Thread: Who bakes bread?

Originally Posted by Neckbone

.......
The flavor is amazing from just these few ingredients.
Check it out. It will change your bread making for ever.
No-Knead Bread - Video - NYTimes.com

Good link.....
This cast iron dutch oven is magic.

I use a: Lodge LCC3 Pre-Seasoned Cast-Iron Combo Cooker, 3-Quart
dutch oven. The top is a pan, a lid, a base.

For bread I use the deep pan section as a lid.
For sourdough I take a spoon full of starter and disolv/ disperse
it in the water. I do have the cool willow baskets to give the
loaf a cool look. A sharp knife is necessary to score the loaf
so it can get the full bounce in the oven. Yes razor sharp....

To keep my SD starter happy I make sourdough pancakes
and waffles more often because bread does take a lot of time.
Sourdough for pancakes is overnight -- sleep tight.

Yeast only is fine for those that dislike SD. One key
is the long 12-19 hour ferment/ rise that the NYT video
talks about. Look for Bittman books ... he does his homework.

I've been baking bread and other things for probably 40 years. I learned while I was mess cooking in the Navy. I worked the night shift with our baker who actually was a baker before joining.

These days I buy the raw wheat and grind my own. Until you have done that you will never know what truly fresh ground flour tastes like in a bread.

Originally Posted by Birnando

I have a starter in the fridge always!
The last couple of years I'd say we are at about 50% home-baked and store-bought bread around here.
As others have said, bread is the staple of my food intake.
W eat bread every single day of the year up here.
More often than not, several times a day.
Love it!!

Some of the Norwegian rye recipes are wonderful. 'Multi-day builds, flavor that'll make you cry.

'Been perfecting a Russian-style black rye. Some use sweeteners - usually molasses, but you can avoid by substituting strong black coffee poured over 2/3 c of raisins and pureeing in a blender. Also, even most formulas that use a rye sourdough starter, call for commercial yeast in the final mix. I sacrifice a little rise to keep it sourdough only.

http://straightrazorpalace.com/conve...ily-bread.html

http://straightrazorpalace.com/finer...hing-tool.html

ScouthikerDad: - sourdough is a little harder than commercially yeasted bread, but overwhelmingly worth it - nutritionally and flavor-wise. All of the writing about grains being bad nutrition (wheatbelly, etc) *assume* commercial yeast, and usually a GMO flour. Even the wheatbelly blog acknowledges that none of the risks apply when done w/ sourdough & non-GMO grain/flour. A magnificent 76 y.o. lady spent 5 hrs showing me the basics. That was in '07. I've not bought bread since then. I did, buy a grain mill, pizza stone, wood-fired oven...

Those of us in the States, think sourdough is only a tangy white loaf - Ohhh are you in for a surprise. Try a multi-day build of a Wheat/Rye blend, and you're done for. Or a 100% whole grain spelt (this is a bugger to learn to make).

Same things apply as razors & shaving - if you get near Portland, OR - shout - I'll gladly honor my teacher by passing along what humble levels of knowledge I have.

Originally Posted by MickR

Well I have to point out the fault in your argument here...Only that which has been fed, and used, would ever hope to make it to toast...


Mick

Too funny.... shucks butter my toast.


An old starter might be coaxed into life but it takes a while.
Make yeast only bread while the starter is revised.... just do
not add yeast to the starter.

The Sourdough starter needs to cycle through the wild yeast and the
wild lactobacillus stages over and over to be stable. Once it is stable it is quite durable and
folk tell me that it can even be frozen. One way to get a clean starter is
the Goldrush brand name package. It takes a while to get it cycled
and healthy and might be the best trick if you live in a modern clean house
or desert or someplace without enough natural wild yeast the way
the San Francisco bay area has. All the world had their own flavor and mix, Poland,
South Africa, parts of Australia... and there is a lot of sharing and trying
by groups around the world. France is rediscovering their wild yeasts.


I am lucky -- moved to the SF bay area, made it easy to get a bit from
a friend. Today I have a many year old starter from a professional baker.
He taught me a lot about how to keep it live and how to pick off
sponge at various stages of tartness.

The yeast part generates alcohol, the lactobacillus-sanfranciscii (spelling?)
generates a lactic acid. Other bacteria turn alcohol into vinegar. If you get
the temperature and time right it is more flavor than sour. The acids break
some of the long chain sugars to feed the yeast and other bacteria
get a near soy sauce flavor enhancement (Umami) action.

The crust and crumb balance are whatever you want. Take the lid off
so it browns to your liking about the time the inside crumb is done.

The dutch oven trick lets me use a very sticky wet dough and when the
lid comes off a great golden crust develops. This crust is mostly not possible
in a common bread maker.

Making good bread is a lot of work but makes the great professional baker's
loaf even more valuable and appreciated.

To some degree this increased value and appreciation of quality applies
to honing a razor. If you take the time do the work and try there is
increased appreciation of the quality of a professional honemaster.
If you know someone that has done the homework and that person makes a
recommendation.... it is all good.... all good.

Robert, I was going to email you that there was a post going on bread making and wondering why you weren't posting. I wish I could find monthly excuses to have sessions with you so I can taste even one slice of your bread. I'm not a foodie but when something is in the arena of perfection memory and recall become strong. I'd start baking again but since my son and his family next door went gluten free (don't ask) the bread would either go stale or I'd put on too many pounds again.

Originally Posted by Neckbone

Where can a good sourdough starter be found?
I may try to make a no-knead sourdough.
The only decent sourdough bread I ever had was in San Francisco.

There are many sources: The easy one is "Goldrush Sourdough Starter Packet"
many grocery stores have it next to the yeast. It can be had from Amazon.

For goodness sakes hunt a local friend that loves sourdough... they may
have a healthy starter to share.

The only difficult part is getting the starter started. The grains of starter
are a little slow getting launched. They have you discard half
from yesterday and add flour and water over and over until the starter
cycles with energy and vigor.

I am impatient and frugal, there is no problem in tossing the discard(*) into
a common yeast and flour mix and making "ordinary" yeast bread. When the
starter gets legs the bread will not be ordinary.

In the book "Tartine Bread, by Chad Robertson the author discusses
the use of 'poulish' where he ferments both sourdough and yeast doughs
then mixes them for a flavor he likes. He keeps his sourdough healthy
in isolation... and bakes up a stellar loaf -- famous in SF.

(*)Back to the discard...
In feeding a SD starter it needs to cycle. Like beer and wine
the products of fermentation kill/ hobble the bacteria and yeast. By
saving some and tossing some then adding fresh flour and water
to the saved bit the culture stays vigorous and cycles through the various stages
necessary for flavor. Feeding twice a day works well for me (best flavor).
Refrigerate if you want a break from feeding it or go on vacation, for
a long vacation try freezing some. Get neighbors excited and
they will share....

Originally Posted by Razorfeld

Robert, I was going to email you that there was a post going on bread making and wondering why you weren't posting. I wish I could find monthly excuses to have sessions with you so I can taste even one slice of your bread. I'm not a foodie but when something is in the arena of perfection memory and recall become strong. I'd start baking again but since my son and his family next door went gluten free (don't ask) the bread would either go stale or I'd put on too many pounds again.

Gluten free? Are they celiac's? That's a relatively uncommon condition my nurse wife tells me. She mentioned to me once that most people who think they are allergic to gluten are in fact dehydrated, they're not getting enough water to aid in digestion; hence, many foods cause discomfort...

We used to bake bread, was absolutely awesome, until we found out that the calorie's were huge...

Originally Posted by Phrank

Gluten free? Are they celiac's? That's a relatively uncommon condition my nurse wife tells me. She mentioned to me once that most people who think they are allergic to gluten are in fact dehydrated, they're not getting enough water to aid in digestion; hence, many foods cause discomfort...

We used to bake bread, was absolutely awesome, until we found out that the calorie's were huge...

Phrank, no they are not celiac sufferers. Far from it. My daughter in law is far from dehydrated and my son is a general contractor and knows the dangers of heat and lack of water. She is a bit of a health nut and convinced my son to go on it with her and they swear that they have never felt better and have had an increase in energy. I say I will most likely out live them with my bread, chocolate cake and veggies diet.

Originally Posted by Razorfeld

Phrank, no they are not celiac sufferers. Far from it. My daughter in law is far from dehydrated and my son is a general contractor and knows the dangers of heat and lack of water. She is a bit of a health nut and convinced my son to go on it with her and they swear that they have never felt better and have had an increase in energy. I say I will most likely out live them with my bread, chocolate cake and veggies diet.

Hahaha...yes, I think they call that the, "placebo effect"....wasn't it Oat Bran a couple of years ago?

My favorite breakfast is home baked bread, and a big bowl of slow cooked Iron Oats, with some fresh fruit, a little cream, and some maple syrup...

edited to add: I'll bring the cooked Iron Oats if I can have a piece of that beautiful loaf of bread above this post....looks gorgeous Stefan!!!