Date: Sun, 28 Mar 2004 08:47:42 GMT -------------- BEGIN bread-bakers.v104.n016 -------------- 001 - "Daren Hansen" Subject: Putting the sour in La Brea sourdough Date: Mon, 15 Mar 2004 09:43:18 -0600 I've been making Nancy Silverton's basic white sourdough bread from her "Breads from the La Brea Bakery" book. I've had the sourdough starter for about 2 years and have made the bread multiple times, with great success. However, only once, by chance, has it come out tasting "sour," a taste which I enjoy. Does anyone have a suggestion for encouraging/enhancing the natural sourness? Before mixing, I remove the starter from the refrigerator and feed it for about 36-48 hours (feedings are 4-8 hours apart). The mixed dough then sits at room temperature to double in bulk before shaping. Once in the baskets, it rises for about 1 hour before going into the refrigerator or cool garage for 18-24 hours. Then it sits out for 4 hours before baking. Any suggestions? Daren --------------- MESSAGE bread-bakers.v104.n016.2 --------------- From: "Leigh Davisson" Subject: Eight braid bread Date: Mon, 15 Mar 2004 10:56:11 -0800 The recipe I use for the eight braid bread is Reinhart's White Sandwich Bread (from "Crust & Crumb"), which I weave into an 8 braid bread that my nine year old daughter calls twirly bread. It's a gorgeous loaf, but more similar to a brioche in flavor and texture than a challah. To make an eight braid bread, use any recipe that yields 2 pounds of dough. Just before the final rise, divide the dough into eight pieces. Roll out as long as you can, trying to keep uniform thickness. Mine usually end up about 18-20 inches long. I let them rest halfway through rolling out so they will extend more. By the time I'm done with the first roll of the 8th strand, the first one is relaxed enough to start over again. Bring all 8 ends next to each other on the counter, and pinch one end together. Push four strands to one side, and four to the other side with 6 to 8 inches between the bottom ends of the inside dough strands. Starting with the outermost left strand, bring it over the three strands next to it, and lay it just inside the four strands of dough on the right. You now have three strands on the left, and five on the right. Take the outermost right strand over the four next to it, and place it on the inside right of the three strands on the left. Keep repeating while alternating sides with the rest of the strands until you get to the point where they are too short to braid. Pinch ends together, and gently tuck under the end so the seams are not visible. Do the same to the top end. Gently pull into shape if some parts of the loaf are wider than others. Spray with a light coating of oil and let rise until roughly doubled in size. Then bake. It's a beautiful loaf. Leigh --------------- MESSAGE bread-bakers.v104.n016.3 --------------- From: FREDERICKA COHEN Subject: 8 strand challah Date: Wed, 17 Mar 2004 05:23:28 -0800 (PST) These are the Leigh Davisson instructions for an 8 strand challah. Use a recipe that would make two loaves of bread. Leigh uses "white sandwich bread" from Crust and Crumb by Peter Reinhardt. Roll dough into 8 strands. Each one is usually 18 to 24 inches long. Make sure they are all pretty close in length and thickness.If bread resists, let it sit and come back to that piece. ** Fredericka's note:I used a 5 cup recipe and made my strands 16 to 18 inch. Place all 8 pieces roughly parallel and attach all at one end by pressing them together. Gently push them apart so that you have four strands on each side. Now begin braiding. Start with the piece on the far left, carry it over the three strands next to it, and put it in the center next to the four strands that are on the right of it. Do the same with the strand farthest on the right, crossing over the three strands next to it AND the one you have just brought over from the left. Place it next to the three remaining strands that are on the left. ** Fredericka's note: You are crossing three from the left and four from the right. Repeat from left and right until you run out of strands to braid.Pinch the ends together and tuck them under the end of the loaf. Adjust the loaf so width is roughly the same. Place on parchment paper to rise. Spray with cooking spray and cover loosely with plastic wrap. ** Fredericka's note: I braid directly on the parchment as it makes it easier to slide it into oven. I use a good size piece of paper and tape the ends to the table to prevent sliding. I do a first egg wash instead of spray and cover with a $2.98 plastic sweater box I use as a proofing box. You will find it surprisingly easy. Just make sure the ends are tucked underneath. ** Fredericka's note: It is "surprisingly easy", believe me. I practiced a 4 strand with one inch upholstery cord for two weeks before I got that. I never got close to the "legs down, arms up" of the 6 strand. It makes a stunning presentation. Thanks again, Leigh (and Bob who played detective in North Carolina!) --------------- MESSAGE bread-bakers.v104.n016.4 --------------- From: "Steven Leof" Subject: Salt in Crocdrillo / Crocodile Bread Date: Fri, 19 Mar 2004 09:41:10 -0000 The best method to determine correct proportions is to weigh your ingredients and use bakers' percentages. Recipes vary tremendously of course but the following is a guide: Flour 100% Water 66% Salt 2% Yeast 1% (instant) or 2% (active dry) Carol Field's Crocdrillo / Crocodile Bread calls for 530 - 550 grams of flour. Therefore the 'standard' amount of salt (which you should vary according to your taste) should be 10.6 - 11 grams. A teaspoon of table salt weighs about 7.1 grams. Next time you use the recipe try using 1 1/2 teaspoons rather than the suggested 1 1/2 tablespoons salt. There must be a typo in the otherwise excellent book. Regards Steven Leof London, England --------------- MESSAGE bread-bakers.v104.n016.5 --------------- From: Haack Carolyn Subject: subbing whole wheat flour Date: Sun, 21 Mar 2004 04:41:03 -0800 (PST) For Karen and her fabulous breakfast pizza -- I routinely substitute a portion of whole wheat flour in recipes that call for only white flour (including endless sugar cookies for grade schoolers -- never had a single complaint!). I have had fine results with up to 50% whole wheat substituted, and feel that the flavor is enhanced as well. The bran in whole wheat can cut the gluten strings we work so hard to develop, and therefore may lessen the rise of a particular loaf. Whole wheat pastry flour could possibly lessen that, I just use it so seldom I rarely have any on hand. But for "pizza dough" less rise may be a good thing! In any event, I have been quite satisfied to trade a small portion of rising height for better flavor and nutrition in a very wide variety of baking endeavors. Enjoy! --------------- MESSAGE bread-bakers.v104.n016.6 --------------- From: RosesCakeBible@aol.com Subject: Re: Michael's bagel thoughts Date: Sun, 21 Mar 2004 07:49:28 EST Michael Zusman wrote: >Boiling should not exceed 10 seconds per side. Count 10, then flip, count >another 10 and remove from your kettle. All we are trying to do is >gelatinize the proteins on the surface of the dough to aid crust >formation. We are not "cooking" the bagel in the water. Again, we want >dense, not puffy. iagree with almost everything you said except for the boiling. i find that boiling longer and 'cooking' the bagel before baking results in more density. also, in a home oven, starting at 500F and bring the temperature down to 450F right away makes a wonderful dark crust without burning. i also like smaller bagels though my husband was very disappointed when i made the 3 oz. ones the other week. with the 5 ounce ones in my book i can only eat half at a sitting--or i should say i can only ALLOW myself to eat half! will certainly visit your bakery if i am lucky enough to get back to portland! best, rose (levy beranbaum) --------------- MESSAGE bread-bakers.v104.n016.7 --------------- From: "Allen Cohn" Subject: What are dough additives? Date: Tue, 23 Mar 2004 07:14:58 -0800 Hi baking friends, I've seen a number of dough enhancers (such as dough relaxers) out on the market...a couple of questions: * What are they (at a chemical level)? * Do you find them worthwhile to use? (I mainly make sandwich loaves, rustic loaves, and pizza dough.) * Can you get most of the benefit with homebrew concoctions? Many thanks, Allen PS: Do any of you have experience using vitamin C as an additive, and, if so, do you recommend it? ---------------------------------- Allen Cohn allen@cohnzone.com --------------- MESSAGE bread-bakers.v104.n016.8 --------------- From: Maggie Glezer Subject: Sourdough Seminar Date: Tue, 23 Mar 2004 22:55:32 -0500 Hello Fellow Bread bakers: I know that the readers of this digest are very interested in the science of bread baking, so I thought I would let you know about a fantastic seminar I attended at the Bread Bakers Guild of America in the Retail Bakers Association annual convention this past weekend. The Guild organized six of the top sourdough experts in the world--a sort of sourdough dream team--to speak about the biochemistry of sourdough and to give practical baking advice about sourdough baking in "Sourdough: The Science, and Its Practical Application in Your Bakery". I learned a tremendous amount, and thought I would pass on (see below) a few of the really juicy but scattered tidbits that I learned at the seminar and afterward interviewing the speakers. For those interested in the whole pie, a DVD was made of the talks, and a CD was made of the power point presentations, and both will be available soon from the Bread Bakers Guild of America. Contact Gina at gina@bbga.org for more information. All the best, Maggie Glezer PS: Hi back to Michael! From Walter Hammes, professor of general food technology and microbiology at Hohenheim University in Stuttgart, Germany, who informed me that he has been studying sourdough microbiology for 27 years: During slow, cool yeast fermentations, the extra flavor gained is not from the enzymatic release of sugar in the damaged starch granules, which happens relatively quickly in the dough, but from a multitude of other compounds called flavor precursors released by the activity of yeast and bacteria. The flavor precursors become flavors during the browning reaction of baking in the crust of the bread. Some sourdough bacteria are homofermenting, meaning they produce only lactic acid, while others are heterofermenting, meaning they produce primarily lactic and acetic acid or lactic acid and ethanol, depending on the ambient temperature and other conditions. What I found particularly fascinating was that the same amount of lactic acid is always produced, while the acetic acid varies. Warmer temperatures and wetter doughs favor the development of the milder lactic acid (think yogurt) while cooler temperatures and stiffer doughs favor the development of the much sharper and more aromatic acetic acid (think vinegar). The balance of lactic acid and acetic acid determines part of the flavor profile of sourdough breads. This balance is called the FQ, for fermentative quotient. Sourdough fermentations have numerous benefits including increasing the bioavailability of minerals in the flour, removal of toxins and mycotoxins. Sourdough breads also have a much improved glycemic index, and do not cause the blood sugar to spike and drop as dramatically as ordinary yeasted breads. The reason is as yet unclear. The origin of many sourdough bacteria remains a mystery. Some of the bacteria thrive in nature in extremely odd places, like the teeth of children in South America, the human digestive track, or duck's throats. Prof. Hammes cannot answer how they find their way into starters, but once there, they become extremely dominant and stable. From Hubert Chiron, master baker (a real master baker) from the National School for Milling and Cereal Industries in Nantes, France: French customers admire what Professor Raymond Calvel calls a "wild crumb" meaning a vastly irregular crumb structure with abundant huge holes. The holes develop as a result of air bubbles in the dough coalescing, and forming super bubbles. To achieve this gorgeous _alveolage_, or crumb, he recommends moderate mixing (which is never a problem at home), to prevent the formation of too many air bubbles (nucleation); a long thorough fermentation (_pointage_), a good rest after rounding the dough, skilled shaping, and a relatively short proof (_apret_). --------------- MESSAGE bread-bakers.v104.n016.9 --------------- From: "Debbie Tower" Subject: Sticky bun dough Date: Thu, 25 Mar 2004 18:55:28 -0500 for Karen For Sticky bun dough: 3/4 cup water 4 tbl. nonfat drty milk 4 tbl. butter, softened or melted and cooled 2 extra large eggs 1/2 tsp. salt 1/2 cup plus 2 tbl. sugar 3 1/3 cups unbleached white flour 1 tbl. yeast Place all the ingredients in the machine, program for dough or manual, and press start. When the cycle is completed, place the dough in a large well-oiled bowl. Cover tightly with plastic wrap and refrigerate overnight. This is from Lora Brody and Millie Apter Bread Machine Baking. --------------- END bread-bakers.v104.n016 --------------- Copyright (c) 1996-2004 Regina Dwork and Jeffrey Dwork All Rights Reserved