StevenSensei's blog

I decided I wanted to do something different and fun so why not make a multi-flavor sweet milk bread and see what happens. I found out that deliciousness happens!

FULL RECIPE AND CALCULATIONS HERE

I started with a basic milk bread recipe that I use for dinner rolls / hotdog buns / hamburger buns. Scaled it to 900 grams and then divided the dough into 3 parts. Added mix-ins of black sesame, matcha powder, and dried coconut into each. 

Once proved I stretched out each dough and gave it a light sprinkle of sugar, a mist of water from a spray bottle, and then layered the next one. That stack of dough was then shaped and put into a pan for the final proof. 

Finally the whole thing got baked and the results were pretty on the inside and out!

Sensei's Report Card

Tasting Notes: Soft and sweet. This would make amazing French toast for breakfast. I've enjoyed it lightly toasted with some butter and even just as is. The sesame is a bit strong and can overpower the other flavors, however if I pull a part of the bread apart and eat the flavors individually they are present. I could honestly see doing this again as just coconut...or just matcha or maybe even a coconut pineapple bread.  

Time/Effort: Takes about 4 to 6 hours from start to finish as it is a yeasted bread that is risen twice and baked the same day. Low effort as it can be made completely in a stand mixer other than shaping.    

Would I make it again: Yes, I would make this one again. I would leave out the sesame as it can be a very strong and dominating flavor. Or just do it as a sesame bread. I love coconut so I'll likely do it with just coconut or maybe as a coconut pineapple bread next time. This is a fun sweet breakfast bread for sure. 

Wanted to have a light rye bread for sandwiches and of course some extra flavor and crunch from things like seeds and nuts are always welcome. I had considered doing a sweedish limpa rye with sunflower or even a 100% rye but stumbled across this recipe from Reinhart's Bread Baker's Apprentice and figured I'd give it a try. The original calls for some commercial yeast and can be baked on the same day the dough is mixed. It is also shaped completely differently in the book.  I decided to omit that yeast and treat it as a normal sourdough with an overnight cold rise. 

FULL RECIPE AND CALCULATIONS HERE

Tasting Notes: The rye is present and the bread has a nice sour tang. The sunflower seeds add a nice flavor to the rye as well. The crumb is soft and the crust is crispy. Sliced thin and toasted it is crispy like a cracker. A little thicker and it is an ideal kind of sandwich bread. 

Time/Effort: 3 days - An overnight soak for the rye and toasting of sunflower seeds, Day 2 is mix prove and shape followed by an overnight prove. Then baked off the next day. This is my normal routine for sourdough. 

Would I make it again: Yes. It's a good solid loaf of bread. If you don't like rye you could easily substitute whole wheat for the rye and have a really nice loaf there as well.  

I've made this a few times in the past and it's always been a light and fluffy loaf. Which in all honesty this should have been but instead I made the super dense anadama BRICK!  Basically instead of taking the recipe and dividing or scaling it properly I made it up and tossed it into my Pullman pan. Let it finish it's prove (which was enough to press on the lid) and baked it off. In hindsight it was probably too much dough and would have been better with less to get more of that fluffy result....but even as a dense bread it's delicious. 

FULL RECIPE AND CALCULATIONS HERE

Tasting Notes: The molasses is present and adds a nice sweetness to the bread. Reinhart mentions in the book that he recommends a light molasses for most people, I only had dark and like it just fine. The light fluffy version if scaled and baked properly makes a great toast. This more dense version isn't light and crispy but dense and toothsome. Checking in with my family and they actually like the more dense version.

Time/Effort: 2 days - An overnight soaker for the corn meal, then day 2 is mix, prove, shape, prove, bake. Super quick compared to sourdough but normal for a commercial yeast bread.  

Would I make it again: Well given that this is at a minimum the 3rd or 4th time I've made it...yep. It's a good bread. 

This one was inspired by WoodenSpoon @ thefreshloaf in this post . I had a bit of fresh lavender growing and the rains of early summer made me do this one. Some information was missing from the original post and various people have followed up with their own bakes but as far as I could see nobody had actually posted a full recipe / calculation for the bread so....

FULL RECIPE AND CALCULATIONS HERE

I also had to try this in a new oven. My existing one died with an error code and would no longer use the oven function. The cost to fix it was a bit too high and the time too long for my taste so I also get to present my new combo steam oven microwave!

I was a bit worried because as with any time you bake in a new oven you have no clue how it will perform. Thankfully this one is a champ.

Very pleased with the bake on this one overall....but what about the rest?

Tasting Notes: I'm puzzled honestly. The lavender scent is pleasant and the flavor is there in the background as a light floral. If you have ever had a Lavender Macaron (the french kind not the coconut kind)....that's the flavor...but less strong and without the sweetness. I enjoyed the first slice with butter but stood at the counter perplexed. I'm not upset about this bread. I don't hate it. In honesty I'm still trying to figure out what it's use case for. It's such a unique flavor that I'm sure in the right application it would shine and be amazing...I just haven't figured out what that is yet. My spouse tried it with some honey and an extra little sprinkle of salt and it was good but they are in the same kind of puzzlement. After some discussion we think that it might be best on a fancy picnic in the countryside with a soft white cheese, honey, maybe fig jam. Tomorrow I'll have to try it with a bit of cream cheese and jam or honey. 

Time/Effort: 3 days (Growing Levain, Mixing Dough, Baking) Normal for sourdough for my process. 

Would I make it again: Honestly, I don't know. I would need a very specific use for this to do it again and I haven't found that yet.  I'm glad I tried it, and I will continue to try it with different toppings...maybe some candied lemon peal...forever perplexed on this one. 

Early on in my baking adventures when looking for a 100% rye sourdough I stumbled across Patrick Ryan and his videos on the ilovecookingireland youtube channel. I was pleasantly surprised when when this more recent video came across my feed and though this would be a perfect way to use some of the fresh basil from the back garden. 

After watching this I decided I would tweak it a little bit. Instead of cheese I would add roasted garlic and would for sure use pine nuts. I'm sure the cheese is amazing and would be well worth doing, but some family members can't eat cheese so it had to go. 

FULL RECIPE AND CALCULATIONS HERE

A few small notes. While I remembered to roast the garlic the night before...I actually forgot to include it in the bread! However, I think this was the right choice. The bread with just the basil, roasted pine nuts, and sun-dried tomatoes is amazing! For dinner we decided to make pizza toast and I used the forgotten garlic as a spread on the toast instead. Sublime!

Tasting Notes: Wow! The pine nuts, basil, and sunderied tomatoes all shine. the bread all by itself was super tasty. so much so that my first thought was that I would bake a loaf of this...cut it up...and then take it on a long plane flight. Doesn't need any toppings, spreads, or anything else. I could easily cut up the whole thing and eat it in one sitting with no regrets.  

Time/Effort: 3 days (Growing Levain, Mixing Dough, Baking) Normal for sourdough for my process. Maybe an hour or so of extra time spent the night before to roast the garlic and pine nuts, but honestly, worth the time. 

Would I make it again: Yes, and especially for use for making pizza in the summer. The pizza toast above was probably the most delicious pizza I have had in recent years, literally. I've made pizza and have a pretty good recipe and results but this was spectacular. The crust has a nice crunch and the crumb is soft and chewy. I would omit the the garlic from the bread itself as I accidentally did this time (a happy accident) but still roast it to use as a spread later. The great thing about using this bread for making pizza in summer is a quick blast under the broiler and its done, no need to run the oven for hours and pump more heat into the house. 

I didn't have a plan for this week and had a request for some kind of onion bread. After searching around I found an onion and sage bread. Reading more about that someone mentioned that the bread tasted kind of like a Thanksgiving Stuffing. AH HA! Inspiration strikes. If I can make an onion bread with some herbs, why not make a Thanksgiving Stuffing bread. One of the easy to make instant bread stuffings in America is StoveTop stuffing. Bread crumbs, a seasoning package, and some chicken stock to hydrate...cooked on the stove or in the oven. Yes, this is a Thanksgiving staple, and a flavor I haven't had in years now. A quick google search for the ingredient list I had my plan. Make a slightly elevated version in sourdough form. 

FULL RECIPE AND CALCULATIONS HERE

I started by caramelizing some onions (roughly 4) in a bit of butter until golden brown and roasting 3 heads of garlic in the oven. Once done those were combined together to make the onion garlic base. I used fresh herbs from my porch garden (rosemary and sage) but had to go with a bit of dried thyme because it doesn't grow well in my climate. Followed the usual process for prepping the levain and preparing a sourdough loaf as usual, adding the herbs to the second stretch and fold as I would any other inclusion. It smelled really good when going through the bulk and shaping...and the baking....

Herb and cracked pepper mix along with the golden onion and garlic. Fun bonus, I had some left over and turned it into a great onion dip.

The bread ended up a bit darker than I wanted and what normally happens with my loaves but I'm guessing it is from the residual sugars from the onion. It doesn't effect the flavor but I probably could have pulled this 5 minutes earlier. 

Perfectly happy with the crumb and the distribution of onion, garlic, and herbs. 

Tasting Notes: Memories are locked to things like music, smells, and taste...and boy does this one pack in some great memories. The flavor very much tastes like a good version of Thanksgiving Stuffing. I can't wait to try this as a sandwich. When asked my family gave this evaluation.... "This bread has no business being this good"! I can't argue with that. The herbs, onion, and garlic all blend together to make something greater than the individual contributions. 

Time/Effort: 3 days (Growing Levain, Mixing Dough, Baking) Normal for sourdough for my process. Maybe an hour or so of extra time spent the night before mixing to cook the onions and garlic, but honestly, worth the time. 

Would I make it again: Yes, without a doubt in my mind. Super happy with this one and can't think of any adjustments I would make to it other than to watch the final browning to have it not be as dark. Oh, and this would probably also be really really good as a focaccia! 

In planning meals for the week we decided that one night we wanted to just have a nice sandwich for dinner. A request was put in for an oat bread of some kind. Not having a go to recipe for this of course it was time to scour the fresh loaf. I ran across this beautiful post from Chelseasf and decided it was the way to go. I took her recipe and followed it but the hydration was way too high yet again. This is a trend I have seen in the Tartine recipes. I'm not sure how Chelseasf was able to produce such a beautiful loaf of bread. This one was another that got tossed into a loaf pan and baked off. 

I think I also ended up with a slightly over proved loaf as well as temperatures are on the rise and we all know weather will effect the bake. The results aren't bad but I honestly think could be much better. 

In an attempt to make sure that the bread was fully cooked I also ended up with a loaf that was a bit darker than ideal. Next time I will reduce the hydration (by adding in the oatmeal hydration into the overall hydration level). I really should not blindly follow directions and remember that soaker / porridge moisture must be included in the final calculations. 

RECIPE AND CALCULATIONS HERE 

Tasting Notes: Just a good solid oat bread with a kick of sourdough flavor. Not super sour and the oats shine through. Crust is great but the crumb is a bit like a crumpet (again from the over hydration issue). I think with some adjustments this will be a super solid sandwich loaf. 

Time/Effort: 3 days (Growing Levain, Mixing Dough, Baking) Normal for sourdough for my process.

Would I make it again: Yes, with some adjustments for hydration. This strikes me as a very basic solid bread that will not be the focus of the meal but a good support for other things. Next time I need to do a sandwich loaf I can easily returning to this one. 

I was so impressed by the original Semolina Sourdough I made from Tartine Bread that I decided I had to try the variation listed in the book. The variation should be a sweet take on an amazing savory bread. 

The modification lists that you take the original bread and add some more Fennel, coriander, golden raisin, and orange zest. However, the quick write up about the bread in the book is not clear. Do we use the full recipe seeds and all? Do we add the fennel amount listed to the original or is it a replacement amount? This is another situation where I am disappointed with the editing of the Tartine Bread Book. I went back and read the original recipe again and also noticed that at a given point it says "Add poppy seeds"....but does not list any amount or even have poppy seeds listed in the ingredients. Thankfully this time the bread is not a complete failure, but will need some tweaks before I'm fully happy with it. 

FULL RECIPE AND CALCULATIONS HERE

Tasting Notes: Interesting. I think this one needs some adjustments. The Fennel is a strong savory flavor that kind of fights with the sweetness of the raisins. I honestly think that in this exact bake there was too much fennel. The golden raisins are a revelation though, I'm very very pleasantly surprised by how much I like them. The sesame is delicious as always. I included some poppy seeds in the topping but don't know that they bring anything to the party. The orange zest is hard to identify in the flavor and I think the Fennel is to blame. 

Time/Effort: 3 days (Growing Levain, Mixing Dough, Baking) Normal for sourdough for my process.

Would I make it again: Yes, with some adjustments. I think that I will use the original recipe base (the semolina itself is amazing), but the additions will be tweaked. Keep the sesame, increase the coriander, keep the orange, and reduce the Fennel.  I think there is a lot of promise for this to be an amazing loaf of bread, and probably is, but the editing and lack of detail in the text is another disappointment. Guess I'll just have to fix it myself. 

My usual sourdough routine has been streamlined and I generally don't have discard. In fact if I want to make pancakes I have to build extra levain when I'm prepping bread so I can make pancakes later. So when Hendrik at The Bread Code  posted a video of this bread, and said it was one of his favorites, I knew I had another bread to try. I slowly built up some discard but the process was very slow and actually took a few months to build up enough to make a tiny loaf of bread. This entire loaf was about 350g total weight!  

FULL RECIPE AND CALCULATIONS HERE

Because of how small the loaf is I ended up baking it in a small spring form cake pan covered with a stainless steel bowl! It actually worked out quite well. 

Sensei's Report Card

Tasting Notes: Nutty, Flavorful, and Sour! The old was nice and sour and that carried over well into the bread. The nuts provide a nice contrast to the sour. The turmeric adds a wonderful color and a slight flavor that is hard to describe. It's just a subtle flavor in the background that is pleasant.     

Time/Effort: 4 hours...maybe? Because you are using a large amount of preferment (discard) it was quick to mix up, prove and bake. I did this after work on Friday night and it was baked before bedtime. It also made for a tasty breakfast toast with coffee the next morning. 

Would I make it again: Yes! But for me I would have to plan a week or two in advance. Build the extra amount of levain I would need for this loaf, and then give it a couple weeks in the fridge to age and slow ferment.

If you want more information for this bake please check out the video that inspired it here:

Been a while since I had some bagels and have been craving them, so it was clearly time to revisit this wonderful recipe from Peter Reinhart in the Bread Baker's Apprentice. I've done this at least 2 or 3 times in the past always going with the poolish and commercial yeast version. I figured it was time to try the full sourdough version.

RECIPE AND CALCULATIONS HERE

One of the first things I noticed was how much starter/levain I needed. 992 grams! Wait...really....yes really!

The amount of starter here is no joke...but it also includes all of the water in the recipe and ends up being about 50% of the total dough weight. Next we had to deal with flavor. Bagels flavors can vary far and wide. Sweet, sure! Savory, of course! For me though, I have always loved an onion bagel. To that end I decided to re-hydrate 55 grams of dried onion flakes overnight and then drain off the liquid. This was then added directly to the dough to be incorporated throughout. This worked wonderfully and the bagels do indeed have a nice flavor of sweet onion in every bite. 

In the photo it almost looks like candied ginger, but is in fact onion. After mixing the dough (I needed to add more flour at mixing for adjustments it was time to scale, pre-shape into small rolls, and then final shape into bagels. Each one was approximately 130g. I also made 2 as full dinner rolls (no holes but still boiled and baked) to be used as hamburger buns later in the week!

Some of the spots of color you are seeing in the dough is rye. My starter was 10% rye in this case. There are a few ways you can actually shape the bagels and have been successful with both. The first is to pick up the round....pinch the middle between your thumb and another finger until you can poke a hole...then gently stretch this out into a ring. The second is to roll the round out into a rope about 20cm long....then wrap it over and around the back of your knuckles...overlap the ends and roll that part together to seal the ends into a round shape. That is what I did this time and found it to be quite a fun and satisfying experience. At this point the bagels were placed on a pan, covered, and sent to the refrigerator for about 24 hours to do their final prove. 

The next morning a quick float test confirmed that the bagels were ready for the bake. (Simply gently place a bagel in a bowl of cold or room temp water. If it floats within 10 seconds you are ready to boil and bake).

After bringing a pot of water with a tablespoon of baking soda to a boil each bagel got a bath. While this can be as little as 30 seconds per side I go a full minute per side and end up with a very chewy and firm bagel.

Once removed to a baking tray it is time to decide on toppings. Here the world is your oyster and you can go with literally anything. I always have home made EVERYTHING BAGEL SEASONING in the house as it's great on avocado or fresh tomatoes. Of course it's good on bagels too, but this time I opted just for some flaky sea salt. 

I extended the bake a little bit to get some extra color on the bagels but the result was better than I had hoped for. 

Sensei's Report Card

Tasting Notes: A nice thick and chewy crust with a soft and chewy crumb. Exactly how I like a good bagel. The onion flavor is pronounced and delicious. Excellent toasted, or as is with some cream cheese or other toppings of your choice. I'm not sure if I can taste the sourdough vs a preferment and commercial yeast addition because of the onion, but I would continue to do this with sourdough in the future.    

Time/Effort: Three day process starting with a levain build on the morning and evening of day one, mixing and shaping on day 2, and finally boiling and baking on day 3. This is my normal sourdough schedule so It's not out of the ordinary for me. HOWEVER! And this is a big however for me and potentially for you. You MUST have room in your refrigerator for these to have time to do a slow long rise. For me this meant I needed to take 2 of the 3 shelves in my refrigerator. Thankfully I planned to do this and was able to move some other things around, but if your fridge is full, you might want to skip this one until it is a bit more roomy!

Would I make it again: Absolutely! I love a good bagel and have always been impressed with the quality of bagels I can produce myself. Not sure what the next flavor will be, but these will happen again...and again....and again.