MTloaf's blog

When cold weather starts to settle in and hot soup returns to the menu baguettes are made to serve with it. I landed on TFL years ago searching for help with making  baguettes. This was around the time Jane Dough and David Snyder were developing the recipe from Bouabsa’s baguettes which were the current prize winner in Paris. This simple recipe has stuck with me ever since. The original recipe I still use is unchanged and far more reliable than any other method I tried previously. I saw the recent posts about baguettes 🥖 so I’m throwing my sticks on the pile. 

This humble loaf is a continuation of the ongoing Pullman pan-demic happening here. The recipe is adapted from Hammelmans straight dough recipe from his first edition of Bread. I used his ingredient percentages approximately but converted it to a sourdough levain and the short bulk long proof method used previously. The whole grain portion is home milled in equal amounts of red and white spring wheat from Wheat Montana that was sifted twice through a 40 mesh screen with 6% of the bran removed.

This loaf is a continuation of a previous post about making a pan loaf that skips the middle part by doing a brief bulk ferment and long proof in the pan. The shaping is the last coil fold dropped in the pan. 

I have been switching my limited repertoire of breads over to the "Don't be a bread hostage" way of doing it from the King Arthur website. It has certainly simplified bread making for me and I really like how this recipe makes a more manageable high hydration bread to work with and produces a very soft and fluffy crumb.This is the Trevor Wilson recipe for cranberry spelt bread that I made a few changes to approximate a compromise of both recipes.

The latest twist and shout version of Maura and Martin’s “Don’t be a bread hostage.” I had some cooked rolled oats leftover from breakfast and mixed it in to make a porridge bread. 

This recipe was brought to my attention in a recent post here with a link to the King Arthur blog post. 
https://www.kingarthurbaking.com/blog/2020/04/06/dont-be-a-bread-hostage 

This just happens to be the softest, lightest, tallest, least sour WW pan loaf I have ever made. Something I wasn’t sure was possible with my home milled grains. I am not sure I can technically say it’s 100% WW because I sifted out 10% of the bran with a 40# screen but only out of the flour used in the final mix. I left the bran in for lthe two stage levain. This was my first attempt to use yeast water for whole grain after reading something Dabrownman wrote here years ago about how it would lighten up whole grain loaves. Indeed it does!

July 4th is also known as Independence Day here in the good ol’ US of A. The day we declared our freedom from tyranny of a different sort rather than today’s nut jobs that rule by decree  It’s celebrated with flags, parades, and picnics which must include hot dogs 🌭. Most grocery store buns are perfectly adequate for holding the tubular mystery meat and mustard but this version of a New England bun is a definite upgrade so much so that it is traditionally used for lobster rolls. I also use them for things like chicken salad and the same recipe can be used for hamburger buns.

My attempt at Hamelman’s Hot Cross buns from his Bread book. I made these on previous Easter’s and they were always well received. One of the reasons I like his version is because the crossing paste is extra tasty. It is made with butter, sugar, egg, vanilla, lemon zest and flour. I am not going to post his recipe so buy the book. The recipe makes enough paste for four dozen buns and since I was only making two dozen and I didn’t have a smaller tip, I piped it on thick.