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    Iron Heart Fall/Winter 2025 Collection Preview - Now Live

    Bread - What are you baking today…..

    Hobbies and Pastimes
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    • zhivagoZ
      zhivago
      Raw and Unwashed
      Joined:

      I was on the same line of thinking @neph93 so this week I did a 50/50 white/whole wheat and I think this one actually came out with more density than the 100% whole wheat. I will try higher hydration I guess. It felt dry when I was mixing it. And I think you make a good case for 100% white as well. Getting to know the basics is always a good play!

      Zhivago

      MM: "we all got to start somewhere"

      G: "Never once did he bitch, moan or complain.  He just motivated the team and got on with it"

      last edited by 1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
      • neph93N
        neph93
        見習いボス
        Joined:

        I don’t know what recipe you are following, but a higher percentage of whole corn should mean more water.

        Less yeast but longer proofing/fermenting will also mean more gas being produced and better time for the gluten structures to develop.

        Finally autolysing is a good idea for less dense bread too. Mix all the flour and water from you recipe, but leave out the salt and yeast. Let it sit for 30 mins, then add salt and yeast and carry on.

        “Some of those that work forces
        Are the same that burn crosses”

        • Virginia Woolf
        last edited by 1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
        • zhivagoZ
          zhivago
          Raw and Unwashed
          Joined:

          Awesome tips @neph93! Thank you Sir! I will incorporate those next weekend and try not to change to many things at once as well. Here is the https://bakerbettie.com/four-ingredient-no-kneadbread/ I have been following. I was just trying to stick to the absolute minimum of flour, yeast, salt and water for the sake of simplicity/purity etc. So long as it's not eggs or sugar I don't have too much issue adding a few other ingredients though. I have no allegiance to this particular recipe it was just the first one I found that checked the boxes I was looking to check.

          Zhivago

          MM: "we all got to start somewhere"

          G: "Never once did he bitch, moan or complain.  He just motivated the team and got on with it"

          last edited by 1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
          • GilesG
            Giles
            IHUK Crew
            Joined:

            I perhaps did not post this link.

            If I did, I would have said the guy is super irritating, but this really is a great place to start.  His approach is to start simple and then move up through a couple of levels of complexity.  And you will learn a lot.

            The 3rd level makes a really great prefermeted bread.  Once you have that one dialled in, then you can start experimenting with different flours.

            I would 100% steer clear of 100% wholewheat to start with (unless you want to make bricks)  😉

            "OK face up to it - you're useless but generally pretty honest and straightforward . . . it's a rare combination of qualities that I have come to admire in you" - Geo 2011

            last edited by 1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
            • ChrisC
              Chris
              Raw and Unwashed
              Joined:

              @Giles:

              I would 100% steer clear of 100% wholewheat to start with (unless you want to make bricks)  😉

              I can confirm this outcome.

              last edited by 1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
              • zhivagoZ
                zhivago
                Raw and Unwashed
                Joined:

                Like most things in married life so much of what I decide to do is out of my hands…[emoji23][emoji23][emoji23]
                Dr. Zhivago is slightly or should I say quite opposed to white bread. Right or wrong reasonable or not it’s what I’m working with. The battle for 100% white bread will be won but it’s gonna take a few calculated efforts

                Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

                Zhivago

                MM: "we all got to start somewhere"

                G: "Never once did he bitch, moan or complain.  He just motivated the team and got on with it"

                last edited by 1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
                • neph93N
                  neph93
                  見習いボス
                  Joined:

                  @zhivago:

                  The battle for 100% white bread will be won but it’s gonna take a few calculated efforts

                  With all due respect to the good doctor, there is a long way and many variations between 100% white and 100% wholemeal. I would argue that as soon as you leave 100% finely milled wheat flour, it is no longer white bread. Even then, there are «white» wholemeal flour variants with lots of fibre and less gluten, like spelt or other heritage corn.

                  The main argument for doing at least one 100% white will be research. You need to know how it behaves so you can get the best possible bread when you start doing blends.

                  Cooncidentally I’m doing a 100% white full levain bread and a full levain bread with about 25% whole wheat today. 25% isn’t masses but it ups the fibre meaningfully. You can use that and then add bran germ and wheat germ, even some seeds. This will give you a whole meal/granary loaf which still uses more that 50% white flour. You’ll have a light airy crumb, masses of fibre and taste. No other ingredients than FWSY.

                  Here are the two doughs after mixing, bulk fermenting and shaping. It will proof in the baskets for another couple of hours:

                  “Some of those that work forces
                  Are the same that burn crosses”

                  • Virginia Woolf
                  last edited by 1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
                  • neph93N
                    neph93
                    見習いボス
                    Joined:

                    While I’m waiting for the proof to finish, I’m indulging my Britishness with PG Tips and the Cornish Fairings I made yesterday…

                    “Some of those that work forces
                    Are the same that burn crosses”

                    • Virginia Woolf
                    last edited by 1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
                    • zhivagoZ
                      zhivago
                      Raw and Unwashed
                      Joined:

                      Definitely agree and dang do those doughs look lovely!! I am feeling confident I've got enough ammo to pull off a 100% white loaf this week, it's research after all 😃

                      Zhivago

                      MM: "we all got to start somewhere"

                      G: "Never once did he bitch, moan or complain.  He just motivated the team and got on with it"

                      last edited by 1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
                      • GilesG
                        Giles
                        IHUK Crew
                        Joined:

                        Here is an interesting article about whole grain bread….

                        https://www.smithsonianmag.com/arts-culture/what-makes-whole-grain-bread-so-hard-to-bake-63878/

                        I am making a 50% poolish today (the poolish was mixed last night and comprised 500gms strong organic white, 500gms water 0.4gms yeast).  Here is the poolish when I came downstairs:

                        To make the final dough, I added 200gms white, 150gms 8-grain 150gms dark rye, 250 gms water, 3 gms yeast and 21gms salt.

                        8-grain:

                        Dark rye:

                        So there is plenty of fibre in the dough and no unnatural stuff added to make it rise.  @Chap was the inspiration for this mix (though I think he made a biga not a poolish), saying it was the tastiest bread he had ever baked….

                        "OK face up to it - you're useless but generally pretty honest and straightforward . . . it's a rare combination of qualities that I have come to admire in you" - Geo 2011

                        last edited by 1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
                        • neph93N
                          neph93
                          見習いボス
                          Joined:

                          Totally support the use of seven or eight corn flour. Tasty, rich in fibre and easy to get on with.

                          Here are the 100% white loaves just out of the oven:


                          “Some of those that work forces
                          Are the same that burn crosses”

                          • Virginia Woolf
                          last edited by 1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
                          • Matty123M
                            Matty123
                            Raw and Unwashed
                            Joined:

                            you guys are bananas. i love it

                            Maybe so. Maybe not

                            last edited by 1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
                            • endoE
                              endo
                              見習いボス
                              Joined:

                              @neph93:

                              Here are the 100% white loaves just out of the oven

                              that looks so good! I think I can smell it over here …

                              si tacuisses

                              last edited by 1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
                              • neph93N
                                neph93
                                見習いボス
                                Joined:

                                @endo:

                                @neph93:

                                Here are the 100% white loaves just out of the oven

                                that looks so good! I think I can smell it over here …

                                It was pretty tasty I have to admit. One loaf gone already [emoji15]

                                “Some of those that work forces
                                Are the same that burn crosses”

                                • Virginia Woolf
                                last edited by 1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
                                • neph93N
                                  neph93
                                  見習いボス
                                  Joined:

                                  @zhivago this is the 25-30% (can’t be bothered with the math [emoji1]), wholewheat.

                                  Different crumb and colour to the white, but still airy and light. It has lovely earthy taste.


                                  “Some of those that work forces
                                  Are the same that burn crosses”

                                  • Virginia Woolf
                                  last edited by 1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
                                  • GilesG
                                    Giles
                                    IHUK Crew
                                    Joined:

                                    My very rudimentary way of keeping track of the rise…..After a couple of hours, I'll make a mark where the dough has risen to, then I just keep on marking the new height until either there is no more movement, or I get bored...

                                    "OK face up to it - you're useless but generally pretty honest and straightforward . . . it's a rare combination of qualities that I have come to admire in you" - Geo 2011

                                    last edited by 1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
                                    • GilesG
                                      Giles
                                      IHUK Crew
                                      Joined:

                                      Then, I did get bored…..

                                      And turned the pancake onto the working surface…

                                      Shaped and tensioned….

                                      And now for an hour or so of proofing….

                                      "OK face up to it - you're useless but generally pretty honest and straightforward . . . it's a rare combination of qualities that I have come to admire in you" - Geo 2011

                                      last edited by 1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
                                      • dinobarnesberlinD
                                        dinobarnesberlin
                                        啓蒙家
                                        Joined:

                                        😃

                                        last edited by 1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
                                        • GilesG
                                          Giles
                                          IHUK Crew
                                          Joined:

                                          And complete….

                                          "OK face up to it - you're useless but generally pretty honest and straightforward . . . it's a rare combination of qualities that I have come to admire in you" - Geo 2011

                                          last edited by 1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
                                          • endoE
                                            endo
                                            見習いボス
                                            Joined:

                                            This is my first experience with breaking my own bread. I like a good bread and always toyed with the idea of baking. After reading all the nice posts here I dared to give it a try, another good result of this forum.

                                            And what shall I say, it's gotten quite well. Prepared the starter yesterday, then some work this morning and later a great smell all through our flat. (That alone was worth it.) It's a brown bread, ¾ wheat and ¼ rye. The crust is very nice, the crumb I would say ok. It's not sticky and doesn't fall apart, but could be somehow nicer. The underside did not develop much of a crust. But anyway, not bad for a first try. The taste is really nice, just had a slice with some butter and emmentaler. 😋

                                            si tacuisses

                                            last edited by 1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
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