Homemade Bread Thread

BrewSwag 728
Homebrew Talk - Beer, Wine, Mead, & Cider Brewing Discussion Forum

Help Support Homebrew Talk - Beer, Wine, Mead, & Cider Brewing Discussion Forum:

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.
Slashed much, much deeper this time. Initial cut was deeper, plus I went back and tweaked some spots that weren't deep enough. This razor blade is a lot better than the last one I used.

View attachment ImageUploadedByHome Brew1482900190.624252.jpg
View attachment ImageUploadedByHome Brew1482900208.292049.jpg
View attachment ImageUploadedByHome Brew1482900224.575053.jpg

I didn't notice much difference other than the slashed areas are wider (not deeper). I'm starting to think the stretch/fold and final shaping technique have a lot to do with how the slashed shape develops when baked.
 
schematix said:
Slashed much, much deeper this time. Initial cut was deeper, plus I went back and tweaked some spots that weren't deep enough. This razor blade is a lot better than the last one I used.


I didn't notice much difference other than the slashed areas are wider (not deeper). I'm starting to think the stretch/fold and final shaping technique have a lot to do with how the slashed shape develops when baked.
Click to expand...

Can you describe your recipe/process? The rounded bottom has me thinking it's not just a slashing issue.
 
Whole wheat sourdough sandwich bread.

20161228_172149.jpg

20161228_172226.jpg

20161228_172609.jpg
 
BGBC said:
Can you describe your recipe/process? The rounded bottom has me thinking it's not just a slashing issue.
Click to expand...

Recipe is:
Leaven, ripened 12 hours, 100% hydration, approx 80g
238g RO water
350g king arthur bread flour

^^ Brought together into a shaggy dough with a spatula and a couple kneads to collect flour off sides of bowl.Then left for 4 hours.

Solution of 25g water w/ 10.5g salt is then added. Dough is stretched and folded every 30 minutes for a total of 6 times. Each time the seem side of the dough is up, i pull from the top to the center, rotate 90 and repeat until all 4 sides are folded to the center. Each time it's the seem side i continue with this so the smooth side is continuously stretched.

The dough then rests for 1 hour.

It's then shaped into a boule with the same 4 folds as above. It's then left in a make-shift couche to rise for another 3 hours.

Baked at 500 for 10 minutes with 8oz water in steam pan. Then about 20 minutes more at 450, until internal temp >205.

If you look at the crumb money shots you can see the orientation of the gluten strands is internally very circular.
 
schematix said:
Recipe is:
Leaven, ripened 12 hours, 100% hydration, approx 80g
238g RO water
350g king arthur bread flour
Click to expand...

Sounds like a solid process. A couple things I've started doing lately that have made a difference, imo:
1. Start the process with an autolysis of just the flour and water (at least 1/2 hour at room temp. I've done up to 2 hrs room temp or overnight in the fridge), then fold in leaven, rest, then salt/water. This will give you a more extensible dough right off the bat, then you build strength with the stretch and fold routine.
2. Oven steam - I would leave the steam in longer and drop the heat sooner. I think your crust might be setting early due to the high heat and potentially not enough steam. My routine is: preheat at 500 for an hour, adding steam for the last 10-20 minutes (I add boiling water to a pan with two rolled up kitchen towels, giving more surface area for evaporation). When the bread goes in, drop the temp to 475 and bake for 20 minutes, then remove steam pan and lower oven temp to 435 and bake for 20 minutes more. Or, use a dutch oven or cover the bread in the oven to trap the steam escaping from the dough (dutch oven with lid for 20, then uncovered for 20, same temps).
 
First bread on the baking stone, definitely need a peel. Didn't really think about it as I had the last rise going in a bowl. Bread still came out good but the crumb could've been better

image.jpg
 
schematix said:
Another slash fail and the side blew out.

This one is for dinner guests tonight so I'm embarrassed a bit. Will probably pre-slice this one since it's so ugly. Hope it tastes good.


View attachment 381437
View attachment 381438

EDIT: ugly an it had a huge baker's cave inside. have to try harder next time.
Click to expand...

Sorry but just saw this. I wonder if the problem is that you are scoring the bread too early. My understanding is that you score the bread (there are exceptions) just before you place it in the oven. The score is to help shape how it rises quickly in the oven not how it rises slowly at room temperature. Do you score your dough and then allow it to continue to rise on the counter or do you score your bread just before you place it in the oven?
 
bernardsmith said:
Sorry but just saw this. I wonder if the problem is that you are scoring the bread too early. My understanding is that you score the bread (there are exceptions) just before you place it in the oven. The score is to help shape how it rises quickly in the oven not how it rises slowly at room temperature. Do you score your dough and then allow it to continue to rise on the counter or do you score your bread just before you place it in the oven?
Click to expand...

It's in the oven within 60 seconds of being scored.
 
hmmm... do you know the hydration of your flour? (the flour to water ratio). Might that have something to do with this? Do you generally try to make bread 60 percent flour (say 600 g flour to 1 L of water ) or 70 percent (700 g to 1 L) or 55 percent? and have you tried making bread using different hydration ratios? (the more water , generally speaking, the larger the pockets of air (actually CO2 but that's another story)
 
bernardsmith said:
hmmm... do you know the hydration of your flour? (the flour to water ratio). Might that have something to do with this? Do you generally try to make bread 60 percent flour (say 600 g flour to 1 L of water ) or 70 percent (700 g to 1 L) or 55 percent? and have you tried making bread using different hydration ratios? (the more water , generally speaking, the larger the pockets of air (actually CO2 but that's another story)
Click to expand...

this one is 350g flour and 263g water, so 75% hydration.

my crumb structure is good. my slashes just have no depth. they bake out.
 
bernardsmith said:
hmmm... do you know the hydration of your flour? (the flour to water ratio). Might that have something to do with this? Do you generally try to make bread 60 percent flour (say 600 g flour to 1 L of water ) or 70 percent (700 g to 1 L) or 55 percent? and have you tried making bread using different hydration ratios? (the more water , generally speaking, the larger the pockets of air (actually CO2 but that's another story)
Click to expand...


Er, I think you have those measurements backwards. Bakers percentages are based on the total flour amount. So the flour is always 100%.
 
shellsbells said:
I made my first loaf of bread this weekend (sour dough). It turned out so much better than expected and I think I'm in love
Click to expand...


Well done... Especially since sourdough is a tough one to start with!

Enjoy! It's a lot like brewing... So many minor nuances and technical details but in the end even the worst loaves taste like fresh bread (ok maybe not my mother in laws leftover potato/flax/oatmeal bread... That could be considered a murder weapon in the wrong hands).
 
Thanks ChefRex & Trav77. I can definitely see the correlation between this & brewing, and how it can become addictive
ericbw said:
Looks good! How long did it take?
Click to expand...
Thanks Ericbw! I started it at noon and pulled it out of the oven around 10pm, so about 10 hours in total
 
View attachment 383242

I used a basic Italian loaf as a jumping off point. Added 1/3 cup of sourdough starter, about 2 heaping TB of spent Special B, and some sesame seeds.

I proofed the active dry yeast in water with 2TB of D-90 candi syrup.

Yes, I did make a Belgian patersbier recently, in case you're wondering.

I could go for more grains. It's a little sweet, but not too much.
 
beermanpete said:
I knead by hand for 10 minutes. At 70% the dough is quite soft and sticky. How would I handle the dough at 80%? It seems like it would be unmanagable by hand.
Click to expand...

70% hydration and 10 minutes of hand kneading explains your texture... it's going to be pretty middle of the road and with all that kneading, quite even.

You pretty much can't knead an 80% hydration dough by hand, but you don't have to. The stretch and fold technique is where you want to be.

Check this out... i find this to make the dough quite manageable: http://www.thekitchn.com/how-to-make-sourdough-bread-224367
 
flars said:
This is the most unusual bagel recipe I have ever seen. What kind of flavor do the sprouts add?
Click to expand...

The sprouted grains added a nutty flavour almost with hints of fennel or anise. I had the sprouted grain mix and didn't know what to do with it so I googled "sprouted grain bread" and people were making it so that was enough for me lollz...
 
JayInAmes said:
is this similar to the recipe used for these? I didn't see it right away in here, but the idea intrigued me:

http://www.kingarthurflour.com/recipes/sourdough-crackers-recipe
Click to expand...

Pretty much what I've done except I've been using coconut oil, first batch I did I did it as stated in the fridge and had a denser
cracker, last two I've allowed it to ferment on the counter for 24ish hours and the crackers puffed, now thinking about it I think I'll mix up a batch and let it slow ferment in the fridge.

Give it a go!
 
ChefRex said:
Pretty much what I've done except I've been using coconut oil, first batch I did I did it as stated in the fridge and had a denser
cracker, last two I've allowed it to ferment on the counter for 24ish hours and the crackers puffed, now thinking about it I think I'll mix up a batch and let it slow ferment in the fridge.

Give it a go!
Click to expand...

This looks good and is a good way to use the starter if I need to feed it between bread batches.
 

Similar threads

Gadjobrinus
Using up stale bread and sourdough starter discard
Replies
4
Views
291
Gadjobrinus
Gadjobrinus
Gadjobrinus
Using up stale bread and sourdough starter discard
Replies
4
Views
382
Oldskewl
Oldskewl
Richard Carballa
Beer Beer Beer
Replies
6
Views
488
Miraculix
Miraculix
lacto
Bread wine?
Replies
25
Views
2K
lacto
lacto
Sammy86
What's your favorite sandwich?
Replies
24
Views
2K
Brooothru
Brooothru
Brewer's Friend 300

Latest posts

Back
Top