Wild Yeast

NPHuskerFL

caliking

This was REALLY good!! Tangy, crusty, somewhat softer crumb than my usual SD. Tasted great with butter and a slather of homemade citrus vanilla marmalade. 

Great looking loaf! 
😁 Damn Social Distancing! This marmalade pairs well with sourdough.
@HuskerMaMa and I  made this from marmalade the last of last year's Meyer Lemons. 

Hoster05

These turned out great this morning.  Was hoping for a little more rise and fluffiness, but I’m not going to complain.  

SciAggie

Sometimes it just doesn’t work. This loaf seemed slack when I made it. The dough never strengthened through several folds. It slumped when I poured it onto the stone and slashed it. Didn’t get a good oven spring - I know the crumb will be dense. 

Same recipe I always use... Maybe “sometimes the dough wins”?

Meanwhile Blake is prepping another masterpiece... I’m still trying to make consistent loaves...

caliking

I wouldn't be so hard on yourself @SciAggie. Looks to me like you have a pretty good ear and some spring on that loaf. At least by my lower standards 


I've been jammin' for a year or two @NPHuskerFL, and its so worth it. A colleague give me some citrus fruits (grapefruit, Meyer lemons) every year and I've made some good marmalades and stuff out of it.

So far, I've made grapefruit, lemon pineapple, peach habanero bourbon, citrus vanilla marmalades and they've been awesome. Haven't bought jam/marmalade in about 2 years. 

blind99

@NPHuskerFL who knows, maybe someone reposted it already?! Or my wife has lost her mind with all this quarantine. Totally possible. Anyhow, butter on focaccia is a strange idea to me - it’s typically drowning in olive oil already.  Mmm I need to make some!

ive never made my own jam.  Maybe if farmers markets open this year I’ll give it a shot. 

@SciAggie I dunno, that loaf looks pretty good from here. We turned out a dud a few days ago, no idea why.... but it’s fine as croutons! 

SciAggie

@caliking @NPHuskerFL There is a slight difference in my workflow. I’m using AP flour to refresh my starter because I’m trying to stretch my bread flour as far as I can. So maybe the slight reduction in protein made the difference. 

Being hard headed I have another loaf in process right now. I reduced the % hydration to 72%. It felt more “normal” while I was kneading it. The folds look better so far as well. 

This last loaf actually has better crumb than I was expecting - and yeah, it tastes just fine. It won’t go to waste for sure. 

Don’t talk to me about jams and marmalade. @20stone and @The Cen-Tex Smoker are busy facilitating wallet genocide as I dip my toe in the charcuterie pool. I don’t need further distractions. 

caliking

SciAggie said:

@caliking @NPHuskerFL There is a slight difference in my workflow. I’m using AP flour to refresh my starter because I’m trying to stretch my bread flour as far as I can. So maybe the slight reduction in protein made the difference. 

Being hard headed I have another loaf in process right now. I reduced the % hydration to 72%. It felt more “normal” while I was kneading it. The folds look better so far as well. 

This last loaf actually has better crumb than I was expecting - and yeah, it tastes just fine. It won’t go to waste for sure. 

Don’t talk to me about jams and marmalade. @20stone and @The Cen-Tex Smoker are busy facilitating wallet genocide as I dip my toe in the charcuterie pool. I don’t need further distractions. 

 I'm well acquainted with the type of wallet genocide those two miscreants propagate, but just sayin' that fruit, sugar, and Mason jars are way cheaper Not to mention the time. 

But yes, it's yet another rabbit hole...

SciAggie

@caliking You ain’t helpin’ there bud - but of course you know that, lol
Full disclosure - I’ve been looking at pressure canners on Amazon. 

SciAggie

It’s nice to have choices. The temp probe in the oven in the house went out - so the oven can’t regulate temperature. It just heats to max, throws an error message and turns off. (Nice safety feature)
Problem is it makes the oven in the house useless.
I needed to bake bread this morning. So - on the egg at 500 degrees. The large held temp like a champ. 

Here’s the loaf:

I won’t kick about it. 

I’ll be baking cinnamon rolls in the morning. We’ll see how that goes. 

NPHuskerFL

Can't figure out how to post my video but, here's yesterday's sourdough loaf. I baked this in the MM on the fly... modified setup.  Basically I went PS legs down, my SS spacers and then a second PS legs down.  Couldn't find my pizza stone for the MM so the second PS worked in a pinch.  Second pic with homemade Meyer Lemon Marmalade.



.

NPHuskerFL

@SciAggie Great looking loaf Gary 🤙🏼

SciAggie

Killer all the way around. Really nice bloom on that loaf. I’m digging the lame too. Where did you find that?

NPHuskerFL

@SciAggie Thanks buddy! The lame is from a small business named WireMonkey and they make a quality product. The lame I'm using in this pic is called the "Nux" made from walnut with SS hardware.  Great blade control for more artistic scoring or just a simple ear score.

https://wiremonkey.com/

BGEinMaine

My chef brother got my wife and I into baking bread a few months ago and we finally made our own sourdough starter. First loaf  was a huge success! Looking forward to many more!

SciAggie

BGEinMaine said:

My chef brother got my wife and I into baking bread a few months ago and we finally made our own sourdough starter. First loaf  was a huge success! Looking forward to many more!

That’s a beautiful loaf! Glad you jumped on the bandwagon. 

NPHuskerFL

@BGEinMaine Fantastic Crumb! 👏🏼

SciAggie

I let this loaf bulk a little longer than normal. I also scored with just a plain razor held (firmly, lol) in my hand. It's been a long learning curve knowing when to declare victory when bulk proofing. I'm always afraid to go too far.

NPHuskerFL

Looks like you pushed the envelope just far enough on proofing. Beautiful loaf Gary 🌾🔥

SciAggie

@NPHuskerFL The part of bread making that makes me crazy is the bulk proof. It’s hard to know when it’s done. Don’t go far enough and the loaves don’t bloom. I have gone too far as well and the loaves just get too liquid and lose their structure. I guess that’s the fun part of baking - you never get done learning. 

I also waffle and can never decide if it’s better to go into the oven straight from the refrigerator when baking or let it sit out for an hour or so. I usually let it sit out for about 30 minutes but I’m not sure that’s best practice. 

NPHuskerFL

@SciAggie Gary I agree... I'm always learning and loving it. I figure when I'm done learning in life it's time to die 😜 
I definitely prefer baking my Sourdough Bread that's banneton proofed straight from the reach-in cooler (refrigerator).  If it's a sourdough in a loaf pan I'll do either a cold proof or an ambient as the results are negligible.

Just made a Milk-N-Buttuh Sourdough Loaf (my recipe on in the fly just using  a  Emile mental my Baker's Percentage) loaf pan Emile Henry loaf pan. This morning cut into Texas Toast thickness and @HuskerMaMa made us French Toast.

My recipe: ( used stuff we had on hand)
175g Levain
7g Instant Dry Yeast ▶rarely use this but, this was to be a "quick" loaf
150g Skim Milk (warm up in pan /not much more than 130F)
50g Unsalted Butter (Very Soft or Melted)
150g Water
420g Generic APF
100g Fresh Ground Farro
5g Fresh Ground Roasted Buckwheat
15g Kosher or  Unground Himalayan Salt (I used U.H.S.)

Process:
Mix with a spoon or fork milk, butter, water (less 20g), levain & yeast.  Allow about 10-15 minutes for everything to wake up. Add all of the flour and mix until all of flour is fully hydrated. Cover with a damp tea towel and leave it alone for about 45min.-1hr. 
Now add in the reserved 20g water and salt. Mix this into the matrix for about 7-10 minutes.  Cover with damp tea towel again for 45minutes.  Work dough 5 minutes.  Cover and allow it to nearly double in volume.  Punch it down and shape as you would for a batard and place into your greased and floured loaf pan. I used my Emile Henry loaf pan and greased with beef tallow and floured with a 50/50 mix of B.F. & Brown or White Rice Flour (LIGHTLY FLOUR).
Now wait until the dough rises and almost crests the loaf pan. Scored loaf right before baking.  Preheat egg or oven 500F.  I baked with the lid on my pan the first 25min.  Lowered temp to 450F ish and lid OFF 10-15min. (or until color where I liked it).

Hoster05

Not as pretty as @SciAggie but I had to give the recipe he posted a try

SciAggie

@Hoster05 Those look good to me. It looks like they rose really well. 

Hoster05

SciAggie said:

@Hoster05 Those look good to me. It looks like they rose really well. 

Thank you and thanks for the recipe post.  These were much more light and airy compared to my previous attempts.  Recipe bookmarked. 

NPHuskerFL

@Hoster05 Those cinnamon rolls are looking good to me. 

NPHuskerFL

This loaf was for Easter supper.
Basic White Sourdough (Milk) Loaf
5 Plait (Braid) ...let me know if anybody wants the recipe ingredients or process.

SciAggie

I’d love to hear how you do sourdough white bread...

NPHuskerFL

SciAggie said:

I’d love to hear how you do sourdough white bread...

For the last loaf posted or just in general Gary?

paqman

NPHuskerFL said:

SciAggie said:

I’d love to hear how you do sourdough white bread...

For the last loaf posted or just in general Gary?

I’m personally interested to hear about your general advice / best recipes.  Next on my list is white sandwich bread, maybe milk bread.

I can’t get ears like you get on yours and my lame skills suck but my rye bread is tasty like no other breads I’ve ever tasted and SWMBO agrees so that’s what important 😂

SciAggie

NPHuskerFL said:

SciAggie said:I

I’d love to hear how you do sourdough white bread...

For the last loaf posted or just in general Gary?

Just in general. My wife likes soft, square, thin sliced sandwich bread. Like Mrs. Baird’s. 

paqman

I jumped in the english muffins bandwagon 🤷‍♂️

12 English muffins

(80-85 grams per muffin)

500 grams all purpose flour

350 grams cold milk from the fridge (or water)

15 grams softened butter

100 grams sourdough starter

15 grams sugar

10 grams salt

I just thrown all the ingredients in a Kitchen Aid mixer bowl and mixed with the dough hook for a couple of minutes until a dough ball formed.

Covered and let proof at room temperature (19C) overnight.

Portioned into 80-85 grams dough balls and coated with semolina flour.  Layer on a parchment paper sprinkled with more semolina flour.

Let proof for 1-2 hours at room temperature.

Grill both sides (~2 minutes per side) in a lightly greased cast iron pan (medium heat) and transfer back to cookie sheet on parchment paper.

Bake at 350F for 15 minutes.

Let cool on a wire rack.

Enjoy!

Note:  I tried the recipe with milk with 1.5 hour final proofing at room temperature and the shape was perfect but not enough nook and crannies.  I tried with water (instead of milk) and 2 hours proofing in the oven at the warm bread proofing setting and they were difficult to handle but the internal structure was better.  I’ll try again with water and just one hour warm proofing.

Despite the note above, I can definitely say that this was a success.