The Irresistable Belly Bread

 I wasn't getting any worthwhile results when I tried my hand at some yeast loaves from the KAF files during the past couple of weeks. First, I tried the all whole wheat loaf which left me unimpressed because of the overbearing flavor from using a lot of vegetable oil, in my case, canola oil. The second was the hearth grains bread which once again had a dense texture and too much presence from the oil in the recipe. Maybe I'm just a person whose palate prefers lean breads. I know those two breads have their followers on the KAF recipe pages.

This first bread that really turned out well recently is a return to a sourdough Pane Campesino. I worked it with the 1-2-3 or 3-2-1 formula as a foundation and added a wheat bran soaker. Good times, good bread.

Soaker
30 g wheat bran
30 g water
Soak for at least four hours. Add a tiny bit of salt if soaking overnight.

Starter
120 g at 100% hydration. Fed with organic AP

Main Dough
288 g bread flour
72 g white whole wheat
240 g water at 85F
All of starter
All of soaker
9 g kosher salt
 Put this recipe under the classification of flavorful breads that can stand up to strong flavors such as chili or Polish sausage with garlic and a healthy dose of horseradish.

 This is the loaf that proved to be irresistible to Mrs PG. Usually, I get to play amateur photographer before slicing but this loaf must have been speaking to her because she put the knife to the loaf without bothering to ask me if I was going to photograph the work. It's not quite an Italian style bread nor is it a French style bread despite using a poolish. A slow proofing in our 60F cool cellar also helped in building flavor. This hybrid has its belly from what I suspect was either less than stellar slashing or shaping. But it does work well with lasagna and could work well with chicken soup too.

Poolish
65 g organic AP
65 g water at 85F
1/4 tsp IDY

Main Dough
178 g bread flour
27 g white whole flour
All of poolish
39 g water at 85F
80 g 1% milk at 85F
6 g kosher salt

This third loaf is rapidly disappearing from the counter at present. It's a sourdough with with a bulgur soaker added. I added a 1/4 tsp of IDY to the main dough to help it along due to the coolish room temperatures here.The smell of baking bread was very sweet, almost intoxicating when this loaf was in the oven.

Soaker
40 g bulgur
33 g water at room temperature

Starter
120 g at 100% hydration.

Main Dough
288 g bread flour
 72 g white whole wheat flour
240 g water at 85F
All of starter
All of soaker
9 g kosher salt
1/4 tsp Instant Dry Yeast

Some of our avian friends have returned lately to visit the buffet at the feeders in the yard. A female red shafted Northern Flicker has taken a liking to our offerings in the suet feeder. These birds are usually ground feeders, dining on ants and other insects but no one has informed this specimen. We're fine with her dining habits since once she roosts, she chows down for quite a while and is a lot of fun to observe. I've sighted a red winged blackbird at my feeder on a snow day this past week so I'll be looking for more this weekend when the frozen precipitation makes a return visit.

Denmark, Gabon, Portugal, Singapore, and South Africa are the origins of recent visitors to my obscure corner of the internet.

Comments, humor, and questions are welcome.