Homemade Bread Thread

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Todays sourdough loaf with a beer belly.
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It was spreading instead of rising for the final proof so I went easy on the top slashes and it blew out the bottom seam. I normally add a little sugar and olive oil but this was just flour, water, salt and the starter.
 
I switched things up the other day and tried a new bagel recipe I pieced together. I wanted to make sourdough bagels but didn't want to mess with an overnight proof.

These did start with an overnight levain, but that's so low effort that I don't really consider it part of the process.

Here's a full write-up with more pics, recipe and method: Sourdough Bagels (Test 1)

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Nice rise
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Crumb
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And a breakfast sandwich with the bagel :)
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This weekend I made a side-by-side comparison of three loaves made using different wheat flours. Didn't expect any huge differences and didn't find any :p though one of them stood out with a faint but distinct bitter flavor which I did not care for.
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My son moved in with me so I made my super easy every day whole wheat bread on Sunday. It's gone already. That made me happy. I did get in two slices for myself.

I like making the sour dough as well as kaiser rolls, my favorite breakfast is the classic BEC - bacon egg and cheese, but they are productions, so this is a very easy bread to make and nearly a no knead so no flouring the counter as everything is in one bowl and a loaf pan for an easy cleanup. While this is a very basic recipe, I took the 80% ratio from Pro Home Cooks on Youtube which makes it very easy for me to remember and make off the top of my head. I think this blows away supermarket enough to sneak it in the artisanal category but nearly as easy as using a bread machine.

Keep the Counter Clean Whole Wheat
350g KA Bread Flour
150g KA Whole Wheat Flour
1tbl salt
400g tap water about 90°
2 tsp Fleishmans Active Dry Yeast
pinch of sugar

combine dry ingredients in large stainless steel bowl
Combine yeast water a pinch of sugar about 10 minutes , add to dry
fold serval times with spatula, cover (my bowls have silicone lids) and rest 15 minutes
Using the spatula, lift, hod to stretch and then fold dough, alternate by scoop and fold. About 10 times, and cover. Rest an hour to rise
Spray oil and flour bread loaf pan, transfer dough to pan and cover 30 minutes
Pre-heat oven to 400°
with a knife/lamme 1/4 slice along the middle lengthwise. spray some water into the oven (better yet place a sheet pan with water on the lower rack and bake 30 minutes, then check every 10 if not done.

cool on a rack and serve.
 
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I've been playing around with using high protein flour (14.3%) in my bread. The loaves I made using 100% high protein flour were pretty sticky and didn't get great oven spring (most likely it was over fermented/proofed due to the yeast going wild).

This last batch is pretty much on par with my other bakes which use bread flour. I added some all purpose, dark rye and spent grain flour to help counter the high protein content.

The spent grain is from an imperial stout I brewed a while ago. It gives it a darker color and a whole lot of wheaty flavor that's hard to describe.

Full recipe, method and more pics here: High Protein Flour Sourdough

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My son moved in with me so I made my super easy every day whole wheat bread on Sunday. It's gone already. That made me happy. I did get in two slices for myself.

I like making the sour dough as well as kaiser rolls, my favorite breakfast is the classic BEC - bacon egg and cheese, but they are productions, so this is a very easy bread to make and nearly a no knead so no flouring the counter as everything is in one bowl and a loaf pan for an easy cleanup. While this is a very basic recipe, I took the 80% ratio from Pro Home Cooks on Youtube which makes it very easy for me to remember and make off the top of my head. I think this blows away supermarket enough to sneak it in the artisanal category but nearly as easy as using a bread machine.

Keep the Counter Clean Whole Wheat
350g KA Bread Flour
150g KA Whole Wheat Flour
1tbl salt
400g tap water about 90°
2 tsp Fleishmans Active Dry Yeast
pinch of sugar

combine dry ingredients in large stainless steel bowl
Combine yeast water a pinch of sugar about 10 minutes , add to dry
fold serval times with spatula, cover (my bowls have silicone lids) and rest 15 minutes
Using the spatula, lift, hod to stretch and then fold dough, alternate by scoop and fold. About 10 times, and cover. Rest an hour to rise
Spray oil and flour bread loaf pan, transfer dough to pan and cover 30 minutes
Pre-heat oven to 400°
with a knife/lamme 1/4 slice along the middle lengthwise. spray some water into the oven (better yet place a sheet pan with water on the lower rack and bake 30 minutes, then check every 10 if not done.

cool on a rack and serve.
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Major enlightenment time! (you probably all knew this already) I've been trying to use bakers' percentages lately when I bake bread or pizza. And anything with a lot of whole wheat flour always is too dense. I made some rolls this weekend using about 55% WW flour and the rest bread flour. (I dumped all the WW flour out of the near-empty bag and added bread flour to make up the difference) I had some milk in the fridge that I think was frozen and thawed before I bought it because it still tasted sweet but was clabbered. So I scalded some of that and used it instead of water. 100% hydration. o_O The rolls came out nice (they spread out a bit) with a chewy crumb and large holes. I've been making sandwiches with them. I also made a freeform loaf with the last of the dough and that really spread out but it also rose and otherwise turned out good. I haven't cut it yet.

It should be obvious but it wasn't to me; the bran absorbs a lot of the moisture and makes it unavailable to the starch and the gluten. So you have to add more liquid to compensate. If I ever make bread using 100% whole wheat, I might go 115%.
 
Major enlightenment time! (you probably all knew this already) I've been trying to use bakers' percentages lately when I bake bread or pizza. And anything with a lot of whole wheat flour always is too dense. I made some rolls this weekend using about 55% WW flour and the rest bread flour. (I dumped all the WW flour out of the near-empty bag and added bread flour to make up the difference) I had some milk in the fridge that I think was frozen and thawed before I bought it because it still tasted sweet but was clabbered. So I scalded some of that and used it instead of water. 100% hydration. o_O The rolls came out nice (they spread out a bit) with a chewy crumb and large holes. I've been making sandwiches with them. I also made a freeform loaf with the last of the dough and that really spread out but it also rose and otherwise turned out good. I haven't cut it yet.

It should be obvious but it wasn't to me; the bran absorbs a lot of the moisture and makes it unavailable to the starch and the gluten. So you have to add more liquid to compensate. If I ever make bread using 100% whole wheat, I might go 115%.
Even different brands of white flour behaves differently, but usually not to a great extent. A slice of my last loaf for avocado toast with quail eggs.
 

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Yesterday's bake. 60% "Halbweiss" (semi-white?) flour, 20% stone milled whole grain wheat, 20% whole grain spelt.
Really pleased with the crumb on this one :)

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Very nice. Great rise
I bake every week now, here’s mine from two days ago:
 

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Here is a recipe for decadent white bread. I use it for Texas toast (slices dipped in salted garlic butter and browned in a skillet). I am not the most skilled baker on Earth, but this stuff is amazing. The sides and bottom are crunchy, salty, and buttery. The top tends to come out lumpy, though. Maybe someone with more skill could fix that.

INGREDIENTS
520 g bread flour
1.5 tsp. salt
1 tbsp. yeast
2-3 tbsp. sugar
4 tbsp. butter
310 g warm water
1/2 tsp. malt extract

Blend the dry things first in the food processor. Then blend in the water, until the dough is well mixed. Maybe 20 seconds. Wait 10 minutes. Blend in butter (softening will speed this up). Butter a bread pan after salting the butter.

Looking at this, I think the yeast should be reduced by at least 50%. I used to overdo the yeast.

Form a loaf and put it in the pan. Butter it with more salted butter. Let it rise in the pan. Bake at 375 or whatever makes you happy. Best to let it rise under an inverted pot or something to prevent it from drying out.
 
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