I couldn't resist posting today's bake for a couple of reasons. The first being that this formula has won lots of praise from those for whom I currently bake. The second reason stems from the fact that it is a result of good old tweaking. It was inspired by a recent post of hanseata's.
I generally follow a new formula pretty closely when I first bake it but, depending on how the loaf turns out, subsequent bakes find me tweaking away a bit here and a bit there. I have always found Karin's breads to be excellent and her Pumpkin Whey Bread was no exception but this loaf has ended up with its own section in one of my bread binders- right next to its original format.
At the same time of Karin's post several other people blogged about breads using similar ingredients and so those found their way into my new formula along with ideas out of my Flavor Bible.
The end result being a bread containing:
sweet potatoes
maple syrup
and
toasted pecans
No crumb shot since this loaf and the others all were given to other households. Reports were of a nice soft moist crumb full of flavor.
Before finding TFL I never would have tried altering a recipe to such a degree. Now I never know if a formula will stay in its original form in my records or if it will lead me to something totally unexpected. This loaf was one of the latter and the adventure was quite fun.
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Oh, this has to taste fabulous! it is made by you, and it contains delicious well paired ingredients. Did you use whole grain flour in this?
Mm.. this bread must be extremely delightful toasted with some butter. Well done, Janet!!
-Khalid
Hi Khalid,
Thank you for your high praise which I do not deserve and I blush….
Yes, it is all with freshly milled whole wheat - spring white whole wheat which has a bit milder flavor than red whole wheat. (I edited the title to reflect this. Thanks for asking the question.)
Take Care,
Janet
boules of all time with ingredients that just scream fall harvest and Thanksgiving too! It has to taste great! One of those great bakes Janet that deserves its own binder if you ask me. Well done and happy baking.
Hi Mr. D,
My husband would kill me if each of my formulas had its own binder :O The ones I have already fill one small bookshelf :)
You are very right about the ingredients. All inspired by the season which is one of the fun things about baking. My loaves change throughout the year.
Thank you for your kind comment.
Take Care,
Janet
YUM! That looks/sounds amazing.
Thank you Floyd. The 'looks' are attributed to people here (Phil in particular) who have encouraged me to turn up the heat while baking. :)
Janet
Really beautiful and I wish we coulda seen the crumb. Crust looks good enough to eat alone. And nice spring in the oven.
Nice bake
Josh
Thanks for the kind words Josh. Spring was a bit taller than I expected so I probably could have proved this loaf a bit longer. Hard to know when the 'perfect' moment is.
Janet
You hit it at the perfect moment. But I do feel the crumb tells more but thats not available so lets just judge this book by its cover. Perfect.
Nice Bake,
Josh
Sounds good to me :)
Brilliant Janet! This one is getting bookmarked. You've hit on one of those combinations that are hard to come up with until you do, and then it makes perfect sense! Thanks for sharing.
Marcus
HI Marcus,
Thank you for your generous comments Marcus. Almost everything I know about baking bread I have learned here from bakers such as yourself.
Janet
And pretty to look at, too!
Paul
Hi Paul,
The Flavor Bible has become a good source for how to blend spices etc. in bread. Simple and straight forward. My kind of book!
Thank you for your comment!
Janet
What more can I say?
Pat
Waiting to see some of your pretzels and the arm muscles that result from your workout with the dough :)
Janet
Looks great and sounds perfect for this time of year.
It was indeed inspired by the time of year and Karin's post :)
Thanks for your comment.
Janet
and I love the "hat." Glad you posted. -Varda
Hi Varda,
The 'hat' has become my favorite scoring for boules. Trick is getting it in the right spot so it doesn't pop off. This one was scored a bit high and the loaf a bit under proved.
Janet
Beautiful loaf Janet...Can you share your formula? It sounds like the loaf I baked a few weeks ago but mine was a bit too high hydration and flat while yours is nice and round and "well figured".
Regards,
Ian
Hi Ian,
Glad you chimed in here. I was thinking you were one of the people who inspired this loaf but I couldn't remember. I knew it all started with Karin's post followed by several other posters at the time so now my mystery has been solved :)
Formula:
Flour: 100% (15% used in leaven)
Milk: 60%
Yeast Water: 10% (used in leaven builds)
Salt: 2.4%
Butter: 5%
Maple Syrup: 5%
Penzey's Baking Spices: 1.4%
Canned Sweet Potato Puree: 40%
Pecans: 10%
IY: .2% (Due to cinnamon in the spice mix which slows down fermentation)
I mixed as I usually do in the evening. Dough sat out for a couple of hours and then I put it into the refrigerator overnight. In the morning it had 2-3 more hours to ferment at room temp. before shaping and proving and baking.
I left the dough softish in the evening. What I would describe as medium firm. Like a sandwich loaf of Peter Reinhar's.
I used my freshly ground whole grains so they absorb more moisture as they sit over night giving me a nice supple dough in the morning.
Hope this helps with your next attempt.
Take Care,
Janet
Thanks Janet. I'm thinking of converting my recipe over to make rolls for Thanksgiving with a couple of twists and will use yours to combine with mine.
Regards,
Ian
Your are more than welcome Ian.
I think the ingredients will make a great roll for your Thanksgiving meal.
Take Care,
Janet
Just fantastic Janet,
cheers,
Phil
Hi Phil,
Thanks for your praise. I get to bounce it back onto you though as you are one of the ones inspiring me to bake hot!
I have been a people have indeed liked the results.
Take Care,
Janet
I thought for sure this formula had YW in it!
Thanks for pointing out my omission. I just went back and edited. A comment here though about the outcome. If I had not included the YW the rise etc would have been the same. (Note that I did include IY at ,2% due to the cinnamon.)
I use the YW primarily to keep my leaven on the sweet side. It gives me more wiggle room when my timing gets interrupted. The long overnight bulk fermentation with my freshly ground grains creates high loaves all on its own too.
Take Care,
Janet
We are going to try to come close to your perfect loaf. Beautiful! Hope we get something even half as spectacular. Great baking, Janet.
Diane
Hi Diane,
Thank you for your high praise. I look forward to seeing your end results.
What a fun process this has been - all starting with Karin's Pumpkin Whey post…they Ian's loaf that gave me the idea of the pecans and maple syrup. I can't wait to see what you and your sisters add to the list :)
Have Fun, (I know I don't have to tell you that because I know you always have fun with your baking!)
Janet