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August 8, 2023 - 5:27pm
alfanso's picture
alfanso

Go big or go home, Part 2

Well, as with last time I was already home, but went big anyway.  Several years ago I posted another of this ilk but today's offering is for ciabatta.  Two days prior I had baked a trio of ciabatta to serve to our afternoon guests, and any remainder went out the door with them when they left.  

It was time for more.  And this time I decided to bake two loaves using the same 1500g mix.  But instead of being fair and equitable by dividing as close to 750g each, I went big at 1000g on one and the puny-looking bread is 500g.  This should put the larger loaf in perspective.

79% overall hydration (76% Water, 3% EVOO), 80% PFF biga at 66% hydration.

The Sunday fare...

 

Today's Brobdingnagian loaf.  Considering the consistency of ciabatta dough, it was a very minor challenge moving it from couche to peel, hence a bit more misshapen than my usual ciabatta barrel loaf.

 

We have a relatively new and quite active and quite welcomed TFLer, tpassin, who is providing fine detailed support on the site.  But one comment which I did have an exception to was the other day when "t" said that ciabatta was a flat loaf, or something to that effect.  I'm here to testify that this is not always the case.

I rest my couche case.

August 8, 2023 - 3:55pm
Benito's picture
Benito

Tuna, Marinated Vegetables, Swiss Cheese and Parmigiano Reggiano Sourdough Roman Pizza

Time for pizza dinner again.  I’ve gone back to all purpose flour and spelt to achieve a more open crumb.  I added a cold retard overnight for convenience, extensibility and more flavor in the crust.

I marinated Kalamata olives, roasted red peppers, onions, artichokes and pickled banana peppers in olive oil, homemade red wine vinegar, salt, pepper and oregano for several hours.  When the dough was stretched and in the pan, Swiss cheese and half of the Parmigiano reggiano was applied first.  This was baked for 10 mins before applying the marinated vegetables and then the remaining Parmigiano reggiano cheese.



For pizza on an 17” x 11” pan

 

Overnight levain

Duration: 12 hours (overnight) at warm room temperature: 74°–76°F (23°–24°C).

 

In the morning mix the dough when the levain is at peak.  To the bowl of the stand mixer add water, salt, sugar and diastatic malt, stir to dissolve.  Then add the levain, stir to dissolve.  Finally add the flours.  Mix on low speed until there is no dry flour then increase to medium and mix until the dough is moderately developed.  Then slowly drizzle in the olive oil stopping until each addition is incorporated.  Finally mix until good gluten development.

 

Remove the dough from the bowl and do a bench letterfold.  Transfer the bowl to an oiled bowl for bulk fermentation.  

Do three sets of coil folds at 30 mins intervals and then allow the dough to rest until it reaches 40-50% rise.

 

Optional cold retard.  Place the dough in the fridge until the next early afternoon.  This is done primarily for convenience.

 

Allow the dough to continue to ferment at a warm temperature 80°F or so until it reaches 100% rise then shape.

 

Shaping 

Oil the pan well and brush the bottom and the sides with the olive oil.

 

Thoroughly flour the top of the dough in the bowl, release it from the sides of the bowl using a bowl scraper then flip it onto the counter.  Flour the exposed dough well with flour and flour the counter around the sides of the dough well.  Using your bowl scraper push some of that flour under the edges of the dough.

Using your hands, get your fingers well under the dough and stretch it out into a rectangle.  Next using your fingers gently press them into the dough to elongate the dough.  Flip the dough over and repeat aiming to get the dough to about 75% of the area of the pan.  

Transfer the dough to the oiled pan by folding it in half and unfolding it once in the pan.  Gently stretch the dough out to touch the edges of the pan.  If it resists stretching, wait 15 mins and try again after the gluten has relaxed.

 

Aim to bake the pizza once the total rise is 120-130%.  About 1 hour prior to baking pre-heat the oven to 500°F placing your backing steel on the lowest rack of the oven.

 

Bake the pizza.

Drizzle olive oil onto the dough.  Then using a large spoon, spread a thin layer of pizza sauce over the dough from edge to edge.  Slide the baking pan into the oven on top of the baking surface. Decrease the oven temperature to 425°F (220°C) and bake for 10 minutes. Transfer the pan to a wire rack and sprinkle on the grated cheese and any other toppings. Lightly drizzle some olive oil over the entire pizza. Slide the sheet pan back into the oven on the baking surface and bake for 20 minutes more. The cheese should be melted and the bottom crust well colored.







My index of bakes.

August 8, 2023 - 2:03pm
kqbui1995's picture
kqbui1995

30% Whole Wheat

Hey all, here is today's bake. I've recently fallen in love with Addie's (Breadstalker) method and it has taught me lots about how long to extend bulk, and key indicators of a nicely fermented dough. As such, I was searching her instagram for posts about a nice 25%-30% whole wheat loaf that I could try. I couldn't find exactly what I wanted, so I just made up a couple ratios to my liking (learning the meaning of how sourdough isn't really recipe driven- it's a method!). 

It's 30% stoneground whole wheat (bob's red mill), 70% King Arthur Bread Flour, 2% salt, 20% levain, 87% hydration. Autolysed for about 1 hour, then added ripe levain. 30 minutes later, added salt. 30 minutes later, did a lamination, followed by 4 coil folds (separated by 45 minutes, except for the last fold, which occurred 1 hour after third fold). Bulked for about 8 hours 15 minutes at 74-75 F. 

Here's the dough after bulk- poofy, yet surprisingly still a little strong. I felt many air bubbles popping while shaping, which leads to mixed feelings (good since it means nice fermentation, bad since I don't want to pop so many bubbles during shaping!). The strength of the dough made me feel like I could have pushed bulk a little longer, but I wanted to go to sleep. 

 

 

11 hours in the fridge, then I baked at 500 degrees for 20 minutes with lid on with challenger breadware, and a couple ice cubes. Lid off at 450 for 20 minutes. Foiled the bottom and sides halfway 10 minutes in at 450. After 20 minutes at 450, I then reduced to 380 and baked an additional 5 minutes to help dry out the loaf and create a thicker crust. The result was a very light loaf with nice color and shine. The crumb was creamy, tender, and had a slight chew. It was a sour- but not overbearingly so. However, I think I prefer white bread (or at least einkorn)- this tasted just a *bit* too healthy. And the ferment slice by slice was not perfectly even, and I actually think it could have been more proofed (maybe 20-40 minutes). 

 

 

August 7, 2023 - 3:53pm
Benito's picture
Benito

Chocolate Sour Cherry Cake

I love sour cherries and I love chocolate, so when I came across this cake recipe I knew I had to make it.



For a 13x9-inch metal baking pan

Active Time

45 minutes

Total Time

4 hours

This chocolate cherry cake recipe delivers the flavors of Black Forest cakebut requires a fraction of the commitment. There’s no days-long prep time or (let’s be honest) fussy icing, and you can use either your fresh summer cherry haul or that stash of frozen cherries you’ve had your eye on. Just promise us one thing: You’ll use sour or tart cherries, not sweet, as their tang will offset the rich chocolaty crumb. And by all means, avoid canned cherries, Technicolor maraschino cherries, and packaged cherry pie filling, all of which may contain sweeteners that could make the cake cloying.

To start you’ll toss those cherries with sugar and almond extract, then set them aside at room temperature until their juices form a flavorful syrup. You’ll only need ½ cup of this syrup for the cake batter, but save any extra to add to seltzer or use in cocktails.

For the chocolate, spring for good-quality cocoa powder since it’s the main flavoring in the cake batter. Pouring hot water over the cocoa may seem strange, but this action blooms the powder, unlocking its bold chocolate flavor. For the mix-ins, use chopped dark chocolate (bittersweet or semisweet) if you prefer it over chocolate chips.

To serve, simply dust the top of the cake with powdered sugar. Or if you want to get a little extra, add a scoop of vanilla ice cream along with chocolate fudge sauce and a dollop of whipped cream to each slice. For birthday cake vibes, decorate with swoops of cream cheese–chocolate frosting or a chocolate ganache glaze.

 

Ingredients

12 servings

1 lb. fresh or frozen (not thawed) pitted sour cherries (about 3 cups)

⅔ cup (134 g) granulated sugar

1 tsp. almond extract

1 cup boiling water

¾ cup unsweetened cocoa powder (not Dutch-process)

1 tsp. vanilla extract

2 cups (240-250 g) all-purpose flour

1¼ tsp. baking soda

½ tsp. Diamond Crystal or ¼ tsp. Morton kosher salt

2 sticks (1 cup) unsalted butter, softened

1¼ cups (250 g) packed dark brown sugar

4 large eggs

1 cup (7 oz.) semisweet or dark chocolate chips

Powdered sugar and whipped cream to garnish (optional)

 

Instructions

Step 1
Toss 1 lb. fresh or frozen pitted sour cherries (about 3 cups) with ⅔ cup (134 g) sugar and 1 tsp. almond extract in a small mixing bowl and let stand at least 2 hours. Drain cherries, reserving ½ cup cherry juices.
Step 2
Preheat oven to 350°F. Butter and flour a 13x9-inch metal baking pan, knocking out excess flour. Whisk together 1 cup boiling water and ¾ cup unsweetened cocoa powder (not Dutch-process) in a small bowl until smooth, then whisk in reserved cherry juices and 1 tsp. vanilla extract.
Step 3
Whisk 2 cups (25 g) all-purpose flour, 1¼ tsp. baking soda, and ½ tsp. Diamond Crystal or ¼ tsp. Morton kosher salt in another small bowl.
Step 4
Beat 2 sticks (1 cup) unsalted butter, softened with 1¼ cups (250 g) packed dark brown sugar in a large bowl with an electric mixer at medium speed until pale and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Add 4 large eggs, one egg at a time, beating well after each addition. Add flour mixture and cocoa mixture alternately in batches, beginning and ending with flour mixture and mixing at low speed until blended (batter may look curdled).
Step 5
Pour batter into pan, smoothing top, and scatter the reserved cherries and 1 cup (7 oz.) semisweet chocolate chips evenly over the batter (they’ll sink as it bakes). Bake in middle of oven until a toothpick or tester inserted in center comes out clean, 35 to 40 minutes. Cool cake completely in pan on a rack, then cut into squares. If using, dust with powdered sugar and serve with whipped cream.
Do ahead: The chocolate-covered cherry flavor of this cake becomes more pronounced after a day or two. Cake can be made up to 3 days ahead and kept in an airtight container at room temperature. 

 

This cake took 48 mins to be fully baked in the center reaching 205°F.  Although the recipe said that the cherries and chocolate chips would fall into the batter as the cake baked, that wasn’t my experience.  When I make this again I will press them into the batter a bit.

 

Everyone who had this cake loved it.  It is very decadent and very chocolately.  The cake did improve over the 3 days and was even better on day 3.  Make sure you use sour cherries as sweet cherries would just be too sweet for this cake.  I used dark chocolate chips and I think milk chocolate chips would be far too sweet.  I will definitely make this again, the combination of the sour cherries and chocolate are just wonderful.

 

Make sure your cocoa powder isn’t alkalinized (Dutch Process) as the acidity of the cocoa is needed in order to leaven the batter when it reacts with the baking soda.

My index of bakes.

August 7, 2023 - 4:25am
Kjknits's picture
Kjknits

Our everyday, 100% whole wheat, freshly milled sandwich bread

Posting my freshly-milled, 100% whole wheat sandwich bread recipe…this one is an adaptation of my everyday sandwich bread that I posted here way back in 2007. Unfortunately the photos in that post are broken, but it was a white bread with wheat bran added in for interest and nutrition. Once I got my KoMo Fidibus XL in 2014, I switched over to 100% whole wheat bread. My family never even minded, because the bread still came out soft, fluffy, and mild-tasting due to using white whole wheat. Make sure your wheat berries are golden and plump. I’ve had some bad berries that made dense, poorly-risen bread. Achieving a good elastic windowpane is key with this bread, as well. 

Makes four loaves, but recipe can be cut in half. We slice when cool and freeze until needed, removing slices and letting them thaw for a few minutes on the plate. 

3.5 lbs wheat berries (I like 1 lb kamut, then the rest in hard white wheat)

1 stick unsalted butter, melted

4 cups water (cold or room temp…I use cold filtered from the fridge dispenser)

2/3 cup sugar

2 tbsp instant yeast

4 tsp salt

Grind wheat berries. Put water, melted butter, sugar and yeast in bowl of stand mixer (I have a 7 qt Viking professional. If you’re using a smaller mixer, I recommend halving the recipe). Add a few cups of the flour and beat with the flat beater or dough hook at low to medium speed until well mixed. Add a few more cups of flour and the salt. Beat at low to medium speed until well mixed. Continue adding flour a cup or two at a time. If using the flat beater, switch to the dough hook when the dough gets thick. After the rest of the flour has been added, knead using the hook until the dough passes the windowpane test. Oil the bowl, cover and let proof for about 1 to 1.5 hours. Divide into four pieces (about 1.5 lbs each) and form each into a tight loaf. (I flatten, then roll up each piece, adding plenty of tension to the outside of the loaf as I’m rolling it.) Place in greased 9x5 pans, cover loosely, and proof for about 35 minutes. Preheat the oven to 375° while the loaves are rising. Bake for 28-32 minutes, or until internal temp of 195° is reached. Remove from pans and cool on wire rack, covered with a kitchen towel.


August 6, 2023 - 7:04pm
camerjones's picture
camerjones

What I’ve been baking lately

Hello there,

 

It’s been a very long time since my last post, and I have no idea of what that even was.  Mostly I use The Fresh Loaf as a resource, and I must say I am always amazed at the detail in most of the posts. I myself am a rather haphazard baker, mostly making the same thing (Tartine style loaf) over and over. 

I’ve never really made a good ciabatta, a fact that always gnawed at me, and discovered a had a recipe that I has stashed away in my iPad notes that I had never tried. It’s the Ponsford ciabatta recipe, and it really worked amazingly well. Given the cost of bread nowadays, I plan to make this in large batches and freeze it since it defrosts so quickly.

The other bread I have made lately is the Pumpkinseed Rye from Stanley Ginsberg’s The Rye Baker, except it has no pumpkinseeds in it. Turns out my oldest son is allergic to pumpkinseeds, a fact I became aware of the last time I made this bread. I replaced it with sunflower seeds, and I love this bread. It’s roughly 60% rye, and has an amazing texture. I’d post a picture, but I have tried but have no idea how to do so. The upload process told my file was too big. Oh well.

I do have one question after all this.  I keep a firm rye sourdough in the fridge ala No Fuss No Muss courtesy of dabrownman (many thanks, by the way) but lately I have found I am getting a thin layer of white mold over my culture within about 10 days of refreshing it. Does anybody have a favorite container they keep a firm culture in?

 

Thanks very much,

Cameron

 

August 5, 2023 - 5:18pm
Kjknits's picture
Kjknits

Sourdough hamburger buns




These turned out great. I made them 3 oz each. The recipe is from Farmhouse on Boone, but I forgot the egg in the dough and my timeline wasn’t the same as hers. I made the dough with my active starter yesterday afternoon, let it sit on the counter until about 8pm, then put it in the fridge overnight. This morning, I took it out and let it sit on the counter. Around 1pm, I shaped the rolls, then let them sit until around 4pm. Baked for about 18 minutes at 400°. 

I’ll leave the egg out every time I make these in the future. They were the lightest, softest, but still sturdy buns of my baking dreams. So good!

August 4, 2023 - 3:29pm
yozzause's picture
yozzause

BREWER'S BREAKFAST BREAD LOAF

Yesterday a fellow bee keeper and Fremantle Bee Buddy member made a batch of Stout!  it's amazing our similarities he is a Bus driver at the Palmyra depot as was I, he loves Stout as do I, Into Bee keeping as am i. Interested in Wine and vineyards as am i.  Any way i was interested in the Spent grain from the Wort process, i had used it once before when i obtained some from "Running with Thieves" boutique brewery. When i went and picked up the spent grain Stewart said he was also keen on trying to make a loaf using the spent grain so i said i'd email him a recipe which i duly did.The next morning i thought perhaps i needed to run the recipe that id put together whilst the Spent grain was still freshThe recipe is flour 500g (100) salt 10g (2) yeast 10g (2) olive oil 10g (2) spent grain 75g (15) Wallaby bread improver 2.5g (0.5) water 325g (65)Bakers% in bracketsBulk Fermentation time was 1 hour 15minutes with finished dough temperature of 26Ctotal yield 930g i made 2 small loaves.   dough after mixing completed   dough now nicely risen  another shot of the BF   the 2 baked loaves  the spent grain bits showing up in the loaf  The slice revealing the Spent Grain Footnote  i just reviewed my previous Spent grain post, https://www.thefreshloaf.com/node/68312/spent-grain-stout-brew .   i also included STOUT in the liquid which gave a nice chocolate colour and malty finish  it also had the spent grain at 25%  As an interesting side fact to that post the Chef loved the bread  and i did hear that "Running with Thieves" (apprpriately named it seems)  approached the small bakery nearby to see if they could make the bread for them but were not interested, shame really because i could have probably got someone to do it for them commercially.  WOW That was 2 years ago.

August 3, 2023 - 4:42pm
Benito's picture
Benito

30% Whole Wheat Challah

I needed to get a challah baked quickly because we were hosting a last minute brunch for which I was going to bake a ham, cheese, mushroom, red pepper and onion strata.  So with little time to plan I bake this challah that relies on IDY for leavening.  I was surprised at the slight tearing that this loaf had between the strands.  At the time of baking the dough didn’t bounce back at all with the poke test.  This is usually quite a reliable sign that the challah is well fermented, but in this case it could have used a bit more time in final proofing.  Nonetheless the challah was delicious and excellent for the strata.  I cut the bread into cubes and allowed it to stale overnight, putting the strata together in the morning.






Procedures

 

  1. In the morning, in a large bowl or the bowl of a stand mixer, add the IDY then water, then mix in the 4 eggs, salt, honey and oil then mix until completely combined.
  2. Mix in all the flour until it forms a shaggy mass.
  3. Knead the dough on the bench or in a stand mixer until it is smooth and there is moderate gluten development. The dough should be quite firm.  Mix until gluten is well developed.
  4. Transfer the dough to a lightly oiled bowl and cover it tightly. Ferment for about 2 hours. It should approximately double in size. 
  5. To make one loaf, divide the dough into two equal portions, and divide each portion into the number of pieces needed for the type of braiding you plan to do, so divide each by 3 to make 1 six strand braided loaf.
  6. Form each piece into a ball and allow them to rest, covered, for 10-20 minutes to relax the gluten.
  7. Form each piece into a strand about 14” long. (I like Glezer's technique for this. On an un-floured board, flatten each piece with the palm of your hand. Using a rolling pin, roll out each piece to about ¼ inch thickness. Then roll up each piece into a tight tube. Using the palms of your hands, lengthen each piece by rolling each tube back and forth on the bench with light pressure. Start with your hands together in the middle of the tube and, as you roll it, move your hands gradually outward. Taper the ends of the tube by rotating your wrists slightly so that the thumb side of your hand is slightly elevated, as you near the ends of the tube.).  You can consider rolling each rope of dough in two different types of seeds at this point for a decorative effect, or only a few of the strands.
  8. Braid the loaves.  Braiding somewhat loosely, not too tight. 
  9. Place loaf on parchment paper on a sheet pan. Brush with egg wash. Cover well with plastic wrap (brush with oil so it doesn’t stick to the dough) or place the pans in a food grade plastic bag, and proof at room temperature until the loaves have tripled or quadrupled in volume. About 2 hours.
  10. If it's quadrupled and when poked the dough only springs back a little, preheat the oven to 180°C/350°F.  Gauge the dough again. Stick a finger lightly in the dough. If it makes an indentation that doesn't spring back, the dough is ready to be baked. If not, wait a bit more.
  11. Pre-heat the oven to 350ºF with the rack in the lower third of the oven about 30 mins before final proof is complete.
  12. Brush each loaf with an egg lightly beaten with a pinch of salt.  I do this twice in total.
  13. Optionally, sprinkle the loaves with sesame seeds and/or poppy seeds.
  14. Bake until done – 30-40 minutes rotating half way.  If baking as one large loaf may take a bit longer, bake until sounds hollow or reaches 190ºF in the middle.
  15. Cool completely before slicing.

My index of bakes.

August 3, 2023 - 4:29pm
Kjknits's picture
Kjknits

Sourdough pretzels

These were pretty tasty. I used my KAB starter, KAB bread flour, and pretzel salt from Boise Salt Co. The recipe is from Little Spoon Farm. We have an all-time fave soft pretzel recipe from an Amish cookbook I bought at a craft fair, but that uses regular yeast and I wanted to use my new starter. These are equally good as our fave commercial yeast pretzels…maybe a little chewier? 




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