The Bread Thread

[Boatboy24]

Since so many of us are discovering the joys of making bread and/or going further down the bread rabbit hole than before, I thought I might create a thread for breads, pizza doughs and other fermented baked goods.

Today is day 5 of my Levain and I did the usual feeding/discard this morning. From the discard, I kept about 100g, and added 75g of whole wheat flour and 175g of AP flour to make a small test loaf. Also added a pinch of yeast and about 1/4tsp of salt. About 90 minutes after mixing, I gave it a fold and put it back in its covered container. It's fermenting nicely and in about an hour, I'll shape it and get it into the proofing basket. After about an hour proof, I'll bake.

The Levain itself really turned a corner overnight and is becoming more solid (appears to be 'mature'). On reaching in and grabbing a handful, you can see and feel the weblike structure it has created. Tomorrow, I'll feed and create the first 'official' loaf from it, which will be shaped, rise, and then proof overnight in the fridge for baking Tuesday morning.

For reference, most of what I'm doing is either directly out of, or based on "Flour, Water, Salt, Yeast" by Ken Forkish. I'm also picking the brain of @ceeaton a fair amount - particularly regarding how to make various things from the daily Levain discard, including bread and pretzels.

Post up your bread, pizza, pretzels, etc here.

 

[ceeaton]

I made a beautifully balanced discus out of a discard bread yesterday. Let it proof too long and forgot it was in the oven. On the bright side the interior had a wonderful sourdough flavor. My starter is about 15 days old now, about to take part of it and move it to the fridge (only have to feed about once a week in there, but need to pull it two days or more in advance to feed and make a regular loaf). The discard I'll make an official bread after feeding it again. Have a few too many mason jars hanging out on the kitchen counters, did give one to my SIL, so down to two.

I credit NM Mike (ibglowin) for getting me interested in sourdough again. Plus I wanted to experiment on the KettlePizza as it cooled down, stays pretty warm for a while after the pizzas are done. Used to have a two year old starter I kept in the fridge, the flavor on that one was to die for, but alas I forgot about it for too long and it turned gray on me.

Made a discard sourdough pizza dough. Warming up now from the fridge and will use it to make my pizza tonight. Making one GF for my son, two for two different neighbors, one for the "girls" and one or maybe two smaller ones for me. Couldn't have picked a better day to cook on the KettlePizza, might just move it into the sun, won't need very much fuel it's so darn hot here today. Hopefully I won't make any more discuses (if that is a word).

Edit: I stand corrected, it's also disci.

 

[Boatboy24]

Now you're scaring me, Craig. I was going to do a quick, same day pizza dough for dinner, but 'enhance' it with a little Levain to up the flavor a bit. I'll post results later.

 

[ceeaton]

That works great since the levain isn't the only leavaning agent in your dough! I think I didn't get my starter ramped up enough before grabbing the part I made into bread yesterday sans yeast.

 

[Boatboy24]

My discard bread stuck to the proofing basket a bit. Gonna have a bit of an odd-shaped loaf. Pics at 11...

 

[sour_grapes]

Since so many of us are discovering the joys of making bread and/or going further down the bread rabbit hole than before, I thought I might create a thread for breads, pizza doughs and other fermented baked goods.

...

Post up your bread, pizza, pretzels, etc here.

I love it. I will not contribute for a few days, as I bought a wonderful baguette today. We have an authentic boulangerie in my neighborhood (run by an actual Frenchy!). My neighbor contends (and I agree but it was his thought) that the only time he had a better baguette was in Paris, and the only time he had a better beignet was in NoLa.

Anyway, I'm in on the thread when I get back to my own baking.

NOT MY BREAD:

 

[ceeaton]

The highlight of my cook was pushing the third pizza into the fire, argh. I will say the sourdough pizza dough I flavored with some discard was pretty darn good. I guess I could collect the discard and add a bit to each dough when I normally make them on Thursday night for a Friday cooking session. I did add about 1/2 tsp of instant yeast, a little less than I'd normally add for a pizza dough (I make smaller crusts, 2 cups flour max) and didn't get a yeasty burn taste at all. Will work to perfect that recipe.

 

[Boatboy24]

I love it. I will not contribute for a few days, as I bought a wonderful baguette today. We have an authentic boulangerie in my neighborhood (run by an actual Frenchy!). My neighbor contends (and I agree but it was his thought) that the only time he had a better baguette was in Paris, and the only time he had a better beignet was in NoLa.

Anyway, I'm in on the thread when I get back to my own baking.

NOT MY BREAD:
View attachment 63204

If I could buy bread like that easily and for a reasonable cost, I probably wouldn't bake at all. That looks fantastic. Lot's of good bakeries around here that are happy to charge an arm and a leg for a loaf of bread.

 

[Boatboy24]

A successful evening on the pizza (and even bread) front. I took the dough recipe linked below and slightly modified. I used 80% AP flour and 20% Caputo 00. And instead of a full 8g of yeast, I added 6, plus 50g of the Levain I started 5 days ago. I've done the recipe as prescribed twice - once with an additional 3 days in the fridge and once making pizza with it an hour after mixing. The 3 day version was pretty good, but the 'do it now' version lacked any flavor or complexity. My experiment tonight worked very well and although I had a dough that was a little on the sticky side after rising, it turned out 3 good pizzas. Storms forced me to do what I had already been thinking about - cook in the oven instead of on the KettlePizza. 550F, preheating for about an hour and 15 minutes before the first pie. Once the first one came out, I began working the dough and assembling the second - this allowed a 5-7 minute reheat for the stone while I got everything together. Each pizza was in for about 7-8 minutes. Crust was crisp on the outside, but had a nice chew - not quite NY style, but pretty close. When all was said and done, 1 cheese pizza and two pepperoni and sausage.









On the bread front, another experiment. 100g of the discarded Levain, 75g of whole wheat flour and 175g of AP flour. Added warm water and a pinch of yeast and let it go for about 6 hours. I did one fold after an hour+. It fermented very well, but I let it proof for a tad too long. Not a total collapse, but it could have been better. I was a little shy on the salt, but dipping in EVOO and Parmesan fixed that pretty quickly.







Finally, here's the dough and sauce recipe I've been using as a base for pizza. As mentioned above, I've made changes to the dough. The sauce is outstanding as is, but I usually end up adding a little of the liquid back in, and a half to 3/4 teaspoon of red wine vinegar to brighten it up.

Enjoy!

https://www.acouplecooks.com/how-to-make-pizza-dough/
http://www.thehomepizzeria.com/recipes/san-marzano-tomato-pizza-sauce-recipe/#

 

[1d10t]

Probably no coincidence that in ancient Egypt the brewery and the bakery were in the same building. Next time I brew beer I'm thinking of taking my liquid from the active ferment and making my bread with that.

 

[Boatboy24]

Probably no coincidence that in ancient Egypt the brewery and the bakery were in the same building. Next time I brew beer I'm thinking of taking my liquid from the active ferment and making my bread with that.

There are all sorts of great things that can be done with the spent grains and liquids from beer. Been a long time since I've brewed anything, but spent grain bread is to die for!

 

[Eric Huser]

This is a great thread. I'm have been infatuated with bread making, but my big accomplishment is a great Sour Dough. I made my own starter just put 1/2 cup AP flour a 1/8th cup whole wheat and 1/2 cup distilled water in a quart jar. Put a coffee filter on top. Every 3 to 5 days I feed the little bugger by adding another 1/2 cup AP and 1/2 cup water. Then just add it in to my bread recipes, sooooo good. I have some slow rolling the fridge and some frozen.



I recently just made a basic pale ale wort and fermented it with the same starter. TBD. Fermented out kind of as a Kettle Sour, but I haven't carbed it yet. I may use it on an apple wine to get the sour action and then dry it out with 1118. Next...

 

[Eric Huser]

That's just a dude I followed in the beginning. Not me

 

[Yooper🍷]

Been making Sourdough Dough bread for Three years now. Using a starter started in Saskatchewan my son in law started and I brought it back to Marquette and a 2 year old starter brought back from Ischia Italy. I make two loaves a week and alternate between the two starters. So they get fed and used every other week. Amazing to me is although they are both sour dough starters there are distinct differences in taste and consistency. Starting process tomorrow morning. Will post some pics.

 

[ibglowin]

My only local option for "artisanal" bread...........



Lots of better options 35 miles (one way) away in Santa Fe but nowadays we don't go there except for something essential we can't get locally. Looking forward to honing my skills. I just snagged a 25lb bag of dark rye from Amazon that should arrive at the end of the week. No local option could be had.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0049YNXDY/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o00_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

 

[ZebraB]

We have tried to cook pizza on the green egg and failed miserably. 1) gooey mess in the grill 2) burned and no good. With summer around the corner might try it again. But our go to recipe is below.

https://www.chefsteps.com/activitie...e-heffernan-of-seattle-s-independent-pizzeria
Like your video stated metal is better than stone in the oven. I started out with the stone but I have found that the cast iron pan is much better to get crisper pizza crust. (cast iron pan link below). We have put it in the oven 30 minutes before and still had just as much success as 1 hour. We also switch it to broil for the last minute or so to crisp up the pepperoni.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0000E2V3X/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1
I have also found 2 -3 day old dough is much better. I have frozen some dough after fermentation and taken out of freezer and thaw for 1 hour. It doesn't stretch quite the same but good, easy and tasty.

I have yet to find that go to pizza sauce recipe. I hope to find that canned tomatoes in the video and try that out.

 

[ibglowin]

Had pretty good luck on my Kamado. This was my last cook. I kept the temp right at 450 so it was not crazy fast and crust was spot on perfect. I picked up a SS Pizza pan with the holes in the bottom and that seemed to help even out the cook (top and bottom). Almost had too much wood smoke flavor. I used too much mesquite!

We have tried to cook pizza on the green egg and failed miserably. 1) gooey mess in the grill 2) burned and no good. With summer around the corner might try it again.

 

[DizzyIzzy]

A successful evening on the pizza (and even bread) front. I took the dough recipe linked below and slightly modified. I used 80% AP flour and 20% Caputo 00. And instead of a full 8g of yeast, I added 6, plus 50g of the Levain I started 5 days ago. I've done the recipe as prescribed twice - once with an additional 3 days in the fridge and once making pizza with it an hour after mixing. The 3 day version was pretty good, but the 'do it now' version lacked any flavor or complexity. My experiment tonight worked very well and although I had a dough that was a little on the sticky side after rising, it turned out 3 good pizzas. Storms forced me to do what I had already been thinking about - cook in the oven instead of on the KettlePizza. 550F, preheating for about an hour and 15 minutes before the first pie. Once the first one came out, I began working the dough and assembling the second - this allowed a 5-7 minute reheat for the stone while I got everything together. Each pizza was in for about 7-8 minutes. Crust was crisp on the outside, but had a nice chew - not quite NY style, but pretty close. When all was said and done, 1 cheese pizza and two pepperoni and sausage.

View attachment 63216

View attachment 63217

View attachment 63218

View attachment 63219

On the bread front, another experiment. 100g of the discarded Levain, 75g of whole wheat flour and 175g of AP flour. Added warm water and a pinch of yeast and let it go for about 6 hours. I did one fold after an hour+. It fermented very well, but I let it proof for a tad too long. Not a total collapse, but it could have been better. I was a little shy on the salt, but dipping in EVOO and Parmesan fixed that pretty quickly.

View attachment 63221

View attachment 63222

View attachment 63223

Finally, here's the dough and sauce recipe I've been using as a base for pizza. As mentioned above, I've made changes to the dough. The sauce is outstanding as is, but I usually end up adding a little of the liquid back in, and a half to 3/4 teaspoon of red wine vinegar to brighten it up.

Enjoy!

https://www.acouplecooks.com/how-to-make-pizza-dough/
http://www.thehomepizzeria.com/recipes/san-marzano-tomato-pizza-sauce-recipe/#

Jim, now that's the way the interior of bread should look. Thanks for the receipes. I live alone so I don't usually make pizza for just myself, but seeing this dough has rekindled my many years of baking skills......think I will invite a gentleman-friend over to help stretch and "throw" the crust! LOL (We usually go out for pizza, but yours looks so yummy!.......................Thanks for taking the time to post..............................Dizzy

 

[DizzyIzzy]

Probably no coincidence that in ancient Egypt the brewery and the bakery were in the same building. Next time I brew beer I'm thinking of taking my liquid from the active ferment and making my bread with that.

That would probably work very well...........................Dizzy

 

[ibglowin]

In case anyone is interested their is actually a show devoted to Pizza!

https://video.vice.com/en_us/show/pizza-show