Blog posts

Cloning " The spicy Spring.

Profile picture for user The Roadside Pie King
Crumb

In celebration of the opening of the Spring Street Pizza location in Tempe AZ. My humble rendition. 
Making of a clone.
The Iconic spicy Spring square. Spring Street Pizza.
It's not the journey, it's the destination.
First I want to deconstruct the spicy Spring into the individual components.
1. The pepperoni
This I have covered. Hormel cup& char.
2. The Fra Diavolo sauce.

Purple Straw Potato Sourdough Rolls Act II

Profile picture for user Isand66
Main Image

Purple Straw is a soft white wheat that is not normally used for bread. It is called a Colonial Era honeyed wheat and hasn’t been around for over 50 years. I combined the fresh-milled Purple Straw with KAF high-gluten flour, and it worked perfectly. The Purple Straw is not easy to find right now. I bought mine at Barton Springs Mill a while ago. If you can find any, make sure to give it a try.

Can’t judge a book by its cover… or baguettes 😳

Profile picture for user trailrunner
Crumb

Batch 3 : And then I cut one..and then another and I couldn’t believe the crumb. These next ones are so ugly outside but wowser. Very pleased with flavor, incredibly tender and the YW really makes them flavorful , no sour in sight. Crisp crisp even after sitting at room temperature. Will be several weeks till all are eaten by just 2 of us. Will pass some along to son and his family as well. 

Focaccia style par-baked grandma Sicilian.

Profile picture for user The Roadside Pie King
Par baked

The tail of the tape
75% semolina 
25% sprouted whole wheat 
100% hydration 
1.3% IDY
2% Salt
1.25% Honey 
8% olive oil
8% Butter
Par-baked 12 minutes at 450° F
Build to follow.

Edited to add one more important parameter, the mix.

Hand mixed, two stretch and folds. Cold retard/bulk fermented 48 hrs. 2.5 hours warm to room temperature/ proof. 

2nd batch baguettes

Profile picture for user trailrunner
Baguettes

Very pleased. YW levain 80g . T 65 flour requires a lower hydration . First batch was 62.5 % I lowered to 60% and it’s perfect. 

More YW refreshing and will do another batch Sunday. I use my steel and my largest 100 yr old Granite Roaster lid to create a cloche for the first 15 min at 460°. Remove finish for 10 min. 

A Sourdough Bread to Welcome the Autumnal Equinox 2025

Profile picture for user Cedarmountain
A Sourdough Bread to Welcome the Autumnal Equinox 2025

A quick post to celebrate the arrival of Autumn and the passing of yet another summer. This one is a variation of my November 2019 post, bread baked then to welcome the arrival of  that year's CSA organic grain harvest share. Now, as then, feeling very blessed and appreciative, especially in these turbulent times, for yet another harvest. 

Pumpkin 50% Wholewheat Sourdough Sandwich Loaf

Profile picture for user Benito
Bread

The can of pumpkin purée that I bought was huge, the grocery stores here only seem to carry a very large size can of it.  So having a ton left I decided I’d see what it does to bread.  I treated it similarly to how I’d treat adding mashed potatoes.  Given how mild pumpkin flavour is, I cooked the purée down a bit to bring out the flavour.  Because I wanted a savory bread and not something that would be sweet, I didn’t add spices to this.  I’m quite pleased with how it baked up.