Thread: Who bakes bread?

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...

Yes uncommon but a wheat gluten free sourdough is not outside of the reach of the home baker.

One option is rye crackers...
Another is dolsa made with rice flour but given a SD fermentation step, again a cracker.

Loaves are also possible and can be very good. The baker that gave me a knob of his SD starter
makes a very very fine gluten free loaf.

Without playing doctor sourdough falls into a family of long fermentation breads
where the glycemic index busting sugars are mostly consumed by yeast and
other fermentation processes modify long chain sugars and many proteins.
This pre-digestion seems to have value for those with many problems but not
all.... so pay attention and work with your doctor.

Cows seem to need antibiotics because the corn feed modifies the pH of the animal
gut which is normally much more acidic when grass fed. So what you eat and how you eat it
can prove important. Sourdough is acidic... hmmm....

As always watch out for the glutton factor... it may be more important than the gluten
factor.


Break bread with friends... that may be the most healthy way to eat.

Great Thread this! I used to bake a lot of bread, but not much anymore...my sourdough starter is over 30 years old. Now a days...SD Biscuits, nice and flaky,and lots of fresh SD Pancakes.

Originally Posted by niftyshaving

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....

Thanks,
I have since tried the goldrush starter. Also started from scratch with instructions off the net which used pineapple juice.
The resulting breads were good, but, I think mostly from the no-knead cast iron pot method than from sourdough.
I could get varying degrees of SD taste by adjusting the amount of started.
I think I'll stay with plain white. All the variations I have tried, I always come back to plain white for the great flavor.

Haven't reached the level of Sourdough just yet, but I do bake bread rather regularly.

The kids gobble it up before it has had a chance to cool, so usually I bake 2-3 loaves. I mostly make french-style Miche's, using full grain flour, and frequently adding in a portion of kamut, spelt, or other "specialty" grains. When I'm short on time, I avoid a full second rise, and shape the dough into bread-sticks (or mini-baguettes) and they are always a hit.

A ceramic or terra cotta stone (pizza stone) is a must for me, and plenty of steam in the oven when baking for a crisp crust.

Although some swear by the no-knead recipes, I find the kneading quite pleasant and the zen-like repetitive movements yield a feeling very similar to stropping...

Originally Posted by Jakobs

Haven't reached the level of Sourdough just yet, but I do bake bread rather regularly.

The kids gobble it up before it has had a chance to cool, so usually I bake 2-3 loaves. I mostly make french-style Miche's, using full grain flour, and frequently adding in a portion of kamut, spelt, or other "specialty" grains. When I'm short on time, I avoid a full second rise, and shape the dough into bread-sticks (or mini-baguettes) and they are always a hit.

A ceramic or terra cotta stone (pizza stone) is a must for me, and plenty of steam in the oven when baking for a crisp crust.

Although some swear by the no-knead recipes, I find the kneading quite pleasant and the zen-like repetitive movements yield a feeling very similar to stropping...

What or how are you introducing steam into the oven?

Originally Posted by Neckbone

What or how are you introducing steam into the oven?

Since I don't have a commercial oven with steam injection (yes, this exists - look at THIS ONE which retails for about $12K for one deck!), I use the old school method: I put a shallow pan in the bottom of the oven before cranking up the heat. When I place the dough in the oven, I dump a half-cup of water into the shallow pan - this creates plenty of steam (you have to do it quick to avoid burns, and close the door quick!). I may repeat 2-3 times, depending on the size of the loaves I'm baking.

I have heard of others that wish to avoid the heat loss/instability of opening the oven door - like the pressure cooker method, but that's too much for me. The "dump it in" method seems to work fine, but as always YMMV.

I've found the safest way to add steam is just use a spray bottle and quickly spray some water into the oven. I tried the pan method and a few years ago was clumsy with removing the pan which of course has super heated water which spilled on the oven door cracking the glass and that was about a $350 repair job.

If I recall correctly from some years ago, I heard that steam is only needed in the beginning of the bake to crisp the crust.
Does that seem true with your experiences?

Originally Posted by Neckbone

If I recall correctly from some years ago, I heard that steam is only needed in the beginning of the bake to crisp the crust.
Does that seem true with your experiences?

That's been my experience - and consequently that's why the "dump-a-cup" works for me. I've never had a dish full of water leftover - it's all evaporated by the time my loaf is done.

Originally Posted by Neckbone

What or how are you introducing steam into the oven?

Somehow I missed this.

This steam problem is addressed by a dutch oven. Preheat to 400F plop in the dough
and cover. The small enclosed space and tight lid keep the steam near the loaf
for long enough to cook it. Once cooked the lid is removed and the crust can brown.

Oven gloves are a MUST.

The top is the bottom.... both ways work.
This cast iron combo is reasonable.



Note how blond the loaf is when the cover is removed.

Back in the oven uncovered to brown...