Blog posts

So I think I finally figured out how this thing works... well, well enough to put up some pictures and some text around them-- this is how my 66% hydration (3 1/3 cups of bread flour and 2 1/3 cups of water?) came out.

The fork is to show how runny the dough-batter is.  I kneaded for about an hour-- though i could have stopped after 45 minutes, and I think this is what I ended up with (I took the pictures a while ago so I'm not really sure)

So you want that thin crust that shatters when you cut/bite into it...  You also want your loaf to spring fully.  You've tried all of those other steaming methods, spray bottle, cast iron steam pan, crazy contraptions to get and keep steam in the oven...  I suggest you take a trip down to your hardware or home store and get a bag of lava rocks.  I got mine in Brooklyn for $5.34 including tax.  People in Manhattan don't know what they are...

I've been trying a couple of things: increasing sourness (based on what I've learned from Debra Wink, and other online references, varying hydration; and feeding portions of my favorite starter different flours, and developing it at different temperatures (part of the sourness investigation.). I've been doing these things one step at a time, so the results don't get clouded.

For the sourness experiments, along with Ms. Wink's super TFL postings, my other main source of information is:

The original blog post can be found on my website: http://www.foodbuzz.com/recipes/1765625-homemade-wheat-thins

Original blog post can be found on my website:
http://www.foodbuzz.com/recipes/1788878-homemade-whole-wheat-pasta

Tuesday, January 19, 2010
Homemade Whole Wheat Pasta

The original post can be found on my blog: http://www.foodbuzz.com/recipes/1765649-homemade-baguettes-and-rolls-

My attempt of french dimpled rolls last night , I would say turn out ok.  But I felt that I had to proof longer,  this is one thing I can't seem to get it right. The dough is a little dense, or is the roll suppose to be like that??

I went into a bakery to buy their rolls just to compare,  there's lots more holes,  the rolls felt much lighter.  As for the taste,  it was a little more salty than what I normally like,  I'd probably reduce it.  

For more details,  see attached.  

Now, before finding TFL I thought I knew a lot about bread baking, not so when you consider artisan style breads and sourdough starter.  I am a food storage fanatic, have 4 children and haven't bought bread for probably5-6 years.  Other than the occasional loaf during tax season (I am a cpa).  So, this is the recipe that I use.  I buy my white wheat from Montana Milling (high protien content) and grind it in my ultramill wheat grinder.  Now, I am sure you could just buy wheat flour at the store, provided it has a good high protien content.  Even though I feel I