Blog posts

Took a few weeks off from the WFO while the owner left town and got back to the good ol Gas Kenmore.  Nothing too fancy but I did do two more runs of the Sun Loaf.  One for my weekly bake and again for a traveling bread friend from Instagram who was passing through.  I'm kinda hooked to this loaf at the moment.  But I'll talk about a new loaf that came about this past week in the WFO.  I'll share some pics of the Sun from the home oven as well.  

Carissimi Amici,

anche questo è stato un dolce molto apprezzato dai miei familiari durante le recenti Festività Pasquali.

Qualcuno di voi mi dirà: "Ma il Pane che fine ha fatto?"

Ebbene ho continuato a sfornare anche quello, perchè a casa di Anna alias "Il Chicco", non si compra ma si fa Home Made e presto molto presto ve lo racconterò con tutti i dovuti particolari.....

So I've now made the 1.2.3 Sourdough twice this week.  Today's batch was made for knitting club along with some Weitzenbrötchen and I was selfish...only bringing one loaf instead of both.  At the end of knitting club there was only one lonely roll and slice of bread!  And the next knitting club is going to be sourdough baking club as I've been asked to share my knowledge.

I really like this recipe because it is so simple.  Started my levain the night before and built to 250 grams, it actually passed the float test.....wow...it really works!

Lucy loves her science.  We were watching a show on the Science Channel where noted physicists were predicting their favorite way of how the earth could be destroyed – a lovely topic if there ever was one ....and sure to make one as comfy as could be.

 This is the second loaf I made last night after my Buttermilk Porridge Bread.  I have to say, even though I didn't use a rye starter but rather my everyday AP starter this came out excellent.  You can really taste the Guinness and onions in this one.  The only thing I might change for next time is to add some caraway seeds.

I brought one of the loaves into my office and everyone seemed to love it and several people requested a loaf for themselves next time :).

If you are looking for a nice Jewish type rye than this one won't let you down.

I've been busy traveling for work this past month and have not had a lot of time for baking, but  finally I had a chance to bake again.

I used my usual procedure to make a porridge bread but decided to use buttermilk instead of milk or water in the porridge.  I also used some freshly ground durum flour, sprouted durum and some Harvest Grain Mix from KAF which includes whole oat berries, millet, rye flakes, and wheat flakes and four seeds (flax, poppy, sesame, and sunflower).  The end result is a tangy, hearty loaf with a wonderful moist crumb.

In this edition of what the heck can I do with a tub of dough, I decided to tackle the fabulous batard known as Ken’s Artisan Country Blonde.  In the first attempt early this week, I mixed 1000 grams of dough and came up with two ~500g batards.  As an aside, I am a believer in couche rather than banneton proofing whenever possible.  I was pretty happy with the results for a first time out, as evidenced by the first photos.  

About a month ago I wrote about my attempts to reproduce a Pane di Altamura that I tasted on a visit to Italy.  For the past few weeks I have been working on the formula and on my technique, and I’m happy to post my most recent results, which are much closer to the original look I was after.  I researched the techniques a bit more and found some information I had missed the first time around.  The key one was that I had not achieved sufficient gluten development. 

Today we are to lazy to cook so we shall have bread with butter and different spreads.

I made my everyday SD bread as per usual and also SD hybrid rolls.

They are so good.

They will be soft on the top but crisp on the bottom and light and fluffy on the inside.

Due to the crips bottom the rolls, that is light as a feather can carry a good weight of all kind of topping, from sweet to savoury.

The bread was made with

150g 80% hydration starter

400g warm water

400g wheat flour

200g wholewheat flour

    2Tbsp olive oil

I am on a countdown now from leaving  paid employ , for the last 10 years or so i have been with Challenger Institute of Technology which is a Government training organisation formally known as Tafe which stands Tertiary and Further Education.

I have had a number of rolls at Challenger being a Purchasing Officer, a stint with Hospitality Section as the technician and back at supply currently as a Contracts Administrator and auditor of credit card spending.