The bakers' thread

[Reynard]

Am in the process of building a new sourdough starter. Lost my original to neglect - thing is, when you can get loaves of bread for 5p on yellow sticker... I know, I know... But recently my local Tesco has stopped marking bread down below half price, and that's been the incentive to get back into baking my own again.

The starter build is going OK so far, but I don't want to waste my discard. But then I ran across this:

https://www.kingarthurflour.com/recipes/classic-sourdough-waffles-or-pancakes-recipe

Definitely going to give them a whirl.

 

[glasgowcyclist]

when you can get loaves of bread for 5p on yellow sticker..

That is not bread!
Let us never speak of this again.

Definitely going to give them a whirl.

That's what I do with excess starter, it gives a great tang to them and they're gone in minutes.

This weekend I'm having a bash at a long ferment sourdough pizza base and will probably have some leftover starter from that, so it looks like pancakes tomorrow too.


Edited to add recipe link.

 

[CharlesF]

Am in the process of building a new sourdough starter......

The starter build is going OK so far, but I don't want to waste my discard. But then I ran across this:

https://www.kingarthurflour.com/recipes/classic-sourdough-waffles-or-pancakes-recipe

Definitely going to give them a whirl.

These look like they are worth a try. I like watching King Arthur's YouTube on shaping bread.

 

[stephec]

This is another 1st attempt bread: baguettes.

My wife had bought me this silicone sheet for them from Lakeland so I thought it was time to try it out.
While I was happy with the result, I didn't achieve the airy crumb I'd hoped for, nor was the crust as crispy as I'd have liked.

Most importantly though, it tasted bloody marvellous and they were instantly demolished.

View attachment 400166

Those look delicious.

The recipe I use has pan of water in bottom of the oven and after the first minute, open the oven door and mist the whole oven. Also they are baked for longer than seems right, but are crispy, and can't be kept, not that is a problem.

My baguettes always turn out like sausage shaped loaves as well.

I tried the water in the oven after reading that specialist ovens have water jets in them, didn't know about opening the door to mist it though, or the higher temperature either.

I might have to try again later.

 

[Reynard]

This weekend I'm having a bash at a long ferment sourdough pizza base and will probably have some leftover starter from that, so it looks like pancakes tomorrow too.

Mmmmm, pizza!

I'm experimenting with a higher percentage of preferment after running across a formula for a 90% biga italian style bread on thefreshloaf - I usually use 100g of 600g total flour, but am upping it to 300g this time. Not entirely confident of a 90% fermented flour bread just yet...

 

[stephec]

My baguettes always turn out like sausage shaped loaves as well.

I tried the water in the oven after reading that specialist ovens have water jets in them, didn't know about opening the door to mist it though, or the higher temperature either.

I might have to try again later.

It's worked, oh yes!

 

[Reynard]

A preferment that threatened to escape its bowl has resulted in late night bread making. Currently in the middle of a series of stretch & folds before consigning dough to the fridge for its bulk ferment.

A 50% preferment is something of a pain to mix into the other ingredients - took a lot longer than usual before everything started to come together during kneading. All those different textures I guess. But wow, have I got the most amazing silky, supple dough ever...

Other than upping my usual 100% hydration preferment to 50% of the total flour, the rest of the formula is, barring a slight reduction in hydration due to using all white flour (62% total as opposed to 65%), the same for my everyday bread.

Preferment:
300g white bread flour
300g tepid water
1 pinch DA yeast

Dough:
all of the preferment plus
150g white bread flour
150g durum flour
72g water
1 pinch DA yeast
12g (2%) salt
2 tbsp olive oil

We'll see what this turns out to be...

 

[glasgowcyclist]

Lunch was my first homemade sourdough pizza (fermented overnight) with prosciutto, finnochiona, chorizo, mozzarella and basil. Mmmmm..

I'm really enjoying my weekend baking, being relatively new to it all means there's tons of '1st time' bakes for me to discover.

 

[glasgowcyclist]

Lunch was my first homemade sourdough pizza (fermented overnight) with prosciutto, finnochiona, chorizo, mozzarella and basil. Mmmmm..

I'm really enjoying my weekend baking, being relatively new to it all means there's tons of '1st time' bakes for me to discover.

View attachment 400490

I forgot to add the recipe for the pizza base: https://www.shipton-mill.com/baking/recipes/no-knead-sourdough-pizza.htm

 

[Dave7]

I am probably the worst/least experienced chef on here but since retiring have started to learn.
I have just made a dish steak pie with suet pastry......it will be ready in 20 minutes.
Baby boiled, cabbage and carrots to go with it.
Here's hoping for a result.

 

[Svendo]

On the pizza front,I usually use the frying pan/grill method as it replicates a 450°C pizza oven better than a domestic oven. Stretch or roll the dough out, put it in a preheated pan, add the toppings as the bottom of the dough cook then put under a preheated grill once the base has the dark brown bubbly bits on the bottom and grill til cheese is how you like it.
Be warned this will damage plastic frying pan handles if you put the whole pan under the grill.

 

[Reynard]

Lunch was my first homemade sourdough pizza (fermented overnight) with prosciutto, finnochiona, chorizo, mozzarella and basil. Mmmmm..

I'm really enjoying my weekend baking, being relatively new to it all means there's tons of '1st time' bakes for me to discover.

View attachment 400490

Is there any left?

For me it's second time around - had a hiatus of over a year (apart from the odd bake). I'm just praying I haven't lost my touch.

 

[Reynard]

Dunno exactly what kind of yeast I've managed to capture in my baby sourdough starter, but whatever it is, it nearly trebles every time I feed it.

 

[glasgowcyclist]

Is there any left?

For me it's second time around - had a hiatus of over a year (apart from the odd bake). I'm just praying I haven't lost my touch.

None of that particular pizza but I did make a lot of dough, enough for two more.
We're having them for dinner tomorrow night, if you can make it...

 

[Reynard]

None of that particular pizza but I did make a lot of dough, enough for two more.
We're having them for dinner tomorrow night, if you can make it...

Oooh...

Unfortunately I shall have to decline the very kind offer, but I have a date with a very nice ribeye steak planned for tomorrow that I do not intend to miss...