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I doubled and baked the 8 small loaves and an 8x4 pan not quite full. 

2 T soft butter

1/2 c white sugar 

1 large egg

1/2 c light brown sugar 

2 c fresh milled Purple Straw soft red wheat

1/2 t baking soda 

1tsp baking powder 

3/4 tsp salt

1 1/2 tsp mixed spices - I ground cinnamon. Allspice, clove and nutmeg

1 c sliced pre moistened dates

zest of one orange

3/4 c oj

cream sugars and butter. Add egg beat til smooth. Add all dry ingredients. Add OJ and zest. Don’t worry if looks  curdled. Butter pan/ pans. 350° 30 min for tiny 8 pan loaves or 45 - 60 depending on larger loaves. So delicious. My Robert said “ it tastes like Christmas!”

Haven’t made this since 2018. What was I waiting on ???? This was originally posted by the prolific poster/ baker Shiao-Ping. It’s the most flavorful rich incredible bread. I made my own adaptations so will write it up below. 

It’s very easy to inoculate your current YW with banana slices. There’s also info online to start a YW with banana from scratch. I just add a new fruit to some of my current active YW I don’t start from scratch. 

I don’t do anything but my typical minimal folds in the bowl and then I laminated 2x to incorporate the chopped dates. Shiao-Ping doesn’t have dried fruit in hers. I have my dried fruit hydration down pat and did that as usual. 

Mist fruit microwave a couple minutes cover tightly . Then chop or whatever you’re going to do. I slice in 3-4 pieces. I like distinct pieces not purée . 

250 g levain made with 125g fresh milled rye and 125g active banana YW

220g Stardust hard white wheat milled 

45g rye milled

55g Rouge de Bordeaux milled

250 g roasted ripe bananas  ( 300° with peels on) 

35g each Trinity- yogurt, honey , EVOO

9g salt

Fold everything together til all is moistened. Cover rest 30 min. Fold in bowl rest fold rest. Laminate on either wet counter or lightly floured to incorporate date pieces. 
Bulk ferment til about double . Shape boule place on floured cloth in banneton rise at room temp til puffy and cover then retard . Bake in covered pot ( I use my graniteware roaster ) 450 20 min covered and 20 min uncovered. 

It is the loveliest tender loaf. Gorgeous crumb and you can taste the banana but it’s not overpowering. 

The ultimate test of a newly created formula is replicability. 

Today's yield (Double batch)

1 loaf pan bread 

11 Hot dog buns 

 Regarding the formula process.

This is a simple straight dough. In the bowl of a stand mixer, combine all the ingredients, except for the softened butter. Mix on medium speed until a Strong dough is achieved. Slowly add one small pad of butter at a time making sure the butter is fully incorporated. Bulk fermentate the dough ball until well doubled in volume. Scale at 82 g ea. For rolls or total dough for a pan loaf.

Pre Shape then rest for twenty minutes before the final shaping. Proof for one hour. Preheat oven at 30 minutes to 350° F. Bake for 25-30 minutes untill golden brown. For the roll. 40-45 minutes for the pan bread. Interior of the bread should reach 205° F. 

Note

The enriched dough is easy to handle but Sticky. Use some bench flour sparingly to facilitate the final shaping.

The total formula amount was too much for the 9×5 loaf pan. That being said, A+✅

I made a version of this a week before and completely over-hydrated the dough and ended up with an unintended super sized ciabatta :).

I’ve been experimenting with the amount of time and temperature to use for bulk and have not been getting consistent results. I decided to not only adjust the hydration of this one taking into consideration the water content of the fresh cherries and sour cream but also to significantly reduce the amount of starter used. I went from over 22% to only 16.4% for the levain. The total dough hydration including the water content of cherries which are 80% and the sour cream which is 73% ended up being 83%.

I used one of my favorite whole wheat berries from Barton Springs Mill called Star Dust as well as some fresh milled spelt and some KAF bread flour. The whole wheat was milled and sifted twice and the spelt was milled twice and sifted once.

I pitted the fresh cherries and put them in my mini food processor and pulsed a few seconds to create a cherry slurry. I drained the slurry as best as possible before using. The cherries added a beautiful purple swirl to the final bread and subtle cherry flavor. I might try using chopped cherries along with the swirl next time as it would give it even more cherry flavor.

The dough was left to bulk at a lower temperature than I usually use at 75 F with a target bulk rise of 50% which took 5 hours and 40 minutes in my proofer.

The end result was not only a beautiful bread but one of the more flavorful ones I’ve made in a while. The caramelized crust with the semi open crumb tasted amazing. This made great sandwiches as well as toast and grilled bread.

Formula

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 6-7 hours or until the starter has almost doubled. I used my proofer set at 76 degrees so it took around 5 hours for me. Either use in the main dough immediately or refrigerate for up to 1 day before using.

 Main Dough Procedure

Note: I use an Ankarsrum Mixer so my order of mixing is slightly different than if using a Kitchenaid or other mixer. Add all your liquid to your mixing bowl except 50-80 grams. Add the levain in pieces and mix for a few seconds to break it up. Next, add all your flour to the bowl and mix on low for a minute until it forms a shaggy mass. Cover the mixing bowl and let it rest for 20 – 30 minutes.   Next add the salt, and sour cream, and remaining water as needed and mix on medium low (about speed 3) for 12- 24 minutes.  When the dough is fully developed add the cherry slurry and mix on low for a minute until it’s incorporated.

Remove the dough from your bowl and place it in a lightly oiled bowl and do several stretch and folds.  Making sure the dough is as flat as possible in your bowl/container measure the dough in millimeters and take the temperature of the dough as sell. Based on the chart here, determine what % rise you need and make note. If you have a proofer decide what temperature you want to set it at and what rise you are aiming for. If the dough is fully developed you don’t need to do any stretch and folds, but if it’s not, do several sets 15-20 minutes apart.

Once the dough reaches the desired bulk rise, pre-shape and let rest 15-20 minutes. Finish shaping place in your banneton, bowl or on your sheet pan and cover it so it is pretty air tight. You will then place it in your refrigerator so you don’t want the dough to get a crust on it. Since there is such a high percentage of whole grains in the dough I didn’t want to leave it in the refrigerator for more than 12 hours. Depending on how cold your refrigerator is you could leave it longer and have to experiment to make sure it doesn’t over ferment.

When you are ready to bake, an hour beforehand pre-heat your oven to 540 F and prepare 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.  Remove your dough from the refrigerator and score immediately.

After 1 minute lower the temperature to 450 degrees.  Bake for around 35 minutes or until the breads are nice and brown and have an internal temperature around 200-210 F. 

Take the bread(s) out of the oven when done and let them cool on a bakers rack for as long as you can resist. 

This is another experiment with trying to find the right timing for bulk fermentation using mostly fresh milled flour. It ended up pretty good but still a little over-proofed.

I made a sweet stiff levain using some Vermont Maple Syrup and added some additional syrup along with coffee concentrate (you can use fresh brewed coffee instead but you will need to adjust your overall liquid to compensate). I like the flavor combination with the coffee and maple syrup and they went well with the fresh rye, whole wheat and spelt. As usual I milled my own flour using Barton Springs Rough de Bordeaux whole wheat and Ryman rye as well as spelt flours. The whole wheat and rye were milled and sifted twice and the spelt was milled twice and sifted once.

Overall this one turned out pretty good with a nice open crumb that was wonderful grilled or toasted with some good EVO and/or cheese on top.

Formula

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 6-7 hours or until the starter has almost doubled. I used my proofer set at 76 degrees so it took around 5 hours for me. Either use in the main dough immediately or refrigerate for up to 1 day before using.

 Main Dough Procedure

Note: I use an Ankarsrum Mixer so my order of mixing is slightly different than if using a Kitchenaid or other mixer. Add all your liquid to your mixing bowl except 50-80 grams. Add the levain in pieces and mix for a few seconds to break it up. Next, add all your flour to the bowl and mix on low for a minute until it forms a shaggy mass. Cover the mixing bowl and let it rest for 20 – 30 minutes.   Next add the salt, maple syrup, coffee extract, and remaining water as needed and mix on medium low (about speed 3) for 12- 24 minutes. 

Remove the dough from your bowl and place it in a lightly oiled bowl and do several stretch and folds.  Making sure the dough is as flat as possible in your bowl/container measure the dough in millimeters and take the temperature of the dough as sell. Based on the chart here, determine what % rise you need and make note. If you have a proofer decide what temperature you want to set it at and what rise you are aiming for. If the dough is fully developed you don’t need to do any stretch and folds, but if it’s not, do several sets 15-20 minutes apart.

Once the dough reaches the desired bulk rise, pre-shape and let rest 15-20 minutes. Finish shaping place in your banneton, bowl or on your sheet pan and cover it so it is pretty air tight. You will then place it in your refrigerator so you don’t want the dough to get a crust on it. Since there is such a high percentage of whole grains in the dough I didn’t want to leave it in the refrigerator for more than 12 hours. Depending on how cold your refrigerator is you could leave it longer and have to experiment to make sure it doesn’t over ferment.

When you are ready to bake, an hour beforehand pre-heat your oven to 540 F and prepare 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.  Remove your dough from the refrigerator and score immediately.

After 1 minute lower the temperature to 450 degrees.  Bake for around 35 minutes or until the breads are nice and brown and have an internal temperature around 200-210 F. 

Take the bread(s) out of the oven when done and let them cool on a bakers rack for as long as you can resist. 

I’M SORRY! I used the soft wheat had both out for two different projects. Corrected . 

Amazing, light as air. And the flavor! My husband is the biscuit man expert! We have the best formula ever thanks to a blog that I will link. Get your buttermilk icy cold. Melt the butter ( use WAY less butter than folks think you should) stir into the icy buttermilk and voila. No cutting no overworked dough. Perfection. 

Will update with formula if you are interested. C

340g freshly milled Purple Straw grain Barton Mills ( chill with the buttermilk while prepping everything else) 

15g sugar

2 g baking soda

9 g baking powder

4 g Kosher salt 

480g very very chilled whole fat unadulterated Buttermilk 

60g melted butter

Some notations: I know this flies in the face of more butter is better but for truly light biscuits this is ever so much better and…. you can spread it ON the tender light hot biscuit in lavish fashion as you eat! This flour is very thirsty! This is double the amount of buttermilk he usually uses  with Arrowhead Mills AP . ⭐️ you can’t really have too wet a biscuit dough… but you can definitely have too dry. So don’t worry. It’s ok to mix with a wooden spoon these will not be tough. Scoop with a regular sized ice cream scoop drop on parchment place in preheated 450° approx 15 min. These are “ cat head” biscuits! Big!! Makes 14. 
whisk all dry ingredients. Add melted butter to cold buttermilk and whisk just to mix lightly so you see small blobs ( cooking term). Pour over dry ingredients and fold til combined. Don’t worry it’s easy to mix you aren’t beating it but you don’t want any dry parts. 
 
Scoop/ plop onto parchment. Start watching at 10-12 min but should take 15. Depending on your oven. Enjoy. 

Here’s the link to this genius technique! My Robert has done due diligence and his version works! If you decide to use any other flour or not fresh milled adjust the buttermilk downward as required. 

https://thecafesucrefarine.com/ridiculously-easy-buttermilk-biscuits/

I’m back at work for a couple of weeks covering a few of my old colleague’s practices for them while they are on vacation.  Working interferes with my baking and other retirement activities but at least I make a bit of extra money and keeps my mind fresh.  I wanted a quick bake of something to bring to work with me, it seems it is expected now, so a quick loaf/cake came to mind.  I was in Chinatown the day before and picked up a couple of pounds of purple sweet potato with this loaf in mind.  I prepared all of the sweet potato by wrapping each in foil and baking them until they were fork tender.  Once cooled I scraped out the flesh and mashed it all, taking out what I needed for this bake while bagging 90 g batches in small ziplock bags which I’ll keep in the freezer for future bakes.

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This was truly a delicious cake, the dark chocolate is rich and smooth, while the cake is moist and tender with lovely spice notes and a mild flavour of the sweet potato.  It was devoured very quickly with lots of compliments.

I did make one big mistake with my first batch of chocolate ganache, unfortunately I kept pot on the burner after adding the chocolate to the simmered cream etc. and the chocolate split.  I tried a few things and couldn’t bring it back together.  I ended up having to toss it all in the bin and run to the store for more dark chocolate.  The second batch went perfectly.

Ingredients

1 lb. sweet potatoes (2–3 medium), peeled, cut into 1" pieces, or 1 cup (250 g) canned sweet potato purée

Unsalted butter or nonstick vegetable oil spray (for pan)

2½ cups (313 g) all-purpose flour

1 Tbsp. Diamond Crystal or 1¾ tsp. Morton kosher salt

1 tsp. baking powder

½ tsp. baking soda

2 tsp. ground cinnamon

½ tsp. freshly grated nutmeg

¼ tsp. ground cloves

2 large eggs, room temperature

1½ cups (300 g) granulated sugar (I used 250 g)

2 tsp. finely grated orange zest

1 tsp. vanilla extract

1 cup vegetable oil

GANACHE AND ASSEMBLY

½ cup heavy cream

4 Tbsp. unsalted butter, cut into 1" pieces

3 Tbsp. granulated sugar

2 Tbsp. brewed coffee

½ tsp. Diamond Crystal or ¼ tsp. Morton kosher salt

8 oz. (227 g) bittersweet chocolate

½ tsp. vanilla extract

Preparation

CAKE

Step 1

Place a rack in middle of oven and preheat to 400°. If using raw sweet potatoes, wrap in foil and roast on a parchment-lined baking sheet until tender (a knife should slide easily into flesh), 50–60 minutes.

Step 2

Unwrap sweet potatoes and let sit until cool enough to handle. Transfer to a small bowl. Using a potato masher or fork, smash until smooth. Measure out 1¼ cups (250 g) purée; save any extra for another use.

Step 3

Reduce oven temperature to 325°. Butter a 9x5" loaf pan or lightly coat with nonstick spray. Line pan with parchment paper, leaving overhang on long sides. Whisk flour, salt, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, nutmeg, and cloves in a medium bowl.

Step 4

Whisk mashed sweet potato (homemade or canned), eggs, granulated sugar, zest, and vanilla extract in a large bowl until smooth. Gradually add oil, whisking constantly until completely incorporated. Using a rubber spatula, fold in dry ingredients in 2 batches, mixing just until combined after each addition. Scrape batter into prepared pan and smooth surface with an offset spatula.

Step 5

Bake cake until golden and a tester inserted into the center comes out clean, 75–90 minutes. Transfer cake to a wire rack and let cool in pan 15 minutes. Using parchment overhang, lift cake out of pan and onto rack. Remove parchment and let cake cool completely.

GANACHE AND ASSEMBLY

Step 6 

Bring cream, butter, sugar, coffee, and salt to a simmer in a small saucepan over medium heat. Remove from heat, add finely chopped chocolate (this will allow it to melt more quickly) and vanilla, and whisk until chocolate is melted and mixture is smooth. If you don’t remove from the heat and heat the chocolate too high it will split and be very hard to fix.  Let cool until thickened slightly, 40–60 minutes.

Step 7

Pour ganache over cake (it should flow over the sides) and, using a small offset spatula, smooth it evenly over surface. Chill cake until ganache is set, 20–30 minutes. Bring cake to room temperature before serving.

 My index of bakes.

Adapted from TX Farmers formula which she in turn adapted from Laurels Bread Book. It’s simply outstanding and easy when you remove all the mixer stuff and follow the lead that was started of hands mostly off the dough and let time do the work. 

We don’t care for the shreddable crumb instead we like the cake- like fine crumb. So enough about that here’s my variation on a classic. 

Levain build: 

26g stored starter

43g H2O

80 g flour - I milled Stardust Hard White Wheat

mix ferment  overnight -use all 149g

Soaker: 

89g rolled oats - I flaked oat  groats 

403g boiling H2O

14g salt

mix and cover overnight

Dough:

536 g flour ——I milled 100g Spelt 200g Rouge de Bordeaux and the rest Stardust

100g active YW apple 

50g EVOO

67 g honey 

mix everything till wet. Cover 30 min. Mix by bowl folding . Rest 30 min.  Bowl fold once more. Butter heavily a 13x4x4 Pullman I use the lid and butter well. Scrape dough into pan even out with wet spatula. Replace cover don’t close all the way rise almost to top. Refrigerate either overnight or while you do preheat. 
Bake 375° 30 min covered 15 min uncovered. 
Cool thoroughly. I divide in 3 and freeze 2 pieces. Incredible bread. 

only the one picture. I have trouble with the photo part for some reason uploads get denied too big. Anyway this is the best Pullman Hands Free yet 

I have been having a problem with starters for almost a year now, which has resulted me giving up sourdough baking in general. Given, I once said that I was not happy unless something is rising in my kitchen- like reading a good book.

I put my starter(s) in the fridge for a couple of weeks and when I pull them out, they just don't rise like (I think) they should. No weird pineapple juice (what is up with that?) or anything. I start with a ratio of 1:1:1 and nothing, I double it and nothing, I stiffen it up, nothing, all the same. Some said that it might be that I have a weak-protein flour. My starters turn to goo, to a liquid, way way too fast.

Thinking some sort of contamination, faulty flour, flesh-eating yeast or bacteria; I pitched the starter and all its discard- it's ok, my grandmother wasn't from the Yukon.

Now I started a rye NMNF starter but now I hear that rye starters, like Apple getting along with Android, sometimes doesn't play nice with other flours.

Oh and by the way, yes the rye starter is going very very well. But will it declare war against my other flours when I try and make a bread?

Rarely posting unless there's a change or something new.  I've baked Mr. Hamelman's Vermont SDs as my go-to bread a ton of times, although almost always as baguettes/long batards, I've never made two 750g batards in a single bake before (as far as I can recall).

My levain was last refreshed almost 3 weeks ago after having been gone for 3 weeks, and we are about to embark on another 2 1/2-3 week journey, so I thought that I'd at least get some mileage out of this aging levain before a next refresh when I return.

I almost always bake this formula at 65% hydration, having long ago abandoned the race for high hydration doughs.  These days I'm more after comfort in my bakes vs. experimentation and challenges.