Floydm's blog

I just returned from my trip back East.  It was a great trip, we saw all kinds of wonderful things, and the fall colors were amazing.

Definitely one of the highlights of the trip was getting to try real Montréal bagels.

I baked a couple of times last week.  Both were sourdoughs with a rye-fed stiff levain and approximately a 70% hydration, 50% whole wheat final dough.

Some Lazy Man's Brioche I made this week.  Quite tasty.

A couple of recent bakes here... The first a 50% whole wheat sourdough.

My loaves were a bit small for the brotforms I used so they didn't come out too impressive looking, but they tasted really nice, nutty and tart.  I used Nunweiller's Red Fife Flour, which contributed significantly to the flavour.

I also made Hamelman's Golden Raisin Loaf.

In other news, I've recently become the proud owner of an Ankarsrum Original, AKA Electrolux DLX, mixer. Mike Avery did a great review of it compared to a Kitchenaid or a Bosch mixer a few years back, which really helped me make up my mind when I was first considered an upgrade.

I just got back from the 2013 Kneading Conference West at the Washington State University Mount Vernon Extension Campus.

(My write up of last year's conference, which gives quite a bit of background about it, is here.)   

Following up on Wingnut's pizza post, here are a few shots of our pesto pizza from last night.

I used an overnight poolish for the crust, made the dough in the early AM and baked in the evening.

After two months of almost constant sun, rain showers and grey skies have returned to southern BC.  It is still lush and beautiful, and most every day we are still getting some lovely breaks in the clouds, but it is quite apparent that we'll be seeing less and less of Mr. Sun for a good long while.  

And the kids go back to school tomorrow.  The long evenings outside riding bikes or playing with friends are soon to be replaced with more studying, reading, cooking, and baking.  Sad to see summer go, but those are all good things too, in my book. :)

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I've been overloaded the past couple of weeks, so I've fallen a bit behind on my blogging and baking. 

After my previous sourdough loaf that I baked in a pot came out so pretty, I went out and picked up another cheap enamel pot so I could use this technique with two loaves at a time.  

This technique works well for me and is unlikely to damage the oven in the apartment we are renting.