January 8, 2018 - 11:52pm
Some random pictures from the bread lab.
Funny how you can feel so close to a breakthrough one day and so far the next.
Lots of pictures I like of what's been in the works. Thanks for looking...
Scoring is so hard for me. Have to celebrate when it goes well.
Those blisters that remain so elusive so much of the time.
Bench Rest
Nighty Night
Crumb Shot
I love this, in my head it looks like its a photo of an asteroid or something from a telescope,
Hard Red Winter Wheat
I feel like me and this guy have conversations over coffee some mornings while the sun comes up,
My Sicilian pizza that's been a work in progress. Spinach and Mozz, trying to chase a childhood flavor from a favorite place.
Thanks for looking!
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Bread photography certainly has its home here on TFL. Yours joins many others. Look up some of the pictures posted by PiPs from a few years ago. He hasn't been active for a while, but his old photos are really also just great.
Of course, there's also the eating, and the appreciation from others, but hands-on crafting of nourishing and quality products from simple, wholesome ingredients, skillful handling and close attention to details - just can't beat that.
Beautiful. Thank you for sharing.
Cathy
Phil had a delectable Instagram feed going until last Spring:
https://www.instagram.com/pipsbread/
That's ridiculously gorgeous photography! Truly beautiful!
What equipment are you using to take the photos?
And that Sicilian pizza looks incredible.. would you mind sharing how you achieved such a nice crumb and baked it so well? Please and thanks..
enjoying the photos. Scrumptious
For the chase: Ran into, a few years back...
Freshly harvested and dried oregano tips.
Look like little green flower buds, no danger to pile on generously.
Thanks for the kind words everyone, and thanks for sharing Pips pictures. I enjoyed them tremendously.
For the Sicilian, It's something I have been trying to keep as simple as possible. It's one of the few things I'm using the stand mixer for, and it's just White flour at 80% hydration with 20% Mature Levain. Mix then two sets of stretch and folds every 30 minutes. Dump it into the oiled pan and let it proof in the oven on proof until it fills the pan and "looks ready" Then bake for 10 minutes, pull out and load it up. I want it to be subtle and not sour so I am trying to push my proof faster then I would with any other bread I'm baking. Finding the right pan made a big difference and the Loyd's Pan is the best I've used by far.
I have to take a picture of it before I put it in the oven. It's piled with as much spinach as I can fit. Not sure where it all goes. Next one is also getting red peppers marinated in balsamic.
Edit: For to add, re. the camera gear used for the pictures. It's a 10 year old Canon 5D DSLR and a 50mm macro lens. "Latest and greatest"
Good curves after 20 minutes.
Crumb Shot: Decided hydration is too high/shaping not good enough. Going to dial it back to 80/81 next.
Translucent Crumb and Thin Crust though.
That last shot is simple amazing! Crumb is just to die for!
Wow, what an amazing photo of the bubbles inside the crumb! Fermentation, frozen in time. :)
the bread looks awesome well done
Leslie
Thanks Danni and Leslie!
I figure I'll keep posting my pictures in this thread rather then clog up the whole forum!
Mom's pottery taking a front and center role,
Soft scrambled eggs and toast. Chickens are spitting out eggs with the unusual warm January weather and the yolks look great. Discard starter is probably their favorite item on the compost menu. So funny to watch them slurp it up in long strings.
100% Fresh milled whole grain loaf. Started the dough late last night and finally not overproofed. finally...!
Fresh Milled and a country loaf,
Shattered crust on a country loaf,
Love it when that shaping booty holds through the proof and bake! The country loaf I didn't bugger.
That is an amazing glaze combo! I love it. Oh and the bread looks pretty good too! ?
I know right? It's a good one. Love the tall and narrow shape if it, kind of unique. She said the glaze combo is rusty red and floating blue and it's a popular one. (For a reason..!)
for my mill. Do you have the dimensions? How many grams of flour does it hold?
The Pottery Studio opens up this week and I can’t wait. I have a whole list of things I want to make.
Hey Danni, just took a quick measure and it's 5" from base-> lip. 5" Diameter at the opening and 16" circumference around the outside.
My folks put a kiln in the basement as soon as the last kid moved out. No surprise they are highly encouraging of my wood fired oven plans.
I would love to have my own studio at my house but unfortunately, we are cramped as it is with 3 adults in the house. Maybe when the daughter eventually moves out, but right now I am happy to have a place to go and where I can leave the mess. Plus as someone who only got into this a year and a half ago, it’s nice to have others there to talk to and ask questions.
There's certainly merit to having a place to escape too and a community too share. Hey, kind of like this place!
Did a more classic SF Style Sourdough with a lighter back and longer fermentation. Had to force myself to not bake as long and end up wishing it was a little darker. Could be more sour too. At least it has blisters, *shrug*
Overnight in the laundry room which can be as cool as 50 degrees and then proofed on the counter @ 68. Will probably proof the next one like this in the fridge after shaping instead of the counter for as long as it will let me.
:)
Thank you!
Did the spinach sicilian again today. l like eating this way too much. I always tell myself it's even better reheated but whatever's left over ends up eaten cold for breakfast.
Par-baked the crust and loaded it up with mozz and balsamic red peppers.
The piled up with as much spinach as I could fit!
and the finale,
Great shots of what I am sure is delicious tasting bread!
Thank you for looking,!
the overload of pictures continues,
Here's some from this morning,
Was frustrated with no dog ears at a higher hydration so dialed it back a little and the results are more consistent and crumb doesn't seem to suffer.
The Mothership in the morning after a late night feeding, right before levain builds.
Nice Nice Nice!
It looks like you use some semolina on top of the loaves? It gives a nice aspect to the crust.
Peter
:O
and thank you!!
It's actually the brown rice flour that I use to dust the proofing baskets. Trying to use as little as possible but can't get it all. My other friend said she liked it as well so I guess I should stop fighting it.
And the onslaught of pictures continues.
Hope you're not tired of them yet.
Getting happy with the consistency. Repetition is comforting for me.
A loaf of fresh milled kamut. First go was very dense. This one is at least "less dense".
The colors in the crust were glorious out of the oven. Golden hues all over.
Some rogue crust crumb's snuck into the crumb shot. A "not made for jam" type of slice.
Keep posting! I never get tired of bread por...., uh, bread pictures. ?
Thanks! And yeah phew no kidding. Good to know I'm not the only one. Hah!
This has been a favorite of mine Love how good sourdough just becomes a meal in itself and you just accessorize it.
The roasted balsamic peppers make a second appearance.
Have had some fun working on a Danish Rye and I can't get enough of it.
Was grateful to have the information on theperfectloaf blog to get me moving in the right direction but I have been using fresh milled einkorn instead of spelt and 100% extract fresh milled rye for the dark and medium rye.
Some pictures,
A volatile Rye Starter
Rugbrød!
Pickled Red Onions
The Pay-off!
Thanks for looking.
Up next is Verda's famous Borodinsky Rye. The Scald is in the oven with the warm setting on and the sponge is growing....we will see.
First attempt at Verda's Chocolate Malt Borodinsky Rye. The loaf ended up a little ugly from the outside, cracks on the top, and I didn't wait that long to cut into it because, well, I was hungry, so...I can't wait to try it again.
In the meantime, it tastes good at least.
Final Mix
Final Mix at the end of Bulk
Cut Open
Buttered Up
and just like the bubble in potato chips, often the best part!
Your pictures are so lovely I hesitate to post breaking the continuity of scrolling through the pictures. No comments translate into respect. Sorry for the interruption. Beautiful pictures and bread! Thank you for the pleasure they bring.
Excuse me while I go find a big heart cookie cutter to practice some valentine surprises out of rye slices.... I'm thinking cream cheese with whole berry cherry jam or something similar. Or chopped ham with capers... heart shaped boiled egg slices (the little cutter) or salmon with the trimmings. Raspberries thawing on a cloud of thick Greek yoghurt....
You were right on the edge with the final fermentation and wound up with a magnificent bread. I like ryes but the Borodinsky may be my favorite. It has such complex and captivating flavor and fragrance.
Paul
Always, thank you for your kind words Mini, Don't be sorry. The interruptions usually lead to more pictures, so it can't be all bad.
And thank you Paul! much appreciated. I'm surprised with how much I like the Borodinsky. It's certainly not a nostalgic flavor for me but so surprising and unique. It's a surprising amount of labor but I am very excited to give it a second shake and also to share and see what my friends think.
Here's another Borodinsky Crumb shot,
Another Rugbrød today, Fresh Milled Rye and Einkorn. Sunflower Seeds and Golden Flax. Fiber Bomb.
A 50%/50% Fresh Milled Hard Red and Bread Flour with nice open crumb. Just accidentally ate half of this one.
How I get blisters when I want them.
Dump your dough out of your banneton. With a paint brush dust all of the rice flour off of your dough. Dip a silicone basting brush in water and paint a couple of layers of water on your dough. Score your dough, mist it with additional water and put it in your DO or on your baking stone and cover it with something to trap the steam. Remove lid after half of the baking time and finish browning your crust at 450°F.
I don’t always get blisters when I do that but I do about 80% of the time.
A8E1BB6A-F0E2-4222-81F1-AE84D858ED1D.jpeg
Holy blister crust!! that's no joke right there!!
I'm doing a 1+2+3 Boule right now for old times sake and it's doing an all day bulk at around 60 degrees.
Ideal stage is being set for a blister crust. I have never painted on the layers of water but do mist the dutch oven after loading. I'll try basting on some water for this boule and see if I can pull off a crust Wartface style.
painting on the coating of water has two desired missions... remove the remaining rice flour and coat it with water. I hope it works for you.
The loaf in that picture is a 70% hydration dough and I baked it in a 7 quart DO.
Hard to argue with the logic in that,
What were your bulk/proof temperatures for that loaf?
I usually do a poolish preferment first. I bulk ferment my final dough at room temperature... about 72°F, until it doubles in mass. Then I degas it, preshape it, let it rest 20 minutes, and then final shape it. If I’m going to bake it that same day... I final proof it on the kitchen counter at that same 72°, until it is 1.5 times the size it was when I put it in the banneton. At that point I use the poke test to know when to score it and put it in the oven.
If I intend to bake it the following day - cold out of the fridge... after final shaping I put the dough in my banneton and cover it with a shower cap. Then I let it proof until it is 1.3 times the size it was after final shaping, and then put it in the fridge to delay the final proofing step. I count on getting a little more of a rise in the fridge while the dough is cooling down from 72° to 38°, which is where my fridge is set, and where the yeast will go dormant.
Even though the yeast goes to sleep at under 40°F... the enzymes are not effected by the cold temperature at all. They continue gobbling starch and protein and making sugar and alcohol... giving your bread a much more complex flavor profile.?
Just baked up the loaf, about 72% hydration painted and sprayed and low and bam. Thanks for the tip. Not quite Wartface style yet though.
There you go... it’s always fun to learn new tricks huh??. Nice job! Good ovenspring, nice ear and I love the color of your crust too.
Einkorn has been a bit of a head scratcher and I wonder how much of it has to do with me adjusting expectations.
It's hard for me to get good spring and open crumb but the flavor is unique and so good it's hard to quit trying.
Squatty Einkorn Loaf
Squatty's Crumb Shot
Squatty and Mozz
Smoked Steelhead, Saurkraut and pickled onions on the Rugbrød. Expletives galore!
I smuggled a heaping soup spoon of einkorn into hubby's kaiser rolls (500g white flour) and the result was fantastic flavour, subtle, but to a "Kenner" (one who knows his rolls) it was a great improvement and substitute for malt. (I ran out.)
This was 1/3 Einkorn, 1/3 100% Extract Hard White and 1/3 All purpose flour.
Flavor was very good though. Obvious solution would seem to be use less Einkorn but not what I want necessarily! hah.
Interesting idea's about sneaking in a portion here and there because it definitely has a wonderful complexity to it, just not the most reasonable attitude.
like 5% to 10% would be to use a water roux method (Tangzhong) of soaking in 5 x the water for quarter to half an hour, cooking it (just to thicken and make a gel, not boil) cool, and add for normal dough behavior. That cuts down on the stickiness but does wipe out the enzymes that may be responsible for the complexity. (Scale before and after to add back any lost water.)
One third einkorn in a loaf is a good portion. That must have been fun to keep a cool head. Armed with my wet spatula, I'd chase onlookers out of the kitchen beforehand, they can keep their "but it doesn't look right" comments to themselves. A baking form might help or letting the outer skin dry a bit rolling in the white flour. Let it rise inside parchment lined deep basket and then just transfer the parchment to bake, no flipping. The parchment releases halfway thru the bake but works like an exoskeleton to help hold up the dough.
That gives me an idea... einkorn loves the extra steam and moisture to stretch, make a tube from parchment and staple it together with the dough inside. Don't worry, I'll count the staples before and after. :)
So Mini, this water roux concept is completely new to me and something I am going to have to try at some point. Is the main advantage to make handling easier?
If I remember the dough behaved rather decently, but I had a lapse in note-taking and can't seem to remember the exact details. I do know it had a long autolyse, eight hours or so.
I am trying it again today, love the parchment paper tube idea! that's totally out of the box. Something I might try for a 100+ hydration whole wheat soon too. I think for continuity sake I am going to try to do what I did last time again here and see what happens. Only difference is I am going to bolt the hard white flour and get some of the germ out.
Love having a loaf of Danish Rye in the house. The perfect answer to snack cravings and a little goes a long way. Keeps so well. Every week it gets a different filling. Had a serious seed shortage in the cupboard so filled it in with cracked rye. Also sifted my rye to get it closer to medium then dark and then instead of milling more einkorn I used what i had and filled in the rest with spelt. I think it's the best tasting one yet,
Rubrød in space.
And a pair of 50/50 Fresh milled Hard Red, a little tighter inside but flavor and crust is delicious.
Thank you always for looking,
You're getting a little too close to over proofing the rye. See that dense area forming on the bottom just a wee bit up from the crust? Try to shorten the final proof next time. Spelt, rye and einkorn, if it's not together in heaven, then I'm going elsewhere! Lovely photos!
Thank you! So appreciated, need all the help with proofing signs for rye I can get.
Funny thing is I thought it was acting more sluggish then usual and as a result gave it 15-20 minutes it didn't need.
Ryeinkelt Rugbrød! I know right?! Those three are a serious flavor trifecta.
Hope we're not getting tired of these yet, just another country loaf @ 83%
Also bottled some Kombucha, yay probiotics.
Fresh Squeezed Orange Juice and Ginger, And Blueberries, blackberries and fresh squeezed Lime Juice. As a lover of sugary drinks who does his best to stay away, this makes for a good compromise.
A 50/50 Fresh milled hard red and all purpose 30 minutes after preshape, about 87% hydration.
Shaped and ready for the basket,
Done.
Cracked Crust on a darker country sourdough.
so this post is on the list to get the bread fix every so often. Just the cat's meow! Well done all the way around.
Happy baking
Thank you so much! so glad you are enjoying it.
Cut into the loaf pictured earlier this morning,
Fresh milled sourdough and backyard eggs.
And an Einkorn Miche for a friend, I used the recipe on the fresh loaf as a guideline.
A country style loaf with walnuts and cherries. 60% bread flour, 30% fresh milled hard red and 10% spelt and 85% hydration. A bit of an adventure and a couple expletives.
Was so convinced it was going to be overproofed when I woke up I almost didn't get up early to preheat the oven.
Luckily I did and I was happy with the bake. I love how the slash is trying to hold that cherry up.
Couldn't wait long to cut it. Really happy with how this came out.
Fired up the uuni for some sourdough pizza. Dough spent three days fermenting in the fridge and then an hour and a half in the proofer to finish off.
Long time no post but why not,
Working some Kamut into the country loaves. These are 20% whole grain with a 2:1 ration of Fresh milled Kamut and Rye. The rest is central milling abc @ 11.5%. Final hydration was around 86% including the starter. Can't get enough of the wonderful reddish hue even a small percent of kamut does to the crust.
And the aromas! Can't get enough of that myself and with rye too!!! Great photos!
The first time I had kamut berries, I cooked some in a rice cooker and nearly drove myself bread insane (bread + insane = brain? ...never mind)) I ate them all and had to make a second batch for bread additions. :P
thank you mini!! Loving this kamut in small doses. It has given me trouble in the past in high percentages but I think I know a little more now and am ready to re-approach it with some adjustments.
I went for close to the same formula again, baked this morning. A couple minor differences, Sifted the kamut and used the germ in the starter and a slightly longer slightly colder proof. Baked a little darker so not quite as red but more crackled and carmalized instead. Fair trade.
I think bran. The starter beasties love the stuff! :)
You're probably right. I'm not sure.
I milled some kamut in the middle setting of the komo and ran it through the least fine screen I have. I ended up with about 50% extraction and have been using it to feed the levain.
I have been revisiting the 50/50 with 50% fresh milled kamut. Happy with these two from this morning. Kamut is my kryptonite. Hydration was around 90%.
See how far I can push my proof. This one went a little further. Could go a little further still maybe.