Blog posts

I've been wanting to try milling some dried corn into flour for some time and finally found some on Amazon a little while ago.  For this bake I used around 17% fresh corn flour so it didn't really add much purple color as I had hoped, but it smelled amazing after milling and did add a nice subtle corn flavor to the bake.

I had some leftover rice so I added some into the mix along with some ricotta cheese to make a nice soft and flavorful dough.  This one smelled like you could eat it before even baking it!

Made last weekend for the current community bake.

Coated with white and black sesame seeds.. 

When I saw the other day Leslie's beautiful seeded loaf based on Ru's formula I felt inspired and dived into my books and online and on this site to look at different formulas..as it was time for my weekly 4 loaves bake for friends.

As baguettes (long batards),of course.  Covered by wheat bran.

Edit 5/18/2019 - And a second run with my adjusted formula to make sure that I understood the process, and because it's a darn tasty bread!  Changes applied:

When I began making bread a few years ago it was with a determination to bake nutritious and wholesome bread. What I did not fully understand or appreciate is the broad scope and variety, the many variables affecting the process, the simple and complex beauty of a well baked loaf of bread. And when I think of the countless varations of bread baked over thousands of years it is humbling to realize that each loaf I bake has very likely been baked before by someone else at another time. This was eloquently expressed in a blog comment by Andy (Syd-a) some years ago on TFL:

I followed most instructions of Maurizio with a few minor changes:

1. Using extra thick rolled oats instead of regular oats. Yes, Maurizio emphasized on using regular oats but I always use what I have on hand. Why didn’t I coarsely pulse them in my food processor? Well, who wants to dirt it up for 60 g of oats? Not me... Therefore, I upped the water for the porridge slightly.

2. Adding cold porridge to the dough. I made the porridge ahead of time and refrigerated it. The trouble of letting it warm to room temperature was just too much for me.

I adjusted my sourdough starter to 80% hydration rate.  How do I adjust a recipe calling for 100% starter to an 80% hydration recipe or do I need to adjust?  Hope this question makes sense to anyone?

Thanks,

i wanted this bake to be in my blog as well. Please check out the write ups in the post that Danny started. It’s amazing how one formula can be so versatile. The information given to the bakers is so helpful. 

There are more pics and a full description of my process in the Community Bake.

Sourdough Bread: April 30, 2019

David Snyder

This is basically the same bread I baked on March 22, 2019. The only change was to substitute spelt for the rye and some of the all purpose flour in the final dough.

I have been trying different grain blends and anticipate continuing this line of experiments for a while. All the breads have been among my favorites. The long cold retardation really enhances the acid content without resulting in too much gluten breakdown, at least with these flours and this hydration level.

I regretted Toad.d.b since the moment it chose me (I will never confess that I chose it for my TFL username).  Having had a nano-epiphany while composing a post here a few days back, I've gone 'n done it: changed my TFL username to Our Crumb.  And I've adopted an avatar with some ancient family food history.

There.  Done.

dab, you'll have to call them crumbies now.  Or crumbles.  Or . . .

Happy Baking,

Tom