Bread Baking Results - 2016
Listed below are the breads that I baked during the fifth year of my bread baking journey.
1/26/2016 Loaves #105 & #106
Honeyed Spelt and Oat Levain
For Christmas 2015, I received a new bread baking book ('Sourdough' - by Sarah Owens) from Roxie. So, using this new gift, I baked a loaf based on Sarah Owens' technique & formula ('Honeyed Spelt and Oat Levain'). In addition, I used spelt flour that Betsy & Lucas had been unable to use, along with some good honey that Betsy & Lucas had given us. I was very pleasantly surprised by the results: my dough slashing was the smoothest I had done; oven spring was great; appearance was very good; and the taste was very good, exceeded my expectations. I'll definitely bake this bread again.
1/27/2016 Loaves #107 & #108
Smoked Chili Bread
Using a new bread baking book ('Sourdough' - by Sarah Owens) that I received at Christmas from Roxie, I attempted to bake a loaf based on Sarah Owens' technique & formula ('Smoked Chili Bread'). The recipe called for ground smoked chilies - well good old Scott didn't have much luck finding smoked chilies, so substituted with a can of chipotle in adobe sauce, using way too much of the adobe sauce. In any event, I thought about aborting this effort before even going through fermentation. I avoided that temptation, baked the bread, and tried it. The flavor was sorta strange, but after tasting it, I decided to NOT throw it away. I would NOT make this bread again using the same ingredients, but would consider trying it again using the recommended smoked chilies.
2/25/2016 Loaves #109 & #110
Honeyed Spelt and Oat Levain
I made 2 loaves of Honeyed Spelt & Oat bread again (only the best one pictured). Recipe based on 'Sourdough' by Sarah Owens. I performed a bit of an experiment with the 2 loaves. The process I used was identical for both loaves until the 30 minutes before I placed each in the oven. I had proofed both doughs in the refrigerator over night and then took 1 at a time out to bake. I brought the 1st loaf (pictured) to room temperature on the counter about 30 minutes before baking. I did the same thing with the 2nd loaf, except the 2nd loaf had it's final 30 minutes on top of the warm stove during the end of baking the 1st loaf. I believe the 2nd loaf was over-proofed, as it collapsed somewhat when I slashed it and didn't have nearly the same over-spring as loaf#1. Of course, Loaf#2 was also in the refrigerator about 45 minutes longer than Load#1, but I don't believe that should have mattered.
3/11/2016 Loaf #111
Rustic Artisanal No-knead Bread
This was the second time that I've baked this bread and I had the identical issues both times.
Issue#1: the dough stuck to the banneton and in my effort to extract the dough, I ended up with a misshapen loaf.
Issue#2: I didn't receive much oven spring and I believe this is the result of over-proofing the dough. The taste, crumb, and crust were actually fairly decent, but the appearance left much to be desired.
Issue#1: the dough stuck to the banneton and in my effort to extract the dough, I ended up with a misshapen loaf.
Issue#2: I didn't receive much oven spring and I believe this is the result of over-proofing the dough. The taste, crumb, and crust were actually fairly decent, but the appearance left much to be desired.
4/3/2016 Loaf #112
Rustic Artisanal No-knead Bread
I made 1 loaf of Rustic Artisanal no-knead Bread based on Anna’s Table technique.
The 2-3 times that I baked this bread previously, I had two problems, both of which I made some good progress resolving this time around.
Issue#1: previously the dough stuck to the banneton and in my effort to extract the dough, I ended up with a misshapen loaf - this time I made 2 changes which helped this situation: (1) I used an excessive amount of Rice flour & Whole Wheat flour 50-50 mix in the banneton; & (2) I worked the top 2 inches away from the banneton before moving the dough to the cast iron pan
Issue#2: previously I didn't receive much oven spring and I believe this was the result of over-proofing the dough - this time, I only proofed the dough a little under 2 hours (1-1/2 hours in oven on Proof setting and the final 15-20 minutes on the counter while the oven pre-heated)
Overall, I was very pleased with the results - especially considering the limited amount of time invested in preparing the dough.
The 2-3 times that I baked this bread previously, I had two problems, both of which I made some good progress resolving this time around.
Issue#1: previously the dough stuck to the banneton and in my effort to extract the dough, I ended up with a misshapen loaf - this time I made 2 changes which helped this situation: (1) I used an excessive amount of Rice flour & Whole Wheat flour 50-50 mix in the banneton; & (2) I worked the top 2 inches away from the banneton before moving the dough to the cast iron pan
Issue#2: previously I didn't receive much oven spring and I believe this was the result of over-proofing the dough - this time, I only proofed the dough a little under 2 hours (1-1/2 hours in oven on Proof setting and the final 15-20 minutes on the counter while the oven pre-heated)
Overall, I was very pleased with the results - especially considering the limited amount of time invested in preparing the dough.
4/6/2016 Loaves #113 & #114
Tartine Country Bread
I went with the Tartine Country Bread again, clearly one of my favorites. Curiously, we’re leaving town tomorrow for a trip to Atlanta/Asheville with Mike & Deb Kauffman. I guess I just wanted to bake some bread - guess I’ll have to put it in the freezer until we return. If I have room in the car, I might take one loaf to share with the Staplehouse staff.
5/8/2016 Loaves #115 & #116
Emmanuel's Sourdough
My Secret Santa (Chris) got me a new bread book this past Christmas - “How To Make Sourdough’, written by Emmanuel Hadjiandreou. Emmanuel advocates some procedures that, although similar, are different than those I’ve used before. As a result, I was anxious to try his techniques to see how the procedures and results compare to the results received from other procedures that I’ve used in the past. The procedures were somewhat simpler than those used by Chad Robertson (‘Tartine Bread’) and the results were equally as nice. I really like Emmanuel’s suggestion to place the proofed loaf in the refrigerator 30 minutes prior to baking in order to stabilize the loaf. The resultant bread was very good, so I shared the first loaf with my Secret Santa who introduced me to this new book.
5/23/2016 Loaves #117, #118, and #119
Emmanuel's Sourdough
Since I enjoyed both the procedures and the results from the first time that I baked a sourdough loaf based on Emmanuel Hadjiandreou’s techniques, I decided to try it again. The dough was quite wet, perhaps too much so. The dough stuck to the bannetons, resulting in slightly deformed loaves. It still tasted very good. We received a last-minute invitation to go to Carrie & Dave’s house for lasagna. As a result, in addition to taking some beer & wine, we took one of the fresh sourdough loaves. Although Carrie already had bread prepared for dinner, she ended up using some of mine also.
5/24/2016 Loaves #120, #121, and #122
Emmanuel's Sourdough
Well, two days in a row baking 3 loaves of Emmanuel’s Sourdough (one oblong and two round). It’s a nice bread that we seem to enjoy a great deal and somewhat easier to prepare the dough using Emmanuel’s recommended procedures as opposed to procedures I've used in the past. Both days, I had a problem with the dough sticking to the banneton and resulting in slightly malformed loaves. This weekend is my 50th High School Class Reunion and we are having ex-classmates of mine staying with us at the cottage. I plan to take 1 or 2 of these loaves with us to share with that group.
7/6/2016 Loaves #123, #124, and #125
Emmanuel's Sourdough
I went with Emmanuel’s Sourdough (one oblong and two round) once again. This is quickly becoming my ‘go-to’ bread since we seem to enjoy it a great deal and it is somewhat easier to prepare the dough than procedures I've used in the past. We’re at the cottage and Roxie’s family is coming this weekend. Although I froze 2 loaves, I kept one out for the weekend.
8/24/2016 Loaves #126, #127, and #128
Emmanuel's Sourdough
I went with Emmanuel’s Sourdough (one oblong and two round) once again. I was at the cottage and became preoccupied with activities at the lake and was running up-&-down the steps between lakeside and the cottage to check in on the proofing process. I let it proof way too long, the result being rather flat loaves that didn’t experience much oven spring.
10/13/2016 Loaves #129, #130, and #131
Emmanuel's Sourdough
I went with Emmanuel’s Sourdough (one oblong and two round) once again. This time I was more disciplined during the proofing stage and managed to catch the dough at a good time (i.e., before it was over-proofed). We ended up getting good oven spring, especially with the round loaves.
11/23/2016 Loaves #132 and #133
Tartine Country Walnut Sourdough
Well, it's the day before Thanksgiving and Betsy, Lucas, & Jasper are in town. I decided to replenish our bread supply and ended up baking these 2 loaves of Tartine Country Walnut bread, as well as 3 loaves of Emmanuel Sourdough bread. In both cases, I used the technique learned from Emmanuel's Sourdough book and am happy with the results.
11/23/2016 Loaves #134, #135, and #136
Emmanuels' Sourdough
Well, it's the day before Thanksgiving and Betsy, Lucas, & Jasper are in town. I decided to replenish our bread supply and ended up baking these 2 loaves of Tartine Country Walnut bread, as well as 3 loaves of Emmanuel Sourdough bread. In both cases, I used the technique learned from Emmanuel's Sourdough book and am happy with the results.
12/18/2016 Loaves #137, #138, and #139
Emmanuels' Sourdough
With Christmas time upon us; Betsy & family temporarily living with us; and Ryan & family coming for a week-long visit, I thought we might be able to use some bread. I made this sourdough bread, based on Emmanuel’s technique, again. I was a bit clumsy in getting the dough balls into the dutch oven combo cooker - as a result, they hit the hot pan a little off center & weighted to one side. The baked loaves then took on a predictable lopsided shape. But, the important thing is that the bread tasted very good.