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Doughy Biscuits
Hi All,I've been working with a Biscuit recipe for about a month now. The recipe is Basic Southern Biscuits, from the book Southern Biscuits by Nathalie Dupree and Cynthia Graubart. The recipe follows:2 1/4 cups of Bob's Red Mill Unbleached White Fine Pastry Flour (a soft flour)8 tbs butter2 1/2 tsp s... | procedures
Procedures are the key to biscuit flakiness.Temp of the butter, and how you incorporate it is crucial.Also crucial is how you fold the dough to make layers, prior to cutting.at this link: https://www.bonappetit.com/story/best-biscuit-tipsview the first embedded video. That video starts playing automatically ... |
Having trouble with my burger buns
Hello all,
I followed Master Yoda Reinhart and made the tastiest hamburger buns I've ever made.....the only problem is that I can't seem to make them without the bottom getting way too tough....almost burnt!
I followed his directions and used a cookie type sheet with parchment on it.... | reduce browning
Someone please correct me if I'm wrong, but whenever I use steam when I bake it ends up with a hard crispy crust, which for my tastes is not right for a burger bun. I prefer no steam.
Keep the temp down, 350F or so, for about 20-25 minutes. Keeps the crust thin and soft. Also I bake them in a Pyrex 9x1... |
What to do when dough doesn't keep shape after many folds?
The subject says it all.
The rare times that I prepare bread with wheat flour -whether with a low or a high hydratation- my dough never keeps the shape even after a lot of folds: 5, 6, 7, 10 it doesn't matter: 10 minutes after the fold the dough is as flat and ... | Just Keep Experimenting
Are you "folding" or "stretching and folding". The stretching is a critical element in the technique.
Formulas for bread dough are typically based upon a specific type of flour that the originator used in developing the bread. Additionally, flour, even the same type/brand, can vary from one ba... |
Help.. King Arthur flour Professional Organic bakery distribuitors any?
I think that is a old question.
I am looking that :King Arthur professional Organic bakery flours but is impossible.
I call to many distributors but I can't find it. I look for in any location in USA.
Even I call to King Arthur but doesn't know wha... | Call the KAF reps
http://www.kingarthurflour.com/professional/
Tod Bramble or any of the other reps should be able to help you. |
barley malt
before I go to the expense .. tell me, please, just exactly what is the purpose of diastatic barley malt ? and is powder or syrup preferred ? | From what I gather
Yeast use it as food, so it could help with a rise. Also many of the sugars it contains are in forms used by lactic acid-producing bacteria, so it might create a better flavor in sourdoughs.
That's just from what I've read. Maybe it has more uses. |
Identical Twins? Not!
Below are two loaves of bread baked from the same batch of sourdough. The only difference between the two loaves is when each was baked. The recipe suggested to ferment the dough refrigerated overnight and bake directly from the fridge the next morning. After taking the loaves out of the fridg... | Two Points
Two thoughts:
First, I agree that you should allow the loaf to recover from the fridged temperatures of the cold storage before loading into the oven.
Second, you preheated the oven for 15 minutes before loading the first loaf. That means that the oven walls had not heated enough to maintain an even and con... |
I think I'm in LOVE ...cinnamon raisin walnut bread
This is Cinnamon Raisin Walnut Bread with cinnamon sugar swirl from the Bread Bakers Apprentice. I also brushed the hot loafs with melted butter and sprinkled on more cinnamon suger per side tip in book. It is so good! I am pretty happy with my efforts. | How did you do that? Mouthwatering pics!
Your swirl looks wonderful. What did you use for the cinnamon swirl?That is one of the few books I don't have!
Also, please comment on how you shaped it-my cinnamon swirl is always loose and falls apart when I slice it. I've done lots of variations- dry sugar cinnamon,wet,butter... |
Pita Question
Hi,
I have a question about pita breads. When I make pita breads I have no problem with getting them to puff up and expand like I want them to. What I was wondering about was do all pitas made in home style ovens end up with all or mostly all of the " crumb " on bottom side of the pita, the side facing... | Mine come out pretty even
and I don't know if this is the reason or not, but I roll mine out from both sides. I think, because this lets both sides pick up flour from the board, it drys both surfaces a little more evenly, leaving the "weak spot" where they cleave apart, closer to the middle. I can't make any guarantee... |
Anyone ever substituted honey for molasses in this recipe?
In Reinhart's "Bread Baker's Apprentice" on pg. 108, there's a cool looking recipe for Anadama Bread that calls for 6T's of molasses. Honey I have plenty of..... but the molasses I have is pretty bitter, and we're iced in here. Has anyone ever substituted hone... | I made Anadama bread
I made Anadama bread (Reinhart's) with honey and it was fine. The bread tasted nice, beautiful crust and color, and good open crumbs. I never used molasses so I can't really say what the differences are, but honey works fine for me.
Sue
http://youcandoitathome.blogspot.com/ |
Overkneading
In the BBA, Peter says you will cramp up before overkneading. I am making the Anadama (sp?) and it calls for 6-8 in a mixer. I HA mixed for about 7 then pulled it out and continues by hand for another 8 minutes. I am new with the windowpane test and think it may have passed after 5 minutes but I wasn't ... | Overkneading
I believe that the principal danger of overkneading is actually overheating. I think you cannot overknead by hand. By machine the mechanical energy is converted to thermal engery faster than the surroundings can carry it away, and the temperature rises. If the temperature gets too high,the yeast die; th... |
Bread baking history
I was reading an online history of bread making and of the ingredients used. During world war 1 the German u-boats were sinking enough food ships from the U.S. that Brittian was in danger of starving. The decree from the government was that bread would contain 25 % potatoes and that beans could be ... | Rationing was started in GB
Rationing was started in GB in 1940 and continued until 1954. There was widespread cheating and blackmarketeering. After the war friends and relatives would have food packages sent from other places in Europe to add to the rather meager and plain rations. |
Scoring question
After making (dutch oven) boules for a while, I've moved to batards, but I find scoring tricky - the cuts open up quite wide right away and then harden, leading to blow-outs along the base of the bread instead.See the cut on the right for example. The cut on the left worked better.Too deep cut, too sha... | top heat and convection.
Welcome to TFL!Your post was not explicit, but since you mentioned too much/little steam, I take it this loaf was not baked in a dutch oven? Your loaf looks more like you have a situation of too much radiant heat coming from the top, or too much air flow due to the fan (convection mode.)If you... |
fat in bread
I have an aversion to wasting food of any sort. as a result I save all of my rendered fat from meat. I use by preference goose fat for pastry, chicken fat for baking powder biscuits and bacon fat for oatmeal cookies.
Before anyone starts about cholesterol I am 72 year old and my doctors are happy with my n... | sounds good
hey, if those fats work for you in baking, that's great!
I'm curious, what temperatures do you bake your breads at?
My only thought would be that the significantly lower smoke point of animal fats (including butter) could potentially cause the fat to burn/break down in not a good way at many higher baking ... |
Help! Poor results with instant yeast
I have just started trying to use Instant yeast (SAF brand) instead of active dry yeast. However, I'm getting very poor results with it: no rise to very minimal rise in the dough. I've already had to throw out 1 batch of dough (and started that batch over with active dry). I'm ad... | Have you tested your yeast?
Just stir some yeast, flour and warm water together in a small bowl and leave it on the counter to see what happens. Good yeast will become obviously active pretty quickly. Let us know what you find out.
Good LuckOldWoodenSpoon |
confused "stiff-levain build?
I am totally confused I have a starter and I am currently refreshing twice a day @ 20g starter to 40g each water and flour. It's almost a month since a first started it. Anyways I was wanting to bake Cheese bread from Bread by Jeffery Hamelman and it calls for a "stiff levaine build" for t... | firm starter is easy
Hi tomcatsgirl,
Don't sweat it, firm starter/levain is easy. This just means you need a starter of about 60% hydration. Your current liquid starter is 100% hydration (i.e., equal parts flour & water by weight).
60% hydration (firm) starter would be 100g flour to 60g of water, and 10-20g of liquid ... |
dry milk powder
Hello,
Should the weight of dry milk powder be considered part of the liquids or of the dry ingredients? Obviously if I'd reconstituted it in advance it would be liquid, but it's dry now!
Thanks
Judi | dry probably.
I say dry. Even though absorption may be small, water is still required to rehydrate it.
However, I wouldn't significantly adjust the hydration in the recipe to reflect this absorption.
I feel like dry milk should almost be treated somewhere between a dry ingredient and a fat in a recipe, because its ten... |
english muffins
I had some left over biga from making pain puglese last week. last night I weighed the flour left in a bag, 21 ounces. The biga amounted to about a cup and a half. I scooped that with my hand and mixed it with 16 ounces of warm water and a teaspoon of yeast and 10 grams of salt. I calculated that this g... | Sound like a homesteader to me!
Or the child of a dirty thirties poor mother. We learned to use, reuse and repurpose just about anything, and nothing gets thrown out unless its unusable for anything, and then it mostly goes to a recycle depot! |
dough temperature
I have been thinking - probably too much - about dough temperature. Referring to Hamelman he gives the following heuristic:
WT = 4*DDT - AT - FT - ST - FF
where WT is water temperature, DDT is desired dough temperature, AT is air temp, FT is flour temp, ST is Starter temp, FF is Friction Factor whic... | friction factor is funky
The "friction factor" (also known as the "kludge factor":-) is how much heat is added to your dough during mixing. It's typically very large for using a food processor, substantial for using a mixer, small (often negligibly so) for hand mixing, and sometimes even slightly negative.
It's differe... |
Bagel recipe problem
Hi everyone,
I made the bagel recipe from Artisan Bread in 5 Minutes a Day a few weeks ago and they came out fantastic. At that time I used the dough right after the 1st rising (no refrigeration) and I had used KAF bread flour.
This time around I made the dough yesterday, let it rise until doubl... | In Artisan Breads in 5
In Artisan Breads in 5 Minutes a Day, they assume AP flour is about 10% protein, and bread flour comes in at about 12% protein.
However, KA flour exceeds these expectations. KA AP is already very nearly "bread flour" by their definition, coming in at 11.7% protein.
KA Bread flour is 12.7% prote... |
BBA Challenge 2011: Week 3: Bagels!
Although I was totally excited to try this recipe out, I'll admit that I didn't have high hopes for this third week of the BBA challenge. Three reasons jump out at me immediately. First, the bagel procedure involves a few atypical steps that I haven't done before. Since it takes ... | Bagel Topping Question
I have a question for folks here. I made some of my bagels with Asiago cheese on them. They came out underbaked on the top, and had to be baked longer. I'm wondering if - when making bagels which bake for such a short period - you should actually bake the bagels first and THEN add the asiago chee... |
Tartine Basic Country Bread
When I heard the forecast last night for ice storms, I figured I'd be house bound today so I may as well bake some bread (I'll use any excuse!). I made Tartine's basic country bread. I follow the book fairly closely, but I do deviate a bit in some of the technique.
Since no room in my hous... | By all means
Your loaf looks amazing.
Having been to Tartine and purchased many of their loafs, I can confidently say that they love big holes in their crumb(Just look at the loaf on the title page, or p 78, 81, 92). If you don't like it so much, it's worth experimenting on when to get aggresive to squash those bubbles... |
How much over-sour dough to use?
Hi,
I'm intentionally letting acidify a rye dough for many days. The aroma gets better and better and the pH drops well beyond the survival threshold for yeasts (in fact it doesn't work anymore as a starter).
My intention is to use it as a flavor enhancer and as mould repellent in whit... | Bread?
Nico, I thought you were making... how much rye are you fermenting?
...why don't you heat it up after is gets good and sour and trap the steam. If you use an inverted funnel with a long coiled tube attached, the steam will condense and drip into a bottle and the scintillating liguid could be used for years! I... |
Substituting bread flour for AP in a milk bread recipe
Hi everyone, I'm in a bit of a bind here. The milk bread recipe I normally use calls for AP flour, but all I have at home is bread flour. There is also a Covid curfew where I live, so buying AP won't be possible. Is there anything I should keep in mind while substi... | APF vs bread flour
Hi! Your bread crumb will probably look and feel different and bread made with bread flour will be about 20% taller, so choose your bread pans if you bake your loaves in tins accordingly.Still, there is a huge range of quality both in APFs and in bread flours so you might even encounter APF flours as... |
Wondering about crackly crust
The other day I had a bread disaster. First of all my loaves were too big and twinned with each other. Second I preheated the oven to 500F meaning to turn it down after I put the loaves in, but didn't. Third, I forgot to set the timer when I removed the steam pans, so I actually have... | Crackly crust
Yummmmmmmmmmm! I love crackly crusts but have never been able to make them deliberately either!
A cornflour wash is supposed to make crusts crackly according to some authorities but it's not 100% guaranteed either, at least in my case.
Mary |
White/wheat spiral sandwich bread?
I want to make a fun spiral white and wheat sandwich bread for my daughter. I'm wondering if it would work to make a batch of white dough and a batch of wheat dough, divide into half loaf sizes, roll each out and place the rolled white dough over the rolled wheat dough and roll up to... | You could flatten both doughs
You could flatten both doughs and put them on top of each other and roll them up getting an uniform spiral. |
Too much yeast in my poolish! Quick fix?
When I mixed my poolish this morning I thought I was using too much yeast, but I stupidly dumped what I had measured out into a bowl of flour and water. Now I realise I used nearly 10 times more yeast than I should have! I neglected to move the decimal place over! Darn! I haven'... | Portion it out
I would portion it out and freeze it for use in future bakes. |
Stand Mixer questions
hey Guys!!
I am considering buying a stand mixer there is a good deal on a KA 4KG25H3XOB for 269 here in Toronto. My question is, does the mixer do it better than by hand (mixing a kneading) os is it just faster? I am just starting to make bread so I am not sure if this is a good purchase o... | It all depends
It depends on what kind of bread you want to make. A relatively wet sourdough can be made by hand with the stretch and fold method and barely no mixing at all and will benefit from the gentle handling. A stiff bagel dough is pretty hard to mix by hand but is doable if you have the deltoids and pecs to ... |
Deli style Rye Bread recipe
I am in the process of making my own Montreal smoke meat (Corned beef). I plan to use it for sandwiches but, for a good smoke meat sandwich you need a good rye bread. I am looking for a simple recipe that will replicate the kind of bread they have in deli restaurants .
Thanks | Take a look at the rye at the
Take a look at the rye at the beginning of this thread. Is that what you are looking for?
http://www.thefreshloaf.com/node/15613/bread-and-cake#comment-99696
Jeff |
My First Shot at Bagels
This is my first post on Fresh Loaf, but I have been reading posts for months now. This is my first try at Bagels and I consider it about 50% success. They look better than they taste. Not to say they taste bad, just not "bagelly".They actually taste a whole lot like my soft pretzels...sorta. Th... | You're Off to a Good Start
Everything looks pretty good from this perspective. The texture, principally a product of the length of time the dough is left to boil in the water bath, can be a bit tricky to master. I don't see any tiny bubbles in your water bath images so I wonder if the temperature of the water was whe... |
Need help with controlling ovenspring
Hello, Ever since I figured out that my stunted oven spring, closed over scores, and split sides were due to insufficient steaming in my gas oven, I've made adjustments and found myself with the opposite problem. I have been somewhat systematically trying to diagnose and work o... | At what temperature are you baking and
what method of steam do you use ? Is this strictly sourdough or do you use yeast ? Actually, I envy your results, I don't get that much spring in an electric oven.
Best,
Anna |
Need help and have questions about making brioche
Sorry I wasn't sure where to post this but here goes
Starting off I have never made this bread before but reading the recipe list of several different suggested ways to make the bread it sounds delicious....OK so here goes 1) I have a 6 qt. Kitchen Aid mixer 6... | The Bread Bakers Apprentice
The Bread Bakers Apprentice Challenge 2011 group are about to tackle this bread this weekend, and I have the same mixer you do. As long as you follow the instructions for your mixer, I don't see where there would be a problem. My understanding also is that you can simply make it into a loa... |
Bagels taste bready??
So that is my first attempt at bagels. I'm posting a new topic because I didn't use the BBA formula. I followed the one in my Baking and Pastry - I think its a text book.
Anyway - I used malt extract powder from a homebrew shop.
57% hydration and 1% dried malt extract
I mixed them on the KA (metho... | Flour?
Hi Tom,
Are you using unbleached, unbromated high-gluten flour (not bread flour)?
The bagels should be retarded overnight. If you have access to it, try Jeffrey Hamelman's formula from his book, Bread.
You'll wind up with a bagel that's equal or or better than what you'll find in Brooklyn. |
Pure semolina?
I've let myself run out of white bread flour, although I have plenty of soft flour, semolina, rye and wholewheat.
I'll try the 100% semolina sandwich loaf, and I just thought I'd check in here to see if anyone has any favourite recipes that use lots of semolina, or even 100% until my Manitoba arrives.
Th... | Semolina recipe
Semolina Bread
This 100% semolina bread is light golden in color with a fine, delicate texture that has a faint lemon smell. It is adapted from on old KAF recipe.
1 1/2 cups lukewarm water2 tablespoons soft butter2 tablespoons nonfat dry milk1 teaspoon salt3 cups semolina flour
1 tablespoon instant yeas... |
A Feel for High Hydration Bread
I tried to make the overnight white loaf from FWSY (78% hydration) and ended up with a totally slack and sticky dough. Admittedly I made a small modification by doing it overnight in the fridge then at 75ish average during day so it would be ready for afternoon/evening bake. The problem ... | What flour are you using?FWIW
What flour are you using?FWIW I do an 80% ciabatta that gets about ten minutes in the kitchenaid, mostly at third speed, which is the opposite of a light touch and way more kneading than Forkish calls for. That gets it from sticky and shaggy to a really springy smooth shiny light dough th... |
When to freeze dough for later (after which step)?
I dont have much time to baking bread over the weekdays so my only time to do so is during the weekend. I was wondeirng after which step I could freeze the dough to bake it on another day? For example, can I mix the ingredients/make the dough and freeze it (before ferm... | No need to freeze
You can just refrigerate it. It will be fine. |
"Grainy" bread crumb help.
I have been trying to make a sandwich bread but I havent gotten the results that I want. Every time I make any type of bread the crumbs come out "grainy" and falls apart pretty easily, like in the picture below:
What I want is a crumb that is more like "thread/strands", like the ones you b... | Yes
Hi Wek,
You need a strong flour, and significant dough mixing to achieve this type of crumb. A small quantity of hard fat would also be beneficial. If you are not using additives, then you will need to use either a reasonable period of bulk fermentation, or use a pre-ferment such as a stiff biga.
I can't help y... |
Baguettes. Still not quite right
I am trying to make Baguettes.
I'm using;
1) The recipe and instructions here:
http://www.kingarthurflour.com/recipes/classic-baguettes-and-stuffed-baguettes/i-recipe?recipe_id=R377
http://www.kingarthurflour.com/recipes/classic-baguettes-and-stuffed-baguettes/i-recipe?recipe_id=R377
2... | Have had no issues with the recipe...
I've made this recipe many, many times, and it's about as good as a 2-day baguette recipe can be.
I always use tap water, not bottled or filtered - this is because I've had HORRIBLE experiences in the past trying to get sourdough starters to thrive using bottled/filtered water (ha... |
300 loaves of challah in 3 hours
I've recently become head of baking at my college's chapter of Challah for Hunger (challahforhunger.org). We have an established routine, but this year there are changes both in student management (me) and in how the college runs its kitchens; therefore, I figured this might be a good t... | What's Broken?
Given the constraints you listed there isn't any leeway. Only one day to get the job done, always the same day and hours, etc. leaves no flexibility in the routine. To make any meaningful improvement you'd need to increase the number of volunteers and the number of hours they (and you) can dedicate to ... |
AP flour and windowpane test
I have a question that concerns mixing times and window pane tests. I currently have been making breads and pizza doughs with All Purpose flour with a good deal of success. I am wondering why I can not achieve a good window pane. I have a Kitchen Aid mixer which I understand is rather und... | A Little Less Water
I've used a KA mixer for years and never found it underpowered unless I make the mistake of overloading it. I also use AP flour for about half of the bread formulas I prepare and, while it is not as strong a filament as I might find in bread dough preparations, the window pane does develop. I susp... |
What to Eat on BBA Anadama Bread
Just made these loaves and they came out great. The molasses taste is a little strong for me. Is this tpicallt used for sandwiches or toasted with a spread? | I toasted mine, made peanut
I toasted mine, made peanut butter sandwiches, put honey on it, and even used it for a turkey sandwich which was surprisingly good. I really thought that it would go really well with chili, and next time I make it I will make Anadama bread with it!
Joanne |
Mixer loaf much different than hand mixed loaf.
I know that it would be different but doing it really made me see what people had been talking about.
Going back to My Daily Bread (linked on sidebar) I had previously been doing all of the initial mixing by hand. Yesterday I decided to bring out the mixer for the first ... | Underdevelopment
You have probably not been reaching the proper degree of development when hand kneading. The mixer works the dough much more intensively than you can by hand. The danger becomes over working it with the machine.
See txfarmer's Sourdough Pan de Mie - how to make "shreddably" soft bread. Her blog article... |
BBA Greek Celebration Bread
I just finished recipe #2 in BBA. It produces a loaf larger than I am used to but turned out heavenly (at least the housse smells heavenly). I substituted Mixed Fruit and Peel (left over from Christmas cookies) for the Rasins and Dried Cranberries but otherwise followed the recipe. I'm st... | Historical Data
Lookin' good there Paul. Here's mine from last year's BBA Challenge.
It's become a seasonal favorite around this house. |
Fig Bread Help
Help I would appreciate any anyone could give me. Yes I have searched recipes.
I have searching for a recipe or suggestions for a fig something. I cannot find what I am looking for. I guess it is technically a fig bread. But it's not really a bread with figs. It's figs and nuts held together with someth... | Pan de higos?
Hi mredwood, I think what you may be looking for is the Spanish fig log called pan de higos. A quick google search should turn up a few recipes. I have made it a couple of times. The recipe I went with contained dried figs, toasted hazelnuts, icing sugar, lemon zest, period and melted chocolate. It was d... |
What did I do wrong? Middle of loaf didn't cook.
So here is what happened, I decided to make this loaf, the daily bread again, the first time I did it last year it worked pretty much fine.
This second time though, does anyone know what may have caused my loaf to totally fail in the middle?
The outside looked perf... | use a termperature probe
I would think your bake time should be 40-45 minutes for this. Buy a $16 probe themomenter at Bed Bath and Beyond ($20 and a 20% off coupon). After baking for 30 minutes, quickly open the oven and insert the probe so the tip is in the center of the loaf which will be fully formed at this poin... |
Probe thermometer in finished loaf?
After carefully shaping, proofing, and baking, I have a hard time bringing myself to jab the finished loaf with a probe thermometer to check its internal temperature. Am I worrying too much? | Your Choice
My preference is to find a spot where the hole will not be too unsightly and then stick the probe (a Thermapen) in and check the temperature. On the other hand, apparently Jeffrey Hamelman feels that making a hole in a loaf is philosophically incorrect (that's at least my attempt at phrasing my impression ... |
Does soy flour inhibit protease?
Hi,
I'm curious to know if soy flour can inhibit or slow down protease action in doughs. If so, what percentage is it safe to use with respect to flour? Does anyone have first hand experience with it?
I read some mention of it in baking applications, but nothing well explained.
If I wer... | Primary functions of soya flour in a dough conditioner
Hi Nico,
This is my understanding of why Soya flour is used:
Soya Flour
(no E number classification)
Not restricted used at up to 2% on flour weight
CARRIER or FILLER: to hold ingredients together and keep the mix flowing Also a BLEACHING AGENT and a mi... |
Spanish Breads?
I've been scouring the internet for weeks now, looking for authentic recipes from Spain. I have a presentation coming up for my Spanish class, and wanted to wow my peers with something exciting. Now, while I realize that Spain isn't exactly the yeasted-bread capital of the world, I refuse to believe... | Mas autentico que estos no encontraras por ningun lado!
Aqui tienes mas de veinte recetas de pan tipico espanol, con las fotos de como lucen. Que tengas suerte con tu presentacion, Terk. http://www.franciscotejero.com/recetas/indexrecetas.htm |
Secrets of a soft, moist crumb?
Trader Joe's sells an awesome 3-seeded sourdough loaf and a local market, Oliver's, has a similar loaf. I will feel like a great baking success if I can make a bread like these.
What characterizes these breads besides the nice flavor is a very tender and moist crumb. They have nice, cr... | match flour to crumb
My own experience is that neither Ascorbic/Citric acid nor Barley Malt is the key to a soft crumb. What seems to matter more is matching the flour's gluten level to your need. Using a higher gluten level than you need generally results in a "chewy" crumb.
(This is more of a typical rule of thumb th... |
French bread hydration
Been trying my hand at Frech bread recently, been haveing some good & some so so,what water hydration percent with bread fllour would be best, I was reading 52% any suggestions or comments
my recipe is
100% flour
52% water
.5% IDY
1.5% salt | Re: French bread hydration
...I was reading 52%...
Huh? This seems absurdly low to me. Perhaps it was calculated by volume, instead of by weight which is always assumed when talking about hydration levels.
(For reference the old Julia Child recipe specifies a hydration in the range 75%-85%.) |
Sticky Buns
I have been making bread for sometime now, and decided to branch out into making some sticky buns out of some of it. Bread part works ok, but it is the (sticky) part that is not working so well. I am using Pecans 1/2 cup, brown sugar 1/2 to 1 cup, 1/2 cup butter, and 2 tablespoons of light corn syrup. T... | The sticky.
When I make sticky buns, I mix about a cup of brown sugar with 1/3 or 1/4 cup of butter and melt it in a pot on the stove, stirring, and letting it simmer until it's syrupy, then I pour that into the pan and put it into the fridge for a few minutes to set. I never add corn syrup; that might be what's makin... |
My First loaf of 2011
I only had 4 hrs to do the bread and I made kinda like no knead bread. I measured the flower and the water (300gr for bread flour and 210gr of water, 1/4 tsp of yeast and 1 tsp of salt and sugar) but the dough was not wet enough like I wanted to. So I add some more warm water, I really don't know... | That looks great,
That looks great, Norman.
Since folks seemed to enjoy posting their last loaves of the previous year, how about we turn this into a thread for first loaves of the new year? |
I baked it anyway
Yesterday evening, I messed up a recipe for a small fruit+nuts sourdough loaf and ended up with an incoherend wet mess of dough that wouldn't be stretched or folded, or even handled without falling to pieces.I was on the verge of throwing it out, but decided to see what happened, if only for the learn... | Test Flight
Looks like a banana bread texture to me, and that's really good.
You set a good example. There's always time to throw it to the dog, but not until after it's baked. You can't learn anything if you dispose of your experiment before the test flight. |
I'm converting!
This year I will convert my recipes to weight.
My holiday baking experience convinced me after needing to make about 8 batches of Floyd's Lazy Man's Brioche and 12 batches of french bread using a weighed recipe and having every batch turn out perfectly proportioned. It was so much easier having a mise ... | noting "not done yet" helps me convert recipes (volume->weight)
After I do the math to "convert" a recipe that works for me from volume measures to weight measures, I use a small mark to tell myself "not done yet". Then when I actually bake that recipe, if it turns out right I remove the mark, but if it's not yet quite... |
Characteristics of bread flour?
Hi,
implementing some of Hamelman's recipes in "Bread" I had to make a lot of adaptions.
Let me explain: the flours I have at disposal in Italy are much less absorbent and elastic than american and canadian flours (that most probably were used by the author for his recipes), as I already... | Page 145 @ nicodvb
Tucked away at page 145 of Bread is a subtopic labeled "flour choice," wherein Mr. Hamelman makes a recommendation about the "bread" flour to be used, noting it should be of medium strength, about 11.5 to 12 percent protein, with an ash content of about .5 percent.
The KAF bread flour is stronger t... |
Christmas Bread recipe
Hi everyone,
This year I decided to update an old family recipe for Christmas bread to make it a little more manageable. It came out well and I'm happy to share the recipe here. Even though the holidays are over this makes a good weekend breakfast bread. I've got the full step-by-step on my bl... | how pretty !
bet they tasted just as great ! |
Transfer from banneton to hand to Dutch oven
I've been struggling when transferring a loaf from banneton to the Dutch oven I'm baking in. I was inverting the loaf onto a floured counter-top, then awkwardly scooping it up with my hands to lower it into the Dutch oven. It inevitably sagged, and required too much handling... | Sounds good! Mine is usually
Sounds good! Mine is usually heated past 400F when I make the transfer, though, which would make that a bit hazardous. I'd guess most of us using the sling do so for that reason. |
What's your last loaves of 2010?
Just sharing my final bake of the year, and hoping others will do the same.
Olive cheese (green olives stuffed with garlic, chopped, with old provolone):
and some 50% whole wheat multigrain baguettes
Have a happy new year all! | I don't
See the pictures. |
Pani di Lavello
(reposted at my blog: www.akuindeed.com)
I knew I was going to make a bread right after the holidays, and I wanted to use up some excess Italian cheeses and meats that I had in the refrigerator, so I decided to add them to the bread. So this is a kind of pani di lavello – a “bread of the sink”. Not t... | tasty
for sure it won't lack taste! It looks nice, too! |
Russian sourdough no more?
For those fortunate few to know what real russian bread tasted some while ago I have bad news - that bread is no more.
I just came back from a week long trip to Russia. My hopes to get a feel of what Borodinsky and other authentic breads should taste were shattered when I encountered the same... | works for their margin
Lucifer,
The multi-national grocers and industrial bakery firms have found a production model that works for their margin, regardless of the product quality. From what I can gather from other members of TFL in various other nations, it looks like this is what our corporate food suppliers have dec... |
whole food store help
I have a firend who is trying to start a food store that will carry spices,teas and natural foods.
It will be in a small farm city (19,000 people as of 2000 census)
I am curious as to what you guys would expect to be in a whole foods store. As of right now, i dont think meats are there. not enough... | Luck is where preparation meets opportunity
A natural food store may sound appealing but your acquaintance should look into what WalMart is offering. Do they have a grocery store side to their business? They are offering a limited amount of organic foods but what they do sell is what their marketing dept says is what p... |
Newby question about crust thickness
Hi,
I am new to bread making by hand and I haven't yet tried any of the more fancy breads unil I have plain sandwich bread down so that I get consistent results. My problem right now is the thickness and hardness of the crust. I am using Peter Reinhart's recipe on page 266 of The ... | crust may soften considerably as bread cools
My assumption is that the thickness of the crust and perhap the hardness is directly related to the amount of time it spends in the oven,
A still-moist (not-quite-dry-done) crumb will send additional moisture through the crust as the bread cools, so a crust that is initially... |
i dont see the point of parchment paper
so i tired using parchment paper for 3 loaves... i dont see a difference between using it and not using it. My loafs came out very flat, no more than an inch high. I STILL have the EXACT same problem as i always have. No oven spring. I dont over proof, i let it rise the full time... | How Much of What?
Without ratios it's impossible to get an idea of where you might begin to look for a problem in your formula.
You're correct that the problem you describe is not the result of either the proofing baskets or the parchment paper, but it could be the flour, combination of flour varieties, the yeast and/o... |
How Soon Can I Bag a Loaf of Bread
I often don;t finish baking my loaves until 8 or 9 pm. How long do I need to wait before bagging them? I usually leave a towel over them and bag in the morning. | Depends ....
As long as they're at room temperature all the way through the crumb they should be read to bag. Overnight should accomplish that.
It will, of course, depend on what you mean by "bag" as the type of bag you use (paper, plastic, etc.) and whether or not you leave it open ended, losely closed or tightly sea... |
Mixing dough question
I've been looking over many posts in this site about mixing dough with a mixer. I have a Kitchen Aid (classic) and I trying to find out the right speed to mix the dough, for bread, pizza...etc. It seems that many said not to go over speed #2, but using a high hydration dough (65% to 75%) it is ... | hydration calculation with preferment
Can't help with the kitchen aid questions, but if you are shooting for 70% hydration with a 100% hydration preferment you need to account for the total flour as 100% and the total water(liquid) as .7 times that total.
For example, say flour is 100 grams in preferment plus 400 grams... |
2 week old bread dough
I've had the AB in 5 minute a day bread dough in my refrigerator for about two weeks. Do you think it is still safe to eat? | Safe? yes Will it rise? Depends
It's not a question of safety and more a question of the quality of the loaf that will develop. Is the dough in its usual state-texture-wise and moisture-wise? Take a small piece out and let it rise and see how it behaves. If it is a good texture and rises, go ahead and bake it up. If it... |
Meat pie???
Long time ago while in the Navy I had an opportunity to visit England. While there I had something I think was called a meat pie. The only thing I have to describe it is it looks like a "Hot Pocket" so it had this wonderful bread surrounding something like a beef stew. They are portable, single portions ... | Cornish pastie?
It sounds like a cornish pastie which come in single portions and with meat and gravy on the inside, as well as potato and turnip, but they have pastry rather than a yeasted bread on the outside so I could be wrong. I'm only suggesting what it sounds like, I don't have a recipe but I'm sure you can find... |
Using water weight to calculate volume
I want to precisely calculate the volume of a bread pan. If the pan is placed on a scale and tared, then filled with water, can this be used to determine volume?Let’s say the water weight needed to fill a pan is 1000g. We know that is 1000ml. Is 1000ml equal to 61.0237 cubic inche... | That conversion is correct Dan
1,000 mL = 1,000 cubic centimeters = 61.0237 cubic inchesDepending on how precise you want to be... Make sure you're using cold water in your weight measurement. Warm water has a density less than 1 g/mL. |
What would you get?
Not to be ungrateful but I didn't get anything I asked for, which included bread making supplies, for Christmas. This year was full of random things...
I did get a $25 American Express gift certificate though and want to use it for something bread related. What would you buy if you were me, an Esc... | Escali scale!
Escali scale! |
How to Pick a Recipe
I wrote web-application to pick/compare recipes, calculate hydrations and percentages, perform conversions.
You can now compare foreign recipes to American recipes, convert, etc. I have a couple examples from TheFreshLoaf.
1. Walnut Raisin Sourdough Bread from SFBI Artisan II - Walnut Raisin Brea... | Conversion
That's something that I need all the time - I convert everything to metric, except for teaspoons or some liquid measures. It's helpful to convert a whole recipe, not only separate units.
Thanks for sharing,
Karin |
Brioche- Help needed !
I'm trying to cope with the brioche challenge here ,making brioche bread in Bangkok.I'm quite experienced with this type of preparation,but first time for working on this recipe here.
Until now ,I have tried twice,and both times had problems big time.It all comes to the stage when the butter is a... | It may depend on your definition of "hot"
It may depend on your definition of "not really hot" in regards to room temp.It all depends on what we are used to. It may still be warmer than your butter can be at to perform properly. Some of my colleagues in Malaysia consider 95F an airconditioned temp and are failry comfor... |
Wishing my TFL Friends Happy Holidays!
I've been absent these past few months..the loss of my Mother in October was the beginning of a whirlwind 3 months. We were in Florida, Hawaii and Connecticut within a 6 week period. Grief, vacation and Thanksgiving with family, in the same order. Very little bread baked, although... | Happy Holidays,Betty!
May the New Year ahead be bright and cheery!
Sylvia |
First attempt at plain pan de mesa (pics)
With the results. Still need to get better, I left the dough in fridge a day longer than I wanted to. My house is a bit cold inside, I guess the temp is around 67 degree and when I take the dough out of the fridge, even though I left out in the kitchen counter for 6 to 7 hour... | Cute little boules - rolls?
Welcome to TFL, Norman.
I'm not familar with "pan de mesa" bread. Google translated it to "bread board."
Is this a regional recipe? What's in it? What's the weight of each round? |
What temp for rise?
In general,what temperature is best for rising dough in? I'm pretty much a novice and would appreciate any advice.We made Swedish Limpa with our new Bosch mixer last nite and my wife pre-heated the oven to 200F,turned it off,and put the loaves in to rise.When I realized what she'd done,they'd been i... | 200°F = DEATH
Yes, 200°F will kill the yeast and the bacteria and probably everything else!
If you are using sourdough, do not go above 82°F (28°C). For commercial yeast, I would say 90°F (32°C) is near tops.
Ford |
The PERFECT bread recipe for the beginning baker! Think Wonder Bread!
Hi,
First, I want to mention I'm not talented enough to be able to claim I created this recipe. I found it on another forum and I really don't know who the original author is, but whoever it is, created a WINNER! This bread has a soft crust and in... | I made a small mistake...
Hi again!
I made a small mistake in the recipe and tried to edit it but, for some reason, it wouldn't work. I realized that it may sound like you should make 4 pieces (where I said to roll each piece into two rectangles, but what I really meant was to roll each piece into a rectangle, for a t... |
Pumpernickel -- when is it done?
This may seem a silly time to ask, my loaf's in the oven as I type, but how do you know when pumpernickel is done?
I'm baking a traditional Westphalian version, 100% rye (45% light, 45% medium, and 10% flakes) at approx 70% hydration. Temperature started at 350F and is being lowered 25... | Rye at Gary
Internal temp for rye finished at 185°F (and up to 205°F if wheat is included)
but I often leave mine in longer for good crust color at 200°F
Mini |
newbie baking percentage question -
Hello all, Phil here. Kind of new to baking bread but have turned out quite of bit of it already. I've always been 'uncomfortable' with the recipes that instructed to keep adding flour until the dough 'cleans the sides of the bowl', and thought that the 'percentage method', me bein... | Hello Phil, and first:
Hello Phil, and first: welcome to The Fresh Loaf. I see you joined some time ago, and have now ventured into the forums. Good for you!
I cannot answer all of your questions, but I can tell you that I am a numbers guy too, and one of the first and most difficult lessons I had to learn was "Baki... |
why does my lame snag the dough?
I have been trying to score with a curved razor. When I slash the dough, it basically gets caught in a snag and I can't move it all the way through. I have read Hamelman's detailed instructions as well as read a lot on this site, but I'm still not sure what I am doing wrong. I don'... | be sure when scoring the
be sure when scoring the dough to slash very quickly with no hesitation. hold the blade at a little bit more than a 45 degree angle maybe 50- 55 degrees roughly, so that only the farthest bottom corner of the blade comes into contact with the dough. if you are holding at less of an angle the "b... |
Underproofed vs Overproofed
We frequently get questions about whether or not a crumb shows evidence of underproofing or overproofing. Having baked plenty of examples of both I thought I would share how I look at the baked bread to decide if it is under or over.
8976B72B-0E3F-486F-9A4C-DE5EE33D16FC.jpeg
BC26... | Underproofed vs Overproofed
I was wondering if you could explain a little bit more about your desired rise during bulk using your aliquot jar for reference? I’ve notice in your posts that you sometimes look for a 60 and sometimes even an 80% rise depending on the grain before shaping. And I know a lot of people look ... |
White Mountain Rolls a la Jackson's Bakery, Rochester NY
I'm looking for the recipe for White Mountain Rolls as they are made for Jackson's bakery in Rochester NY. So far, I'v only encountered recipes for crusty-style "Mountain" bread or some kind of fried dough. These are more like a Parker house roll, except they hav... | How fun to see my hometown in
How fun to see my hometown in a thread on the fresh loaf. Never heard of these though.
I'd follow a recipe for dinner rolls, one that has some added fat, sugar, and dairy. You really can't go wrong with the recipes on King Arthur Flour's website. I notice that a lot of the recipes for soft... |
Can i ask another silly/novice question
Hi everyone.
Very helpful forum here.
I would like to know the answer to this please, i'd like to bake my own bread, and think it would be good to know how to do it.
If for example, i wanted to make a 300g loaf of French bread, how do i go about making sure the quantities a... | Sure.
Many of the baker's here use baker's percentage to make such determinations.
Here's a link to the King Arthur Page explaining the math
Or, check out Wild Yeast's tutorial, which is in four parts (link is to first part).
You're going to need a scale, if you don't already have one. |
Freezing French Bread?
Hi all i am new to the forum and looking for some advice on bread. It might sound like a strange question but will fresh French bread be ok to freeze? Only reason i ask is that we want fresh bread on Christmas Day, therefore i was going to get some French sticks and Pain de Campagne Longue or B... | Thanks again Silkenpaw - i
Thanks again Silkenpaw - i appreciate your help! |
Need help converting zolablue's recipe
I want to convert zolablue's cinnamon roll recipe to sourdough, how would I do this? My starter is 100% hydration white. Volume measurements needed please. | Conversion might not be wise
Hi BG,
Susan of WildYeast wrote about why it's not always such a good idea to convert a yeast recipe to sourdough. As she says, you aren't going to wind up with what was intended. It's a good read.
Why not use a tried and tested sourdough cinnamon roll recipe? Mountain Dog published a pr... |
Chocolate Babka from Canadian Living Dec 2010 Magazine
I made these today as Christmas gifts for friends. I left off the Streusel topping, dusting them with cinnamon sugar. I also added cinnamon sugar to the filling. They smell really good!!
Chocolate Babka
By The Canadian Living Test Kitchen
This yeast coffee cake, ... | Mmmmmmm!
I bet those were good!
I made the chocolate Babka in Reinhart's ABED a few weeks ago, and they were heavenly. I've been craving them ever since. |
Rye berries
I want to make German sunflower bread (http://www.applepiepatispate.com/bread/sonnenblumenbrot-sunflower-seed-bread/) but only found rye berries instead of rye chops locally. Can I put the rye berries in the food processor to chop them? Anyone try this and bake with it?
Thanks! | i soak the whole berry overnight
it tastes very very good this way |
How much do you buy at a time?
I've been going through flour and yeast like crazy lately! When you buy your bread ingredients how much do you buy at a time?
I've bought the 5lb bag of Gold Medal Better for Bread flour the last 2 times (in 2 weeks) and the jar of Fleischmans AD Yeast twice in a month.
Yeah, yeah I know... | Buy instant yeast.
I switched to Fleischmann's instant yeast, $4.99 Cdn. for a pound, because it's much cheaper than the active dry in the jars; you use less. And I buy 10 kg bags of unbleached a-p flour - that's about 22 lbs. It keeps me going for about 10 days, but I use it for cookies as well as bread. I'd buy mo... |
ABED Soft Cheese Bread
Hi Everyone-
I enjoyed reading the posts (and looking at the photos!) of ABED's Soft Cheese Bread. I am planning on making it this weekend and have a few questions for those of you have baked it:
What type of beer do you recommend using?
Did anyone use chives instead of onions? The other posts me... | Hi Beth
I made this 2 weekends ago for a football game potuck where there was also chili involved. Great combo everyone loves it so you'll get raves!
I used a Lite beer which is all I had on hand but I think something more assertive would have been much better, I'm thinking Heinekin, Beck's, St Pauli Girl; dark beer wo... |
Bake time and temp questions
Hi,
I have been baking at home, using Hamelman's book, and have found that, if I follow the bake times and temps listed, my crusts get overbrowned. I've lately taken to cooking about 25 degrees lower, and for shorter times (by about 20%), ending the bake when the interior temp of the l... | Interior Temperature
I find that the interior temperature is the best guide to "doneness."
Ford |
Anyone ever make chocolate brioche dough?
I'm into chocolate lately and brioche so I thought I'd marry the two, but not in the usual pain au chocolat way. Has anyone ever made chocolate brioche dough? Any recipes,hints or experience? Pictures are great,too. | A hint
Marry the melted chocolate with the brioche dough at the end of the mixing cycle - as if you were adding nuts or something similar.
Larry |
Poolish problem
Hi,I have been experimenting with Poolish for a couple of weeks now, and love the results, except I am having a problem with my dough fermentations not doubling in size ? I got my recipe online by a guy apparently well known, but I cannot remember his name. My poolish always works great, it has 16 hrs f... | More yeast will make things
More yeast will make things go quicker, so watch it. Enjoy! |
What makes flour extensive/ elastic
I was wondering if someone here knows the answer. I recently tried Central milling high mountain(CMHM) organic flour. I LOVE its texture. I use Giusto orgnaic ultimate performer flour for years.Central milling staff told me the CMHM organic flour would be equivalent to the Giusto flo... | google this:
gliaden glutenin extensibility elasticity |
Pannetone in a can
I've learned a lot from both this forum and from baking lots of bread. One of the lessons I learned early on is that specialty pans are expensive and that 99% of the time there is an alternative in the cupboard already. So-not having a pannetone pan and not planning well enough ahead to order the pap... | 3/4 is too much
Clazar, if you fill the can by 3/4 the panettone will come out very dense. It has to grow A LOT: I never fill more than 1/4 of the can/paper and I let the dough rise until the top before going to the oven. |
problems with cold fermentation of PR Classic French
Hi everyone, I'm new to bread baking and this forum! I've baked 4 times with recipes from PR's ABED, and I absolutely LOVE it. I do have a problem though...In making the Classic French, I notice that when I pull the dough out of the fridge, the bottom is very wet/s... | Are you oiling the container
Are you oiling the container with spray oil or coating the dough with oil before putting it in the container? This may be keeping the lower part of the dough saturated and essentially sealed from any air, the top portion not submerged will develop a skin resulting in a "tighter" texture. N... |
Advice needed on how to make a rye soaker
The other day I decided to include a hot rye soaker in my white sourdough. I was hoping it would add a touch of sweetness. To be honest, I didn't really know what I was doing and should have done some more research on the matter but just decided to wing it anyway.
My recipe... | Soaker Info
There are lots of threads and blogs about rye soakers, if you use the search box at the left side of the page. Here's a good example (http://www.thefreshloaf.com/node/18965/variations-polish-country-bread).
I used this formula with good success.
Rye flour in a soaker will soak up a lot of water, so the hyd... |
nutritional yeast in bread?
Is it possible to add nutritional yeast in bread dough (and off course normal bread yeast) to add more nutrients to the bread? | Add just about anything!
Try it!
If I'm not mistaken, it will add a flavor to your bread so make sure you like what it will do, flavor-wise. If you are adding a liquid form, you will have to compensate on the other liquid in the recipe and same for the dry form-tho I don't think you add that much.
Top it with some vege... |
Very dry flour and climate Help!
Hey all, I live in a very high and dry climate. Our new kitchen addition has 6 (happy dance) glass fronted flour drawers. I keep my bulk flour in Vittle Vaults in the garage, but once it comes inside it starts drying out. I have always needed to add water in the past, but realize t... | only you know the answer to that
Hi Pam,Perhaps not the answer you're looking for, but only you know what you want your bread to be like in the climate you're working in.
However, assuming you're baking by weight and baking multiple recipes from the same book, your % of water added should remain somewhat constant. I'd... |
Soft, moist crumb
Hi, I am new here and fairly new to baking bread. I have had my share of failures. I have learnt a lot throught my failures and have read a lot of bread baking literature. Anyway, I finally am able to produce pretty good loaves of bread.One thing that is lacking in my breads is a soft, moist crumb. T... | the softness of the crust
the softness of the crust and crumb are directly related to the amount of water based on the weght of the floursotness is also affected be the richness of the dough. a dough with ingd that enhance the richness will containmilk or milk powderFats such as shortening and butter (Not so much oil)s... |
Forgot my Sugar, added in after a well kneaded dough still works!
I was making a chocolate bread today. After putting all ingredients I kneaded the dough well, it felt a little harder than usual, I decided to add a liitle water and finally it came together. I put it aside to proof. Then It suddenly dawned on me that I ... | Not too long ago, I had difficulty working in salt.
It was a 50% hydration dough with instant yeast. I had just added salt and I had only begun to work it in when I had to drop everything for something else. I threw some plastic over the bowl and came back 4 hours later and had a most lovely risen dough full of hard ... |
New "cinnamon" roll flavors, should I try them?
I'm making mini cinnamon rolls to hand out to my wife's coworkers this afternoon and want to make 3 variations.
Tell me how these sound...
Regular cinnamon rolls
Almond butter rolls
Pumpkin pie rolls
I've made the regular cinnamon rolls before but I'm unsure about the l... | And while you're at it,
send some this way, please! Those sound like wonderful variations.
Paul |
tunisian flatbread
I was browsing through some recent posts and came upon this link http://www.worldcook.net/Cooking/Bread/BR-FetaRoll.htm in a comment. So this afternoon I made the tunisian flatbread. This was very simple to put together, but the instructions were pretty sparse, and when it came time to transfer t... | Oiling the surface
My WW dough is sticky but I oil the surface and my hands to manage it. |
Proud of this crust have pics
So it was friday and my sourdough starter was not going to preform (it had ben a while since i fed it) I decided to make a yeasted bread. I made a Pain de campagne with bf, rye, butter, and rosemary. I tried a different kneading technique and steaming, what a surprise I made something ot... | Congratulations!
The pics didn't come thru but isn't it nice to make a good loaf to enjoy!? Every bake is a delicious experiment-whether it's just for the nose (my many bricks) or the palate. Eventually the palate pleasers outnumber the bricks and you begin to think it was all a delusion. |
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