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June 26, 2007 - 8:55pm

Floydm

A baking day in pictures

Sunday I finally got a real baking day in. It was the first time in... 2 months? 3 months? A very long time.

I started with the Sourdough English Muffin recipe that Kjknits posted a month or so ago.

They were *amazing*. There wasn't a terribly interesting smell or anything, but when I bit into one it was just one of those "Oh, wow" moments. I will definitely be baking them again.

Pretty nice crumb inside.

I don't have cutter or tins, I just used a mason jar lid. The ones I was happiest with I left about 1/3 inch tall when cutting and then squashed a bit wider and thinner before cooking.

I also make something like a cross between my standard pain sur poolish and the famous no knead bread.

The hydration on this was quite high, probably in the 70-75% range. It spread a little more than I would have liked, but the crumb was very nice (though slightly underbaked). Particularly nice since I'd run out of bread flour and was just baking with store brand AP flour.

I also made three sourdough loaves...

...and experimented a little with the scoring.

I thought it looked like a yin-yang, but my wife says it looks more like the Safeway Logo.

June 26, 2007 - 12:48pm

zolablue

Fendu shaping help

I would like some information and help on shaping fendu loaves. I found only two entries on this site as follows:

Floyd’s beautiful fendu loaf:

http://www.thefreshloaf.com/node/487/hamelman-breads

JMonkey’s also beautiful rendition of a fendu loaf:

http://www.thefreshloaf.com/node/977/memorial-day-baking

I have made the Hamelman, Roasted Potato Bread, and it is delicious! I was very disappointed as well to find Hamelman (as with many other things in his book supposedly for the home baker) does not provide good instructions for this and unfortunately both my loaves stuck together. I would like to know how these were accomplished, if you guys see this, or if anyone else can offer some expertise.

I tried it again with another dough recipe and it also stuck together despite my trying to sprinkle extra flour in the crease before proofing. I love this shape and it would lend itself well to many other breads so I would like to learn to master it.

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June 26, 2007 - 8:27am

meedo

Ataif bil ashta

This recipe from the Middle East, we eat it especially in Ramadan or any time of the year, cause it's so tasty.

For the dough:

2 cups all purpose flour

1/4 cup whole wheat flour

1 1/2 teaspoon yeast

1 1/2 teaspoon sugar

1 1/2 cup fat free milk

1 1/2 cup water

For the filling (ashta):

2 cups fat free milk

7 1/2 tablespoons corn starch

1/4 cup + 1 tablespoon sugar

2 to 3 tablespoons thick cream (qaimar which is an Iraqi cream) but you can use the regular thick cream

2 tablespoons rose water

1 teaspoon vanilla

Chopped pistachio

To make the dough:

1-Mix the entire ingredient and let it rest about 40 minutes.

2- Cook about 2 tablespoon of the dough mixture in a hot pan until it bubble (just cook one side).

After finishing let them cool then fold half round then fill them with the filling (Using pastry bag) then dip them in the chopped pistachios.

To make the filling:

Mix corn starch with milk and sugar then bring it to boil in a medium pan, stir until thickens, then add the rest of the ingredient.

Spoon mixture into a bowel, refrigerate until cold.

Pastry bag:

Qaimar (Iraqi cream):

Serve with honey or syrup:

Visit my blog:

http://arabicbites.blogspot.com/

meedo

June 22, 2007 - 7:00am

rebecca77

summer baking

Hi. I've been lurking for a month or so (and baking for about a year)--what a wonderful community! I'm excited that I'm going to have significant time this summer to spend baking, and I was wondering if any of you had some advice. My apartment doesn't have air conditioning, so it is often upwards of 85 F. I don't mind baking in the heat, but I’d like to figure out how to compensate for such warm ambient conditions. In particular, I was wondering about the best ways to mimic slow "room temperature" rises. Also, is it possible/desirable to cool the dough down before kneading? While I know books say to knead dough until about 77-81 F, my dough is starting out significantly warmer than this even before any kneading. Thanks!

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June 17, 2007 - 9:02am

Rosalie

Laurel's Kitchen Bread Book comments on cold oven baking

I decided to give serious study to my good bread books, and Laurel's floated to the top.

My favored place for proofing is in my gas oven, which I turn on until it just barely registers a temperature rise; then I turn on the oven light, and it maintains a temperature of 80-90 degrees. Of course, I don't do this when I want a slow rise, but my kitchen is typically 60-65 degrees, so this is great for the final rise or when I'm in a hurry.

On page 408 (1984 edition; I think it's the same in the revised edition), she addresses this issue: "Halfway through the final rise, the time comes when you have to preheat the oven. The bread's inside: what to do?" She then lists four options, the first of which is, "Set the nearly risen loaves in a draft-free place, turn on the oven, and don't worry about it." That's what I do. The second option is to float the loaf pans in a dishpan of warm water (covered, of course); the fourth utilizes a heating pad or a hot-water bottle.

But the third option caught my attention. People have talked quite a bit about baking in an un-preheated oven. I baked a bread once that specified cold oven - I think it was called Cuban Bread. Laurel (and her friends) say that you can leave the loaves in place and turn on the oven when the loaves are about three-quarters risen (depending on how long your oven takes to heat up - sooner if your oven heats slowly). She calls this "a daredevil technique" that won't work for breads that require a higher initial temperature for oven rise. She adds that it works better for recipes that include milk or a lot of sweetener. (And she cautions you to remove plastic and other materials that don't do well in a hot oven. I've long since learned to look in the oven before turning it on.)

How does this jive with all you breadbakers' experience?

Rosalie

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June 14, 2007 - 9:15am

dwg302

Wanted: 100% WW Bread Recipe

does anyone have a good recipe for making 100% Whole wheat bread that they can share? most recipes i find only contain about 50% whole wheat flour. thanks,

david

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June 14, 2007 - 5:18am

subfuscpersona

article on using whole grain flours (San Francisco Baking Institute newsletter)

Interesting article in Winter 07 newsletter from San Francisco Baking Institute on using whole grain flours in bread formulas. Discusses types of whole grain flours, effects on gluten development and suggests adjustments for water content and mixing times. The link is http://www.sfbi.com/pdfs/SFBINewsWI07.pdf

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June 12, 2007 - 12:33pm

zainaba22

"Laham bl ajen"=spicy Lamb Pizza

for dough:

1 cups warm water

1 cups warm milk

2 teaspoons dry yeast

2 cups whole wheat flour

3 cups white flour

1 teaspoon salt

6 tablespoons olive oil

1)place all ingredients in the bowl of mixer ,beat 10 minutes to make a soft dough.

2)Cover and let rise for 30 minutes.

after 30 minutes

3)Divide dough into 16 pieces.shape each piece into a ball.Cover and let rise for 20 minutes

after 20 minutes

4)Roll each ball into a 21cm round,brush the top with olive oil .

5)Top each with a tablespoon of lamb mixture.leaving a 1cm border.

6)Bake at 450 for 9 minutes.

7)Serve with yogurt .

*for Topping:

Lamb or Beef mixture:

500 g ground lamb or beef

4 medium onions

2 medium tomatoes

fresh cilantro(optional)if you want your topping red do not add it.

2 tablespoons tomato paste

2 tablespoons pomegranate molasses

salt and ground pepper

combine ground lamb or beef,onions,tomatoes,and cilantro in food processor or food grinder than add tomato paste,pomegranate molasses,salt and ground pepper

*for vegetarian you can use portabello mushroom or cooked brown lentils instead of meat.

June 10, 2007 - 5:03pm

graz

Need help finding a thread

I would appreciate any help finding a thread that had a dictionary of terms, that are used in baking. I have a pretty good idea what people are talking about but would like to check it against a reliable source. PS also if you can save a tread to a favorites place.

Thanks, Graz