Floydm's blog

I can't believe it has been nearly a month since I've posted.  This time of year things get so busy, don't they?  Our youngest also has a birthday between Thanksgiving in the States and Christmas, so it seems like we have about a month solid of travels, dinners and parties to attend, as well as all the school and community activities.  It certainly keeps you on your toes.

I have been baking though.  Mostly just standards like the white sourdough loaves above or the Struan bread below.

I picked up the little mill attachment for my new mixer and have been experimenting with it my last couple bakes.

My first batch used 40% fresh milled flour (hard red wheat), my second about 25%.  The flavour seems really nice, though I've got a bit of the cold and thus don't have the most nuanced sense of taste right now.

I spotted a news story yesterday reporting that Dave of Dave's Killer Bread is in a bit of trouble again.

If you are unfamiliar with Dave's Killer Bread, you can check out the profile I did on him a couple of years back.  Since then the company has continued to grow, with distribution all up and down the West Coast.  It is good stuff.

So yesterday around 11am we decided on a meal that a loaf of fresh bread would be good with.  I didn't have a refreshed starter or preferment going, but I quickly mixed up a cup of AP flour, a cup of luke warm water, and about a third of a teaspoon of yeast and let it sit while I figured out what I wanted to do with it.

The first was with chanterelle mushrooms on a white sauce.  My wife's all time favourite.

The second BBQ chicken with red onion and cilantro. The kids got to it before I got my camera out.

The third chicken, red onion, and pesto.

I baked for many years without using a mixer or any special gear. I really enjoy mixing and kneading by hand, and think it is a great way to get to know about dough.

My other experiment yesterday was a Roasted Garlic Sourdough with about 30% whole wheat flour.

I made two experimental doughs yesterday.  The winner by a landslide was the White Chocolate Apricot Sourdough.

I started a dough last night that was somewhere between Ken Forkish's Poolish Pizza Dough and Peter Reinhart's Neo-Neopolitian Dough. 

After two weeks of travel and eating out, it was super nice this weekend to be back in my kitchen and able to eat at home.  I celebrated by baking three batches of bread.

The first, pictured above, was a 60% whole wheat, 13% spelt sourdough (73% hydration).  It was good, though a bit grainier than what my family typically likes.  Still, we enjoyed it.

I also made a batch of Hokkaido Milk Bread.