Blog posts

cheese culture sourdough bread experiments

Toast

i only found one online mention of something similar 

here http://www.thefreshloaf.com/node/28972/cheese-starter-culture-sourdough-starter

 

but i decided to try and redo/re-approach my experiments that i tried before.

maybe a year ago, i started trying to add cheese cultures to yeast biga and let them sit a while and keep feeding it; (also, with tribasic calcium phosphate Ca3(PO4)2, just in case it helped)

Sandwich Bread

Profile picture for user Phoebe23bake

Had been attempting sandwich bread since before Christmas- constant fails. After lots of research and questions, finally figured out I’d been doing 2 things wrong- underkneading and overproofing. That, and the crappy yeast packets from the grocery store were the culprits. Use only Saf-Instant yeast now and couldn’t be happier. This morning, I made the honey wheat loaves from Allrecipes. I usually do 1 loaf recipes, but this had 2.

Kalamata & Green Olive levain baguettes

Profile picture for user alfanso

Yes, I've posted this before, but this is a slight mod.  2 changes from my past excursions.  This is a first time combining two distinct olives into one bread.  Okay, minor news.  More importantly, since enduring my Martin Philip Classic Baguette w/IDY marathon, I've changed out the timing on divide and shape.  

Loaf 6: toasted sunflower seeds, 100% Ruchmehl

Profile picture for user froydel

Been getting my head round sourdough and this is probably my most successful loaf yet! Can't remember where I read it, but distinguishing dough that has come to the end of its bulk as "whipped cream", vs "just cream" at the start, has made a big difference to aeration. I'm also practicing my slap and folds.

Here in Switzerland we have some great flours. My German and my French is pretty poor. I've stopped trying to follow English recipes stringently and just go by feel instead. This is 100% Ruchmehl, which I think is a whole grain flour. Either way it tastes lovely.

My first baguettes

Profile picture for user Benito

So after much prodding from certain people, you know who you are, I finally tried making baguettes.  I decided to try to keep it as simple as possible and just try an IDY recipe.  I had a look at Peter Reinhart’s recipe and decided to have a go at that.  It didn’t require a poolish nor levain, just IDY.

trials with aluminum vs cast iron

Profile picture for user ifs201

I have been baking at my parents' home where I have access to one Le Creuset DO and one vintage aluminum DO. Bake after bake, the loaf baked in the aluminum DO has inferior rise and oven spring. Heat retention really does make a difference (at least that's what I have been finding). Both of these loaves are 50% whole grain and followed the exact same fermentation process, but the loaf on the right has superior spring. 

First time making a Japanese hokkaido milk loaf

Toast

As a very part time home baker that's got into it more during lockdown, like many, and due to no dried yeast anywhere, I have dabbled with sourdoughs etc.

However having read up on many posts I was fascinated by the Pullman pan and its history and the way it makes a loaf look. Then watched a video of a Japanese Hokkaido loaf being made and I had to have a go.

I must say I was so happy with the outcome, it was soft and pillowy (is that a word?), tasted great and looked just like I hoped it would.