kenlklaser's blog

Sort of straight dough, but with 4% over-fermented sponge which I make up ahead of time and keep in the freezer, so I guess it's really sponge and dough.

This post has been edited, dabrownman in the comments below made me realize something was wrong in the formula presentation.  My apologies for any confusion that the flawed formula may have caused.  As a result of this edit, some comments may now be out of context.

While these are not perfect, at least they do not have an overpowering yeast flavor.  I increased the lemon zest by 50%, and changed the process point when it was added.  The flavor is light and subtle.

The prior formula used 3.4% compressed yeast, and took about 2 hours in bulk ferment. This formula took 3.5 hours to reach the same gas:dough ratio of 0.9, almost a doubling.

I happened across a formula for " Buchteln", and decided to try it, but I have to avoid milk and dairy (including butter) as it's poison for me, and the formulas for Buchteln always seem to have milk. My first attempt needs some improvement.

I'm writing this well after making this loaf last week or thereabouts.  Unlike so many of you, I'm boring in my bread tastes, I don't really want to make lots of different varieties, as long as I make this particular loaf and have it on hand for egg sandwiches, I'm reasonably happy.  I do use sourdough in it, as it tastes better with mustard and egg, than when it's made only with sweet yeast.

One of the reasons I started learning how to make bread was that one of my favorite foods was pizza, and I was never quite happy with my crust, I felt that crusts I got at good pizza places were usually better. My pizza making efforts started in the 1980s. In 2011 I gave up eating cheese, should have never had it due to milk allergy, and I took my last picture of my last cheese pizza (not sure where that photo is) at the same time.

The other day I happened upon a video, New York Pizza Crust by Bruno Di Fabio.

It doesn't get much simpler. The following formula expressed as baker's percents is used to refresh existing sourdough starter:

67% all purpose flour
33% cake flour
160% water

The above combination of flours is approximately 9.6% protein. A 50:50 mix of all purpose and pastry flour is a close alternative, as are several other flour combinations.

Calculate ingredient weights with a particular flour weight

English muffins.  I started with Gisslen's formula, but have to avoid milk, so take it out.  I am still using a very similar formula, but not with a straight dough process, rather adapted to sponge and dough.  I'm slowly increasing the hydration until I get a somewhat flat top during proof.  Next time I'll try 75%.  Gisslen includes 2.3% milk solids, which have an absorbancy of some value, maybe about 1:1. This is the second time I've used gypsum, the first time it accelerated yeast growth, replacing the calcium removed by the water filter.

I always meant to try Reinhart's Pain à l'Ancienne, and today was the big day.  This was an easy formula and process.

I used a hydration of 70%, whereas Reinhart recommends a value somewhere in the range 70-88%. I diverged slightly from his instructions in a couple of places.