Teresa Greenway blows my mind. The lady is a gifted baker that continually conducts hands on experiments.When she publishes her findings you can be sure that they come from actual testing. Did I say, "she blows my mind"?
If a blistered crust is desired see this LINK.
Up until now I primarily used retardation and water spritzing. She shows me an even better way!
Danny
interesting link.
hester
I have painted the dough before, but never saw a half painted, half not painted comparison before.
Thanks for the link to that video. I watched it and then checked out her website and she's having a Memorial Day sale on the course that video is from: $12 for the course instead of $100. I bought it just for the section on whole wheat sourdough (there aren't that many resources out there for 100% whole wheat baking.)
Jess, if you like sour tasting sourdough, her course on San Francisco Sourdough is outstanding. Her method is unique and often not easily accomplished, but the results are outstanding. The flavor is better (IMO) by far than any other SFSD that I have tried. And I have tried a bunch. Keep in mind that sour flavor is subjective, but for it rules...
I haven’t taken her 100% SD, but I expect it will be informative.
Dan
Oh! Her SFSD uses all white flour. If I remember right, you like 100% WW.
Yes, I bought this course just because it has a 100% whole wheat bread in it.
I'm just looking for any videos of people handling, developing, and shaping 100% whole wheat doughs. My doughs are...lets just say erratic. Unreliable. inconsistent, temperamental, and even downright fickle.
Sometimes my bakes are good. Sometimes damn good. Often, sadly, they're just mysterious, with changes in dough texture that I don't know how to interpret, leading to changes in final bake texture that are usually (although not always) not good.
Truth be told I don't even currently have a sourdough culture, unless you count the scary jar of very alcoholic-smelling apple water sitting mournfully unused on my kitchen cupboard shelf. Not a sourdough, in other words. An unproven apple yeast water.
I don't, frankly, care much about details of bread flavor at this point. Sour, not sour, very sour, ... don't really care....
I'm trying to understand dough behavior. Learning to bake 100% fresh-milled whole wheat bread (of any type) from the internet and from books alone is proving to be quite a challenge. I keep trying to simplify and find a recipe that I can consistently make well, so that I know what a well-made dough looks and handles like. So far, it's not happening.
It's all fun, and all edible, but I'm wishing there were more whole wheat resources out there on the interwebz. I have the Peter Rinehart whole grain book and the Laurel's Kitchen bread book. The LK recipes (usually) come out a little better for me, but the lack of photos makes it hard for me to use. The Rinehart book....I don't know what it is but this book has not worked well for me.
At this point I don't know if my problems are coming from the flour I'm using, or the way I'm handling it. Maybe I should try using a commercial flour and see what happens.
Jess, Laurel’s “Loaf for learning” is a standard, in my opinion. That particular bread is rudimentary and basic. And because of that it is perfect for learning to bake 100% whole wheat. 100% WW is not an easy task, even for experienced bakers. You have chosen the deep end of the pool :-D. I whole heartedly recommend you bake that bread (or some other basic WW bread) as many times as necessary, until you have it nailed down. After that you will be better equipped to venture out to other breads and variations. I realize I am repeating myself, but it bears repeating.
Peter Reinhardt is geared to more advanced bakers. His books are outstanding, but I’d save him until you become proficient with the basics.
The quickest way to learn is to start out with one particular bread and bake that bread as many time as necessary to become confident in the results.
If this sounds like something you want to do, why not start a post devoted to a single basic bread. Whatever bread you choose, intend to stick with it. Post images and document each bake on that single post. Pictures are important. Let us know about any problems and successes. I am confident that many skilled bakers will reply to your post with observations and suggestions.
You are obviously very tenacious, and success is closer than you might think.
We are here to help and excited to see you succeed.
HTH,
Danny
Danny, thank you so much. I found your supportive comments very touching, and I truly appreciate it. You made my day.
I'm not sure I have the self discipline to make only one bread for weeks, but I can certainly commit to making the same bread once or twice a week, and being diligent about documenting that bread here on TFL.
I'm trying to think about the best way to do what your suggesting. I could make a blog post with the formula, and then make a forum post with a link to the blog. Then I could reply to the forum post with notes and images of subsequent bakes. Does that seem like the right way to go?
The only problem posting to a blog is that your post will not come up in either of the top left and right columns on the home page. But either way will be fine.
Take a look at some of our past Community Bakes to get ideas for documenting and photographing. It is information overload, but you may enjoy browsing.
Danny
Oh! It would be easier if you start of with commercial yeast. Instant dry yeast is the popular choice.
I kind of want to do the blog post, but I will refer to it in the forum. Hopefully that will work ok. I have been following Maurizio's Oat Porridge community bake with interest. I even make a few loaves of the Laurel's Kitchen porridge loaf, but I didn't post them because it's a different bread and it uses commercial yeast.
I took her course on Advanced Sourdough experiments a couple of years ago. It was very fun, with things like boiled bread (a la bagels, but a whole loaf!).