Played around again with my Starters

[Richard Chrz]

I messed a bit with temps in bulk fermentation, in hydration, in percentages. and then added toasted walnuts.







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[tbob4]

That is art. While I don't bake bread, I really enjoy the photos and stories from those of you on this site who do. It is a real talent and photos of the final products show you all have tremendous attention to detail. Bravo.

[Richard Chrz]

Thank you for the kind words.I personally think it is very similar to a lot of smoking, and cooking. It's all in the details.

[Thunder77]

Bread making is very similar to low n slow bbq. A lot of waiting and patience involved. 😀 and experimenting

[Richard Chrz]

Thunder77 It really is, I know very little about both, yet, I understand the similarities seem to be knowing your protein (flour content or meat choice, understand hydration percentages or intramuscular fat, understand the humidity of the cook, and what times and temps get you the desired product out of that knowledge. Fun stuff to learn for sure!

[Porkies]

Those look very tasty. I've been doing a little research on bread making. I'd like to bake bread which has the better nutritional value than the store bought.
Also, like the pictures of your bread, there is so much flavor to be discovered.

[jfmorris]

Beautiful baked goods there! Mmmm. How do you manage all the concentric circles of flour on those?

Porkies I think about any home baked bread should end up being healthier than store bought factory baked bread. For example, my bread has just four ingredients - flour, water, salt and yeast. No added sugars, high fructose corn syrup, or other long list of additives. My last attempt was 100% whole wheat flour - it turned out way denser and heavier than when I used all purpose flour (I like King Arthur's flour). Next time I may try a mix.

[Porkies]

My goal exactly, to reduce the unnecessary ingredients. I would like to cut the whole wheat flour with coconut flour, but it may still be too dense. I have used almond flour in simple baking, like biscuits, and it was also a little heavy. The taste was fine but it sat in the stomach and you knew it was there. ha!

Using a mix of all purpose and another flour, as you mention, is probably the better way to go.

[Richard Chrz]

jfmorris I flour bread proofing/shaping bannetons. But, I have some other tricks up my sleeve that I am going to experiment with as well.

[Thunder77]

I have found that up to 80% whole wheat works well. I have never met a 100% whole wheat that I liked.

[RonB]

I don't know how I missed this?? But great lookin boules for sure.

White flour has a higher percentage of gluten than other flours, and it's the gluten that allows dough to rise and become lighter. 100% whole wheat bread from the store has other ingredients added to help it rise. To help the rise in home made bread, use some higher gluten flour like bread flour in place of part of the whole wheat flour. The amount is up to you, but you may also have to adjust the amount of water because white flour and ww flour absorb water differently.

You can go to King Arthur Flour where they have a recipe section that has a bunch of ww bread recipes. Some are 100% ww, and others have varying ratios of flours.

[Richard Chrz]

Thunder77, interesting that you say that about the brand cutting the gluten. in some of my reading today (infusion day) I had read, and I need to go find it again, but in the math formula I was reading, and I came across a formula that even considered water temperature by one control of the Friction factor and what heat is developed in various forms that will be used to put the dough together (by hand versus say, a kitchen aid counter mixer, and that heat output.. Just fascinating to me.

[Richard Chrz]

Thunder77 You likely have read this, but, found it interesting,a d look forward to playing around with it. https://www.kingarthurflour.com/blog...ctor-in-baking

[mountainsmoker]

Believe it or not I have found Caputo 00 on Amazon and Walmart Just do a quick search for Caputo 00 and they will pop up. Good luck Richard.

[RonB]

Pastry flour has a lower gluten content, (9-10%), than AP flour, (8-11%), and bread flour, (12-14%). Exact amount vary by brand and cheaper flours may vary within the brand. Pastry flour is normally used for softer products like biscuits and pie dough. I would not recommend it for artisan breads.

And the Caputo is normally used for higher baking temps like pizza, It burns at higher temps than AP or bread flour, so it is good for Neapolitan pizza.

[Richard Chrz]

I was hoping to try some pastry baking, so hence the flour, and the Caputo would be strictly for pizza.