I thought it was not so that CO2 builds up but rather so that the surface doesn't dry out while CO2 builds up internally.

Maybe you are correct. But you could just lay a little plastic ( like a plastic bag ) mostly over the dough. I have always seen, " tightly cover the top" and I think I have heard "to let the CO2 build up', but not sure about that.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QesK_XwDdxU



Nine strands was a surprise to me.

Bread geeks, take note! The new technique, developed in a lab in Naples, involves the smart application of materials science and physics to make airy, bubbly dough without fermentation.
https://www.npr.org/sections/health-sho ... pad&f=1053

Dave148 wrote:Bread geeks, take note! The new technique, developed in a lab in Naples, involves the smart application of materials science and physics to make airy, bubbly dough without fermentation.
https://www.npr.org/sections/health-sho ... pad&f=1053

The time lapse video of this technique is super cool!
So glad I don't have a yeast allergy like the scientist featured in this story....


I've been making lots of multigrain sourdough seeded loaves and playing around with adding different combinations of seeds on the inside and outside.






Whole wheat sourdough with olive oil and honey remains one of my favorite loaves

Made some Irish Brown Bread from an Odlums mix that we liked very much and was very easy to make. I ordered the Odlums from Amazon which was quite expensive. Has anyone seen Odlums in stores locally? (In Evanston, but willing to travel a bit.) Thanks.

The nearby World Market does not have it in-store.

bw77 wrote:Made some Irish Brown Bread from an Odlums mix that we liked very much and was very easy to make. I ordered the Odlums from Amazon which was quite expensive. Has anyone seen Odlums in stores locally? (In Evanston, but willing to travel a bit.) Thanks.

The nearby World Market does not have it in-store.

I noticed Walmart may have it.

Regards,
Cathy2

Unfortunately it's sold by a 3rd party Walmart seller for a really high price. Supposedly World Markets in Evanston, Lincoln Park, Oakbrook and Kildeer have it in store for 3.99. Worth a call.

Thanks. Stopped into World Market in Evanston on Saturday and no luck. Will try calling the others.

Tried some fancy shaping/scoring with my bread this weekend--pretty happy with how it turned out...

IMG_3042 by thaiobsessed, on Flickr


IMG_3044 by thaiobsessed, on Flickr

Thaiobsessed,

Did you learn this watching a youtube video? If yes, is it possible to see the link?

That is a really super job.

Regards,
CAthy2

Cathy2 wrote:Thaiobsessed,

Did you learn this watching a youtube video? If yes, is it possible to see the link?

That is a really super job.

Regards,
CAthy2

I think it was on instagram but I can't find the thread. It was pretty simple to do (I've had some not great results with fancy scoring attempts in the past)--I laid 3 long pieces of kitchen twine over a round banneton for an overnight cold proof. The next morning, I tied the strings, flipped the boule onto a peel and put it in the oven.

I've been making lots of bread from Greg Wade's (Publican) Bread Head cookbook. I love the flavor combos and ideas. But I'm not sure I've ever had a cookbook with such poor proofreading--I've found significant errors in several recipes. Weight conversions are off, the listed weights of ingredients (like water!) vary from recipe to recipe. One recipe, when made as written, yield 'dough' the consistency of pancake batter. Despite this, I find myself going back to the book again and again, though I've been modifying the recipes. My favorite 'recipe' is the sourdough with cornmeal porridge, Mexican chiles, and pepitas--I've riffed on it probably half a dozen times with different kinds of chiles and cornmeal.







The Farmer's Favorite is also one of my favorites (the farmer and I agree on that ) with lots of seeds inside and out (including kalonji*** seeds, which I had never cooked with).





The seeded pumpernickel and farmhouse sourdough, malted rye are also very nice. The malted rye uses cracked rye malt--I tracked this down at Gnome Brew (2026 W. Montrose--proprietor was one of the nicest, most helpful folks I've ever met and I left there with free beer and bought some barley malt for bagels).

Malted rye





***side note/question on Nigella/Kalonji seeds--Greg Wade says to seek out Kalonji seeds and use Nigella seeds if you can't find them but everything I've found online suggest they are the same. I got some from Patel Bros on Devon and they are labeled Kalonji (onion seeds). Anyone have insight on this?

I’m certainly impressed with your bread making skills!
-Richard

budrichard wrote:I’m certainly impressed with your bread making skills!
-Richard

Me too. Beautiful work, Becca!

=R=

budrichard wrote:I’m certainly impressed with your bread making skills!
-Richard

Me too. Beautiful work, Becca!

Thanks Ronnie and Richard!!

Nice bread - especially the shaping and color!

Serious Eats on kalonji: https://www.seriouseats.com/spice-hunti ... onion-seed
which agrees with Penzey's take: https://www.penzeys.com/online-catalog/ ... -1250/pd-s

My sister-in-law has been making bagels from this recipe. I tried it too, here's how they came out:
Very bagel-like for a first try. Pic is considerably darker than real life. With a little tuning up of the process, I anticipate they'll give most bakery ones a run for it.

Very nice. Can I get a dozen with onion?

tjr wrote:My sister-in-law has been making bagels from this recipe. I tried it too, here's how they came out:
Very bagel-like for a first try. Pic is considerably darker than real life. With a little tuning up of the process, I anticipate they'll give most bakery ones a run for it.

Those are gorgeous bagels!

I've been making bread with Janie's Mill Artisan Bread and turkey red wheat flours. The flours impart terrific flavor but I like to mix in a little King Arthur white bread flour--with out it, the bread is a little on the dense side



This turmeric/caramelized onion bread is one of my favorites (this batch was a little underproofed).



Mostly KA bread flour with about 30% whole wheat

Very nice looking loaves! The outer texture is unique. Banneton raised?

Based on what I see, ‘thiaobssed’ I have ordered Janie’s Organic Sifted Artisan Bread Flour, Organic Whole-Kernel Bread Flour and some Organic Silky Smooth Pastry Flour.
Most of the flour sold including KA is milled at large Industrial plants to order. At the start of Covid, flour was hard to get, so I ordered 50# bags of KA Sir Galahad and Sir Lancelot.
These flours have served me well but I am almost out of them.
I like that Janie’s is artisan milled.
As to the Pastry Flour, I use Jacques Pepin’s recipe for Puff of which he has three different versions, depending on your time and effort.
Usually I use the simplest but sometimes I go the whole route.
The last with KA Bread Flour was a little crispy, so back to Pastry Flour.
-Richard

Baked another batch of Claire Saffitz's Pull-Apart Sour Cream & Chive rolls to take to our family's Easter gathering later today . . .


A tisket, a tasket . . .

=R=

ronnie_suburban wrote:Baked another batch of Claire Saffitz's Pull-Apart Sour Cream & Chive rolls to take to our family's Easter gathering later today . . .


A tisket, a tasket . . .

=R=

Those look amazing, Ron! I may have to give that recipe a try.

LynnB wrote:

ronnie_suburban wrote:Baked another batch of Claire Saffitz's Pull-Apart Sour Cream & Chive rolls to take to our family's Easter gathering later today . . .


A tisket, a tasket . . .

=R=

Those look amazing, Ron! I may have to give that recipe a try.

Thanks, Lynn. It's a super solid recipe. And do you see how every roll is a slightly different size? I meant to do that!

=R=

Hi All - there are some beautiful looking breads on this thread! You all are talented bakers

So I made this babka for Easter Breakfast. It looked beautiful (if I do say so myself), but it turned out sort of gummy in spots even though it had an internal temp of 190 when I took it out of the oven. My kitchen was cold - would under-proofing cause a gummy texture?

In any case - I loved the flavor so I'll be trying again:

Recipe: https://smittenkitchen.com/2018/12/baklava-babka/

zorkmead wrote:Hi All - there are some beautiful looking breads on this thread! You all are talented bakers

So I made this babka for Easter Breakfast. It looked beautiful (if I do say so myself), but it turned out sort of gummy in spots even though it had an internal temp of 190 when I took it out of the oven. My kitchen was cold - would under-proofing cause a gummy texture?

In any case - I loved the flavor so I'll be trying again:

Recipe: https://smittenkitchen.com/2018/12/baklava-babka/

Wow - that looks great! The answer to your question is yes. Under-proofing can definitely make things gummy/dense. I also have a cold kitchen/house and a friend who bakes a lot gave me a useful tip. Place pot of warm or hot water in the oven before you proof. The oven gets warmer than your kitchen but it's much more manageable and gentle than actually turning the oven on. I've used this method a few times and find it especially helpful when rising enriched doughs, which need a bit more time and oomph to get where they're going.

=R=

I have never made bread. I want to know how and am fearful of the process. Going to take bread making 101 this weekend at Bettie’s Chicago. I hope it tempers my anxiety around kneading and proofing.

Wow - that looks great! The answer to your question is yes. Under-proofing can definitely make things gummy/dense. I also have a cold kitchen/house and a friend who bakes a lot gave me a useful tip. Place pot of warm or hot water in the oven before you proof. The oven gets warmer than your kitchen but it's much more manageable and gentle than actually turning the oven on. I've used this method a few times and find it especially helpful when rising enriched doughs, which need a bit more time and oomph to get where they're going.

=R=

Thank you for your response! I may have to try that hot water tip next time, though there is a very real danger that I'll forget about the bread rising in the oven and turn it on for something else.

This week I tried English muffins for the first time. They are decidedly not-great. I actually think the recipe had issues (too much salt, too much yeast, among other things). Now I'm on a mission to find a new recipe to try after we manage to finish them (I can't stand to throw out food). You are having such great success with Claire Saffitz's recipes, so I may try hers.

I'm really enjoying the tone of this forum. I'm happy to have found these conversations about good (and bad) food adventures.

- zorkmead

Proofing: Instead of the oven, I use an overturned big transparent storage container like this: https://www.target.com/p/16qt-clear-sto ... A-80162140 . Set the bread on a big cutting board, microwave a mug of water until boiling, put the box on top. Leaves the oven free for preheating or other uses plus provides a humid environment so the dough's surface doesn't dry out.

English muffins: Please post how the search goes, what worked and what didn't. I've tried various recipes and never found the perfect one. So far, the best has been from Rose Beranbaum's Bread Bible, a relatively simple dough and griddle-cooked-only method. I've thought about making the crumpets from the same book but haven't bought crumpet rings.

New topic: Has anyone tried Martin Sorge's Dinkel Stollen recipe from Wednesday's Tribune ( https://www.chicagotribune.com/2024/04/ ... ecreation/ ) Interesting and complicated, plus odd timing for a stollen recipe - it's usually thought of as a Christmas treat.

jilter wrote:I have never made bread. I want to know how and am fearful of the process. Going to take bread making 101 this weekend at Bettie’s Chicago. I hope it tempers my anxiety around kneading and proofing.

Remember that the absolute worst thing you can do is make a bad loaf of bread and learn something. There is nothing to be fearful about.