First Bake, 2lb Country Loaf!

CigarSmokinEgger

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

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

CigarSmokinEgger

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

Mark

BENTE

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) 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

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

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

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

Looks great, like the blistered crust.

Gerhard

caliking

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

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