The Bread Thread

[hatler]

Our Kenwood is making occasional rather ugly clunking sounds when it's working hard.

Bugger.

If it fails catastrophically we will have to replace in a hurry.

Given the ratings here for the Panasonic I think that's where we'll end up.

[hatler]

And, in other news, we've just dispensed the last of the 16Kg bag of bread flour we bought in June (?)

[citoyen]

And, in other news, we've just dispensed the last of the 16Kg bag of bread flour we bought in June (?)

I took delivery of a 16kg sack at the start of August and finished it early December. Need a re-up. Have been relying on supermarket shelves being well stocked in the meantime. Really should place an order very soon before Brexit really kicks in.

[hatler]

Any recommendations for our next sack ?   Last sack was Heygates.

[citoyen]

Any recommendations for our next sack ?   Last sack was Heygates.

My last one was Shipton Mill No.4 because it was recommended elsewhere. I suspect not as strong as some (ie lower protein content) so maybe not the best option for long fermentation. A good all rounder though.

https://www.shipton-mill.com/flour-direct/untreated-organic-white-flour-no-4-105.htm

[Mrs Pingu]

I had such a lot of grief making good bread when I was buying whatever flour I could get hold of during lockdown that I am only buying what I know again. At least until I can't get it again. Having said that I have a load of random stuff ordered in desperation (mostly Shipton Mill now) I need to use up before it goes bad.

[perpetual dan]

Any recommendations for our next sack ?   Last sack was Heygates.

I’m also on a sack of Shipton Mill no 4, plus a box of assorted Ciabatta, malt house, rye and wholemeal flours to add variety and get to free delivery.

My starter is light rye. I bake every 2 days (give or take) so don’t fridge my starter.

[citoyen]

My starter is light rye. I bake every 2 days (give or take) so don’t fridge my starter.

Mine is light rye too. It’s normally very active, and doesn’t usually take very long to get going after coming out of the fridge. I’ve previously left it two weeks without problem.

I’d love to be baking every day but just don’t get through enough bread. I suppose I could scale down and make smaller loaves more often.

Anyway, I think it might actually be ok after all. I’ve kept it warm since giving it another feed this morning and it seems to have risen slightly. Panic over!

In the meantime, I made a quick loaf with dried yeast which is fine to keep me going. Just don’t dob me in to hipster club, please.

[offcumden]

Having made bread on and off over the years, I've recently got back into it, mostly using the Kenwood bread machine, but with some nice crusty oven-baked loaves which started on the 'dough' cycle. Very interested to also be trying rye flour for the first time, gradually increasing the proportion of rye to wheat. Getting lots of inspiration from the contributions to this thread - Thanks!

Because I am the only one eating the bread most of the time, I slice it and bag it for the freezer  (I undoubtedly could consume more but it would do bad things for my power to weight ratio!).
Can I ask if anyone here has a recommendation for a good bread knife, as my S/S Pro Cook Professional is losing its edge on the golden crusts!?  Or is there perhaps a way of sharpening the serrated edge that I'm not aware of?  TIA.

[Ham]

Baking and slicing into the freezer in my SOP, this is the modern equivalent of the knife that does perfect service and has done for the last *numberbiggerthan25* years.


https://www.nisbets.co.uk/victorinox-fibrox-larding-knife-serrated-blade-355mm/c684

[perpetual dan]

...
I’d love to be baking every day but just don’t get through enough bread. I suppose I could scale down and make smaller loaves more often.

Anyway, I think it might actually be ok after all. I’ve kept it warm since giving it another feed this morning and it seems to have risen slightly. Panic over!

In the meantime, I made a quick loaf with dried yeast which is fine to keep me going. Just don’t dob me in to hipster club, please.

Glad to hear it’s coming out of hibernation!
I did tweak my recipes to be about right for 2 days for the 4 of us for most of them. I think I’d get bored every day, and we don’t have a lot of space in the freezer.
I also recently got a book of french not sourdough recipes, so use dried yeast sometimes too. Most recently some pain façon beaucaire.

[philip]

Or is there perhaps a way of sharpening the serrated edge that I'm not aware of?  TIA.

I use a traditional rod-shaped sharpening steel on my bread knife. It may not get back to original condition, but is certainly good enough as far as I am concerned.

[offcumden]

Thanks to Ham and to philip for replies.

That Victorinox knife looks like a good piece of kit if I decide to replace my current weapon.

Before I abandon the Pro Cook I'll have a go at fettling it using the steel I use on carving knives etc.  Some interesting YouTube videos on this, including  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tei9E2pTU3s

Another rye/wholewheat mixed loaf today:  smells lovely!

[citoyen]

I made cinnamon buns yesterday. Need to work on my technique a bit - they didn't turn out quite as smart-looking as Mrs Pingu's, but they all got eaten before I had a chance to take a picture, which is an indication of how damn tasty they were (I only made a half-quantity of dough though, so it's not like I scoffed a full batch of buns).

The recipe was from my Christmas present, the Nordic Baking Book by Magnus Nilsson (head chef at Fäviken). It's a magnificent tome - not so much a collection of recipes, more an encyclopaedic reference work. There's a whole chapter on sweet yeasted pastries, which opens with three variations on a basic sweet dough, followed by loads of recipes based on that dough, starting with the cinnamon buns. I shall be working my way through the chapter over the coming months... already got my eye on the Toscabullar ('Tosca buns' - filled with almond sugar paste and topped with toffee and almonds), and Skølebrod ('School buns' - filled with custard and topped with coconut). And then I'll move on to the cakes, breads, desserts...

[Mrs Pingu]

Do you have a spare room?

[Hot Flatus]

My starter is light rye. I bake every 2 days (give or take) so don’t fridge my starter.

Mine is light rye too. It’s normally very active, and doesn’t usually take very long to get going after coming out of the fridge. I’ve previously left it two weeks without problem.

I’d love to be baking every day but just don’t get through enough bread. I suppose I could scale down and make smaller loaves more often.

Anyway, I think it might actually be ok after all. I’ve kept it warm since giving it another feed this morning and it seems to have risen slightly. Panic over!

In the meantime, I made a quick loaf with dried yeast which is fine to keep me going. Just don’t dob me in to hipster club, please.

My starter passed away in november.  (neglect)

Got a new one going last week, using wholemeal (and now rye). It was doubling after two days. Its an absolute monster and I don't know what accounts for it being so much more active more than in summer other than wondering whether Mrs F is a bit yeasty at the moment.

[citoyen]

Do you have a spare room?

You'd be welcome any time - as long as you show me how you get your cinnamon buns looking so tidy!

[Mrs Pingu]

Do you have a spare room?

You'd be welcome any time - as long as you show me how you get your cinnamon buns looking so tidy!

Now *that* I can do. You just need either a bit of dental floss or sewing thread. Easy when you know how
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=42E6FSYc_0c

[hellymedic]

My starter passed away in november.  (neglect)

I read that as 'My sister passed away..' and reread it before offering condolences.

Rapid reading has its downsides...

[Hot Flatus]

^
I probably should get my sister out of the fridge and reanimate her, ready for action

Anyway, just did this...


free image hosting

Great spring. The starter is incredible. Must more active than my previous one.

[citoyen]

I got some fresh yeast from Morrisons today. You have to ask the baker for it, but he was very obliging, and interested to know what I was baking (see below). He'll cut you a piece off his big block - 20p for 50g. Bargain. He also mentioned that he could sell me a 16kg sack of flour for £9. Would have taken him up on that except I'm OK for flour at the moment.

Toscabullar ('Tosca buns' - filled with almond sugar paste and topped with toffee and almonds)

I should have left them a bit longer on the final rise. Also, the topping slid off some of them - I guess you're supposed to make an indentation in the top to prevent that. And I think I might need to experiment with the oven temperature to get the right balance of the buns cooking and the topping caramelising.

Very, very tasty though. Unbelievable amounts of butter involved. Definitely worth making again.

[Mrs Pingu]

Mmm they sound good

Someone on my twitter feed was posting pics of hot cross buns today. Maybe I should have a bash at making those.... any recommended recipes?

[citoyen]

The recipe I use is a Paul Hollywood one - I think it's this one:
https://www.bbc.co.uk/food/recipes/hot_cross_buns_74750

I also made a sourdough version based on the same recipe but I don't know that it's worth it.

[L CC]

I haven't done bread in ages (10 years?) but yearned for Belgian buns.
Ah, that's why I don't do bread. They were delicious.

[Canardly]

Ooooh they look nice.