Chocolate cranberry sourdough with espresso powder.
it’s pretty good, but not there, but lot’s of changes to try. I wanted cherrie chocolate so that is first, and second would be to add the espresso powder to the water, not sprinkled over the dough.
I think if I did cranberry again with chocolate, it would be white chocolate, and likely macadamia, possibly pistachios.
We have guests coming over the weekend. They will only be here for lunch on Sat and possibly for breakfast on Sun and my wife is going with my suggestion of a taco bar for lunch.
If they are here for breakfast on Sun, I'll make French toast with bacon, so I made a loaf of challah for the French toast. If they decide not to stay for breakfast, I guess we will have to eat the whole loaf...
Sorry SheilaAnn - no crumb shot 'cause I did not cut it. I did get a great rise out of this loaf - you can see it splitting.
I must have gotten over confident with the babka I made a few weeks ago and attempted a Finnish Cardamom Coffee Bread. I need to keep practicing because I'm never sure if I'm over kneading or under kneading my dough. That said, the flavor is good -- the loaf just doesn't look pretty.
My few attempts at baking were pretty terrible. I would love to learn, but I have no clue how to learn other than watching some videos. Like I said, my attempts have been not great with nobody to stand there to help me with how the dough should act and how it should feel.
Cooking gadgets
Weber Summit Charcoal Grill Center
Weber Summit Platinum D6
Blue Rhino Razor
Dyna-Glo XL Premium Dual Chamber
Camp Chef Somerset IV along with their Artisan Pizza Oven 90
Anova WiFi
Thermometers
Thermapen Mk4 - ThermaQ High Temp Kit - ThermaQ Meathead Kit - ThermaQ WiFi - ThermoWorks IR-GUN-S - ThermoWorks Signals & Billows - ThermoPop -ThermoWorks ProNeedle - ThermoWorks TimeStick Trio x2 - and a Christopher Kimball timer - NO, I do not work for ThermoWorks...I just like their products.
Other useful bits...
KitchenAid 7-qt Pro Line stand mixer
A Black & Decker food processor that I can't seem to murder
A couple of immersion blenders, one a "consumer" model & the other a "high end" Italian thing. Yes, the Italian one is a bit better, but only marginally
Instant Pot Duo Evo Plus 8-qt + accessories like egg-bite & egg holders
All-Clad pots & pans, along with some cast iron...everything from 7" Skookie pans to 8.5qt Dutch ovens
Weber GBS griddle, pizza stone, and wok
Knives range from Mercer to F. Dick to "You spent how much for one knife? One knife?!" LOL
Many many years ago I went an entire year without purchasing any baked goods. No bread, no rolls, muffins, cakes, the lot. I baked everything. I need to get back to that…if not completely, at least once in a while.
That said, here’s a cranberry & brie quiche I did the other day. Almost missed its photo op. LOL
I made a quiche Lorraine shortly after but didn’t bother with any photos, they’re much more boring looking.
LSG Adjustable Grill/Smoker, MAK Pellet Grill, Large BGE with Several Attachments from the Ceramic Grill Store, Weber Genesis E335 Gasser, Cast Iron Pans & Griddle, Grill Grates, Mostly Thermoworks Thermometers, Anova SV Stick, BBQ Guru Controller and Fan
My first sourdough bake! Thank you for the starter Richard Chrz! It the first one had a cave in the middle with a pretty dense crumb otherwise. I am thinking I didn’t proof it long enough. It probably didn’t help that my kitchen was especially cold due to our heater struggles. My scoring also didn’t show through. I wonder if I didn’t cut deep enough or what else could be the issue.
Practice practice practice....This is my 3rd season of practicing. I'm consistently turning out good loaves. I learn something new every time...I found the float test for my starter is key. If my starter doesn't float in a little warm water, wait until it does.
Sometimes it feels like I did everything perfect and I still make a doorstop. Nothing more frustrating than that, but persistence always pays off.
Readying for back to back charity bakes for our school districts lunch deficit., hardly considered cold fermentation when your fridge is in the garage and it’s below zero…
Last edited by Richard Chrz; January 16, 2024, 07:02 PM.
400 g bread flour,
65% hydration (260g)
25% starter (fed 1:3:3) (100 g)
2 % diamond Crystal fine kosher, sea salt substitutes just fine at same percentage.
Richard Chrz What type of oven do you use? How do you incorporate steam into your bakes? Do you ever go higher than 65% hydration? What temperature do you bake at.
troymeister. I will answer all of that, but I think most of it is covered in how I make bread post, that is likely where I will post it and tag you, so not to take this page to talk about steps. .I definitely have a photo of my oven set up with steam pan, in that post.
Also no apprentice thing is accepted. We are friends with common interests and we share it with each other as friends and pitmaster family,
Last edited by Richard Chrz; January 17, 2024, 10:09 PM.
I am heavy into using what's in the cabinet and freezer mode. Today that resulted in making Bishops Bread, which used up random partial bags of pecans and almonds, dates, chocolate chips, and maraschino cherries.
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.
I had fallen off the wagon and only been feeding my sourdough starter every week or two in the fridge, and had a couple of batches that didn’t rise as expected. So, I built the starter back up and have been feeding it several days in a row before making my bread, and am pretty pleased with this week’s no-knead sourdough….
I make on Wednesday again, so I take it out again around 8 - 9 pm on Tuesday and use that to do an additional 1:3:3 for my next day, Including an additional 100 grams. The next morning that additional 100 grams goes back in the fridge (unfed). And do not pull it back out until Monday at noon.
300 grams seems like a a lot for a loaf. Do you use that much, because it pushes the fermentation faster?
Reference point, I use 25% which is 100 grams of starter per loaf.
This full-flavored, no-knead sourdough bread is made with minimal effort (no kneading!) and a ripe (fed) starter.
I just mix with a wooden or plastic spoon to a shaggy consistency, then do the 3 hourly stretch and folds, then into the fridge it goes, either overnight, or sometimes I've forgotten about it and it went 3-4 days, maybe longer, with no ill effects. I usually bake in a dutch oven, but sometimes form an oblong loaf and bake on a pan.
Richard Chrz I went back and when I looked at that recipe, it calls for 227 grams. So what I've been doing is building up to about 300 grams before I bake, then take 50 that is left, feed it and put it back in the fridge as 150 grams, until the next week. I think I misspoke when I said I did 150+150+150. It was 100+100+100.
Sunday's Sourdough Bake...Using Richard Chrz method and recipe.
Except I kind of bungled my measurements by accidentally toggling between milliliters and grams on my scale. I didn't know what was what...It was already in the bowl...So I mixed and hoped for the best...It seemed a little dense so I added a dab more water so I don't even know the hydration. I also didn't realize the water dried up in the pan beneath the baking steel. I added some a few minutes into the bake.
Setting all that aside, it still came out awesome.
I always used a Dutch Oven. This time I used a baking steel that was normally used as a Weber 22 griddle. . The difference is amazing. I now think the baking steel is the way to go. The oven spring was more than ever before.
Richard Chrz I learned a lot in spite of my many mistakes. It still is one of my best bakes. Thank you!
hoovarmin This is that new bread flour I bought last week in a 25 lb bag. Seems pretty good. Well it tastes delicious.
Last edited by troymeister; January 22, 2024, 08:49 PM.
RonB . No doubt the take away is to have some sort of system that can bail you out when your brain exits the room. I measure grams for almost everything, so it’s easier for me to have a small notebook in my kitchen, as I have almost every bowl, or container marked down.
Last edited by Richard Chrz; January 23, 2024, 11:29 AM.
Comment