Bread - What are you baking today…..

[JunkPants]

@neph93 & @Giles Thanks guys.

A friend got really into it years back, and to a certain extent his life did seem to revolve around the sourdough for a while there. It was a positive thing from what I could tell though. Certainly made some amazing bread at the time. Haven't seen the guy for ages, but can't imagine he's kept that up.

Maybe Forkish, and poolish, would be a good place to start.

I've always felt that there's something particular to sourdough, that other methods can't quite provide, but maybe I'm wrong, and just not experienced enough. More than possible.

This also reminded me of that bit in Kitchen Confidential where the (drunk) baker calls in to Anthony Bourdain telling him to "feed the bitch".
(Must be 20 years since I read that book...!)

[neph93]

@JunkPants Sourdough has unique qualities other breads don't have for sure. Longevity, and a unique taste. If you really get into it a unique opportunity to manipulate that taste. Put succinctly, the question is, is it worth the effort? For some who look for "the perfect loaf" then it may be, for those who really get a mania for it then ok. But for someone who enjoys baking, thinks it is fun, and wants good quality bread on the daily, there are methods both less intensive, and more stable/predictable.

For example, I got into a routine a few years ago where my life and bread making aligned and I was able to do a double sourdough bake twice a week (eight loaves). Maintaining a starter was simple, there was enough bread for my whole family, and I could give one or two away. And most importantly I enjoyed it, and it fit into my life.

At other times, when things were busy, I did one Poolish bake and one sourdough a week. Sometimes though life gets busy and an overnight dough, or a poolish is good enough. I have some time on my hands right now so I am mucking about with a starter, pan de cristal and other stuff, but when that changes the starter will be buried at the back of my fridge for 6 months, and a pre-ferment like Poolish will be my luxury bake, and certainly good enough.

[Giles]

Reuben, I have some enforced time on my hands at the moment (Strongly advised not to leave the country for 3 months), so I want to do some experimentation. Which recipe are you using for your Pan De Cristal?

[Seul]

@Giles said in Bread - What are you baking today…..:

(Strongly advised not to leave the country for 3 months)

I'm sorry but you can't just drop intel like this and not have a curious Belgian wondering........

[neph93]

@Seul I hear rumours of new bionic implants that can't fall into the hands of hostile agencies...

@Giles this one https://www.kingarthurbaking.com/recipes/pan-de-cristal-recipe

[Giles]

@Seul said in Bread - What are you baking today…..:

I'm sorry but you can't just drop intel like this and not have a curious Belgian wondering........

https://www.ironheart.co.uk/forum//post/802758

[Giles]

@neph93 said in Bread - What are you baking today…..:

@Giles this one https://www.kingarthurbaking.com/recipes/pan-de-cristal-recipe

Thank you. Looks pretty si,ilar to this, which is what I will do. I love a vid

[neph93]

Yeah... it's the same one. People learn in different ways. I like a video to show me a quick physical technique, (for example what a coil fold looks like), but otherwise I want a written recipe.

[neph93]

Still sceptical about how to get the crust brown.... but also thin. The whole handling of 100% hydration bread is great fun though, regardless.

[neph93]

I let a Argentine lady of my acquaintance try mine and she approved. She'd lived in Valencia for a while, so I'll take that.

[Giles]

[Giles]

@neph93 said in Bread - What are you baking today…..:

I let a Argentine lady of my acquaintance try mine and she approved. She'd lived in Valencia for a while, so I'll take that.

But, did she like the bread?

[neph93]

She seemed generally satisified with all aspects of our time togther...

[Giles]

Just done the bowl fold, and I can confirm categorically that I got just as excited as the guy in the vid, about the wonders of bread flour. @Madame-Buttonfly not so much .......

[Giles]

@neph93 At this point I share the same concerns as you did with your first attempt. Though, in my case, I never managed to get enough structure in the dough with the coil folds, so I think my concerns will prove to be valid.....

[goosehd]

@Giles I just finished watching that video and was wondering how your dough was working for you.

[Giles]

Like this.......

[goosehd]

@Giles How much time left? I do see the surface bubbles forming...

[Giles]

That's after 4 coil folds, so at that very second we are looking for 2 hours.....

[neph93]

Looks about right mate. My second attempt was around about there.