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Wow. I haven't milled anything since fall 2020. The pandemic, moving during the pandemic, and life's hassles.

Milling is currently a 2 step process for me:

1. Crack the grain in a hand-crank 3-roller Shule brand mill. 
2. Run the cracked grain through a Vitamix blender for 30 seconds.

If I don't crack the grain first, the grain scratches and clouds the plastic container, takes longer to grind, and heats up more.

Jan. 24, 2022.  82nd bake.

Denisa's rye, take 2.  First bake for the Rye Community bake.

Her formula here:
https://www.thefreshloaf.com/node/67054/100-whole-grain-rye-sourdough-bread

My previous bake of it here:
https://www.thefreshloaf.com/node/69634/78th-bake-01062022-100-rye

The goal is to divide her formula by 3 and make one loaf of about 835 g.

What can you do with brioche breads? Transform them into amazing desserts.

Last month I shared a bostock (brioche with an orange zest frangipane)

This month I share a dessert my wife remembered enjoying many times in her younger days with her sister in Japan. It's simple but the process transforms the brioche into something completely different. She had no name for this. If anyone does, let me know.

INGREDIENTS

Recently I posted about baking the Borodinsky 1940 bread.  This bake is the Borodinsky Supreme based on the recipe in a TFL post from February 2014.

I have been struggling with crumpets for a while. I've tried several recipes and always ended up with blind crumpets (no holes).

So I gave up for a while but not liking to be beaten, I decided to have another go. This time I tried Andy's (Ananda) TFL recipe from way back.

To my surprise I had success! Nice tasty crumpets with open holes, crispy exterior and good flavour. One thing that stands out with Andy's recipe is the large amount of yeast used - 6%! But it does seem to work.

Inspiration

My wife saw Yippee's stunning kouglof and she asked me to bake one. 

https://www.thefreshloaf.com/node/69728/20220117-le-cordon-bleu-lemony-kouglof-clas

Having no experience with this kind of bread, I chose a simpler instant-yeast-based version to see if I could pull it off.

Modifications

I modifed the recipe as follows

[UPDATE]

#1 Rugbrod by Jennifer Lapidus from Southern Ground

Reproducibility, my Chemist husbands says,  is the key to a fine bake. This is definitely a winner. Did exactly what worked for the loaf I posted yesterday and darn if it didn’t work perfectly again! Who da thought ?? 

The loaf actually sang as it slid out of the pan. Fragrance is intoxicating. Serving it for my Chef son’s 47th birthday today!! Pictures later. Next up a German apple cake . c

I have a bucket of buckwheat groats that’s been sitting around for a bit. Time to use some up. 

Recipe

Makes 3 loaves 

Porridge 

150 g buckwheat groats

400 g water

50 g honey

50 g butter

Dough

700 g strong bakers unbleached flour

200 g freshly milled whole grain Red Fife flour (200 g Red Fife berries)

100 g freshly milled whole grain Einkorn flour (100 g Einkorn berries)

675 g water

23 g salt

30 g yogurt

I’ve been gradually making adjustments to my formula and in this case I’ve increased the hydration via increasing the proportion of flour in the tangzhong from 5% to 7.5% keeping the ratio of flour to milk in this tangzhong to 1:5. The resulting dough is a bit stickier to work with, however, I’m hoping that the crumb will be even more soft and tender yet still shreddable.  You probably have noticed that I love black sesame seeds so that was always going to be a good inclusion for this bread.