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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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    • SeulS
      Seul
      Joined:

      Bread - what am I buying today… I always buy sourdesem breads through my hippy store... There's a handful of bakeries but hundreds of styles to choose from... All organically made, they weigh like fucking bricks, and the best thing is you can't even have your heavy breads cut at his store... His machine can't handle 'm... I gotta go to my store where we have an industrial machine, and cut 'm there...

      Here's some German style... A Munster and an Emmerlinger (walked into a bar):

      last edited by 1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
      • S
        Steffen
        Joined:

        @Chap:

        Yummy

        Looks amazing, you beeing a Doctor and still having time to bake makes my argument of working to much for baking melt away  😃

        last edited by 1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
        • SmiladonS
          Smiladon
          Raw and Unwashed
          Joined:

          Wow! You guys aren’t messing around. It all looks so great. I’m going to have to kick it up a notch. Made two boules this week in the Dutch Oven. One was definitely better than the other  😢
          But it’s definitely ignited my bread making again.
          These were both just all purpose flour, water, salt and dry yeast.
          I’ll let you decide which one was first 😉

          “Life is too short to be taken seriously.”
          -me
          IG = 6foot7ifitmatters

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

            @Steffen:

            Looks amazing, you beeing a Doctor and still having time to bake makes my argument of working to much for baking melt away  😃

            cheers @Steffen I started baking bread during covid-19 lockdown (as so many other) with more spare time then I usual have. First breads were levain breads which can be quite time consuming as you have to look after your sourdough daily. At the moment I am baking once a week, mostly preferments/overnights like Biga or Poolish. You start your predough in the evening and can bake the next morning/noon. With me it's usually Tuesday evening starting Biga and baking Wednesday around noon. Wednesday is the day when I write my referall letters (and bake bread additionally). @neph93 is a teacher, is renovating a house, has a pack of children and has still time to bake breads for the whole gang. So I think if you really want to do it and finally get some routine it is not that big thing.

            God has blessed you richly, so get down on your knees and thank him. Don’t forget the less fortunate or God will personally kick your ass. I’d love to do it for him, but I can’t be everywhere. Willie Nelson

            last edited by 1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
            • S
              Steffen
              Joined:

              @Chap:

              @Steffen:

              Looks amazing, you beeing a Doctor and still having time to bake makes my argument of working to much for baking melt away  😃

              cheers @Steffen I started baking bread during covid-19 lockdown (as so many other) with more spare time then I usual have. First breads were levain breads which can be quite time consuming as you have to look after your sourdough daily. At the moment I am baking once a week, mostly preferments/overnights like Biga or Poolish. You start your predough in the evening and can bake the next morning/noon. With me it's usually Tuesday evening starting Biga and baking Wednesday around noon. Wednesday is the day when I write my referall letters (and bake bread additionally). @neph93 is a teacher, is renovating a house, has a pack of children and has still time to bake breads for the whole gang. So I think if you really want to do it and finally get some routine it is not that big thing.

              Your absolutley right @Chap I´m baking bread for a couple of years now on and off, during the Lockdown I had a part of my family sourdough here and cranked out 2-4 Breads a Week for Friends and Family, wehn work picked up again, a littler faster then i wouldve like i lost my routine and stopped baking bread. You´re right i probably should go for some Predough Overnight recipes and get a Routine in. My Favorite Sourdough Bread takes 16 Hours to get the Sourdough ready and then basiclly 3-4 hours constant care to get the dough ready, i simply dont have the time for that now.

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              • neph93N
                neph93
                見習いボス
                Joined:

                For my part it is about routines and enjoyment. I know I enjoy making (and eating) the bread, and I also enjoy seeing my family enjoy and eat it, so I've tailored my routines to make it happen, around my work and family commitments.

                I am able to work from home one morning a week, and apart from that I have weekends and evenings. The biga and poolish pre-ferments need 12 hours, and the bread can be real 3-5 hours after that. This means it can be started the night before with an overnight ferment, and baked the next day, or started early morning and finished before bed time, with the ferment happening while I'm at work. I then do the dough mixing and baking after the smallest kids are in bed.

                As for sourdough, this is normally a weekend thing. The levain gets made Friday or Saturday morning, the dough gets mixed the same evening and the bake is the next morning. With the exception of planning the extra step (making the levain), and given that my weekend evenings rarely involve bars, nightclubs and wild parties anymore, the sourdough has less impact on my family time. This is because forming the loaves, proofing and baking takes less time out of a Saturday or Sunday than mixing the dough, folding and then doing the forming, proofing and baking, which is what the big/poolish loaves require.

                «Stevie Heighway on the wing!
                We had dreams, and songs to sing…»

                • Dame Vera Lynn
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                • neph93N
                  neph93
                  見習いボス
                  Joined:

                  @Smiladon despite the front loaf being a little flat there is still some life there judging by the holes. Was it over-proofed?

                  «Stevie Heighway on the wing!
                  We had dreams, and songs to sing…»

                  • Dame Vera Lynn
                  last edited by 1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
                  • SmiladonS
                    Smiladon
                    Raw and Unwashed
                    Joined:

                    I think so @neph93. The first recipe I used had me proof 3 times?! It definitely worked but the 3rd time wasn’t a charm. The 2nd loaf I only proofed once, different recipe. Going to get with my Dad, the bread expert in my life, and try his methods next. Hopefully get some sour dough started from him too 🙂

                    “Life is too short to be taken seriously.”
                    -me
                    IG = 6foot7ifitmatters

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

                      That seems excessive. You need some life left in the yeast is you’re going to get oven spring and with three proofs there won’t be much going on by the time it gets to the oven.

                      «Stevie Heighway on the wing!
                      We had dreams, and songs to sing…»

                      • Dame Vera Lynn
                      last edited by 1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
                      • S
                        Steffen
                        Joined:

                        I saw a Documentation on Youtube about American Pizza yersterday so naturally I made a dough last Night and with the help of my trusty Turk Steelpan and my Ooni Oven I baked this little Fella tonight:

                        Usually i´m all Pizza Neapolitana but from time to time a little mix up is nice.

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

                          Restock

                          "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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                          • neph93N
                            neph93
                            見習いボス
                            Joined:

                            Pizza looks good @Steffen I made
                            Pizza on a Forkish biga dough this weekend. Six of them in fact.

                            @Giles  I need to look into the cost effectiveness of bulk buying like that. It may not work out given import costs…

                            Did a morning of home office work which allowed me to do a cheeky bake. 100% white, and 70% white, 30% eight corn, both based on poolish:



                            «Stevie Heighway on the wing!
                            We had dreams, and songs to sing…»

                            • Dame Vera Lynn
                            last edited by 1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
                            • Matty123M
                              Matty123
                              Raw and Unwashed
                              Joined:

                              You guys are on another level now. Jesus Mary and Joseph

                              Maybe so. Maybe not

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                              • D
                                dan79
                                Raw and Unwashed
                                Joined:

                                Hi all,
                                Great inspiring bakes!
                                I’ve been using the Forkish method for a while now and have been getting great results using bannetons and a dutch oven as recommended.
                                Weekly bakes have settled on firm family favourites like a 50% white poolish with grain & rye flour and a simple “Saturday white” but with about 40% malted grain added (“Cotswold Crunch”)

                                One bake schedule I’ve struggled with it the overnight proofing in the fridge as the dough sticks to the bannetons. I’m pretty sure the bannetons are well ‘seasoned’ and I add extra flour each time I use them. Any additional advice/ tips?

                                Thanks in advance
                                Dan

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

                                  Nice looking loaves Dan…

                                  I'm a just-chuck-more-flour-into-the-banneton kind of guy.  Sometimes it works, but if it doesn't, it just adds an additional layer of rustic-looking to the loaf  🙂 And sometimes I brush the excess flour off before placing in the oven, but usually, I don't bother.

                                  My goto is Forkish 50% Poolish with 500gms white in the Poolish and 500gms eight-grain in the final mix.  I get the eight-grain from Matthews, which I suspect is where you get your Cotswold crunch...

                                  Yesterday's effort....

                                  "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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                                  • D
                                    dan79
                                    Raw and Unwashed
                                    Joined:

                                    Cheers Giles.
                                    Yes, I usually bulk buy white, 8 Grain & Cotswold Crunch from Matthews and then I use some random Rye flour (only about 100-150g per 1kg bake) bought from a local supermarket.

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

                                      https://www.ironheart.co.uk/forum/index.php?topic=14110.msg658678#msg658678

                                      "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
                                      • ChapC
                                        Chap
                                        見習いボス
                                        Joined:

                                        @dan79:

                                        Hi all,
                                        Great inspiring bakes!
                                        I’ve been using the Forkish method for a while now and have been getting great results using bannetons and a dutch oven as recommended.
                                        Weekly bakes have settled on firm family favourites like a 50% white poolish with grain & rye flour and a simple “Saturday white” but with about 40% malted grain added (“Cotswold Crunch”)

                                        One bake schedule I’ve struggled with it the overnight proofing in the fridge as the dough sticks to the bannetons. I’m pretty sure the bannetons are well ‘seasoned’ and I add extra flour each time I use them. Any additional advice/ tips?

                                        Thanks in advance
                                        Dan

                                        Those are two very nice loaves of bread @dan79

                                        With sticky doughs I sometimes used hard wheat semolina to season the bannetons

                                        God has blessed you richly, so get down on your knees and thank him. Don’t forget the less fortunate or God will personally kick your ass. I’d love to do it for him, but I can’t be everywhere. Willie Nelson

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

                                          @dan79 my best tip is in the vein of “mo’ flour” but specifically I season the bannetons but also the formed dough, before I place it in the banneton. This seems to help although whether it is just more flour making the difference I do not know.

                                          Another good idea is to wet or flour your fingers and loosen the dough carefully before removing it. It doesn’t damage the form of the bread and allows you to discover the sticky bits and deal with them before any damage is done.

                                          Finally I would also recommend the Forkish levain method, specifically the one for the Country Blonde. This calls for the bulk ferment to be done overnight and the banneton proofing to be done the next morning for about an hour or two.  It allows you make great fruity, buttery bread and to otherwise dodge the whole issue of sticky bits  [emoji1]

                                          «Stevie Heighway on the wing!
                                          We had dreams, and songs to sing…»

                                          • Dame Vera Lynn
                                          last edited by 1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
                                          • ChapC
                                            Chap
                                            見習いボス
                                            Joined:

                                            Same recipe as last week… new kitchen(-colour)

                                            God has blessed you richly, so get down on your knees and thank him. Don’t forget the less fortunate or God will personally kick your ass. I’d love to do it for him, but I can’t be everywhere. Willie Nelson

                                            last edited by 1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
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