also known as Pumpernickel)

5 grams Seas Salt or Table Salt

5 grams Diastatic Malt Powder

384 grams Water (80-90 degrees F.)

Cheddar Cheese cut into cubes (sorry but I forgot to measure the cheese)

Pretzel Salt (for topping only)

For Lye Bath (3.5% Solution

2 Liters of Cold water

70 grams Sodium Hydroxide Crystals

Procedure

Add the diastatic malt powder to the water and stir.  Add the flours in your mixing bowl and slowly add the water mixture.  Mix for about 1 minute until combined.  Cut your starter in pieces and lay on top of the flour mixture and cover and let rest for 30 minutes to 1 hour so the flour can absorb the water.

Next add the salt and mix for 4 minutes on low.    Place the dough in a slightly oiled bowl and do a couple of stretch and folds.  Cover the bowl and let it rest for 10-15 minutes.  Do another stretch and fold in the bowl and let it rest another 10-15 minutes.  Do another stretch and fold and let the dough sit out in the covered bowl for another 1.5 hours.  Place the dough in the refrigerator until ready to bake the next day.

When ready to bake take the dough out and leave it covered in your bowl for 2 hours.  Next divide the dough into around 10 pieces that are 110 grams each.  Flatten each piece into a circle and place a piece of cheese in the middle and pinch the dough around the cheese.  Next flip over and roll against your work surface while creating a tight ball.  Place on a baking sheet and cover with either a moist towel or plastic wrap sprayed with cooking spray.  Let it rest for around 60 minutes to about 1/2 proof.

While the rolls are proofing, fill a large stock pot with 2 liters of cold water.  Measure out the Lye and slowly add it to the cold water.  (DO NOT EVER ADD LYE TO HOT WATER).  Cover the pot and bring it to a rolling boil and then shut off the heat.

Pre-heat your oven to 400 degrees.  When the rolls are proofed sufficiently, prepare to dip them for about 15 seconds in the lye bath upside down.  Let them drain on a bakers rack over a cookie tray covered with a towel or parchment paper.  After draining for a minute you can transfer them to a cookie/baking sheet that has been sprayed with cooking spray.  You want to use a stainless steel cooking sheet as aluminum may react with the lye and peel.  Note: do not ever use parchment paper as the rolls will get stuck to the bottom.  I know this from experience and I had to cut off the bottoms of half the rolls I made.

When ready to bake, score each roll with an "X" on the middle and sprinkle with pretzel salt.  Make sure you use pretzel salt if you want authentic rolls.

Bake for about 15-20 minutes until they are golden brown and register about 185 F in the middle.  Let them cool on a bakers rack until you can't wait any longer!

I actually couldn't wait long enough to try one which is why the crumb shot below is a little gummy looking.  It tasted good though!

Enjoy!

Let's go Jets!  (Did I really say that?  Must be the alcohol.....)

I think the name of this bread is probably the longest one I've ever used or seen for that matter!  There are just too many things thrown in this latest bake to make it any shorter and do the bread justice.

Recently I made a durum yeast water/sour dough combo bread using separate starters for the yeast water part and for the sour dough part.  I was urged by a few of my baking friends, DA and Janet to try making 1 starter using my AP sourdough seed along with the Yeast Water instead of water, plus the  flour.

I also wanted to use some of the fresh roasted pumpkin seeds I picked up at the market the other day along with trying some millet flour I also purchased at the same time.  Oh, and I forgot I also picked up a bottle of Nut Brown Ale and I had roasted some sweet potatoes so in they went into the cauldron.

I built the starter over 2 builds using French Style flour and Dark Rye flour which I thought would make this a nice hearty and deep flavored bread once the ale and other ingredients were added.

The dough ended up very wet which contributed to the nice moist crumb along with the addition of the sweet potatoes.  You can really taste the dark brown ale in this one and overall I was very happy with the outcome.

I used a basket I picked up recently which gave the dough a very fancy pattern.  It was almost too nice to score the bread but I forced myself to wield the knife never the less.

If you decide you want to make this and don't have any Yeast Water brewing, just use water instead when building your sour dough levain.

Procedure

Yeast Water-Sour Dough Starter Build 1

50 grams AP Starter at 65% Hydration

100 grams French Style  Flour (KAF) (note: you can substitute Bread Flour or AP Flour if necessary)

50 grams Yeast Water Starter

50 grams Water

Mix the flour, water and Yeast Water in a bowl until thoroughly combined.  Cover the bowl and let it sit at room temperature for around 6-10 hours.  The starter should almost double when ready to proceed to build 2.

Build 2

Add ingredients below to starter from above and mix until incorporated.  Cover with plastic wrap and let sit at room temperature for 6-10 hours.  You can then use it immediately or refrigerate for a day until ready to mix the final dough.

50 grams French Style Flour

80 grams Dark Rye Flour

160 grams Yeast Water

Main Dough Ingredients

395 grams Starter from Above

180 grams French Style Flour (KAF) (You can use AP Flour or Bread Flour to substitute)

150 grams Millet Flour (Bob's Red Mill)

150 grams Dark Rye (also known as Pumpernickel)

60 grams Rye Chops

60 grams Malted Wheat Flakes

270 grams Sweet Potatoes (Roasted and mashed with a fork)

60 grams Roasted Pumpkin Seeds

16 grams Seas Salt or Table Salt

20 grams Olive Oil

375 grams Water (80-90 degrees F.)

Procedure

Build your Yeast Water levain-Sourdough combo starter the day before you are ready to bake.

On baking day, mix the flours, rye chops, malted wheat flakes and the Ale (make sure the Ale is at room temperature).  Mix on low-speed in your stand mixer or by hand for about 1 minute until the ingredients are combined.  Let the dough autolyse for about 20 minutes to an hour.

Next add the levain, sweet potatoes, oil and the salt and mix for 3 minutes on low.  After 3 minutes add the pumpkin seeds  and mix for about 1 minute until incorporated.  The dough will barely come together and be almost soupy.  Place the dough in a slightly oiled bowl and do a couple of stretch and folds.  Cover the bowl and let it rest for 10-15 minutes.  Do another stretch and fold in the bowl and let it rest another 10-15 minutes.  Do another stretch and fold and let the dough sit out in the covered bowl for another 1.5 hours  (You may need to do a few more S & Fs to build enough gluten development).  Place the dough in the refrigerator until ready to bake the next day.

When ready to bake take the dough out and leave it covered in your bowl for 1.5 to 2 hours.  Next either make one large boule or  divide the dough into 2 loaves and either place in a banneton or from into batards and let them rest in floured couches for 1.5 - 2 hours.

About one hour before ready to bake, set your oven for 500 degrees F.and make sure you prepare it for steam.  I have a baking stone on the top shelf and the bottom and use a heavy-duty rimmed baking pan that I pour 1 cup of boiling water into right as I put the loaves into the oven.

Score the loaves as desired.

When ready to bake place the loaves into your oven on  your oven stone with steam and lower the temperature immediately to 450 degrees.  It should take around 30 minutes to bake  until the breads  are golden brown and reached an internal temperature of 200 - 205 degrees F.

Let the loaves cool down for at least 2 hours or so before eating as desired.

So how many cats are in this house?