Another Try at Asiago Bread
After last week’s delicious experiment, today I tried another version of Asiago Bread. This time I used my San Francisco Country-er Sourdough (15% whole wheat and 15% dark rye).
The dough was very forgiving today. After the first couple stretch and folds, we needed to go to the beach to see the Harbor Seal pups at low tide. So I put the dough in the fridge for a couple hours. While we were at the beach, I realized I’d forgotten to mix the cheese into the dough. D’oh! When we returned, I mixed in the cheese and gave it an extra hour of room temperature fermenting, then 90 minutes of proofing time. Three 620 gram loaves fit too snugly on my stone, so they converged.
But for all the screw-ups, the loaves turned out very nicely. Moist open crumb, crispy crust, and a wonderful sharp cheesy flavor. I may use a higher percentage of cheese next time, or cut the pieces bigger. I like gooey!
Once I have a formula I’m happy with, I’ll post the detailed formula.
And the seal pups came out nicely, too.
Glenn
Comments
Your breads are beauitful nice job and the seal pups are nice thank you
glenn
Nice looking bread Glenn. No singing this time. Gramophone wind-up mechanism broke?
Best,
Syd
Giuseppe Bellantoni singing about how much he loves cheese bread 'A tanto amor' from 'La Favorita'.
Recorded 102 years ago:
Molto Formaggissimo!
Glenn
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eRBOgtp0Hac
grin, grin....
This time the cheese was better integrated so no big caverns. I wouldn't mind something in between...small mouth bread.
Thanks for the comment.
Glenn
Probably my favorite thing in the whole world: cooled cheese lava (melted and then cooled cheese).
Can you point me to your sourdough formula? I keep looking for one that's dense(er) and yours looks close the what I want.
Love seals too, but have seen some really awful stuff related to their use as a food source for hungry Yupiks. :(
Here's the "Country-er Sourdough" formula (http://www.thefreshloaf.com/node/27877/after-adventure-nature-back-kitchen-–-countryer-sourdough). I added about 20% (baker's percentage) of cheese.
If you want a dense sourdough, I suggest Reinhart's San Francisco Sourdough from Crust and Crumb. It's made with bread flour, and it takes some serious teeth. Really yummy!
Thanks for the comment.
Glenn
David
Thanks, David. Two of the loaves are in the freezer in Fort Bragg, so you'll be able to try this bread yourself in a few weeks.
Glenn
getting this asiago cheese bread down pat, even with fortuitous forgetfulness - all too common in my world I must say :-)
The bread looks grand Glenn! Nicely done.
...for the noce comment.
Glenn
GLenn,
Your photo of the seals brings back vivid memories of the feel and smell of the sand and air at the beach...ingrained in this brain even after so many year being away from the ocean...guess I will always carry it with me.
Mama seal looks exhausted. Maybe her day to rest today as it is Mother's Day. Looks like she has one 'hand' on junior who has the look of any young thing - very curious about his surroundings and wanting to explore NOW :-)
Your bread looks nice too. A fun 'work in progress'. I have an asiago cheese recipe too but it has toasted sesame seeds in it....a variation you might like to try once this loaf is perfected....you know how these 'projects' kinda keep expanding :-)
Again, thanks for the post!
Janet
Thanks, Janet.
I wish I'd had a better camera that day. It was fun watching the mom's and pups interact. Lots of swimming lessons going on. The harbor seals raise their pups at a particular spot on MacKerricher State Beach, north of Fort Bragg, and Cat and I are not the only folks who go every year to check on the new crop. The rangers put up a rope barrier about 100 yards from the water (and "No Dogs on the Beach" signs) so the seals are unmolested. But it means I can't get good photos with my wimpy camera.
And toasted sesame (and/or pumpkin) seeds sound like a great addition. Must try that.
Thanks.
Glenn
Not sure which looks more appealing- sourdough with melted cheese in the crumb, or gorgeous cutie-pie seal pups! Thanks for the smiles :)
The Seal Pups are more entertaining to watch. The bread is better to eat (I'm guessing, having never eaten seal).
Glenn