The Fresh Loaf

A Community of Amateur Bakers and Artisan Bread Enthusiasts.

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July 2, 2023 - 9:33am
Isand66's picture
Isand66

Ricotta Sourdough Rolls

 

     Grilling season is upon us so I needed to make some soft tasty rolls for burgers.  These are pretty straight forward and ended up just as I expected.

I used a combination of freshly milled and double sifted Butlers Gold whole wheat flour from Barton Springs Mill and KAF bread flour plus some KAF AP in the starter.  Softened butter along with the ricotta cheese really added to the softness of the crumb and the honey added just enough sweetness to pull it all together.

I use some everything bagel topping on some and toasted onions as well as poppy seeds on others.

Give these a try and I am confident you won’t be disappointed.

Formula

Levain Directions

Mix all the levain ingredients together for about 1 minute and cover with plastic wrap.  Let it sit at room temperature for around 7-8 hours or until the starter has doubled.  I usually do this the night before.

Either use in the main dough immediately or refrigerate for up to 1 day before using.

 Main Dough Procedure

Mix the flours and water together in your mixer or by hand until it just starts to come together, maybe about 1 minute.  Let it rest in your work bowl covered for 20-30 minutes.  After 30 minutes or so  add the salt, starter (cut into about 7-8 pieces), ricotta cheese, softened butter and honey and mix on low for 5 minutes.  (If using the Ankarsrum you can mix for around 12-15 minutes on medium low).  Remove the dough from your bowl and place it in a lightly oiled bowl or work surface and do several stretch and folds.  Let it rest covered for 10-15 minutes and then do another stretch and fold.  Let it rest another 10-15 minutes and do one additional stretch and fold.  After a total of 2 hours place your covered bowl in the refrigerator and let it rest for 12 to 24 hours.

When you are ready to bake remove the bowl from the refrigerator and let it set out at room temperature still covered for 1.5 to 2 hours.  Remove the dough and shape into rolls around 125 -150 grams each.  Cover the rolls with a moist tea towel or plastic wrap Sprayed with cooking spray and let rise at room temperature for 1 1/2 – 2 hours.

Around 45 minutes before ready to bake, pre-heat your oven to 500 degrees F. and prepare it for steam.  I have a heavy-duty baking pan on the bottom rack of my oven with 1 baking stone on above the pan and one on the top shelf.  I pour 1 cup of boiling water in the pan right after I place the dough in the oven.

Right before you are ready to put them in the oven, use an egg wash and add your toppings.  Next add 1 cup of boiling water to your steam pan or follow your own steam procedure.

After 1 minute lower the temperature to 425 degrees.  Bake for 25 minutes or until the rolls are nice and brown.

Take the rolls out of the oven when done and let them cool on a bakers rack for as long as you can resist.

July 1, 2023 - 2:19pm
Isand66's picture
Isand66

Multigrain Date Purple Sweet Potato Bread

 

I have not made a bread with dates for quite some time and for whatever reason it popped into my head the other day that I needed to make one.

 

This bake also used some purple sweet potatoes that I baked and then mashed up.  I decided to add a little bit into the levain to see what would happen.  It did a nice job of making a slightly sweet levain and when added with the sweet dates and the rest of the purple sweet potatoes the flavor on this bake was amazing. 

I used some freshly milled high extraction Butlers Gold Whole Wheat flour from Barton Springs Mill along with some freshly milled Danko Rye also from Barton Springs Mill sifted and milled twice.  Some KAF bread flour was also added as well.    

The overall hydration is higher than indicated in the formula since the purple sweet potatoes definitely add some extra hydration.  It adds approximately 58% more water or about 73 additional grams of water to the overall hydration.  The dough was pretty manageable even with the extra hydration from the potatoes.

I love the flavor profile on this bake.  The crumb was moderately open and nice and soft.  You can definitely taste the unique sweetness the dates add.  Overall this is one tasty bread.  I grilled some the other night brushed with olive oil and topped with some fresh mozzarella.  I also snacked on it with some smoked cheddar the other day which was amazing.

Formula

Levain Directions 

Mix all the levain ingredients together for about 1 minute and cover with plastic wrap.  Let it sit at room temperature for around 6-7 hours or until the starter has almost doubled.  I used my proofer set at 76 degrees so it took around 5 hours for me.  Either use in the main dough immediately or refrigerate for up to 1 day before using.

 Main Dough Procedure

Mix the flour and liquids (leave about 50 -70 grams to add after the first mix), together in your mixer or by hand until it just starts to come together, maybe about 1 minute.  Let it rest in your work bowl covered for 20-30 minutes.  After 30 minutes or so  add the salt, starter (cut into about 7-8 pieces), roasted mashed potatoes, dates (cut into small pieces)  and remaining water as needed and mix on low for 5 minutes.   Note: If you are using the Ankarsrum mixer like I do, add your water to the bowl first then add in the starter and flours.  After your autolyse add in the remaining ingredients and remaining water and mix on low to medium low for 15-20 minutes.

Remove the dough from your bowl and place it in a lightly oiled bowl or work surface and do several stretch and folds.  Let it rest covered for 10-15 minutes and then do another stretch and fold.  Let it rest another 10-15 minutes and do one additional stretch and fold.  After a total of 1.5 hours place your covered bowl in the refrigerator and let it rest for 12 to 24 hours.  

When you are ready to bake remove the bowl from the refrigerator and let it set out at room temperature still covered for 1.5 to 2 hours or if using a proofer set at 80 degrees for one hour.   Remove the dough and shape as desired and cover with a moist tea towel or plastic wrap Sprayed with cooking spray and let rise at room temperature for 1 1/2 – 2 hours.  (I use my proofer set at 80 F and it takes about 1 hour to 1.5 hours).

Around 45 minutes before ready to bake, pre-heat your oven to 500 degrees F. and prepare it for steam.  I have a heavy-duty baking pan on the bottom rack of my oven with 1 baking stone on above the pan and one on the top shelf.  I pour 1 cup of boiling water in the pan right after I place the dough in the oven.

After 1 minute lower the temperature to 450 degrees.  Bake for around 35 minutes or until the breads are nice and brown and have an internal temperature around 200-210 F. 

Take the bread(s) out of the oven when done and let them cool on a bakers rack for as long as you can resist. 

Some photos from our “Dances with Dragons” garden.

 

 

June 30, 2023 - 7:08pm
gavinc's picture
gavinc

Debra Wink’s English Muffins with Biga.

Debra Wink’s English Muffins with Biga.

I’ve tried several different English Muffin recipes and keep coming back to these, magnificent flavour and crumb.



June 27, 2023 - 6:17am
NateShrdr7's picture
NateShrdr7

Baking bagels

Should bagels touch when baked? 

June 26, 2023 - 5:13pm
dmsnyder's picture
dmsnyder

A new bread book looks very promising

I have been aware of Maurizio Leo through his social media postings for some time. He is a home baker, but an extremely serious one who comes from a restaurant family. Eventually, I discovered his blog (ThePerfectLoaf dot com)  and found him to be an articulate and generous mentor for home bakers. More recently, he has published a baking book. It is more on the model of Tartine Bread or Forkish's books than, say, Hamelman"s. But Leo's recipes are very well documented and look really good. His book, "The Perfect Loaf," won a James Beard Award this year. 

Today, I baked his "Rustico." I have baked it once before with some flour substitutes and thought it very good. Today, I had the Central Milling T85 flour Leo uses, along with AP and whole Spelt, and I followed the recipe exactly.

Maurizio's "Rustico" is quite similar to my favorite multigrain sourdough. It is an 80% hydration, 45% whole grain and high-extraction flour loaf. I made it with no mechanical mixing, and it was a very nice dough to work with.

This is good bread. It has less wheaty flavor than my usual multigrain sourdough, but it has a nice sweet lingering flavor. The crust is crunchy and chewy. The crumb is tender and cool. This is a nice recipe, and I enjoyed the experience of making a bread with more spelt and higher hydration than usual for me. My biggest takeaway is that I want to play more with the T85 flour. I think it's good stuff.

Happy baking!

David

June 23, 2023 - 9:42am
Benito's picture
Benito

Scallion Sesame Garlic Sourdough Steamed Bao

I first saw this type of shaped steamed bao when I borrowed Kristina Cho’s book called Mooncakes and Milkbread from the library.  My brother in law then emailed me a recipe for them out of the blue so I decided to make them.  Unfortunately my brother in law is no where near us so I’m unable to share this with him.  I’m pretty happy with how they turned out even if I didn’t do the twisting of the strips of dough prior to shaping them.



For six bao

 

Overnight Levain

In a large jar, combine all purpose flour, water, ripe sourdough starter, and sugar. Cover the jar loosely and let the levain ripen overnight at warm room temperature (I keep mine around 74°F to 76°F/23°C to 24°C).  After 10-12 hours it should have peaked between 3-3.5x.

 

In The Morning

In a mixing bowl, add the water, milk, sugar, corn starch, oil and salt, mix to dissolve.  Add the tangzhong and stiff sweet levain and using a silicone spatula, cut the levain into small pieces.  Add the baking powder and flour.  Mix to form a shaggy dough.  Allow to rest for 10 mins.  On your countertop knead the dough until good gluten development.  This is a very stiff dough that will be challenging for your home mixer to knead.  Remove some dough for aliquot jar to follow rise.  Shape into a boule and rest in a covered bowl at 82°F until it has increased by 40%.

 

Garlic scallion oil

1/4 cup canola oil (substitute some toasted sesame seed oil)(This makes far more oil than needed, use only ¼ to ½ of this amount at most)

2 garlic cloves sliced 

⅛ cup finely chopped scallions 

½ teaspoon flaky salt

 

To make the oil: While the dough is rising, make the garlic scallion oil by heating the oil, garlic and scallions over medium-high heat until sizzling, about 3 minutes. Remove from the heat, transfer to a heatproof container, and set aside until ready to use.  Remove the garlic slices prior to using, you can pass the oil through a sieve to remove the garlic and scallions as long as you have enough fresh scallions for shaping.

 

Prepare six 4” parchment squares.

 

After bulk fermentation, transfer the dough to a lightly greased surface. Roll out the dough to a roughly 10 × 16-inch rectangle. Brush the dough with the garlic scallion oil and sprinkle the crisp scallions, some additional fresh scallions and sesame seeds to taste and salt evenly over the surface. Fold the dough into thirds, like a letter so you end up with a long narrow strip of folded dough and not a square of dough. Pat out any trapped air pockets as you fold.  Brush oil on the top of the dough.  Flatten and roll out the dough with a rolling pin into a roughly 10 × 16-inch rectangle. Cover the dough with a clean kitchen towel and let rest for 15 minutes. (Don't be tempted to skip this step, as the dough will not stretch out as easily without a proper rest.)

 

Cut the dough into six equal-width strips (1 ½ × 10 inches), then cut in half into 1 ½ × 5-inch strips. Stack two strips of dough on top of each other and press lengthwise down the center of the dough with a chopstick. Pinch the two short ends of the dough with either hand, gently lengthen and stretch the dough, then twist the dough into a spiral. While securely holding onto one end, twist the dough around the pinching fingers, then pinch to secure the other end to the dough (see photos). Place the formed bun on a square of parchment paper. Cover with a damp, clean kitchen towel and let rest in a warm spot until they are 1 ½ times larger.

Cover the shaped bao with a damp cloth and place in a warm place and allow them to ferment until they pass the poke test.  Using an aliquot jar they should reach 120-125% rise.

 

Prepare your steamer setup and bring water to a boil.  Working in batches if necessary, arrange buns in the bamboo steamer spacing 2” apart.  Steam over boiling water for 10 minutes.  Turn off the heat and leave the buns in the covered steamer for 5 more minutes to prevent collapsing.  (I left them in the steamer and on the same stove element turned off). Do not lift the lid of the steamer, doing so will cause a sudden drop in temperature that can cause the buns to collapse or wrinkle or dent.  Remove the buns from the steamer and allow them to cool for 5 minutes before serving.  

 

 

Buns can be kept in an airtight container (a resealable bag works great) at room temperature for up to 4 days or in the freezer for up to 3 months. Room temperature buns can be reheated in the microwave for 15 to 20 seconds or steamed for about 2 minutes, until soft and warmed through. Reheat frozen buns by steaming until soft and warmed through, 10 to 15 minutes.




June 22, 2023 - 5:41pm
cfraenkel's picture
cfraenkel

Easy summer whole wheat

There is nothing like waking up and realizing there is no bread for your morning toast.  I ended up having to eat yogurt for breakfast!

I threw this loaf together with very little fuss, and 24 hours later there was bread. 

I mixed up what amounted to 175 g of ripe active starter at 100% hydration.

added:

290 g. of All purpose flour

204 g of hard white whole wheat

314 g of water

11 g. of salt

to the 175 g of levain. 

I mixed it with the awesome dough wand thing I found at of all places the dollarama.  (best $1.25 I have spent in a long time) Left it on the counter, went about my morning, gave it a stretch and fold in the tub, took the dog for a walk, gave it another fold in the tub and then left it to ferment.  After dinner (it's cold here...) I shaped it and stuck it in the fridge in the banneton with a cover.  Baked it up this morning and it is great!  A lovely soft even crumb, perfect for toast and sandwiches.  Had to write it down so I remember it.

June 22, 2023 - 2:07pm
CalBeachBaker's picture
CalBeachBaker

Marble Rye - King Arthur Baking

Today's bake: Marble Rye

Source: King Arthur Baking

Note:Increased TDW from 1.124kg to 2.248kg to make two loaves, replaced an egg with a 'flax  egg', left out deli rye flavoring due to availability. 

Discussion: A friend purchased the ingredients for this bread and then asked that I bake it because it seemed too challenging which is to me like waving a red flag in front of a bull, so challenge accepted. I all seriousness this was a fun and easy bread to make. The only tricky part is placing the dough in the pans.

This bread is primarily AP flour and the main flavor comes from the caraway seed which I quite enjoy. There are notes of the cocoa and slight rye flavors from the rye flour, in addition.

My friend got the round loaf.

Make again? - Yes, it was fun and easy.

Changes/Recommendations: Get the deli rye flavoring and a tad more oil would make the dough moister.

Ratings

 








 Tony

 

June 22, 2023 - 12:40pm
aly-hassabelnaby's picture
aly-hassabelnaby

The Breads of Egypt - Eish shamsi

Hello everyone,

I've posted the latest recipe on my blog for a unique and ancient type of bread we have in Egypt called "Eish Shamsi"

The Breads of Egypt - Eish shamsi

This was quite challenging to produce and took a few trials but I think I've got it nailed now. Since there's a massive amount of baking experience here on The Fresh Loaf, I would love any feedback from you regarding the recipe and the way I describe the steps. If that doesn't sound interesting to you, then I hope you learn something new about something really really old.

Thanks.

June 17, 2023 - 5:41pm
Yippee's picture
Yippee

20230617 Simple, Air Fried 100% Whole-spelt Bread with CLAS

 

Please see here and here to learn more about concentrated lactic acid sourdough (CLAS). 

 

 

With CLAS, making 100% whole-spelt bread with freshly milled flour is simple; anyone can do it. Without using fat, dairy, sugar, or vital wheat gluten, and without turning on the big oven, you can enjoy an aromatic and wholesome loaf in just a few hours through proper dough development and fermentation.

 

 

Ingredients

 

10% flour from whole-spelt CLAS👇👇👇

90% freshly ground whole-spelt flour

15% water from whole-spelt CLAS

50% water,  ~40-45°C

7% water

1.8% salt

0.7% dry yeast

Total dough weight 580g

 

Mix

x 20-30 mins

Dough temp ~31-32°C

 

Bulk ferment

38-40°C x 50 mins

 

Shape

round

 

Prove  

35°C x 25 mins

 

Bake

400F x 19 mins, covered with a stainless steel dish

remove the stainless steel dish

400F x 20 mins

flip

400F x 20 mins

check

flip

400F x 5 mins browning the top

 

 

 

 

Grind the spelt berries in the Vitamix 

 

 

until silky-smooth.

 

 

 

Add whole-spelt CLAS to the Zo.

 

 

 

Mix the dough in the Zo. 

If you prefer to increase the dough's hydration, refer to this post for detailed mixing directions.  

 

 

Dough temp ~31-32°C

 

 

Witness the remarkable gluten development of this 100% whole-grain dough within 30 minutes!

CLAS rocks!💪💪💪

 

 

Ferment the dough in the Zo，using Zo's preset "Rise 3" feature.

~38-40°C x 50 mins

 

 

Shape the dough and transfer it to a cake pan, covering it with a pizza pan.

 

 

 

 

Prove the dough in the Instant Vortex using its dehydrating feature. 

35°C x 25 mins

 

proved

 

 

Score the dough to maximize rise and bloom in the air fryer.

 

 

 

Bake in the Instant Vortex without preheating, covering the pans with an inverted stainless steel dish.

 

 

400F x 19 mins

remove the stainless steel dish

400F x 20 mins

flip

400F x 20 mins

check

flip

400F x 5 mins browning the top

 

 

 

 

 

 

I forgot to take pictures of the bottom. 🙄🙄🙄

 

 

The crumb.

 

 

That's it!

 

🌺🌺🌺🌺🌺🌺🌺🌺🌺🌺🌺🌺

 

👉👉👉How to make whole-spelt CLAS

 

 ground wheat malt: 25g

 Whole grain spelt flour: 75g

 Water T. 45°C: 140 ml

 Vinegar (5% acidity): 10 ml

 Fermentation temperature: 38°C±2°C

 Fermentation time: 24-36h

 Hydration: 150%

 End pH: around 4

 

To refresh spelt CLAS

1:7 (spelt flour in CLAS: new spelt flour), no vinegar needed

150% hydration@38+-2 C x 12 hours

I usually make about 500g of CLAS at a time with 200g of grains. It stays in the fridge until I need it to bake, and I stir it thoroughly before use. I usually warm it up with one of Zo's fermentation features while I prepare the remaining ingredients. When I've used up most of the 500g of CLAS, I refresh it using the 1:7 ratio to make another 500g, give or take. 

 

I set up a water bath (~low 40s C) in the Instant Pot, support the container with a trivet, and use the Instant Pot's yogurt feature to make CLAS:    

Then cover it with the lid.

 

P.S. 20230722 🤔🤔🤔

💡💡💡

I can also make CLAS in the Zo using its 'Rise 3' feature because it operates within the same temperature range as a yogurt maker. I can either take out the bread pan, place the container with CLAS in the bread machine, supporting it with a trivet, or ferment the CLAS directly in the bread pan.

 

 

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