Blog posts

I took the plunge a month or so ago and bought a pizza oven for our patio. I am still "dialing it in", as it were, but I was able to make some outstanding pizza with it this weekend.

The photos are on my phone and I've never had much success posting from my phone to my fresh loaf blog, so you'll have to just take my word for it.  Or, if you are so inclined, you can read a review and see some photos on my word press blog.

Not quite the same as a comb-over.  Back from my northern voyage where I was able to handily empty out the freezer from the warehoused batards for the in-laws, I had a hankering' to make a batch of Ken's Bakery's Country Blonde batards.  (vs. the FWSY version)

Retarded fully shaped and couched, these rested comfortably in the refrigerator for about 18 hours.  

June 6 2015 bake

Recipe based on the Norwich Sourdough from the Wild Yeast Blog.

450g white all purpose flour

60g dark rye

300g Water

182g ~100% hydration starter

11g of salt, dissolved in 50g of water

Water temp is unknown, but room temp was about 25*C

Steps went as followed:

Pain au Levain with mixed sourdough starters

My oven has been out of commission for a few days, and the front-panel computer gizmo needed to make it bake when you hit bake (instead of broil until the "too hot" alarm goes off) is on order. 

  If you haven't noticed by now I seem to like porridge breadas, so it's no surprise I made another one yesterday.  My wife had some left-over caramelized onions from her Quesadillas she made last weekend and I had some left-over potatoes so the beginnings of a bread began to form.

I wanted to use some of my fresh milled Spelt flour for this one and I also added some freshly milled whole wheat and some Caputo 00 flour to round it out.

I have been testing my own limit on dough hydration of late and have come to the conclusion that I shall stop at 78 percent and not to challenge myself any further unless I am feeling extremely bored over the weekend.

This bake has started out as another attempt of 1:2:3, which I failed miserably the last time I tried my hands on but I guess I have progressed a fair bit for the past month. Not only that I increased the amount of hydration, I was convinced that I could go further than that. But then, the harsh reality sunk in..

Made 2 sizes of dome for the cottage loaf. I should make more distinguish next time. I used spicy orange thyme and black sesame seed for both loaves.

Hi Loafers! I've been baking a bit less, mainly straight dough same-day or overnight baguettes, and I figured I've posted enough baguettes to bore the most ardent enthusiast!

Made some of David's SJSD baguettes in batard form today, and they came out quite nicely. Crumb could have been better (more consistent and open), but flavor is good.

My starter has become a champ. It sat in the fridge for about six weeks, and responded to it's first feeding as if it had been on the bench with daily feedings all month. Very pleased.

Hope everyone is having a great summer!

A bottle of dark beer, a touch of rye and molasses gave birth to this puppy.

Keep a small glass and some smoked almonds on hand.