As you can imagine, things can get silly as some people want to unload a terrible gift and others want to steal a desirable one. There are limits to how many ‘steals’ are allowed to keep things flowing. At the end of the party, all guests are searched to insure their gift leaves with them and not left for us to take care of. There have been flying pigs, USB Christmas trees, ugly sweaters, etc. brought and gifted, many of which have returned multiple times.
This Twelfth Night Party tradition became such an embedded part of our local social scene, it was actually written up in the local newspaper five years ago. Don’t get me wrong, this isn’t a party for high society here in our town, it’s just a fun way for us regular peeps to celebrate the end of the holiday season with one last bash.
I ran out of white sandwich bread the other day and baked another loaf today. I always double the recipe 'cause why not? And I have to bake less often too. I normally make one loaf and 8 - 10 rolls depending on the size of the rolls. However, this time I decided to make hamburger buns using 100 g of dough per roll. That turned out to be a bit too much and I will reduce the amount to 75 g next time.
I have made hamburger buns in the past, but they always tended to rise too high, so this time I put a flat baking sheet on top and used a jar with 1 qt of water in it to hopefully make them rise out instead of up. That worked too well, and next time I will reduce the amount of water in the jar. These wound up being a little over 4" in diameter. I guess I will just have to bite the bullet and make the patties a little bigger.
@ hoovarmin - You are correct sir. I like the looks better when I just make one "log" and put it in the pan lengthwise. You can do whichever is easier for you.
I'm a bit thrown off by the call for up to 15 minutes in the stand mixer. That seems like a really long time. What has been your experience RonB and Skip ?
I halved my sourdough pizza ball, since it was halved I could shape it much thinner then I normally am able, do to limits in oven size. But this was a 230g ball, topped with my sauce, grated mozz, 4 large slices of salami , topped with a bit of extra oregano and fresh grated parm. Cracker thin goodness.
Last edited by Richard Chrz; January 8, 2023, 05:26 PM.
Second attempt at a series of whole wheat loaves I plan to develop. First attempt didn’t make it into the oven.
This unifine milled flour doesn’t hold water like typical wheat flour despite having high protein. Maybe because of the way the particles end up after milling. Maybe because it’s virtually 100% extraction idk. Makes it tricky to use existing recipes as a starting point.
These specimens are 50/50 whole wheat and bread flour
If not cooking outdoors, I am cooking on the stovetop with my 14" carbon steel wok, 12" CI skillet, or in the oven with my two Lodge CI pizza pans, or two dutch ovens. I've also got a nifty Lodge carbon steel grill pan that rocks for veggies outdoors.
Well, on Monday for the BIG GAME, Yvonne was making a crock pot of beef and vegetable soup, along with a salad, and I made a loaf of bread. I didn't have time for an extended sourdough ferment, and the starter was in the fridge, so I did a somewhat quick no-knead loaf using AP flour, salt, yeast, water and my dutch oven.
I made it "quick" i.e. in about 6 hours of rise time by putting the covered bowl inside an empty oven with the light on, and using about double the yeast I normally would have used. I think the pictures speak to good results...
A couple of mini-batards from yesterday, in my relentless pursuit of symmetry and decent ear development.
I went back to elementary baking, using a lower hydration Peter Reinhart formula (72%) for lean, straight dough. It allows me to get beyond the fussiness of wetter doughs while shaping and provides a firmer canvas for scoring practice. Once I am comfortable with this dough, I will slowly go back to Poolish, biga, etc. to work with them to apply the lessons learned. I just need to be patient although, I really miss the flavor of those pre-fermented doughs. 🫤
Attjack - the loaf I posted in reply # 10 in this topic is 90% the King Arthur white whole wheat flour. As mentioned, it's milder in flavor than the typical whole wheat flour.
Weber Summit Kamado with SnS and Vortex.. Broil King Baron, Primo Oval Junior. Primo XL. Love grilling steaks, ribs, and chicken. Need to master smoked salmon. Absolutely love anything to do with baking bread. Favorite cool weather beer: Sam Adams Octoberfest Favorite warm weather beer: Yuengling Traditional Lager. All-time favorite drink: Single Malt Scotch
I have a lame to score bread with. I have found it super ineffective. Why do you think that is? Were the blades that came with it dull or is it the dough I'm trying to score?
I also noticed in RonB ‘s favorite chainbaker videos he makes the initial score and then goes back along and cuts horizontally under the top seam to create more separation
Glas i stumbled in this post.
Scoring seems to be my downfall right now, my latest attempt looked like a stabbing gone terribly wrong.
Right now I'm using what I thought was a sharp paring knife.
Plus yesterday's dough was very light and airy which added to the mayhem.
Possibly an angle of approach, they are meant to be used with the curved opening up, so you can pull it along the bread with just one corner going in. So, opposite of how it is sitting in the photo. That is just a guess though,
Very informative vid, know my problem(s) now.
My dough at least for DO bread I'm making is too wet for effective scoring with what tools I have although I'm going to try using scissors next time
A recent bake. The crumb was a little dense and not as airy as I would like. I did use KA All Purpose flour with a small amount of whole wheat. Will bread flour make the difference?Richard Chrz and anyone else how I can get that lighter and more airy crumb? This is my first loaf proofing with a banneton. I used a bowl before.
First off, I see no issues with that bread, looks beautiful, great bake. The only answer I have is practice, there are all sorts of written methods that people swear by. But your bread should feel light, which means as you build your dough it should start feeling airy and light as a dough. But it’s really just getting your hands on dough and getting used to what it feels like, then try something different and see how it changed the feel. I wish I had more wisdom.
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