Bread Baking Results - 2023
Listed below are the breads that I baked during the twelfth year of my bread baking journey.
01/18/2023 Loaves #370 & #371
Anadama Bread
Since I had not baked bread in a long time; since I also wanted to try a formula from Peter Reinhart’s “The Bread Baker’s Apprentice”; and since I had a few extra hours to spare, I decided it was time to get on with it. I decided to try something different for a change and liked the sounds of his Anadama Bread. The bread was fairly easy to pull together and had a fairly decent taste to it once baked.
1/20/2023 Loaves #372 & #373
Honeyed Spelt & Oat Sourdough
Since it had been a few months since I used my sourdough starter, or for that matter, since I feed the starter, I decided I better get it out of the refrigerator and feed it. To avoid going so long between feedings, I’ve set up a reminder to feed the sourdough starter at least once per month, perferrably more frequently.
Once I got the starter reinvigorated, I decided to bake some sourdough bread. I decided to go with a Spelt & Oat bread since it had been over 2 years since I tried this one. I get very good consistency with this particular bread. We’ll use one loaf and I decided to share the second loaf with our neighbor, Betty Tornatore.
Once I got the starter reinvigorated, I decided to bake some sourdough bread. I decided to go with a Spelt & Oat bread since it had been over 2 years since I tried this one. I get very good consistency with this particular bread. We’ll use one loaf and I decided to share the second loaf with our neighbor, Betty Tornatore.
2/5/2023 Loaf #374
Mini Sesame Biscuits
I stumbled across this recipe on InstaGram (contributor: Cookist) and the appearance of the completed biscuits looked appealing. As a result, I decided to give it a try.
They were rather quick to make and tasted ‘ok’. Roxie liked them better than I did. The biscuit was quite crisp and reminded me of the consistency of biscotti. The flavor was decent and it goes better with something to drink (e.g., hot chocolate, coffee).
They were rather quick to make and tasted ‘ok’. Roxie liked them better than I did. The biscuit was quite crisp and reminded me of the consistency of biscotti. The flavor was decent and it goes better with something to drink (e.g., hot chocolate, coffee).
2/7/2023 Loaves #375, 376, & #377
Lillian's Potato Bread
Although I had baked potato bread once before, I realized that I had never used my Mother-In-Law’s procedure/recipe. So, since her bread always turned out great, I decided it was time to give it a try. We found 2 different versions of her recipe for the potato bread. There were significant differences in those recipes (bake time; bake temp; quanity of flour; quantity of shortening; quantity of water). I ended up with going with the recipe that was more thorough and had been created more recently.
Roxie’s Mom made her potato bread so often that she didn’t really have her own written procedure (she created recipes after family members asked her to do so). She relied heavily on the feel of the dough, knowing whether more water or flour was needed. And her results were always great!
I didn’t bother to weigh the dough when splitting it into 3rds. That was a mistake, since the three baked loaves were quite different in size. Anyway, they turned out fairly good. Our son, Mike, had borrowed our truck and when he returned it, we gave him one of the loaves. One went in the freezer and the third one was cut for toast. Although I was pleased with the taste, there are a few adjustments that I plan to make next time around.
Roxie’s Mom made her potato bread so often that she didn’t really have her own written procedure (she created recipes after family members asked her to do so). She relied heavily on the feel of the dough, knowing whether more water or flour was needed. And her results were always great!
I didn’t bother to weigh the dough when splitting it into 3rds. That was a mistake, since the three baked loaves were quite different in size. Anyway, they turned out fairly good. Our son, Mike, had borrowed our truck and when he returned it, we gave him one of the loaves. One went in the freezer and the third one was cut for toast. Although I was pleased with the taste, there are a few adjustments that I plan to make next time around.
3/3/2023 Loaves #378 & #379
Forkish Saturday White Bread
I wanted to make some bread without waiting for my sourdough starter to get invigorated for the job. As a result, I went with a yeast-based bread. I left the house during the bulk fermentation and likely let it go too long. The oblong loaf collapsed when placed on the peel and the round loaf didn’t have the oven spring I would have liked. I let them bake quite long at 475*F and, although the crust was nice and crisp, the bottom was a little overbaked. The next time around, I believe I’ll lower the baking temperature 40*F. Tasted good anyway.
3/27/2023 Loaves #380 & #381
Spent Grain Bread
The new brewery that son, Mike, is involved with (Boal City Brewing) will open soon and Mike has started to brew beer in preparation for the opening. His latest batch of beer is an Oatmeal Stout, so he pulled off a bag of spent grain before it left the brewery for the local farmer who uses it to feed his cows. Several years ago when I baked bread using spent grains, I found that I preferred the breads made with the malts & grains used with stout beers. As a result, I decided to try baking with the Oatmeal Stout spent grain.
I checked back and found that I’ve not baked Spent Grain Bread in over 8 years. I had to adjust quantities of dry & wet ingredients on the fly to gain the proper dough consistency, but it seemed to work out ok.
The bread turned out ok. It’s a dense bread with reasonable flavor. I baked 2 loaves and took one to Mike as a thank you for sharing his grain.
I checked back and found that I’ve not baked Spent Grain Bread in over 8 years. I had to adjust quantities of dry & wet ingredients on the fly to gain the proper dough consistency, but it seemed to work out ok.
The bread turned out ok. It’s a dense bread with reasonable flavor. I baked 2 loaves and took one to Mike as a thank you for sharing his grain.
3/29/2023 Loaves #382, #383, & #384
Spent Grain Bread
I baked 2 loaves of this spent grain bread 2 days ago and it tasted pretty good! Since I had some spent grain left, I decided to use it up in more bread. I had enough grain for 3 loaves, so I adjusted my recipe ingredients accordingly and baked the 3 loaves.
Two days ago, I had shared 1 of the 2 loaves with Mike, who had given me the spent grain. I decided that some of the others involved in the new brewery might enjoy the novelty of having some bread that was baked using grain from one of their first batches of beers (the Oatmeal Stout). So, I gave the 3 new loaves to Gordy/Lara, Eric, and Dave.
Two days ago, I had shared 1 of the 2 loaves with Mike, who had given me the spent grain. I decided that some of the others involved in the new brewery might enjoy the novelty of having some bread that was baked using grain from one of their first batches of beers (the Oatmeal Stout). So, I gave the 3 new loaves to Gordy/Lara, Eric, and Dave.
4/2/2023 Loaves #385, #386, & #387
Forkish Saturday White Bread
I gave all 3 loaves of my last bake to other people, so figured I better make some bread for us. I wanted to bake today, so didn’t want to take time to reinvigorate my sourdough starter. As a result, I went withg a simple yeasted white bread. I didn’t get the rise I wanted, so began to question my yeast. It’s dry yeast that I’ve had for a very long time. Although I’m not confident that the yeast was ineffective, I’ve decided to get rid of it and pick up some new yeast.
Typically I use this formula to produce 2 loaves. I used the same quantities, but decided to stretch it into 3 loaves. My thoughts are that smaller loaves might work better for a house of 2.
Typically I use this formula to produce 2 loaves. I used the same quantities, but decided to stretch it into 3 loaves. My thoughts are that smaller loaves might work better for a house of 2.
4/12/2023 Loaves #388, #389, & #390
Emmanuel's Sourdough
Company coming - no bread!! I baked 3 loaves of sourdough to fill the void. The first loaf was devoured within the first day - on to the second loaf.
5/8/2023 Loaves #391 & #392
Honeyed Spelt & Oat Sourdough
It’s time for some bread, so I decided to go with one of my favorites - Honeyed Spelt & Oat Sourdough. My results with this bread tend to be very consistent bake-to-bake - much more so than some of my other sourdough bakes.
I baked two loaves - one to the freezer for later and the other for immediate consumption. It turns out Ryan was coming to town to celebrate with Mike on the opening of Boal City Brewery. We finished off that first loaf rather quickly.
I baked two loaves - one to the freezer for later and the other for immediate consumption. It turns out Ryan was coming to town to celebrate with Mike on the opening of Boal City Brewery. We finished off that first loaf rather quickly.
7/21/2023 Loaves #393, #394, & #395
Emmanuel's Sourdough
Our whole family will be with us for a week, so I figured we better have a few loaves of bread on hand. So, I baked 3 loaves of Emmanuel Sourdough to get us started. Actually, those 3 loaves should last us for a good portion of the week.
9/25/2023 Loaves #396, #397, & #398
Emmanuel's Sourdough
Long Time, No Bake!
Bread Drawer Empty!
Hungry For Bread!
Sourdough Starter Needs To Be Fed!
___________
CONCLUSION: Bake some sourdough bread.
Bread Drawer Empty!
Hungry For Bread!
Sourdough Starter Needs To Be Fed!
___________
CONCLUSION: Bake some sourdough bread.
11/15/2023 Loaves #399, #400, & #401
Tartine Country Walnut Bread
I used to bake the Tartine Country Walnut bread with good results. Although the Tartine formula calls for yeast, I used sourdough starter instead. We really liked the flavor. Realizing that I hadn’t baked this particular bread in a few years, I decided to try it yet again. I used a delayed fermentation and found the results to be reasonable. The texture and taste were very good. I didn’t achieve the oven spring I was shooting for, but satisfied nonetheless.