Bread Baking Results - 2017
Listed below are the breads that I baked during the sixth year of my bread baking journey.
1/10/2017 Loaves #140, #141, and #142
Emmanuels' Sourdough
Once again, I went back to one of my favorite breads, a sourdough loaf (actually 3 loaves) based on Emmanuel Hadjiandreou’s “How To Make Sourdough”. I also baked 2 loaves of Tassajara Oatmeal Bread and then 3 other loaves of Emmanuel’s Sourdough the next day. Of the 8 loaves baked, 1 went into our ‘pantry’ to use right away; 1 went to Mike, Chris, & family; and the other 6 went into the freezer. So, we’re stocked up for a while. The Sourdough bread really had some nice over spring.
1/10/2017 Loaves #143 and #144
Tassajara Oatmeal Bread
Once again, we were in need of some bread so I decided to bake the Tassajara Oatmeal Bread (2 loaves), based on Edward Espe Brown's "The Tassajara Bread Book". I also baked 6 loaves of Emmanuel’s Sourdough bread over a 2-day period. Of the 8 loaves baked, 1 went into our ‘pantry’ to use right away; 1 went to Mike, Chris, & family; and the other 6 went into the freezer. So, we’re stocked up for a while. The Tassajara Oatmeal Bread was quick to make and was once again very dense (denser than I like, but just right according to Roxie).
1/11/2017 Loaves #145, #146, and #147
Emmanuels' Sourdough
Once again, I went back to one of my favorite breads, a sourdough loaf (actually 3 loaves) based on Emmanuel Hadjiandreou’s “How To Make Sourdough”. I also baked 2 loaves of Tassajara Oatmeal Bread and 3 other loaves of Emmanuel’s Sourdough the prior day. Of the 8 loaves baked, 1 went into our ‘pantry’ to use right away; 1 went to Mike, Chris, & family; and the other 6 went into the freezer. So, we’re stocked up for a while. I neglected the bread during proofing and over-proofed it (left the house & forgot to move the dough into the refrigerator to retard the proofing process).
3/11/2017 Loaves #148, #149, and #150
Emmanuels' Sourdough
I baked 3 loaves of one of our favorites - Emmanuel’s Sourdough. Mike & Brenda Lebo (our neighbors to the west) recently sold their home & we had not yet met the new neighbors. As a result, we took 1 of the loaves (fresh out of the oven) over to our new neighbors to introduce ourselves. They seem like a very nice family: Mike, Jen, and Stella. One of the other 3 loaves will go over to Mike, Chris, and family.
3/12/2017 Loaves #151, #152, and #153
Sourdough Baguette
I decided to try something different for a change and baked 3 loaves of Sourdough Baguette bread. I followed Emanuel’s procedures and was pleased with the outcome. I should have spent more time shaping the dough, as it was a little lopsided - when shaping, I need to come up with a better technique for rolling the dough & extending the length. The loaves responded well to my pre-bake slashing & seemed to have good oven spring. Other than not shaping the dough adequately prior to baking, the baguette’s turned out quite good - the crust was nice & firm, the crumb was soft, and the taste was very good. I’ll try these again some day for sure.
3/12/2017 Loaves #154 and #155
New York-Style Rye Sourdough
I decided to try something different for a change and, in addition to baking 3 loaves of Sourdough Baguette bread, I also baked this New York-style Rye Sourdough. I followed Emanuel’s procedures and have mixed feelings about the results. Emanuel’s rye sourdough looked beautiful, whereas mine wasn’t nearly as attractive and was very heavy. Although I thought about using it as a doorstop, I concluded to any least cut into it and trying it. Although the bread was very dense & heavy, it actually tasted good either toasted or untoasted in a sandwich.
5/28/2017 Loaves #156, #157, and #158
Emmanuels' Sourdough
I baked 3 loaves of one of our favorites - Emmanuel’s Sourdough. We were at the cottage, so 2 loaves went directly into the freezer & the other one went into the bread drawer to use right away.
6/6/2017 Loaves #159, #160, and #161
Emmanuels' Sourdough
Although I had just baked 3 loaves of bread a little over a week ago, we found ourselves without any bread. We had left 2 loaves in the cottage freezer & consumed the 3rd loaf. As a result, I baked 3 more loaves of Emmanuel’s Sourdough. We were in State College, so 2 loaves went directly into the freezer & the other one went into the bread drawer to use right away.
Curiously, on one of the loaves, I made 5 slashes - but despite this, during baking expansion, the loaf blew out in a location other than where the slashes were (?).
Curiously, on one of the loaves, I made 5 slashes - but despite this, during baking expansion, the loaf blew out in a location other than where the slashes were (?).
7/6/2017 Loaves #162, #163, and #164
Emmanuels' Sourdough
Roxie’s Mom & Gerry were with us at the lake and Roxie’s Mom was interested in tasting some fresh bread out of the oven. As a result, I made 3 loaves of Emmanuel’s Sourdough bread; held one out; and put the other 2 in the freezer for use later. We cut into the one loaf about 30 minutes after it came out of the oven & lathered it with butter. Tasted real good!
8/13/2017 Loaves #165, #166, and #167
Emmanuels' Sourdough
We went through many loaves of sourdough bread during the week-long Smith Family Vacation at Keuka Lake the first week of August. Since we were almost out of bread, I decided to bake 3 more loaves of Emmanuel’s Sourdough bread. Coincidentally, Katie Smeenk had touched base with me, asking if she could have some of my sourdough starter. It was perfect timing, since I was planning to ‘stimulate’ the sourdough starter from its dormant state in preparation for baking. I gave Katie some of my mature starter & she baked a great-looking loaf of sourdough bread the next day. I baked my 3 loaves, placed 2 in the freezer & cut into the 3rd one the next day. We had it toasted for breakfast and then made some into sandwiches for lunch - tasted great!
11/17/2017 Loaves #168 & #169
Saturday White Bread
Having recently read Ken Forkish’s ‘Flour Water Salt Yeast’ book, I had interest in trying a bread based on his techniques/recipes. In addition, I wanted to try baking a bread not dependent on a sourdough starter - it’s not because I don’t like sourdough, but rather to expand my non-sourdough exposure. In this particular instance, I was also interested in baking a bread that would take less time than is normally required to bake sourdough.
I found two of Ken Forkish’s techniques to be of particular interest:
(1) he encouraged a minimal number of bowls/pots/etc. - this worked well for me and I found that I was washing far fewer dishes from the baking process
(2) most bakers slash the top of the dough ball prior to baking in order to create a path for gases to escape & prevent random ripping of the loaf during baking - Ken suggests skipping the slashing step and instead just bake the bread with the top of the dough ball on the bottom of the baking pan (i.e., placing the seam side of the dough ball facing up) - the naturally produced fissures on the seam side of the dough will open up during baking - the result turned out much better than I had anticipated
Overall, for a quick bread that you can decide on baking the day you want to eat it can easily be done during the course of the day. I started the process at 9:30am and we had baked bread for dinner. In addition, the process required very little of my attention during the day.
Oh, and it tasted good too!
I found two of Ken Forkish’s techniques to be of particular interest:
(1) he encouraged a minimal number of bowls/pots/etc. - this worked well for me and I found that I was washing far fewer dishes from the baking process
(2) most bakers slash the top of the dough ball prior to baking in order to create a path for gases to escape & prevent random ripping of the loaf during baking - Ken suggests skipping the slashing step and instead just bake the bread with the top of the dough ball on the bottom of the baking pan (i.e., placing the seam side of the dough ball facing up) - the naturally produced fissures on the seam side of the dough will open up during baking - the result turned out much better than I had anticipated
Overall, for a quick bread that you can decide on baking the day you want to eat it can easily be done during the course of the day. I started the process at 9:30am and we had baked bread for dinner. In addition, the process required very little of my attention during the day.
Oh, and it tasted good too!
11/25/2017 Loaves #170 & #171
Saturday White Bread
Having enjoyed the Saturday White Bread that I baked a week ago using Ken Forkish’s techniques, and needing some bread for our Thanksgiving weekend family get-together, I decided to go with it a second time. However, this time was different, as my 8 year old granddaughter (henceforth referred to as The Baker’s Apprentice) was interested in helping. The Baker’s Apprentice really enjoyed weighing and mixing the ingredients, but just loved incorporating the water/flour and working the dough with her bare hands. She was quite surprised at the transformation of the dough/bread between placing it in the oven and bringing it out of the oven. She was very proud that she did the bulk of the work.
The Baker’s Apprentice weighed the ingredients; mixed them together; worked the dough by hand; prepped the proofing baskets; helped shape the dough for proofing; and tested the dough (using the finger dent test) for readiness for baking. The only work that I really did, beyond guidance and timing, was handling the very hot dutch oven and moving the dough into and out of the oven.
The Baker’s Apprentice then proceeded to eat her bread at every opportunity.
The Baker’s Apprentice weighed the ingredients; mixed them together; worked the dough by hand; prepped the proofing baskets; helped shape the dough for proofing; and tested the dough (using the finger dent test) for readiness for baking. The only work that I really did, beyond guidance and timing, was handling the very hot dutch oven and moving the dough into and out of the oven.
The Baker’s Apprentice then proceeded to eat her bread at every opportunity.
12/18/2017 Loaves #172 & #173
Saturday White Bread
Having just finished up our last loaf of homemade bread earlier today, I decided to push through a couple of loaves to avoid purchasing bread at the grocery store. I went with Ken Forkish’s Saturday White Bread. As we head into the final week push before Christmas, I also wanted to spend minimal time baking - another reason to go with this quick and easy bread.