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Not-quite-Struan bread

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pmccool on 14 Aug 2006 at 11:21

It started simply enough.  I needed to make bread this weekend for sandwiches this week.  Since I hadn't gotten my starter out of the refrigerator and activated soon enough, it had to be a yeasted dough.  And there are so many formulas to try in BBA . . .

Sourdough Enlish Muffins

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pmccool on 5 Aug 2006 at 13:05

This weekend's baking exercise focused on sourdough Enlish muffins, using the recipe from King Arthurs Flour.  The taste is wonderful!  Even my 4-year old grandson polished his off and he is at a stage where he is developing some very strong opinions about what flavors are or aren't acceptable. 

Buckwheat berries

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Mini Oven on 27 Jul 2006 at 20:00
July 28, 2006 Found Buckwheat berries in the market. They are hulled, meaning I can crush them between a finger and fingernail. This ought to be fun, one more whole grain without gluten to experiment with. The locals mix and cook them with rice to enrich it. I will first wash and soak them and add to my Poolish. They are shaped like little hearts with three sides reminding me of Austrian Löffel Kraut, a sort of nutty herb that grows everywhere there, picked for salads and high in vit C.

Weekend Bake - New York Deli Rye from BBA

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pmccool on 23 Jul 2006 at 12:41
My wife purchased a copy of BBA as a birthday present some weeks back and I finally got around to using a formula from the book; in this case, the New York Deli Rye sandwich loaf. It is a definite keeper. I have been admonished to put a big star next to that particular formula. The bread is a wonderful base for a corned beef and swiss cheese sandwich, to start with. We'll keep experimenting and see what else works, too.

Wood fired brick oven....soon

Toast
longlivegoku on 18 Jul 2006 at 08:08
I have been on a quest for several months now to build a brick oven. I bought Alan Scott's book and also ordered some building CD's from a guy in Australia named Rado. While Alan's book was amazing (I will be re-reading it here soon) I ended up going with Rado's plans for what he calls a Masterly Tail oven. He gives amazingly detailed pictures of each step along with instructions for the mixtures needed. I think in all, I received 1000 photos of him building an MTO.

Blueberry Cream Cheese Braid

Toast
maggie664 on 15 Jul 2006 at 20:06
Have made this 3 times for my cafe and it sells rapidly. Blueberry and cream cheese combination is a new flavour combinatiion for New Zealanders. I drizzle a little lemon juice icing over the braid which adds to ita appeal. Thank you for the recipe as muffins are becoming passe

Sourdough with a SUPER wet starter

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JMonkey on 10 Jul 2006 at 21:10
A comment from Joe Fisher in this lesson I put together got me thinking about trying a really wet starter to see how it turned out. I usually make my sourdough with a 50% hydration starter (1 part water to 2 parts flour) which makes a really stiff starter. What if I reversed it? What if I had a starter at 200% (2 parts water to 1 part flour)? Well, I tried it.

Loaves, loaves everywhere!

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Joe Fisher on 3 Jul 2006 at 12:25
Boy was this a busy weekend! Had the day off today, so I spent part of it baking. First, the 'basic' sourdough recipe from The Bread Baker's Apprentice. Always a big winner. Photobucket - Video and Image Hosting Had a bit of a blowout on the boule ;) It probably could have used some more rising time before going into the oven. The oven spring was beautiful! Here's Pane Siciliano, also from TBBA. It's a wonderful recipe.

Oat Starter only

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Mini Oven on 30 Jun 2006 at 19:42
Submitted by Mini Oven on June 17, 2006 Taking a tip from SourdoLady and since I had a little orange juice (that I didn't mix with Campari) I tried mixing it with oat flour. I'm curious if it is any faster than the process I used for my wheat starter. Smells like breakfast (like the OJ got poured into the cereal). What do you think of "Breakfast in China?" Smell it once a day. It is three days old and maybe I'll add more orange and oats. I'm very patient and it helps to park it out of the kitchen. I refuse to "watch the pot." My other starter is on holiday... no name.
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