Author Topic: The Bread Thread  (Read 107987 times)

Mrs Pingu

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Re: The Bread Thread
« Reply #250 on: 27 July, 2018, 12:44:10 pm »
I've only ever used dried/easy. Life's too short.
Do not clench. It only makes it worse.

Re: The Bread Thread
« Reply #251 on: 11 September, 2019, 09:07:32 am »
Prompted by the sourdough thread, I was wandering around Bakery Bits, interested in their selection of flour. The Matthews Organic Wholemeal seemed interesting, 16Kg for £15 seems very good value. Let's see how strong....12% not bad. Where's it from? Have a guess before clicking

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Re: The Bread Thread
« Reply #252 on: 12 April, 2020, 09:44:52 pm »
One of the only breads I ever buy is the par-baked stuff, for convenience.

I got me to thinking, if they can par-bake bread, why can't I? I tend not to make rolls because of the number to get through before they get uninteresting, but if I was to par-bake......

Anyhoo, it works well. I followed my normal practice of using the oven to raise them, then letting the oven heat up to temperature with them inside. I gave them a milk glaze, so used the first sign of browning to take them out, otherwise I'd say about 5 - 10 minutes before they are finished. Then, a few hours later back in the oven for 10 min at 180, pretty much as good as straight out of a normal bake. Tomorrow will be an experiment baking them from the fridge and at some point in the future, try from the freezer.

Re: The Bread Thread
« Reply #253 on: 14 April, 2020, 09:16:22 am »
.... and the fridge experiment worked well, now just the freezer one, there's no reason not to expect it to do the same.

In separate news I'm thinking of trying the Matthews French flour ....but, 9.5% protein!! That chimes with when I was experimenting year ago, trying to copy a baguette without French flour, the best results I got were from plain (not strong) flour. They may have been "best" but they still weren't up to much.

Re: The Bread Thread
« Reply #254 on: 20 April, 2020, 08:14:39 pm »
..... and the freezer 'speriment was even better. Defrosted for a minute in the microwave then into a 200 oven for 10, perfection with the milk glaze working well. No idea why I thought there was some mystery about the shop bought par-baked stuff, although readying it for non-frozen packaging is likely to have some tech around it.

citoyen

  • Occasionally rides a bike
Re: The Bread Thread
« Reply #255 on: 21 April, 2020, 07:57:59 am »
The Matthews Organic Wholemeal seemed interesting, 16Kg for £15 seems very good value. Let's see how strong....12% not bad. Where's it from? Have a guess before clicking

I would have guessed Canada, which seems to be where most of the strong flour comes from. Apparently, we can't grow the right type of wheat in the UK climate. (I expect you knew this already.)
"The future's all yours, you lousy bicycles."

Re: The Bread Thread
« Reply #256 on: 24 April, 2020, 09:37:22 am »
MrsC  has perfected making sourdough gluten free loaves, with real crust and flavour.

I haven't eaten bread that tasted like this in 24 years. I'm going to get very fat.
<i>Marmite slave</i>

Re: The Bread Thread
« Reply #257 on: 24 April, 2020, 11:49:37 am »
Thanks for the suggestion of Mathews, we have just ordered 15kg of 2 types of flour as we are getting a little fed up with loaves made with white flour which is all have been able to buy from supermarkets so far.

Even the addition of spelt, seeds and so on can't really get the body in to them.

Unfortunately sourdough loaves using a starter have not yet worked (well to be precise, the starter has not worked) although the French sponge (poolish) method sourdough does work.

citoyen

  • Occasionally rides a bike
Re: The Bread Thread
« Reply #258 on: 24 April, 2020, 11:51:29 am »
MrsC  has perfected making sourdough gluten free loaves, with real crust and flavour.

I haven't eaten bread that tasted like this in 24 years. I'm going to get very fat.

What flour do you use? I tried making a 100% buckwheat bread but it wasn't exactly a 100% success...

I've done 100% rye successfully but that's low gluten, rather than gluten free.
"The future's all yours, you lousy bicycles."

Re: The Bread Thread
« Reply #259 on: 24 April, 2020, 01:44:25 pm »
MrsC  has perfected making sourdough gluten free loaves, with real crust and flavour.

I haven't eaten bread that tasted like this in 24 years. I'm going to get very fat.

What flour do you use? I tried making a 100% buckwheat bread but it wasn't exactly a 100% success...

I've done 100% rye successfully but that's low gluten, rather than gluten free.
I'll have to ask her. It isn't one flour.

https://www.freshisreal.com/buckwheat-sourdough-loaf-gluten-free-vegan/#tasty-recipes-4516
(I use linseed instead of psyllium husk, ordinary sugar and added 2 tsp of xantham gum. Oats, linseed and sunflower seeds I whizzed up in the herb chopper to make a coarse flour.
<i>Marmite slave</i>

Re: The Bread Thread
« Reply #260 on: 24 April, 2020, 02:08:24 pm »
For lunch we have just cut into a loaf made with courgette and butter milk.  Verr nice!

citoyen

  • Occasionally rides a bike
Re: The Bread Thread
« Reply #261 on: 24 April, 2020, 02:12:45 pm »
https://www.freshisreal.com/buckwheat-sourdough-loaf-gluten-free-vegan/#tasty-recipes-4516
(I use linseed instead of psyllium husk, ordinary sugar and added 2 tsp of xantham gum. Oats, linseed and sunflower seeds I whizzed up in the herb chopper to make a coarse flour.

Interesting, thanks. I tried xanthan gum in my attempt but obviously it wasn't an effective replacement for gluten by itself. Arrowroot and psyllium sound like good additions.
"The future's all yours, you lousy bicycles."

Wowbagger

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Re: The Bread Thread
« Reply #262 on: 24 April, 2020, 03:41:55 pm »
Given that my stocks of strony white flour are getting far lower than I like, I'm augmenting my bread with the addition of 60g porridge oats. Most days I make a loaf, and the recipe at the moment is 170 strong white, 170g wholemeal, 60g jumbo porridge oats. However, I am hoping to lay my hands on a couple of 16kg bags this evening.
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hellymedic

  • Just do it!
Re: The Bread Thread
« Reply #263 on: 26 April, 2020, 08:28:14 pm »
Just been on the phone to socially-distanced Mum (84).

She said Dad (89.7) fancied a baguette, which was something she had not baked before, so she Googled and baked.

SUCCESS!

Mum has also frozen portions of dough for future baking.

Mum is rather good...

Cudzoziemiec

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Re: The Bread Thread
« Reply #264 on: 28 April, 2020, 07:57:35 pm »
Prompted by the sourdough thread, I was wandering around Bakery Bits, interested in their selection of flour. The Matthews Organic Wholemeal seemed interesting, 16Kg for £15 seems very good value. Let's see how strong....12% not bad. Where's it from? Have a guess before clicking

(click to show/hide)
Breadbasket of Europe, traditionally, due to its "black soil". (As Citoyen says, I'm sure you and almost everyone else reading this already knew that, but hey... )
Riding a concrete path through the nebulous and chaotic future.

Re: The Bread Thread
« Reply #265 on: 28 April, 2020, 08:06:53 pm »
Scored 16Kg of Carr's T55 off Amazon at a sensible £1.10/Kg, so Baguettes'R'Us when it arrives.

Re: The Bread Thread
« Reply #266 on: 02 May, 2020, 12:48:20 pm »
First try, none too shabby but still work to do


citoyen

  • Occasionally rides a bike
Re: The Bread Thread
« Reply #267 on: 02 May, 2020, 02:11:25 pm »
First try, none too shabby but still work to do


Looking good. You’re going to have to change your name to Jambon.
"The future's all yours, you lousy bicycles."

hellymedic

  • Just do it!
Re: The Bread Thread
« Reply #268 on: 02 May, 2020, 03:53:29 pm »
Mum's baguettes were probably made with flour bought from Sainsbury's, as I'm doing much of her procurement.

Wowbagger

  • Former Sylph
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Re: The Bread Thread
« Reply #269 on: 02 May, 2020, 08:53:50 pm »
I made some baguettes and I thought they were an awful lot of effort for little reward. I've decided that breadmakers exist for a reason.

I now have a lot of flour - I met the excellent Gattopardo near the M25 nd he supplied me with 16kg each of strong white and wholemeal flour, from Wrights mill, Ponders End.

I don think that Ponders End is a really depressing name for a place.
Quote from: Dez
It doesn’t matter where you start. Just start.

Re: The Bread Thread
« Reply #270 on: 02 May, 2020, 09:22:54 pm »
Anywhere online that has non-industrial quantities of flour and yeast?

Last thing I made was a first attempt at soda bread (no yeast y’see):


Re: The Bread Thread
« Reply #271 on: 02 May, 2020, 09:40:00 pm »
Yum! Send me a slice for my breakfast tomorrow?

Re: The Bread Thread
« Reply #272 on: 03 May, 2020, 10:31:24 am »
I made some baguettes and I thought they were an awful lot of effort for little reward.

No more effort than normal breadmaking, but each to their own.

Anyhow, here's the summary of the first baking.

Making was much as any loaf, with the exception of no oil, no added sugar of any kind, 76% water dough, double yeast
Kneaded a little more, given the low gluten.
Top & bottom heat, with water in the solid oven tray (neff have solid shelf  as well as wire grill- perfect for this)
Baguette holder fashioned by folding two silicone  sheets into the wire grills, forming a V.

Good:
Overall taste and texture was good, still more like a supermarket baguette than an artisan baker, but I'll take that.
Texture was a little close, rather than open and airy. Repeated proving may improve (ha!) this
Strong indications that par-baking will work well

Not so good:
The baguette holder left the bottoms not-crusty. I'll either buy a baguette tray or make one from perforated mild steel.
Shape needs a little work, but actually should be straightforward to improve.

Re: The Bread Thread
« Reply #273 on: 03 May, 2020, 10:46:34 am »




Cheese and green chilli sourdough.

Disappeared within a morning

Gattopardo

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Re: The Bread Thread
« Reply #274 on: 03 May, 2020, 07:43:21 pm »
Since everyone is making bread I made soda bread as I have some gone off milk and used french bread flour and t45 flour.