Skibum's blog

Peter Reinhart's NY Deli Rye! I have been baking this for years, but in the past always as a free standing loaf. For the first time I baked it off in a loaf pan and LOVE the result!

Look at this beauty friends! This is the best loaf of bread I have ever baked. Why? A fresh bag of the finest bread flour bought from our local bakery and fresh Durham Semolina to sweeten things up. Great bread!!!!! Recipe:

95g starter at 100% hydration
1/2 t instant yeast
177g milk scalded
42g Durham semolina
328g strong bread flour
41g honey
55g butter, melted
36g egg, beaten
1+ t salt

 Prior to the bake, I brushed some egg wash on to the top of the loaf and sprinkled with Durham semolina flour, then scored.

I have been quite lazy over the past couple of weeks buying my hot cross buns from the local bakery. I finally decided to get busy and bake a batch. The recipe I used was Floyd's recipe which I searched on this site and uses commercial yeast. I normally use a natural yeast starter, but have also been lazy of late in feeding my starter. Next batch of buns perhaps.

Happy baking and Happy Easter! Ski

Greeting fellow bakers and happy Canada Day to our Canadian friends and happy Presidents Day to my American friends!

Sorry for the repetition, but this P. Reinhart recipe has become my favourite sandwich loaf. I use a whole light rye starter and it is delicious sandwich bread!

I have baked this recipe in a loaf pan, free standing in the oven with the pizza stone but this time decided to try baking in a hot cast iron Dutch oven, 20 minutes covered and 20 minutes uncovered.

Well friends, my second Forkish effort in as many weeks from "Flour, Water, Salt and Yeast." This is a robust bread. Baking in the Dutch oven really gives a snap to the crust, while the crumb is open soft and shred able. Boy did the loaf ever snap, crackle and pop when I removed from the hot DO to the cooling rack!

Here you go clazar!

I first began baking these almond cookies the week before Christmas and every time I run out, I bake another batch. The recipe is from Penelope Casas' "The Foods and Wines of Spain." As the cookbook author says, she has been known to eat them by the dozen.

These cookies are delicious and quite easy to make:

1 cup flour

3/4 cup ground almonds

1/2 cup sugar

pinch salt

1/4 teaspoon cinnimon

1/4 pound or 1/2 cup lard or vegetable shortening

1 egg beaten

I began browsing the fresh loaf mid 2009, when I was trying to learn how to bake proper bread. Over the years the suggestions, advice, support and references have taught me much about baking bread. I enjoy the breads I bake.

Perhaps the best early advice I adopted was from a poster who suggested that if you can buy your flour from your local artisan baker do so. I have done so ever since, in Canmore and now in Golden where I just bought my second bag of bread flour from our local bakery.

Now that I have discovered a good source of Montreal smoked meat in town, I determined to do the deli rye from Peter Reinhart's, "Bread Baker's Apprentice." I have baked this recipe often, but this was the first time I built a fully rye starter. My previous starters were a wheat/rye mix. this time I starting from my mother, I fed with rye flour four times over three days and for the fourth and final feed added the sauteed yellow onions. After a few hours it was time to mix and bake.