David Esq.'s blog

I was gifted a starter recently that was kept at 100% hydration and I have been maintaining it in that hydration -- mostly because its in a tall narrow jar and it is easier to pour it out.  I always wanted to try the 1-2-3 formulation but was intimidated mostly by the fact that I had no idea how long to proof the dough and have always followed a recipe from either Tartine or FWSY.  Well, this weekend I decided to take the plunge and used my newly acquired starter and made myself a loaf of bread from scratch.

I had some two-week old dough sitting in the fridge -- enough to make a pizza (maybe 250 grams), and decided that I would add it to my bread dough. It stunk of beer and I was not sure what it would do.  I regretted doing so almost immediately, as I did my first stretch and fold 10 minutes after incorporating it with the levain and salt.  When I went to lift the dough my hand went right through the middle of it.  It was like I created a super weak dough structure.

It has been a very long time since I baked a loaf without sourdough.  In addition, this was a same day bake.  I thought it was delicious.  11% whole rye, 11% whole wheat.  The funny thing is, my wife said right off the bat, "this bread is different than usual"  I asked what she meant, and she said that my other breads have a sweeter flavor that she liked more.  To be honest, I thought this bread was so good that I'd be happy to make it again.

This weekend I baked a new loaf and as I did so, I marveled at how far along I have come as a bread baker  -- at least when it comes to making the sourdough boule.  I'm not going to lie... this is not matzoh.  But, if it were, I would be very very wealthy. 

The formula is my own though I am certain others have made it before me.

64% All Purpose Flour (King Arthur)
27% Whole Wheat Flour
9% Whole Rye Flour
2% Salt
1% wheat germ (totally optional. I had it and wanted to use it)

82% Hydration

Trust me on this -- there may be many ways to make bread pudding, and you may have your favorite -- but this bread pudding is unbelievably delicious and unbelievably simple to make with only a few ingredients. 

The only thing I didn't measure was the cinnamon and the bread.  Here, I used close to an entire boule, just tore it up into chunks.  I used a combination of Saigon and Ceylon cinnamon.  

Recipe Linked here

While making my sourdough I realized that I ran out of all purpose flour. And had only a smidgen of Rye berries left. Fortunately I had a quart of Kamut that served as a nice substitute. 

I did weigh everything to get to the 2000 grams of flour, but I didn't write down the formula. It has whatever a quart weighs of Kamut, whole white wheat, a bit of whole rye and all purpose flour in some unknown ratio. 

I love hummus and thought it was time to try my hand at pita.  Using the recipe from serious eats, I met with great success.  The formula called for more yeast than I like. I set the oven at a higher temperature (baked at 550 though I did not check the thermometer, I just baked shortly after it came up to temperature.

The pitas were very soft.  Made six of them. Ate two fresh out of the oven. Just cut them up and dipped them in homemade hummus.  It was a real treat.

This weekend I made some of my best loaves yet.  I actually made enough for four boules, and had proofed them and intended to bake all four, but something came up and I baked only 2.  I stuck two in the fridge and baked them up the following morning. Those are the two that are pictured here. No crumb shot for these but I did eat from one of them.  The verdict -- one of my best breads to date.  

It has been more than a year, I believe, since I last tried my hand at an enriched bread.  For this one, I pulled out my trusty 13" USA Pullman Pan, and used the recipe that came with it.  Reproduced here:

PULLMAN SANDWICH BREAD

Pan: Pullman Loaf Pan - Large

Ingredients

This is among my best tasting breads, alla Tartine.

Levain was mixed Friday night using 1 tablespoon of starter from the fridge (last fed one week prior).

Saturday morning, about 15 hours later, I mixed the levain with 700 grams of water, 700 grams AP flour, 205 grams whole wheat and 95 grams whole rye.

Forty minutes or so later, I added 20 grams of salt and some extra water, enough to incorporate the salt into the dough, and enough to keep my hands from sticking. (Tartine suggests 50 gram but I find that to create a dough that is a bit too wet/pasty).