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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:

      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

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                                      • 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
                                        • GilesG
                                          Giles
                                          IHUK Crew
                                          Joined:

                                          Great first attempt…

                                          "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

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                                          • vaquero357V
                                            vaquero357
                                            Banned
                                            Joined:

                                            …lot's of good info @Giles and @neph93! Certainly up for the wheat variants! Fantastic! Thank you! 🙂

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