Blog posts

The year end is approaching once again and it is time to reflect on what I have done and have not. Though, this time around, I chose to count on all the blessings instead and TFL is definitely one of them as I have benefited so much from the helpful community around here.

Many thanks to Abe, dabrownman, Alan, Minioven, Gordon and so many more people out there...

Merry Christmas, Happy New Year and as always....Happy Baking : ) 

This was first described here by freerk. 

I modified the recipe by not using yeast and using a very active rye starter (100% hydration). As high extraction flour I used Red Fife. The dough was very slack so that I could't really formed a batard, and I used an oblong cloche. The taste was beautiful.

Tom.

Well typically I make hybrid breads using commercial yeast and my starter. Earlier this month  during a thrift store jaunt I picked up a used dutch oven, and I decided that I wanted to to test it out by revisiting my old nemesis Sourdough bread. 

Yesterday was one of the happiest days of my life! By noon, we went to an unassuming neighborhood to have the best gastronomic experience to date! There, waiting for us is a whole roast pork for us to take home; golden and crackling!

I bought this amazingly delicious bread from a bakery in my hometown 
It was dense but it felt light and with a great crispy crust and plenty of grains.

Few days after tasting it I started to develop an obsession to discover the mysteries of this bread
I even posted a forum thread to share this urge with the TFL experts

http://www.thefreshloaf.com/node/44314/how-achieve-crustcrumb-texture

• 62g bread flour (11%)
• 196g all purpose flour (35%)
• 96g fresh milled spelt (17%)
• 146g fresh milled hard red (26%)
• 120g 100% hydration, rye levain (11% rye 11% water)
• 415g warm water (74%)
• 280g strained, fermented, cracked spelt berries

1/2 hr autolyse 

mix in levain and salt

The thing I feared most about college was that I wouldn't be able to bake bread anymore. Turns out, however, that my dorm building has a kitchenette on each floor - equipped with a small oven that begins to smoke if turned to over 450 F. Good enough for me. Here are a few of the loaves I managed to bake while pursuing a dual degree in Computer Science and English Literature. I didn't have time to post them until now.

Zhavaronki (bird-shaped rolls)

This bread was made with 25% fresh ground rye, 25% sprouted multigrain flour, 25% fresh ground white wheat, and 25% AP at 72% hydration and naturally leavened. Used an overnight retard after shaping. One loaf is  destined for Christmas stuffing along with some cornbread to be made later from fresh ground organic corn. In the background is a sous vide machine that will be used to cook a lamb roast coated with the fresh ground spices in the bowl. The other loaf will be enjoyed with that along with some frozen garden peas and broccoli. 

Stu

this is my first attempt at the tartine country bread. Used my own starter to make the leaven. I autolysed for 2 hours, just because it fit my schedule and did the folds as instructed but felt that somehow the more folds/turns i did the wetter the dough became. No idea why. Maybe being in a humid tropical country didnt call for the extra water the recipe called for when incorporating the salt after the autolyse. 

I haven't made a porridge bread in a while so sticking with my Durum kick I figured Polenta would go well Durum and used that along with some rolled oats and barley flakes in the porridge.

I made a starter with mostly Durum flour and added some 00 Caputo flour along with freshly milled Whole Wheat to the main flour mix.

The added fresh ricotta cheese added to the moist soft crumb.

I baked this one Miche style and the end result was a tasty hearty bread with a nice sour tang and moist crumb.