I’ve been away in Vancouver for 11 days and back to doing a locum this and the next 1.5 weeks so haven’t really had time to bake. But I carved some time out of my afternoon and evening to bake some Taiwanese Pineapple cakes for my second time. I’m made improvements on the last batch I made more than a year ago.
For those of you who are fans of emmer or spelt, the good news is that they make a great combination. This is another variation on a bread originally posted by tpassin. The dough is extremely easy to work with, and the flavor produced by the emmer and spelt was surprising and exceptional.
The evening before the day of mixing, I combined 60 g of starter, 80 g of emmer, 80 g of spelt, 160 g of bread flour, and 360 g of water. The emmer and spelt came from Barton Springs, and the bread flour is King Arthur. The preferment sat overnight at room temperature.
Making these cakes feels like taking an intensive crash course in baking. With so many techniques to learn, it can feel overwhelming at times, yet it’s incredibly gratifying to watch each cake take shape. The joy of creating something both cute and delicious, and imagining the smiles of the people who get to enjoy it, excites me. For someone who rarely has patience for tedious tasks, I find myself surprisingly enamored with the process.
Some bread made with high extraction flour and lievito madre.
Notes:
Intensely aromatic with malt scents and that sanfranciscensis sweet cheese aroma. Good oven spring (doubling of height).
whole wheat
Genovese
Advice needed for how to make Knodelbrot from the Alto Adige
SusanMcKennaGrant on 14 Sep 2025 at 06:34
I made a similar version of this last month that came out pretty well, so I wanted to try another version of it.
Last time I didn’t make enough dough to fill both of the new, smaller size square bannetons, so I increased the total dough weight by about 25% which ended up working pretty well.
I love the way the scald helps promote a soft, fluffy crumb. I used some fresh milled Danko Rye and King Arthur Baking 6 Grain Blend, which contains barley flakes, rolled oats, rye chops, malted wheat flakes, millet, and quinoa flakes for the scald.
Today's bake: Sourdough Bread-Prebiotic Leaven ~100%Whole Wheat
Source: CalBeachBaker
Notes: 3 loaves
2 @1250g, Pan Size: 7.88x4x4 In / 20x10.16x10.16 CM
1@ 2500g, Pan Size: 15.75x4x4 In / 40.01x10.16x10.16 CM)
Substitutions: None
I used the King Arthur recipe here. The Daisy flour I used tends to be wet and needs hydration cut back. I didn't do that and ended up adding more flour, which made the rolls drier than they should have been. Will correct that next time. All-in-all, they are pretty good. Had one with homemade corned beef the next day and my jaw got the workout I expected.
I started baking bread at home circa 2020. I watched a few John Kirkwood videos which made the whole process seem reasonably simple. Much to my surprise my first attempt yielded a bread superior in taste to anything I could buy from my local in-store supermarket bakery. I was instantly hooked. My main pursuit since has been the elusive “perfect baguette”.
