Blog posts

To learn more about concentrated lactic acid sourdough (CLAS), please see here and here. 

Hey Fresh Loafers! Apparently this is my first blog post in 10 years! Wow, there have been lots of changes in the amateur artisan bread world. I haven't gone anywhere. I've been baking on and off, in the midst of a busy career and family life, but nothing I felt compelled to post apparently.

Like lots of other folks, I've been spending more time at home during the coronavirus epidemic. I'm so grateful to have a job that lets me work from home and a supportive family.

These beautifully aromatic loaves were baked with the intention of incorporating flax seeds into my daily diet. This, in hopes of regulating my menses with "seed support cycling"; incorporating flax seeds, pumpkin seeds, sunflower seeds, and sesame seeds into my diet eating the corresponding seed to my cycle progression, should iron out some issues that I've been having.

Medium Vienna Dough for Soft Rolls

This formula is from

 “Inside the Jewish Bakery,” by Stanley Ginsberg and Norman Berg

 As Interpreted by David M. Snyder

May, 2020

I had 50% WW flour to use, and having enjoyed my last bake with Modernist Cuisine's "French Lean Bread" recipe, I thought I'd just try adapting that. A little Googling turned up this article [www.crumblycookie.net] which discussed P. Reinhart's Whole Grains method of two overnight soaks – half the flour with yeast, half with salt.

Has anyone had this happen?

Because flour has become difficult to find, I purchased a bag of supermarket brand white flour, rather than my usual King Arthur brand (couldn't find it anywhere!).  When I tried to use the cheap flour to feed my sourdough starter...it didn't work!  After several days of this feeding and the starter not rising, I was able to get some King Arthur brand and it worked just fine.

Can anyone explain what happened?

Almost forgot how to make em.  A little sloppy but the house smell fantastic ! 

It is a said that much of what we learn in fly fishing, is history we haven't read and I think that applies to baking bread as well. Lance AKA Albacore clued me into the use of fava bean flour in french baguettes and in my reading of the archives of TFL I have found mention of it's use by members of the Baguette Brigade Alfanso, KenDalm and also Abelbreadgallery.

Good evening,

After weeks of European-style baking, we were missing some much-loved Tang Zhong, that my son particularly likes to indulge in.  I searched the Forum and Voilà!, I found a recipe posted by Floyd a few years back:

http://www.thefreshloaf.com/node/32997/hokkaido-milk-bread-tangzhong

Floyd's recipe describes the process with turn-by-turn instructions and it was a straightforward process.  A few comments from my side:

New oven and equipment salvaged from the baking cocoon.  Will try and treat this guy with some love - so will start with croissants.  Dough mixing begins tonight ;)