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Shortly after I joined TFL just over two years ago, Susan from San Diego kindly gave me her basic sourdough recipe and it has become my "go to" loaf. When my son was rude enough to ask why I kept making the same loaf I claimed that I needed to get it right so that I could enter a loaf in the County Fair. Well, in a classic senior moment I completely missed the deadline! So in effect I have been practising for two years, and tomorrow is the day to deliver the loaf. The dough is in between stretch and folds and I am cautiously optimistic. Please wish me luck and I will report back with good or bad news, A.

is the reaction I mostly get at work when I mention that I do actually bake all the bread we consume at home. "We haven't bought bread for, oh, over a year now" I mention. The usual response to that is "oh, you got a bread machine did you? I have one, it's great, etc etc." Then I say no, sorry, I use my hands - the last few months I have returned to the good old hand knead (over my Kenwood mixer), which is why I made bread in the first place - I greatly enjoy the sensation of bread making, the changing of the flour'n'water paste into a smooth, soft dough, wonderful to touch and stretch! Also, given my three year old son likes to help, have this great big mixer going round and round tempts little fingers (he's really very good with it though) and I'd prefer not to go down that path...

One thing I do still use the mixer for is a new (to me) sourdough rye sandwich loaf formula from Peter Reinhart. It calls for the starter to be made wholly with rye flour, with the description of "it should look a little like potters clay" being a little inaccurate - the stuff is exactly like clay, in both colour and texture! At around 67% hydration, it's heavier than I usually use, impossible to stir with a spoon, so the first time I made it I got both hands in there (as is my usual method) and promptly was amazed at just how much stuck to me - I think out of a starter that was supposed to be 250g, there ended up being around 150g left in the bowl when I was finished. After that little effort, I use the Kenwood to mix that every time! This has very quickly become the favourite for sandwiches in my household, overtaking multigrain extraordinaire and marbled rye from BBA. Here's some pics:

Whilst I was on leave from work, I had plenty of time to read and bake. Actually, I had very little time, having to prepare my son's new room for him to move into (don't ask me how much I hate painting!) and we spent a week away (luckily there was an oven so I could keep baking!) however on the home page of TFL there's a link to a Blueberry Cream Cheese Braid from Floyd, I made the mistake of looking at that when my wife was over my shoulder... results are below ;) I can now attest that Raspberry Cream Cheese Braid is a resounding success as well!

The bread I keep returning to, however, is the one I first wrote about on TFL - Susan's Original Sourdough, as interpreted by David. I guess this is my "daily bread", the one I know the best, and the one people at work ask me to make for them! It's my most reliable formula, and always yields great results!

880g, no cold retardation

440g, no cold retardation

440g, 24 hours cold retardation

And finally... you should always smile, even when bread making. You can imagine my double-take after dipping this slice in my soup... and the resigned sigh from my ever-patient wife as I grabbed the camera!

This past week was the first anniversary of our bakery's opening.  Of course this wouldn't have been possible without the help of  a few people. Here they are in order of appearance:

This is Mom about to sample a bear claw or two fresh out of the oven.  She's come out a couple of times to help us with both special events and our busy farmers' market season.  We must be doing something right if she keeps coming back.

Here's my "76 year-old migrant worker" and I posing for a picture.  John came up from Spokane, Washington last fall to help me for a week.  We both got a lot out of it and his visit was the inspiration for the 'bakery internship' idea.

Thomas came here from the Chicago area at the beginning of this summer to help out during a very busy 10 days.  Here he is posing with an impromptu sourdough loaf he made with rye starter, flax seed, and other goodies.

This is Sharon a.k.a. "the wife" setting up for our first farmers' market this year back in April.  When things get really busy, she's the one making the Apfelstrudels, doing the stretch-and-folding, and keeping me in line.

Although this is technically a 'one man operation'  we all know that there are people along the way who make any business plan successful.  Here they are.

Thanks everyone for making this past year a success.  I'll keep you Fresh Loafians posted on new developments over here.

-Mark

http://TheBackHomeBakery.com

Fred the starter has come of age, and I've been baking sourdough pretty much weekly. This is a Norwich sourdough with the loaves retarded overnight. I got more oven spring than usual (without retarding); want to try it a couple more times to see if it consistently produces this result.

After some successfully delicious baking sessions...

Spinach Cheese Boule - made wonderful sandwich bread

Pain de Provence - absolutely amazing!!!  SO good as toast! (but, yes, I really need to work on my scoring, not just my usual complete degassing of a bread as I attempt to slice...)

...I finally decided it was about time (as I started bread baking last November or so?) to try to develop my own recipe.

And I chose the obvious.

With the reference of numerous other bread recipes, I ended up with my Sweet Green Tea Bread.

(The glaze was stolen and slightly altered from Beth Henspengers Sweet Vanilla Challah (so good!!) in her book Bread for All Seasons)

Anyhow, here was how it was supposed to go:

Sweet Green Tea Bread

Preferment
1 tbsp active dry yeast
3/4 cup warm water or milk
1 cup all purpose flour

Dough
2 ½ cups all purpose flour
1/3 cup sugar
1 tsp salt
6 tbsp green tea leaves
1 cup strongly brewed green tea (with or without the tea leaves)
1 well beaten egg
3 tbsp very soft butter

Glaze
1 egg yolk
¼ tsp vanilla extract
½ tsp sugar

Sesame seeds (optional)

Preferment: Mix the yeast, warm milk or water and flour together, set aside ½ hour minutes.

Glaze: blend ingredients, set aside.

Dough: In a large bowl blend the flour, sugar and salt. Grind half of the green tea into powder. Blend the (dry) green tea into the (liquid) green tea, add egg and let it sit for a few moments until the (dry) green tea is soft.

Add the green tea mixture into the dry ingredients and then beat in the butter, lastly mix in sponge.  Knead with generously floured surface and hands until smooth and satiny (or until whenever you think it is ready- it was more of a guess on my amateur behalf).

First rise- until double in bulk.
Second rise- mostly degas, shape into one large loaf or two small ones and let the dough rise until double in bulk again.

Bake- Glaze and sprinkle with sesame seeds before putting in the oven preheated to 350ºF (with a preheated pan in bottom). Pour water in the pan and spray the oven walls and bake for around 30-50 minutes.

Looks just like one big cha sui bao! (Chinese barbaque pork bun)

And... here was how it really went.  I forgot to put in the butter and went very much off schedule for near the ending moments of the final rise I ended up having to leave the poor bread on its own for around three hours... although I did pop it in the cellar to try to slow rising!

Despite that it turned out wonderfully and the smell that filled the house was heavenly!

Now if I were to make it again... I think I would cut the ground green tea down to only 2 tablespoons, I have to admit there might have been just a bit too much. 

Please, if you have an advice for improving my recipe please, please reply!  It is probably in dire need of improvement!

My husband woke up Saturday morning to an early morning show featuring the best doughnuts in the country.  So he announces he wants doughnuts for breakfast.  Unfortunately, doughnuts are not like pancakes or waffles that you can just whip up without notice.  He had to settle for sourdough (from starter scraps) waffles with fresh raspberries and cream and of course, bacon.  And then I got off to starting the doughnuts for next day's breakfast.

The recipe I used is Lightest Fluffiest Doughnuts from Country LIving.  Instead of manual kneading, I opted to use my Hobart N50.

Ingredients:

• 1/2 cup whole milk
• 1/3 cup olive oil
• 1/2 cup water, warmed to 110F
• 4 1/2 tsp. active dry yeast (2 packets)
• 3/4 cup + 1/4 tsp sugar
• 1/2 cup sour cream (I used homemade Greek-style yogurt)
• 2 large eggs + 2 large egg yolks
• 2 tsp salt
• 2 tsp vanilla extract
• 4 1/2 cups AP flour
• Glaze:  1/2 cup confectioners' sugar + 1 tbsp. whole milk

Directions:

To make the dough:

1. Combine water, yeast and 1/4 tsp. sugar in large mixing bowl.
2. After 5 minutes, add warm milk and oil and stir.
3. Add the remaining sugar, sour cream, eggs, yolks, salt and vanilla and stir.
4. Add the flour gradually.
5. Using a dough hook, knead the dough at medium speed until you have a soft, smooth, shiny dough- about 6-8 minutes.  The dough is quite wet and will not completely clear the sides of the bowl to form a ball.
6. Place dough in a large oiled container and cover.  Let rise at room temp. until doubled in size, about 2 hrs.
7. After doubling, punch dough down, recover, and refrigerate for 2 up to 12 hrs.

To make the doughnuts:

1. Turn the dough into a generously floured surface.
2. Lightly flour the dough and roll out to about 3/4 inch thick.
3. Cut doughnuts using a 3 inch cutter.  I used a 4-inch tumbler lid.

      4.  Transfer rounds to a baking sheet.  Gather scraps, reroll, and repeat cutting doughnut rounds until all dough is used.

     5.  Chill doughnuts for 30 minutes before frying.

To fry the doughnuts:

1. Heat about 4 inches of vegetable oil in a large deep skillet with a thermometer until oil reaches 350F.
2. Fry doughnuts 3 at a time until golden brown, about 2 minutes per side.
3. Remove doughnuts with slotted spoon and drain on paper towels.

To make the glaze:

1. Combine glaze ingredients in a shallow bowl until smooth.
2. Dip doughnuts while hot then transfer to wire rack to cool.
3. Try different flavors like lemon, raspberry chambord (raspberry preserves + Chambord to thin), chocolate Kahlua sauce, etc...

Up close...

The requisite crumb shot...

Results:  Bite was like getting your teeth down into a soft pillow without collapsing like you would with those doughnut chains, texture was smooth and airy. mouth feel was substantive, flavor not too sweet which is how you would want it with the glaze on top, and simple, i.e., no added flavors, no hint of tang from the longish fermentation.  I'm sure this would be even better with the Kahlua chocolate sauce, or a fruity glaze like Raspberry-chamboard.  I give this recipe a thumbs up for its ease of making and deeply-satisfying results.

There has been quite a bit of discussion on TFL regarding cold retardation of late. This is a recurring issue, as a site search on “retardation” will reveal. My overall conclusion has to be that, particularly for sourdough breads, there is no hard and fast rule. This is not surprising, since review of several highly-regarding bread books reveals considerable variation in how this subject is approached.

Most home bakers are fundamentally pragmatic. Some groove on the science and want to understand each process in detail, but most just want to make really good bread. Retardation is mostly a matter of convenience – to fit bread baking into a busy schedule – for both the home baker and the professional. For some, retardation during bulk fermentation works better. For others, retardation of the formed loaves is more convenient. But does the choice effect the quality of the bread?

I have generally made my own choice according to the procedures specified in the formula I was using. I've made breads that call for retardation in bulk, like Nury's Light Rye and Anis Bouabsa's baguettes, and I've made breads that are retarded after the loaves are formed, like most San Francisco-style sourdoughs. But I've never switched a recipe from one to the other, until today.

The bread I chose to make was Susan from San Diego's “Ultimate Sourdough.” I have made it several times before. I have made it without any cold retardation and with cold retardation of the formed loaves. I decided to see how it would turn out with overnight cold retardation in bulk.

Susan's formula makes one smallish boule. I generally double the recipe to make 2 small boules. This time, I tripled it to make two somewhat larger (22.5 oz) loaves. For your interest, I have included a table of ingredient quantities for one, two and three small loaves.

For this bake, I used KAF White Whole Wheat and Bob's Red Mill Organic Unbleached flours.

Procedures

1. I dissolved the starter in the water in a large bowl
2. Both flours were added to the water and mixed thoroughly.
3. The bowl was covered tightly and the dough was allowed to rest (autolyse) for 20 minutes.
4. The salt was then added and folded into the dough using a flexible dough scraper.
5. After a 20 minutes rest, the dough was stretched and folded in the bowl for 20 strokes. This was repeated twice more at 20 minute intervals.
6. The dough was then transferred to a lightly oiled 2 liter glass measuring “cup” with a tightly fitting plastic cover and refrigerated (10 hours, overnight).
7. The next morning, the dough had expanded very little. I took it out of the refrigerator and left it at room temperature. After 3 hours, it had expanded only slightly, and I was concerned how little gas formation was occurring. I transferred the dough to a lightly floured bench and did a single stretch and fold. The dough was then returned to the bowl. From that point, it became more active and doubled in another 2.5 to 3 hours.
8. I then divided the dough into 2 equal parts. One was preshaped into a round and the other into a rectangle. After a 10 minute rest, I shaped one boule and one bâtard, each of which was placed in a floured banneton and then in a plastic bag to proof.
9. I proofed the loaves until they were expanded by 75% or so. They were then transferred to a peel, slashed and transferred to a pre-heated baking stone. The oven was then steamed.
10. The loaves were baked at 480F with steam for 10 minutes, then another 17 minutes at 460F without steam. They were left to dry for another 10 minutes in the turned off oven with the door ajar.

The dough did not become too extensible during cold retardation. This may have been due to the very strong flour I used. However, I did find the crumb less chewy than expected. The crumb structure, on the other hand, was not appreciably different from what I got when I retarded formed loaves of this bread. There was no significant difference in the flavor. You might note, however, the absence of the "birds eyes" - the little bubbles of CO2 under the crust surface. 

I would not hesitate to cold retard this bread in bulk again. When I do the cold retardation would be governed by my scheduling needs. The end result is about the same: Really good sourdough bread.

David

David

I needed to bake something for a neighborhood picnic today and in my trusty notebook I found the recipe for this cardamom braid. I thought it was from somebody here at TFL but haven't been able to find the post. Just want to thank you, if you recognize the name, and to say the loaves are wonderful! It makes two braided loaves and the dough must be from Beatrice Ojakangas because it uses her no knead chilled overnight method. I brushed the braids with egg and milk wash and sprinkled raw sugar, and the great oven spring opened up the braids and made a neat pattern. Definitely a keeper, A.

this is my first try,it is very easy to bake.I get the recipe from the web.

pretzel recipe is refer to:

http://www.grouprecipes.com/892/pretzel.html

1973, Kaohsiung, Taiwan.  The Taiwan Provincial Symphony Orchestra was coming into town.  I was in my first year of high school.  My father was given free tickets because of his position at the ruling KMT Party.  He pulled me out of the school that day; in my school uniform, I sat on the front roll of the concert hall, listening to the Western symphonic music for the first time ever in my life.  I had never heard anything like it; I was so moved, I had joyous tears in my eyes that to this day I still don't know where they came from.  

Three nights ago, on the eve of my departure for America, my husband suggested that I read our son's English assignment, entitled "Personal Reflection."  It was late at night and I hadn't even packed my bag.  My son wrote about his reminiscences of Australia, "the sun burnt country."  As my kids were born in South-East Asia, up until 4 and a half years ago before we moved back here, their memories of Australia were mostly from our annual beach holidays.  He describes a fishing experience during one of those holidays: 

It is ironic that the memories most vivid are those of Australia and our annual pilgrimages back to Noosa for our Christmas holidays.  I would always look forward to these holidays for they were my only experience of what was supposedly my home country.  One particular event that sands out is shore fishing off the rocks of Little Cove.  Late afternoon warranted weakening light and an orange sun low in the sky.  Golden light skimmed the surface of the ocean creating stunning patterns of reflection.  The point was a peaceful sanctuary.  Swiftly, the armies of the seas would surge towards the rock wall and bombard it with all its force.  Occasionally, the ocean would deliver a penetrating blow when a larger wave collided heavily which resulted in troops erupting further into unfriendly territory.  Perhaps, the sea was a relentless warzone.  The smell of eucalypt combined with a salty breeze to form that earthy sent that was comforting yet unique. 

I would never catch any fish out there; I had enough trouble holding the rod even with two hands.  Also, I had a tricky encounter with our poor choice of bait.  Bloodworms.  I soon found out why they were called bloodworms after I pierced one onto my hook and it spewed a volcano of inferno red all over my long-sleeved white beach shirt that I was made to wear.  What a gruesome experience.  More difficulties arose with actually keeping the pest on the hook.  Casting proved to be another tricky enterprise to undertake.  A five metre cast with arctic winds to aid me would be a heroic effort indeed therefore Dad would usually cast for me.  He would be hauling in fish beside me whilst I, who was sitting just three metres to his left, wouldn't catch a thing.  With my thin forearms flexed, eyebrows crooked and eyes peeled I would concentrate my entire mental wrath just calling, aiding the sea creatures into my domain.  Alas, my mental strain paid off.  I reeled in the line as hastily as my might would allow only to find an empty hook.  At this stage Dad would let me reel in one of his own catch and claim it as my own.  A bear-like hug for my glorious accomplishment was definitely in order.  Despite my bad luck, it was moments like those that put a smile on my face that reached the tip of my ears and a booming laughter that could be heard across the Pacific.  

It was when I read "... an orange sun low in the sky.  Golden light skimmed the surface of the ocean...." that my eyes became wet with joy - because he could see what I saw. 

He finishes his "Personal Reflection" with the following:

I still feel a great connection to Singapore and its unique culture of coconut milk, straw skirts and 'hawker' food markets.  However, reminiscing now I realize just how deep my love for the land down under has entrenched.  It must have grown from my absolute fascination of Australian wildlife and admiration of its charm and care-free way of life.  To me, it will always remain a tropical escape of tremendous adventure.  My bonds to Australia stand Goliath tall; my David attachment to Singapore shrinks into the background.  Thinking back, those bliss Christmas relaxations created a great desire to voyage to my homeland.  Therefore, rather than dread the day I would eventually leave, I was eager to explore this new continent, make long-term friendships and above all, finally reside in the land of my nationality - Australia.

                                                                                          2001 Christmas holiday

My son, 14, first year of high school. 

Shiao-Ping