Author Topic: The Bread Thread (Read 110415 times)

Feanor · « **Reply #725 on:** 18 January, 2022, 01:38:36 pm »

Looking good.

citoyen · « **Reply #726 on:** 18 January, 2022, 02:48:25 pm »

Very nice, Mrs P!

Wowbagger · « **Reply #727 on:** 20 January, 2022, 10:29:43 pm »

This morning I drove into Chelmsford and dropped into Marriage's Mills for some flour. I bought 3 16kg bags, one each of Chelmer White, Malted Brown and Organic Wholemeal.

The wholemeal has a best before date of May, the other two September. Jan and I get through about three 400g loaves per week (usually I use more like 420g per loaf. I don't weigh very accurately but I always slightly exceed the recipe's weight). Given that 4 loaves use 1.6kg, that means that there would be 40 loaves per bag, or 120 loaves (40 weeks) for the lot.

I use 100g white, 200g wholemeal and 100g malted brown as my default combination, so, given that best-before dates are going to err quite markedly on the safe side, I should be OK.

Up to now, I have shared the flour with Dez & Alex, but they have moved to Mansfield so it's not quite so easy for them just to walk round for a top-up.

Mrs Pingu · « **Reply #728 on:** 25 January, 2022, 10:23:38 am »

Anybody tried sharpening their bread knife? Ours doesn't seem to be coping very well with the artisanal bread. Not exactly sure how old the knife is but probably the thick end of 20 years at least...

Feanor · « **Reply #729 on:** 25 January, 2022, 11:23:10 am »

I have the same problem.
The sawing motion itself is not enough to cut the crust, and you end up using more downward pressure than you might like, and sqidging the loaf.
Also, it can take a bit of work to saw through the base.
As a result, I can't cut thin slices, just door-steps.

I might just get a new bread knife.

Ham · « **Reply #730 on:** 25 January, 2022, 11:41:25 am »

Serrated slicers are your friend, I have a Victorinox, about 30 years old, but this looks adequate

https://www.nisbets.co.uk/hygiplas-serrated-slicer-yellow-30-5cm/c811

They do lose their edge after a while, but my Lansky system hones work well to sharpen, I only have to do that every couple of years or so, despite constant use. The ones I have are triangular, they now do circular, which will likely be even easier

Feanor · « **Reply #731 on:** 26 January, 2022, 06:38:45 pm »

I've pulled the pin on the white-handled version of that.
I'll report back when it arrives...

Mrs Pingu · « **Reply #732 on:** 26 January, 2022, 06:45:15 pm »

I had a bash at sharpening ours for shits & giggles but haven't had occasion to try it out yet.

Wowbagger · « **Reply #733 on:** 26 January, 2022, 11:07:46 pm »

Quote from: Mrs Pingu on 26 January, 2022, 06:45:15 pm

I had a bash at sharpening ours for shits & giggles but haven't had occasion to try it out yet.

I can imagine cutting a shit (messy!) but giggles would be a little harder...

I find that our bread knife has a layer of bread stick to the surface of the blade. I suspect it might be because I use olive oil in the recipe, rather than the recommended butter.

Feanor · « **Reply #734 on:** 27 January, 2022, 10:32:31 am »

Quote from: Wowbagger on 26 January, 2022, 11:07:46 pm

I find that our bread knife has a layer of bread stick to the surface of the blade. I suspect it might be because I use olive oil in the recipe, rather than the recommended butter.

Mine does that too, and I use no oil or butter or anything similar; only flour, water, salt and either yeast or levain starter.
And it can be surprisingly difficult to wash off, requiring vigorous scrubbing.

citoyen · « **Reply #735 on:** 27 January, 2022, 11:37:32 am »

I've been experimenting with the stretch-and-fold method, albeit in a somewhat slapdash fashion rather than following a well defined routine. But I've had some good results so far. Made a sponge yesterday morning, used that for a dough about teatime, did a few stretch-and-folds throughout the evening, then shaped and left to prove overnight and baked first thing this morning. That was at 70% hydration, which is somewhat higher than I would normally go for, and the dough was very sticky, but it turned out very nicely - although I think I could have left it to prove a bit longer for even better results.

I'm going to have to get myself a copy of the Forkish book and start doing this properly.

Mrs Pingu · « **Reply #736 on:** 01 February, 2022, 09:25:58 pm »

Quote from: Feanor on 26 January, 2022, 06:38:45 pm

I've pulled the pin on the white-handled version of that.
I'll report back when it arrives...

You got your knife yet?

Feanor · « **Reply #737 on:** 02 February, 2022, 09:24:43 am »

Quote from: Mrs Pingu on 01 February, 2022, 09:25:58 pm

Quote from: Feanor on 26 January, 2022, 06:38:45 pm
I've pulled the pin on the white-handled version of that.
I'll report back when it arrives...

You got your knife yet?

Yes.

So it's very long, and so it cuts the entire width of the loaf much better that the old one.
It's also very sharp, and cuts through the crust even of an older loaf just fine.

However, it's quite thin, and so is really quite flexible.
My old bread knife is thick enough to be quite inflexible.
So it can 'wander' a bit attempting to cut thin slices, so that particular issue remains.

Personally, I don't think this kind of loaf lends itself to thin slicing anyway.
You can cut 15 - 20mm thick slices just fine, and I think anything thinner is not really going to work.
(It's Mrs F who wants the thinner slices.)

citoyen · « **Reply #738 on:** 02 February, 2022, 10:50:04 am »

I highly recommend one of these devices - very useful for getting even slices even with soft bread:
https://www.lakeland.co.uk/13173/Lakeland-EvenSlice-Bread-Slicer

(Ours has been used to the point that we've worn through the bottom of it, but it has well outlasted the three year guarantee Lakeland offer.)

Feanor · « **Reply #739 on:** 03 February, 2022, 02:56:55 pm »

That looks like a useful thing, thanks.

I've googled the bread slicer thing, and there's a whole world of things out there.
That particular one is, I suspect, too narrow to accommodate the width of my loaves once you get close to the middle.
Actually, I think it might work if I were to turn the loaf onto it's side...
I think I'll end up getting some such device.

Anyways, thanks for the pointer.

orienteer · « **Reply #740 on:** 03 February, 2022, 04:47:23 pm »

To cut really thin slices, it helps to put the cut face of the loaf on the work surface and slice horizontally.

Latest loaf from the bread maker today hasn't risen very much, the dried yeast (Doves Farm) although within use by date is going off, so time to start a new packet.

Mrs Pingu · « **Reply #741 on:** 03 February, 2022, 05:42:59 pm »

I can't help but think there ought to be a more slimline solution to the bread slicer gadget. Having said that having bought quite a number of useless gadgets from Lakeland as a very young Mrs Pingu I'm a bit leery of them these days.
I might go and check out the knives in person

at Nisbets on Saturday. Noting Feanor's comment on flexible blades I was tending towards a Victorinox which I believe also has a curved blade to assist cutting through the bottom.

Ham · « **Reply #742 on:** 04 February, 2022, 07:46:35 pm »

I find I can slice comfortably and evenly with my Victorinox, I think I prefer the straight option where the tip of the blade cuts through to the board, as it is easy to put an edge on the last bit, whereas if you have a convex curve, it is the middle of the knife that will blunt, which is the same segment as that which you will use to start the slice.

I've experimented with all manner of knives, including one like this given to me years ago, which seems brilliant but actually is more trouble than it's worth. The blade is as sharp as buggery, but thin and flexy so you have to work really hard to keep it even.

Mrs Pingu · « **Reply #743 on:** 04 February, 2022, 08:29:53 pm »

Well if those bow saw things can only be used by a leftie or a rightie at any one time they won't work in Pingu Towers.

Mrs Pingu · « **Reply #744 on:** 07 February, 2022, 05:07:42 pm »

I went to Nisbet's and had a feel of the Victorinox bread knife and the pastry knife. The bread knife was significantly more flexible than the pastry knife, though the serrated edge appeared pretty similar, excepting the curve on the pastry knife.
So noting Feanor's comments about the flexible blade wandering I went for the pastry knife https://www.nisbets.co.uk/victorinox-fibrox-serrated-pastry-knife-255mm/c663?cm_sp=Peerius-_-productRecsTop-_-title

Wow, we really did need a new knife! It positively slid through the loaf without much sawing at all, a perfectly straight cut which I got pretty thin on one side (the loaf was already cut a bit at an angle from top to base so I was trying to make it vertical again).
Well impressed.

Feanor · « **Reply #745 on:** 13 February, 2022, 03:09:28 pm »

So spent a while in Nisbets in ABZ yesterday, looking at knives.
I've ended up buying a rather worryingly-named 'Dick Knife' brand.

https://www.nisbets.co.uk/dick-red-spirit-bread-knife-260mm/gh290

mostly on the grounds that it's sharp and not over-flexible.

I'll report back once it arrives ( was not in stock, they only had one to show me out of a chef's set, which cost eveventy).

Ham · « **Reply #746 on:** 13 February, 2022, 04:56:53 pm »

I've been using Dick knives since forever (I think I found them originally in Divertimenti?) and I doubt you will regret the purchase (except if it tempts you to further indulge)

Feanor · « **Reply #747 on:** 21 February, 2022, 02:00:31 pm »

I can haz new knife!
Will report back after Wednesday's bake.

Dick knife by Ron Lowe, on Flickr

Feanor · « **Reply #748 on:** 23 February, 2022, 08:47:04 pm »

Right, so I made a fresh loaf this morning, and then had at it with the new knife.

Normally, I'd leave the loaf an hour before attempting to cut it.
Let the crust harden up enough so I don't squidge the loaf during cutting.

Today, I gave it about half an hour, and it was still very warm and quite soft.
The new knife cut through it with ease, no loaf-squidging downward pressure, and no lateral flex.
Perfect.

Well happy with it.

Ashaman42 · « **Reply #749 on:** 24 February, 2022, 08:25:06 pm »

I have bought some spelt flour to transition my sourdough starter over to.

And tomorrow I have a banneton and a couple other bits and pieces coming.

I was going to get rice flour to dust the banneton but our Tesco doesn't have it so I've got some cornflour instead.