From the category archives:

Bread

Converting bread recipes from commercial yeast to sourdough (wild yeast)

March 20, 2010

After much research, I learned that a good amount of sourdough starter is about 10 to 20% of the flour weight in fermented flour. … I like easy math. :) Let’s say you use this recipe to make bread: 1000 grams flour (about 10 cups, depending on how you measure flour) 650 grams water (2 3/4 cups) 20 grams salt (4 teaspoons) 2 packages dry yeast And let’s say your sourdough starter is 100% hydration (that is, a 1:1 ratio of flour to water by weight), then, with a 20% fermented flour target in mind, I would use this: 800 grams flour (1000-200, since I want 20% or 200 grams of the flour to be fermented in the sourdough starter) 450 grams water (650-200 because the starter is equal amounts of water and flour) 400 grams sourdough starter (200 grams flour + 200 grams water) 20 grams salt You can use less sourdough starter than 10% fermented flour for sure. … As well, fermented flour has gluten that’s been overdeveloped (gluten develops naturally when flour becomes wet), which isn’t a problem when the fermented flour is used at low amounts, but when a lot of fermented flour is used, it can’t support the dough properly, hence the ugly dimples and inability to rise.

Share and Enjoy:
  • Print
  • email
  • RSS
  • Blogosphere News
  • del.icio.us
  • Digg
  • Facebook
  • Fark
  • FriendFeed
  • Google Bookmarks
  • Identi.ca
  • Live
  • Mixx
  • MySpace
  • Ping.fm
  • Sphinn
  • Slashdot
  • StumbleUpon
  • Technorati
  • Twitter
Read the full article →

Making Bread An Easier Way

February 1, 2010

No doubt the majority of us have believed, at least at one time, that kneading bread dough for 5 or 10 minutes, or longer, was necessary if the bread was going to develop properly and rise. Fortunately, especially for those of us with problem and painful joints, it simply isn’t true. Personally, instead of kneading [...]

Share and Enjoy:
  • Print
  • email
  • RSS
  • Blogosphere News
  • del.icio.us
  • Digg
  • Facebook
  • Fark
  • FriendFeed
  • Google Bookmarks
  • Identi.ca
  • Live
  • Mixx
  • MySpace
  • Ping.fm
  • Sphinn
  • Slashdot
  • StumbleUpon
  • Technorati
  • Twitter
Read the full article →

Bread Trishaw!

December 30, 2009

We have a neighborhood bread trishaw. We also have neighborhood ice cream trishaws. This bread trishaw goes through our neighborhood, and others, playing an annoying tune that everyone recognizes as belonging to the bread trishaw. Those who want to buy bread run out to the road with rupees in hand and buy… whatever. I should [...]

Share and Enjoy:
  • Print
  • email
  • RSS
  • Blogosphere News
  • del.icio.us
  • Digg
  • Facebook
  • Fark
  • FriendFeed
  • Google Bookmarks
  • Identi.ca
  • Live
  • Mixx
  • MySpace
  • Ping.fm
  • Sphinn
  • Slashdot
  • StumbleUpon
  • Technorati
  • Twitter
Read the full article →

Mutant Escaping Super Bread

November 17, 2009

Yeah. The bread rose too much – I left it to rise overnight, and it grew about 5 or 6x in volume. Yikes! I’ve had previous experiences with this particular dough not rising much at all overnight, so I didn’t think it would be this much of a problem. But no, it did. And it [...]

Share and Enjoy:
  • Print
  • email
  • RSS
  • Blogosphere News
  • del.icio.us
  • Digg
  • Facebook
  • Fark
  • FriendFeed
  • Google Bookmarks
  • Identi.ca
  • Live
  • Mixx
  • MySpace
  • Ping.fm
  • Sphinn
  • Slashdot
  • StumbleUpon
  • Technorati
  • Twitter
Read the full article →

Baking On The Stove: The Update

November 5, 2009

It’s been a while since I’ve posted about baking on the stove. You can see some previous posts: Baking on the Stove: Experiment 1 Baking on the Stove: Experiment 2 Roasting vegetables on the stove Fahim and I have wild yeast (sourdough that’s not sour) sweet buns most mornings for breakfast, and as I’ve mentioned [...]

Share and Enjoy:
  • Print
  • email
  • RSS
  • Blogosphere News
  • del.icio.us
  • Digg
  • Facebook
  • Fark
  • FriendFeed
  • Google Bookmarks
  • Identi.ca
  • Live
  • Mixx
  • MySpace
  • Ping.fm
  • Sphinn
  • Slashdot
  • StumbleUpon
  • Technorati
  • Twitter
Read the full article →

Mmm… Curried Chicken Sandwich… Mmm…

October 28, 2009

I made another batch of Kaiser Soze Rolls, this time with the no-honey substitutions, and it turned out beautifully! Lunchtime came around, so I made myself a sandwich. Kaiser Soze Rolls with shredded curried chicken; bell peppers, cucumber, and onion; and of course homemade mayonnaise. Yum! Tags: lunch, bread, rolls, kaiser rolls, mayonnaise Share and [...]

Share and Enjoy:
  • Print
  • email
  • RSS
  • Blogosphere News
  • del.icio.us
  • Digg
  • Facebook
  • Fark
  • FriendFeed
  • Google Bookmarks
  • Identi.ca
  • Live
  • Mixx
  • MySpace
  • Ping.fm
  • Sphinn
  • Slashdot
  • StumbleUpon
  • Technorati
  • Twitter
Read the full article →

Kaiser Soze Rolls

October 17, 2009

I think "life is an experiment" is a phrase I take way too seriously. I needed a recipe for buns – I’d been craving a Subway meatball sub, and since the nearest Subway is in India, I figured the only way I was going to get a meatball sub would be to make my own. [...]

Share and Enjoy:
  • Print
  • email
  • RSS
  • Blogosphere News
  • del.icio.us
  • Digg
  • Facebook
  • Fark
  • FriendFeed
  • Google Bookmarks
  • Identi.ca
  • Live
  • Mixx
  • MySpace
  • Ping.fm
  • Sphinn
  • Slashdot
  • StumbleUpon
  • Technorati
  • Twitter
Read the full article →

Wild Yeast Coccodrillo Ciabatta Bread

September 19, 2009

On the Bread Bakers Apprentice Challenge Twitter stream, there was a discussion about ciabatta breads and how the one in Peter Reinhart’s book wasn’t very wet, which also meant it couldn’t achieve the truly large holes that most people look for in ciabatta bread. @misterrios said: @LMAshton @gaaarp The one I normally make is the [...]

Share and Enjoy:
  • Print
  • email
  • RSS
  • Blogosphere News
  • del.icio.us
  • Digg
  • Facebook
  • Fark
  • FriendFeed
  • Google Bookmarks
  • Identi.ca
  • Live
  • Mixx
  • MySpace
  • Ping.fm
  • Sphinn
  • Slashdot
  • StumbleUpon
  • Technorati
  • Twitter
Read the full article →

Roasting vegetables on the stove

September 11, 2009

I live in a tropical country. It’s always hot. So, if there’s a tiny amount of something to be baked, I tend to do it on top of the stove – it saves on the amount of heat that gets released into the kitchen, which saves on me sweating to death, and it also saves [...]

Share and Enjoy:
  • Print
  • email
  • RSS
  • Blogosphere News
  • del.icio.us
  • Digg
  • Facebook
  • Fark
  • FriendFeed
  • Google Bookmarks
  • Identi.ca
  • Live
  • Mixx
  • MySpace
  • Ping.fm
  • Sphinn
  • Slashdot
  • StumbleUpon
  • Technorati
  • Twitter
Read the full article →

On Autolyse in Bread Making

September 8, 2009

I have a lot to learn about bread baking and, more specifically, sourdough bread baking. One thing I learned about a while ago is autolyse. Autolyse is a fancy word for the stage in the bread-making process where you combine the flour with the liquids (water, milk, etc.) and then let it rest for twenty [...]

Share and Enjoy:
  • Print
  • email
  • RSS
  • Blogosphere News
  • del.icio.us
  • Digg
  • Facebook
  • Fark
  • FriendFeed
  • Google Bookmarks
  • Identi.ca
  • Live
  • Mixx
  • MySpace
  • Ping.fm
  • Sphinn
  • Slashdot
  • StumbleUpon
  • Technorati
  • Twitter
Read the full article →