Hamelman's recipes are always a pleasure. From his liquid levain builds at 125% hydration making the best smelling preferments (must be the lactic acid as supposed to acetic acid), flour and add-in combos to the smell of the baking loaves it's hard to beat. The oven spring I get is most consistent and when I do any recipe of his it's sure to set my mood on high for the rest of the week. There's nothing like a satisfying bake.
Crumb shot on the way but until it cools here's another angle...
a satisfying bake :) Your loaf looks lovely Abe, you have good reason to be pleased!
Looking forward to the crumb shot.
Happy Baking
Ru
When that dough rises in the oven so does my mood.
I do love a Hamelman recipe too. I think a 125% hydration levain smells better and I'm sure that translates to the final baked loaf.
I'm resisting the urge to cut into till tomorrow. Sitting on my hands, typing with my nose :)
Cannot wait to see the crumb and now You've given me courage to use 125% levain. I'd always reconverted to 100% but your comment about the smell, has me thinking.
Nicely done.
hester
I've been thinking about taking other recipes and turning them into 125% hydration preferments. I believe it has something to do with high hydration encouraging lactic acid. The preferments don't rise much and just have lots of small bubbles with a froth on top but they sure do smell amazing.
idea. Going to try that w my next bake.
hester
Take into account the hydration of your starter and that when converting other recipes (Hamelman already takes this into account) that you'll need to adjust the water in the final dough to end up with the same hydration.
Let me know how it goes.
some water. My new technique is to add it in stages anyway. Like w Trevor Wilson loaf, I often do a mix of water and flour (but I always hold back some water) pop it in fridge overnight and the next day add the levain. After mixing it all together, I leave it for 10 - 15 minutes and go back and see if I need more water, etc. So I will try this next time.
Thanks so much for always experimenting and sharing your results.
I was just looking at that recipe yesterday and thinking I must try it. So many of his breads are really delicious and so far have worked well for me too. Did you use coarse semolina or a finer durum flour? Either way, the lovely yellow colour just makes it so yummy looking. I look forward to the crumb shot.
I ended up making his Golden Raisin bread instead - also yummy. :)
While Hamelman calls this a Semolina Bread the recipe calls for Durum Flour aka the finer stuff.
I use either durum flour or when I can't get hold of any then fine semolina (there are grades to a semolina grind too). If I have to use fine semolina then a drop in hydration is sometimes necessary.
The flour I used was a pasta flour by Doves Farm which is a mix of wheat and durum flour and it's a "00" grind which makes it the finer durum flour. The recipe does call for a mix of flours anyway. So while I'm not sure of the exact percentage mix in the flour I used the yellow colour from the durum flour was still very strong so must be in a high percentage.
Golden Raisin Bread? Thanks for that I must try it.
funny, I looked the recipe up the other day before your bake and thought I really should try some more of his recipes! trouble is there are so many wonderful breads shown here, my list of want to bake keeps growing!
Another great bake Abe, love the scoring - looking forward to the crumb
Leslie
Hamelman's recipes never disappoint. You love the Swiss Farmhouse bread like I do and I've never baked a Hamelman recipe which I didn't like.
Tried some late last night and while the crumb is not very open that is not a downer for me. It's soft and delicious. The toasted sesame seeds add a lot of flavour too. It's funny how sometimes the height of the oven spring doesn't always mean a very open crumb.
I'll post a crumb shot later when I get home.
He and Peter Reinhart are my favorites must be the good German stock.
You bread came out great and it has to taste just as good.
Since I have a to[and bottom stone and the light for the oven is on the top I can't see the bread rise and that DO is tough to see through but i love the surprise when the door opens or the lid comes off. How can it not make your day when the loaf has sprung and bloomed well? it puts a smile on Lucy's face too.
Happy baking Abe
It's going down a treat. You know I've never tried a Peter Reinhart recipe and if he's up there with Hamleman perhaps that should be my next bake. Any recommendations?
I can imagine Lucy waiting by the oven anticipating the oven spring.
Really nice bake. I've been wanting to bake this bread, but haven't been sure about the grind. I'm glad that's been addressed here. My love for Hamelman also knows no bounds. It's not just the recipes, either. It's how comprehensive, well written, and easy to follow it is. It's a rare combination of skill and artistry.
Agreed! It's everything about his method. Always an enjoyable bake. You want the remilled semolina aka semola rimacinata aka durum flour. If difficult to find then fine semolina will be the next best thing. It's delicious and hope you get to try it soon.