breadsong's blog

Hello,

Franko kindly referred me to an absolutely lovely bakery in Victoria, BC, called fol epi - 
(fol epi means 'wild wheat stalk').
I had the pleasure of visiting this bakery last month. Thanks Franko! - this place was quite a find!

Having enjoyed a heavenly pain au chocolat for breakfast, I went back to thank the staff,
and got to meet Cliff, the baker.
Not only does Cliff bake incredible things, he mills his own flour - and to top it all off, he sold me some of his bread and whole wheat flour. I was quite happy!

There's a blog post here that has some nice pictures of the bakery, and of course the photos on the bakery's website, www.folepi.ca, show lots of beautiful breads and pastries (at this point, the website may still be a work in progress in terms of text?).

My first bake with Cliff's flour is a 'wheat stalk' loaf, using the Miche formula from Advanced Bread and Pastry.
The wheat stalks were made with a live decorative dough (a Team USA 2010 formula featured in a BBGA newsletter I picked up while at IBIE last September).  The stenciling was inspired by something I saw on farine-mc's site, shown here.

With thanks to Cliff for his really good flour, and to BBGA/Team USA and farine for their creative ideas - although my execution is a bit lacking (perhaps the decorative stuff is best left to the professionals!):
 

Here's a comparison of flours:

The top is 75% sifted Red Fife
The left is 100% whole wheat
The right is Cliff's whole wheat (lovely colorful bits of bran) - I'm pretty sure Cliff said this was Red Fife too, but I'm not positive and kicking myself for not remembering!!!

Happy baking everyone,
From breadsong

Hello,
Today's bake was an experiment with multigrain, to see the difference between baking in a cold dutch oven, versus baking on my firebrick baking stone.
I've seen so many successful dutch oven bakes here on TFL - I wanted to give it a try!

The result: Very tasty! if not exactly pretty.
The baking stone loaf rose up an extra 1/2" compared to the 'cold dutch oven' loaf, which spread out more & didn't have as much oven spring/bloom from scoring.
Other variables: shaping was harder for the dutch oven loaf (fighting a sticky dough), and the dutch oven loaf was baked at a slightly lower temperature.

Crumb shot is from the 'cold dutch oven' loaf. The bottom loaf was baked on the baking stone.

I tasted a heavenly sourdough bread with sunflower, poppy and flax seeds this past week - I wanted to try and recreate that flavor - so this is the combination of seeds I used for this multigrain. The sunflower seeds were not toasted prior to soaking.

Weights, in grams, for two big boules:

	Levain	Soaker	Dough	Total	Baker's %
Bread flour			336	336	32%
Red Fife 75% whole wheat flour	200		432	632	59%
75% sifted rye flour			96	96	9%
Rye meal			96	96	9%
Water	200	112	673	985	93%
Salt		2	23	25	2.35%
Starter	30			30	2.8%
Mixed seeds		100		100	9%
Levain (7 hour build at 80F)			430
Soaker (7 hour soak)			214
Total	430	214	2300	2300

*also added approximately 1 teaspoon of barley malt syrup when mixing this dough.
The ingredients are based on Chad Robertson's Tartine Whole Grain Seeded Bread as featured In The News here on TFL (page 3), and Didier Rosada's Whole Grain Bread as featured on modern-baking.com. I am grateful to both of these talented bakers for their formulas!

Mixing, fermenting and retarding were as per Mr. Roberton's method, except I held back 90g of water to mix in with the salt and seeds after autolyse (double hydration used in Mr. Rosada's method).
Ingredients (levain, increased whole wheat flour, rye meal) were inspired by Mr. Rosada's formula.
The dough was retarded in bulk form for 12 hours, after a 3.5 hour bulk ferment at 80F.
The boules were shaped cold from the fridge; both proofed for one hour (one loaf in the dutch oven and one in a banneton).
The dutch oven was covered and placed directly on an oven rack in an oven preheated for 20 minutes at 500F. Temperature was reduced to 450F after loading the oven. The dutch oven lid was removed after 20 minutes.
The other loaf was baked on the stone with steam after the stone was preheated at 500F for 1 hour. Temperature was reduced to 460F after loading the oven.
Loaves baked for 45 minutes, then were left in oven for 10 minutes with oven off and oven door ajar.

I think this is one of the tastiest breads I've made. I really like the energy savings the dutch oven baking method provides.
Next time I'll try preheating the dutch oven and see how the oven spring is.

Happy baking everyone!
from breadsong

Hello,
I tried making Karin's Dinkel Walnussbrot and really enjoyed the texture and flavor of this bread.
Thank you, Karin, for your recipe and technique!!!

I wanted to try making Spelt bread again - I saw these recipes, that used blueberries (yum!) as an ingredient:
Shao-Ping's Caramelized Hazelnut and Blueberry Spelt Sourdough
and Farine's Apple Blueberry Bread with Spelt

Thanks to all of these ladies for their beautiful breads, and inspiration for this attempt, using spelt levain, spelt flour, dried blueberries, maple syrup and walnuts.

This is my second try. The first try I built up a spelt levain over three feedings, and the crumb was quite tangy, but offset by the sweetness of the blueberries. This time, the bread is not as sour and I like the flavor a bit better.
The tiny amount of maple syrup in the formula didn't contribute any maple flavor to the baked bread.



Crumb shot from this attempt (boule), then from previous attempt (batard):
 

 

(for 2 x 650g boules):

Ingredients	Levain	Soaker	Dough	Total
Spelt flour	194	220	70	484
Spelt flakes		56		56
Water	142			142
Buttermilk		256		256
Maple syrup, Grade B			15	15
Yeast instant			2	2
Salt		4.9	9	13.9
Walnuts, coarsely chopped			90	90
Dried blueberries			90	90
Sourdough starter	151			151
Levain			487
Soaker			538
Total	487	538	1300	1300

My sourdough starter is kept at 100% hydration; I adjusted the water in my levain to approximate the hydration of Karin's Biga in her Dinkel Walnussbrot.
I basically followed Karin's formula & instructions, but made some minor changes to accommodate the levain, & guessed as to how much yeast to include in the final dough:

DAY 1
In the morning, prepare the soaker. Leave at room temperature for 8 hours.
In the morning, mix the levain and leave at room temperature until double. At five hours, it had doubled - I put it in the fridge for 3 hours before mixing the dough. 
In the evening (after 8 hours), prepare final dough: Soak the dried blueberries in warm water for 15 minutes, then drain.
Mix all ingedients (except for the dried blueberries and walnuts) at low speed for 1 - 2 min., until coarse ball forms. Then knead at medium-low speed for 4 min., feeding the blueberries and nuts slowly to the dough. Let dough rest for 5 min., resume kneading for 1 more min. Transfer to lightly oiled container, and place in refrigerator overnight.

DAY 2
Remove dough from refrigerator 2 hrs. before using.                                                           
Preheat oven to 425 F/220 C. Prepare for hearth baking with stone and steam pan. 
Shape boules, place in bannetons, and let rise to 1 1/2 times its original size. (At 80F, this took two hours, until the boules had visibly puffed up.) Turn out onto peel or parchment lined baking sheet. Slash. 
Bake bread at 350 for 20 minutes, steaming with 1 cup of boiling water. Rotate 180 degrees, remove steam pan and continue baking for another 30 minutes (internal temperature should be at least 195 F, and loaf should sound hollow when thumped on the bottom.
Let cool on wire rack.

We like this blueberry variation of Karin's bread.
Next time I might try adding a touch of natural maple flavoring when mixing the dough to see what that might add. Or, perhaps not - the spelt and other flavors are lovely as they are!

Happy baking everyone,
from breadsong

Hello,
Awhile ago I'd found elra's post on wildyeastblog.com about Bara Brith - I've been wanting to try making this lovely-sounding fruit-and-spice Welsh 'speckled' bread ever since.
I've got Elizabeth David's English Bread and Yeast Cookery on loan from the libary; there's a recipe for Bara Brith in her book too.
This is my variation of Bara Brith, based on elra's and Elizabeth's. 
I was delighted with the light, cakey, tender and flavorful! result:

Both loaves, and a crumb shot (top slice separated upon slicing...couldn't wait until it was completely cool to slice and taste!):
 

 

Ingredients (for 2 x 450g loaves)	Weight in grams	Baker's %
Bread flour	335	83%
Red Fife 75% whole wheat flour	67	17%
Milk	202	50.2%
Eggs, whole (= 1 large egg)	53	13.2%
Yeast instant, osmotolerant	9	2.2%
Sugar, demerara	58	14.4%
Salt	6	1.5%
Unsalted butter, 70F	64	15.9%
Currants	26	6.5%
Raisins, dark	26	6.5%
Raisins, golden	26	6.5%
Orange peel, candied, diced	26	6.5%
Sweet spice blend	2	0.5%
Total	900	224%

 

(1) Soak currants and raisins overnight in strong, cold tea.

(2) The next day, bring milk, egg, and butter to room temperature. Drain the currants and raisins. Add diced candied orange peel to currants and raisins.

(3) Mix together sweet spices to your liking, to equal 2 grams. I used .7 g freshly grated nutmeg, .7 g allspice, and .2 g each of cinnamon, cloves and ginger.

(4) Whisk milk, egg and salt together to combine, in bowl.

(5) Blend flours, yeast and sugar in a larger, mixing bowl.

(6) Add milk and egg mixture to flour mixture and stir to combine. I used a dough whisk to combine the ingredients.

(7) Kneaded on the counter until the dough windowpaned (improved mix).

(8) Kneaded in the spices, and then the butter in five additions, ensuring each addition of butter was kneaded in before adding the next. I tried to make sure the butter stayed inside the dough, so I wasn't touching/melting the butter with my hands while kneading. The dough became sticky as I was kneading in the butter. I dusted the counter lightly once or twice with flour and used a dough scraper to pick the dough up off the counter, as needed.

(9) Gradually knead in the fruit mixture until fruit is incorporated. I tried to keep the fruit within the dough and not have any pieces sticking out.

(10) Bulk ferment at 80F for two hours, with S&F at one hour.

(11) Shape, preheat oven & stone to 425F, proof for about 45 minutes to one hour at room temperature (70F).

(12) Score, bake with steam, 400 for 10 minutes, 375 for remainder of bake (30 minutes total). After 20 minutes of baking, I rotated the loaves and covered with foil to prevent overbrowning.  Let cool on rack before slicing.

I'm very happy to have discovered this bread!
Happy baking everyone,
from breadsong

Hello,

Recalling Larry's wonderful cheese bread that we liked so much, I wanted to make cheddar cheese bagels (my husband's favorite bagel). We enjoyed these for breakfast today...so nice to have these warm treats on a cold, snowy day!

I followed Mr. Reinhart's Bagel formula in BBA, but added 172g of grated sharp cheddar to the flour mixture when mixing the dough.
I kneaded the dough by hand, and the some of the grated cheddar was still visible in the dough before baking.
Additional cheddar was sprinkled over the bagels after boiling, and before baking.

This was the best looking one of the bunch, and a close up of that yummy cheese:
 

The shaping could definitely use some improvement!, and a crumb shot:
  

 

I put some dill, shallot and black pepper cream cheese on my warm cheese bagel - heavenly!
(I'd mixed this up for some crostini, but it was really good on this bagel, too.)
8 ounces cream cheese, softened
1 1/2 tablespoons finely chopped fresh dill
2 tablespoons very finely chopped red onion (I used shallot)
1 teaspoon fresh ground black pepper

Happy Baking everyone!
from breadsong

Hello, 

PMcCool posted a Sweet Vanilla Challah, about this time, a couple of years ago (his post is here).
I thought his bread was just lovely - and wanted to make a Challah like his for Valentine's Day
(trying for heart shapes!):



These breads are made with Mr. Hamelman's Challah, substituting some of the water with pure vanilla extract and vanilla paste, and adding 15% finely chopped white chocolate after the dough was developed.

arlo suggested adding white chocolate to 'Pain au Levain a la Vanille', another beautiful bread I was quite taken with (thanks, inlovewbread and arlo!), and I thought white chocolate would be a good addition to this Vanilla Challah.

The breads were glazed with 1 egg yolk, ½ tsp sugar and 1 tsp pure vanilla extract before baking, as instructed in PMcCool's post.
I sprinkled a bit of pearl sugar over before baking.

Have you ever been to an ice cream shop when they've been making their own waffle cones?
Don't those waffle cones smell amazing as they are cooking?
That's exactly what the kitchen smelled like as these breads were baking!

To shape these, I divided 1250g of dough into 6 pieces, approximately 208g each.

For the larger heart,
Four strands were rolled out to 24" long each.
Mr. Hamelman's Two-strand braid, method two, looked like it could form half of a heart.
I tried braiding two separate  two-strand 'braids' and set them close together to form a 'heart'. 
I used this video to help me with the braiding: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3YyDkdwVje0

For the smaller heart,
Two strands were rolled out longer, 30'"-32" or so each (forgot to measure!).
I used Mr. Hamelman's Two-strand braid, method one, twisting the two strands of dough, then coiling each end in towards center.

I have no crumb shot yet...I'm going to give one of these breads to family...likely the big one!

Happy Valentine's Day and Happy Baking everyone!
From breadsong

Hello everyone,
Farine featured Luminita Cirstea in a 'Meet the Baker' post on her website.
Ms. Cirstea's courage, hard work, commitment and talent are so inspiring!
I so wanted to try making Ms. Cirstea's delicious-looking (and prize-winning!) Raisin-Rye bread.
With thanks to Farine for writing about Ms. Cirstea, and thanks to Ms. Cirstea for her efforts to develop this formula!

(Rye bread is new territory for me - I found lots of helpful information here on TFL posted by Andy, breadbakingbassplayer, dmsnyder, Elagins & Mini (thanks! to all)).

Here's a picture of the raisins (so pretty!):


After baking, my bread resembles a Mexican Chocolate Crackle cookie I recently baked: 

                               Raisin-rye bread                             ... or...                               Cookie?  :^)    
  

Crumb shot (I love the flavor, and the golden raisins that light up the crumb; a lovely reminder of Luminita and her beautiful first name!):



 

For one 1000g loaf (my interpretation of Ms. Cirstea's formula):

 

	Liquid Levain	Levain	Dough	Total	Baker's %
Bread flour	59			59	16%
Rye flour, whole	3	149	150	302	84%
Rye meal, coarse			50	50	14%
Water	62	100	179	341	83%
Salt		2	7.3	9.3	2.3%
Starter	25			25
Liquid Levain		149
Levain			400
Dark Raisins			107	107
Golden Raisins			107	107
Total	149	400	1000	1000

 

(1) Raise Liquid Levain, 12 hours at room temperature.

Cover raisins with cold water, soak 10 minutes, drain, keep overnight in covered container.

(2) Mix Levain, speed 1 for 4 minutes. Bulk Ferment 90 minutes.

(3) Add all dough ingredients. Mix 5 minutes medium speed.

Add soaked raisins, mix low speed just until incorporated.

Bulk ferment 90 minutes.

Dust baskets heavily with rye flour.

Scale by dipping your hands in warm water. This dough is very wet.

Allow to proof, room temperature, 30-40 minutes.

No scoring.

Steam heavily; vent after 5 minutes.

Bake 480F for 45 minutes.

I'm including some pictures taken during fermentation (not sure if I did a proper job or not!).

The second Levain was to bulk ferment for 90 minutes.
Here is what it looked like at that point (I was unsure if it showed evidence of enough fermentation):
 

I proceeded with mixing by hand after the 90-minute bulk ferment, substituting an equal weight of whole-rye flour for the rye meal.
After the mix, the dough temperature was 73F:
 


I thought the dough was on the cool side heading into bulk fermentation (Mr. Hamelman recommends in the low 80's for a dough of this type).
The dough was to bulk ferment for 90 minutes but I let it go two hours, and tried to warm the dough by raising the temperature in the proof box.
After 1 hour of bulk fermentation, the dough's temperature had increased to 78F; after the second hour of bulk fermentation, the dough's temperature had increased to 88F).
Through the plastic container, I could see little air bubbles forming. The appearance of the dough after bulk fermentation:
 

The dough was quite sticky, so I didn't take a picture of the shaped loaf (my hands at that point were absolutely covered in rye paste!).
The dough after 40 minutes of proofing (some cracks starting to appear):
  


I baked at 480F for the full 45 minutes and left the loaf in for 10 more minutes with the oven off and door ajar. 

The loaf sat for 16 hours before slicing. It's a really crusty loaf but the crumb is moist and tender.
We enjoyed a beautiful breakfast this morning, thanks to this bread - the flavor is wonderful!

Happy Baking everyone! from breadsong

        

 

Hello, I was poking around the pastryna.com website, where they make available back issues of their magazine.
I was delighted to find an article written by my SFBI Weekend Baguette class instructor, Frank Sally, on baking with Teff (in a WFO):
http://www.pastryna.com/DigitalEdition/Digital_NA_10_1.html (The SFBI Teff Miche article starts on page 26).
(David, if you're out there, this one's for you!)

I wrote Frank and asked permission to post the formula here, and he agreed and kindly offered a modified version which I tried baking this weekend.
With so many thanks to Frank Sally and SFBI!!!

I used Bob's Red Mill Whole-Grain Teff flour; that website notes "Whole Grain Teff (Tef, T'ef) an ancient North African cereal grass, is a nutritional powerhouse. It is the smallest grain in the world (about 100 grains are the size of a kernel of wheat!). The germ and bran, where the nutrients are concentrated, account for a larger volume of the seed compared to more familiar grains."

I tried to create "cereal grass" with the scoring:


 

*Added to post: As a result of Larry's question below, I went back to the pastryna.com article to re-check the baker's percentages.
In the article, in the formula for the Teff levain, the baker's percentages for Starter and Teff flour were switched.
I am embarassed to say I failed to notice this as I blithely went along, entering the information for calculation in my spreadsheet.
Here is the bread as I made it (and the formula restated below, as it was intended to be made!):

SFBI Teff Miche				1500	Desired Dough Weight in grams       <----
	From pastryna.com 2010.1
	Baker's Percentages			Weights				Baker's
Ingredients	Dough	Starter	Teff Levain	Dough	Starter	Teff Levain	Total	%
Bread flour	1	1		688	76		764	98%
Teff flour			0.1			18	18	2%
Water, boiling (65%)			0.52			94	94
Water, 70F (35%)	0.65	1	0.28	448	76	51	575	85.55%
Salt	0.027			18.6			18.6	2.38%
Sourdough Starter		0.4			30		30	3.84%
Starter			1			182
Teff Levain	0.5			345
Total	2.177	2.4	1.9	1500	182	345	1500
		(1)	(2)

Restated formula (1500g loaf):
 

	Starter	Teff Levain	Dough	Total
Bread flour	7.5		688	696
Teff flour		182		182
Water, boiling		94		94
Water	7.5	51	488	507
Salt			18.6	18.6
Sourdough Starter	3	18		21
Starter
Teff Levain			345
Total	18	345	1500	1500

 

(1) Starter: Mix to 70F, ferment 12 hours.

(2) Teff Levain: Pour 65% of water, as boiling water, over teff flour & mix to make mash. Cool to 70F. Add remaining 35% 70F water.

When mixture is at 70F, mix in Starter. Ferment at 65-70F for 12 hours. (My Teff levain was starting to recede after 7.5 hours; I carried on with the mix at that point).

 

(3) Dough: Place flour, water, salt in bowl. Mix to very strong improved mix, medium soft consistency.

Mix in teff levain until incorporated.

Bulk ferment 1.5 hours with 2 evenly-spaced SF's. (I let the dough ferment for an extra ½ hour).

At end of BF, dough will be very sticky and full of gas.

Divide into 1.5kg pieces. Bench rest 20-30 minutes. The dough will become loose and flat.

Flour proofing basket with rice flour. Shape and retard 12-15 hours.

Brush off rice flour, score for even expansion, bake with steam 500F 25 minutes, then additional 35 min. (I found in my oven, that I had to bake in a reducing oven to so the loaf wouldn't get too dark. After 20 minutes, I reduced to 460F, then to 440F after another 20 minutes for the remainder of the bake).

This was a very wet, sticky dough and the stretch and folds did wonders (dough just after mixing, then just after the final shape):


The scored loaf, then the result in the oven:



The loaf is cooling now, and crackles are starting to appear. The most wonderful aroma has filled the kitchen. I want to let the loaf cool a good long while, but I can't wait to taste it & see how the crumb turned out!!!
from breadsong

Submitted to Yeastspotting!

Hello,  I wanted to try making Apple Bread again, after seeing Larry's recent Odds and Ends post (thank you Larry) (and because I was able to find Honeycrisp apples at the market!).



I made this bread combining elements of Mr. Hamelman's Normandy Apple Bread, and Mr. Kastel's Apple Bread. With many thanks to Mr. Hamelman and Mr. Kastel!
I wanted to try mixing the final dough without water, to try and get as much apple flavor as possible in the bread
(apple cider, applesauce, and sour cream stand in for the water).

Apple Bread			2000	Desired Dough Weight in grams       <----
	Baker's Percentages		Weights			Baker's
Ingredients	Dough	Stiff Levain	Dough	Stiff Levain	Total	%
Bread flour	0.9	1	738	159	897	92%
Red Fife 75% whole-wheat	0.1		82		82	8%
Water		0.6		96	96	9.8%
Apple cider (60g+80g+270g)	0.50		410		410	41.9%
Applesauce (Transparent apples)	0.17		137		137	7.0%	est 50% water
Sour cream 14%BF	0.19		158		158	11.5%	est 71.5% water
Osmotolerant instant yeast	0.01		4.00		4	0.4%
Salt	0.023		18.79		19	1.9%
Sourdough Starter		0.20		32	32
Stiff Levain	0.35		287
Dried apples (Honeycrisp)	0.2		165		165
Total	2.438	1.8	2000	287	2000

Mix levain, ferment 12 hours at room temperature (70-72F,until doubled).

Pour a couple of Tablespoons of liquid (more cider, or a liqueur, brandy, or?) over dried apples to rehydrate them a bit. Set aside.

Hold back 60g apple cider.

Blend sour cream and 80g apple cider. Gradually warm in microwave.

If applesauce is really chunky, break it up a bit (I used a pastry blender to do this).

Blend applesauce and 270g apple cider. Gradually warm in microwave.

Blend sour cream and applesauce mixtures. Test temperature (95F).

Blend in stiff levain, whisk until smooth.

In separate bowl, combine flours and yeast. Add liquids to flours and yeast. Mix to combine, then mix in salt.

Work dough to improved mix.

Warm remaining cider to 90F, add to dough and mix in.

Warm dried apples if they are cool; I gently warmed them 15 seconds in microwave.

Spread dough out on counter, sprinkle dried apples over, jelly roll and knead until dried apple is well distributed.

Bulk Ferment, 80F, for 3 to 3.5 hours; stretch and fold at 1 and again at 2 hours.

Divide, preshape, rest 20 minutes, shape, retard overnight in fridge, preheat oven to 460F, bake 10 minutes, reduce heat to 425F, bake until done (depending on loaf size). Tent bread with foil while baking if it's browning too quickly.

 

I made two different batches. I learned from the first batch:
- I used way too much yeast (BP 1%). The dough fermented too quickly! I reduced to .4% BP in the second batch.
- I found the dough a bit stiff after mixing and didn't do a great job mixing in the dried apple (uneven distribution of apple shows up in the crumb shots below, from two different loaves). For the second batch, I tried double-hydration, to get some gluten and then soften the dough with the addition of a second amount of liquid. The dough was easier to spread out, I was able to "jelly-roll" the apple pieces and knead them in much more easily.
- Not moistening the dried apples before adding, I think caused them to pull water out of the dough during bulk fermentation; the dough seemed dry and I found it harder to shape. I splashed a bit of extra cider over the dried apples for the second batch and this helped.
- Transparent apple applesauce contributed great flavor to this bread. Had enough left over to make a second batch. :^)
- A sweeter sparkling apple juice didn't translate to a better tasting bread, to my taste; in the second batch, I used apple cider which was not as sweet and I liked the flavor of the bread better:

These were from the first batch (the "P" is for Pomme, a nod to Normandy!).
The kitchen smelled like extremely apple-y after the bake!!!:


Here is a picture of a loaf from the second batch (trying for apple branches and leaves with the scoring):



In drying the apples, I was curious what the yield would be.
For the second batch, 5 apples = 1200 g weight, then 860g after peeling, coring, dicing, then 165g after drying (the apple flavor concentrated quite well, and yummy caramelization happening here and there!):


While dicing the apple, I tossed the pieces with lemon juice so they wouldn't brown too quickly before making it into the oven.
I dried the apples on two baking sheets, in a reducing oven:
380F convection for 10 minutes, stir, (at 10 minutes, the smell of baking apple starts to fill the kitchen!)
380F convection for 10 minutes, stir
320F convection for 10 minutes, stir
275F convection for 15 minutes, check to see how they're drying
275F convection for 10 more minutes

 

I really loved the flavor of the bread in both batches, but in the second batch the bread had a bit more tang that complemented the sweetness of the apples.  The crumb is nice and soft. In the end, I got the apple flavor I hoped for!

Happy baking everyone! from breadsong

 

 

 

Hello,

Many thanks to Daisy_A for her wonderful posts:
Sourdough Wholemeal Lemon Bread, and Mexican Chocolate Crackle Cookies!

I wanted to bring some flavors to the table that remind me of sunny places, as it's been rainy and wet where I live for quite awhile. Daisy_A's recipes seemed perfect and lovely to share with our dinner guests.

Here is the bread (made 4 loaves; two are pictured).
I added the zest of 5 lemons to Daisy_A's formula and the bread had a really nice lemon flavor.
My lemon-loaf-shaping was not as successful as I'd hoped for, and unfortunately couldn't give the bread as much fermentation time as I would have wanted - was a bit short on time yesterday and pulled these out of the oven just as our guest arrived!:



For dessert, I assembled Mexican ingredients from my pantry to make Daisy_A's amazing Mexican Chocolate Crackle Cookies. What a truly special cookie! I followed Daisy_A's suggestion to add orange, cinnamon and vanilla flavors, and wow, all I can say is I think this is the most delicious cookie I have ever tasted!!!  

Here are some of the ingredients. The piloncillo sugar is a Mexican cone sugar I purchased for making cafe de olla. Thanks to ehanner for his excellent inquiry about other ways to use this sugar (his post is here); I took his suggestion and used the sugar in these cookies - bravo, Eric!
I had some Mexican Ibarra chocolate and Mexican vanilla - I was pretty happy to have these ingredients on hand for this cookie bake! 



 

Daisy_A's Mexican Chocolate Crackle Biscuits (adapted from The Art & Soul of Baking), with orange and vanilla flavors; makes about 30 biscuits, 22grams each
(I doubled Daisy_A's quantities, to make enough cookies to give some to our guests as a gift to take home with them)

90g sliced almonds, lightly toasted and cooled
100g all-purpose flour
100g Piloncillo sugar, broken up into small pieces with a chocolate chipper

I whirled all of this around in the food processor, trying for a fine grind. The sugar didn't incorporate as finely as I would have liked; I sifted and whirled the larger bits around again until it was finer. Next time, I may chop the sugar even more finely by knife before processing.

To these ingredients I whisked in:
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon (Canela Molida) (equal to Daisy_A's original amount, and not doubled, as the Ibarra chocolate also had cinnamon flavor)
1/2 teaspoon ancho chile powder 
1/16 tsp cream of tartar
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 teaspoon baking powder (I actually forgot to add this - so much for mis en place!)

The dry ingredients were set aside while the chocolate mixture was prepared.




In a double boiler over two inches of simmering water, stirred and melted:

40g unsalted butter
4 teaspoons Kahlua liqueur
2 discs (3.1 oz each) Ibarra Mexican chocolate, broken up into pieces with a chocolate chipper

(Didn't this smell heavenly as it was melting down!)
When smooth and glossy, the mixture was set aside to cool a bit. Once cooled, I whisked into the chocolate mixture:

20g very finely diced candied organic orange peel
3/4 tsp Mexican vanilla

In a separate bowl, I whipped 2 large eggs until lemon-colored and thickened.
The eggs were folded into the chocolate mixture, then the dry ingredients were folded into the chocolate mixture.
The mixture was chilled for 2-1/2 hours before forming the cookies. By the time I was finishing forming the cookies, the mixture was getting soft; next time, making this quantity, I may chill the mixture in two separate batches so one half can stay chilled while forming the first half.
I used a small ice-cream scoop to portion the cookies and they ended up weighing 22g each.

I rolled each portion into a ball then rolled each ball in icing sugar. The cookies were baked on a perforated baking sheet at 320F convection for 15 minutes:


These were so lovely to enjoy with after-dinner coffee!!! They came out of the oven at 2pm and they had several hours for the flavors to blend and develop by dessert time. So very yummy!

Thank you, Daisy_A, for a great introduction to Jan Hedh with this bread, and for your pretty, tasty little cookies.
From breadsong