The Bread Thread

[ibglowin]

Your talking sacrilege Mike! That loaf looks amazing and perfect!

So have you tried putting the bread into a gallon zip lock bag after completely cooling down (like 4-6 hours later). This is what we do and every time we take the loaf out of the bag the next day its lost its outer crunch and is very soft (even the top crust). So much that we put sliced bread into toaster or toaster oven to crisp it back up for sandwiches etc. I suspect we have similar EL/humidity/environments.

View attachment 115999
Ok, so back to actual bread talk. HELP, looking for suggestions on making the crust on a sourdough boule slightly softer. Mine is coming out really crunchy. I'm happy with the taste and the texture of the insides but if you try to toast or broil slices the crust will almost cut your mouth. For this last loaf I left in a covered dutch oven for 30 mins and uncovered for just 10 verses a more standard 20 and 20 at 450 degrees. I also brushed with melted butter when it came out. It did seem slightly better when grilled and definitely better just sliced.

Any suggestions or thoughts appreciated.

 

[bstnh1]

Your talking sacrilege Mike! That loaf looks amazing and perfect!

So have you tried putting the bread into a gallon zip lock bag after completely cooling down (like 4-6 hours later). This is what we do and every time we take the loaf out of the bag the next day its lost its outer crunch and is very soft (even the top crust). So much that we put sliced bread into toaster or toaster oven to crisp it back up for sandwiches etc. I suspect we have similar EL/humidity/environments.

I had the same issue and did as you said - after the loaf cools, I store it in a zip-lock bag and it softens up the crust. It toasts up fine.

 

[JBP]

A plastic bag will work, although many will tell you it is sacrilege to put fresh bread in plastic for that very reason! That said, I have no different suggestions - only ways to make it crustier. And agree that the loaf looks amazing.

 

[bstnh1]

Cool day here for a change. Pulled a bucket of dough out of fridge and made some bread.

 

[Kraffty]

Fine tuning over the past few weeks has brought my bread to a level I'm really happy with. Some adjustments to cooking temps and times, increasing hydration to 63%, taking the whole wheat addition to 15% and using the suggested sealed plastic bag for storage have really improved the bread. All the practice is making for prettier finished product also.

 

[cmason1957]

I will post this picture for my wife, she is the baker. I like to measure things inaccurately (she says not at all) so she bakes, not me. The sourdough starter made us easy to get from a bakery in San Francisco, via in laws in Texas. She never makes a bad loaf with it.

 

[winemanden]

I will post this picture for my wife, she is the baker. I like to measure things inaccurately (she says not at all) so she bakes, not me. The sourdough starter made us easy to get from a bakery in San Francisco, via in laws in Texas. She never makes a bad loaf with it.

View attachment 116876

I used to watch my Mum make wonderful bread when I was a kid. She just used cups and spoons to measure.
However, I used to work in a bakery when I was younger, so I know the only way to be really consistent is to measure accurately and use bakers percentages.

 

[Rocky]

I used to watch my Mum make wonderful bread when I was a kid. She just used cups and spoons to measure.
However, I used to work in a bakery when I was younger, so I know the only way to be really consistent is to measure accurately and use bakers percentages.

My Mom was the same way, never measured anything! People used to ask for her recipes or how she made something and she could not tell them. She would invite them over to participate or to watch her prepare food but that was it. She was not a constant baker, limiting her skills mostly to bread, Easter Bread, ricotta pie, and pizza dough. Even in these cases, she did not measure and she would make 20-30 Easter Breads each year. They were the best!

 

[ibglowin]

Back in the saddle again! Sourdough baguette (new recipe)

 

[Rocky]

I was thinking about an earlier post about my Mom's baking and I think I minimized her actual talents. Although she was an excellent cook, she was a capable baker, too. My maternal grandmother died in 1920 when my Mom was 10. Being the oldest female child, Mom and my Grandfather raised the family. Her youngest brother used to call her Mamma because he thought she was that. It was a hard life but they survived and prospered. I recall some other baked items she used to make for the holidays and I and my brothers used to help. Here are examples of a couple of them:

Cannoli with two different fillings; chocolate pudding dipped in nuts on one side ad vanilla pudding with crushed pineapple and diced Maraschino cherries on the other.

Crostoli, a sweet, deep fried dough with powdered sugar

Struffoli, individually fried sweet dough balls, covered with honey and topped with sprinkles. Really great when they were fresh, but hardened in a day or two.

 

[tullamore]

I was thinking about an earlier post about my Mom's baking and I think I minimized her actual talents. Although she was an excellent cook, she was a capable baker, too. My maternal grandmother died in 1920 when my Mom was 10. Being the oldest female child, Mom and my Grandfather raised the family. Her youngest brother used to call her Mamma because he thought she was that. It was a hard life but they survived and prospered. I recall some other baked items she used to make for the holidays and I and my brothers used to help. Here are examples of a couple of them:

View attachment 118021 Cannoli with two different fillings; chocolate pudding dipped in nuts on one side ad vanilla pudding with crushed pineapple and diced Maraschino cherries on the other.

View attachment 118022 Crostoli, a sweet, deep fried dough with powdered sugar

View attachment 118023 Struffoli, individually fried sweet dough balls, covered with honey and topped with sprinkles. Really great when they were fresh, but hardened in a day or two.

those bring back a lot memories - my mother didn't baked much but those were a staple in our house
especially during the holidays
good eats!

 

[tullamore]

I was thinking about an earlier post about my Mom's baking and I think I minimized her actual talents. Although she was an excellent cook, she was a capable baker, too. My maternal grandmother died in 1920 when my Mom was 10. Being the oldest female child, Mom and my Grandfather raised the family. Her youngest brother used to call her Mamma because he thought she was that. It was a hard life but they survived and prospered. I recall some other baked items she used to make for the holidays and I and my brothers used to help. Here are examples of a couple of them:

View attachment 118021 Cannoli with two different fillings; chocolate pudding dipped in nuts on one side ad vanilla pudding with crushed pineapple and diced Maraschino cherries on the other.

View attachment 118022 Crostoli, a sweet, deep fried dough with powdered sugar

View attachment 118023 Struffoli, individually fried sweet dough balls, covered with honey and topped with sprinkles. Really great when they were fresh, but hardened in a day or two.

how abut these Rocky
made a batch of these a couple weeks ago

 

[Rocky]

how abut these Rocky
made a batch of these a couple weeks ago


View attachment 118032

They are vaguely familiar. What do you call them? Are they flavored with anise seeds? I think some of my aunts used to make them.

 

[tullamore]

They are vaguely familiar. What do you call them? Are they flavored with anise seeds? I think some of my aunts used to make them.

we called them Taralli - Italian bread sticks
some call them Grissini
and yes they have anise seeds in them

 

[Rocky]

we called them Taralli - Italian bread sticks
some call them Grissini
and yes they have anise seeds in them

I seem to remember "Grissini" which I guess is a regional name. My grand parents (on both sides) were from a small town in Campania near Caserta. My aunts' families may have been from other regions.

 

[tullamore]

I seem to remember "Grissini" which I guess is a regional name. My grand parents (on both sides) were from a small town in Campania near Caserta. My aunts' families may have been from other regions.

my mother was from Cosenza, Calabria and father from Palermo, Sicily
I'm the youngest of 5 - i was born in Canada

 

[Toxophilite]

MY mother used to make donuts like your deep fried ones with icing sugar. We would always end up with triangular off cuts and holes that looked remarkably like that, sweet crisp and chewy.

I was inspired to make bread by my mother and by a book Mrs Retsinos Country Kitchen. Baked my first batch in a woodstove up in the bush.
Now I live in a place with 220V (haha, not kidding) I've been baking all the bread for myself and my spouse and my parents for the past 3 years.

I don't bake anything like those lovely deserrts you have pictured but I do a good 2/3 whole wheat that is sugared with molassess and has oats, hazelnuts and sunflower seeds in it. Also cookies and pies of course. My other has a great pie crust recipe that she got from a lovely prairie lady who helped out my parents when they were starting off some 65 years ago. Baking is very gratifying and home baked bread is obviously a delight.

I end up baking a couple times a month so the task itself is becoming a bit of a chore but the outcome is always appreciated.

 

[Rice_Guy]

My Mom was the same way, never measured anything! People used to ask for her recipes or how she made something and she could not tell them. She would invite them over to participate or to watch her prepare food but that was it. She was not a constant baker, limiting her skills mostly to bread, Easter Bread, ricotta pie, and pizza dough. Even in these cases, she did not measure and she would make 20-30 Easter Breads each year. They were the best!

I am not surprised. When I read articles about wheat flour they are working against a texture. The goal is to have a flexible matrix which holds gas bubbles and isn’t sticky. The name “RiceGuy” came from working with cereals. We see that the texture changes over a crop year. A new crop in September will be more sticky / higher level of starch damage / resistant to water than the same silo if processed in May.

The recipe is “add moisture / wet ingredient till it feels right.”

 

[Toxophilite]

My mother is also pretty relaxed about her recipes, though she did all the cooking for a family of 7 kids for many years. I found, like her, that bread making isn't as fussy as I initially thought. I add flour largely by feel now with some loosely measured ingredients initially. Last batch I made, we had a big wind storm, power got knocked out for 14 hours halfway through. Had to punch the bread down prior to rising in the pans and put it in the fridge over night. Had another big slow rising in the fridge, punched it down again, let it warm up a little, made loaves, put it in the pans and it rose up quite nicely . Actually one of the better batches lately. Maybe yeast likes adversity.