Bread - What are you baking today…..

[neph93]

Sunday morning Biga-geddon! Early doors yet and the end result could still be a catastrophe, but so far working with Biga is a lot of fun.

The Biga this morning after 12 hours:

After the last fold:

Bulk ferment will be done soon.

[neph93]

More deets while it is in the oven…. I’m following the Forkish recipe for 80% white Biga. It is ridiculously warm here at the moment, (due to decades of excessive consumption of fossil fuel), anf Norwegian homes are built to retain heat. The room for the pre-ferment was 20C overnight, my kitchen is over that. It has meant I have needed to shorten times.

Forkish calls for a 14 hour pre-ferment, a 3.5 hour bulk ferment and on hour proofing, all at room temps.

The Biga got 12 hours and probably could have had 10-11. The bulk ferment was about 2.5 hours and the proofing only 30min.

I’ll mention that this was over-hydrated, which seems to be an issue for me. My scales glitched when mixing the water for the Biga, then I was heavy handed when mixing the bulk ferment. I added a little more flour, but the percentages are definitely off.

I’ve just removed the foil (I don’t have a Dutch oven), and I have oven spring!

[Giles]

80% Biga with 80% Eight- Grain and 20% Dark Rye

[neph93]

@Giles:

80% Biga with 80% Eight- Grain and 20% Dark Rye

Any major deviations from the white recipe in the Forkish book?

[neph93]

So the first ever Biga bake was a success, even with some iffy percentages.

I feel like learning how to make sourdough from scratch is the baking version of learning the acoustic guitar. You master everything properly, giving you all the skills needed to have fun with the electric version (or Biga, if the analogy wasn’t clear enough).

[Giles]

Looks great, congrats.

No great changes.  In this instance, I made the Biga with 80% eight-grain and then added 20% dark rye for the final dough.  I'm sure if I knew what I was doing, I could frig around with hydration and timings, but I don't bother…

I like ringing the changes flour-wise for the Biga and the final dough.  I open up the flour drawer and choose a couple that take my fancy on the day....

[neph93]

I decided you were onto something G. I just went ahead with the same recipe as above, but played with the ratios. So….80% Biga, with 50/50 wholewheat/white. Tasty and straightforward. I’ll try wholemeal spelt tomorrow, I think.

[neversummer]

Haven’t posted in a little. I’ve been making this recipe the past few weeks:
https://www.theperfectloaf.com/best-sourdough-recipe/
But subbing central mills’ type 85 for the whole wheat. They describe it as halfway between whole wheat and bread flour, so I guess you could split the amount 50/50 and get something comparable.
Anyway, pretty tasty!

[ROman]

Looks great. All of the above.

[Giles]

I was in a rush, because I had to catch the tide, so I left almost nothing for as long as I should have.

But boy, it is tasty.

80% Biga with 100% Bio Kamutmehl courtesy of @Chap 

It would actually be a perfect sandwich bread.  Fine crumb and soft crust…..

[Chap]

Oh how cool you did a 100% Kamut Biga… now I will have to give it a try too. Glad you like it @Giles

[ROman]

^^ That looks superb.

[neversummer]

@Giles very cool!

I was thinking if you are all interested (I keep wanting to taste everyone’s bread) what about doing a common recipe we all decide on in our own methods and posting the results?
Or maybe someone can post a recipe they like and we all make it? We can take turns and do one every few weeks…
Any other ideas so we could share?

[Giles]

Great idea…...I'd vote Poolish or Biga......

[Seul]

Last'un looks fab, G!..

[neph93]

@neversummer Very entertaining suggestion, I’m in.

[Chap]

Biga 80% White flour 20% Whole wheat Kamut

[Giles]

Mmmmmmm

[neph93]

@Chap  that looks splendid. Are your using a cast iron pot when baking? I know they can be used as a dutch oven over the bread, but I see methods used where people but the bread in the pot too, and cover with a lid.

[Chap]

Yes @neph93 I use this pot which is suitable for stews etc. too. It did improve my results a lot.