A follow up on a sweet stiff leavain bread after the first attempt produced a decent loaf but with large mysterious cavities in the crumb. For comparison I used my usual country bread recipe and did a second control version with the normal levain minus the sugar. Both doughs got the same autolyse and coil folds and a 4 1/2 hour bulk ferment.
There are pictures in this thread of the YW and levains
https://www.thefreshloaf.com/node/70160/yw-challah#comment-505885
The crumb is very much like the Hokkaido bread!!! Wow that 10 min intensive mix really worked. So tender and light and so fragrant. Amazing bread
Here is the video I made recently to show the steps involved in making my 100% whole wheat sourdough Hokkaido milk bread.
Please enjoy.
You might enjoy reading the article I wrote for Breadtopia Whole Wheat Sourdough Hokkaido Milk Bread
Benny
This is the video I just created to show how I’m currently shaping and scoring my baguettes. There are so many different ways to do this and I don’t pretend to be a master of any of them. I am using the technique that Scott Megee shows in his video and this is only my second time using it. I am quite pleased with the quality of the baguettes I made using this shaping method.
Hope you enjoy the video.
Benny
I've been using a LeCreuset Dutch Oven for most of my baking, but I really wanted to make some sandwich bread. I have a few glass pans but figured with the popularity of shokupan (Japanese white bread baked in Pullman style pans) that it was time to invest in a pan and give it a try.
I settled on this pan made by Majimaya Baking Supply in Tokyo. They do a lot of metal production for baking. I hope to visit the retail shop one day. Ordering online was not a problem and soon enough I had a 1.5斤 pan, which of course let me down a rabbit hole of actually how to use such a thing.
As a home baker in Japan there are quite a few constraints that can make baking more challenging than baking in a full western kitchen. With a bit of effort and improvisation good bread is still quite achievable.
Let's start with fermentation. For the first few years I've used a digital temperature controller connected to a kotatsu (traditional heated table) to maintain a somewhat consistent temperature for doing bulk fermentation or growing sourdough starter. And it worked...surprisingly well.
This blog post is used as an index to the bakes I've done and posted here for quick reference in the future
I’m continuing to explore the uses for the stiff sweet levain and today’s bake is my first use of it in a baguette. So I made adjustments to the Yorkville Sourdough Baguette recipe (the original recipe is posted here Poppyseed Crusted Yorkville Sourdough Baguettes – Breadtopia)
A few days ago, @pul posted some lovely pics of creamy, yellow semola loaves that reminded me of the community bake of a year or so ago and my good results from that exploration. ...which got me ruminating and scheming on following @pul's lead.
So down the rabbit hole of @dmsnyder's, @Franko's and @dabrownman's meanderings on Pane Tipo Altamura I dropped, deciding eventually to follow @pul's lead with a few modifications.
