tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-88885378115729331792024-02-19T10:15:22.237-06:00Chaos Amongst the Flours and FlowersMeanderings and mishaps in baking bread and gardening.
Where style is often forsaken, curiosity should be expected,
and eccentricity is par for the course- Postal GruntPostal Grunthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18414583708278689114noreply@blogger.comBlogger286125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8888537811572933179.post-19708298495720114152021-02-22T13:43:00.000-06:002021-02-22T13:43:57.262-06:00A Hit and Run Spiked 5W Sourdough Loaf<p> As usual, my starter which sometimes goes by the nom de levain Nelson, is taking its duties with a wintertime casual attitude. In order to get my loaves finished in a reasonable amount of time, I resort to spiking the dough with a 1/4 tsp of either ADY or IDY. I just don't bake often enough to ever presume or pretend that I'm a purist kind of home baker. My most recent loaf was done with another venial sin, an oversized portion of starter. It could've been worse, ending up as food for the squirrels that have been enjoying the bounty of bird seed that I provide for our feathered friends.</p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjb0soXP_zRNEx8uXK1d03Oz7boI2IMnAnaHCb4ECOOQ8ZDq23LSg5kLTP-sYA9-WGQmalKrud78c8dpyKT1d-j17Y8uiEEFKYUlk9mRpwvyr9483b5e8Dg6yhwQ6bmVU37v17_mbJlPLg/s4160/20210220_133236.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3120" data-original-width="4160" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjb0soXP_zRNEx8uXK1d03Oz7boI2IMnAnaHCb4ECOOQ8ZDq23LSg5kLTP-sYA9-WGQmalKrud78c8dpyKT1d-j17Y8uiEEFKYUlk9mRpwvyr9483b5e8Dg6yhwQ6bmVU37v17_mbJlPLg/s320/20210220_133236.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br /> <p></p><p>The wrinkle in the latest two stage starter build was to add some wheat bran just because I wanted to do so. No harm done at all.</p><p>Starter</p><p>Stage one</p><p>15 g starter</p><p>30 g water</p><p>25 g KAF AP</p><p>5 g wheat bran</p><p>Stage two</p><p>50 g water</p><p>50 g KAF AP</p><p>Main Dough</p><p>I have a practice of starting with adding the starter, all of my water, and about 100 g of the flour, along with the dry yeast to mix and then soak for about 20-30 minutes. I think it might make mixing the rest of the ingredients somewhat easier. It's a no harm, no foul thing that I do.</p><p>30 g locally grown and milled whole wheat flour</p><p></p><p>30 g KAF WWW flour<br /></p><p>40 g KAF bread flour</p><p>190 g water at 84F</p><p>170 g starter <br /></p><p>In order to keep my work area clear of obstacles, I scale the remaining flour and blanket the first mix. I put my salt on top of that to prevent absent mindedness from ruining a good loaf. Dish washing ensues.<br /></p><p>200 g KAF bread flour</p><p>8 g kosher salt</p><p>After the initial soak, I do a rough mix to incorporate the rest of my ingredients. After another twenty minutes of rest, a series of three or four stretch and folds at 25-30 minute intervals begin. 45-60 minute intervals are doable as well if you want. I just like to run errands or go to the gym during the remainder of the bulk ferment which in this case took another four hours.</p><p>Once the dough had doubled, shaping, a retarded proofing, and baking followed. While cooling, the finished loaf chattered away as fast as Brian Blade hits his cymbals during a drum solo. Mrs PG and I like this one a lot. </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgmJtV_qr_qkfugYZ0ZPXLwuM32hVQwHXMVINRIwugpnhyg4mat3ErDvKd3oFCZGymvKZRcy_WfZg8wYlNQY_8WN49F7rv6wOWuy0hedq75yG9oAqENA1jMqaCOLTYhcIfxut_b0XulAPM/s4160/20210220_133440.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3120" data-original-width="4160" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgmJtV_qr_qkfugYZ0ZPXLwuM32hVQwHXMVINRIwugpnhyg4mat3ErDvKd3oFCZGymvKZRcy_WfZg8wYlNQY_8WN49F7rv6wOWuy0hedq75yG9oAqENA1jMqaCOLTYhcIfxut_b0XulAPM/s320/20210220_133440.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br />Even though the polar vortex that afflicted much of the central states came through here and put a big chill on us, we weathered through without power failures and only minor snowfalls. I did have to find the heavy thermal underwear and a pair of ugly boots meant for such times. I'm hoping that those wind chills hitting as low as -24F will have killed the oak leaf itch mites that torment me in the summertime.This week is different with the high today expected around 56F and tomorrow will be a day to grill outside when the thermometer hits 64F. <p></p><p>Other than a few daffodils sending up their leafs, there aren't any other signs of Spring. Well, maybe the long lines at the car washes might be reason for optimism but mostly we're seeing bare trees and brown grasses. Lately, a Carolina wren or two, have been added to the list of feathered friends and usual suspects at the feeders. According to my copy of "Birds of Kansas", they're a year round resident in this area. They're known to have quite a repertoire of songs so if they bring more family or friends with them, I won't mind at all.</p><p>Comments, humor, and questions are welcome.<br /></p>Postal Grunthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18414583708278689114noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8888537811572933179.post-74172781573113703532021-01-24T00:06:00.001-06:002021-01-24T00:15:56.747-06:00New Year, New Pan, Slightly Different Recipe<p><br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgBBbRa4cqq-R7TGY1QFGUd3beDE5bNA5HFSpBNvjz3lp8EQpuvzCRnMY4p7fvs7J2bqyEdgMiJeGfb_-5rw1Zt6hZPOs13PburXZJ5G6_qFvJpL_mm-QZHr91fUFa_H-x3vr-_5xRRA3M/s3838/20210123_083002.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2515" data-original-width="3838" height="210" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgBBbRa4cqq-R7TGY1QFGUd3beDE5bNA5HFSpBNvjz3lp8EQpuvzCRnMY4p7fvs7J2bqyEdgMiJeGfb_-5rw1Zt6hZPOs13PburXZJ5G6_qFvJpL_mm-QZHr91fUFa_H-x3vr-_5xRRA3M/w327-h210/20210123_083002.jpg" width="327" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiXGx4UnaF-NXxExqrnXf6Q_diatSiZ6GPwkMAFBKqQcVuazNIQG5S9RPWsik3mteC4RPFypTNUkE8O3qatiZ4KaeNOVngOXXXeVYvbkHysBeC7kJB6sbe4Q8NZHMFk8g3Fd08AbTO76Vw/s2998/20210122_082615.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2176" data-original-width="2998" height="232" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiXGx4UnaF-NXxExqrnXf6Q_diatSiZ6GPwkMAFBKqQcVuazNIQG5S9RPWsik3mteC4RPFypTNUkE8O3qatiZ4KaeNOVngOXXXeVYvbkHysBeC7kJB6sbe4Q8NZHMFk8g3Fd08AbTO76Vw/w320-h232/20210122_082615.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br /></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjRWy_r5hNWI0ren8KytsM1BKa0MEb8pkz3tkBd7hCI7Iy5Oibrg00_BzcoMRrHQ8GPS3Lk4DCriOppbXVx8TqxAT8w4o__JRk5GvT8b2rf0bZFwCNgrkMOIE3r8dZYLQ0-VVYr9Zgob9U/s3590/20210122_082731.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2484" data-original-width="3590" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjRWy_r5hNWI0ren8KytsM1BKa0MEb8pkz3tkBd7hCI7Iy5Oibrg00_BzcoMRrHQ8GPS3Lk4DCriOppbXVx8TqxAT8w4o__JRk5GvT8b2rf0bZFwCNgrkMOIE3r8dZYLQ0-VVYr9Zgob9U/s320/20210122_082731.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>I'm not the easiest person to shop for at Christmas time so Mrs PG suggested I do some for myself.The simplest thing I considered was a new pan that could be the "Goldilocks" pan among my collection. Not too small and not too big either. The first time around I tried a recipe that totaled 390 g of flour which was too small. This loaf is 420 g total and just about right to develop. The flours used are all KAF- all purpose, artisan, and white whole wheat flour. The loaf turned out to have a good crumb that didn't tear when sliced despite the quantity of AP. <p></p><p>Poolish</p><p>60 g white whole wheat flour</p><p>40g AP flour</p><p>100 g water at 84F</p><p>1/4 tsp active dry yeast</p><p>Main Dough</p><p>160 g Artisan Flour</p><p>160 g AP Flour</p><p>194 g water at 84F</p><p>9 g kosher salt</p><p>1/2 tsp active dry yeast</p><p>The oven started out at 425F for the first 24 minutes and then 400F for 22 minutes after turning the pan around. Then I let the loaf rest for five minutes on a wire rack in the oven as it began cooling with the door cracked open. It's a good loaf for something I started without too much of a plan. </p><p>I suspect that I'm becoming either a small time alarmist or a hoarder of baking supplies because it's easy to rationalize having more than usual around the house. Costco has the KAF AP in 12# bags for less than $6 so these days I always have at least 20# of AP on hand. The KAF BF was like $2.59 for a 5# bag at Christmas so I got three. When I saw a 1# block of SAF Instant Dry Yeast for $3.59 where the small glass jars were almost $6, I had to grab what I thought had to be a mistaken price tag and a real deal. The next day at a different supermarket the same item was priced at $2.49 which made my purchase not quite as big a bargain as I thought. Compared to what we were seeing if we could find IDY back in April and May 2020, I can still laugh about it. It doesn't take that much room in the freezer. If 5# bags of rye flour started showing up on the shelves again at a reasonable price, I'd be all set to go to work on a brown ale rye bread.<br /></p><p>My bird feeders are now under daily attack by grey squirrels. The feeders are supposed to be squirrel resistant but I know for sure they're not squirrel proof when one can be seen hanging up side down to get at the sunflower seeds. If they didn't sit on top of the shepherd's hook pole and stare in the window at me while they ate, I wouldn't be as annoyed. There are at least four that have found out about the feeders and they all run around like LSD and methamphetamine was a majority of their diet. This area has a 4" deficit in snowfall so far for the season and what little fell melted away quickly so leftover grains and seeds are still easily found by the area birds. I'd like to see if they would try to protect their feeders and territory should more return to my backyard.<br /></p><p>Comments, humor, and questions are always welcome.<br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p>Postal Grunthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18414583708278689114noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8888537811572933179.post-11643892085708519612020-09-19T13:24:00.000-05:002020-09-19T13:24:46.813-05:00An easy 5W sponge pan loaf<p>Like everyone will experience sooner or later, I sometimes forget or am too tired to get a new starter going late at night. Consequently, I change plans and go to a dry yeast loaf to make sure that there's fresh bread in the house. That happened again this week, resulting in a simple but satisfying pan loaf. The oddity involved was the use of some ADY that I've had since 2009 and has been quietly sitting in the freezer. I bought a 2# bag of Red Star Active Dry Yeast at Costco for less than $5, thinking that I could use it for at least a year and if it quit working for me, I'd still be money ahead compared to what I would pay for the three pack sachets at the grocery store. The contents went into an inexpensive Rubbermaid brand container that I found at Walmart and the remaining ADY is still on the job. A similar sized quantity of instant dry yeast could be used as well. <br /></p><p>The aforementioned 5W in the sponge is a combination of some KAF White Whole Wheat flour and some home milled whole wheat flour that I bought at the local farmers market. I know, too cute by more than half. Rather than dividing the ADY to be used, I just used the entire amount in a simple sponge that got the ball rolling to a good loaf of bread. I also tucked the shaped loaf into the fridge rather than having to juggle baking with preparing supper. </p><p>Sponge</p><p>273 g water at 90F</p><p>42 g WW flour</p><p>42 g KAF WWW flour </p><p>46 g KAF BF <br /></p><p>1/2 tsp ADY</p><p>Pour water into a largish mixing bowl and add ADY for hydration. Stir after 5-10 minutes, add flour, mix, and cover. Let sit for at least one hour, up to three hours, at room temperature. If you're using IDY, hydrating that wouldn't hurt. Try it, you might like it.<br /></p><p>Main Dough</p><p>260 g KAF BF</p><p>8 g kosher salt</p><p>You can approach these main dough ingredients in different ways. The first is to add the flour and salt to the sponge when you feel ready to mix and get to work. </p><p>The second is to to blanket the sponge with the flour after you've mixed it, top the blanket with the salt so you don't forget, and then cover. After an hour, the blanket will show cracks indicating that the yeast is working. If you've got extra time or chores to do, you can either let the sponge continue to work its magic until you can't stand it anymore or a total of three hours and then start the mixing. You can also put the blanketed sponge in the fridge after sitting on the counter for at least an hour and postpone mixing for up to twelve hours. Don't forget to give your bowl some time to warm up on the counter before mixing. It's nice to have options, isn't it? <br /></p><p>I let my sponge sit on the counter for about three hours before adding more flour and the salt. After mixing to the recommended shaggy mass, I covered the bowl and let it set for about twenty minutes. From there, I turned the mass out onto a lightly floured board, shaped the dough into a rough, rectangular shape, and did stretch and fold overs on the four sides. I covered the newly folded dough with my bowl and waited about twenty minutes before I repeated my stretch and folding. In all, I did three sequences that resulted in what I thought to be adequate strength. You might want to do a fourth. From there, the dough went into my oiled Cambro container for the rest of the fermentation.</p><p>I didn't let the dough double in size, choosing to start my shaping after it increased its volume by about 75%. After shaping the dough into a log shape, I put it into a 9" x 5" loaf pan, covered that with plastic wrap, and put it in the fridge. After supper, I retrieved the loaf and let it sit on the counter until the dough crowned about 5/8" above the rim. My slashing was far from perfect but nevertheless, I persisted, misting the top of the loaf with water, and put the pan into my preheated oven at 425F for 24 minutes. After turning the pan around, I lowered the oven to 400F and baked for another 22 minutes. I thought the color of the baked loaf looked good but I had to try something else. I took the loaf pan out of the oven, knocked the loaf out onto a wire rack, did the traditional thump test, which was good, and then put the racked loaf back into the now cooling oven for another five minutes with the door cracked open just a tad. After the five minutes were up, I pulled the now finished loaf out, admired its appearance, and let it cool. </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgO2fjKXGdU4i-Pzj2z9aYN3vLHO6d-Lu-Bfqbl7C6cGVdvsNWg-15qf3Wn0SQVdgGRs74bEQaH17cslZu1DqCwHFwPRtk2hWHzM3M9y0n2G3xQ11dKWcTkIFXBvu4v4yMrP7zBMoD32sg/s4160/20200918_081701.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3120" data-original-width="4160" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgO2fjKXGdU4i-Pzj2z9aYN3vLHO6d-Lu-Bfqbl7C6cGVdvsNWg-15qf3Wn0SQVdgGRs74bEQaH17cslZu1DqCwHFwPRtk2hWHzM3M9y0n2G3xQ11dKWcTkIFXBvu4v4yMrP7zBMoD32sg/s320/20200918_081701.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br /><p></p><p>The crust was, shall we say, toothsome upon first slicing but nothing that would damage my ego or mouth. If you like a good crust, do the five minute drill after the bake finishes. If not, just pull the loaf and cool. The crumb turned out very well, being tender but not so soft as to be difficult to get a good slice and moist.</p><p>In all, it has been more work for me to type this with my hunt and peck style than the actual work put into the loaf, such as cleaning up after my own exuberance during the preparation.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTzyV-37HNvdyrytMv0nJHOjTq53SxFC3HaA8KcWVioNcNymwzE5UMXJdoqfT-DPzT7dSDkrivv56hW_o8oxEla-jcTro183nr7GKcCrhfoa7PwEuY-dCV37-GP31nG95HHwoenXUje80/s4160/20200918_081813.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3120" data-original-width="4160" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTzyV-37HNvdyrytMv0nJHOjTq53SxFC3HaA8KcWVioNcNymwzE5UMXJdoqfT-DPzT7dSDkrivv56hW_o8oxEla-jcTro183nr7GKcCrhfoa7PwEuY-dCV37-GP31nG95HHwoenXUje80/s320/20200918_081813.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br />The weather here has been treating me well. There has been some smoke in the sky from the West Coast fires but not so much as to be uncomfortable. We haven't had any rain for a while but considering the damage done to the Gulf Coast states by Hurricane Sally, I have a garden hose to water the remaining plants to help me cope. I haven't seen very many feathered friends at the bird feeders outside my window but I'm not surprised. Local farmers are starting to harvest their corn crops so the competition presented by my feeders is lacking. They'll be back.<p></p><p>Comments, humor, and questions are welcome.<br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p>Postal Grunthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18414583708278689114noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8888537811572933179.post-54475848139468967812020-09-11T14:05:00.008-05:002021-12-02T00:10:58.997-06:00Making Adjustments to my recipes<p>For several years, one of the constants in my bread baking was to use Dakota Maid bread flour. I found that in baking a sourdough loaf using the 1 part by weight 100% hydration starter, 2 parts by weight water, 3 parts by weight flour guidelines, I could get a dependable dough that resulted in a flavorful loaf, regardless if I used hard red or hard white whole wheat flour at a 15% quantity. I don't recall ever baking a straight bread flour loaf although it was possible.</p><p>I found the DM BF in Omaha at what are now named "Family Fair" supermarkets. Whenever Mrs PG and I went to visit her family, I would pick up 1 or 2 10# bags and haul them back. When the world changed back in March 2020, the supply line stopped because most of Mrs PGs family are in "at risk" groups of one fashion or another and we've stopped visiting Omaha until conditions improve. Fortunately, when the DM flour was gone, King Arthur bread flour was once again available on local supermarket shelves.</p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhyw61tNGaS8MTblyJhf9CygRPMjpNYNxn2iNHh0OtiJPle3rQxniP4utE8wSLj29rTGCuLjFMhtDziZC64b8q23j_lGkqKypS1Xd21CFxypE_nHHmaNecqsOFBy5wFr9DIB3sCRI5EZqQ/s4160/20200831_082400.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3120" data-original-width="4160" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhyw61tNGaS8MTblyJhf9CygRPMjpNYNxn2iNHh0OtiJPle3rQxniP4utE8wSLj29rTGCuLjFMhtDziZC64b8q23j_lGkqKypS1Xd21CFxypE_nHHmaNecqsOFBy5wFr9DIB3sCRI5EZqQ/s320/20200831_082400.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br /> <p></p><p>The KAF BF required some experimentation to find a recipe that brought consistent results to the dough. Presently, I'm simply using 10 grams less water which works but I think I may have to go to 15 grams less to get what I'm looking for. So, I had been using 110g starter, 220g water, 330 flour initially and the first adjustment was to use 210g of water with 205 g as my next target. It's not a big deal but when baking only one loaf a week, I can't claim to have a "Eureka!" moment after the first effort.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQuUssSmUAcA7yoVHW8jHhi-2yEctgWkWPGsnQ8y4MKy17d8cY2kNdyyl8-DEzs_nA3v45tZS3rj5OEFJhUNdpoz4YuTirj9UTwwbfmMPx54O9qkhD38BJKKb-ID97R_vQbgRDNhGlw3k/s4160/20200831_082512.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3120" data-original-width="4160" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQuUssSmUAcA7yoVHW8jHhi-2yEctgWkWPGsnQ8y4MKy17d8cY2kNdyyl8-DEzs_nA3v45tZS3rj5OEFJhUNdpoz4YuTirj9UTwwbfmMPx54O9qkhD38BJKKb-ID97R_vQbgRDNhGlw3k/s320/20200831_082512.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br /><p>110 g 100% hydration starter</p><p>210 g water at 82F</p><p>30 g KAF white whole wheat</p><p>20 g hard red winter wheat flour</p><p>280 g KAF bread flour <br /></p><p>8 g kosher salt</p><p><br /></p><p>I'm also working on some adjustments for my pizza dough after getting a few clues from some good people in Steamboat Springs, CO. I had been using a base recipe as follows,</p><p>300 g KAF AP flour</p><p>210 g water at 82F</p><p>6 g kosher salt</p><p>3/8-1/2 tsp IDY, divided <br /></p><p>I did vary from that base by using 30 g of either semolina, whole wheat, white whole wheat, or whole rye flours with similar results for the handling qualities of the dough. There were more than a few pies where I used the "oil spot kneading" procedure I mentioned in an earlier post. </p><p>The clues I carried back from Colorado go something like this,</p><p>75% bread flour</p><p>25% Typo 00 flour</p><p>64% water at 100F <br /></p><p>5% sugar</p><p>3.6% salt</p><p>1.3% active dry yeast</p><p>The flour weights don't bother me but everything else is very different from what I'm used to seeing and reading. To me, and I could be wrong, the ingredients look like they're meant for a enriched dough New York City style crust if that makes sense. The 100F water and sugar appear to be intended for a single fermentation dough without an overnight stay in a cooler for a retarded fermentation. While my breads usually have only 2% salt by weight, the 3.6% salt by weight seems to be meant to add some extra flavor to the dough. The 1.3% ADY could be compensation for the salt's potential to slow down fermentation or it could just be that in making dough for a restaurant, measuring a large quantity or just ripping open a bag of yeast or two is adequate if your mixing up fifty and more pounds of dough. Time is money in the restaurant business.</p><p>The obvious procedure for me is to not introduce more than one change at a time and take notes. In order to bring these quantities down to what I would need for my usual 300 g of flour, I need to use 15 g of sugar, 11 g of salt, and 4 g of ADY. Changing the water from 210 g down to 195 g is where I'll start and after seeing the resulting dough, its handling qualities, and end product flavor, I'll move on to adding the sugar which should result in a faster fermentation and a darker edge or cornicione. The salt and ADY quantities seem excessive but I'll wrap my head around those in a few weeks when I see what happens with changing the hydration and adding some sweetness to the dough.</p><p>My garden is almost done for the year. The tomato plants are slowing down and looking rather scraggly. The peppers aren't particularly prolific this year but I have enough for me. Mrs PG is no fan of peppers.The cucumber vines have been taken out already. I had too many to begin with and I think that their tangled mess cut back on production. Fortunately, the basil and rosemary are just fine and should be a blessing until the first frost. The average daytime temperatures have dropped enough that I'm out of excuses not to clean up the flower beds and seek out the little tree saplings that are hiding among the remaining flowers and weeds.</p><p>One more oddity to discuss here. I had been using a Lamson offset handle bread knife for a while. After a lot of use and sometimes abuse, it lost its edge and began tearing the loaves. I replaced it with a Mercer knife of the same style that I saw on Amazon and have found it useful, especially so since it only set me back $17. One of these days I'll go all out and buy an expensive model but for now, the bread doesn't know the difference and I'm not telling.. <br /></p><p>Comments, humor, and questions are welcome.</p><p><br /></p><p>Added Stuff, 24 OCT 2020: This week I baked another of my usual 85% BF/ 15% WWW loafs using the KAF BF and didn't make an adjustment in the water. I didn't do it deliberately, it was just a case of oversight on my part. By the time I caught on, it was too late and too much work with too little reward to adjust so I just let it go and hoped for the best possible outcome. By the time I was ready to shape, the dough was reasonably strong enough to shape without drama. The finished loaf did spread out a little bit but I wasn't looking at a pancake. I've done worse.</p><p>So what's my analysis? The obvious guess is that the flour and resultant dough handles differently in a lower room temperature situation. The difference in relative humidity could be in action in this situation. These aren't bad things, I just need to try baking the loaf again using the same procedures to see if the results are any different. <br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p> </p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p>Postal Grunthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18414583708278689114noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8888537811572933179.post-28577377469193833742020-07-25T13:03:00.001-05:002020-07-25T13:03:57.642-05:00Loafing through Summer<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
As usual, it's hot and humid here in Kansas in the summer. The one redeeming quality is that my sourdough starter is much more active due to warmer room temperatures, doubling in less than six hours. Bulk fermentation and proofing takes a lot more attention as well. Dry yeast loaves seem to sprint through their respective cycles as well. Maybe I do have a yeast friendly environment in my kitchen this summer. Good times for sure.<br />
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This picture is one of my standard house loaves, a 1-2-3 sourdough loaf using 15% WWW flour. During the winter and into early Spring, I had been spiking similar loaves with 1/8-1/4 tsp of IDY to move production along but this one didn't need it at all.<br />
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I baked a small boule using some KAF Artisan Flour. The flavor is very good but the pricing, $9.95 for three pounds and $121 for fifty pounds from Amazon, makes it one of those flours that aren't always going to be stocked in depth in my pantry. It handles well, if a bit sticky, at around 72% hydration. <br />
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Pre ferment/Sponge:<br />
90 g KAF Artisan Flour<br />
194 g water at 80F<br />
1/4 tsp IDY<br />
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Add flour and water and stir briefly. Add the yeast to the slurry, let it hydrate or soak for a minute or two and stir again.<br />
</div><div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><br /></div><div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><br /></div><div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><br /></div><div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><br /></div><div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><br /></div><div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">Dough<br />
180 g KAF AP<br />
6 g salt<br />
1/4 tsp IDY<br />
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Spoon remaining flour over the top of the slurry. On one side of the flour, add the salt and add the IDY on the other side. Cover the top of bowl and let it set at room temperature for 4-6 hours depending on room temp. When there are large cracks in the top of the flour, the original yeast has been active long enough to stir all the contents of the bowl into a shaggy mass, not leaving any dry flour. Cover the bowl and let it set for 20-45 minutes at room temperature. Lightly flour the counter and scrape the dough onto the counter. Flatten the dough into a square. The dough will be sticky. Pull each edge towards the center of the dough and fold over. Flip the dough over to the smooth side and cover with the bowl. Repeat the pulling of the dough and folding three to four times at 4-6 minute intervals, dusting the counter with flour as needed and not any more than that. The dough strength will increase with each folding. Place the dough back in the bowl or in an oiled container, cover, and bulk ferment until almost doubled in size.<br />
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Turn the dough out onto a floured counter, preshape, and cover. After resting 10 minutes, final shape and place the dough in a banneton or on a couche. Proof the loaf for about 60 minutes, slash the top, mist the slashed loaf with some water, and load onto a baking stone in an oven preheated to 450F. I usually cover my loaves with an aluminum foil roasting pan deep enough to allow for loaf expansion and use parchment paper as well. After closing the oven door, lower the temperature to 425F for 22 minutes. Remove the roasting pan and parchment paper. Turn the loaf 180 degrees and close the oven, baking another 20 minutes at 425F.<br />
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After removing the loaf from the oven, test for doneness with a thump on the bottom or a thermometer and then cool on a wire rack for at least two hours. That's the quick and dirty instructions that should get most people to the finish line. They're not original or at least I don't claim that.<br />
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If you have ADY, you can always just start your preferment by mixing the artisan flour and water, adding the same quantity of ADY to the slurry, letting it hydrate for up to ten minutes, then mixing in, and covering. When the preferment shows evidence of vigorous bubbling from yeast action, add the second 1/4 tsp of ADY, let it hydrate, add the remaining flour and salt and mix to a shaggy mass. At this shaggy mass point, follow the same steps as the IDY version. Using ADY may take a bit more time but not a significant amount.<br />
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Gardening hasn't been really rewarding. A successful garden, IMHO, is one where I can share generous amounts with family and friends I did harvest my garlic, a French strain named Music, another named Carpathian, and then there were my mongrels. The mongrels are from the largest bulbs harvested from year to year to year. I'm fortunate that I've got enough garlic to select for planting for next year, enough to share with family and friends, and more than enough for Mrs PG and I to eat. Cucumbers have been a mixed bag in that the vines are long and have huge leafs but actual production is meh, adequate for the Mrs and I. On the tomato front, my grape tomato plant is as vigorous as in previous years but the beefsteak types are already being victimized by blight and occasional raids by deer. The tomatoes do taste excellent just the same.</div><div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><br /></div><div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">There haven't been very many birds at my feeders lately which I suspect is due in part to substituting feed from a Lowe's store instead of the Costco feed. They appear to know what they like.</div><div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><br /></div><div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">As always, comments, humor, and questions are welcome.<br /></div><div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><br /></div><div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><br /></div><div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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Postal Grunthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18414583708278689114noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8888537811572933179.post-75519283197794659022020-02-19T23:37:00.001-06:002020-08-01T12:08:48.296-05:00Oil Spot Kneading<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
It has been a while since I last posted but I haven't stopped baking. I tried my hand at using instant dry yeast more than a few times and also concluded that my starter works best when the house interior temperature is in the 76-80F range. Otherwise, I spike the dough with 1/8 or 1/4 tsp of IDY so I don't end up baking my sourdough loaves at 11 PM to have a loaf for breakfast.<br />
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While I tried to work out the recipe and methodology of using 00 flour for flat breads, I got sidetracked into working with a method that I saw in Peter Reinhart's newer book on baking pizza. It was something that I had also seen in some video featuring another baker, Paul Hollywood, so I definitely can't claim to have reinvented the baking wheel so to speak. I also borrowed the idea of a blanket for the sponge from Rose Levy Berenbaum. But it's easy and convenient for days when I need to get some chores done in the morning or go to the gym and work off some those bread calories as a kind of penance. The resultant dough can be used for foccacia, pizza crusts, or even a boule that definitely has some relation to a horiatiko psomi loaf. It's a versatile dough for bakers who aren't chained to classic ingredients or methodology.<br />
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Here's what I do for a focaccia or pizza crust. First, I figure out what kind of flour combination I want to use and start a speed sponge/ blanket sponge combination.<br />
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210 g warmish water- about 85-90F<br />
30 g white whole wheat flour<br />
70 g AP flour<br />
1/4 tsp IDY<br />
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After scaling out my water and placing it in a bowl large enough for mixing, I hydrate the IDY for about 5 or 6 minutes. Hydrating IDY isn't necessary but it doesn't hurt either. Meanwhile I scale my flour which is usually about 1/3 of the total flour weight, always including any flour that could benefit from a soak, such as WWW or a semolina. You can always stir the two flours together to get a more even distribution but in the long run, it won't make a big difference. Add the mixture to the water and stir it up.<br />
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200 g AP flour<br />
1/8-1/4 tsp IDY, depending on interior room temperature<br />
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Mix the flour and the IDY together and then spoon all over the speed sponge, covering the entire surface with an even coat or blanket if you will.<br />
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6 g kosher salt<br />
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Scale the salt and then spread evenly over the flour blanket. Cover your bowl and just let it rest while the IDY goes to work on the sponge portion. Some of the IDY in the blanket will become hydrated and start working but it hasn't been a big thing in my experience. You can start this portion of the recipe the night before and place the covered bowl in the fridge after an hour or so on the counter. Take it out before your morning coffee, let it warm up and follow the the rest of the recipe.<br />
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The rule of thumb I use is to wait until there are some cracks in the appearance of the flour blanket before I mix. This could be three to five hours depending on the room temperature and if it seems to be too long, you can always go ahead and mix because the yeast won't be sleeping. Once all the flour is mixed in and you have the familiar shaggy mass, you can either cover the bowl for a short while, 20-30 minutes, while you eat lunch and clean up after yourself, or you can begin the process.<br />
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Using olive oil or your favorite oil, put about 1/2-1 tsp on a flat surface and smear it around. Transfer the dough to the middle of your smear, get some oil on your fingers, and flatten the dough into a rough rectangle. Use one of your hands to stretch the dough out and then fold back, one side at a time. When you're done, cover the dough with your mixing bowl and wait 3-4 minutes before you repeat the stretching and covering. I find that two or three stretches are usually adequate and then I shape the dough into a ball.The dough goes back into the mixing bowl and as soon as you've covered the bowl, leave it alone until it has doubled. Then one can go about making the flat bread, pizza crust, or even a loaf of bread as suits your desires. The 300g total flour weight will fill a jelly roll pan for a foccacia or Grandma style pizza, make a 12-14 inch pizza crust depending on your skills, or a boule.<br />
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Last year wasn't my best year for gardening. We had a wet, cool period from the beginning of April until the middle of May, a two week Spring, and then we went into Summer. While I had enough for Mrs PG and I, I didn't have much to give away. I did get some new garlic seed stock from Filaree Farms and worked on that section of my garden to make sure it had as healthy a start as possible. I'm about to start some dormant grass seeding on my lawn to help cover up the spots that moles have created by their runs.I want to believe that more healthy grass will mean fewer weeds so I'm giving it a try.<br />
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Some of our usual visitors to the bird feeders and our yard haven't appeared during this winter. Flocks of starlings have appeared in early December in previous years to clear out the seed pods on the pear tree but not this winter. They would stay around for a few days, eating the pods, dominating the bird feeders, and suet cage then go away, only occasionally returning on snow days. This year the red squirrels have been feasting without interference on the trees. Very few woodpeckers have been around and no flickers whatsoever. The rest of the usual suspects including finches, titmouse, sparrows, and cardinals are here every day for their free lunch.<br />
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Comments, humor, and questions are welcome.<br />
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Postal Grunthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18414583708278689114noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8888537811572933179.post-26888839407376444192019-06-29T12:15:00.001-05:002020-11-14T00:00:06.199-06:00Pan Loaf with WWW Poolish<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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This started from some scatterbrained musings while waiting to go back to sleep early one morning. I knew that I should have begun a starter the evening before but didn't and like many others I had to get a plan B loaf going.<br />
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I started out by scaling the water for my poolish and adding the IDY, something I've done before. The summertime indoor temperature in Casa de PG is usually about 78F so I knew that wouldn't take long to develop. The WWW was used because I was at the end of the bag and had a recently purchased bag from Hodgson Mill, waiting for use in the fridge downstairs. After only five hours I could see that the poolish had grown, there gas bubbles visible but the top wasn't full of bubbles as I usually see when using AP flour. Nevertheless, I persisted.<br />
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So I added the poolish to my big ol' Pyrex mixing bowl, added the rest of the water, let the next bit of IDY hydrate in that, and mixed in the main dough flour combination. After letting the dough rest for twenty minutes, I finally added the salt, mixed the dough by hand to make sure everything was well acquainted, and waited to see if the dough would be off to the races.<br />
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Yes indeed, the dough was active. After two hours and a couple of stretch and folds, it was ready for shaping. I shaped the dough, put it in the pan, and promptly put that covered dough in my upstairs fridge for an overnight stay. Some twelve or so hours later when I pulled the pan out of the fridge, it had already crowned to about 3/4 inches above the rim. I let the dough rest on the counter for about an hour, then baked, and left it on a wire rack to cool while I went to the gym in hopes that I could burn some calories before I got into the loaf.<br />
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That didn't work out as planned because I had forgotten to account for Mrs PG finding the now finished loaf irresistible. That's why I don't have a complete loaf in the picture. However, the bread does taste good and is a bit on the soft side, probably due to the fact that I added some AP flour for the main dough.All it takes to deal with that is a seriously sharp slicing knife and a good eye to make sure the slices are thick enough. Using the WWW in the poolish once again works because unless someone watches the preparation, they won't notice the slight difference in the color of the crumb. Hydrating the IDY in both stages worked as well because I found that I could use a minimal amount of yeast and need a minimal amount of hands on time as long as I kept one eye on the dough.<br />
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Poolish<br />
55 g white whole wheat flour<br />
55 g water at 95F<br />
1/8 tsp instant dry yeast<br />
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Main Dough<br />
200 g bread flour<br />
130 g unbleached all purpose flour<br />
220 g water at 95F<br />
9 g kosher salt<br />
1/2 tsp instant dry yeast <br />
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Like many other residents here on the Middle Coast, I'm find myself oftentimes in a conflict between what I should be doing outside and what can be done. The unusual amount of rainfall has made the usual time frames useless. The Johnson County KS extension agent recently used one of his columns in the KC Star newspaper to remind gardeners to consider adding extra fertilizer for their heavy feeding plants because their initial and subsequent feedings were probably washed away or too diluted to contribute. The rainfall may also lead to problems with blights or fungal diseases as well.<br />
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My garden finally kicked the lettuce into production levels almost overnight and I know we won't be able to finish it all before the plantings begin to bolt. Usually I can brag about ripe tomatoes by the 4th of July celebration but this doesn't look like it will be one of those years. I guess my sweet pepper plant, which has a few fruit worth picking, will have to do. The garlic looks like it has another week until I can start digging it up.<br />
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Outside my window here, our bird feeder has a new visitor in the form of a catbird. It's a rather dull looking bird in that its feathers are mostly shades of brown. It doesn't seem to sing at all but it does have a voice that seems to cry out like a distressed or bored cat, hence the name.<br />
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During the rest of this summer, I'll occasionally be working a focaccia recipe using KAF "00" flour mixed in with some AP. I tried it out this past week in a batch big enough to divide into two nine inch cake pans and I think what it needs is some chopped rosemary for a topping. I'll just have to discipline or tease the rosemary plant in my garden into cooperation for that.<br />
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Comments, humor, and questions are welcome. <br />
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Postal Grunthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18414583708278689114noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8888537811572933179.post-74552284293172656142019-05-13T23:52:00.000-05:002019-05-13T23:52:03.531-05:00Quick Oats Hybrid Bread<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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This particular loaf was one of many from an indulgent project that has gone on for the last four months or so. My starter was on the slow side during the winter due to only being used every six or seven days and the average indoors temperature being around 68F. So I had to use two or three steps to build it up for a loaf, leaving some for the next loaf and the rest of the discard to use in my Saturday night pizzas. Despite that process, experience taught me that I needed to add some instant dry yeast to give it a little help on its way to the oven. Every loaf got between 1/4 and 1/2 tsp of IDY depending on personal whim or time of day I wanted to bake with 1/4 tsp being the most commonly used for my usually relaxed production schedules.<br />
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Ingredients<br />
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110 g starter at 100% hydration<br />
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281 g DM Bread Flour<br />
49 g WM White Whole Wheat Flour<br />
33 g quick oats<br />
253 g water at 80F<br />
8 g kosher salt<br />
1/4 tsp Instant Dry Yeast<br />
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I found that this particular loaf was suitable for using either a retarded proofing or just being proofed at room temperature.The quick oats needed an equivalent weight of water added to amount I'd usually use in a 1-2-3 loaf, about 220 g. While the oats were usually not seen at the end of the bake, as if they had disappeared, they did contribute to a more moist crumb in the finished product. The loaves lasted six days or so before being eaten up with little to no diminishing of the quality.<br />
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Winter seemed to last well into March so I didn't start my garden and the weeding of my flower beds until early April after Mrs PG and I returned from visiting my parents in Massachusetts. Most of the garlic successfully wintered over. I tried to start some loose leaf lettuce with some seed tape but it just doesn't seem to work for me. I did have either the foresight or worry that it might not so I added some freshly bought lettuce seed that is already fighting for survival from frequent rains and not enough sunny days. I have three tomato plants and three pepper plants in the ground already but the soil may not be warm enough for growth. My oddity plant this year is a lavender, either French or Spanish. Tags at gardening stores aren't always in the right spot. However, since it's an herb it has a home for the next five months or so. I noticed what are locally known as "sweat" bees already hanging around the flowers.<br />
<br />
The peony plants have started to bloom. The blooming plants are the old fashioned pink peonies that have a rose scent. I don't expect a surplus of blooms this year but the stems are noticeably longer than in recent years. Some of the plants have stems that reach mid chest on me and I stand an inch over six foot tall. They should be quite a sight this year.<br />
<br />
The juncos stayed around through mid March or so and now some of the migratory birds are stopping by the feeders on their way north. I haven't identified most of those strangers but Baltimore Orioles and Carolina Wrens have occasionally stopped by and the usual year round suspects distract my attention to outside my window.<br />
<br />
While the media have moved on from covering flooding of the Missouri River and its tributaries, there is still a lot of flooding and damage starting just north of us around St Joseph, MO. Approximately 84 miles of Interstate Highway 29 between St Joe and Omaha, NE has already been washed out or damaged so badly that they have to be completely rebuilt. Estimated completion is anywhere between late June and October.<br />
<br />
Comments, humor, and questions are welcome.</div>
Postal Grunthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18414583708278689114noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8888537811572933179.post-47918653754817133622018-10-30T11:40:00.001-05:002018-11-01T23:51:11.831-05:00Chasing a Better Pain de Campagne<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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Careful monitoring, rather than a more or less casual approach, of the bulk ferment reaching the doubling of volume has proved to be a sound reason to eliminate a fault in my process. That also means that it's time to go back to study shaping methods and proofing. Practice, practice, practice....<br />
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The first loaf was a 1-2-3 loaf where 16% of the the total flour was a blend of white whole wheat and rye. The second loaf has a 20% blend and had five grams of wheat bran in the starter just for fun. The second loaf definitely has the better flavor.<br />
<br />
<br />
Starter<br />
The starter was built in two stages with Wheat Montana Natural White AP, adding the bran in the first stage to soften the rough edges. I wanted to see if it would make any difference in the speed of the growth due to the additional wild yeast spoors. I couldn't tell that the bran improved the growth speed but that won't stop me from trying again and with more bran. My hydration level on this loaf was just a bit higher this time to adjust to the changing seasonal "thirstiness" of the flour.<br />
<br />
120 g at 100% hydration<br />
<br />
Main Dough<br />
<br />
264 g Dakota Maid Bread Flour<br />
44 g WM Prairie Gold White Whole <br />
Wheat Flour<br />
22 g Rye Flour<br />
220 g water at 85F<br />
8 g kosher salt <br />
<br />
The local area here on the Middle Coast had its first snowfall on 15 October and there is a rumor of more to come in the forecast for this week. The hackberry and oak trees in the front yard are shedding and I can't keep up. It doesn't help that a maple tree in the neighboring yard is contributing as well. At best, I have an excuse to bring out the electric leaf blower to save myself from raking.<br />
<br />
It's almost time for my annual garlic planting ritual. There's enough area in the garden that has been cleaned out but just out of habit I'll clean some more weeds out and get a bale of straw for mulching the garlic planting. I'm not superstitious enough to think that the very woolly caterpillar I saw has any significant meaning but after three winters in a row where there haven't been any significant snow events, I can't see anything wrong with being prepared.<br />
<br />
Besides that, I've seen some juncos, AKA snowbirds, around my feeders. They're probably the scouting team of males that precede larger groups.Getting another "squirrel proof" feeder isn't a bad idea either. The usual suspects of the bird world have returned after scavenging in the recently harvested fields in our area.<br />
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Comments, humor, and questions are welcome. <br />
<br /></div>
Postal Grunthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18414583708278689114noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8888537811572933179.post-27925801453638617452018-09-14T23:52:00.000-05:002018-09-14T23:52:41.757-05:00Summer's End Loaf<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
It has been a while since I found something to post about. I've been baking all along, trying different approaches to figure out how to get past loaves that didn't seem to want spring up and others that flattened out. I tried using more bread flour, lower hydration, retarded ferment, spiking with IDY, and lately, a shorter bulk fermentation combined with a closer track of the proofing.<br />
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This loaf was an escape from overthinking procedure. It's a lower hydration, half white whole wheat, half all purpose pan loaf. The recipe is based on "Mama's Bread" from the book "Breaking Bread" by Martin Philip. The quantities are for single loaf, derived by simply halving the quantities suggested by Mr Philip. I just changed a bit here and a bit there to allow for what I had on hand and a procedure that would give me time to run a few errands or go to the gym.<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
258 g Wheat Montana Natural White AP flour<br />
258 g Wheat Montana Prairie Gold White Whole Wheat flour<br />
330 g water at 82F<br />
10.5 g salt<br />
7/8 tsp Instant Dry Yeast, divided<br />
26 g unsalted butter, melted<br />
1 TBS or 15 ml honey<br />
<br />
Yield: One 9x5 inch pan loaf<br />
<br />
1. Add water to the mixing bowl, add 1/8 tsp IDY to water, rehydrate yeast for three minutes, and stir water briefly. Add WWW flour to the bowl, mix well, and cover the bowl. Let the bowl sit for at least 90 minutes, much more if your room is cool.<br />
<br />
2. In another bowl add the AP flour, salt, and remaining yeast, stirring with a spoon or whisk to distribute the salt and yeast. When bubbles form on top of the mixture in the first bowl, add the melted butter and honey, stir briefly, and then add flour mix. Mix your ingredients by hand or with a dough whisk to incorporate all your ingredients. Since this is a low hydration formula, the dough will be on the dry side. Use any extra water sparingly. I suggest using a spray bottle for additional water. Cover the mixing bowl and let it rest for about twenty minutes. Fold the dough in the bowl and cover.<br />
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3. Fold the dough again after another 25 and 50 minutes. Let the dough rest until doubled, about an hour. Preshape the dough for use in a 9"x5" pan. Cover and rest for about ten minutes while you prepare your pan and clean up your work space and dishes. Place your dough, seam side down, in the pan and press the dough lightly to fill the bottom of the pan.<br />
<br />
4. Cover your pan lightly and let the dough rise until it crowns 1-1 1/2" above the rim of the pan. Toward the end of the proof, preheat your oven to 400F. Remove the pan cover and place the loaf on a middle level rack in the oven. Bake for 30 minutes, rotate the pan and bake for another 10 to 15 minutes, looking for a golden crust, internal temperature around 205F. Cool on a wire rack for at least two hours.<br />
<br />
Springtime weather out here was relatively cool, followed by a week or so of warmth, and then we launched into a dry summer. The garden wasn't as productive as usual, a common complaint among other gardeners in the area. We're now in a pleasantly cool and wet spell, too late to save the garden but in time to put some green back in the lawns in the form of crabgrass. As the saying goes among the fans of the KC Royals baseball team, wait until next year.<br />
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Postal Grunthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18414583708278689114noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8888537811572933179.post-64006258341974049112018-03-07T00:03:00.002-06:002018-03-07T09:38:40.923-06:00Cracked Wheat Sourdough<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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I like the touch of sweetness that cracked wheat adds to a good loaf. My experience with it has been that it needs to soak for at least an hour and more time is even better. If you have the opportunity, four hours will do nicely. In this loaf, 44 grams seemed appropriate but when it came to the finished product, the cracked wheat seemed hardly visible. Because Casa De PG is kept at a cool 68F during most of the working day and 63F at night, a small 1/8 tsp of IDY was added to the main dough to assist in the fermentation and proofing. That was just enough to work and not so much that it affected the flavor.<br />
<br />
Soaker<br />
44 g cracked wheat<br />
33 g water<br />
<br />
Starter<br />
120 g at 100% hydration with 10 g wheat bran used during the build<br />
<br />
First Dough Soak <br />
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<br />
49 g White Whole Wheat Flour<br />
51 g Bread Flour<br />
All of soaker<br />
All of starter<br />
220g water at 83F<br />
<br />
This step is meant to give the WWW<br />
time to soak up some water and help<br />
loosen up the starter for mixing when<br />
the remaining bread flour and IDY<br />
are added after 20 minutes. I've been letting the roughly mixed dough rest while I wash some the dishes and put away the ingredients that are no longer needed. Once the dishes are done, I mist the dough using a spray bottle and sprinkle the salt<br />
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over the dough.<br />
<br />
Main Dough<br />
<br />
230 g bread flour<br />
8 g kosher salt<br />
1/8 tsp instant dry yeast <br />
<br />
After the salt has been mixed in, a quick knead and the dough goes into an oiled bowl or Cambro container. That's not how the bread books do it, they almost always have fewer steps. However, the extra time I take hasn't seemed to hurt the flavor of my breads so I'll indulge in those eccentricities until I read about something better and faster.<br />
<br />
I've seen most of the daffodils and surprise lilies start to emerge from the ground already along with a few of the peony plantings showing up for work. The grass in the yard is still mostly brown which I like to attribute to the dry weather and temperatures rather than a dead lawn.<br />
<br />
The usual suspects among the birds are still here. The juncos haven't left as of yet but will be soon. A red tailed hawk happened to perch on the top of the chain link fence, about 20 ft away from my window, on the north side of the property recently. I watched for a few minutes while it scoped out the area and enjoyed every minute.<br />
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Comments, humor, and questions are welcome. <br />
<br />
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Postal Grunthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18414583708278689114noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8888537811572933179.post-72043728634345451972018-02-07T11:44:00.001-06:002018-02-07T23:51:42.832-06:00Pain de Campagne Alternatif<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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Before any French speakers descend upon this blog to heap scorn upon me for abusing the language they love, I hope they'll have some perspective on how little influence my blog has on the rest of the world. The title is just for fun as was baking this recipe. The classic Pain de Campagne, AKA French Country Loaf, has used either whole wheat, rye, or a combination of the two as the secondary flour. I used white whole wheat and rye and got what I consider to be a really nice loaf.<br />
<br />
The minor details I used in this recipe included a two stage build for the starter, an overnight stay in the fridge as part of the proofing, a cross hatch slashing pattern to enable a better oven spring and an eccentric appearance, and finally, the initial baking stage being done under an aluminum foil roasting pan. In return, I got a great crust and a moist crumb with a pleasant tang to the flavor.<br />
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Starter<br />
120 g at 100% hydration<br />
<br />
Main dough<br />
264 g DM bread flour<br />
33 g whole rye flour<br />
33 g WM white whole wheat flour<br />
220 g water at 85F<br />
8 g kosher salt<br />
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This is a variation on the recipe using 50 g of white whole wheat rather than the WWW and rye combination so I'm confident that I can replicate the success.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2-V9nEfoKXR5Ezl6szKfOty0Ioi7P9oEa4NV7bAPgEz8OqJdi1YKSadVWUJdqjD1iXfiKouob-PgPnnGO8oMndGaExGainSTk3pwWA2mCpBEHPqf2IasFpN3gG6g5eH-qtJ3hboaZDD4/s1600/1-20180204_191558.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2-V9nEfoKXR5Ezl6szKfOty0Ioi7P9oEa4NV7bAPgEz8OqJdi1YKSadVWUJdqjD1iXfiKouob-PgPnnGO8oMndGaExGainSTk3pwWA2mCpBEHPqf2IasFpN3gG6g5eH-qtJ3hboaZDD4/s320/1-20180204_191558.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
I'm also working with IDY on other recipes. Basically, I'm targeting 70% hydration as a starting point. The boule was baked in my stoneware bowl, using a 200g poolish with 60 g of WW flour. The total flour weight was 360 g. The batard like creation utilized a 70% hydration preferment of 170 g, including 30 g of WWW. Total flour weight for the batard was 300 g. Both were a bit under proofed but with good flavor that I attribute to the slow overnight builds for the preferments.<br />
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Winter has been dry around here in that no one has really been able to justify hauling out their big snow blowers. We did have some actual, rare January thunderstorms last month that brought the most precipitation so far. We're not fans of the brief spells of brutally cold air that have visited us here on the Middle Coast but we do tolerate them as best we can and acknowledge that they kill off some of the more obnoxious insects, especially the notorious oak leaf itch mites. You'll never see those mites in action because of their diminutive size but you'll know they've been around in a couple hours.<br />
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There have been a lot of hawks in the area during the past five weeks or so, mostly red tailed and Cooper's hawks. The usual suspects have been populating the feeders with a lot more goldfinches than usual. The flickers and blue jays are only occasional as are the starlings. <br />
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Comments, humor, and questions are welcome.</div>
Postal Grunthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18414583708278689114noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8888537811572933179.post-66533327359450744702018-01-11T23:38:00.000-06:002018-01-11T23:38:51.462-06:00WWW Sourdough with Bulgur<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjS61QvUx6MLcbmVPxx07tDbmxqRIZHdR880z94Wbzkk04GD8SB4AfZPD1-ntAqlyFAWWvcWSVBUwqgDENhMhuXXR5UdPsvH-rJ5kSuYkr2JpzeFf1xxRwD2PjHC5y0QyNNidtA4dDLQzQ/s1600/1-20180107_081250.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1003" data-original-width="1600" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjS61QvUx6MLcbmVPxx07tDbmxqRIZHdR880z94Wbzkk04GD8SB4AfZPD1-ntAqlyFAWWvcWSVBUwqgDENhMhuXXR5UdPsvH-rJ5kSuYkr2JpzeFf1xxRwD2PjHC5y0QyNNidtA4dDLQzQ/s320/1-20180107_081250.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I was just looking at all the odd ingredient leftovers in the spare fridge when I ran across the last of the bulgur. Using it would mean an excuse to stop by the bulk food section of the supermarket and perhaps a side trip to the wine and spirits section. Fridays are the day that the selections of bourbon and rye whiskeys come in. We can never tell when something interesting or new might come in so checking out the arrivals doesn't hurt. Back to the bread.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">As I recall, I've done a quite similar loaf in the past. This loaf is bit different because I didn't slash all the way across the loaf. I indented about 1 1/4 inches in on the ends. That got me a higher than usual oven spring after starting the bake under a foil pan which was quite welcome after the slow bulk ferment and proofing.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Soaker</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">43 g bulgur</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">34 g water at room temperature, 2 hours</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Starter</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">120 g at 100% hydration</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Main Dough</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">264 g bread flour</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">66 g white whole wheat flour</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">220 g water at 85F</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">All of starter</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">All of Soaker</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">8 g kosher salt</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgAloaOloPuyHgCaJyWmOjuj-6jDPW3GS7EB7v1yMZe-tg2IaW8G0kYpkc44u-soQZYlR5SBnCYqG_u4-s2UqhoqwAdJbQnw0BJakF3GxTSkSOJ9TOWvH9CJ8sBR89h22NnqcPifYWCYrA/s1600/3-20180107_081421.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1005" data-original-width="1600" height="201" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgAloaOloPuyHgCaJyWmOjuj-6jDPW3GS7EB7v1yMZe-tg2IaW8G0kYpkc44u-soQZYlR5SBnCYqG_u4-s2UqhoqwAdJbQnw0BJakF3GxTSkSOJ9TOWvH9CJ8sBR89h22NnqcPifYWCYrA/s320/3-20180107_081421.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">The temperature outside dropped from 56F at Midnight to around 28F at 730 AM. In between those two times, rain fell and changed to sleet. Around 800 AM, a fine grained snow started falling. That's when the birds started showing up at our feeders. Sparrows showed up today for a change and a flicker showed as well, keeping the starlings away from the feeders and suet block.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Comments, humor, and questions are welcome.</span><br />
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Postal Grunthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18414583708278689114noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8888537811572933179.post-13170518036608859932018-01-06T23:56:00.000-06:002018-01-06T23:56:26.289-06:00Winter Time Wonder Bread<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhwdUeBDJcPUlxdz9rT1hagGk3TVhn2p-C1ki_Yapf10cO56esffwvEqttvP_cLJxdwL0K9s8wHH8Kp6uSQOOFPP-3N1hnmmSPF90hGJ_ApIDJdGFJpWr2iEmNMmfe4WyPtn87B2QzgI9E/s1600/1-20171231_141836.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1239" data-original-width="1600" height="247" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhwdUeBDJcPUlxdz9rT1hagGk3TVhn2p-C1ki_Yapf10cO56esffwvEqttvP_cLJxdwL0K9s8wHH8Kp6uSQOOFPP-3N1hnmmSPF90hGJ_ApIDJdGFJpWr2iEmNMmfe4WyPtn87B2QzgI9E/s320/1-20171231_141836.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
The past Summer and Autumn weren't seasons for notable loaves. I was still baking a least once a week but nothing that I thought was new enough or deserving attention. Then in November I had an accident that resulted in my not being able to stand at the counter and work on bread. Even though Mrs PG tried to find healthy bread, store bought bread motivated me to get back to healthy and through physical therapy. The PT continues but I'm already back to flinging flour.<br />
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The winter weather is playing games with my hydration estimates. It seems that all my loaves need at least an extra 5 g of water and often a few more. This dough turned out to be just short of sticky but I did manage to wrangle it into the banneton where a 16 hour rest in the fridge helped me out. The loaf had a nice interior crumb that was soft and open. Some more practice to get back into rhythm wouldn't hurt me but as always, if it tastes good, it is good.<br />
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Starter<br />
125 g at 100%, using KAF AP<br />
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Main Dough<br />
264 g Dakota Maid Bread Flour<br />
66 g Wheat Montana White Whole Wheat Flour<br />
215 g water at 85F<br />
All of starter<br />
8 g kosher salt<br />
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Part of the wonder in this loaf was my choice to use tap water instead of the filtered water from the refrigerator's ice maker system. It didn't appear to add any off flavored tastes so I guess I'll continue to use it. I also wondered about the pictures that were taken with my smart phone. The little details of an aggressive bake don't show through but I need more practice with that as well. Usually, I back off the bake temperature when I take off the foil roasting pan and turn the loaf around but this time it was baked at 450F throughout the 45 minutes and I got a fine, shattering crust in return.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEguTrZSlmUZ0nMvwBHIR_fkq64Ipn_7GsN3dE_Iw5peFIwzVO4zrbTQTTrrErb0rCTZo60t2Dcfx9Gg45H-yAmHwb6Nz-n2INirMiZWtI7d3QCPoC_sUYClKxwdgmyaRMmBD9X6KQppUGI/s1600/2-20171231_142109.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1000" data-original-width="1600" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEguTrZSlmUZ0nMvwBHIR_fkq64Ipn_7GsN3dE_Iw5peFIwzVO4zrbTQTTrrErb0rCTZo60t2Dcfx9Gg45H-yAmHwb6Nz-n2INirMiZWtI7d3QCPoC_sUYClKxwdgmyaRMmBD9X6KQppUGI/s320/2-20171231_142109.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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I also tried my hand at making some scones this past week. These were chocolate chip buttermilk scones. I subbed some white whole wheat into the recipe but I wouldn't say these were very healthy but they're good at breakfast time. Any time is a good time for chocolate, right? The shaping left a lot to be desired but they were a fun project for a day when the outside temperature was around 15F. There will be more quick breads before the winter is over.<br />
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The wintertime assortment of birds at the feeder is missing any sort of sparrows right now. The juncos probably miss the sparrows most of all since they're such sloppy eaters and the juncos, who are ground feeders, usually clean up after them. The blue jays are this season's funniest looking birds since they seem to puff out their feathers an extra 1/2 to 3/4 inch to keep warm in below freezing temperatures. Cooper's hawks are in this neighborhood but I've also seen some red tailed hawks closer to the river.<br />
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Comments, humor, and questions are welcome.<br />
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Postal Grunthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18414583708278689114noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8888537811572933179.post-47957795003553163082017-06-18T23:52:00.000-05:002017-06-18T23:52:50.945-05:00Stoneware Bowl Breads<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgYrhdkHf5AhOn5utFQ00ae0jqtnHyCYXPd2Qd94iPwFxU1YKekelashcUR1WC6JAPSKVCL6AMBXKURBXe-cvxFIXl9LcHjfMB_I1ANSJG6m4obtL7yFOywaTdqPWw-CYvUkEmnzixd83A/s1600/1-DSCF3762.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1286" data-original-width="1600" height="257" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgYrhdkHf5AhOn5utFQ00ae0jqtnHyCYXPd2Qd94iPwFxU1YKekelashcUR1WC6JAPSKVCL6AMBXKURBXe-cvxFIXl9LcHjfMB_I1ANSJG6m4obtL7yFOywaTdqPWw-CYvUkEmnzixd83A/s320/1-DSCF3762.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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As of late, my sourdough loaves haven't been all that picture worthy. On the other hand, my loaves made with either ADY or IDY have been more interesting to me from a curiosity perspective.</div>
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I purchased a stoneware baking bowl at the King Arthur Flour store in VT and while I haven't learned everything about it, it has been fun to use. I can use it to proof and then bake a boule or a reasonable fact simile.</div>
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http://www.kingarthurflour.com/shop/items/bread-baking-bowl </div>
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The first loaf was built using a total of 300 grams of flour, including the preferment. The second was a 1-2-3 loaf using 120g of 100% hydration poolish . The top loaf had a gap between the finished loaf and the wall of the bowl. As the picture shows, the second loaf had kind of a belt line due to expansion above the rim of the bowl. I think the sweet spot for appearance will be something like 380-385g total flour.<br />
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Cleanup is really easy. Before you proof your loaf., wipe down the interior with a neutral tasting oil. I used sunflower seed oil though canola oil is also suggested on the literature. Once you've finished your bake, all you have to do is to wipe the interior of the bowl and then store the bowl.<br />
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Once again, I'm losing my perpetual battle with the weeds in the flower beds. It's getting hard to find them all when the day lilies have grown with so much exuberance. The peonies, which had an average bloom this year, are also spreading out their foliage to add to my frustration. The garden isn't quite ready to go into major production yet, I can pick some herbs and lettuce but nothing else. There are tomatoes on the plants but they're far from ripe. The garlic isn't ready for digging up yet. We've had 3" of rain recently so I'm hoping that I'll be able to let the soil dry out before I start my harvest.</div>
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Comments, humor, and questions are welcome.</div>
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Postal Grunthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18414583708278689114noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8888537811572933179.post-33369290607659440212017-03-11T12:32:00.001-06:002017-03-11T23:15:25.424-06:0020% WWW with Beer Poolish<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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This project loaf was derived from a post over on the Fresh Loaf site. It didn't require any new ingredients and is a safe enough recipe that I've been using lately. The beer in question was some KC Pils from Boulevard Brewing in KC, MO. I decanted the 55 g of beer from a bottle that I was going to finish anyways and let the beer warm up before I used it. The poolish was slower to mature than usual by a few hours but I couldn't discern any harm done by that.<br />
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Poolish<br />
55 g Wheat Montana Natural White AP flour<br />
55 g Boulevard Brewing KC Pils at room temperature<br />
1/8 tsp IDY <br />
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Main Dough<br />
264g Dakota Maid Bread Flour<br />
66g Wheat Montana Prairie Gold WWW flour<br />
220g water at 85F <br />
All of poolish <br />
7g kosher salt<br />
1/2 tsp IDY<br />
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Once again, I used my disposable aluminum foil roasting pan for the first twenty five minutes of baking to get a better oven spring from the loaf. I also tried out a three arc slashing pattern that I saw in D Leader's "Local Breads" that doesn't show up well in my pictures but looks good in person. There was a lot of singing emanating from the loaf right after I placed it on a wire rack to cool.<br />
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I have to say that I didn't notice any great beer flavoring in the finished loaf. It tastes quite similar to other loaves I've baked lately using the same recipe but no beer. It has a good, tender crumb, nice flavor, and was reasonably moist when I sliced the loaf. The next step would be to use the beer instead of water for the entire procedure. However, Mrs PG bought a bag of Dakota Maid Stone Ground Whole Wheat Flour for me when she was last in Omaha so I'm going to be playing with that for a week or two first.<br />
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Today is a snow day outside my window. It appears that Winter is back for a brief spell. The snow is very fine and accumulating only on the grassy areas. The daffodils were just starting to bloom and the trees and bushes were budding out. The colder temperatures may be keeping me from working in the yard but on the other hand, it will slow down any growth for the weeds. My bird feeders are well stocked and are quite popular with the usual list of suspects, minus any sparrows, as patrons.<br />
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Guests from Czechia, Indonesia, Latvia, Lithuania (no Estonia as of yet), Morocco, Nigeria, and Viet Nam have found their way to my obscure corner of the internet lately.<br />
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Comments, humor, and questions are welcome. <br />
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Postal Grunthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18414583708278689114noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8888537811572933179.post-5477422719679987662017-02-20T00:18:00.000-06:002017-02-20T00:18:51.180-06:00Recycled Recipe Loaves<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhSI-9G1iJt3PTcveLrbhHDRzXkZddTe1t7F-4egLOXpQ1jG7oyQ1vAXvwrIfX_qp1mEHRmNdAimCxTw3-33EVl-RQk2C5-4WAQ4nh8kPWxQ35-YgYcbIyN6NjIIK85Jy-GkKBsi0L2LDg/s1600/1-DSCF3643.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhSI-9G1iJt3PTcveLrbhHDRzXkZddTe1t7F-4egLOXpQ1jG7oyQ1vAXvwrIfX_qp1mEHRmNdAimCxTw3-33EVl-RQk2C5-4WAQ4nh8kPWxQ35-YgYcbIyN6NjIIK85Jy-GkKBsi0L2LDg/s320/1-DSCF3643.JPG" width="320" /></a><br />
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For SuperBowl Sunday, I recycled a couple of recipes I had recently used and tweaked them a little bit. For the ciabatta, I switched from using KAF AP to Wheat Montana Natural White AP. In case readers aren't familiar with this flour, I found that it doesn't have the same behavior as KAF AP in that mixing it required a couple extra minutes and even then, it was somewhat slack pouring out of the mixer bowl. I also added some semolina, about 14 g, to add a little sweetness to the dough.<br />
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I followed the same procedures that I used in my 30 DEC 2016 post and figured that if the dough wasn't manageable, I could just divide it, put it in a pair of 9" cake pans, bake away, and proclaim the resulting bread to be focaccia. Fortunately, persistence paid off and the one 14" long loaf was a favorite at the supper table at our friends' house in Farley, MO.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjGVijP7ty6AJK7Gw5VFEoLETMZyvDPrH4xyTjzi1Ug02eOWajbQgtR-0vQuCe3d5AZbWDjUmENBAOQiHML_GXhnQYeak0AA14xrqJnAz8Hg0CV7eJWDaQUEgxE9iMtGnWjgK-lng5o2Js/s1600/3-DSCF3653.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjGVijP7ty6AJK7Gw5VFEoLETMZyvDPrH4xyTjzi1Ug02eOWajbQgtR-0vQuCe3d5AZbWDjUmENBAOQiHML_GXhnQYeak0AA14xrqJnAz8Hg0CV7eJWDaQUEgxE9iMtGnWjgK-lng5o2Js/s320/3-DSCF3653.JPG" width="320" /></a>The other loaf was a repeat of bread from my 7 JAN 2017 post. The difference for this loaf was in the baking procedure, not the ingredients. This time around, I preheated the oven to 450F and kept it there for a twenty minute period after I placed the aluminum foil roasting pan over the loaf rather than lowering the oven to 425F. When I removed the pan, the loaf had impressive oven spring. I then turned the loaf around and lowered the oven temp to 425F for another twenty two minutes. After the bake was done and the loaf was on the cooling rack, it appeared to be "breathing" at the top of the loaf. As a skeptical sort, I thought it might just be that the variable lens glasses I wear were distorting things. This same phenomenon occurred on the next loaves I baked, a multigrain WWW sourdough and yesterday's loaf, a simple 3-2-1 WWW sourdough. One thing I can state with certainty is that all of these loaves sang their glutenous hearts out for me.<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEglHtwY_Dpo5Nr3Ggh19SQ4Z6gJBTD3RC0VPVNIStqWpzIlhRwnqq2mtrKzYoMsdEP-_p7qbRHek3BYlwU_ik3jeGJSnXv5Jq2InHklUqVlVe_F-wDFvY92NwxWw7b7YWEf66lhHiEN9II/s1600/4-DSCF3656.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEglHtwY_Dpo5Nr3Ggh19SQ4Z6gJBTD3RC0VPVNIStqWpzIlhRwnqq2mtrKzYoMsdEP-_p7qbRHek3BYlwU_ik3jeGJSnXv5Jq2InHklUqVlVe_F-wDFvY92NwxWw7b7YWEf66lhHiEN9II/s320/4-DSCF3656.JPG" width="320" /></a>That was definitely cool.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgXB2FcI9U13Gmz7h7x8fUdaHqWsmgDaRBxbj4dPUwIA7OdvvNet6gVlwSrvLTO32J2BcC-vIHDzfeDquFgJzipIgwvhpleFozfjhKXm2gIOuWL8vD95N9sIMw8nwz5pmEWJDORW56By1s/s1600/5-DSCF3662.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgXB2FcI9U13Gmz7h7x8fUdaHqWsmgDaRBxbj4dPUwIA7OdvvNet6gVlwSrvLTO32J2BcC-vIHDzfeDquFgJzipIgwvhpleFozfjhKXm2gIOuWL8vD95N9sIMw8nwz5pmEWJDORW56By1s/s320/5-DSCF3662.JPG" width="320" /></a>While my family in New England has been getting slammed with cold and snowy weather and my uncle in Cupertino, CA has been witnessing heavy rains, we've been having an unseasonably warm spell here on the Middle Coast. Daytime high temperatures have been in the high 60s and today's high was around 73F, probably a record. These conditions are expected to last through Thursday. Seeing bees fly about in February isn't very common here in NE Kansas. There might even be some overnight thunderstorms.<br />
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Out in the yard, daffodils are starting to emerge in the flower beds next to the concrete driveway. The day lilies are starting to show some bright green underneath last year's leafs. I've pulled the straw off the garlic bed and there are about 45 shoots growing out. The straw will go back over the bed before the warm spell comes to a halt on Thursday but by then, the garlic will have grown at least another inch or two taller.<br />
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Visitors from Finland and Latvia found my obscure corner of the internet in the last week or so.<br />
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The next loaf on my "to do" is probably going to be one where I use some flat, warm lager beer as the liquid in the poolish. It won't be English beer but rather something from the Boulevard Brewing Co. in KC, MO called KC Pils. I'm not the guy who named a lager as a Pils so make your complaints or inquiries to the brewery or better yet, buy some if it's available in your local stores and see what you think. I think it's a wonderful beer for the weary soul who has finished mowing the lawn in the oftentimes brutal heat of a KC summer.<br />
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Comments, humor, and questions are welcome.<br />
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Postal Grunthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18414583708278689114noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8888537811572933179.post-28459280532609307442017-01-08T14:55:00.000-06:002019-08-08T22:38:55.669-05:00White Whole Wheat with Poolish<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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This not quite little loaf was part of an experiment. I had been reading that if I were to use a disposable aluminum foil pan to cover a freshly loaded loaf on a baking stone, I could get results somewhat similar to using a dutch oven. The operative word was similar but it didn't come that close at all. When I removed the pan about twenty minutes into the bake, the crust wasn't caramelized as usual without a pan and the loaf was softer than the usual loaf. Oven spring was good but there wasn't much of an ear. No harm was done so no foul was committed.<br />
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Poolish<br />
55 g KAF AP<br />
55 g water at room temperature<br />
1/8 tsp IDY<br />
The poolish took about 12 hours to mature due to the usual coolish wintertime temperatures here in Casa de PG.<br />
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Main Dough<br />
264 g DM bread flour<br />
66 g WM Prairie Gold WWW flour<br />
220 water at 87F<br />
8 g kosher salt<br />
1/2 tsp IDY<br />
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For this loaf, I used my small mixer so I could aerate the poolish with the water and IDY of the main dough using the whisk attachment. That led to a reasonable time of about two hours for the bulk ferment. My cellar came into play when the ambient temperature of 60-62F slowed the proofing down. That gave Mrs PG and I an opportunity to eat dinner without my rushing from table to oven and back. After dinner, I retrieved the loaf and started baking at 450F about 1 1/4 hrs later. As mentioned earlier, the covered bake lasted twenty minutes and the uncovered bake was another twenty minutes at 425F.<br />
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Besides using a foil pan for experimentation, I also finally got around to using the oven light trick to speed up proofing on a couple loaves. Going from a room temperature of around 68-70F to close to 80F made a difference. with the 720 g sourdough loaves. Using some IDY, about 1/4 tsp, also helps but has a slight loss in flavor when compared to an entirely, natural leavened loaf. Production convenience can have a cost.<br />
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The two inches of snow that fell from Wednesday night to Thursday morning is still on the ground due to below freezing temperatures since then.The usual suspects have all shown up including the red winged blackbirds, mourning doves, and a surprising number of goldfinches.<br />
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Comments, humor, and questions are welcome.<br />
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Postal Grunthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18414583708278689114noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8888537811572933179.post-9765094302399404272016-12-30T23:36:00.003-06:002021-05-30T23:37:31.796-05:00A Beginner's Ciabatta<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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The thought of baking ciabatta ran across my mind recently so I gathered up my current favorite bread books to search for recipes and learn about the necessary techniques involved. I also spent a lot of time viewing Youtube videos. None of them agreed with the previous video so I went back on my old favorite, "Bread" by J Hamelman to borrow as much as I could .<br />
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After changing his work into metric measure and cutting it down to a small test batch size, I proceeded with my usual naivete that if I follow the instructions I couldn't go too far wrong.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZY7xaOFn0thU_1n6mxeuMbp-5VWtZlBE8hePcaOSP0ywGqA-lsU5d40FU8wq3-2UD_9UgIWfTGSEFq1eU6cxbnPPpZnxhHiDk6NYr16xfXSfr3NPCeRqQBIkXZklihJppuLalZu19fTQ/s1600/DSCF3601.JPG" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZY7xaOFn0thU_1n6mxeuMbp-5VWtZlBE8hePcaOSP0ywGqA-lsU5d40FU8wq3-2UD_9UgIWfTGSEFq1eU6cxbnPPpZnxhHiDk6NYr16xfXSfr3NPCeRqQBIkXZklihJppuLalZu19fTQ/s320/DSCF3601.JPG" width="320" /></a>I don't think I did too bad, the loaves were better than just edible and I should be able to duplicate the results in the future. This time around, I used my smaller mixer and used KAF AP as dictated in the book.<br />
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Poolish<br />
136 g KAF AP flour<br />
136 g water, room temperature<br />
1/8 tsp IDY<br />
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The IDY quantity is a larger than what the book would suggest for a batch this size but I went bigger since I started the poolish in the evening when our inside temperature on the thermostat drops from 70F down to 65F for about eight hours. It worked out.<br />
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Mr Hamelman directs readers to add all the remaining or main dough ingredients and the poolish into the mixer bowl and start mixing at a slow speed. I went along using the paddle attachment at first speed for three minutes. Then I switched to the dough hook and revved up to second speed for four minutes. The dough cleared to side of the bowl but stayed connected to the bottom. The hydration of this dough is around 73% so it's sticky but in my effort, it wasn't so loose as to fall back into a blob. Mr Hamelman refers to the dough having some strength or muscle.<br />
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Main Dough<br />
318 g KAF AP<br />
198 g water at 85F<br />
8 g kosher salt<br />
5/8 tsp IDY<br />
All of the poolish<br />
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The bulk fermentation took about three hours. After mixing, I shaped the dough as best I could on a floured surface. From there, it went into a oiled- EVOO, container and after one hour, I gave it a fold. A second fold followed at two hours. The bulk fermentation ended and the dough, now puffed up, went onto a well floured surface.<br />
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After a gentle shaping into a rectangular form and patting out the largest bubbles, the top of the dough was lightly floured to facilitate dividing. A metal bladed bench knife is a good tool to use in this situation because a fast, strong cut with a quick twist at the bottom is called for to divide the dough. Check out the Cyril Hitz video showing him trimming the edges for a well defined edge and placing the trimmings on the bottom of the dough to give it some height. I chose the "rustic" or unfinished look and just stretched out the two pieces before placing them on my floured couche. I just eyeballed the dough but scaling the dough is doable if you choose. Moving the dough will probably call for the use of the bench knife to help keep the amount of handling to a minimum. It worked for me.<br />
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Proofing took about 1 1/4 hours for me. YMMV since the dough rises to an almost cartoon like height and it will spread if there isn't a fold in the couche. Once the proofing is done or when you get concerned that you may be overdoing things, transfer the dough to a floured bread board or some floured parchment paper that is well supported. An inverted sheet pan or a cookie sheet pan will do. Slide the dough onto your baking stone which has been sitting in your preheated oven, 450F, and utilize some steam if your situated for doing so. Otherwise, mist the tops of the dough, close the oven, and peak through the window in the door as the bake progresses. They do rise. After fifteen minutes, turn the loaves around and remove the parchment paper if you're using it. Another twenty to twenty five minutes of baking should reward you with nicely colored loaves. As always, let the loaves cool on a wire rack before serving.<br />
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That's it in brief. I would suggest that everyone take a look at Mr Hamelman's book. His instructions are far more explanatory and an excellent tutorial but if you just want to have fun, I think that this will get you through the basics and you can make up the rest as you go along.<br />
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Outside the window, the temperatures have been unseasonably warm for a few days and there's no snow on the ground. While my family back East in Massachusetts is dealing with snow, today I mowed the last of the leaves in my backyard into mulch. There haven't been any unusual birds at the feeders but I have seen a lot of red tailed hawks in the area, perched on light poles, near the tops of trees, or on wires and looking for their next snack.<br />
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This obscure corner of the internet has gotten a lot of visits from Poland over the last couple of weeks. I wonder if my father has been spreading the word about my follies here to relatives over there.<br />
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Comments, humor, and questions are welcome.<br />
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Postal Grunthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18414583708278689114noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8888537811572933179.post-42324522329075625082016-11-15T23:23:00.000-06:002016-11-15T23:28:19.967-06:00Sunflower Seed Sourdough<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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I didn't stop baking over the past four months. Some of the time was spent experimenting with dry yeast, shaping techniques, washing my starter, different brands of flour, and even bringing out the stand mixer. The rest of my time spilling and throwing flour involved revisiting old recipes. Nothing bad happened but I didn't produce anything new or different enough to get excited about hitting the keyboard.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiPhaQFsiGZqjSFDMk5f8b51JDxghslyvgAlQ8WNno9MAJau8AOWFTSQ8kuuFPARa1JdZQE_APYpJ8YIIQoIPc38-LPprCvIgcu_rcIYXIjnA-wDbayT8nVBXyoQWEVNqACpdu5ojU0sKI/s1600/6-DSCF3534.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiPhaQFsiGZqjSFDMk5f8b51JDxghslyvgAlQ8WNno9MAJau8AOWFTSQ8kuuFPARa1JdZQE_APYpJ8YIIQoIPc38-LPprCvIgcu_rcIYXIjnA-wDbayT8nVBXyoQWEVNqACpdu5ojU0sKI/s320/6-DSCF3534.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhrH6BWtbtfN08ReGSydNw23YgqddDq4G2ddxAINexLJ2IOhBeYfhqOwCwJkbGcc7t0ZAkhDiolLzs6IqJ7VkaPiaTDgb9skQcGM8KCVZf1pnOutMA8HiqMusuwApf2gh_Taf7QWz3uvl8/s1600/5-DSCF3533.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="256" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhrH6BWtbtfN08ReGSydNw23YgqddDq4G2ddxAINexLJ2IOhBeYfhqOwCwJkbGcc7t0ZAkhDiolLzs6IqJ7VkaPiaTDgb9skQcGM8KCVZf1pnOutMA8HiqMusuwApf2gh_Taf7QWz3uvl8/s320/5-DSCF3533.JPG" width="320" /></a>I did find that I had been overlooking the importance of not over extending the bulk fermentation time. It appears that most of my dough will produce good results with a simple doubling in volume during the bulk fermentation instead of a tripling. I haven't kept copious notes or made comparison studies but it appears to me that the difference shows up during baking with better oven spring and a more open crumb. I'm curious as to whether it would be that there is more active yeast or just the same phenomenon that occurred during these bakes. In any case, this calls for new equipment. My next Amazon.com order will include a 4 L Cambro container which should make it easier to observe <br />
<br />
dough reaching a doubled volume than<br />
in my present 6 L container.<br />
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The first loaf is the Sunflower Seeded Sourdough. It isn't a direct copy of J Hamelman's "Sonnenblumenbrot" though I admit to having perused the recipe several times this year. I used a simple 3-2-1 foundation and added 10% by weight-33 grams, of roasted sunflower seeds. It probably could have supported another 16 grams of seeds.<br />
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Starter<br />
110 grams at 100% hydration<br />
<br />
Main Dough<br />
280 g bread flour<br />
50 g WWW flour<br />
220 water at 85F<br />
33 g roasted sunflower seeds<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg25CG6B3cdzjIhPyBGzN8jhDipoqxnHn40hdEmlvo2O_5UuV7TjME2QBTwHVNuhcOqIXCQarWD3JlC1KfLVRXNK1WruOUmStI06AeWUu6-JUM7lc8lXXFQnUkYi0nd2ShfsmKLCY4rRlI/s1600/2-DSCF3540.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg25CG6B3cdzjIhPyBGzN8jhDipoqxnHn40hdEmlvo2O_5UuV7TjME2QBTwHVNuhcOqIXCQarWD3JlC1KfLVRXNK1WruOUmStI06AeWUu6-JUM7lc8lXXFQnUkYi0nd2ShfsmKLCY4rRlI/s320/2-DSCF3540.JPG" width="320" /></a>7 g kosher salt<br />
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The second loaf is another 3-2-1 sourdough using 20% WWW flour in the main dough. It's the other loaf that started me on this doubled bulk fermentation dough thread. It's one of my "standard" house recipes.<br />
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The availability of ground flax, chia, and hemp seeds at the local Walmart means that as soon as I exhaust the present seed mixes in the freezer, I should be able to just supply my own mixes<br />
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The garden wasn't as productive as usual this past summer. The hot weather at the end of June and beginning of July diminished the setting of just about all the vegetables. The local county extension service offices tried to comfort local gardeners but no one was really happy. Today was the day for planting garlic. After working the 3'x5' plot, adding compost and fertilizer, I set out 48 cloves for next year's crop.<br />
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We haven't been seeing very many birds at the feeders over the past month or so. I did see a couple of blue birds recently and some early juncos. Back in August, I saw the only turkey vulture of the year feasting on some roadkill a few blocks north, something I may not see again for quite a while.<br />
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The first serious, killing frost is expected for Saturday morning. While the frost will kill the oak leaf mites that have been particularly bothersome this year, it will also mean a bumper crop of falling leafs as well. Then there's the necessity of cleaning out the garage to make room for my electric snow blower. A local TV weather personality said that the old timers who predict winter weather according to the seeds inside persimmons are calling for a cold winter with lots of wet snow. That's not something I look forward to at all but somewhere way back in our dining area hutch is a bottle of Gran Marnier that only sees daylight after I've finished shoveling snow. I'd rather that it continue to accumulate dust.<br />
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Comments, humor, and questions are welcome.<br />
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Postal Grunthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18414583708278689114noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8888537811572933179.post-47150089716675046672016-06-25T00:11:00.000-05:002016-06-25T00:11:15.730-05:00A Similar Table Bread<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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Summer arrived and has taken up residence in our patch of ground here on the Middle Coast with cruel and oppressive heat. That means changing conditions for my yeast in that even with the A/C on, the usual room temperature is somewhere between 78 and 80F. Fortunately, that's on the upper end of ideal temperatures for yeast, both dry yeast and sourdough. Adding to the new conditions for the yeast, I switched from using KAF AP to using Hudson Cream AP. The HC AP is milled here in Kansas, out west of Wichita. It's at least one full percentage point lower in protein than the KAF AP which makes it handle differently. BTW, it works just fine when used in feeding my sourdough starters.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg90yLS2x-wBLr4d1E36gVmZSmFmP7HSMEcjBZUHAQBG214NjWdn5pnGCOWxHbAp5J4F310kQocCzTdh8u_3_oDXN6ufHHyzWG8gkSBuoWwopSjo46Z8qGoS3hI-fH9h6EeEQyyOc5sa2o/s1600/2-DSCF3384.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg90yLS2x-wBLr4d1E36gVmZSmFmP7HSMEcjBZUHAQBG214NjWdn5pnGCOWxHbAp5J4F310kQocCzTdh8u_3_oDXN6ufHHyzWG8gkSBuoWwopSjo46Z8qGoS3hI-fH9h6EeEQyyOc5sa2o/s320/2-DSCF3384.JPG" width="246" /></a>Poolish<br />
62 g HC AP<br />
62 g water at room temperature, around 80F<br />
1/8 tsp instant dry yeast<br />
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Main Dough<br />
208 g Dakota Maid bread flour<br />
60 g Dakota Maid whole wheat flour<br />
169 g water at 80F <br />
7 g kosher salt<br />
1/2 tsp instant dry yeast<br />
olive oil for greasing fermentation bowl or container<br />
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Add flours and IDY into the mixing bowl, stir well to mix.Use the main dough water to help transfer the poolish to the mixing bowl. Mix to a shaggy mass, cover, and let rest for about 20 minutes.<br />
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Add salt and fold in. Turn out the dough onto a floured surface, knead for about two minutes, place into an oiled container for bulk fermentation and cover. Do three stretch and folds at 20-25 minutes depending on room temperature, cover, and then rest until dough volume has doubled.<br />
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I had been presoaking the WW or WWW in my dough with the main dough water but in this case, I skipped the extra step. The resultant dough after the first mix was a bit dry but as it changed over to a tacky consistently later on during the bulk ferment. I suspect that the longer bulk fermentation at 70% hydration worked out in my favor here.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjgOfQeLgbSqLzwkYwc5A_uUqQKDWP2Rn9J-zEB6vZisCP8E1-fGaIdgMh4NJeEnktD89jWZqjlb9k6XjScadNJCiTJg9iMsK-w58OBkAk7fQG2NxRVI80VZlGD0OjzNs0PVr964FKuG5o/s1600/3-DSCF3385.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjgOfQeLgbSqLzwkYwc5A_uUqQKDWP2Rn9J-zEB6vZisCP8E1-fGaIdgMh4NJeEnktD89jWZqjlb9k6XjScadNJCiTJg9iMsK-w58OBkAk7fQG2NxRVI80VZlGD0OjzNs0PVr964FKuG5o/s320/3-DSCF3385.JPG" width="320" /></a>When the dough has doubled in volume, turn it out onto a floured surface, preshape, cover, and rest for 10-15 minutes. Shape and place in a prepared banneton or couche for proofing. In my case, I left the banneton at room temperature for about 30 minutes and then placed it in the refrigerator, which allowed me to bake the loaf in the evening when the house had cooled down. Preheat the oven and a baking stone at 450F for at least 30 minutes. When the dough has finished proofing, turn the loaf out onto either a peel or onto parchment paper on whatever pan or cookie sheet you use. Slash, mist the top with water, and load the oven. Bake at 450F for 15 minutes, remove the parchment paper if you're using it, turn the loaf around, and bake at 425F for 19-20 minutes.Turn off the heat, leave the oven door cracked open with an oven pad for five minutes. The room temperature made that foolish for me to do so I just kept the finished loaf in the oven for a couple of minutes and placed it on a wire cooling rack.<br />
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The end result was a good loaf; moist, tender, with a bit of acidity in the flavor.<br />
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The heat has yet to relent out here. The lawn has deep cracks in the soil and the garden needs watering at least every three days. So far, I've picked one cucumber and there are a few grape tomatoes that are now ripe. There aren't any peppers worth picking yet but they're coming along slowly. It's time to start digging up the garlic now, which I should do before the forecast thunderstorms rolling in tomorrow night. I dug up one bulb out of curiosity that was fair in size but can't predict what size bulbs will come out of the ground tomorrow. I'm keeping my hopes up for a ripe tomato, the grape tomatoes don't count, by July 4th. So far, it looks like I'll have a San Marzano tomato to establish the bragging rights on that day.<br />
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Rumor has it that the hummingbirds are in the area but I have yet to see any.<br />
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Comments, humor, and questions are welcome. <br />
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Postal Grunthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18414583708278689114noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8888537811572933179.post-16246331660413326002016-06-03T23:56:00.001-05:002016-06-03T23:56:40.028-05:00Table Breads with Poolish Variations<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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The set of mixing bowls you see are actually older than I am. They've been given to me by my mother who found their weight made them difficult to use anymore. These post WW2 products from Pyrex are still in great shape with only a small number of scratches incurred over some 69 years of use feeding our family and guests. My Mom also gave me a KA mixer which will be of use when mixing Christmas cookies and larger dough batches.<br />
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While I haven't given up on sourdough breads, I just haven't done anything different enough to post here. I have been playing with dry yeast breads lately with the intent of refining reliable formulas from past efforts. I started with a small loaf that included 15% fine durum wheat flour usually used in making pasta. The loaf was also the recipient of some 40 g of discard from the initial build stage of a starter.<br />
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Poolish<br />
85 g KAF AP<br />
15 g fine durum wheat flour<br />
100 g water at 88F<br />
1/4 tsp IDY<br />
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Main Dough<br />
175 g bread flour<br />
85 g water at 88F<br />
50 g discarded 100% starter<br />
6 g kosher salt<br />
olive oil for greasing fermentation container and for my hands during initial kneading.<br />
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I usually let the initial shaggy mass of dough rest for 20 minutes or so before adding the salt. I then put some olive oil on my hands and "air knead" by picking up the mass, roughly folding it to make it easier to pinch the dough with my thumbs, going up or down, while letting the dough hang. The dough takes on a kind of strip form after that, making it easy to fold and place back in the bulk fermentation bowl.<br />
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This bread did taste good for only my second time reworking the formula. I suspect I could use more starter if I wanted to but I probably should reduce final hydration from around 70% to 68%.<br />
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This second loaf is the basis for the second formula I've been working with lately. It's a 20% WW/80% bread flour project. It's smaller than my usual sourdough loaves and besides its taste, it also has the attraction being ready to eat in about the same time it takes to build up a vigorous starter. Upon slicing the loaf, I found that I need to allter my procedure. You see, I added all the WW flour to the poolish mix, a perfectly acceptable move.<br />
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When I use whole wheat flour and mix by hand, I get some streaks or swirls of a darker color in the crumb. This problem, if one chooses to see it as such, can be resolved by using a mixer if you have one. It's an appearance thing with no bearing on the flavor. I just baked a loaf with white whole wheat in the same quantities and procedures and it worked out fine, with no visible swirls in the appearance..<br />
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Poolish<br />
60 g stone ground whole wheat flour<br />
40 g KAF AP flour<br />
100 g water at 88 F<br />
1/4 tsp instant dry yeast<br />
<br />
Main Dough<br />
200 g bread flour<br />
108 g water at 88 F<br />
6 g kosher salt<br />
1/2 tsp IDY<br />
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The Spring 2016 season has been as unpredictable as those of past years. While peonies were weren't as plentiful and impressive as last year, the day lily plants are already quite bushy and getting ready to bloom. The garlic scapes have already been cut and the bottom leaves on the stalks are beginning to dry up. I may be digging garlic in a few weeks. The first tomatoes have shown up and today I saw the first baby sweet Italian pepper. I've tried three different lettuce plantings but they've all been failures, perhaps due to being washed away by the abundant rainfall over the last six weeks or so. I was fortunate enough to find a bale of straw to use as mulch in the garden. Wheat straw has become a limited commodity in this area since farmers have switched to planting corn to take advantage of the subsidies available.<br />
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Along with the usual suspects, I've been seeing some rose breasted grosbeaks and orioles, summertime birds for this area, at the bird feeders just outside my window.<br />
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Here is a list of countries of the visitors that have lately found their way to my obscure corner of the internet: Argentina, Colombia,Denmark, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Estonia, Finland, Indonesia, Macedonia, Netherlands, Nigeria, Pakistan, Panama, South Africa, and the UAE.<br />
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Comments, humor, and questions are welcome.<br />
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Postal Grunthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18414583708278689114noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8888537811572933179.post-35981989697628432102016-03-25T22:36:00.000-05:002016-04-07T06:34:33.198-05:00A Late Winter Bulgur Loaf<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhiFkB1E7JQA55bpSvqgVsGV0PPp2hyphenhyphenlduysa3xPnrthAD1ND_At2CHsJquNWTFUG9YicQ7DPe2vlCPU7-tNrKRNWKu-s9OAv064M8hbLKhk8h5VO1oOPHmqlcc6I24PdXEL3WMcghfhSQ/s1600/1-DSCF3279.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhiFkB1E7JQA55bpSvqgVsGV0PPp2hyphenhyphenlduysa3xPnrthAD1ND_At2CHsJquNWTFUG9YicQ7DPe2vlCPU7-tNrKRNWKu-s9OAv064M8hbLKhk8h5VO1oOPHmqlcc6I24PdXEL3WMcghfhSQ/s320/1-DSCF3279.JPG" width="320" /><span style="text-align: left;"> </span></a></div>
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I like the sweet flavor that bulgur brings to a loaf. That gave me the idea to add it in as I was rummaging through the refrigerator, looking for ingredients that I hadn't used recently. It also adds a little bit of detail, maybe texture is the word I'm looking for, to the outside of the loaf. Since I had the luxury of time to make this loaf, I also used retarded proofing in the fridge and a longer than usual finish to that proofing on the counter before I loaded the loaf into the oven. I expected that the loaf would spread out due to the hydration but I had no complaints when the bake was done.<br />
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Starter<br />
140 g at 100% hydration<br />
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Soaker<br />
42 g bulgur<br />
36 g water<br />
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Main Dough<br />
228 g bread flour<br />
72 g white whole wheat<br />
205 g water at 85F<br />
All of starter<br />
All of soaker<br />
7 g kosher salt<br />
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Spring time has really started to roll in, semingly a few weeks early. Considering that the average last frost date in this area is 15 April, everyone is quite amazed. The trees are budding out and a few have a leaf or two to show for their efforts. The grass in the yard grew enough that I actually mowed the lawn this past week. I've dug up and turned over a couple small sections of my garden but the soil is still wet from the December rains and quite cold. I haven't seen any new varieties of birds at feeders, just the usual suspects with an increase in gold finches. There are quite a few hawks around town right now. They're often seen perching lower than normal in my observations, on power lines or on the arms of street light poles.<br />
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Some casual, drive by visitors to my obscure corner of the internet over the past few weeks have come from Austria, Israel, Lebanon, and Peru.<br />
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Comments, humor, and questions are welcome.<br />
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Postal Grunthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18414583708278689114noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8888537811572933179.post-21920657893597073232016-02-22T22:56:00.000-06:002016-02-22T23:09:30.372-06:00More Big Levain loaves<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEifsmaHO8WQYdWNUUuYUcCX_zYg2HGvc-kW6bCffawRmR6_Wh223jKEoy3M_Yo7nXXhpYLlUgfZ44N8kiCjEL-Hyzwen6WV7AzoeAJtd-OnRswwOm2fCCCWMdvQusTwm7PETGZOLfHeTjo/s1600/1-DSCF3252.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="179" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEifsmaHO8WQYdWNUUuYUcCX_zYg2HGvc-kW6bCffawRmR6_Wh223jKEoy3M_Yo7nXXhpYLlUgfZ44N8kiCjEL-Hyzwen6WV7AzoeAJtd-OnRswwOm2fCCCWMdvQusTwm7PETGZOLfHeTjo/s320/1-DSCF3252.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
It's been about four years since I worked on loaves with a larger starter. This time around may have been a simple improvisation on my familiar 25% WWW flour sourdough when I found myself with more starter than needed and with plenty already stashed in the refrigerator. Since the average room temperature is still around 70F here at Casa de PG, I figured that manipulating the numbers away from the standard 3-2-1 formula would be the most difficult aspect. I was wrong, it was restraining myself from eating too much of my own work. These breads have turned out very well.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi053Tuf9CXmpSCBTIzi8-3E_uAaELZruh-hMNXNuKZBZIRt4HuIijQ9z115zcVaLhm_sOGC5AsfmRtOp0-UXBkXGp0Wq2MjcsFIYtsHCG7mH7H58axuBpSl2vVhQcLRX0e9Z_FULnD3xo/s1600/2-DSCF3254.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi053Tuf9CXmpSCBTIzi8-3E_uAaELZruh-hMNXNuKZBZIRt4HuIijQ9z115zcVaLhm_sOGC5AsfmRtOp0-UXBkXGp0Wq2MjcsFIYtsHCG7mH7H58axuBpSl2vVhQcLRX0e9Z_FULnD3xo/s320/2-DSCF3254.JPG" width="247" /></a>My idea was that if I used more than my standard quantity of 100% hydration starter, then all I needed to do would be to subtract the extra flour and water quantities from the ingredients in the main dough. While the bulk fermentation time was about the same length, there was an improved handling quality to the dough. which made shaping easier. Proofing time decreased by about 25% for the first loaf, from 4 1/2 hours down to 3 1/2 hours. I used retarded proofing for the second loaf so I can't say that I've discovered anything yet. I need to do more work using this variation in method before I pat myself on the back.<br />
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Starter, first loaf<br />
160 g at 100% hydration, fed with KAF AP<br />
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Main Dough<br />
250 g bread flour<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8i7l2IUy5Ou0Ht-Omw0VHuOll1Y_pRnYYxKye-elsAZEf98EDOMA20ylZtO3H_lo-Jg94Xekc1UqgStcEloqeYZ1bfjfwF6W1CXu5CcgjLTCxdh9fHDGXWIrqhjfWi4mfom6RdGNGcvI/s1600/3-DSCF3258.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8i7l2IUy5Ou0Ht-Omw0VHuOll1Y_pRnYYxKye-elsAZEf98EDOMA20ylZtO3H_lo-Jg94Xekc1UqgStcEloqeYZ1bfjfwF6W1CXu5CcgjLTCxdh9fHDGXWIrqhjfWi4mfom6RdGNGcvI/s320/3-DSCF3258.JPG" width="320" /></a>90 g home milled white whole wheat flour<br />
220 g water at 85F<br />
8 g kosher salt<br />
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Starter, second loaf<br />
160 g at 100% hydration, fed with KAF AP<br />
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Main Dough<br />
250 g bread four<br />
90 g home milled white whole wheat flour<br />
220 g water at 85F<br />
15 g wheat germ<br />
8 g kosher salt<br />
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The first signs of the daffodils from the oldest plantings are now emerging. The bulbs that I planted late last fall haven't shown up yet. Usually the peonies arrive for work at about the same time as the daffodils but this winter's weather may be throwing them off their schedule. The garlic is still under its blanket of straw but I may go out there later in the week when the temperatures go back up and lift the straw to see what's going on.<br />
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Recent visitors to my obscure corner of the internet have come from Algeria, Oman, and Singapore.<br />
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Comments, humor, and questions are welcome.</div>
Postal Grunthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18414583708278689114noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8888537811572933179.post-69908352707011926902016-01-28T15:32:00.003-06:002016-01-28T15:32:51.943-06:00Cellar Bread Variation<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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Times have been slow around the oven due to my efforts at clearing out the freezer of odds and ends that I put away, out of sight and out of mind until lately. This week has marked an increase in projects and the gas bill starting with these two efforts.<br />
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The first picture is of my initial attempt at making scones. I used the Cream Scone recipe from the KAF Baker's Companion. Let me say that the process turned out messier than I expected but nothing that didn't respond to soap and water and some elbow grease. Being positive, I can say it was a learning experience.<br />
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I followed the recipe as well as I could for a first timer, even to the point of weighing ingredients when I had that information. The end result is a essentially a tasty buttermilk biscuit. You can add some kind of dried fruits pieces or nuts, which I forgot to do. The KAF Baker's Companion has several other scone recipes, one of which includes chocolate chips, so I think I'll dabble in scones for a while as a side venture since the dough can be frozen for baking at a later date.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEimL_TI69mGNk6qgHVyLCRcyJG_SnqtEsmQ-V8Ih2Axzns726YViQujBYw0zqItd8iaG7GmyX_GQsU055AJEmixyJ7wkj-k2cIr9dbPZKFMbqopTgs_sG0HMgnHYiH3CCuhwi9a09bIRq4/s1600/2-DSCF3223.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="199" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEimL_TI69mGNk6qgHVyLCRcyJG_SnqtEsmQ-V8Ih2Axzns726YViQujBYw0zqItd8iaG7GmyX_GQsU055AJEmixyJ7wkj-k2cIr9dbPZKFMbqopTgs_sG0HMgnHYiH3CCuhwi9a09bIRq4/s320/2-DSCF3223.JPG" width="320" /></a>Winter's arrival has meant the average temperature in our cellar sits around 60-62F, almost ideal temperatures for a slow bulk ferment or proofing and coaxing a little bit more flavor out of the dough. For this loaf, the dough had three stretch folds over two hours then almost seven hours in the 60F cellar, at which time it had more than doubled in size.<br />
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Since I was fooling around with time and temperature for this loaf, I changed my percentage of starter by an admittedly small amount that actually worked out. The crumb isn't wildly open but on the other hand, I threw in some wheat germ along with the white whole wheat flour so I'm happy for now and can take this recipe for the wintertime a little bit further in the next six weeks or so.<br />
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Starter<br />
140 g, at 100% hydration, fed with KAF AP<br />
<br />
Main Dough<br />
290 g bread flour<br />
60 g white whole wheat flour<br />
20 g wheat germ<br />
230 g water at 85F<br />
7 g kosher salt <br />
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I've got admit that this winter hasn't turned out to be as bad as I expected. I have had to shovel the driveway a few times but that was more indicative of the paucity of snowfall rather than any ambition on my part. I have my little snow blower in the garage but so far it has only gathered dust.<br />
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We're getting to the time of year where freezing rain becomes more likely than snow and that is a most unpleasant prospect to consider. In order to combat that dread, lawn and garden shows look very attractive and they should start up in a couple more weeks. I don't need more seeds but I will be looking for the yard toys that that spin and make noise. They annoy the neighbors more than they do any critters or vermin that may cross the yard but their bright colors do bring a smile to my face. They'll have to do until the daffodils start to show up and the dandelions rise up to risk my wrath with a tools of destruction and possible injury.<br />
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Lately, this obscure corner of the internet has gotten a lot of visits from Asia. Among the countries represented are S Korea, the Philippines, Singapore, Pakistan, and Viet Nam.Whether accidental or deliberate, I'm always happy to see where my visitors come from.<br />
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Comments, humor, and questions are welcome.</div>
Postal Grunthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18414583708278689114noreply@blogger.com0