BREAD baking

[BleeckerSt_Girl]

Well rather than keep using the other thread whicha actually started about bread machines, I thought I'd start a new home made BREAD thread here in the nutrition/recipes forum. :)

I have a sourdough starter now in my fridge that I got from Kingarthurflour.com
The first sourdough bread was fine to eat but not as elastic and chewy as I'd like. Could it have been the 1/3 whole wheat flour that made it too dense?

I also have my basic boule dough recipe in the fridge from the Artisan Bread in 5 Minutes a Day book.

Up to now I've only used that dough to make plain white boules. Today I'm going to try their recipe for olive bread, and I'll fold in a few sun dried tomatoes and bits of onion and rosemary to see what happens. I post the results.

I also need to start a 'sponge' dough to keep in the fridge since the Artisan book has lots of recipes that use some sponge to jump start their bread.

So many things to try! :p

Yesterday I tried a cool old recipe for a baked crepe-pancake bowl for fruit, and it was a big hit with DH. Here are photos:
http://strumelia.blogspot.com/

[Biciclista]

would you share the recipe?
that sounds pretty good!

[BleeckerSt_Girl]

would you share the recipe?
that sounds pretty good!

Which recipe?

[Biciclista]

the crepes with the funny name! they look like fun

[Tuckervill]

Do you find the basic boule recipe a tad salty, Lisa?

It's seeming salty to me, and I even used less this time.

1 1/2 tablespoons is 1 tablespoon plus 1-1/2 teaspoons, right?

Karen

[BleeckerSt_Girl]

Do you find the basic boule recipe a tad salty, Lisa?

It's seeming salty to me, and I even used less this time.

1 1/2 tablespoons is 1 tablespoon plus 1-1/2 teaspoons, right?

Karen

Yes, your measurement is right. Are you using coarse salt? Their measurements are intended for coarse salt.
I actually like fairly salty bread, so the boule recipe seems perfect to me. Try cutting back the salt a little more I guess? It will also taste saltier as dough, before baking- in case you are tasting it then.


Mimi, I'll scan the recipe for Dutch Baby and email it to you.

[Biciclista]

thanks!

[BleeckerSt_Girl]

Ok so I made two little loaves of olive bread this afternoon, using the 'Artisan' basic boule dough.
http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3240/3501311897_ec3f3fd23d.jpg

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3302/3501310967_bdd3315ef0.jpg

It's nice and moist and chewy, with a strong taste from the calamata olives.
I also rolled up some browned onions and sundried tomato bits in it, along with some minced fresh rosemary.
It's good! Won't last more than a day I bet.
Nice to know I can make it anytime I have some boule dough on hand in the fridge and some olives around. I do like the fact that you can keep your box of moist dough aging nicely for up to 2 weeks in the fridge and make the bread anytime during that period. It even tastes better if it's a few days ripened, sort of like how sourdough gets.

I started a box of semolina dough this time, and in a couple of days I'll try making my first Italian semolina bread. It sure smells good!

[lauraelmore1033]

Oh my that looks good!

[Tuckervill]

Yep, I use kosher salt. I'm going to cut it back more next time.

That olive bread looks yummy. :)

I'm trying the pita recipe next.

Karen

[BleeckerSt_Girl]

Yep, I use kosher salt. I'm going to cut it back more next time.

That olive bread looks yummy. :)

I'm trying the pita recipe next.

Karen

Karen, which recipes from the book have you used so far?
Can you post pictures if stuff comes out nicely? :)

I want to make focaccia, too!

[Jolt]

That olive bread looked good! I'm thinking that I would like to try making sourdough and would like to use whole wheat flour--does that starter from King Arthur work for whole wheat? I tried a while back to make my own starter and it was a flop, so maybe it would be better to just get one from somewhere.

[BleeckerSt_Girl]

That olive bread looked good! I'm thinking that I would like to try making sourdough and would like to use whole wheat flour--does that starter from King Arthur work for whole wheat? I tried a while back to make my own starter and it was a flop, so maybe it would be better to just get one from somewhere.

I made a mild sourdough bread last week using the KingArthur sourdough starter and their flours as well.
The Starter seems fine- but I used it before letting it get 'too' strong since my DH is not a big fan of strong sourdough bread. I myself like a strong sourdough bread.
I used 1/3 King Arthur 'white' whole wheat flour and 2/3 KA regular flour. I followed the recipe on the KA sourdough instructions.
I think the content of whole wheat flour makes it harder to get fluffy. elastic, or puffy bread. It tasted fine, if mild, but the inside did not get airy or light.
This is something I remember having problems with 20 years ago when making whole wheat breads.
I am planning to experiment with the Artisan Bread book's whole wheat type recipes later on to see if their breads come out just as nice with ww flour as they are with white flour. But first I want to try some other types from their book- like semolina bread, white sourdough bread, focaccia, etc.

I do notice that the Artisan basic white boule dough mix does get a nice flavor after a few days ion the fridge, a flavor that reminds me of sourdough bread. Their bread texture is just what I like, so I might just keep using that book to make various breads for a while. I think aging the dough in the fridge gives it a nicer flavor and texture- like the traditional 'sponge' or 'old dough starter' methods produce. The book also says that this helps produce a bread that stays fresh longer. Makes sense if it has a lot of enzymes in it.

[Tuckervill]

Karen, which recipes from the book have you used so far?
Can you post pictures if stuff comes out nicely? :)

I want to make focaccia, too!

I've been mixing it up with other breads not from the book, so I haven't tried any but the basic (I think). Oh wait, looking at my cell phone pictures, I see I made a French loaf.

You can see it at this link:
http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?pid=1854447&l=ababb65b39&id=600142943

I made a batch on Friday because we had friends for the weekend. But they had an inconvenience which resulted in them going home a day early. So, I baked up all the loaves and sent some home with them.

I'm not really good at shaping the loaves. After seeing yours, I worked harder at, and the ones I made this weekend looked better. :)

I just sliced the loaf I had left, drizzled some olive oil and vinegar dressing over the slices, then layered on some sundried tomatoes, ham, and mozzarella, and broiled them in the oven. They were delicioso!

Karen

[grey]

Wow, Bleeker. Every time I try to make a fancy bread, it's a flop. I make 3 loaves of honey-whole wheat with flour I grind myself every week, and I sometimes make a white bread, or French bread... and that's as fancy as I get with yeast breads.

What is this book you are talking about? Does it help flop-artists like me?

[GLC1968]

Grey - yes, it's almost fool-proof...and I can attest to that (being a bread making fool myself)! It's this book:

http://www.amazon.com/Artisan-Bread-Five-Minutes-Revolutionizes/dp/0312362919/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1241538133&sr=8-1#

Besides the basic boule, I have made the whole wheat (that was supposed to be cooked in a pan - it didn't turn out), the herb bread variation on the boule, and the rosemary onion focaccia. Both of the last two were amazing!

[Christopher]

this should be re-titled the Yummy Bread Thread!

I make sourdough from a home-made starter that's about 18 months old and lives in the fidge in an old mayo jar. I had authentic San Francisco Sourdough starter but found it a bit fragile (it died!) and not as sour as my starter. My loaves take about 36 hours to make, and I find the dough very stiff to work so only make one loaf at a time. The resulting bread isn't as good as SF sourdough but it is far better than anything I can buy around here. I use ~1/3 rye and 2/3 hard Canadian flour and bake the loaf in a cast iron pot.

That 'Artisan Loaf' book sounds great, I am still using 'Beard on Bread'. I want to try German Rye Bread, uses 100% rye and hardly rises. Sometimes I make challah and very oily Italian bread, and make my own pizza bases (very satisfying). Sometimes I use molasses instead of sugar to proof the yeast and a bit of walnut oil to add interest to the taste. Oh, and chopping up and adding fresh chilies to white bread works great.

[ZenSojourner]

*still waiting for her baking peel*

In the meantime - you know that dipping sauce you get for foccacia (or at least foccacia-like) bread in the snootier Italian restaurants?

How the heck do you make that stuff? I've never found any pre-made that was any good, and attempts to date to make it myself have been unsuccessful.

[BleeckerSt_Girl]

*still waiting for her baking peel*

In the meantime - you know that dipping sauce you get for foccacia (or at least foccacia-like) bread in the snootier Italian restaurants?

How the heck do you make that stuff? I've never found any pre-made that was any good, and attempts to date to make it myself have been unsuccessful.

My DH just likes to use our salad dressing for that bread dipping.
Our favorite salad dressing:
make a cruet of dressing using the Good Seasons dry dressing mix from an envelope. But use extra virgin robust flavored olive oil, and some good balsamic vinegar. Then I also add a couple teaspoons of freeze-dried 'salad herbs' that I keep in the fridge after opening.

ZS: a tip about the peel....don't wash it by soaking it with water! People keep saying their wood peels are warping/cracking when washed, etc.
Oh but you are getting the non-wood peel, right?- then no problem.

What I do is: when I shape the loaf/loaves, I then let them 'rest' by putting a sheet of parchment on the peel and sprinkling the parchment with some corn meal- I lay the loaves on that. When time to bake, I just slide the loaves, parchment and all, right on to the hot baking stone and bake. (The parchment is good for about two baking sessions.) When done, it's easy to again slide the peel under the parchment and remove bread parchment and all. The bread seems to come right off the cornmealed parchment with no problem, and my peel actually never gets doughy or needs washing- my Stone stays clean too. If each parchment piece is used twice, the parchment roll will last a l-o-n-g time. :)

I used to make lots of many kinds of bread 20 years ago- sourdough, w.wheat, pastries, white loaf bread....making it the old fashioned way with a couple of risings. But I never got such yummy chewy/stretchy bread with a crisp crust as from the basic boule recipe in the Artisan Bread 5 Minutes book! It's exactly the way I love my bread to be and I never got it that way before.
One thing though- the basic (using 6 1/3 cups flour) really only makes 3 very modest sized loaves bread- not 4 as they claim. 4 to a batch comes out too tiny, and 2 to a batch are too large and don't rise as well. 3 seems just right! :p

[GLC1968]

Lisa - I wonder if our books are different versions? I could have sworn that my recipe says that the basic boule makes three loaves, not four. I'll have to look again when I get home tonight. If so, that would be REALLY odd, don't you think?

I don't wash my peel. I just wipe it clean and so far, with enough corn meal, it's fine. Same for the stone - which is actually a pizza stone and it also works great. I'd love to get a long square one so that I can make different shaped loaves, but so far the round has kept me busy enough. What benefit does the parchement serve? Do you still use cornmeal with it?

Oh, and ZenSojo - before I got my peel, I was just using a cookie sheet with no lip. Worked like a charm! I got the peel just because it's hard to make cookies when your cookie sheet always has a new loaf of bread sitting on it! :p

[BleeckerSt_Girl]

Lisa - I wonder if our books are different versions? I could have sworn that my recipe says that the basic boule makes three loaves, not four. I'll have to look again when I get home tonight. If so, that would be REALLY odd, don't you think?

I think I remember reading on their BLOG that the recipe should read 3 instead of 4 loaves. I bought my book used- its from 2007. Maybe they updated it in a later printing?


What benefit does the parchment serve? Do you still use cornmeal with it?

Yes, I use cornmeal on the parchment, all on the peel. The parchment enables me to slide the two loaves of puffy bread right off the peel and onto the hot stone (paper and all) with minimal jostling of the loaves- helps to keep them from collapsing what little amount they have risen after the 'rest'. The bread bakes on the parchment, on the stone.
Very convenient, and I use each parchment piece twice before it gets brittle.
Doesn't stick to the bread either.

[CarefreeSpirit]

Yum that olive bread looks delish! Can you truly make bread in 5 minutes (not counting rising and baking)? I may have to purchase this book. I can just smell the fresh baked breads coming out of the oven.

[BleeckerSt_Girl]

Yum that olive bread looks delish! Can you truly make bread in 5 minutes (not counting rising and baking)? I may have to purchase this book. I can just smell the fresh baked breads coming out of the oven.

Hi,
I think the 'five minutes' thing is a bit exaggerated. But once you make up a batch of the wet dough (enough for 3 loaves), you simply combine the water, yeast, salt and flour and stir it with a spoon right in a tupperware box or bowl (no kneading), leave it out to ripen/rise for 2 hours (it doubles, then starts to deflate), then just cover it and stick it as is in the fridge for up to about 12 days is fine. Each time you want to bake a loaf you pull off 1/3, (or 2/3 if you want to bake two loaves at once) shape/cloak it into a ball or baguette etc, (still no kneading) then let it rest like 40-50 minutes (preheat your oven sometime during that time), then bake for 30 minutes.
That's the basic recipe, but the book has all kinds of fun creative variations on the basic idea. The bread actually tastes and comes out better if it's been in the fridge for at least two days i found. :)

Today I had two different containers of dough in the fridge so I pulled off, shaped and baked two loaves side by side- a plain white chewy boule, and a golden semolina loaf topped with sesame seeds. the semolina loaf is gone already, the boule is for tomorrow. I did this pretty much while weeding and hoeing my tomato patch- just brought my kitchen timer with me to know when to do each step.

[sgtiger]

I finally got around to baking a a few loaves while Dh was home. (I've only had the book for a month or so.:rolleyes:) It really is fool-proof. I'm pretty baking-challenged and the loaves I baked turned out great. I don't have a baking stone (yet:D) so I placed a cookie sheet on top of my cast iron griddle and that worked out well to keep the temp stable enough to bake. I made a dip for my bread by heating up some EVOO on med. low and adding sliced garlic. Very tasty. I might trying adding some herbs next time, like rosemary, and a splash of balsamic vinegar after the oil cools. Of course, bread dipped in a good quality olive oil by itself it delicious. My "adopted" Italian grandfather taught me that.

[BleeckerSt_Girl]

sgtiger- that is so cool! I want a picture next time! :)

I have been enjoying making bread so much that I now keep like two different batches of dough 'ripening' in the fridge at any given time, plus some sourdough starter.

My loaves always seem to be rather small, but DH loves them anyway and they taste so good! So I just solve the issue by baking two at a time. :D

Today I pulled out a portion of my semolina dough, and also the basic white dough. I made a plain white boule (still the favorite) and a semolina loaf. I experimented with the semolina- it traditionally is topped with sesame seeds, but this time I used black sesame seeds and I envisioned that after slashing it and it puffing up a bit in the oven, that it might look like tiger stripes, especially since the semolina flour is rather golden colored. As you can see it did indeed turn out very tiger-looking! :) So I'm naming that variation my "tiger semolina".
http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3341/3526183959_c7e16276e7.jpg

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3339/3526992808_5e72722c23.jpg

Though small, the two loaves were very lovely in both taste and texture.
I may experiment with giving them a shorter resting time before baking, to see if that increases the 'oven spring'.

[Tuckervill]

Lovely. I'm okay with the smaller loafs, just enough for a couple-three people. Nothing like the fresh bread!

Karen

[BleeckerSt_Girl]

Today i baked four small loaves of bread. :p Tonight we are going to a little potluck dinner with friends, and I'll bring two loaves with me to share. That leaves another two for home eating.

I made one "tiger semolina" (with the black sesame seed stripes), two olive/sundriedtomato/onion loaves, and one plain white boule with sesame seeds on top, slashed in a sun pattern. I'll take one olive loaf and the semolina to the potluck tonight.

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3540/3534335758_d2437a79e0.jpg

I really really like the bread from the Artisan Bread In Five Minutes a Day book. :D Not only is it the best tasting bread I've ever had, but it takes little time to prepare as well.

[Biciclista]

your bread loaves are works of art! they are truly lovely. Do you get the stripes just from cutting slits in the bread before it rises?

[BleeckerSt_Girl]

your bread loaves are works of art! they are truly lovely. Do you get the stripes just from cutting slits in the bread before it rises?

Hey thanks, Mimi! :)

After the loaf is formed, it's allowed to 'rest' for 40 minutes and it puffs up part way. Then you either: dust with flour and slash, or paint with cornstarch wash and sprinkle with seeds and slash....then they go in the hot oven and will rise and expand a bit more while baking. (that's called 'oven spring') The slashes are then seen as bare spots with no flour dusting or seeds.
I want to do some onion garlic bread topped with poppy seeds soon too. :p

[Tuckervill]

I turned a good friend on to this book and they tried the pita recipe and LOVED it.

Karen

[BleeckerSt_Girl]

I tried this technique today with sourdough bread, and it came out wonderfully! The truly PERFECT crust!
Here are some pix, but I described it in detail in my home blog, here:
http://strumelia.blogspot.com/2009/05/sourdough-baked-in-my-dutch-oven.html
I'll definitely be making this again!! Mmmmmmm.....
http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2446/3570752959_c3b64a59c7.jpg

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3385/3571561098_a7223c31fa.jpg

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3657/3570754487_80c086338e.jpg

[tulip]

Beautiful! You are truly the Bread Queen! I've been making my own bread for at least a month now-- haven't bought any. It's so easy and delicious. I might have to spring for that book so that I can expand my technique horizons a bit.

Too bad you can't put tastes on your blog!

[Tuckervill]

That is just gorgeous, Lisa!

I'll try it soon.

Karen

[BleeckerSt_Girl]

That is just gorgeous, Lisa!

I'll try it soon.

Karen

Thanks you guys!

The recipe I used is found here:
http://mysisterskitchen.wordpress.com/2007/04/14/clairs-sourdough/

[bmccasland]

Pass the butter and jam.

I even have some fresh blueberry jam to smear on those loaves BleekerSt. Sigh

[BleeckerSt_Girl]

After baking a few more varied types of round bread loaves in my cast iron Dutch oven pot, I see that the crust comes out by far the BEST this way, and without needing a steam pan or spraying the loaves either. Very simple! The crusts are coming out absolutely PERFECT- thin, crackly crisp, and golden.
Using a piece of parchment makes it easy to just lower the risen loaf gently into the hot pot, cover quickly, and bake, parchment and all.

I ordered a second Dutch oven of the same size as my ancient garage sale one (6 qts), so that I can bake my usual 2 loaves both at once in the oven. Both pots will fit side by side, and it will save 45 minutes of oven 'on' time and saves me additional running around when timing and tending two baking loaves in succession.

This afternoon I made a regular white boule with white sesame seed topping, and a parmesan cheese-laced boule with black sesame crust. The dough for those two loaves had been in the fridge for about a week already. (I think 10 days is the max I want to go on storing the dough {the book says 12 days is max}, and it definitely has better flavor and texture when stored at least 2 or 3 days)

I also mixed up a wet sticky sour dough batch today (enough for 2 loaves) which will sit overnight on the counter and get baked tomorrow afternoon. That'll be enough bread for the next 3 or 4 days.

I love the convenience of simply mixing up dough batches ahead of time and then refrigerating them until it's convenient to bake a loaf or two. This bread method really suits my lifestyle, as opposed to years ago when I had to spend a whole day baking bread from start to finish. The bread is 100 times superior, too! :)

[tulip]

I'm going to get a dutch oven! I bet Southern States carries them.

I found a source for local (relatively) flour. My local Kroger carries flour that is grown and milled in Virginia. It's about a dollar more than the regular Gold Label flour, but it's worth it to be 'cause it's local.

This bread is fantastic, just like Lisa says. It's so great to have the dough in the fridge ready to bake. I took a loaf to a small luncheon on Sunday and it was a huge hit.

It think I'm going to swing for the book. I've been using recipes from the NYT adapted from the book. It's time I get the book.

[BleeckerSt_Girl]

I'm going to get a dutch oven! I bet Southern States carries them....

...This bread is fantastic, just like Lisa says. It's so great to have the dough in the fridge ready to bake. I took a loaf to a small luncheon on Sunday and it was a huge hit.

It think I'm going to swing for the book. I've been using recipes from the NYT adapted from the book. It's time I get the book.

I ordered my Dutch oven from here, I think someone right here on TE recommended them:
http://www.cajuncastiron.com/eshop/10Expand.asp?ProductCode=10487A
Of course you have to anticipate that the postage is going to be relatively high for heavy cast iron items.

I also ordered a smaller saucepan with lid and handle that will be good for cooking/heating food and water on the hot coals inside our living room woodstove when the electricity is out. Last time I used a cheap aluminum saucepan but I was afraid the hot coals would start melting it! Besides, I didn't savor heating my tea water or soup in aluminum.

I got the 6 qt dutch oven which matches the older one I have- the two will fit side by side in my oven to bake two loaves. the 6 quart is pretty big, and these artisan loaves aren't exactly huge from my recipes.
If you don't already know, the 'camp style' Dutch ovens have a flatter lid with a lip sticking up all around the outside top to hold hot coals on top of the lid if you are baking on a campfire, thus heating/baking the food from both top and bottom. Obviously you don't need this feature in a kitchen oven, and it's better to have a traditional domed lid for bread baking, to give extra rising room for the loaf.

It's cool to not have to bother with the steam pan or spraying to get a crispy crust! But I do highly recommend using parchment to make it easy to lift and gently place the loaf into the pot without having it deflate and without burning your fingers. I don't know how else i could do it! The parchment gets brown and brittle after baking, and can only be used once. Don't worry about parchment corners sticking out from under the lid while baking.

I just had some parmesan-laced boule toast with black sesame seeds for breakfast....mmmmmm..... :D

[Tuckervill]

We're going to the Buffalo National River this weekend, for canoeing, and I always bring my Dutch ovens for cooking on the coals. I'm going to make bread this time! :)

Karen

[Tuckervill]

Seriously, if you are going to buy a cast iron Dutch oven, hit the flea markets. You will pay a good price as if it were new, but the quality in an old one will be much better. http://blackirondude.blogspot.com/2008/05/old-cast-iron-vs-new-cast-iron.html

I have a friend who has PhD in food history, and she turned me on to that blog. We've discussed this over and over, and boy does she have a gorgeous collection of cast iron!

Karen

[tulip]

Flea markets are my number one destination, and then Southern States farm store. I don't want to have one mailed to me, as they are so heavy. I got my favorite cast iron skillet from a consignment store. I do have a Le Creuset pot with a top, but the handle/knob of the top is some sort of plastic and I don't think I should put it in the oven. Otherwise, it would do the trick.

[Tuckervill]

You can put the Le Creuset pot in the oven with the plastic top. I do it all the time.

Karen

[BleeckerSt_Girl]

You can put the Le Creuset pot in the oven with the plastic top. I do it all the time.

At 450F for 45 minutes?
I read that some people do have problems with the plastic handles. You are lucky!

Many places that sell La Creuset pots now stock the metal replacement handle specifically for high heat oven baking, you can buy it separately and screw it on yourself I think. I saw one for sale recently- or you can order one online.

[GLC1968]

You can put the Le Creuset pot in the oven with the plastic top. I do it all the time.

Karen

Yep, me too. It's designed for that - the 'plastic' is just the little handle and it's made of a high heat resistant material of some sort.

[tulip]

Yep, me too. It's designed for that - the 'plastic' is just the little handle and it's made of a high heat resistant material of some sort.

well, I suppose I could try...and put on all my fans and open all my windows to diffuse the toxic fumes from melting plastic...sure wish it was enameled cast iron like the rest of the pot, but I gotta say, those Le Creuset folks seem to know what they are doing. I might look into the replacement handle (it's more like a knob) that Lisa mentioned.

[GLC1968]

Yeah, mine's just got a little black knob, too.

The first time I used it was to make the no-knead bread from the NYT article, and it went fine. My dutch oven was a gift, and bought brand new, so if your's is an older model - then I can't vouch for it. Perhaps they made improvements when/if handles started melting?

Disclaimer: I did this in our old oven and it is possible that the temp wasn't all the way up to 450. I have not used it in our new oven that I know is correct, so...

I have heard of people replacing the handle with a metal drawer pull from HD and having it work fine. Just an idea...

[BleeckerSt_Girl]

One thing I was surprised to find was that our old refrigerator and freezer AND our oven were all at temps we did not expect!
I invested in a refrigerator/freezer thermometer, and found out that both our fridge and freezer were WAY colder than recommended even though they were set at 'normal'. I was able to turn both setting smuch lower and now have them fall within the proper range for fresh and frozen foods. This was one reason my dough was not resting long enough- it was way too cold when I took it out of the fridge each time.

I also got a new oven thermometer and it confirmed what I have long suspected- that our old 1970's oven runs much hotter than the setting control says. Now I know that if I set the oven knob to bake at about 410F, it really is baking at 450F!

These things make a big difference and are worth checking out.
We will be saving some money by lowering the fridge and freezer settings, for sure!

[tulip]

My Le Creuset casserole/dutch oven was a wedding gift from 1993, so maybe there have been improvements. All of my appliances are brand new, purchased in October when I started my kitchen renovation. My fridge has a built in thermometer, but who knows, the settings could always be wrong.

[BleeckerSt_Girl]

I got my new cast iron 6 qt. Dutch oven and 2 qt. covered saucepan from the "Cajun" cookware place in Louisiana today.

It's true that the quality is not as high as my old 1950's American cast iron items. They are, as I figured, made in China. :( They are heavier, thicker, and a little rougher in surface texture. BUT they will work fine for my baking purposes and now I can bake my usual two loaves of bread at once, together in the oven in my 2 iron pots. They just barely fit in there together! :eek: But fit they do!

Now I can look forward to cutting out 45 minutes of oven 'on' time every time I make bread. :) Something to appreciate during the summer, for sure!

[northstar]

This thread is inspiring! Your loaves of bread look absolutely beautiful. Off to find a copy of that book...hopefully I'll get to post some pics on here someday. :)

[laura jane]

Okay, this thread persuaded me to go out and buy the book and a few bread baking necessities. I'm going to mix up my first batch of dough tonight. My only question (for now) is, what do you keep the dough in to refrigerate? The book seems to go back and forth on airtight/non airtight container. Would a large tupperware container be okay or do I need something with a looser fitting lid?

[tulip]

I just put it in tupperware and don't close the lid all the way. Seems to work fine that way.

[BleeckerSt_Girl]

I use a tupperware type box, and I put a little folded bit of paper towel over one corner so the lid can't really snap on airtight.
One thing I've learned is the bread tastes better and has better texture if it's been in the fridge at least two days before baking. It's good for up to about 10 days.

My older daughter and partner came to visit this weekend, and I made two loaves of semolina bread in my two Dutch oven pots- the first time I used them side by side in the oven. They came out very nicely!:
http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3362/3608300125_e73cd7b507.jpg
The two loaves lasted about 24 hours amongst the four of us.

[Tuckervill]

I use a Rubbermaid Produce Saver, which is regular storage type, but has a little vent in it. It's not large enough for the whole dough, so I use it when I'm going to bake some right away. I just found out they have a 14-cup size! woohoo!

http://www.amazon.com/Rubbermaid-7J92-Produce-Storage-Container/dp/B000WEIICG/ref=pd_bxgy_k_text_b

Karen

[sweetpotatopie]

Not NEARLY as pretty as BleeckerSt's . . . but I sure as peas tried!

[BleeckerSt_Girl]

I'm sure your bread was delicious! Maybe it needed a few more minutes baking to brown it more?- was it done enough in the middle?
I have both underbaked and overbaked my breads. Two loaves I made a few days ago were a bit overdone and really too crunchy and dark.....I usually only take pictures of the ones that came out best! :D :rolleyes: :cool: but the more bread I bake the more of them come out well- just like with anything. :)
I learn a little something every time i make bread- that's part of the fun.

Hey, your stovetop looks a lot cleaner than mine! :cool:

[sweetpotatopie]

.....I usually only take pictures of the ones that came out best! :D


haha... sadly, me too... :p:)

[BleeckerSt_Girl]

haha... sadly, me too... :p:)

I had to DUMP the first two batches of bread I made in the GARBAGE- and no WAY I would have photographed them! :eek: You just get slowly a little better the more you make- hang in there, you're doing great! Bread does not have to be perfect to be appreciated and a great accomplishment. :D

[Photoflygirl]

I've only made ciabatta bread and some bread in our bread machine, which I find far too dense. I am inspired to buy this book and try some bread baking. I love your loaves, Lisa! They are so pretty.

[deedolce]

Those are GORGEOUS loaves, Lisa!
I'm getting so lazy. I just scoop out some dough, lump it on parchment paper, wait the 20 minutes, and pop it in the oven! I need to work on presentation...:p

[BleeckerSt_Girl]

Thank you guys for the compliments! :)

I guess I have gotten the hang of the presentation thing so that now that part only takes about three minutes before putting the two loaves in the oven. I either dust with flour and then slash, or else I paint with cornstarch/water glaze, sprinkle with seeds and then slash. Goes pretty quickly. You can make up a little jar of the watery cornstarch glaze and keep it in the fridge to use for about 3 weeks. For seeds, I use white sesame, black sesame, or poppy seed. It's fun to try different slash patterns, too. Sometimes we just like the flour dusting with no seeds at all.
I have found that baking them in the pre-heated cast iron pots creates perfect crusts every time without any steam pans or water spraying, etc. Using parchment to move the loaves and lower them into the pots makes life way easier. :)

[tulip]

I bought some black sesame seeds from a local South Asian store. I'm going to try a loaf in the dutch oven this weekend. Pics, if they're worthy, will be forthcoming.

[BleeckerSt_Girl]

I bought some black sesame seeds from a local South Asian store. I'm going to try a loaf in the dutch oven this weekend. Pics, if they're worthy, will be forthcoming.

Exciting!! :p
Be sure to preheat the oven at least 30 minutes with the dutch oven in there.


Using parchment paper helps to lower the loaf into the pot quickly without having it deflate. the paper doesn't mind the high temps, just gets dark brown and brittle and gets tossed afterwards.
I start the bread off at 500F and covered pot for 20m then I remove the lid and turn down to 450 for another 20m or so, but you'll have your own method I'm sure.

I'm excited to find out how your loaf goes!

[GLC1968]

Is it wrong that I had to buy a second fridge so that I could bake bread again?

Yes, I had to give up making this bread in the interest of using all available fridge space for milk and eggs. We currently have more than 6 dozen eggs and about 7 gallons of milk to store! I finally broke down and bought a small fridge for the milk so that I finally have room to store dough again! :o

[BleeckerSt_Girl]

Is it wrong that I had to buy a second fridge so that I could bake bread again?

Yes, I had to give up making this bread in the interest of using all available fridge space for milk and eggs. We currently have more than 6 dozen eggs and about 7 gallons of milk to store! I finally broke down and bought a small fridge for the milk so that I finally have room to store dough again! :o

It's not wrong at all- I think it's great!
My big new veggie garden is being dug right now and we plan to get a modest basement freezer maybe next year to start storing the berries and vegetables that i don't wind up canning. But first things first. ;)
I too find it a little difficult to find fridge space to store my dough for bread. My solution is to just make bread more often- 2 loaves every 3 days or so.

[bmccasland]

Awww, I wish it was cool enough to bake bread. I'll have to remember to look at this thread in November. It's too bloody hot to bake much of anything right now. Those loaves of bread look so yummy!!! And I'm hungry. Grumble. :(

[BleeckerSt_Girl]

Beth, I used to live in Puerto Rico so I totally understand the just-too-hot-to-bake thing. :o Things will cool down before you know it!

I had a delightful and relaxing fourth of July. Breakfast out, a bicycle ride, harvesting a bumper crop of fresh lettuce, organizing books.
Then in the late afternoon I mixed up a lot of dough and made two white boules from it before putting the rest in the fridge to 'ripen' for baking over the next week or so.
They came out so nicely. I just love making bread now that I've gotten the hang of this 'artisan no-knead' method well enough. Nothing fancy- our favorite is still just the plain old white boule from the basic starting recipe.

I started out baking on a baking stone with a steam pan underneath, but it seems that using the cast iron Dutch oven pots instead of the stone, and leaving the lids tightly closed for the first 20 minutes at 500F is really the key for me to get more oven spring and a crispy golden crust. After 20 minutes I take the lids off and bake for another 15 or 20 minutes at 450F.
http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3605/3688948184_ff3eb0c0a1.jpg

And GLC- Lots of people buy extra freezers to store their food bounty and economize. So why shouldn't one buy an extra refrigerator if you have unusually large fresh food storage needs? It's not like a useless mink coat or something, after all! ;D

[Biciclista]

excuse me, you are not KNEADING the dough to make those lovely little loaves?
I don't get it!

[shootingstar]

Bread surely tastes as lovely as it looks. It looks so ..arty, bleeckerstgirl. :)

[smilingcat]

hmm mouthwatering bread. They look so delish...

Time to bake another loaf tomorrow. :D :D :D maybe two loaves.

Oh we do have a second fridge in the garage and a deep freezer. We filler up with after thanksgiving turkey, freebie turkey and the like. I got my deep freezer off e-bay of all places and had it shipped from the east coast. And it was still cheaper than buying it here on the west coast.

You might check into e-bay for new equipment or used commercial equipment. They may not be pretty like sub-zero, or Amana but if it goes in the garage, I don't care if it looks industrial. In fact my deep freezer is industrial with NSF certification (okay for commercial use).

And no Mimi, kneading is not required. One thing we noticed though. These bread don't seem to hold up as well as the old traditional style. Or is this just me? I have a dough hook on my mixer so I went back to the kneading way. I just turn on the switch and two minutes later its finished kneading. Well I do knead briefly for the added measure and hand touch.

I think Bao is in order too. :D

[BleeckerSt_Girl]

One thing we noticed though. These bread don't seem to hold up as well as the old traditional style. Or is this just me?

What do you mean by 'hold up as well'? Do you mean mold?
I guess I'm not having that problem- our bread sits out on the counter with no problems for us. Usually it's eaten within 2 days, but on the rare occasion it's been out for 3 or 4 days it's still been fine.

That's right mimi, no kneading. You just mix a batch of wettish dough, let it rise for 2 hours til it starts collapsing again, then either use it or put in fridge to develop more flavor for up to 10 days. Then when you want to bake, you pull off a pound or so of it, quickly stretch it under itself to form a loaf with a nice surface tension, let it rest for 40-50 minutes, then bake. It does most of it's rising in the hot oven.

[mudmucker]

I don't buy bread I always make it because I don't like all the preservatives found in store bought bread. (No bakeries near me). But when I don't want to wait 2 hrs for new batch of artisan bread I use this. Here is a no-yeast quick bread recipe I use when I don't have a lot of time or I come home from work around 7 or 8 pm and want bread with my dinner. It's Navajo fry bread, except I NEVER fry it. I ALWAYS grill it even in the winter:

2 cups flour
2 Tablespoon powdered milk (just for a little flavor)
2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp salt
2 Tablespoon shortening (yeah, I know)
2/3 cup hot water

I actually mix this in a food processor for all of a minute, then pat it out into a log and cover it or use food wrap and rest it in the fridge for 30 minutes.

Then I pull off a piece and roll it out fairly thin to the size of a pie shell. I brush olive oil on both sides and then I grill the rolled out dough. It's actually quite tasty especially when it's grilled. If I have a little more time I'll sautee onions and garlic and add fresh thyme and basil and then put it on one side of the dough and flip the other side over it in half.

[smilingcat]

I don't buy bread I always make it because I don't like all the preservatives found in store bought bread. (No bakeries near me). But when I don't want to wait 2 hrs for new batch of artisan bread I use this. Here is a no-yeast quick bread recipe I use when I don't have a lot of time or I come home from work around 7 or 8 pm and want bread with my dinner. It's Navajo fry bread, except I NEVER fry it. I ALWAYS grill it even in the winter:

2 cups flour
2 Tablespoon powdered milk (just for a little flavor)
2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp salt
2 Tablespoon shortening (yeah, I know)
2/3 cup hot water

I actually mix this in a food processor for all of a minute, then pat it out into a log and cover it or use food wrap and rest it in the fridge for 30 minutes.

Then I pull off a piece and roll it out fairly thin to the size of a pie shell. I brush olive oil on both sides and then I grill the rolled out dough. It's actually quite tasty especially when it's grilled. If I have a little more time I'll sautee onions and garlic and add fresh thyme and basil and then put it on one side of the dough and flip the other side over it in half.

Thank you, thank you, thank you... I used to have a navajo flat bread recipe then I lost it. This looks lot like it except for the shortening. I remember the powdered milk, baking powder... but the shortening I don't remember??? The one I had, could be taken as a mix for mountaineering. Just add water bit of oil in the pan drop the dough in the pan and let it bake. And we would have hot bread at 12,000+ feet elevation. Didn't have to adjust for the thin air. I liked that bread it was yummy.

and Hi Lisa,

I guess I'm doing something wrong because it gets moldy after two days :( I wonder if it has to do with all that extra water in the dough and not allowing it to escape when I'm cooling it off on a cooling rack. :confused: :confused:

After you finish baking yours and comes straight out of the oven, what do you do??

If I try to bake my dough at 400+ F, the crust would get burnt black. I have a convection oven where the fan can not be turned off. I bake mine at 375 for about 10 minutes then drop the temp down to 325 then down to 275. Maybe I still have wayyy too much moisture in the bread.

[mudmucker]

Thank you, thank you, thank you... I used to have a navajo flat bread recipe then I lost it. This looks lot like it except for the shortening. I remember the powdered milk, baking powder... but the shortening I don't remember??? The one I had, could be taken as a mix for mountaineering. Just add water bit of oil in the pan drop the dough in the pan and let it bake. And we would have hot bread at 12,000+ feet elevation. Didn't have to adjust for the thin air. I liked that bread it was yummy.

I believe there may be some "recipes" that don't have the shortening. I wouldn't mind reducing/removing that portion out of the recipe, so I think I'll start experimenting and adjusting until I find a result I like.

[bmccasland]

As I recall the traditional recipies for fry bread used lard. So shortening is slightly less terrible ;)

I just ate the stuff when my neighbors made it :D
(fried in lard)

[BleeckerSt_Girl]

and Hi Lisa,
I guess I'm doing something wrong because it gets moldy after two days :( I wonder if it has to do with all that extra water in the dough and not allowing it to escape when I'm cooling it off on a cooling rack. :confused: :confused:
After you finish baking yours and comes straight out of the oven, what do you do??

If I try to bake my dough at 400+ F, the crust would get burnt black. I have a convection oven where the fan can not be turned off. I bake mine at 375 for about 10 minutes then drop the temp down to 325 then down to 275. Maybe I still have wayyy too much moisture in the bread.

Cat-
when my bread comes out of the oven I just let it sit on a cooling rack. Sometimes we eat some after 3o minutes or so. I leave it out open until we go to bed, then I just loosely put it in a plastic supermarket bag, loose and not airtight, and that's how it stays on the counter til it's eaten. Perhaps if you are keeping it in an airtight plastic bag this encourages mold. That's why old fashioned tin bread boxes had little holes on the sides- bread needs a bit a of air circulation to avoid spoiling, I think. Same technique applies to storing lettuce and veggies in the fridge- leave a bit of an opening in it's container and it will stay fresh longer than if you seal the tupperware or plastic bag completely.

Aside from that though, your oven temps sound less than ideal and I'm sure you would do better if you were able to bake your bread more 'normally' at +/- the 450F range. Are you sure you have it set for bake (not broil) and your bread is centered in the oven? I don't know why your crust would burn black at 400F- something doesn't sound quite right there. Perhaps get an oven thermometer at the store and check to see if the settings are really accurate. I know my 1970's oven runs 50 degrees hotter than what the dial 'says' it's set for. So when i set the dial to bake at 400, the oven is actually 450 degrees. I found that out when i bought a thermometer to check it- I was glad to know that, I always suspected it was runnning a bit hotter than what I set it for.

If any of you use the Artisan Brad 5 Minutes a Day technique, then you can use any of the doughs to make a quick Indian flat bread, Naan:
http://www.artisanbreadinfive.com/?p=582
I made it once and it was VERY delicious and VERY easy. I used a piece of the usual white boule basic dough to make it. Trouble was, it was pretty buttery and tasted so good we ate it all up immediately and felt like we used up our entire day's calories and fat at once! :rolleyes:

[tulip]

Keeping bread in the refrigerator encourages mold. Keep it out of the fridge, preferably in a brown paper bag. I also agree with Lisa's observations about the baking temperature. 400 should not burn the bread, so your oven might be off.

[mudmucker]

It's also been suggested to me to just invert the bread, cut side down right on the cutting board without any kind of bag. This is what I do. Cut side doesn't get dry and outside stays crisp. But then, my artisan bread doesn't last long on my countertop anyways.

[bmccasland]

But then, my artisan bread doesn't last long on my countertop anyways.


Because of big two legged bread eating monsters??? :D

[smilingcat]

My kitchen is soo old and the opening for the oven is way too small for any new ovens to fit. The original oven died several years ago. so I have my "portable" convection oven on a counter top. I like it a lot since it doesn't radiate so much heat into the kitchen. I've taken temperature inside it front, back, corners and its fine. And I've used several thermometers to take the reading. One thing though, it is bit small to be baking a full size loaf in it. It's just under 1.5 cu feet of space.

It's portable in quotation marks. Its about as big as it can get and still be called portable. It does hold three standard half sheets. 13"x18" baking sheet.

moldy problem?? I store both kinds, the no-knead and traditional, the same way and the no knead seems to get moldy faster. And yes I do have a cooling rack so not sure what is the difference. Or maybe its just my partners perception.

[Susan Otcenas]

So, I've had the Artisan Bread in 5 Minutes a Day book for a few months, but have only this weekend had the time to sit down and read it. (Yes, I can read a cookbook like a novel... :D )

Anyway, last night I whipped up the basic Boule recipe. This morning I pulled the dough out and made 2 loaves. Oh. My. Goodness. This stuff is amazing. Never have I made bread this easily, that tasted this good! My waistline is in deep trouble. ;)

And, just like the book said, the loaves audibly crackled for a good 5 minutes or so after I pulled them out of the oven. I was dancing around the kitchen like a little kid, I was so tickled. Jeff was outside building a new fence around our garden, and I made him come all the way inside so he could listen to it. :)

[Biciclista]

ok, ok, I'll try it.

[hoffsquared]

Here's my 1st attempt at Artisan Bread in 5 minutes. They turned out alot better than I expected since my bread baking skills are still in their formative stages.

[BleeckerSt_Girl]

So cool that you guys are now doing this! :D

[solobiker]

I think I need to try this. DH loves bread.

[Biciclista]

well, Bleek, it's one thing when a talented woman who has lots of time at home can do it. But when all these other biker gals who work fulltime or more and spend millions of hours on their bikes can do it too, then I am feeling a bit more like it's a possibility.

I have dough. hopefully it was mixed enough.

[Susan Otcenas]

Seriously, Mimi, I'm shocked at how easy (and quick) it was to pull this together. I used the dough hook on my Kitchenaid to mix this dough. Mixed it just until it was all combined. Then I just plopped it into a big plastic bucket, let it rise a few hours, then stuck it in the fridge.

[NoNo]

That is a book I must get.....

[hoffsquared]

Here are some basics on this bread from Mother Earth News (http://www.motherearthnews.com/Real-Food/Artisan-Bread-In-Five-Minutes-A-Day.aspx).

[GLC1968]

Anyway, last night I whipped up the basic Boule recipe. This morning I pulled the dough out and made 2 loaves.

Well it's about time, lady! ;)

Your loaves turned out gorgeous!

I think I need to make a concerted effort to clear out some milk so that I can fit a batch of dough in our fridge. I don't think I've made this since we freshened Sass because I can't spare the fridge space!

[Susan Otcenas]

Your loaves turned out gorgeous!



Thanks! I thought they turned out really well, given that it was my first effort. I'm looking forward to trying some seeded breads and herb breads too.

[tulip]

I think I need to make a concerted effort to clear out some milk so that I can fit a batch of dough in our fridge. I don't think I've made this since we freshened Sass because I can't spare the fridge space!

Maybe you could bake some bread using Sass milk in place of water. It would be like having goat cheese baked right in.

[five one]

Those lovely pictures reminded me I need to get back to bread baking. I let it slide during the summer. Has anyone tried the whole grain recipes? I didn't get that far in my experiments last spring. I'd much prefer the peasant breads to those made with all white flour (though those are decidedly yummy!).

One thing at a time however. Right now I'm up to my elbows in gingerbread cookie baking/decorating :D.

[Susan Otcenas]

Last night I made pulled some more dough out of the fridge to make another loaf.

I did everything exactly the same as the first time. Warmed up the oven with the pizza stone & broiler pan (for the water) inside, same temps, etc. Slid the loaf off the pizza peel and onto the stone.

10 minutes later. CRACK! My pizza stone broke into three pieces. :( It's Pampered Chef, so I'm pretty sure it's guaranteed, but still. Any idea why that happened??

Susan

Actually, on contemplation there is one thing that was slightly different. Last week, I let the bread rising for probably anhour and a half before putting it in the oven. (I got distracted doing other things.) Yesterday, it was only about 45 minutes. So, I guess the dough would have been a little cooler. But that's really the only difference.

[Biciclista]

Susan, it's not the bread's fault that the stone broke. The only thing that could do that is moisture in the stone. I"ve been using a "dutch oven" a porcelain clad heavy cast iron pot with a lid. it really works well. I think Pampered CHef owes you a new stone.

[BleeckerSt_Girl]

Yes, the cooler wettish dough may have pushed the stone over the edge.
Susan, did you sprinkle the stone liberally with corn meal to prevent the dough from sticking to it too much?

Actually, many people complain about their pizza stones cracking at 450F or so. Many pizza stones are too thin. The Artisan bread book recommends getting the baking stone from Williams & Sonoma (also guaranteed not to crack or they'll replace it). I got it and indeed it was substantially thicker than the old pizza stone I had. Oddly, the pizza stone offered for sale in my local W&S mall store was a thin one. The thick one I ordered online, it was the only one W&S offered online.

The other technique you could use which avoids stones and streaming altogether is using a cast iron Dutch Oven pot. I have switched to it because the crust is always golden and shiny and crispy...perfect! Here are some pictures of my pot and the parchment baking paper I use to lower the loaf into the hot pot to start baking:
http://strumelia.blogspot.com/2009/05/sourdough-baked-in-my-dutch-oven.html
and here is how my loaves turn out when baked in the iron pots:
http://strumelia.blogspot.com/2009/06/two-semolina-loaves.html
the loaves bake in the pre-heated covered pots first for 20 minutes at 500F, then I remove the lid (careful, it HOT) and bake another 20 minutes at 450F.

[tulip]

Lisa, your loaves are lovely. I also adore those old loop potholders in the photo--did you or your daughters make those circa 1979?? I wish I still had that potholder loom and all those loops!

[BleeckerSt_Girl]

Lisa, your loaves are lovely. I also adore those old loop potholders in the photo--did you or your daughters make those circa 1979?? I wish I still had that potholder loom and all those loops!

Thanks Tulip. :)
Yes indeed, my two daughters made those old loop potholders....must be about 20 years ago now, when they were around 10 years old maybe. (gosh, can it be that long ago?!) :eek:
I cherish the potholders- I have about 6 of them. I remember buying the loom and the big bag of loops for them for Xmas one year....they loved it! Hey, you can still buy such things!

sigh....the last 'Atari-optional' generation...

[Biciclista]

my second loaf of bread

[tulip]

Mimi! You did it! You did it! I'm sooooo proud of you! Beautiful loaf, too!

[Biciclista]

:p I had a lot of help from Bleek

[Susan Otcenas]

Susan, it's not the bread's fault that the stone broke. The only thing that could do that is moisture in the stone.

I'm not entirely sure I agree. I have a photo at home that I'll post later. The crack radiated out from the center, precisely where the bread was sitting.

[Biciclista]

You and Lisa are probably right, but still, one would expect more from a stone!

[tulip]

I finally tried it the Dutch Oven way--and I'm hooked! No more pizza stones for me. Thanks for the inspiration, Lisa.

[jesvetmed]

You guys are making my mouth water with all those wonderful pictures! This after having just admitted I gained 2 lb this week on the weight loss thread!

[BleeckerSt_Girl]

Hey, you're welcome! :D

Be sure to sprinkle LOTS of corn meal on the parchment paper before you put the dough ball on it- it will keep the paper from gluing itself to the bread when baking.
The iron pot technique gives the BEST crust- twice as good as baking on the stone with the annoying steam pan, I found. :p
I actually bake two loaves at the same time in two Dutch oven pots, which just barely fit in my oven together diagonally.

[papaver]

This is my attempt

http://i229.photobucket.com/albums/ee261/fattiebert/IMG_3265.jpg

[BleeckerSt_Girl]

Papaver,
that looks like very yummy bread!

From the photo, it looks like maybe the dough was a bit more moist than necessary, thus it formed itself around the folds in the paper after being placed in the hot pot.
Did you preheat the pot in the 450-500F oven for at least 20 min before placing the bread in? That's important to get a quick puff up and seal the crust right away so the dough can't creep around once it's in the hot pot and covered.
The other thing is that you only really need one layer of parchment.

How did it taste?

[papaver]

it tasted great!

[sgtiger]

it tasted great!

That's the most important part.:D:cool:

[papaver]

That's the most important part.:D:cool:


:D :D:D

[MommyBird]

What type of flour do you use for your artisan breads?
Do you mill your own?

[tulip]

I use regular unbleached flour that I find at my grocery store. My store does not carry unmilled flour, although if they did I'd be tempted to try to mill it.

I've also mixed whole wheat flour with white with good results.

[BleeckerSt_Girl]

I use King Arthur brand unbleached all-purpose flour.

I think if I tried milling my own flour I'd have to give up doing some other thing I enjoy doing more. Plus, then I'd start feeling like I had to grow my own wheat or something.... :cool:

[tulip]

Yesterday I made a loaf for a friend. She brought it to her sister's for dinner and it was a big hit. Today I made another loaf and just had a steaming slice (with butter, of course). It's so good!

I'm making bread for holiday presents.

[papaver]

Yesterday I made a loaf for a friend. She brought it to her sister's for dinner and it was a big hit. Today I made another loaf and just had a steaming slice (with butter, of course). It's so good!

I'm making bread for holiday presents.

put a little fleur de sel on the butter... that's even more yum! ;)

[GLC1968]

On Saturday I pulled out my big tupperware that I use to store the dough. My plan was to mix up a batch to bake on Sunday and for the rest of the week.

Then I realized that it was a big mistake. I'm trying to lose weight and having fresh baked bread in the house is a really, really bad idea. I cannot eat this in moderation! So, I put the tupperware away last night and decided that I'll save bread making for another day. So sad! :(

[tulip]

Can you make just one little itty bitty boule a day?

[Susan Otcenas]

Here's the photo of my broken pizza stone. :(

I'm sure it was the bread that broke it. Basically, the cool-ish bread dough sucks the heat disproportionately out of the spot it sits on. Get a big enough temp difference and it will crack.

As I thought more about it , I realized that not only was this loaf cooler than the first time I baked (this loaf having only been out of the fridge for 45 minutes vs. 1.5 hours for the first batch), but also that I only made 1 loaf, instead of 2 the first time. The first 2 were larger and warmer, and would have cooled the stone less dramatically.

I've been emailing back and forth with Pampered Chef. I don't have any of my original purchase info, but it looks like they are going to make an exception for me and replace it. :)

Susan

[GLC1968]

Can you make just one little itty bitty boule a day?

I could - but then I'd eat it! ;) It's ok...when I'm not in active loss mode, I'll be baking artisan bread again. AND, I'll be baking regular loaves for my H's sandwiches next weekend, so I'll get to taste those, of course!

Susan - Can I just say that I love that you thought to take a photo of this event?! I do one loaf on my pizza stone all the time - and my house is normally freezing (as is my dough) so there was probably a defect in your stone. That seems pretty extreme!

[Susan Otcenas]

Susan - Can I just say that I love that you thought to take a photo of this event?!

I thought that Pampered Chef might want to see how it failed.

I was just flipping through the book, contemplating my next batch of dough...:D I'm thinking either olive bread or a peasant loaf.

[five one]

I'm thinking either olive bread or a peasant loaf.

I made the oatmeal bread dough Sunday morning and baked the bread last night (variation with raisins and walnuts). It was fabulous!

[papaver]

my second attempt...

http://i229.photobucket.com/albums/ee261/fattiebert/IMG_3267-1.jpg

http://www.cheesebuerger.de/images/midi/nahrung/a015.gif

[BleeckerSt_Girl]

my second attempt...

http://i229.photobucket.com/albums/ee261/fattiebert/IMG_3267-1.jpg


Beautiful!

Susan- here is what i do for my olive loaves:
http://strumelia.blogspot.com/2009/05/olive-bread.html

[Biciclista]

my third (and last from that batch) loaf looks like papaver's first loaf. I think next time i will make a 4 cup batch instead of a 6 cup batch, we would be more likely to use it all up in time.

[hoffsquared]

So how do I get my boule's to expand evenly along the X mark I make. My loaf this morning came out all lopsided. Only part of the cut expanded? This has happened a few times.

[tulip]

So how do I get my boule's to expand evenly along the X mark I make. My loaf this morning came out all lopsided. Only part of the cut expanded? This has happened a few times.

sprinkle some flour on the top, spread it around, and slash with a SHARP knife, a bit deeper than you think you should. I prefer three parallel slashes to the X.

[Susan Otcenas]

Thanks for the link, Lisa. Your olive bread looks fantastic.

I have enough dough for one more loaf, so I think I will try this.

I need to send my broken pizza stone back to Pampered Chef, and I don't own a dutch oven, so this loaf will probably just get done on a cookie sheet. Unless someone has a better idea....

[hoffsquared]

sprinkle some flour on the top, spread it around, and slash with a SHARP knife, a bit deeper than you think you should. I prefer three parallel slashes to the X.

Thanks I will try the three slashes next time. Also go a bit deeper.

[BleeckerSt_Girl]

I usually do six or eight slashes in a star pattern as opposed to a four-slash star- it gives more places to expand.
Or I slash in a diagonal 'wheat' pattern, a slash every inch and a half or so.
Or diagonal parallel slashes, 4 or 5 slashes.
Like some of these (http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_9fPBEJTqGzw/Sg26JpazQGI/AAAAAAAACDI/IyeV61CNRMs/s1600-h/4-loaves_1.jpg).

[papaver]

Like some of these (http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_9fPBEJTqGzw/Sg26JpazQGI/AAAAAAAACDI/IyeV61CNRMs/s1600-h/4-loaves_1.jpg).

oh look... bread art. :D

[NoNo]

I drove all over creation trying to find this book today, to no avail! It was even checked out of both libraries I went to!:mad: Part of my taking time off from work plan was to do some baking, and it's looking like that won't happen as I'll have to order the book and wait for it to come. I'm majorly bummed out.:(

[tulip]

I don't have the book. I got the basic recipe from the New York Times website. Google it; I'm sure you'll find it. The Splendid Table had a piece on a similar (original?) recipe over the weekend. You could look there, too, but that recipe says let it rise for alot longer than I do, unless you count the time that the rest of the dough is in the fridge.

One batch--3 medium boules--lasted me a week, and that includes giving one boule away to a neighbor. I could easily have eaten that one, though.

[NoNo]

I don't have the book. I got the basic recipe from the New York Times website. Google it; I'm sure you'll find it. The Splendid Table had a piece on a similar (original?) recipe over the weekend. You could look there, too, but that recipe says let it rise for alot longer than I do, unless you count the time that the rest of the dough is in the fridge.

One batch--3 medium boules--lasted me a week, and that includes giving one boule away to a neighbor. I could easily have eaten that one, though.

Thanks! I'll do some searching and hopefully be able to start that batch while I order the book online and wait. Mmmmmm..........bread:D

On a slightly related topic, what do you ladies like to put on all these breads you're making? What's your favorite? Mine changes based on the day, type of bread, what it's being eaten with, lunar cycle, etc. Sometimes I just want a good old warm, buttery piece of bread. Other times I'll choose honey, homemade jams, or olive oil. But my new favorite is Peanut Butter & Co's Dark Chocolate Dreams. Natural peanut butter and dark chocolate mixed together into every hormonal woman's dream. I find things just to dip in there. Sometimes I just take a spoon and eat from the jar. Don't judge me.:p

[MommyBird]

It pains me, but I guess I will have to resort to buying processed flour if I want to attempt some of this beautiful bread. My research did not reveal the information that I had hoped. There is an incredibly tedious process you can use to prepare freshly milled flour for artisan bread but all sites said "don't bother, buy a high quality processed flour."

I have a friend in SC who mills and makes a variety of bread styles. I believe she she told me she uses Kamut for her artisan loafs. I will have to get in touch with her. I add spelt and kamut to my whole wheat for a lighter flavor and texture. I have not tried a straight kamut loaf. I ran out last week, so I will need to place a BreadBecker's order. Yippee!

I use King Aurthur in my Airstream pantry because fresh milled has such a short shelf-life and there is little room for a wheat mill and a 45lb bucket. Would KA be a good choice, or is there another recommendation?

But my mill will not sit idle...my men will still want their share of hearty wheat bread. Plus, there are always the tortillas and other goodies we make. In fact, I will have it out later today to mill flour for the cookies I am making for tomorrow's regatta.

[BleeckerSt_Girl]

I use King Aurthur in my Airstream pantry because fresh milled has such a short shelf-life and there is little room for a wheat mill and a 45lb bucket. Would KA be a good choice, or is there another recommendation?

I use KA unbleached AllPurpose flour for my bread and it comes out wonderfully.
I've tried adding some whole wheat flour into the mix, but it never comes out quite as good in our opinion (even thought it's healthier)...so when making our bread I just use the KA all purpose. I buy mixed whole grain bread from our local bakery when I am not baking our own bread.

[sgtiger]

NoNo: Here's the master recipe if you want to try it while waiting to get your hands on the book:
http://www.artisanbreadinfive.com/?p=195

And for how to shape the dough, there's YouTube:
http://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=artisan+bread&search_type=&aq=f


MommyBird - I'd recommend you check out the new book which has recipes that use whole grain.

http://www.amazon.com/Healthy-Bread-Five-Minutes-Day/dp/0312545525/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1258128465&sr=8-1

Here's the whole grain master recipe on their site:
http://www.artisanbreadinfive.com/?p=1087

And an article where Zoe uses freshly milled grain:
http://www.artisanbreadinfive.com/?p=1165#more-1165

[GLC1968]

It pains me, but I guess I will have to resort to buying processed flour if I want to attempt some of this beautiful bread. My research did not reveal the information that I had hoped. There is an incredibly tedious process you can use to prepare freshly milled flour for artisan bread but all sites said "don't bother, buy a high quality processed flour."

I have a friend in SC who mills and makes a variety of bread styles. I believe she she told me she uses Kamut for her artisan loafs. I will have to get in touch with her. I add spelt and kamut to my whole wheat for a lighter flavor and texture. I have not tried a straight kamut loaf. I ran out last week, so I will need to place a BreadBecker's order. Yippee!

I use King Aurthur in my Airstream pantry because fresh milled has such a short shelf-life and there is little room for a wheat mill and a 45lb bucket. Would KA be a good choice, or is there another recommendation?

But my mill will not sit idle...my men will still want their share of hearty wheat bread. Plus, there are always the tortillas and other goodies we make. In fact, I will have it out later today to mill flour for the cookies I am making for tomorrow's regatta.

How big is your mill that you need a 45lb bucket?! :eek:

I have an old but effective table top one that works very well.
http://simplemetamorphosis.blogspot.com/2009/06/magic-mill.html

I also get 95% of my flour directly from Bob's Red Mill (local to me) but their stuff is high quality. I don't know if you can get all the varieties on the east coast, but I know I used to be able to find my favorite 10-grain waffle mix from them at Fresh Market when I lived in NC. It's worth a shot. KA stuff is wonderful too, of course.

[Susan Otcenas]

Well, I sent off my broken stone to Pampered Chef. But I still had one loaf's worth of dough left, so last night I made a loaf without the stone.

I put the shaped loaf on a plain ol' aluminum cookie sheet. It came out beautifully. Almost exactly like the ones I made using the stone. So, I don't think I'll wait for the new stone to come before I make more bread.

Susan

[NoNo]

I followed Tulip's suggestion and found the recipe on the NYT site. Mixed it up this morning, let it rise, and have two loaves waiting to go in the oven now:D While waiting, I threw together my first batch of soap, I'm very interested to see how it turns out.

[papaver]

I followed Tulip's suggestion and found the recipe on the NYT site. Mixed it up this morning, let it rise, and have two loaves waiting to go in the oven now:D While waiting, I threw together my first batch of soap, I'm very interested to see how it turns out.


soap? Or soup? :D

[NoNo]

soap? Or soup? :D

Soap. I'll get around to soup at some point. Right now I have to clean up this mess:(

[NoNo]

Oh my goodness, is my stomach happy! I will say that I pulled them out because the top seemed to be getting over-brown, but the bottoms were almost slightly undercooked. I'll have to play with leaving the stone in longer to heat up (did about 30min this time) and lowering the temp a tad to let it cook longer.
http://photos-h.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-snc3/hs070.snc3/13745_1262029641043_1538774168_30710928_7692682_n.jpg

[papaver]

looks wonderful!

[NoNo]

Since I mentioned the soap, here's a picture of that, as well:

http://photos-f.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-snc3/hs070.snc3/13745_1262061921850_1538774168_30710969_3460905_n.jpg

I had trouble getting them out and ran a little too much warm water over that guy on the left. Live and learn. They smell like cranberry:)

[papaver]

last night I dreamt that my mom threw away my dough... what a nightmare. :eek: :D:D

[BleeckerSt_Girl]

Oh my goodness, is my stomach happy! I will say that I pulled them out because the top seemed to be getting over-brown, but the bottoms were almost slightly undercooked. I'll have to play with leaving the stone in longer to heat up (did about 30min this time) and lowering the temp a tad to let it cook longer.

Non-no, those are gorgeous! :D

Might i humbly suggest that if you want the bottom to cook more, that you preheat the oven on at least 450F for 30 min, then put in the bread, let bake at 450, then lower it to maybe 400 for the last 15 min.
If you lower the oven temp from the beginning and cook longer, you are even more likely to have an undercooked bottom of the loaves. They need that really hot temp on their bottoms right in the beginning of baking to cook properly. Be sure to not put a cool fridge-chilled loaf into the very hot oven. The extremes might crack your stone and a cool loaf will not have a chance to expand much in the oven before the outer surface of the loaf hardens and prevents further expansion (called 'oven spring'). baking a chilled loaf would tend to come out small, dense, undercooked inside and overcooked outside.
I have found that I get the best results when putting a room temp loaf into a very hot well-preheated oven, then lowering the temp 25 degrees halfway through baking. Of course that is merely my own experience.


last night I dreamt that my mom threw away my dough... what a nightmare. :eek: :D:D

Wow, a classic mother dream! :eek: ;) I have lots of weird 'mother dreams' too- i suspect many of us do, regardless of our level of love for our mothers. It's just our inner child being worried. ;)

[withm]

I have succumbed to Artisan Bread. I had been on the waiting list at the library since this thread started and it was finally my turn for the book. I can see already I will have to buy it.

I cut the recipe in half - thinking I am only 1 person, and really don't need to have lots of good tasting bread around all the time. I made the dough Wed evening, intending to bake the first loaf Thurs - unfortunatley Mother Nature had other ideas (see November Nor'easter thread for those gory details). So I finally pinched off 1/2 of my dough from the fridge - it's a small loaf, about 3/4 lb but that's OK. Not owning a pizza peel and baking stone I opted for the Dutch Oven method. I cooked it covered in the Dutch oven for 20 minutes, but it was not brown yet, so gave it another 10 minutes and it looked pretty good so I took it out. Possibly it could have had a few more minutes but it's pretty tasty.

I can see that it will be good to have a full sized batch of this stuff in the fridge when I have my shoulder surgery next week. My sister and brother in law will be coming to stay with me then and it will be wonderful to have homemade bread so readily available. Even my sister will be able to do this:) and she is not so much of a cook.

[papaver]

withm... it's 20 mins with the cover on AND 20 mins without the cover... :D

[withm]

withm... it's 20 mins with the cover on AND 20 mins without the cover... :D

You know, I had a feeling it was something like that. But I didn't think I saw that in the book, only here on TE. Thanks for the tip.

Still tastes good, and crusty.

[BleeckerSt_Girl]

They don't talk about the Dutch oven/iron pot method in the book.
But they do have it on their website, here!:
http://www.artisanbreadinfive.com/?p=552
with some good instructions and photos!
One tip: they have you place your dough directly on the parchment paper. If you sprinkle the paper first with a generous amount of corn meal in an area twice the size of your dough ball,, the loaf won't stick/glue itself to the paper once it's done baking.

I've made a lot of loaves both on a stone with steam pan, and in an iron pot (covered only first half of baking). For great golden crispy crusts, the pot method wins hands down for me. :p

By the way, I got my book used on Amazon so I saved some 'dough' there. ;)

[withm]

Oh sure.... NOW you tell me.

Those photos at the Dutch oven link are great. I did pretty much everything they said, except cook the whole thing at 450, covered. For what it's worth, the knob on my Le Creuset did just fine. Now I know for next time.

Has anyone made the herb bread with thyme and rosemary? I think I want to try that one next. Ought to be perfect for turkey sandwiches.

Martha

[NoNo]

Bleeker: Those loaves were baked right after they rose. I rounded and let them sit 40 minutes. I turned the oven on 450 and had the stone in there for 30 minutes before I put the dough on. So it should have been warm enough and the dough wasn't cold at all. That's why I was thinking maybe slightly (like 425) lower the temp so it could stay in a little longer without the tops burning. I'm going to pick up the book tomorrow, I found a coupon for 25% off one item at Barnes and Noble:cool:

[smilingcat]

guess its time to go make some baugettes and get out the soft brie or goat cheese... A glass of white wine...

All those loaves of bread looks so good and the house is getting tad cold.

[BleeckerSt_Girl]

Bleeker: Those loaves were baked right after they rose. I rounded and let them sit 40 minutes. I turned the oven on 450 and had the stone in there for 30 minutes before I put the dough on. So it should have been warm enough and the dough wasn't cold at all. That's why I was thinking maybe slightly (like 425) lower the temp so it could stay in a little longer without the tops burning. I'm going to pick up the book tomorrow, I found a coupon for 25% off one item at Barnes and Noble:cool:

Ok, so knowing all that then....
I would leave the temp the same, but quickly open the oven door and lay a sheet of foil lightly over the top of the loaves for the last few min you plan on baking them longer. Lay the foil on right when the crust looks good to you....that will stop the tops from getting any browner. But leave the temp the same I'd say (especially since you just opend the oven) . Just my own 2 cents. Try both ways! :)

[NoNo]

The foil method worked perfectly! It also protected my bread's brain from being read by aliens.

http://photos-d.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-snc3/hs022.snc3/10969_1263419715794_1538774168_30714021_7720594_n.jpg

Sadly, I'm bringing that loaf into work tomorrow, but I do have a fresh batch of dough curing in the fridge, and I finally got my hands on the book! I think it's time to try something new...

[GLC1968]

It also protected my bread's brain from being read by aliens.


Always important! :D


Withm - I did the thyme/rosemary bread with the basic boule and it was amazing. My favorite variation so far!

[MommyBird]

How big is your mill that you need a 45lb bucket?! :eek:

I buy bulk wheat berries in 45lb buckets. Un-milled, the berries are "alive" and will keep for years if they are kept dry and pest free. Processed flours, even the high quality varieties, are stripped of the most healthy nutrients to prolong their shelf life. The good stuff goes bad fast.

If you buy from a mill whose flour can sit on a shelf for more than a week and not go sour, they have processed out some of the vital nutrients.

I keep three varieties of wheat in 45lb buckets in my pantry. I buy some special varieties and other grains in 5lb pails. I also buy bulk honey for my bread. Next time I order I plan to get 45 lbs of Kamut as I have had such success with it.

I use an electric mill called the WonderMill and a huge capacity mixer called The Elecrolux Assistent. I usually make a six loaf batch which requires up to 15 cups of flour.

I order most of my "Real Bread" making supplies from:
http://breadbeckers.com/

Sue Becker has a great testimony on the site about her family's experience with home milling.

[GLC1968]

I understand the reasoning behind home milling - but I still don't see why you have to mill all the wheat berries at once. In my case, there are only two of us, so I would never mill the whole 45 lb bucket in a single pass. We'd never use it up before it spoiled.

If you are trying to do this on a smaller scale (for a smaller space), why not just mill what you need instead of doing the entire batch at once?

[MommyBird]

I understand the reasoning behind home milling - but I still don't see why you have to mill all the wheat berries at once. In my case, there are only two of us, so I would never mill the whole 45 lb bucket in a single pass. We'd never use it up before it spoiled.

If you are trying to do this on a smaller scale (for a smaller space), why not just mill what you need instead of doing the entire batch at once?

I do not mill the whole 45lbs at once. I scoop out the wheat berries I need for the recipe I am making, mill and store any remaining flour in the freezer. The buckets do not store flour, they store the whole, un-milled wheat berries.

I do mill around ten cups of berries at one time when I make bread. Smaller amounts for tortillas and other uses.

I empty 2-3 of the buckets a year. Wheat berries (seeds, grains) keep for years and it is more economical to buy in bulk than to get a pound here and there at the health food store. I use Gamma Seals on my buckets to make them more moisture and pest proof and easier to open.

We rarely purchase store bread. Only if my schedule has been hectic and I have not gotten a chance to bake.

[NoNo]

Sundried tomato and parmesan loaf:
http://photos-c.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-snc3/hs002.snc3/10969_1264057611741_1538774168_30715861_1909387_n.jpg

Inside (sorry about the crappy cell phone picture):
http://photos-g.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-snc3/hs002.snc3/10969_1264075092178_1538774168_30715889_8086389_n.jpg

I forgot to brush the top with olive oil and score it, but believe me, it has not affected the taste at all!

[NbyNW]

This thread is so inspiring! Now that my stuff is out of storage I'm looking forward to trying that cast iron pot method!

[GLC1968]

I do not mill the whole 45lbs at once. I scoop out the wheat berries I need for the recipe I am making, mill and store any remaining flour in the freezer. The buckets do not store flour, they store the whole, un-milled wheat berries.

I do mill around ten cups of berries at one time when I make bread. Smaller amounts for tortillas and other uses.

I empty 2-3 of the buckets a year. Wheat berries (seeds, grains) keep for years and it is more economical to buy in bulk than to get a pound here and there at the health food store. I use Gamma Seals on my buckets to make them more moisture and pest proof and easier to open.

We rarely purchase store bread. Only if my schedule has been hectic and I have not gotten a chance to bake.

Ah - got it. I thought you needed the big buckets in order to mill. You just use them to store the berries prior to milling. That makes more sense! I do the same thing - I was just confused by your dilemma of needing to fit a 45lb bucket in a small space. ;)

[MommyBird]

GLC1968-
I had to re-read my posts to see what "small space" you were talking about.
I have a huge pantry in my house, but I do not have a lot of storage space in my Airstream. Trailer, aluminum, twinkie shaped thing.
I use processed flour only while camping because I need the shelf life.
I couldn't figure out why you were so confused. Now I understand.
Sorry for the confusion.

[NoNo]

I have a question to those of you who have made the olive bread. I made it the other day with the olive oil dough and it was fantastic! However, I feel like I need to double the amount of olives they call for, and all of my olives ended up at the top of the loaf. How do you get them to spread more evenly throughout the dough?

[BleeckerSt_Girl]

I have a question to those of you who have made the olive bread. I made it the other day with the olive oil dough and it was fantastic! However, I feel like I need to double the amount of olives they call for, and all of my olives ended up at the top of the loaf. How do you get them to spread more evenly throughout the dough?

Best done fresh mixed dough, not from fridge-stored (too cold):
After the dough has been mixed and risen for two hours, then pull of your usual amount of dough to make a loaf with.
Put it on the floured counter, and pull-pat it into a rectangle about 1/4" to 3/8" thick. Sprinkle the olive ingredients (i use sliced calamata olives, some pre-soked sundried tom., and some browned garlic or onions) evenly over the rectangle of dough.
Roll the rectangle up from one end, then pull the surface over it to make a ball with a skin of dough that has a bit if tension, careful not to tear holes as you pull the skin. Tuck the edges under the ball, then lay the ball as usual on your corn-meal sprinkled parchment paper. Let rest as usual, then dust top with flour (I use a little strainer to sprinkle the flour dusting), slash with at least 4 or 5 slashes 1/4" deep, and bake. This is how I do it and it comes out pretty well.

[NoNo]

Roll the rectangle up from one end, then pull the surface over it to make a ball with a skin of dough that has a bit if tension, careful not to tear holes as you pull the skin.

Are you rolling along the long or short end of the rectangle, or does it not matter? That sounds similar to the technique they describe for the sun-dried tomato bread, where you get more of a stuffed bread look, not what I'm trying to do with this.

[BleeckerSt_Girl]

Are you rolling along the long or short end of the rectangle, or does it not matter? That sounds similar to the technique they describe for the sun-dried tomato bread, where you get more of a stuffed bread look, not what I'm trying to do with this.

It's just a way of distributing the olives etc. more evenly through the loaf. I start rolling the short side. I pull edges under in the end to form a ball-like loaf. here's how it comes out:
http://strumelia.blogspot.com/2009/05/olive-bread.html

Is that what you call a 'stuffed bread look"? I'm not quite sure what your goal is.

[NoNo]

No, that looks just like what I want. I'll give that a try tonight, thanks!

[ccnyc]

I've been reading this thread with much envy because I wanted to bake these beautiful breads, too. But I am gluten intolerant so must avoid wheat, etc. The gluten-free bread recipes I've tried all turned out terrible... until... Healthy Bread in Five Minutes a Day, the second book from the Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day authors. There's a whole chapter on gluten-free breads.

Here is my first boule. Of course it doesn't taste like wheat bread, but it's actually very good and the sourdough taste of the bread is far superior to any GF bread I have baked or purchased. And it was super easy. The hard part was waiting for it to cool for two hours before slicing into it and tasting it. Gooooood!

Carol

[Susan Otcenas]

The hard part was waiting for it to cool for two hours before slicing into it and tasting it.

It never lasts 2 hours in my house. Fresh bread hot out of the oven is irresistible!

[Tuckervill]

I had leftover olive oil dough from the weekend, it was supper time, and I had just got finished watching some chef show on Bravo where they did something similar. I knew I had a huge hunk of Havarti in the fridge, and I figured it would be mild enough. There's a coffee shop nearby that serves a baked brie in pastry with apples and cinnamon inside, and I LOVE it. So, I decided to try it.

I used about 6 ounces of cheese at full depth of the chunk. It probably should have been thinner cheese, or cooked longer, because the cheese didn't get hot all the way through. I used one apple, sliced thin, a couple tablespoons of melted butter, a couple teaspoons of cinnamon, a couple tablespoons of suger, all mixed together. I layered a few of the apple slices on the rolled out dough, put on the chunk of cheese, the rest of the apples, and then wrapped the dough around it all. Sprinkled with sugar and cinnamon on top. In the oven at 450, about 20 minutes. Since it was the olive oil dough, I went ahead and put some water in the pan for a harder crust. Probably a puff pastry dough would be better for this, but I couldn't tell it was an olive oil dough at all.

It was delicious, though I could have left out the butter, which leaked most of the cinnamon out of the dough onto the stone.

I was thinking this would be fun to make in individual sizes for a party--not appetizer size, but individual sizes, maybe big enough to share. And the Havarti was good with the apples, but brie would be nicer, I think.

Karen

[BleeckerSt_Girl]

Oooh Tucker that looks really good. I'm a sucker for cheese...and baked cheese!

[Susan Otcenas]

Karen - that looks yummy!

I mixed up a double batch of the peasant dough (with rye & whole wheat) on Saturday but haven't had time to bake any loaves yet. I think I'll go home and do that tonight!

[Tuckervill]

I forgot that I made Naan this weekend, too. That's why I'd made the Olive Oil dough. I didn't have any ghee and didn't have time to try and find some (unlikely anyway). I cooked them in a cast iron skillet on the stove top (as suggested in the AB5D). They said use a neutral flavored oil, and I started with canola oil, but they turned out better in my opinion without any oil at all. You want to cook them fast and high, and that browned the oil too much (and made the house smell like fried food). I served them at lunch with some extended family and they all LOVED it. Very quick to make. I shall try to find some ghee before I make any more.

Karen

[Tuckervill]

Tonight I'm making the Almond Brioche to give away tomorrow. Anyone tried it?

I had to make my own almond paste for the inside. I forgot to put the egg in the filling for the first loaf! Doh! (Dough!) :D I'm guessing it's going to make it less fluffy in the inside. The second loaf looked better from the beginning with the better filling. I made a brioche a tete with the rest of the dough. I'll post pics if they turn out.

Oh wait...I had the instructions mixed up in my mind and didn't realize I would have to slice the Almond Brioche and cook it like cinnamon rolls (believe it or not, I don't have any good round cake pans). So, I'm using the Chocolate Ganache Brioche recipe but with the almond filling instead. Hope it works out.

Karen

[Tuckervill]

Even though I didn't have any brioche pans, this turned out delicious!

[NoNo]

I made 8 breads for Christmas Eve/Day, and everyone enjoyed them. I've taken to just mixing the olives in from the onset with the olive dough, it's the only way I can get them to disperse evenly. I also got two cast iron pots, so I'm excited to try baking in them. My brother got me a pizza peel so I don't have to tie up my cookie tray anymore, and I also got the "My Bread" book. It's a no-knead process, but the initial rise is 12-18 hours. It will require a bit more planning to try that. I'll let you know how it compares.

To top off my food-related gifts, I got a giant steel sauce pot (it doesn't say how large it is, but it has to be at least 20qts), and the food grinder attachment for my mixer. I'm pumped!

[sgtiger]

I made a loaf of Challah for Christmas (I know, I know) since my dad likes sweet breads and it turned out picture perfect and delicious. Unfortunately I forgot to take after pics. Here's the before, right after I braided it:

http://lh3.ggpht.com/_Yo_Ms_wipD4/SzZez4T9ViI/AAAAAAAABV4/DEuUJwZProI/s400/IMG_0291.JPG

[NbyNW]

We used the olive oil dough recipe and made pizza last night. Sooo much better than frozen pizza!

[Tuckervill]

Wow that pizza is loaded! And the challah is beautiful, even though it has not been baked.

I got a big batch in the fridge that I'm going to use all weekend for whatever moves me. :)

Karen

[moderncyclista]

Re: Bread pic

Om nom nom nom. :)

[sgtiger]

NbyNW, your pizza looks so good. I think I'll give that a try next time.


Here's a pic of a loaf of challah that I baked a couple of days ago with the dough that I had left over. It's not as pretty or as tasty as the one I baked on Christmas but still good. I think I should have given it time to rise more since my kitchen was really cold that morning.

http://lh5.ggpht.com/_Yo_Ms_wipD4/Sz2guzkIqcI/AAAAAAAABfY/RAs0h9TBgCs/s400/IMG_0344.JPG

[NbyNW]

That challah looks beautiful!

The great thing about the pizza was I could delegate topping prep to DH, since he's totally intimidated by the dough prep! Everyone can make a contribution!

[withm]

It seems you are supposed to be able to store this dough in the fridge for as long as 10 days to 2 weeks. This is the second time I've gone to start a loaf, only to find the dough with a grayish cast on the top, and a bit of a stale beer odor. I think it was in the fridge for a week, and in an unsealed Tupperware type container. Thinking it's the beginning of a moldy science experiment I've chucked it out. Am I being premature? What do you think?

[Tuckervill]

It does get kind of gray. How long had it been in there? I wouldn't have tossed it if it was still within the 10 days. You're storing it right. The only thing different is, I store mine, after the initial refrigerated rise, with the lid on tight. I keep my fridge pretty odor free, but I don't like the idea of food odors getting in my bread.

eta: Oh, duh. a week. It was still good. It's going to smell heavenly yeasty, which may translate to stale beer. :)

Karen

[BleeckerSt_Girl]

It seems you are supposed to be able to store this dough in the fridge for as long as 10 days to 2 weeks. This is the second time I've gone to start a loaf, only to find the dough with a grayish cast on the top, and a bit of a stale beer odor. I think it was in the fridge for a week, and in an unsealed Tupperware type container. Thinking it's the beginning of a moldy science experiment I've chucked it out. Am I being premature? What do you think?

I find it won't last more than about 8 days tops. I don't like the slimy gray and beer odor...yuk!
My best result is baking two loaves of bread from the basic 6cupflour boule recipe, the same day I mix the dough, without any fridge time at all, baking them in my two cast iron dutch oven pots.
Here are the two loaves I made yesterday, a poppy and a sesame:
http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_9fPBEJTqGzw/S0PiMOEEfHI/AAAAAAAACps/-6TdmJz_ZV4/s1600/FirstBread2010_2.jpg

SjTiger- that challah is GORGEOUS!! :)

[bmccasland]

oooh yummy, fresh bread smeared with butter and jam.... :p

[daisylubob]

What is the difference in the 2 books, Artisan Bread vs Healthy Bread? If I wanted to buy only one, which is 'better'? I like that the Healthy Book has a gluten free section.

[withm]

I find it won't last more than about 8 days tops. I don't like the slimy gray and beer odor...yuk!
My best result is baking two loaves of bread from the basic 6cupflour boule recipe, the same day I mix the dough, without any fridge time at all, baking them in my two cast iron dutch oven pots.


I just saw in the book where they say you can freeze 1# balls of dough, and just thaw overnight in the fridge before baking. Has anyone tried this yet?

I think I'll it with my next batch. Being a household of one, I just don't eat that much bread, no matter how good it is, and throwing away 2 batches of sort of slimy gray bread dough is a crime, especially if it's still OK to use.

[smilingcat]

hmmmmm...

Bread looks super yummy.

just plain bread straight from the oven is sooo good. Too bad, internet can only send pictures. I want those bread teleported to my desk right now... :D.

I don't think stiger and lisa would mind if pieces of the bread gets teleported.

smilingcat

[BleeckerSt_Girl]

I just saw in the book where they say you can freeze 1# balls of dough, and just thaw overnight in the fridge before baking. Has anyone tried this yet?
I think I'll it with my next batch. Being a household of one, I just don't eat that much bread, no matter how good it is, and throwing away 2 batches of sort of slimy gray bread dough is a crime, especially if it's still OK to use.

My batch from 6 cups of flour only makes two generous sized loaves- my husband and I can go through that in two-three days, so I bake the 2 loaves right away after the dough's usual initial rise/ripen treatment. No wastage there.
I find that when I refrigerate the dough (or same thing if I freeze and then thaw in fridge), it stays chilled for way too many hours after taking it out to get to room temp, and that seems to make it not want to spring up and rise much when I bake it.
Why not just make a half recipe using 3 cups flour to make one large loaf (or two very small loaves) that will last you several days?



I don't think stiger and lisa would mind if pieces of the bread gets teleported.


Too late, all gone! :D

[GLC1968]

What is the difference in the 2 books, Artisan Bread vs Healthy Bread? If I wanted to buy only one, which is 'better'? I like that the Healthy Book has a gluten free section.

I was flipping through the whole grain book at the bookstore the other day and it looks very similiar. I think that if you prefer to use whole grains and/or you grind your own flour - then the "healthy" book might be the better option. It has the same basic boule recipe with descriptions about how to make it and bake it (very similiar to original), but it uses more whole grains in all the recipes and as you mentioned, has some gluten free recipes.


I bought the original book and a pizza peel for my mom for Christmas (my dad can't eat whole grains). She made her first loaves last night and I haven't yet heard how they turned out. She was super excited though!

Oh, and my basic boule lasts about 12 days. When I use any flour other than white -the time is reduced significantly. My favorite is the basic boule on day 3 - that's when I think the flavor is best. :D

[Susan Otcenas]

I find that when I refrigerate the dough (or same thing if I freeze and then thaw in fridge), it stays chilled for way too many hours after taking it out to get to room temp, and that seems to make it not want to spring up and rise much when I bake it.


I've found that I get the best results after leaving it sit our for an hour and a half, or more. It's still very chilled after 40 minutes. Maybe the author keeps her home warmer than we do!

I've had the dough in my fridge for up to two weeks, with no noticeable decline in quality or flavor.

I have a fresh batch of semolina bread rising right now. GLC1968 & I just came back from the Bob's Red Mill factory store, where I stocked up on some new flours. (That place rocks. It's like being a kid in a candy store.) I've never baked with semolina flour before, so I'm really interested to see how these loaves come out.

I've also recently made the peasant bread recipe (with rye flour & whole wheat) and thought they came out really well, too.

[NbyNW]

It seems you are supposed to be able to store this dough in the fridge for as long as 10 days to 2 weeks. This is the second time I've gone to start a loaf, only to find the dough with a grayish cast on the top, and a bit of a stale beer odor. I think it was in the fridge for a week, and in an unsealed Tupperware type container. Thinking it's the beginning of a moldy science experiment I've chucked it out. Am I being premature? What do you think?

I'm about to pop a 12-day-old piece of dough in the oven and it looks beautiful. I also recently noticed that our fridge is VERY cold. Almost too cold, so I'm going to turn it up a notch. That might be something to experiment with.

[GLC1968]

I have a fresh batch of semolina bread rising right now.


Can't wait to hear how that turns out!

I just organized all my fours, seeds, nuts and 'flakes', most from Bob's! My pantry looks so gorgeous that I'm inspired to make bread. I think I'm going to try that peasant loaf tomorrow. :)

[NoNo]

I had gotten the book My Bread for Christmas. It's a no-knead formula, but it requires a much longer rise (12-18 hours) than the 5 Minute a Day recipe. But it is about specifically baking in a cast iron pot, which I also got for Christmas:D I was having my family over yesterday, so I decided it'd be a good time to try it out. Made the dough Saturday night and after 19+ hours rising I shaped it for its second rise. Heated the pan, dumped it in, and this is what came out:cool: :

http://photos-f.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-snc3/hs197.snc3/20449_1315805145397_1538774168_30840593_203160_n.jpg

http://hphotos-snc3.fbcdn.net/hs197.snc3/20449_1315805385403_1538774168_30840599_7348306_n.jpg

http://hphotos-snc3.fbcdn.net/hs197.snc3/20449_1315805425404_1538774168_30840600_6655164_n.jpg

http://hphotos-snc3.fbcdn.net/hs177.snc3/20449_1315805585408_1538774168_30840604_6144869_n.jpg

[BleeckerSt_Girl]

Nono, that bread look perfect texture- was it delicious?...it looks really tasty and springy. :p

is there a reason you did not slash it just before baking?- I find the slashing really help the loaf expand beautifully in the oven, sort of like bursting out of it's own skin. Plus the expanded slashes add a pretty visual pattern and a wonderful texture variation in the crust.

[Catrin]

That bread looks incredibly tasty! nom-nom-nom:D

Sigh, since developing this little pre/early diabetes problem bread just sends my blood-sugar through the roof - and I LOVE bread... However, I love the pictures though - at least I can look at it :o

[NoNo]

Nono, that bread look perfect texture- was it delicious?...it looks really tasty and springy. :p

is there a reason you did not slash it just before baking?- I find the slashing really help the loaf expand beautifully in the oven, sort of like bursting out of it's own skin. Plus the expanded slashes add a pretty visual pattern and a wonderful texture variation in the crust.

The method in this other book is a bit different. Let it rise, then when you do the second rise you wrap the dough in a towel. When you place it in the cast iron pot, you're supposed to invert it into the pot. I don't know what the difference would be if you didn't flip it over, but it was my first time with this recipe, so I wanted to follow it exactly.

My family loved it, (and being Italian, we LOVE our bread!), but I wish I had a loaf of the 5 Minute bread so I could compare side-by-side. The crumb of this bread looked a bit more textbook, but I don't know if it had more taste. The crust was perfect, you had to give it a bit of a tug between the teeth to bite a piece off. The interior was dense and moist, really nice texture. Maybe I just need a bit more salt to fit my personal taste preference. I'll certainly be trying again!:D

[Tuckervill]

My son gave the book to my daughter-in-law for Christmas. One day this week she made the sweet rolls, and some of the sauce over flowed onto the broiler pan in the oven, which she didn't clean up.

The next day she made challah, which I think goes in on parchment (haven't tried it). Yep, you guessed it. The cinnamon sugar sauce started to smoke, and then when she opened the oven to check the bread, the oxygen caused it to flame, and the parchment caught on fire! WHOOSH! Big flames and smoke!

She was peeking in the oven while talking to her mother on the phone, and she screamed "I'll call you back, the oven's on fire!" and my son grabbed the fire extinguisher while she took the kids out of the house. My son said the smoke was so bad he had to crouch to get out of the house after he put the fire out and the house still smells horrible. It could have been really bad if the fire extinguisher had not been there--it was left by the previous owners!
It's a funny story now, but it must have been pretty scary.

The moral of the story is: Clean up the spills in your oven!
Karen

[tulip]

And keep a fire extinguisher handy! Glad everyone is safe!

My parchment paper box says the paper good up to 420F. My oven is new, and therefore clean, so I'm not worried about putting it in a 450F oven. However, I will be sure to keep it clean! Thanks for the reminder.

Just a note--when I was a kid, my mother always put a layer of aluminum foil on the bottom of the oven when baking messy things (like lasagne and pecan pie) so that it would be easy to clean up. That's what I always thought I should do.

BUT, if you have a very fancy oven that has a ceramic interior, DO NOT put foil in there! I did this at a friend's house, and the foil melded to the ceramic. This particular oven is a Wolf with blue ceramic interior. You definitely don't want to ruin someone's very fancy oven, trust me!

[Susan Otcenas]

Semolina bread!!

[NoNo]

Oooooh that looks yummy!

[BleeckerSt_Girl]

Semolina bread!!

BINGO!!! OMG, that looks absolutely perfect. :p

Did you use all semolina flour, or did you mix semolina with a little white flour?

It's gorgeous.

[Susan Otcenas]

BINGO!!! OMG, that looks absolutely perfect. :p

Did you use all semolina flour, or did you mix semolina with a little white flour?

It's gorgeous.

I followed the recipe exactly. 3.25 cups white all purpose, 3 cups semolina. It has such a pretty yellow crumb when baked. The flour is not as elastic as the basic boule when forming the loaf, but it bakes up beautifully.

[BleeckerSt_Girl]

I followed the recipe exactly. 3.25 cups white all purpose, 3 cups semolina. It has such a pretty yellow crumb when baked. The flour is not as elastic as the basic boule when forming the loaf, but it bakes up beautifully.

Your loaves look wonderful. Yes, I used the same recipe for my semolina too, with 1/2 white flour and 1/2 semolina.
I used black sesame seeds for the topping, so I could call it my 'tiger semolina' bread when I slash stripes in it. I think the black looks really pretty with the yellowy semolina color.
Here my 'tiger semolina' loaf, alongside a plain white boule I made a few months ago. They were baked on my stone, before I switched to the Dutch oven iron pot method.
http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_9fPBEJTqGzw/SgoEl87cvyI/AAAAAAAACCI/nsgkAKhjEMI/s1600/1-tiger-and-bouleMay09.jpg

[Susan Otcenas]

I made a loaf of Challah for Christmas (I know, I know) since my dad likes sweet breads and it turned out picture perfect and delicious. Unfortunately I forgot to take after pics. Here's the before, right after I braided it:

http://lh3.ggpht.com/_Yo_Ms_wipD4/SzZez4T9ViI/AAAAAAAABV4/DEuUJwZProI/s400/IMG_0291.JPG

My dad knows I've been baking bread lately, and asked me to find him a good challah recipe. What recipe did you use for this?

[Tuckervill]

There's a challah recipe in "the book".

Karen

[Susan Otcenas]

There's a challah recipe in "the book".

Karen

Sure enough! I didn't remember seeing it the last time I flipped through. I have a batch rising right now. Will bake it tonight! The recipe says it will make 4 loaves, but those would be some teeny loaves... I think I'll use all the dough to make two instead. Will post photos if they come out well.

Susan

[sgtiger]

There's a challah recipe in "the book".

Karen

Yup, that's the one I used.

[Susan Otcenas]

Challah!

Oh boy, is it YUMMY!

[BleeckerSt_Girl]

ooooohhhh beautiful challah! :eek: :D

[uk elephant]

I was given a great channukah present by my grandma (Trek and Duck's mom): the Tassajra (not sure about spelling) bread book! Soooooo many delicious looking recipies. I've been baking bread every week since, and it turns out great every time. Last night I tried the Banana Sandwich Bread recipie. Delicious!!! Kind of like Challah, but with mashed banana and cinnamon added. Great for my toast in the morning, and I'm looking forward to using a couple of slices for making French Toast at the week-end. Mmmmm!

[Susan Otcenas]

Last night I made the pumpernickel recipe recently published on ABin5's blog. It wasn't bad, but it didn't rock my world. I've not made the recipe out of the book yet. Interestingly the one on the blog does not have cocoa and espresso it in as the original one does. But the blog version uses a much smaller amount of white flour, so I wanted to try that one.

I think I may try the blog version again, but this time add in the cocoa and espresso of the original.

Anyone else made an ABin5 pumpernickel?

Susan

[NoNo]

Can't say anything about the pumpernickel, but I did try the fougasse stuffed with roasted red pepper. YUM!

http://photos-b.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-snc3/hs197.snc3/20449_1328615025636_1538774168_30870889_3728231_n.jpg

[tulip]

I've got two loaves rising now, behind my woodstove--the warmest part of my house. One is for my new neighbor and one is for me. I am hungry already!

[GLC1968]

behind my woodstove--the warmest part of my house.

That's where I rise my dough when the woodstove is in use. If not, it goes into my husband's office and sits on the servers. ;)

[Susan Otcenas]

Can't say anything about the pumpernickel, but I did try the fougasse stuffed with roasted red pepper. YUM!

That looks amazing.

So many recipes, so little time...

[Susan Otcenas]

I've made several more recipes from the Artisan Bread in 5 and the follow-up Healthy Bread in 5.

From the original book - the granola recipe is awesome! I've made it twice now, and can safely say it's some of the best granola I've ever eaten. I'll be making the granola bread recipe soon.

From the HBin5 book, I made the Vollkornbrot recipe a week ago. Really yummy. It uses wheat berries and rye flakes in the dough. Very hearty bread. Yummy with some of my homemade plum jam on it!

I've just pulled 2 loaves of the Pain au Potiron out of the oven. (Peppery Pumpkin with Olive Oil Loaf). I used a sugar pumpkin that GLC gave me from her garden (I'd been meaning to make pumpkin chutney, but never got around to it!) I can hardly wait until it cools down. I made enough dough for 8 loaves, so I sure hope I like it. (GLC, want a loaf??)

Susan

[GLC1968]

I've made several more recipes from the Artisan Bread in 5 and the follow-up Healthy Bread in 5.

From the original book - the granola recipe is awesome! I've made it twice now, and can safely say it's some of the best granola I've ever eaten. I'll be making the granola bread recipe soon.

From the HBin5 book, I made the Vollkornbrot recipe a week ago. Really yummy. It uses wheat berries and rye flakes in the dough. Very hearty bread. Yummy with some of my homemade plum jam on it!

I've just pulled 2 loaves of the Pain au Potiron out of the oven. (Peppery Pumpkin with Olive Oil Loaf). I used a sugar pumpkin that GLC gave me from her garden (I'd been meaning to make pumpkin chutney, but never got around to it!) I can hardly wait until it cools down. I made enough dough for 8 loaves, so I sure hope I like it. (GLC, want a loaf??)

Susan

Sure! It sounds wonderful!

And I can provide the pumpkins if you still want to do chutney. I think I've got 5 or 6 still in our pantry. :D Maybe a little chutney to have with the Vollkornbrot that I'm going to make this week? :)

[Susan Otcenas]

It WAS wonderful. Jeff & I demolished an entire 1 lb loaf in a flash. :o SO much for this week's weight loss efforts.... I think the only thing I'd change would be to dice up the pumpkin smaller next time. I felt like I was making small pieces, but now that I've baked some, I think smaller would be better.

Angela wants a loaf too, so I'll bake some up a few more loaves in the next day or so.

(Pumpkin chutney making party Sunday afternoon?? )

Susan

[Susan Otcenas]

Continuing to work my way through the Artisan Bread books....


I was in a baking mood on Sunday, so I let "the boys" (Jeff & his brother) choose a recipe out of the bread books. The only limitation was that I had to have all the ingredients already on hand!

They chose the Apple Streudel Bread from HBin5. So, I mixed up a batch of the Whole Wheat Brioche Dough (there are multiple options as a "base" for the recipe). Oh. My. Goodness. The Apple Streudel Bread is amazing. It basically involves finely dicing a couple of apples, and mixing it with raisins, walnuts, cinnamon (I add extra), and raw sugar. You roll out the doign thinly into a rectangle then spread the filling. Roll it all up and plop it into a non-stick loaf pan. Topping is an eggwash with cinnamon and a sprinkle of raw sugar.

It was eaten up before I could take a photo (and I'm happy to report I only ate ONE small piece! Willpower....)

Susan

[girlonbike]

Challah!

Oh boy, is it YUMMY!

looks great, i am hungry now:D

[GLC1968]

Continuing to work my way through the Artisan Bread books....


I was in a baking mood on Sunday, so I let "the boys" (Jeff & his brother) choose a recipe out of the bread books. The only limitation was that I had to have all the ingredients already on hand!

They chose the Apple Streudel Bread from HBin5. So, I mixed up a batch of the Whole Wheat Brioche Dough (there are multiple options as a "base" for the recipe). Oh. My. Goodness. The Apple Streudel Bread is amazing. It basically involves finely dicing a couple of apples, and mixing it with raisins, walnuts, cinnamon (I add extra), and raw sugar. You roll out the doign thinly into a rectangle then spread the filling. Roll it all up and plop it into a non-stick loaf pan. Topping is an eggwash with cinnamon and a sprinkle of raw sugar.

It was eaten up before I could take a photo (and I'm happy to report I only ate ONE small piece! Willpower....)

Susan


Mmmm...sounds delicious!

I've got a batch of Volkornbrot (sp?) in my fridge right now. I'll make my first loaf this evening! :D

[Susan Otcenas]

I've got a batch of Volkornbrot (sp?) in my fridge right now. I'll make my first loaf this evening! :D

How did it come out?

[smilingcat]

I'm not satisfied with my bread. Been reading/studying out of "Peter Reinhart's whole grain breads New techniques, extraordinary flavor"...

I'm bit torn between the no knead bread recipe and the "artisian" bread from Peter Reinhart. It's more from a classical method... I understand the concept of enzyme action, yeast action, making of sponge...

The bread photos everyone is posting is so tempting, maybe I do need to get the book and try something easier.

[GLC1968]

How did it come out?

Delicious! We have it on the menu for tonight with some nice cheeses and a glass of Pinot. :)

[Susan Otcenas]

I'm not satisfied with my bread. Been reading/studying out of "Peter Reinhart's whole grain breads New techniques, extraordinary flavor"...

I'm bit torn between the no knead bread recipe and the "artisian" bread from Peter Reinhart. It's more from a classical method... I understand the concept of enzyme action, yeast action, making of sponge...

The bread photos everyone is posting is so tempting, maybe I do need to get the book and try something easier.

Would you recommend this book as a good read?

[Susan Otcenas]

After making the apple streudel bread, I still had 2.5 pounds of the whole wheat brioche left. So, last night I prepared a batch of the pecan sticky buns from HBin5. After putting the uncooked buns into the pan, I put them back in the fridge. I took them back out at 5am this morning to rise while I went to the pool. Popped them in the oven when I got home.

Wowie Zowie, are those things YUMMY! I only ate a teeny corner of one, then brought the rest to the office, where they were promptly demolished. ;)

[GLC1968]

Susan - a great book for reading about bread is this one:

http://www.amazon.com/Bread-Eric-Treuille/dp/0756618894/ref=sr_1_11?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1269540260&sr=1-11

Totally different from the 5-min technique obviously, but it goes into nice detail about why it all works the way it does. Really enlightening (and a good read, too).

If you want to borrow mine, you are welcome to. I can't do any bread the traditional way until summer anyway.

[bmccasland]

Last week I went an annual big camping event - go camping with 4000 people. Anyway, through connections, we had a baker in camp - the event had a "merchant's row" which included some food merchants, one of which was a whole grain bakery. Since said gentleman flew in for the event, he needed to borrow a tent, cot, and sleeping bag from some of us locals - so he felt compelled to pay "rent" by bringing us goodies. One late afternoon, Llwellyn appeared with a raspberry/chocolate streudel that was wonderful. :D It did not last very long. We're trying to convince Llwellyn to come back next year, and we'll put him up. We like his form of payment for camp fees. :p

[BleeckerSt_Girl]

Well, I've been very neglectful about baking bread for the past couple of months. But....I've been doing a lot of other cool and positive things in my life, so sometimes I just have to accept the fact that I don't have 48 hours in each day, much as I'd like to! ;)

On the positive side, I've been playing more music, doing more fitness walking, getting involved more with both honeybees and helping wild native bees, and today I began hoeing and planting seed in my big vegetable garden. :)
Oh...and then there's always actual work. :rolleyes:

[smilingcat]

I would recommend Peter Reinhart's book if you are really into baking bread or a foodie.

Several pages are devoted just to the anatomy of the wheat: kernel, bran, the endosperm, starch and protein in the endosperm, the germ. Then he goes to explain hard winter wheat, hard spring red wheat, and hard winter red wheat.

Enzyme activity and how you control the enzyme activity. And if you are interested in other grain, there is a short description of other kinds of wheat, Durum, eikenhorn, Emmer, Kamut and spelt. Other grain used in bread making are described. Amaranth (no glutin) and my experience is its best bought pre-ground. Buckwheat, corn, millets, oats, rye, tricale, wild rice...

There is a chapter on "The Theory and Process of Delayed Fermentation" sounds really technical but its easy to understand.

Lots of photos so you'll know what your dough is supposed to look like and there is even a short description on bakers windowpane test. That will tell you if your dough was kneaded properly and gluten developed correctly.

And more photos and more description on how to bake in your oven to get that hearth baked look and feel.

There are pages showing you how to properly form your dough for the bread pan, how to shape a batard, boule, baugette...

Lastly, there are wealth of recipes.

For some, this book may seem more like a tome than a cookbook. if you want to get to the detail without becoming an apprentice at a artisian bread shop, this book will be for you.

If you are still wondering you could check the reviews at Amazon. I for one, am in love with this book. I want to improve my bread so it becomes WOW!!!

smilingcat

[NoNo]

My mom asked me to bring some breads to Palm Sunday dinner. As my aunt and uncle are doing Weight Watchers, I thought it would be good to make one regular white bread, and one whole wheat. I ran out and picked up the Healthy Bread in 5 book and mixed up the 100% whole wheat with olive oil dough. It was a bit cool in my apartment, and I think I rushed it just a bit (didn't let it rise long enough), but it was pretty good. It was pretty moist, tasty, just didn't have the crumb of the white bread. I'm looking forward to making some more of the breads in that book. Now I don't have to feel so guilty about eating an entire loaf in 2 days! :p

[BleeckerSt_Girl]

Finally got back to baking a little bread today. :p

Using my usual no-knead white recipe, I rolled in some chopped calamata olives, sun-dried tomatoes, and browned onions with garlic. A simple flour dusting and slash pattern on the crust. It came out well- fluffy, with a nice crispy crust..... mmmmm....just had a big chewy slice with a tall glass of japanese green iced tea. That was my dinner tonight! :eek:

http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_9fPBEJTqGzw/S8-KWqmr8eI/AAAAAAAACx4/t3CROeOOKEs/s1600/TwoOlive-Apr2010_1.jpg

http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_9fPBEJTqGzw/S8-KWEJd-ZI/AAAAAAAACxw/tgRb8V2D7EU/s1600/TwoOlive-Apr2010_2.jpg

http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_9fPBEJTqGzw/S8-KVz71YfI/AAAAAAAACxo/GO-y5OXcMnI/s1600/TwoOlive-Apr2010_3.jpg

[NbyNW]

BSG, those loaves are beautiful!

I've been wondering -- and maybe this is buried in the thread somewhere -- but how do you adjust baking time/temp for larger loaves? Is there a good rule of thumb to follow?

[BleeckerSt_Girl]

I preheat oven and my two iron dutch oven pots to 500 for a good 25 minutes.

Then i slip the two large loaves in the pots and cover. Bake 20 minutes at 500F, then I take covers off quickly and bake another 20 minutes at 450F.
That's perfect for the two large loaves at once.

[ummbnb]

Love this thread. I can't bake to save my life but my husband is an excellent bread baker, he's excellent at everything in the kitchen which is good since he's a sahd and the house is his domain! Some yummy looking stuff on here!

[shootingstar]

Looks great, bleekerstgirl. If we did it, we would be double-loading the dough with the olives, sundried tomatoes! :)

[BleeckerSt_Girl]

Looks great, bleekerstgirl. If we did it, we would be double-loading the dough with the olives, sundried tomatoes! :)

I know what you mean! But last time I made it, i did double load it and the Kalamatta olives became just too salty and overpowering, and the bread was too tomato-y, not in a good way, believe it or not. K.olives are very powerful stuff, especially when baked in!

[Blueberry]

This thread is such a bad (but tasty) influence. I got frustrated with the weekly fighting to get bread from our local bakery (they never know when it will be out, whether they have any, they'll tell you do and then you get there and it's not out of the oven, etc., etc.). I made the basic Boule yesterday (before I stopped to buy the book - I had the wrong yeast measure off the internet and it STILL worked), and I'm in love.

My next project is to see if I can replicate the bread type I've liked. It's a whole wheat sourdough (but not very dark), so I think the basic recipe from the HABin5 will work. However, it has what I think are wheatberries scattered through it. I have some soaking - can you use them in dough after soaking but without sprouting? The ones in the bread we've bought didn't LOOK sprouted. Any idea how much of them to add to the recipe? Or how long they should soak before I do? Any other ideas/tips? I wouldn't think I'd need to adjust the other quantities much.

[Susan Otcenas]

The Volkornbrot recipe uses wheat berries. It has more water in it than the typical recipes, and instructs you to not use the dough for 24 hours, to enable the wheat berries to absorb moisture.

[Blueberry]

So...to follow up on my request:

I think I've found my magic bread recipe (or at least one that makes me very happy as a daily loaf). I'm using the recipe from the original book (I think it's called light wheat - it's 5.5 cups white to 1 cup wheat). To that I add 1/2 cup of wheatberries that have been soaked overnight in cool water or quick soaked in nearly boiling water (until it cools). Love the flavor and texture - it's whole wheat without being too dense or chewy.

I still want to try olives in the plain dough - but it's always much stickier and I haven't quite figured out how to add them. All in good time:)

[NoNo]

I still want to try olives in the plain dough - but it's always much stickier and I haven't quite figured out how to add them. All in good time:)

I never had success folding the olives in before the second rise. They would all end up in one place and usually along the top of the loaf. I just dump them into the initial mix and they distribute evenly.