Wild Yeast

buzd504

SciAggie said:

The refrigerator just retards - slows the fermentation process. My opinion is that if you think they need to rise a bit more leave them out and let them rise. Then go into the boiling water.
Disclaimer: I've never made bagels...

That was my thinking as well.  Thanks!

caliking

Inspired by @NPHuskerFL , @SciAggie , and @buzd504 , had another go at focaccia. No sourdough in this one, but figured I'd drop it here since others have been focaccia-ing around.

Same recipe from Samin Nosrat's Salt Fat Acid Heat and the Brad Leone It's Alive episode, but without diastatic malt powder this time. Also didn't bake it on a stone. 

 Turned out quite tasty! Mixed some herbes de Provence into the dough. The red onions were my favorite of the toppings I used. 

Didn’t turn out as crusty as the last version, so maybe the stone helps. Turns out that caliprince loves focaccia, so I guess I’ll be making it again soon. Waiting on a rectangular pan to try the one SciAggie posted recently. 

SciAggie

@caliking I am a new fan of focaccia. I love the design and effort that is apparent in the bread. I’m quite sure it was delicious. 

I’ve decided I’d volunteer to work at a bakery just to learn more about making bread. Too bad no such thing exists in backwater America. 

buzd504

caliking said:

Inspired by @NPHuskerFL , @SciAggie , and @buzd504 , had another go at focaccia. No sourdough in this one, but figured I'd drop it here since others have been focaccia-ing around.

Same recipe from Samin Nosrat's Salt Fat Acid Heat and the Brad Leone It's Alive episode, but without diastatic malt powder this time. Also didn't bake it on a stone. 

 Turned out quite tasty! Mixed some herbes de Provence into the dough. The red onions were my favorite of the toppings I used. 

Didn’t turn out as crusty as the last version, so maybe the stone helps. Turns out that caliprince loves focaccia, so I guess I’ll be making it again soon. Waiting on a rectangular pan to try the one SciAggie posted recently. 

Beautiful!

buzd504

Bagels were a success. I was worried about the proofing but they puffed nicely in the oven. Good chew. I really like how much feel there is to baking with sourdough. Exact measurements are never right. 

Traded about a cup of AP flour for whole wheat. Added some extra starter. Off the shelf everything bagel seasoning

based on this - https://www.baked-theblog.com/new-york-style-sourdough-bagels-with-roasted-garlic-labneh/

SciAggie

@buzd504 Dang! Those look good. 

caliking

Those bagels look strong, @buzd504!

now you need some lox

buzd504

caliking said:

Those bagels look strong, @buzd504!

now you need some lox

You think I haven’t thought of that?  The bagels were easy enough to do regularly. 

NPHuskerFL

@caliking Damn 👏👏👏

NPHuskerFL

@buzd504 Bagels look on point

Hoster05

watched an episode of triple D yesterday, Joes pizza in Baltimore was one of the features.  His yeast culture is 200 years old.   Anyway today is my moms birthday and she requested cinnamon rolls. By far my best effort yet.  They almost rose to the top of the glass dish.  

rockymountaineggster

My "Carl's friends" starter came in the mail today, working on reviving it now ... Can't wait to start baking!

SciAggie

I’m pretty happy with this one. I’ll be anxious to see the crumb once it cools. I handled the dough a little differently on this loaf (75% hydration)
I gave the dough an hour autolyse before adding the starter. I waited an additional 30 minutes before I added the salt. 

The big change (experiment) was I laminated the dough after one strong stretch and fold. 

After lamination I made one coil fold and then let it ride until shaping. I didn’t preshape this loaf either - I went straight to final shaping once I turned it out on the bench. 

caliking

That looks pretty damn good, @SciAggie👏🏾👏🏾👏🏾

Baked in the egg again?

SciAggie

@caliking I did this one in the house. During this COVID situation I’ve baked in three environments. I’ve baked in the house, on the egg, and in the wood oven. 

In all three I cover the bread to trap steam for the first 20 minutes then uncover and bake another 20 minutes. 

I can’t tell any difference. That makes sense though - the bread has no idea where it is or where the heat is coming from. 

I enjoy the “romance” of cooking in the wood oven if I have heat for it - but it’s not worth firing the oven for one loaf. If I was baking 10-15 loaves and filling the oven it might be different. 

The egg works great of course and I use it if my wife is using the oven in the house or like when my oven went haywire a few weeks ago. Clean lump and a cover keeps the bread from accepting smoke. 

So all considered I just opt for easy and cook bread in the house most of the time. 

I may experiment sometime and try the first 20 minutes in the wood oven at a higher temp - like 550 - and see what kind of oven spring I get. It would be covered in the WFO. I would probably transfer the loaf to either the egg or the house at around 420 or so for the remainder of the cook. I’m pretty sure it would burn if I tried the whole cook in an oven that hot. 

SciAggie

My goal has been to learn to make a Tartine style open crumb loaf - on demand. 

I actually prefer a tighter crumb for most applications but I want to acquire the skill set to make a high hydration open crumb loaf intentionally. I think this loaf may be the one. We’ll know later. 

GlennM

Standing buy (crumb shot)

NPHuskerFL

Crumb from yesterday's bake.
I have run out of literally all my King Arthur, Bob's Red Mill and Arrowhead Mills I have now been using be flour from a 25 lb bag our son got us which is a generic bleached APF. This loaf is that flour plus 20% roasted buckwheat that I'm milled using a Magic Bullet. Hydration 70%.

caliking

@SciAggie I've  wondered whether a loaf baked in the egg would have any smokey flavor, but I guess it shouldn't, since it stays covered for most of the cook.

SciAggie

Crumb from the last loaf. Don’t get me wrong - this is a good loaf of bread - it’s just not the open crumb I’m trying to achieve. 

Then there’s folks in IG. “Oh, just started baking sourdough two weeks ago” showing amazing bread. Suspect...
But then again, if it’s on the internet it has to be true, right?

Edit: This is about as open as I would want for a sandwich bread. It might even be a bit too much. It is great for grilling and topping with balsamic. 

SmartyPantz

Awakened from the back of the refrigerator! Muwhahaha!

caliking

SciAggie said:

Crumb from the last loaf. Don’t get me wrong - this is a good loaf of bread - it’s just not the open crumb I’m trying to achieve. 

Then there’s folks in IG. “Oh, just started baking sourdough two weeks ago” showing amazing bread. Suspect...
But then again, if it’s on the internet it has to be true, right?

Edit: This is about as open as I would want for a sandwich bread. It might even be a bit too much. It is great for grilling and topping with balsamic. 

 Could you post an example pic of the open crumb you're aiming for? I don't think I know what it's supposed to look like. 

I like buttered toast and sammiches, so I'm happy with the crumb on the ear side of your loaf. Which looks outstanding, BTW.

SciAggie

@caliking I’m reminded a bit of your quest for naan and noodles - you are searching for a specific outcome. 

Here’s a pic of what I’m after. 

I’m also after a great bloom and oven spring like this.  Notice how the score opens to about 90 degrees?

This is as much an academic/skills acquisition quest as anything. To be able to produce this kind of bread I really need to understand each phase of bread making. How to manage my starter, bulk fermentation, folding and lamination, and how to shape the loaves. 

The bread pictured would be terrible for sandwiches. It’s just been a goal I have set that I have been so far unable to achieve. Others can do it - and by golly I want to learn to do it too. I’m a reasonably intelligent person with the motivation - I should be able to figure this out. You know the feeling?

Over time I keep edging closer and closer to the goal. I wish I could spend a few days with one of these amazing bakers to watch and learn from them. 

caliking

I totally get the concept of " the quest"! Been there, done that. And then I find something else to chase. 

Didn't have a point of reference for what open crumb meant, or rather should look like, so thanks for showing me. 

And if anyone can figure this out, it's you!

SciAggie

@caliking Another reason the quest is so much fun and frustrating is because many things have to all happen to achieve the desired result. Each phase of the bake has to happen just right - screw up any one and the quest fails. You still get great bread - just not the bread you were after. 

Both baking and cooking with wood are a ton of fun for me because I learn so much about having true control of my food. Fermentation is appealing for that reason as well. The more I mess with it the better I understand what’s going on with the food. 

caliking

Tried something different yesterday- rugbrød... sourdough Danish  rye bread. Sort of. 

  https://true-north-kitchen.com/sourdough-danish-rye-bread-rugbrod/ 

Subbed ragi flour (finger millet,  which is used in South India , because I needed to use it, and because I didn’t have any rye flour handy. 

Gave me an excuse to buy a Pullman loaf pan

made for a very hearty bread. Great flavor, made all the more better by the seed soaker. 

We had smørrebrød (Scandinavian style open sandwiches) for lunch, with homemade garlic mayo, smoked salmon, dill mustard, red onions, and candied jalapeños for lunch (sorry, forgot pics). Very tasty! 

Loved the nutty, rich flavor of the bread. It’s worth doing again. 

paqman

caliking said:

Tried something different yesterday- rugbrød... sourdough Danish  rye bread. Sort of. 

  https://true-north-kitchen.com/sourdough-danish-rye-bread-rugbrod/ 

Subbed ragi flour (finger millet,  which is used in South India , because I needed to use it, and because I didn’t have any rye flour handy. 

Gave me an excuse to buy a Pullman loaf pan

made for a very hearty bread. Great flavor, made all the more better by the seed soaker. 

We had smørrebrød (Scandinavian style open sandwiches) for lunch, with homemade garlic mayo, smoked salmon, dill mustard, red onions, and candied jalapeños for lunch (sorry, forgot pics). Very tasty! 

Loved the nutty, rich flavor of the bread. It’s worth doing again. 

Very nice!  I’ve had eyes on a pullman from usa pans for a couple of weeks now.  Which one did you get and does it have non-stick coating?  The USA Pans one has some type of silicone coating but I’d prefer plain anodized aluminum.

paqman

SciAggie said:

@caliking I’m reminded a bit of your quest for naan and noodles - you are searching for a specific outcome. 

Here’s a pic of what I’m after. 

I’m also after a great bloom and oven spring like this.  Notice how the score opens to about 90 degrees?

This is as much an academic/skills acquisition quest as anything. To be able to produce this kind of bread I really need to understand each phase of bread making. How to manage my starter, bulk fermentation, folding and lamination, and how to shape the loaves. 

The bread pictured would be terrible for sandwiches. It’s just been a goal I have set that I have been so far unable to achieve. Others can do it - and by golly I want to learn to do it too. I’m a reasonably intelligent person with the motivation - I should be able to figure this out. You know the feeling?

Over time I keep edging closer and closer to the goal. I wish I could spend a few days with one of these amazing bakers to watch and learn from them. 

That’s way too open IMHO but I get that everyone has different taste.  Here’s what SWMBO wants me to aim for 🤷‍♂️

caliking

paqman

Very nice!  I’ve had eyes on a pullman from usa pans for a couple of weeks now.  Which one did you get and does it have non-stick coating?  The USA Pans one has some type of silicone coating but I’d prefer plain anodized aluminum.

This is the pan I picked up on Amazon:

The recipe called for a 13” pan, but I bought a 9” pan. Took 1/3rd of the dough and made a second loaf for friends. 

The pan is more expensive than what I would have liked to have paid, but it’s sturdy, so I’m not unhappy about it. 

paqman

caliking said:

paqman

Very nice!  I’ve had eyes on a pullman from usa pans for a couple of weeks now.  Which one did you get and does it have non-stick coating?  The USA Pans one has some type of silicone coating but I’d prefer plain anodized aluminum.

This is the pan I picked up on Amazon:

The recipe called for a 13” pan, but I bought a 9” pan. Took 1/3rd of the dough and made a second loaf for friends. 

The pan is more expensive than what I would have liked to have paid, but it’s sturdy, so I’m not unhappy about it. 

That’s the one I have been looking at, I got a couple of their pans (hot dog buns, cinnamon rolls).  They look good and heavy, I’m just not a fan of non-stick.