Isand66's blog

I love any bread made with Durum flour so I figured it would be a good idea to combine some fresh ricotta cheese along with a Durum starter and a porridge made with rolled oats and pearled barley.

The only problem with this bake was due to my stupidity I forgot to add in the starter which I had left in the bottom draw of my refrigerator.  The only reason why I realized I had forgotten it was due to the fact I was looking for something to snack on and discovered my error.  The lack of starter caused me to omit 95 grams of the water I was originally going to use.  Fortunately, I was able to add the starter back into the dough since it was only bulk fermenting for around 1 hour.

The end result was still a tasty loaf with a nice moderately open moist crumb.  It made great grilled bread and really was an excellent loaf.  If I had added more water it would have been a little more open and moist but all in all it was a success.

Here are the Zip files for the above BreadStorm files.

Levain Directions

I made a 2 step levain by using my AP starter which is kept at 66%.

Mix all the levain ingredients together  for about 1 minute and cover with plastic wrap.  Let it sit at room temperature for around 7-8 hours or until the starter has doubled.  I used my proofer set at 83 degrees and it took about 4 hours.  Next add the ingredients from the second levain column and mix for a minute.  Wrap with plastic wrap and let it ferment until it doubles in size.  You can use it immediately or refrigerate overnight and use the next day.

Oat Porridge Directions

Add about 3/4's of the milk called for in the porridge to the dry ingredients in a small pot set to low and stir constantly until all the milk is absorbed.  Add the remainder of the milk and keep stirring until you have a nice creamy and soft porridge.  Remove from the heat and let it come to room temperature before adding to the dough.  I put mine in the refrigerator and let it cool quicker.

 Main Dough Procedure

Mix the flours  and the water for about 1 minute.  Let the rough dough sit for about 20 minutes to an hour.  Next add the levain, cooled porridge and salt and mix on low for 5 minutes.  Now add the cheese and mix for another minute.  You should end up with a cohesive dough that is slightly tacky but very manageable.  Remove the dough from your bowl and place it in a lightly oiled bowl or work surface and do several stretch and folds.  Let it rest covered for 10-15 minutes and then do another stretch and fold.  Let it rest another 10-15 minutes and do one additional stretch and fold.  After a total of 2 hours place your covered bowl in the refrigerator and let it rest for 12 to 24 hours.  (Since I used my proofer I only let the dough sit out for 1.5 hours before refrigerating).

When you are ready to bake remove the bowl from the refrigerator and let it set out at room temperature still covered for 1.5 to 2 hours.  Remove the dough and shape as desired.

The dough will take 1.5 to 2 hours depending on your room temperature and will only rise about 1/3 it's size at most.  Let the dough dictate when it is read to bake not the clock.

Around 45 minutes before ready to bake, pre-heat your oven to 550 degrees F. and prepare it for steam.  I have a heavy-duty baking pan on the bottom rack of my oven with 1 baking stone on above the pan and one on the top shelf.  I pour 1 cup of boiling water in the pan right after I place the dough in the oven.

Right before you are ready to put them in the oven, score as desired and then add 1 cup of boiling water to your steam pan or follow your own steam procedure.

After 5 minute lower the temperature to 450 degrees.  Bake for 35-50 minutes until the crust is nice and brown and the internal temperature of the bread is 205 degrees.

Take the bread out of the oven when done and let it cool on a bakers rack before for at least 2 hours before eating.

     My wife asked me to make a simple Pumpernickel bread to bring to my Nieces birthday party this past Saturday.  She wanted to stuff it with her Sour Cream Spinach Dip and I didn't have a lot of time since she asked me Friday afternoon.

I decided to adapt a few recipes I found in some of my baking books and came up with a bread similar to what you would find in a bakery but without the rye starter typically used.  The final bread came out perfect for the dip and I made a second one for sandwiches.

The crumb was tight which is ideal for this type of bread.  You can taste the crushed caraway seeds and molasses in this one.

It worked real well for my dinner last night of pastrami with melted Munster cheese.

It was a busy weekend and I made some smoked wings with a spiced paste marinade and citrus balsamic glaze and caramelized smoked onions for a Labor Day party at our friends house.  Everyone seemed to enjoy them since there were none left at the end of the day.

Formula

Link to BreadStorm files.

Directions

Add dehydrated onions to water first.  Next mix all of the flours together in your mixing bowl along with the instant yeast and cocoa powder.  (Note: I used a double dark cocoa powder).

Next add in the water and mix for one minute until the ingredients come together.  Let the dough rest for 20 minutes and then add in the remainder of the ingredients.   (Note: I used my coffee grinder to crush the caraway seeds or you can use a mortar and pestle).  Mix on low for 5 minutes and speed number 2 for 1 minute.  Take the dough out of your mixing bowl and place in a slightly oiled container/rising bucket.  Do a few stretch and folds and place the dough in your refrigerator overnight.

The next day take the dough out of the refrigerator and let it come to room temperature for around 1 hour.  Shape it as desired and place in a basket or shape batards.  In the meantime warm your oven to the highest setting and prepare it for steam.  My oven goes up to 550 degrees F.

After approximately 1 hour the dough should have increased in size around 1/3 or so and pass the poke test.  Score as desired and place in your oven with steam.  Lower the oven after 1 minute to 450 degrees and bake until the internal temperature is 210 degrees which should take around 20-25 minutes.

Let the bread rest for at least 1.5 hours before diving in.

Bacon, Potatoes and Cheese....what else do I need to say?  Throw those golden ingredients together with some flour, water and starter and let it ferment for a couple of days and you have as tasty a loaf as you're going to get.

I hadn't made any bread using the 36 hour technique in a while so I figured it was time to give it a go again.  I used the last of my KAF French style flour mixed with some freshly ground whole wheat and some KAF Durum flour to round it out.

Letting the flour absorb the ice water for 24 hours and adding a 100% starter to the mix with all the other ingredients couldn't be an easier.  You just need to have some patience and the results will be worth it.

I used some Double Gloucester cheese which is similar to a sharp cheddar and baked some potatoes I made on my grill the night before.  I fried up some thick-cut bacon the morning of the final mix.

The only thing I might chance on this one the next go around is cutting the hydration a bit.  I didn't take the water content of the potatoes into account when formulating the original recipe and the final dough was very slack and spread out more than I would have preferred,  All in all this bread came out with a nice moist and open crumb with bits of bacon and cheese spread throughout.  It is definitely worth trying this one if you get a chance.

Here are the Zip files for the above BreadStorm files.

Directions

NOTE: Water content for potatoes is added to final Mix water amount.  Actual water to add to final dough is 600 grams.

Starter
Mix ingredients in a bowl until thoroughly combined.  Cover the bowl and let it sit at room temperature for around 8 hours.  The starter should almost double when ready to proceed.  I actually mixed it up at the same time as the flour and water mixture for the main dough and let it sit overnight.  I used my 66% seed starter and basically converted it to close to a 100% hydration levain.  You need the final levain/starter to be like this so it is easy to mix into the main dough.

Main Dough Procedure
Mix the flours and the ice water together in your mixer or by hand until it just starts to come together, maybe about 1 minute.   Put the dough in a slightly covered oiled bowl and put in the refrigerator for 12 hours.

The next day add your starter,  cheese, bacon, potatoes and salt to the dough and mix by hand or in your mixer on low speed until it is thoroughly mixed and evenly distributed.  Due to the high water content in the 100% hydration starter this dough is very easy to mix by hand and is very silky and smooth.

Bulk rise at room temperature for 2-3 hours until it grows around 1/3 in volume doing stretch and folds every half hour until it has developed the correct amount of strength.

Put the dough back into the refrigerator for around 20-24 hours.  I took it out about 24 hours later.

When you take the dough out of the refrigerator you want it to have almost doubled in volume, but if it doesn’t, don’t worry as it will end up okay anyway.  Let it rise at room temperature for around 2 hours or until the dough has doubled from the night before.

Next, divide the dough and shape as desired and place them in their respective basket(s).  I made a bâtard and a boule and placed both of them into my proofer set at 82 degrees F. for 1.5 hours.

Score the loaves as desired and prepare your oven for baking with steam.

Set your oven for 550 degrees F. at least 45 minutes before ready to bake.  When ready to bake place the loaves into your oven on your oven-stone with steam and let it bake for 5 minutes and then lower the temperature  to 450 degrees.    When the loaf is golden brown and reached an internal temperature of 210 degrees F. you can remove it from the oven.

Let the bread cool down for at least an 3 hours or so before eating as desired.

  One of my favorite breads is my Sourdough Date Bread which was inspired by my good friend Khalid.  Since I recently picked up some fresh dates from the supermarket the other day I figured it was time to try it again but with some slight modifications.

I didn't buy enough dates so I had to reduce the amount used slightly which didn't seem to make that much of a difference.  I also used a higher percentage of French Style flour which I recently purchased from KAF.  I really love working with this flour so I wanted to use a higher amount than before while also removing the Spelt and Durum flour but keeping the freshly ground whole wheat.

The final change was to add some chocolate raspberry balsamic vinegar to bump up the flavors a little.  I thought this would add a little more sweetness to the bread and compliment the dates well.

The final bread came out excellent with a nice dark crust from the sugars in the dates and wonderful sweet and tangy flavor which goes well with just about anything.  The crumb was nice and moist as well.

Please note:  the dates are simmered in part of the water used for the main dough and instead of chopping them up  I just mushed them a little in the bowl which worked out fine.

Download BreadStorm .bun file here.

Levain Directions

Step 1

Mix all the levain ingredients together  for about 1 minute and cover with plastic wrap.  Let it sit at room temperature for around 7-8 hours or until the starter has doubled.  I used my proofer set at 83 degrees and it took about 4 hours.

Step 2

Mix the flour and water with all of the levain from step 1 and let it sit at room temperature again until it is doubled.  At this point you can either use it right away or put it in the refrigerator and use it the next 1 to 2 days.

Date Preparation

Make sure there are no pits in the dates and do not trust the package like I did which claimed they were pitted dates.  Simmer the dates in 226 grams of water until they are soft.  After you remove them from the heat, add 100 grams of cold water and let the dates sit until they come back down to room temperature.

 Main Dough Procedure

Mix the flours with the remainder of the water for about 1 minute.  Let the rough dough sit for about 20 minutes to an hour.  Next add the dates, butter and salt and mix on low for 2 minutes and speed #2 for another 2 minutes or by hand for about 6 minutes.   You should end up with a cohesive dough that is slightly tacky but very manageable.  Remove the dough from your bowl and place it in a lightly oiled bowl or work surface and do several stretch and folds.  Let it rest covered for 10-15 minutes and then do another stretch and fold.  Let it rest another 10-15 minutes and do one additional stretch and fold.  After a total of 2 hours place your covered bowl in the refrigerator and let it rest for 12 to 24 hours.  (Since I used my proofer I only let the dough sit out for 1.5 hours before refrigerating).

When you are ready to bake remove the bowl from the refrigerator and let it set out at room temperature still covered for 1.5 to 2 hours.  Remove the dough and shape as desired.  I made 1 large Miche for this bake.

The dough will take 1.5 to 2 hours depending on your room temperature and will only rise about 1/3 it's size at most.  Let the dough dictate when it is read to bake not the clock.

Around 45 minutes before ready to bake, pre-heat your oven to 550 degrees F. and prepare it for steam.  I have a heavy-duty baking pan on the bottom rack of my oven with 1 baking stone on above the pan and one on the top shelf.  I pour 1 cup of boiling water in the pan right after I place the dough in the oven.

Right before you are ready to put them in the oven, score as desired and then add 1 cup of boiling water to your steam pan or follow your own steam procedure.

After 1 minute lower the temperature to 450 degrees.  Bake for 35-50 minutes until the crust is nice and brown and the internal temperature of the bread is 205 degrees.  (Note: since I made one large bread I needed to lower the oven further to 425 F. for about half of the baking time to prevent the crust from burning).

Take the bread out of the oven when done and let it cool on a bakers rack before for at least 2 hours before eating.

   For those of you old enough to remember Mel's Diner, this bread pays homage to Flo who was happy to tell you to "Kiss My Grits" as she deemed necessary.

I had bought some home made Ricotta from Fairway Market the other day to use for pizza and wanted to use the balance in a bread.  They just opened up a new Fairway Market closer to where we live and we went shopping over the weekend.  I picked up some Grits which is similar to Polenta but is white corn instead of yellow.  Grits by themselves are pretty bland unless you add some cheese and butter.  For this recipe I left out the cheese since I was adding Ricotta to the main dough but added a couple of tablespoons to the grits.

I ended up making way too much grits for the bread so I warmed it up on my barbeque and added some cheese and ate it as a side with dinner last night.  I was going to grill it but I didn't cook it long enough for it to thicken up enough.

I used my trusty AP starter and added some freshly ground whole wheat flour and some Bob's Red Mill Semolina along with KAF Bread flour.  I did not calculate the water used in the grits into the overall hydration but it definitely affected the final dough which was a little wet but more than manageable after a couple of stretch and folds.

The final bread ended up perfect with a nice dark crisp crust and moist light crumb.  The crumb is not too open but is perfect for sandwiches and grilled bread with some fresh mozzarella and tomatoes from my garden.

If you get a chance you should definitely try this one.  Max and Lexi guarantee you won't be disappointed!

Download BreadStorm .BUN file here.

Grits Directions

Boil water in heavy duty pot and add grits and simmer for 5 minutes until soft and thick.  Cool completely before using.

(Note: you want to mix 1 part grits to 3 parts water.  I made a lot of extra grits but you can try and make the exact amount if desired)

Levain Directions

Mix all the levain ingredients together  for about 1 minute and cover with plastic wrap.  Let it sit at room temperature for around 7-8 hours or until the starter has doubled.

 Main Dough Procedure

Mix the flours with the main dough water for about 1 minute.  Let the rough dough sit for about 20 minutes to an hour.  Next add the levain, grits and salt and mix on low for 5 minutes and then add in the Ricotta and mix for one additional minute.   You should end up with a cohesive dough that is slightly tacky but  manageable.  Remove the dough from your bowl and place it in a lightly oiled bowl or work surface and do several stretch and folds.  Let it rest covered for 10-15 minutes and then do another stretch and fold.  Let it rest another 10-15 minutes and do one additional stretch and fold.  After a total of 2 hours place your covered bowl in the refrigerator and let it rest for 12 to 24 hours.  (Since I used my proofer I only let the dough sit out for 1.5 hours before refrigerating).

When you are ready to bake remove the bowl from the refrigerator and let it set out at room temperature still covered for 1.5 to 2 hours.  Remove the dough and shape as desired.

The dough will take 1.5 to 2 hours depending on your room temperature and will only rise about 1/3 it's size at most.  Let the dough dictate when it is read to bake not the clock.

Around 45 minutes before ready to bake, pre-heat your oven to 550 degrees F. and prepare it for steam.  I have a heavy-duty baking pan on the bottom rack of my oven with 1 baking stone on above the pan and one on the top shelf.  I pour 1 cup of boiling water in the pan right after I place the dough in the oven.

Right before you are ready to put them in the oven, score as desired and then add 1 cup of boiling water to your steam pan or follow your own steam procedure.

After 5 minute lower the temperature to 450 degrees.  (Note: since I made one large Miche I lowered the temperature to 435 degrees for 2/3's of the bake to prevent the crust from getting too charred).  Bake for 35-50 minutes until the crust is nice and brown and the internal temperature of the bread is 205 degrees.

Take the bread out of the oven when done and let it cool on a bakers rack before for at least 2 hours before eating.

   This past weekend my wife and I visited one of our favorite supermarkets, Fairway Market which has a great selection of cheeses, fresh sour pickles, grains, meats etc.  I picked up some pearled barley and this great tasting cheddar like cheese called Double Gloucester which they were doing a free sampling.  I had some left-over mashed potatoes and caramelized onions, so naturally these needed to be incorporated into a bread.  Who doesn't like potatoes, cheese and onions?

I wanted to incorporate some stiff egg whites to try and make the overall bread a little lighter with the onions and cheese but it didn't really seem to make that much of a difference.

Since I've been experimenting a lot with the porridge method per Tartine 3 I figured why not use the barley as a porridge.  It didn't quite get as creamy as the oats or the multi-grain mix I used last time but it still added a nice texture to the final bread.

The final dough did not expand quite as much as I would have liked in the oven but the results were tasty none the less.  The onions really come through with the cheese and this made some great grilled bread with my steak dinner last night.

Please note: The formula below includes the water content from the potatoes and egg whites. The actual water added to the main dough when mixing should be 85 grams.

Enjoy.

Here are the Zip files for the above BreadStorm files.

Levain Directions Build 1 (Using AP Starter at 66% Hydration for Seed)

Mix all the levain ingredients together  for about 1 minute and cover with plastic wrap.  Let it sit at room temperature for around 7-8 hours or until the starter has doubled.  I used my Proofer set at 81 degrees and it took about 4 hours.

Oat Porridge Directions

Add about 3/4's of the water called for in the porridge to the dry ingredients in a small pot set to low and stir constantly until all the water is absorbed.  Add the remainder of the water and keep stirring until you have a nice creamy and soft porridge.  Remove from the heat and let it come to room temperature before adding to the dough.  I put mine in the refrigerator and let it cool quicker.

 For Egg Whites:
Separate eggs and beat until peaks are formed.

 Main Dough Procedure

DAY 1
Mix flours and water for 1 minute.  Let sit for 20 - 60 minutes.

Fold in egg whites then add levain, cooled porridge, potatoes and salt and mix on low for 4 minutes.  Add onions and mix for 1 minute until incorporated and then add the cheese and mix for 1 additional minute.

In lightly oiled bowl or work surface S&F several times. Let rest for 10-15 minutes and S&F again. Repeat 1 x.  After a total of 2 hours refrigerate dough for 12 - 24 hours. (Note: this is a pretty wet dough so you may need to do a couple of additional stretch and folds).

DAY 2
Remove dough from refrigerator 1.5 to 2 hours before using.

Shape as desired. Proof for 1.5 - 2 hours (depending on room temperature) and will only rise about 1/3 it’s size at most.

Preheat oven to 550º F, including steam pan.

Score bread, and place in oven. After 5 minutes reduce temperature to 450ºF.  Bake for 35-50 minutes, until nicely browned (205ºF).

Cool on rack at least for 2 hours before eating.

   I wanted to make a Semolina bread for my Father-in-law to take back home with him to North Carolina so I figured he would enjoy a porridge version.  I've been making some version of porridge bread a lot lately since I love the creamy and moist crumb you get from using this technique.

I created a starter using AP flour and Semolina flour and in the main dough I also added some Kamut flour.

I followed the same basic technique I have been using for this style of bread and cut the water down a little from the last multi-grain version I made.  Apparently I didn't cut it down enough since the final dough was very hydrated.  I made a mistake and let the dough over-proof slightly and when I went to put them in the oven both breads were very flat.  This caused a problem for me since I now couldn't fit both on the bottom stone of my oven so one had to go on the top.  The one on the top ended up getting malformed due to trying to fit in on the bottom shelf first.  I used this loaf for the crumb shot.

The color of the final baked bread is not as dark as it should be since I ended up letting some steam out of the oven when trying to figure out how to bake both loaves at the same time.

Nevertheless, the bread tasted great and had a wonderful creamy texture inside.  An added benefit of this style of bread is that it really keeps fresh for at least 5-7 days.

I added some photos from my gardens below, as now is the time for most of the summer flowers are in bloom.

Enjoy.

Here are the Zip files for the above BreadStorm files.

Levain Directions Build 1 (Using AP Starter at 66% Hydration for Seed)

Mix all the levain ingredients together  for about 1 minute and cover with plastic wrap.  Let it sit at room temperature for around 7-8 hours or until the starter has doubled.  I used my Proofer set at 81 degrees and it took about 4 hours.

Levain Directions Build 2

Add the remaining flour and water to the step 1 build and let set at room temperature of at 81 degrees in your Proofer until ready to use.  You can refrigerate it overnight or use it immediately in the main dough.  The Levain is ready when it has reached its peak and doubled in size with lots of activity.

Oat Porridge Directions

Add about 3/4's of the water called for in the porridge to the dry ingredients in a small pot set to low and stir constantly until all the water is absorbed.  Add the remainder of the water and keep stirring until you have a nice creamy and soft porridge.  Remove from the heat and let it come to room temperature before adding to the dough.  I put mine in the refrigerator and let it cool quicker.

 Main Dough Procedure

Mix the flours   and the water for about 1 minute.  Let the rough dough sit for about 20 minutes to an hour.  Next add the levain, cooled porridge and salt and mix on low for 4 minutes and speed #2 for another 2 minutes or by hand for about 6 minutes.   You should end up with a cohesive dough that is slightly tacky but very manageable.  Remove the dough from your bowl and place it in a lightly oiled bowl or work surface and do several stretch and folds.  Let it rest covered for 10-15 minutes and then do another stretch and fold.  Let it rest another 10-15 minutes and do one additional stretch and fold.  After a total of 2 hours place your covered bowl in the refrigerator and let it rest for 12 to 24 hours.  (Since I used my proofer I only let the dough sit out for 1.5 hours before refrigerating).  Note: this is a pretty wet dough so you may need to do a couple of additional stretch and folds.

When you are ready to bake remove the bowl from the refrigerator and let it set out at room temperature still covered for 1.5 to 2 hours.  Remove the dough and shape as desired.

The dough will take 1.5 to 2 hours depending on your room temperature and will only rise about 1/3 it's size at most.  Let the dough dictate when it is read to bake not the clock.

Around 45 minutes before ready to bake, pre-heat your oven to 550 degrees F. and prepare it for steam.  I have a heavy-duty baking pan on the bottom rack of my oven with 1 baking stone on above the pan and one on the top shelf.  I pour 1 cup of boiling water in the pan right after I place the dough in the oven.

Right before you are ready to put them in the oven, score as desired and then add 1 cup of boiling water to your steam pan or follow your own steam procedure.

After 5 minute lower the temperature to 450 degrees.  Bake for 35-50 minutes until the crust is nice and brown and the internal temperature of the bread is 205 degrees.

Take the bread out of the oven when done and let it cool on a bakers rack before for at least 2 hours before eating.

 I love challenge bakes and thanks to Karin from Brot and Bread and TFL we had plenty of fun with this one.  I won't repeat the background of this famous German Knight, but I will tell you that my apprentices Max and Lexi as well as Mookie were more inclined to bake a bread fit for the Black Knight who tried preventing King Arthur from continuing his quest for the Holy Grail.  I had to explain to them that unfortunately the Black Knight would have had much difficulty eating this bread having no appendages left to use.

Alas, either way I believe my third attempt at this hearty multi-grain porridge bread was well worth it and certainly worthy of a Knight with one hand or even no hands!

I used an Organic Six Grain Flake mixture from King Arthur Flour and added plenty of ancient grains and some potatoes for moisture as well.

My first 2 attempts at a similar bread were not worthy of a knight nor a knave as they both ended up looking like flying saucers for several reasons including accidentally adding too much water to the starter.  In any event the third and final version came out great and is a tasty and hearty bread with a thick crust and creamy crumb.

Here are the Zip files for the above BreadStorm files.

Levain Directions

I built the Levain up in two stages starting with my 66% Hydration AP starter.  You can adjust accordingly depending on your starter.

Levain Build 1

Mix all the levain ingredients together  for about 1 minute and cover with plastic wrap.  Let it sit at room temperature for around 7-8 hours or until the starter has doubled.  I used my proofer set at 83 degrees and it took about 4 hours.

Levain Build 2

Add the water, AP and Kamut flour to your Build 1 Levain and mix thoroughly until incorporated.  Cover and let rise until doubled which should take around 5-6 hours at room temperature.  You can now use this immediately in the main dough or refrigerate for 1-2 days before using.

Oat Porridge Directions

Add about 3/4's of the milk called for in the porridge to the dry ingredients in a small pot set to low and stir constantly until all the milk is absorbed.  Add the remainder of the milk and keep stirring until you have a nice creamy and soft porridge.  Remove from the heat and let it come to room temperature before adding to the dough.  I put mine in the refrigerator and let it cool quicker.

 Main Dough Procedure

Mix the flours  and the water for about 1 minute.  Let the rough dough sit for about 20 minutes to an hour.  Next add the levain, cooled porridge and salt and mix on low for 1 minute and then add the potatoes and honey.  Mix on speed #2 for another 5 minutes.   You should end up with a cohesive dough that is tacky but  manageable.  Remove the dough from your bowl and place it in a lightly oiled bowl or work surface and do several stretch and folds.  Let it rest covered for 10-15 minutes and then do another stretch and fold.  Let it rest another 10-15 minutes and do one additional stretch and fold.  After a total of 2 hours place your covered bowl in the refrigerator and let it rest for 12 to 24 hours.  (Since I used my proofer I only let the dough sit out for 1.5 hours before refrigerating).  Note: this is a pretty wet dough so you may need to do a couple of additional stretch and folds.

When you are ready to bake remove the bowl from the refrigerator and let it set out at room temperature still covered for 1.5 to 2 hours.  Remove the dough and shape as desired.

The dough will take 1.5 to 2 hours depending on your room temperature and will only rise about 1/3 it's size at most.  Let the dough dictate when it is read to bake not the clock.

Around 45 minutes before ready to bake, pre-heat your oven to 550 degrees F. and prepare it for steam.  I have a heavy-duty baking pan on the bottom rack of my oven with 1 baking stone on above the pan and one on the top shelf.  I pour 1 cup of boiling water in the pan right after I place the dough in the oven.

Right before you are ready to put them in the oven, score as desired and then add 1 cup of boiling water to your steam pan or follow your own steam procedure.

After 5 minute lower the temperature to 450 degrees.  Bake for 35-50 minutes until the crust is nice and brown and the internal temperature of the bread is 205 degrees.  (Note: since I made a large Miche I lowered the temperature after around 35 minutes to 425 degrees so the crust wouldn't burn).

Take the bread out of the oven when done and let it cool on a bakers rack before for at least 2 hours before eating.

The Cone Flowers are Starting to Bloom...my favorites

 These are by far the best hot dog rolls I have made yet.  I wanted to make a nice soft and fluffy hot dog bun without resorting to intensive kneading so I used my last version of these buns and added cream cheese to soften it up.  I also increased the % of Semolina and reduced the Caputo 00 flour.

To compensate for the 55% water content in the cream cheese I decreased the water in the overall dough but the water content for the cream cheese is not taken into consideration for the overall hydration of the dough.

I used most of the dough to make hot dogs using my nifty New England style hot dog bun pan and individually formed the buns before placing them in the pan.  Some people like to fill the pan with one rectangle of dough but I like the rolls bigger and fluffier so I used around 130 grams of dough for each hot dog bun.  The remainder of the dough I used for some sandwich/hamburger buns.

If you want some great tasting, fluffy hot dog buns go ahead and try this recipe and you will not be disappointed, that's for sure.

Here is the link to download the BreadStorm .Bun file.

Directions

Bring the milk up to a boil in a heavy-duty sauce pan and let it simmer for a couple of minutes.  Take it off the heat and let it cool to room temperature before using.

In the mean time leave your butter and cream cheese out at room temperature or soften in your microwave.

Mix flours with yeast to combine.  Next add remainder of the ingredients and mix on low for 1 minute and let the dough rest for 5 minutes.
Next, knead on medium-low speed (or with hands) for 2 minutes. Dough should be supple and still a little bit sticky (adjust with water if needed). Continue kneading for 4 more minutes, increasing speed to medium-high for last 30 seconds.

Take the dough out of your mixer and form it into a ball and place in a well oiled bowl or dough rising bucket.  Let it sit for 10 minutes and then do a set of stretch and folds.  Repeat the same procedure a total of 3 times within 40 minutes.  Place covered bowl with dough in your refrigerator overnight or up to 3 days.

On baking day, take the dough out of your refrigerator and let it sit at room temperature for around 2  hours until the dough is nice and puffy and has completely doubled from the original size.  (Note: this does not mean it doubles from the size it was after you took it out from the refrigerator).

For hot dog buns divide the dough into 130 gram pieces and flatten each piece out into a circle.  Pull up each side of the circle into the middle and then tuck each half like you are shaping a baguette.  Roll out evenly until you have the correct size to fit in your pan.  Cover with a moist towel or plastic wrap sprayed with cooking spray.  Let it sit at room temperature for about 2 hours until the buns have almost doubled in size and pass the poke test.

Around 30 minutes before ready to bake the rolls, pre-heat your oven to 450 degrees and prepare your oven for steam as well.  I use a heavy-duty pan in the bottom shelf of my oven and pour 1 cup of boiling water in right before placing the rolls in the oven.

Right before you are ready to bake the buns brush them with melted butter.

Bake the rolls at 450 degrees for the first 5 minutes and lower the oven to 425 degrees until they are nice and brown.  When you remove them from the oven, brush them with the melted butter again.

These should take about 25 minutes to cook thoroughly.  When done  let them cool on wire rack for at least half an hour before digging in if you can wait that long.

   I'm really loving the whole porridge in bread thing.  Last week I adapted the original version to my own technique and it came out great, so now I figured it was time to get some more whole grain goodness into this formula.

I decided to make a double sized recipe this time so I would have one to freeze for later in the week but didn't realize my baking stone is not big enough to fit 2 of these big boys at the same time.  I really need to get some baking stone squares to utilize the rest of my oven.  Anyway, I changed up the porridge part by adding cracked wheat and rye chops to the rolled oats along with milk instead of water.  I think this really added to the flavor of this bread in a good way.

Honeysuckle

I also added some whole rye to the main dough as well as increased the amount of whole wheat of which I used my freshly milled version.  The rest of the formula was the same as last time.

The final bread came out excellent, with the extra whole grains really giving this a much stronger sourdough flavor and nutty flavor.  Definitely a bread worth baking again and again.

I know some of you enjoy my photos from my gardens and some of the flowers are starting to bloom so I hope you don't mind that I inserted a few in this post.

Peony

Transcendentia-Spider Wort

Here are the Zip files for the above BreadStorm files.

Levain Directions

Mix all the levain ingredients together  for about 1 minute and cover with plastic wrap.  Let it sit at room temperature for around 7-8 hours or until the starter has doubled.  I used my proofer set at 83 degrees and it took about 4 hours.

Oat Porridge Directions

Add about 3/4's of the milk called for in the porridge to the dry ingredients in a small pot set to low and stir constantly until all the milk is absorbed.  Add the remainder of the milk and keep stirring until you have a nice creamy and soft porridge.  Remove from the heat and let it come to room temperature before adding to the dough.  I put mine in the refrigerator and let it cool quicker.

 Main Dough Procedure

Mix the flours and wheat germ  and the water for about 1 minute.  Let the rough dough sit for about 20 minutes to an hour.  Next add the levain, cooled porridge and salt and mix on low for 4 minutes and speed #2 for another 2 minutes or by hand for about 6 minutes.   You should end up with a cohesive dough that is slightly tacky but very manageable.  Remove the dough from your bowl and place it in a lightly oiled bowl or work surface and do several stretch and folds.  Let it rest covered for 10-15 minutes and then do another stretch and fold.  Let it rest another 10-15 minutes and do one additional stretch and fold.  After a total of 2 hours place your covered bowl in the refrigerator and let it rest for 12 to 24 hours.  (Since I used my proofer I only let the dough sit out for 1.5 hours before refrigerating).  Note: this is a pretty wet dough so you may need to do a couple of additional stretch and folds.

When you are ready to bake remove the bowl from the refrigerator and let it set out at room temperature still covered for 1.5 to 2 hours.  Remove the dough and shape as desired.

The dough will take 1.5 to 2 hours depending on your room temperature and will only rise about 1/3 it's size at most.  Let the dough dictate when it is read to bake not the clock.

Around 45 minutes before ready to bake, pre-heat your oven to 550 degrees F. and prepare it for steam.  I have a heavy-duty baking pan on the bottom rack of my oven with 1 baking stone on above the pan and one on the top shelf.  I pour 1 cup of boiling water in the pan right after I place the dough in the oven.

Right before you are ready to put them in the oven, score as desired and then add 1 cup of boiling water to your steam pan or follow your own steam procedure.

After 5 minute lower the temperature to 450 degrees.  Bake for 35-50 minutes until the crust is nice and brown and the internal temperature of the bread is 205 degrees.

Take the bread out of the oven when done and let it cool on a bakers rack before for at least 2 hours before eating.

Below was my dinner from a few nights ago.  Nothing as fancy as DA, but not too shabby :).  Some pasta with caramelized onions, grilled red peppers, grilled corn, fresh mozzarella, shaved Parmesan, and mushroom pork sausages along with a grilled slice of Porridge Bread.

Clematis

Oriental Poppy

Assorted Sedum

Assorted Shade Garden Plants