BREAD baking

[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.

[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:


SjTiger- that challah is GORGEOUS!!

[bmccasland]

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

[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... .

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!

[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.

[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.