thedoughycoed's blog

I am no longer thedoughycoed, but the doughy recent graduate with a job doesn't look as good typed without spaces. I graduated in May and got a job and my own apartment with a real kitchen and the type of counterspace that dreams are made of. 

This week is finals (and my graduation!) week at Penn State, so naturally I've hidden from all responsibility in the kitchen. This week I made Po'Boy rolls for buffalo chicken cheesesteaks, oatmeal bread, oatmeal cookies, and pizza. 

Po'Boy Rolls - http://www.thefreshloaf.com/node/24960/new-orleans-poboy-bread-it039s-all-eric039s-fault

I made these a little smaller for shareability, maybe a little less crackly, but so delicious.

     This week's loaf is based on Tartine's "Oat Porridge Bread." http://www.theperfectloaf.com/oat-porridge-sourdough/

     The bread was quite tasty, but I'm not happy with the crumb. I think the dough may have been too hydrated since I added water along with the oatmeal. I noticed that the wetness of the dough also made it exceedingly hard to shape and hold the scoring pattern. 

I based this loaf on the Semolina from Tartine. Very pleased with this one. I incorporated a bench rest period, which I think may have helped my shaping issue from last week. The crumb is so nice and chewy and a little sweet and nutty. The crust is a little thinner and lighter than in previous loaves which I like, and I attribute to using parchment in the dutch oven instead of oil. I'm currently enjoying it as a triple decker sandwich with butter lettuce, guacamole, smoked turkey, and bacon. 

This loaf had a mind of its own! Or, maybe I'm just blaming its bad behavior on my poor administration of discipline. I'll keep that lesson in my back pocket for later in life when I'm a parent.

I used the Country Brown recipe from "Flour Water Salt Yeast." I'm really enjoying the results I'm getting when I use this book, so as far as placing blame, it's on me. I could really use some work on my shaping and scoring. 

Thanks to everyone who responded to my cry for help, I established a rye starter, invested in a dutch oven, and made sourdough for real. This is my first loaf without training wheels, and I'm quite pleased. After some research this is my approximation of FWSY's Field Blend #2.

I'm home for spring break, which means I'm without my starter and my scale. I've been wanting to try the tangzhong method, and I found a recipe that used cups so I could make it at home (http://www.instructables.com/id/Asian-Sweet-Bread-Hong-Kong-Pai-Bao-Hokkaido-Mil/).

I've been lurking on this website for awhile, and decided it was finally time to woman-up and try some of the techniques that I've seen.