It's been a few weeks since my last post. I've been very busy, traveling to Costa Rica on vacation which was amazing and upon my return we added another family member to our pack. I am happy to introduce Max who is our new 9 month mixed breed puppy.
This was supposed to be a 36 hour sourdough but I got stuck in my favorite airport O'Hare for about 4 hours longer than expected and didn't get home until 1:30 AM. Due to the extra hours in the refrigerator and the blueberry beer I used this one ended up real sour.
I wanted to make a mostly whole grain bread and this one came in at around 72%. I used freshly ground flour for the levain and for the main dough I added some First Clear for some gluten strength and Durum because it's one of my favorite flours.
My wife made some Sangria for the 4th of July and had a ton of fresh blueberries and raspberries left over so I decided to use some of them up. My fellow baking friend Evon inspired this bake with her use of blue berries, cherries and cranberries in her recent sourdough breads.
We bought some chicken Buffalo style sliders the other day so I wanted to make some tasty buns to go with them. The buns needed to be hearty enough to hold the burgers and the fixings as well as soft enough like a hamburger bun needs to be.
I adapted a recipe from KAF and made several changes including the flour types and changes and additions in several ingredients. I added some dried onions and some Parmesan powder to give it a little extra flavor and just enough honey to round out the flavor profile.
A couple of nights ago I grilled some ripe plantains brushed with some olive oil and sprinkled with some cinnamon sugar. As you can imagine it tasted amazing and I could have eaten the whole thing all by itself. Luckily I managed a small amount of self-control and saved enough to use in a bread.
I have made a plantain bread in the past, but this time I used a completely different flour mix and ingredient list and I have to say it couldn't have come out any better.
I have made several variations of breads with cherries with different formulas and flour combinations. While several of them were very good, none of them really tasted exactly like I was craving. I wanted a soft tender crumb with a strong cherry flavor without being overpowering.
Well since the last few bakes have been very white I started to feel the Force draining and I was being pulled towards the Dark Side! This bread is a 70% whole grain power-house made with a soaker which I scalded to make sure it was nice and soft. I used 5 different whole grains in the scald and 3 whole grain flours plus some French style flour in the double starters and main dough.
I decided I wanted to make some rolls at the same time I made the Crème de Tequila bread and as I opened up my refrigerator to get a snack I spotted the extra potato knishes I had heated up the other day for dinner. Well...one thing lead to another and the inspiration for my latest bake was born.
My last few bakes for rolls did not use a sourdough starter, so I wanted to use one for this bake while still achieving a nice moist and soft roll.
The summer will be here before you know it, although with the rainy and cold sub 50 degree weather we had the last couple of days it's hard to believe. It is nice though to see some of our flowers start to bloom with many more ready to be planted today and tomorrow into the garden soil weather permitting.
