First Bake, 2lb Country Loaf!

CigarSmokinEgger · January 29

I've been baking bread for quite some time and recently jumped back in after my starter died a while back and since becoming a new egg owner. I had to hack my lodge pans a bit to fit the medium egg but who needs clunky handles anyway :)

Using the great book by Chad Robertson, 'Tartine', I cultured a new starter last week and fired off my first loaf over the weekend to great success. I wanted to try it out on the egg, so after storing away in the fridge overnight, I did the first loaf in the egg and the second in the oven. I need to make a few adjustments for the egg, but it turned out good and is cheaper and much better than anything you can buy!

Just for reference, these are 1kg 75% hydration, 2.25% salt, 10% wheat country loafs made using a natural leavener.

Mark

henapple · January 29

Cigar...looks tasty. Been smoking any good ones?

CigarSmokinEgger · January 29

Thanks Sir! Had a Rocky Patel Java Mint while the first loaf baked off this morning, getting ready for a Sungrown :)

Mark

BENTE · January 29

wow those looks great. i made some hoagie rolls this past weekend but i did them in the oven so i did not take pictures. welcome to the forum. you will find there are severqal "bread masters" around here i am NOT one of them i dont have enough practice with it i have only been doing it about a year total and that's counting taking the last couple years off due to low attendence at the house (divorce) :D oh well i'm getting back into it i tried earlier this year making a sourdough starter. with complete failure. oh well i will try again. once again your loaves look great!!

Botch · January 30

Welcome, and Thank You! I haven't seen a lot of bread bakers on this forum; I like playing with pizzas and an honest-to-goodness baker will be great to bounce ideas off of.

CigarSmokinEgger · January 30

TB, thanks on both counts! I'll have to search out some of those experts and see what I can learn, really love digging into this site and doing a lot of reading.

And thanks Botch! I'm by no means an expert but I've been able to achieve results that make me happy :) I quit buying pizza once I could nail my own dough and it's been on ever since. All started when I took my wife to Paris a few years back and wanted a real French baguette and discovered I'd have to make my own if I wanted the real deal, from there, it was a quick leap to French macarons, various pastry then onto the savory stuff! I'll be more than happy to help where I can. I got a ton of information from pizzamaking.com, the book I mentioned, Tartine and anytihng from Peter Reinhart.

Mark

Black_Badger · January 30

Hey @ CigarSmokinEgger those look fantastic, very well done. Welcome aboard and thanks for sharing.

Do you have access to a good sourdough starter now?

Cheers -

B_B

gerhardk · January 30

Looks great, like the blistered crust.

Gerhard

caliking · January 30

Those loaves look fantastic! We have a plethora of Vietnamese bakeries in Houston who make good baguettes. Just got Peter Reinhart's American Pie and am learning a lot, but I'm new to pizza and baking. Great to see your bread.

CigarSmokinEgger · January 31

Thanks again y'all, appreicate the comments and the welcome aboard! Caliking, I know Houston pretty well, used to do a lot of business there, so I know what you mean, there's some great food in that town!

Black_Badger said:

Hey @ CigarSmokinEgger those look fantastic, very well done. Welcome aboard and thanks for sharing.

Do you have access to a good sourdough starter now?

Cheers -
B_B

B_B, The starter I'm currently using, I cultivated myself using the guide in the book Tartine. Take a small clear bowl and fill it half way with water. Using your hands, mix in enough flour (50/50 bread/wheat) to make a thick batter. Cover with kitchen towel for 2-3 days. When it smells like a funnky ripe French cheese, it's ready to use. Stir thoroughly, then portion 20g (discard rest) into a fresh bowl, add 100g water and stir to mix, add 100 flour mix and stir, then cap with a lid. Feed (portioning off 20g, discarding rest then adding 100g water and 100g flour) every 24 hours until the rsie and fall is predictible.

I need to order an Ishia starter so I can start making pizza again, but I'll use the starter I have currently since I'm in a pinch to make the pizza doughs today for Superbowl Sunday!

Mark

Howdy, Stranger!

Forums

First Bake, 2lb Country Loaf!

Comments