Ru007's blog

 Hello friends!

So, I haven’t been around for a (long) while. My last post was my last bake. Really, it’s been that long. You know when life just gets so …. blah… you can’t actually see straight? I’ve had one of those. Maybe not everyone can relate, but I think nearly everyone here can relate to this, “passion is an incredible alarm clock”. [I know someone will call me out for replacing the “purpose” with “passion”, but whatever.] For whatever reason, we all have a fiercely passionate attachment to our bread baking. It’s not the be all and end all of our lives, but that doesn’t invalidate the passion. 

My point is, at some point I had to decide to “never let a stumble in the road be the end of the journey”.  So what happens when fear has a show down with passion? Its just a matter of time before the alarm clock sounds and passion wins. I started a journey here, had a stumble, and yet here I am.

So the next chapter starts in familiar territory. Partly because this one of my absolute favourite loaves and partly because after such a long time without baking, my (old) starter (which I had dried over a year ago) and I needed to kind of dip our toes in the water first. So I didn’t really change anything from the formula below:

http://www.thefreshloaf.com/node/48894/oat-porridge-sd-third-time%E2%80%99s-charm-%E2%80%A6

I did add a little less water, I usually hold back about 20g of water from the soaker just so I can see how the dough feels. This didn’t need anymore water.

 This loaf was an exercise in patience. Its getting cold here. Yesterday was particularly miserable, so things were happening very slowly. There was a lot of dough watching during the fermentation and sitting on floor next to oven anxiously while it baked (I know I'm not the only one who does this! LOL!), but here it is. 

And the crumb... 

Feeling kinda rusty, but I'm just happy I to baking again!

Thank you all for the warm reception, I know I kind of just fell off the face of the earth! I’m so glad to be back, you have all been thoroughly missed. And hello to all those who have joined in the last year, I'm looking forward to getting to know all the new faces.

Happy baking!

Ru

The plan was to return some sort of normalcy to my baking this weekend. I was going to find a nice formula, dust off my scales and bake a loaf that I could actually say whats in it. .

It didn’t happen that way. I was running late and I needed to start the first stage of my levain build before I left for work so I ended up just throwing together some flour, water and starter. I think the last couple of bakes gave me the confidence to know that it’ll all work out.

I figured I should just carry on eye balling it for the rest of the loaf, so the second build was a bit more whole wheat flour and water. I didn’t make as much levain as last week, to help avoid over proofing. Retarded in the fridge overnight after it had doubled.

Toasted oat porridge SD is one of my favourite loaves, so I toasted some oats (eye balled that too) and poured in some boiling water (just enough to cover) and left it the fridge overnight.

Next morning, autolysed some whole wheat flour and unbleached white bread flour for about two hours while the levain and soaker warmed up.

Mixed everything (plus some salt) with some slap and folds (not sure how many). Then left the dough to rise.

I did two stretch and folds at the 60 and 120 minute marks (I think), then left the dough for another two hours. Pre shaped and rested for 25ish mins then shaped and placed in a rice floured basket. I left the dough to proof at room temp for another hour and half, before putting it in the fridge overnight.

Baked straight from the fridge (first 20mins with steam, next 40mins without)

This one is not at over proofed as the last one (I’m learning how to judge how much levain should go with how much dough). 

I'm happy with how this turned out. The crumb is soft and fluffy, thanks to oats and it tasted great. I'm especially pleased that I've learned how to eye ball salt, I've got it just right the last two times i've baked freestlye! 

I've very pleased with the taste. It tastes almost like it normally does, maybe a bit tangier. It might have a bit more whole wheat than usual, but i'm happy with it. I also think it could have done with a bit more oats, but that's an easy fix. 

Happy baking all! 

I was not at all sure what to call this loaf (besides a bit overproofed) because I don’t really know what’s in it.

Well, I know there’s some rye starter, whole wheat flour, unbleached white bread flour, water and salt. That’s it. This was another “let’s just eye ball it” loaf.

To be honest, I’m much happier with how this one turned out than my last try at a “winging it loaf”. I still over proofed it a bit, but not nearly as much as the last one. I also managed to get the consistency of the dough to be a lot less wet and impossible (for me) to handle.

I did a one stage levain build using my NMNF rye starter. I used just whole wheat flour for the levain build. It was a very liquid levain (I poured too much water).

Next morning, I mixing some more whole wheat flour with white flour and water and left to autolyse. I was careful to make the autolyse a bit stiffer than normal just because I was aware of how liquid the levain was. I let that sit for about 2 hours.

I mixed all the levain, with the rest of the dough and added salt. Based on some advice I got last time, I put the salt in the palm of my hand until it looked like how much I usually put in my loaves, then I put a bit extra because it looked like I had a bit more dough.

I stretched and folded for a while. I gave the dough one fold about an hour into the bulk fermentation. The total bulk fermentation was only about 3 hours after which I shaped and put the loaf into the fridge. Things were happening so quickly!  

I peeked at the dough a couple of hours later and it was looking ready to bake, but I didn’t have time so I had to leave it in the fridge overnight.

The dough flatten out a little when I scored it, and it only barely recovered in the oven.

If I were to guess, I’d say there’s maybe 40 – 45% whole wheat, 60 – 65% white flour and 70%ish hydration. I think the salt is about right (2%). No idea how much prefermented flour is in here, but based on how quickly the bulk fermentation happened, I’d say a lot. 

This one tastes great, it has a nice sour tang to it. The crumb is really soft and fluffy, less chewy than usual, but that's okay. 

Happy baking! 

This weekend's baking was totally different from my normal style. 

I dug out a package of IDY that I bought a year ago (it's been that long since i've used it) and made a focaccia.

It turned out good. I didn't manage to get a crumb shot, because i made it for a dinner party and, you know, its a bit awkward to stop everyone from eating while I take a few photos! LOL! But the crumb was nice and open, full of bubbles and I think that's how it's supposed to be. 

I put olives and rosemary on one side and garlic and rosemary on the other (for those who don't like olives for some reason). 

Formula: 

370g white unbleached bread flour

60g whole wheat flour

360g water

1tbps olive oil

10g salt

1tsp IDY

I mixed everything until it was well incorporated and then left to rest for about 15mins. Then began the stretches and folds. I kept going until the dough stopped giving me a hard time and was quite smooth.

I left the dough to rise for an hour and then stretched it out as gently as I could over my baking sheet. I put the dough in the fridge for about 2 1/2 hours before removing it and letting it rise for another hour at room temperature.

Dimpling the dough was fun, I just dipped my fingers in olive oil first to avoid sticking. 

After putting on the toppings and a generous amount of olive oil, i baked the bread for 30mins at 240dC. 

Here it is....

Next, I made a basic sourdough. A while ago i was challenged to make a loaf going on instinct alone, no scales no measuring cups no recipes. So I finally mustered up the courage to do it. It was a huge success but i'm pleased with the result. 

I did a one stage levain build using some NMNF rye starter, whole wheat flour and water. I let that mature overnight.

In the morning i did a one hour autolyse of some white bread flour and some whole wheat flour, water and some olive oil. I think this is where things went a bit wrong. I overshot with the water, so the dough ended up too wet for my handling skills. I carried on anyway, because once i've started i don't like adding extra flour. 

When it came to adding the salt and levain, I realised I hadn't though this the whole way through. How much salt do you add when you have no clue how much flour you have in the mix? Do you taste the dough? Raw flour? Raw sourdough? Living on the edge right? Well, that's what I did, only a tiny bit though. To be honest, i'm not sure tasting the dough was that helpful, raw dough and a baked loaf are not the same. Anyway, I did add a bit more salt. 

I did a bunch of slap and folds until the dough looked smoothish, then one fold maybe about an hour into the bulk fermentation (I wasn't timing).

I shaped the dough (at least i tried too) and then retarded overnight. 

The loaf spread A LOT in the oven and hardly sprang at all. Probably because i'm not used to handling such a wet dough so I didn't get the surface tight enough.

The crust and crumb came out really good for my liking. 

I think the flavour is great, it could use a touch more salt though. The crumb is nice a soft, I think the addition of olive oil is to thank for that.

I had so much fun making this loaf, this is something i'll definitely be doing again. 

Happy baking all.

After a few weeks of making really basic loaves, nothing fancy just 1-2-3 loaves, I thought it was time for a high rye.

I’ve made 70% rye before so I thought I should be brave and try 80%. I was going to load it up with all sorts of seeds and nuts but I ended up going for a fairly plain rye. The only extra in this loaf is a bit of Star Anise (which I’m not usually a big fan of, but bread tends to make things better).

So here’s the formula:

Method:

1. 3 stage levain build starting with 20g of NMNF rye starter.

 I had to make the feeding times work around my schedule:

• 1st feed: Thursday night (20g rye flour, 20g water)
• 2nd feed: Friday morning before work (90g flour, 70g water)
• 3rd feed: Friday evening before bed (220g rye, 190g water).
• Ended up with an 85% hydration levain, and 40% prefermented flour.
• I also dropped some Star Anise in the levain, to kind of let it infuse.
• [Note to self: do not do this again; fishing it out when I was making the dough is messy!! LOL!!]

3. On Friday evening I soaked more Star Anise in the boiling water and left that overnight.
4. I mixed everything up using my hands, very very messy but so much fun!
5. Patted the dough down on a lightly floured surface and rolled into a log, which I put in the tin and covered.
6. I went for a run, by the time I got back the dough had already risen quite a bit.
7. After a total proofing time of about 2 ½ hours, I put the dough in a 250dC oven. Baked with steam for 10mins and then for another 1 ¼ at 210dC.

I could really smell the Star Anise while the loaf baked. It was lovely.

There wasn’t a huge amount of oven spring, but I wasn’t expected there to be any.

Here's the crumb: 

The flavour is really good, not a lot of sour. In hindsight, i think i should have let the dough proof for a bit longer, but that's next weeks project :)

Happy baking :)

What a fun challenge this was! This was my first ever attempt at doughnuts, which I’ve been meaning to try, but given that I don’t really have a sweet tooth, I’ve never found quite enough motivation. This challenge was it. 

Here’s the formula:

The formula looks a bit odd, because I used some left over rye and whole wheat flour I had mixed a few weeks ago, to do the first levain build. So the flour ended up being 7% rye, and 2% whole wheat.

Even though the hydration in the formula is really low, the egg and the butter and honey and the vanilla add a lot of moisture, so don’t add more water until everything is mixed.

Method:

• 2 stage levain build, refrigerated overnight after the second feed doubled. The second feed, which was all white flour, took about 5 hours double, I think my starter went into food shock, it didn’t seem to like the white flour.
• On mixing day, take the levain out of the fridge stir down and leave to come to room temp. It’ll rise about 25%.
• Mix the butter and honey and melt in the microwave for a few seconds. Add the rest of the wet ingredients and stir well.
• Mix the flour and the salt with the wet ingredients and the levain. I found the dough to be very very sticky. I did a lot of slap and folds for the gluten development, about 10 mins worth until I got a really good window pane.
• Leave to bulk ferment until doubled (about 5 hours) before retarding overnight.
• Next day, remove the dough from the fridge and pat down into a circle about 2cm thick and cut into desired shapes.
• 

Dough after tipping it out of the container

Ready to cut into circles

• Leave to rise for about 90mins or until they start to look puffy.

Ready to fry

• Deep fry.

I don't have a deep fryer so a good old pot had to suffice :)

• Drain the oil on some kitchen paper and then do whatever you like to accessorize doughnuts. I just sprinkled on some cinnamon sugar and left the rest plain.

I was really surprised by the … errr… oil spring? LOL! My fear was that they would end up dense and greasy, but they puffed up really well.

The crumb ended up good, fluffy and moist and not at all greasy. I think it would have been a bit more open if i had let the dough rise for a little longer before frying. 

 The crust was nice and thin and not too oily. 

Not the healthiest breakfast, but it was tasty. 

The taste is great, not too sweet for my palate. I’d say, for a person who likes sweet doughnuts either increase the honey or give them some sweeter toppings.

Thanks for the great challenge Pal! 

Chocolate and hazelnut SD

I ended up with extra lavain this week and a little tub of rye and whole wheat flour I had mixed for … something. I hate wasting food and I’d been planning a chocolate loaf for a while, but just hadn’t mustered up the courage, so I decided to give it a try.

Having some hazelnuts left over from my last couple of bakes and a slab of dark chocolate that had been sitting around in my cupboard for a long time made me think “Chocolate + hazelnuts = YUM” (we can’t all be wrong about Nutella, right?!)

Formula:

Method:

1. 3 stage levain build using 7g of NMNF rye starter and a mix of 65% whole wheat flour and 35% rye flour for each build and then retarded overnight
2. Autolyse over night in the fridge
3. Toast hazelnuts and chop up roughly. Chop up blocks of chocolate roughly.
4. Mix everything together.
5. Rest for 45mins. 4 stretch and folds with 30 min intervals.
6. Bulk ferment for 3 hours
7. Pre shape and shape and leave to rest at room temp for 45mins.
8. Retarded in the fridge overnight.
9. Bake at 240dC for 20mins with steam and then a further 20mins at 220dC.

I’m very happy with how this turned out! It tastes great. I'm glad that its overly sweet, because I didn't sweeten the dough and I used dark chocolate. I don't have any nutella in the house, but now i don't need it! 

Here’s the other loaf, the one I actually set out to make…

The formula is pretty much the same as the seeded oat porridge loaf I made a while back except I used some rye in my levain build. The taste is definitely sourer than the first time I made the loaf. The crumb was bit tighter than i would have liked, but i was expecting that. I'm not great at shaping boules, so i decided to try and practice and i managed to really man handle the dough in the process. I left it to proof a bit longer at room temp after shaping, hoping it would recover a bit.

I'm going to keep practicing shaping boules because I'm trying to broaden my comfort zone, one loaf at time :)

Happy baking! 

This weekend was busy in the kitchen. I was asked to make bread for a thanksgiving dinner. I decided to go with the same butternut squash loaf from last week (the only change I made was to add a 1/4 tsp more cinnamon and nutmeg), and an oat porridge loaf for those who don’t like cinnamon, nutmeg and/or nuts (although I was hard pressed to figure out how this could actually be possible, I know that there are some people who don’t)

The formula and method for the oat porridge loaf are exactly the same as the last time I made it, I just doubled up the recipe and then divided the dough.

I’m happy with the oven spring I got on the boules, I felt that the dough was a lot stronger than the batard, which spread a lot more than it rose. The dough for the batard felt very wet even after all the folds. I thought of adding more flour, but that has never ended well for me. I think the butternut I used just had a lot more moisture than the previous ones, but that’s okay too! 

 Triple nut, butternut squash loaf

I think this has been my best attempt at the butternut loaf, i'm going to leave that formula alone now.

Oat porridge loaf 1

Oat porridge loaf 2

The crumb on the first boule was a bit tighter. I knew it would be, when I was shaping, there was a “fault line” down the side. I was worried that the loaf would explode through there if I didn’t fix it, so I over handled the dough a bit.

I tried some swirly scoring on the second boule…not 100% successful, but I’ll keep working on that. Any tips are welcome.

Happy baking!! 

Okay, so I’m 3 days late for homemade bread day, but this is the soonest I could get a loaf baked this week.

My last bake was a butternut squash loaf, and I really enjoyed it. This time I wanted to try something a little different.

Formula:

Method:

• 3 stage levain build using 6g of NMNF rye starter (all builds with whole wheat flour). Refrigerate overnight after the 3rd build doubles.
• Cook the butternut squash (I didn’t add anything to it) and mash it up once it’s cooled.
• Toast the nuts and leave to cool before chopping up. Make autolyse the night before mixing and leave in the fridge.
• 2 hours before mixing, remove levain and dough from fridge and allow to come to room temp.
• Mix all ingredients (don’t forget the salt) and leave to rest for 30 mins.

Clockwise from the top: Hazelnuts, pecans, walnuts, freshly grated nutmeg, cinnamon and mashed butternut

• 4 stretch and folds at 45mins intervals.
• Bulk ferment for 2 hours,
• Pre shape dough and rest for 25mins
• Shape dough and place in basket and into the fridge overnight.
• Bake straight from the fridge. 20mins at 240dC with steam, then 25mins at 220dC, then turn the oven off and leave the loaf in there for another 5mins.
• Cool for at least 2 hours before slicing.

It tastes great, I really like this one. The flavour of the spices goes really well with the nuts and the butternut squash. The squash also makes the crumb really soft. I think the loaf could do with a touch more spices though.

I’m making this loaf again next weekend for an American friend who’s hosting a thanksgiving dinner next week. I'm hoping this will be okay. 

Happy baking :)

Last week, I went to a steak house with some work colleagues. This was not an ideal situation for me, only because I’m a vegetarian. The meatless main course options were severely limited. There was literally one choice, a roast vegetable dish.

It was a really delicious mix of roasted sweet potato, butternut squash, walnuts and pumpkin seeds topped with a generous amount of goat’s cheese, rocket and a sundried tomato vinaigrette/sauce/puree. To make it all even better, there was really great sourdough bread on the table!

The next day, I saw Ian’s butternut squash loaf which inspired me to try adding butternut squash to my next loaf and the meal I had the day before inspired the other two additions.

I wasn’t sure how much liquid the squash would add to the dough. So after getting some advice from Ian, I treated the squash in the same as I had the sweet potato in a sweet potato, pecan and walnut SD I made a few weeks ago. I basically just took that formula and replaced the sweet potato with butternut squash and the pecans with pumpkin seeds.

Formula:

 Method:

1. 3 stage levain build using 6g of NMNF rye starter (all builds with whole wheat flour). Refrigerate overnight after the 3rd build doubles.
2. Roast butternut squash (I didn’t add anything to it) and mash it up once it’s cooled.
3. Toast seeds and nuts and mix into the squash (I like doing this, because it stops the seeds sucking to much moisture out of the dough). 

4. Make autolyse the night before mixing and leave in the fridge. 

5. 2 hours before mixing, remove levain and dough from fridge and allow to come to room temp.

6.Mix all ingredients (don’t forget the salt) and leave to rest for 30 mins.

7. 4 stretch and folds at 30mins intervals.

8.Bulk ferment for 2 hours and 50mins (I was aiming for 2 hours and 30mins but I got distracted)

9. Pre shape dough and rest for 25mins

10. Shape dough and place in basket. Leave at room temp for 45mins before putting it in the fridge overnight.

11. Bake straight from the fridge. 20mins at 240dC with steam, then 25mins at 220dC, then turn the oven off and leave the loaf in there for another 5mins.

12. Cool for at least 2 hours before slicing.

 The loaf sprang fairly well, not hugely though. Probably let it go a bit too long during the bulk fermentation.

The crumb is very soft and moist. Its great for sandwiches and toast. 

The taste is great, I love it. There is a strong nutty and toasty flavor because of the walnuts and the toasted seeds. The butternut squash is a subtle taste, it mostly comes through as a background sweetness. 

This is a recipe i'll try again. 

Happy baking.