Blogs

well. It's only been 10 years since I last posted something. Or maybe more. Let's post something nice?

This is a plain ol' sandwich loaf that I made. I used a preferment (a poolish by definition, I believe?) at roughly 40%, just because.

The loaf pan I used is a Pullman pan, and I used it covered. From the product description: "External Size: 8.5 x 4.75x 4.375 inch, Interior size: About 7.25 x 4 x 4.25inch"

I haven't used measuring cups in years - everything's in grams. Sorry. :P

Preferment:

250g King Arthur bread flour

250g water

2-3g yeast

Let the preferment sit on the countertop, covered, overnight. I ended up putting it in a 4-cup Anchor measuring cup, and letting it bubble for probably 16 hours or so. I had to stir it down twice, and when I finally used it, it had a nice tangy smell to it.

Loaf:

400g King Arthur bread flour

225g milk (I use Parmalat because I don't use a lot of milk in general - YMMV if you use regular milk I think?)

8g salt (Again, I use smoked salt - not required, but it makes for a nice extra little flavor.)

Mix all the ingredients together. I used a stand mixer with a dough hook for about 8 minutes, but there's no reason you couldn't hand-knead.

Once it's all kneaded, shape it into a loaf that's about the right size to go into the loaf pan, stick it in, cover it with plastic wrap (or something that'll work similarly,) and let it rise to about a half-inch to an inch below the surface of the pan.

Pre-heat your oven to 375F in the meantime. Once it's nice and toasty, cover the pan with the Pullman lid and stick it in for about 40 minutes. Ovens vary, of course, but if you've got a probe thermometer, you want an internal temperature of 190F.

Take it out, remove it from the pan, and put it on a cooling rack.

Slice and enjoy!

Thoughts after baking:

I think I might've wanted to use a little less flour overall. Total content for the loaf is 650g because the recipe was originally for an 9x5 loaf pan, and I got a really good rise out of it with the preferment. I could probably use 500g (which is what's suggested for the pan) and get a slightly more open crumb (which I like, even for a sandwich loaf)

I might want to also let the preferment go a little longer next time - I developed some tang, but it's not really all that noticeable to me in the finished loaf - though the flavor's nice and complex all the same.

Dear fellow bakers,

I thought I would share with you the results of my first attempt to make real, non-yeasted, panettone. I had made yeasted ones quite a few times before, and I thought it was time to make the real deal. I chose maestro Giorilli's formula that is available here: https://www.giorilli.com/ricette-item/panettone-con-uvetta-e-noci/

This particular formula has nuts in it which I substituted with raisins because I wanted to create a more traditional type with dried fruits instead of nuts. This time I didn't add candied orange and lemon peels, just raisins. The process itself was so demanding and exhausting that I didn't have the energy to make the candied fruits. Otherwise, I followed the formula, scaled down to the size of molds I have. The amounts came out as follows:

1st Dough

228 g water

130 g pasta madre at 50% hydration, refreshed 3 times at 4-hour intervals at 28 degrees

460 g strong flour

142 g sugar

136 g butter

104 g egg yolks

Aromatic Mix

30 g acacia honey

½ vanilla pod

1 grated orange peel

1 grated lemon peel

2nd Dough

116 g strong flour

3.6 g malt (I actually left this one out completely because I didn't have malt, and the formula still worked)

126 g sugar

184 g egg yolks

8 g salt

All the aromatic mix

240 g butter

20 g melted butter

440 g sultanas

These amounts make two panettoni of 1 kg each.

I didn't have Italian panettone flour, so I used King Arthur Bread flour (12.7% gluten-forming protein content) with the combination of vital wheat gluten in order to get the gluten-forming protein up to 15 %. I used Foodgeek's Gluten Calculator, which was very useful: https://foodgeek.dk/en/vital-wheat-gluten-calculator/

Since I am an amateur baker who bakes occasionally, I don't maintain a pasta madre because it just wouldn't make sense to me to do so. Instead, I created a pasta madre only for this project by taking a piece from my stiff 50%-hydration starter I use for my sourdough bread and converting it into pasta madre. I started the process about one week before baking. I made sure that the pasta madre would get at least one warm 4-hour refreshment per day at 28 degrees Celsius excluding the daily maintenance feeding at 18 degrees for 12-20 hours, depending on my schedule. Occasionally, I would perform a 20-minute bagnetto before the first refreshment of the day. The day before making the first dough, I fed it four times according to the following schedule:

8:30 am: bagnetto

9 am: 1st refreshment at 28 degrees

1 pm: 2nd refreshment at 28 degrees

5 pm: 3rd refreshment at 28 degrees

9 pm: maintenance feeding at 18 degrees for 12 hours

Schedule on the day of making the first dough:

8:30 am: bagnetto

9 am: 1st refreshment at 28 degrees

1 pm: 2nd refreshment at 28 degrees

5 pm: 3rd refreshment at 28 degrees

9 pm: mixing of the first dough

All these feedings were at the ratio of 1:1 (levain:flour). 

I don't have a PH meter but I often smelled and even tasted the pasta madre during the process. It never tasted too acidic (excess amount of acetic acid) or bitter (excess amount of lactic acid). Neither did it taste bland (trait of a LM too weak). It had a pleasant fermented taste, so I thought I was on the right track. Also, I always made sure that it tripled each time at 28 degrees within 4 hours, which it did. 

One final word about the pasta madre's hydration. I have noticed that the typical hydration is usually below 50%, more like between 40% and 45%. I decided to use a 50%-hydration pasta madre because it seemed to produce the right consistency for my flour. I tried 45% hydration before and it took forever to achieve a smooth dough, it just seemed too dry.

As for PM conservation method, I opted for the "dry method", that is, not bound in cloth and not kept in water. Instead, I would keep in in a glass jar. I know that PM maintained via this method has the tendency to develop excess acidity. That's why I performed bagnetto often. The other two methods seemed too complicated for an occasional baker like me.

I have recently bought a KitchenAid Professional 5 Plus, which is a decent mixer but could be more efficient when mixing panettone dough. Hence, my mixing times came out to be much longer than those recommended in the formula. I mixed the first dough for 50 minutes, and the second dough for 1 hour and 15 minutes. Luckily, my kitchen is cold (16 degrees Celsius), so the dough didn't heat up much. 

I let the first dough rise for 14 hours at 24 degrees. I wanted to make sure it indeed had tripled, that's why I went a little longer than 12 hours.

After mixing the second dough, I let it rest for 30 minutes, then divided and preshaped, then another 30-minute rest, then final shaped and placed in the molds. They rose for 6 and a half hours at 28 degrees, then baked for 1 hour at 350 F (176 Celsius). 

Being this my first real panettone, I am very pleased with the results. The dough came together very nicely during both mixes, with a definite windowpane at the end each time. The ovenspring was also quite big, although I think I should proof them maybe a little less next time, as they spread also sideways, not only upwards, creating a mushroom-like shape which I was not going for. The resulting crumb is very soft and fluffy, really light. The taste is amazing, and no sour notes!

I hope that people will read this post and give me opinions and suggestions on how to make the next bake even better. I do have one question regarding the formula, and I hope someone can answer.

Giorilli is very specific about finishing the second mix with a small dose of melted butter after incorporating all the soft but not melted butter, just before adding the fruits. What is the purpose of the small dose of melted butter? I did it the way he suggested, and it worked well, but I also saw many videos in which they don't finish off the mix with melted butter, but only soft butter. Any ideas?

I also want to thank Michael Wilson panettone expert on TFL, who gave my invaluable insights and suggestions on pasta madre management! 

Peter

20221225_140022.jpg

20221225_152057.jpg

20221225_215744.jpg

20221226_100115.jpg

IMG-20221231-WA0000.jpg

IMG-20221229-WA0000.jpg

Deep-fried pizza until the crust is golden, topped with sauce, basil, and cheese, then baked in wood-fired oven to melt the cheese and crisp the crust even more. That is a pizza Montanara. The description doesn't even sound remotely Italian; it sounds as if it is something made-up but is not. It turns out that fried pizza is as old as a tradition or even older  in Naples than the classic Pizza Napoletana.

In Naples, they use "Pizza Napoletana" dough made with 00 flour, but I still haven't got it in my pantry so I used just some plain old APF. The dough is very simple. 500 g APF, 325 g water, 10 g salt; 19% flour in the levain. Fermented for 4 hours at room temperature, divided into 4 balls then refrigerated overnight. Stretched the next day into a disc (I still need to work on my pizza stretching skills) then deep-fried until golden. Topped with crushed local tomatoes (with salt), mozzarella, and basil then a drizzle of EVOO, then baked at 250C for five minutes until the cheese was melted and the crust is dark and super crispy.

I love basil so I went with a heavy hand on this one. Was not disappointed though.

The result was a crust that is sweet and wheaty, and very mildly tangy. Tangy tomatoes (our local tomatoes are tangier than San Marzano so I could have used a little sugar) balanced by the cheese and the basil crisp and fragrant. I don't know if I should grate the cheese for it to melt more evenly of it just happened that I bought a not-so-good mozzarella. Not too greasy and just a hint of deep fried flavor. The crust was thin and wet at the center with a slightly puffy and stretchy cornicione and pleasantly chewy, it has a really good chew and incredibly crisp. It has a crispness and that "something" that is not in oven baked pizzas.

Its looks is not too dissimilar from real Pizza Montanara. I was pleasantly surprised with how good this "regional style" of pizza is that I may just cook my future pizzas this way.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

In 2022, I accidentally discovered the youtube channel "Pasta Grannies." It is a channel about preserving the regional cuisine of Italy, mostly pasta by filming grannies showcasing their culinary legacies. If you like pasta and Italian cuisine in general, you should definitely check it out.

Because of that, I was inspired to make my own pasta at home. Yes, we tried doing fresh pasta in class a few years ago but I never made it at home because I do not even have a rolling pin.

Cannelloni, my first pasta dish. I hand rolled pasta with a rolling pin and rolled the filling in. Topped with fresh tomato sauce and mozzarella. When my colleagues tried it, they were convincing me to turn it into a side hustle (if they only knew the amount of labor and love that went into it). One even got me started when she place two orders, of course I didn't say no. 

 My colleagues' order:

From there, I made so much more. Actually I bought a pasta machine, but I still haven't used it because I more comfortable with a rolling pin and I don't want to fiddle its parts and the multiple passes; perhaps if making a large quantity, I will.

Tagliatelle and Pappardelle

 White Truffle Tagliatelle

 Black Truffle Pappardelle

 Wish I had shaved fresh truffles over them but I am happy with truffle paste and truffle oil (I know) for now.

I also learned how to choose a good dry pasta. I found bronze-die spaghetti online so I also bought Pecorino Romano, and guanciale. With those, I made the Three Roman Classics.

Cacio e Pepe. Lots of room for improvement especially in preventing cheese curdling.

 Amatriciana. Bucatini is commonly used but since it is what I have and in respecting the tradition of Amatrice, I used spaghetti.

 Carbonara

I'm torn between Amatriciana and Carbonara but Carbonara might just have the slightest edge.

Lasagna. I was really eyeing for a Lasagna alla Bolognese but the spinach in the pasta did not show through. I was pleased that it is delicious without mozzarella. Rich and delicate. I found real Parmigiano Reggiano online and its mingling with the crispy bits of pasta was the best!

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

This year is not just about pasta but this is also the year where I ventured into Italian Cuisine. The simplicity of Italian Cuisine that focuses on the quality of ingredients and technique is really a challenge but worth it.

Truffle Risotto. The rice was al dente but I think I should have added a little more liquid for the correct texture.


It is out of focus but its the only photo I snapped since I was really excited.

 Arancini

Arancini with ragu and peas.

"Al Burro" Ham and Cheese Arancini

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

An Upside-down Apple Cake in Tarte Tatin fashion surely won't hurt!

 I hope we will all have a more blessed and healthier year!

Today's bake: Valais Rye   Walliserbrot (Switzerland)

The Rye Baker by Stanley Ginsberg

This bread is made from a majority of  medium rye flour, some Rye (Meal - Coarse) and 100% Stone Ground Whole Wheat Flour and a bit of whole rye which is in the culture. The walnut pieces and sunflower seed, course rye meal add-ins provide a nice addition to the texture of the bread.

I'm using a large pullman pan (15-3/4 x 4 x 4)

This is my 9th attempt making this bread

Tasting Notes

Crumb - Sour/Dairy with notes of plain yogurt

Crust - Roasted - tasting of a Dark Beer

Grain Character - Moderate - like Cooked Oatmeal

Recipe and Process are below for those that are interested.

Valais Rye Walliserbrot (Switzerland) The Rye Baker 12.28.2022 1a.JPG

Valais Rye Walliserbrot (Switzerland) The Rye Baker 12.28.2022 RECIPE.JPG

Valais Rye Walliserbrot (Switzerland) The Rye Baker 12.28.2022 PROCESS.JPG

I’ve long wanted to try making steamed buns.  Char Siu Bao are a long time favourite of mine from my childhood.  Since I haven’t made anything like this before I decided that I’d make the plain buns first to test the recipe I found in a book called Mooncakes and Milk Bread.  These are IDY and I think I’ll try to convert them to sourdough eventually once I get the hang of the steaming and what to expect of the dough as it ferments.  I purchased a bamboo steamer in order to makes these.

DD1A5574-A883-4CF8-BCBE-603D14EFCE21.jpeg

Makes 6

150 g AP flour

25 g sugar

½ tsp IDY

¼ tsp baking powder

⅛ tsp coarse salt

80 g 110°F water

This is a very stiff dough, I mixed by hand and kneaded by hand.  I added the matcha powder to half of the dough once the gluten was moderately developed.

The two balls of dough were allow to ferment until they doubled in size.  They were then each divided into six equal pieces and formed into tight small boules.  

Prepare six 4” squares of parchment paper.

After a brief rest each boule was rolled out into a circle about 2.5-3” in diameter.  Each circle of dough is cut in half. Then arrange four half circles of dough in a straight line, overlapping by 1/2-1.5” with the straight side of the half circle aligned.  Roll up each half into a tight roll to form rosettes.  Arrange rosettes on the parchment squares.  Repeat with the remaining half rounds.  If you prepared two colours of dough, alternate the colours when arranging the half circles of dough.

B841BD5F-BFE6-4FFA-AE39-C6484F11084C.jpeg

D59409D5-7955-4934-BCE8-9EE23DBD5430.jpeg

Cover the rosettes of dough with a damp towel.  Set them in a warm spot until they are 1.5 times larger, 30-45 mins.

Prepare your steamer setup and bring water to a boil.  Working in batches if necessary, arrange buns in the bamboo steamer spacing 2” apart.  Steam over boiling water for 10 minutes.  Turn off the heat and leave the buns in the covered steamer for 5 more minutes to prevent collapsing.  (I left them in the steamer and on the same stove element turned off). Remove the buns from the steamer and allow them to cool for 5 minutes before serving.  

Buns can be kept in an airtight container (a resealable bag works great) at room temperature for up to 4 days or in the freezer for up to 3 months. Room temperature buns can be reheated in the microwave for 15 to 20 seconds or steamed for about 2 minutes, until soft and warmed through. Reheat frozen buns by steaming until soft and warmed through, 10 to 15 minutes.

A12CB203-0B9A-4764-857E-B12B23D8C82E.jpeg

4E8C5E4B-C06F-43F8-95C1-8B9A8438C75E.jpeg

8AB04115-C81F-4740-B642-BB3D82671EF5.jpeg

My index of bakes.

I finally screwed up enough courage to attempt the Latgalian Rye from Stanley Ginsberg’s website. It’s a more complicated recipe with several steps at elevated temperature. But @Econprof, @Martadella, and @squattercity have all made some beautiful looking breads.

I don’t have a Brod & Taylor proofing box, so I had to improvise using appliances that I do own. The specifications page for the InstantPot Duo showed some temperature ranges that might work for the elevated temperatures for the scald and sour-scald in the recipe. Not wanting any surprises during the recipe, I measured the temperature of a water bath at some of the settings of the IP:

The Keep Warm and Yogurt temperatures looked most promising.

I scaled down the recipe to 1200 g because I wasn’t sure how my Bosch Compact would handle the full dough. The first day is preparation of the scald and a stiff rye sour sponge. The sponge was mixed according to the recipe using whole rye flour (Breadtopia) and refreshed rye sour culture (aka Vaal).

The scald has pale rye malt (Canada Malt via NYBakers), whole rye flour, and ground caraway (Penzey’s). Hot water was added and these were mixed in the IP and set at Keep Warm-Normal. The mixture was to be held at 65 °C for 16–18 h, but after ≈45 min, the temperature was at 68 °C. Fearing overheating during the unattended overnight period, I set the IP to Yogurt-Normal. I think the thick nature of the scald caused the bottom to overheat. In the morning, I set the IP to Keep Warm-Less and that setting gave 53–55 °C for the remainder of the heating period.

At this point, I decided to deviate from Ginsberg’s instructions and follow the Latvian recipe as described by Sergey and @Martadella (Latgalian Rye). I felt that heating the sour-sponge at 55 °C would kill off most of the LAB and yeast. The Latvian instructions add the sour sponge to the scald at ≈50 °C and hold for 3 h without mixing and allowing the temperature to fall to 28–32 °C. The sponge is then mixed into the scald and held for another 3–4 h at 28–32 °C. I followed this method using the Yogurt-Less setting. I did find that the stiff sponge was difficult to incorporate into the thick scald, but I tried to smash it in as much as possible.

The next step adds yeast to the mixture to boost the leavening. I added SAF IDY, mixed well, and held overnight at ≈27 °C. The next morning, it was very bubbly and had pH 3.5. It also appeared to have hard particles as if the IDY had not dissolved. I will follow @Martadella’s method of pre-dissolving the IDY next time.

No changes were made in the final dough mixing and shaping. I used a sprayer to moisten the dough instead of brushing with water. Proofed for 46 min. Baked for 30 min at 250 °C and for 15 min at 200 °C; applied cornstarch glaze and baked for 3 min. It smelled wonderful while baking—sort of apple-malty(?).

The waiting before cutting is sooooo difficult…

I needed more bread now that I’ve returned to Toronto.  Despite making 24 rolls there were none left after Christmas dinner!  I wanted to do the braiding again like the loaf I gave to Alfanso and show that it doesn’t have to have a pinched waist.  After baking this loaf, which admittedly is a bit darker than even I like because of the cinnamon sugar getting on the outside of the dough, I believe that my oven in Fort Lauderdale is running a bit low in temperature.  I’ll have to get an oven thermometer to check on it when I return.  This bake was also a test of my starter to see if it is up to snuff.  I’d say that it could still use a couple more feeds before I bake with it again.

F04627C9-0AAB-4261-87FE-047CFFAE00D0.jpeg

C740D590-4D1C-4173-994C-082E4318E707.jpeg

For one 9x4x4” Pullman pan

Instructions

Levain

Mix the levain ingredients in a jar or pyrex container with space for at least 300% growth. 

Press down with your knuckles or silicone spatula to create a uniform surface and to push out air.

At a temperature of 76-78ºF, it typically takes up to 10-12 hours for this sweet stiff levain to be at peak.  For my starter I typically see 3-3.5 times increase in size at peak.  The levain will smell sweet with only a mild tang.

Tangzhong 

In a sauce pan set on medium heat, stir the milk and Whole wheat flour until blended. Then cook for several minutes until well thickened, stirring regularly with a spoon or heat-resistant spatula. Let cool in the pan or, for faster results, in a new bowl.  Theoretically it should reach 65ºC (149ºF) but I don’t find I need to measure the temperature as the tangzhong gelatinizes at this temperature.  You can prepare this the night before and refrigerate it, ensure that it is covered to prevent it from drying out.

If you plan on using a stand mixer to mix this dough, set up a Bain Marie and use your stand mixer’s bowl to prepare the tangzhong.

Raisins 

Place the raisins in a microwave safe bowl, spritz with water, cover with cling wrap and then microwave at 10 second intervals until the raisins are rehydrated.  Alternatively, soak in water overnight.  In the morning, strain and pat dry before use.

Cinnamon filling

12 g cinnamon 

30 g white sugar

7.5 g all purpose or bread flour

Combine cinnamon and sugar and flour and set aside.

Dough

In the bowl of a stand mixer, add the milk (consider holding back 10 g of milk and adding later if this is the first time you’re making this), egg, tangzhong, salt, sugar and levain.  Mix and then break up the levain into many smaller pieces.  Next add the flours.  I like to use my spatula to mix until there aren’t many dry areas.  Allow the flour to hydrate (fermentolyse) for 20-30 minutes.  Mix on low speed and then medium speed until moderate gluten development this may take 5-10 mins.  You may want to scrape the sides of the bowl during the first 5 minutes of mixing.  Next add room temperature butter one pat at a time.  The dough may come apart, be patient, continue to mix until it comes together before adding in more butter.  Once all the butter has been added and incorporated increase the speed gradually to medium. Mix at medium speed until the gluten is well developed, approximately 10 mins.  You will want to check gluten development by windowpane during this time and stop mixing when you get a good windowpane.  

On the counter, shape the dough into a tight ball, cover in the bowl and ferment for 4  hours at 82ºF.  There should be some rise visible at this stage.

You can next place the dough into the fridge to chill the dough for about 1.5 hours, this makes rolling the dough easier to shape.  Remember, if you do so the final proof will take longer.  Alternatively, you can do a cold retard in the fridge overnight, however, you may find that this increases the tang in your bread.

Prepare your pan by greasing them with butter or line with parchment paper.  

Divide the dough into 2 equal portions.  Form each into tight boules.  Stretch and then roll each piece of dough into a large rectangle, approximately equal sizes.   Spread the cinnamon sugar evenly over one of of the rectangles of dough leaving about 1cm at the edge of dough without mashed potato.  Lightly sprinkle some flour onto the cinnamon sugar, this will help absorb some of the water that the sugar draws out of the dough.  Spread the prepared raisins next.  Place the other rectangle of dough onto the other sandwiching the sweet potato between them.  Using a rolling pin, roll the dough out a bit more aiming for more than 12” in length and just under 9” in width.  

Using a ruler and pizza cutter, cut the dough into evenly wide strips about 1.5-2 cm wide along the length of the dough but leaving about 2-4 cm of dough uncut at the end furthest away from you.  When all the strips are cut, twist the strips in alternating directions, clockwise and then counter clockwise.  Once all the strips are twisted, roll the whole thing into a log starting furthest away from you getting a nice tight roll at the start.  Transfer the dough into your prepared pullman pan with the seam side down.

Place in the buttered baking pan seam side down.

Cover and let proof for  4-6 hours at a warm temperature.  I proof at 82°F.  You will need longer than 4-6 hours if you chilled your dough for shaping. I proof until the top of the dough comes to within 1 cm of the top edge of the pan.

Preheat the oven to 350F and brush the dough with the egg-milk wash.  Just prior to baking brush with the egg-milk wash again.

Bake the loaves for 50 minutes or until the internal temperature is at least 190ºF, rotating as needed to get even browning. Shield your loaf if it gets brown early in the baking process. After 50 mins remove the bread from the pan and bake a further 10 mins by placing the loaf directly in the oven on the rack with the oven turned down to 325ºF. You can brush the top of the loaf with butter if you wish at this point while the bread is still hot to keep the top crust soft.  

A note, if there is a good amount of cinnamon sugar on the top of the dough, then watch it like a hawk while it bakes and be ready to shield it if it starts to brown quickly because of the sugar.  I did not do that soon enough with my loaf.

885AEA82-A831-42A5-A856-38D92B873D9F.jpeg

8D073893-1623-41A7-9DDE-E426965F5802.jpeg

0A703769-ACA8-4137-96E5-F93B6727DD2F.jpeg

D2C35A73-145A-412C-9273-652A0253CFEA.jpeg

697B6E59-866F-409D-AB5C-514C1D08F0F0.jpeg

58B5111C-213E-4428-A6BA-F04257F85A98.jpeg

EBA002FE-D9EE-415D-8127-5D4E12D32FCC.jpeg

E1ED330F-D8AE-4B8E-9540-DAA0A6F8352C.jpeg

9D9E4412-614D-46E3-A09D-2924269E784E.jpeg

3449FCEB-68B2-47F2-9931-21763CEF1EBA.jpeg

My index of bakes.

Hello TFLers! I can't believe that I still haven't posted for the whole year of 2022! No post for a whole year? Of course, I can't let that happen.

Face-to-face classes have come back this year so I'm even busier, work has increased exponentially compare to pre-pandemic times; catching up from the two-year absence of face-to-face learning, while still dealing with the challenges of the pandemic. Still, we're so thankful, we are still alive with God's help and mercy.

All of that means limited time to bake and almost no time to post. Here is one of my seldom bakes.

With wonders of online shopping (which I am thankful that it is slowly becoming the norm), I found an authentic imported charcuterie package on sale, what a steal! So I made this bread to accompany it. I was looking for something rustic and crusty but soft to let their flavors shine.

Clockwise from top right: Prosciutto crudo, Salami Napoli, Capicollo, Pancetta Arrotolata, Jamon Serrano, Chorizo Iberico, and Mortadella in the center.

 
The dough is very simple: Flour, water, and salt, and sourdough. 70% hydration, 19% prefermented flour. Fermented for 4 hours and given 3 stretch and folds then refrigerated overnight. No preshape nor even shaping, just plopped onto a pan oiled with EVOO. Proofed for 3 hours then baked at 250C until done.

 Because of there was almost no shaping or degassing it has "the room where the baker sleeps" but nevertheless, I was rewarded with one beautiful crumb, at least in my sight and taste.

 


My mind was blown with how good the combination was of good bread and good meat without other fancy add-ons. The bread was just crusty and sturdy enough but soft and stretchy, sweet and wheaty and mildly tangy; the perfect vehicle for the charcuterie.

I really enjoyed the diversity of flavors and textures of the meats, especially that I have never tasted authentic charcuterie, though, I make my own and was surprised on how close they were to the texture and flavor to the real deal. I was partial to the Jamon Serrano and Chorizo Iberico followed by Salami Napoli and Mortadella but all of them were good. 

 I hope you enjoyed this post and I do hope to have more time to post in the future.

Inspired by Tony’s (CalBeachBaker) last week, I couldn’t wait to give the Hazelnut and Fig Levain a try. Last night I made the stiff white levain and this morning I hand mixed 1400-gram dough and found the dough a bit sticky to start with but soon smoothed out as the gluten developed. I thought that the number of figs and hazelnuts were a lot, but I was surprised that I got them combined into the dough. Bulk proofed at 24C for 2 hours, divided and shaped into two 700-gram oblong doughs. Final proof at 24C for 2 ½ hours in a Couche seam side down. Laterally scored with a steak knife and baked with steam on stone. I may have baked them a bit dark; I should have pulled them a few minutes earlier. The aroma in the kitchen was amazing with the anise seed prevalent. The figs and hazelnuts were evenly dispersed, even down to the end bits (my wife was too quick for me again).

The taste can only be described as fantastic. I will definitely make this again.

Cheers, Gavin

hazelnut and Fig levain_1.jpg

IMG_6103.jpeg

IMG_6104.jpeg

IMG_6106.jpeg

IMG_6107.jpeg

A few weeks ago, Abe posted a 100% emmer loaf.  Earlier this year I baked a 30% emmer loaf from a posting by leslieruf, and that was followed by one of 60%.  When Abe posted his, I was intrigued to give it a go.

Abe's formula involved a water yeast, however, and I have only a typical sourdough starter.  That began a few modifications to his approach (and an exchange of private messages with Abe, who was very helpful with his advice and suggestions -- thanks).  My first attempt was not bad, but I decided to make a few more changes before posting my result.  This is for those of you who want to bake a 100% emmer bread by using a sourdough starter.

Inspired by trailrunner and Isand66, I visited the Barton Springs Mill website and ordered some emmer flour.  The flour (along with some rye) arrived nicely packaged, and I will give Barton Springs more business in the future.

For the biga I found that a hydration of around 64% was needed (and aiming for 60% left some flour dry and unmixed).  I combined 20 grams of sourdough starter, 450 grams of emmer flour, and 284 grams of water.  As Abe commented, the result resembles wet sand.  It is easy to mush into a cohesive mass, which I left in a covered bowl overnight at room temperature.  To encourage the flavor, I left the biga for about fourteen and a half hours.

The next morning I combined the biga, 150 grams of emmer flour, 11 grams of salt, and 150 grams of water.  That was fairly simple, and after about eight minutes of kneading by hand (think of the Forkish pincer method) the dough seemed ready.  I took the temperature (72F) of the dough and covered the bowl.  After an hour I did a stretch-and-fold.  Abe waited a bit and then put his dough into the refrigerator, but I decided to do the bulk fermentation entirely at room temperature.  After another three hours the dough had expanded nicely, and I removed the dough from the bowl onto the countertop.

The shaping was essentially merely removing a bit of the gas and then forming the blob of dough into a roughly cylindrical form.  In my first attempt I had flattened the dough and then rolled it up, but this dough isn't sticky enough and doesn't bond at the interfaces, so that approach was a mistake.  The way I did it this time will be the one for the future bakes.  I loaded the dough into a loaf pan and covered it for the final proofing.

The dough had risen well in a couple of hours, and I decided to bake.  The loaf pan went into the 410F oven and stayed there for 40 minutes.  Abe had taken his loaf out of his pan to let the crust bake a bit more, but I opted to leave the loaf in until the end.  That doesn't seem to have hurt anything, so either way is probably okay.

Here is a view of the crust.

Here is the crumb.

My goal was a fairly tight crumb (similar to what Abe described), and perhaps a more open crumb is possible, but I am happy with this one.  The bread has a distinctive flavor, was nice the first day just sliced with nothing added, and was excellent the second day toasted with some butter.  Certainly not what you get with standard all-purpose flour.  This bread has the feel of an old world flour (which I suppose it should).  The loaf weighed 988 grams.

If you are after a 100% emmer bread, I recommend this one.  You have the option of water yeast (see Abe's post) or sourdough starter.

Happy baking.