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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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    • Matty123M
      Matty123
      Raw and Unwashed
      Joined:

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

      Maybe so. Maybe not

      last edited by 1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
      • 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

          last edited by 1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
          • 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
                    • D
                      dan79
                      Raw and Unwashed
                      Joined:

                      Looks amazing! @Chap
                      Thanks for the kind words and tip; I'll try and get hold of some semolina and give it a try.

                      @neph93 I'm always pretty delicate when tipping out the bannetons, but will give your technique a try next time. As for the Country Blonde, I figured I'd try to perfect the pre-ferments and basic recipes first before moving to the advanced recipes, but as you say, the schedule for a levain bake is pretty convenient (much like the Poolish)

                      You guys have set such a high standard!!
                      Thanks for the advice.

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

                        Judging by the look of your bread @dan79 you have all the skills you need to move on. If you go back to the start of this thread you’ll see some of my early “efforts” (disasters). I started with levain breads bodged together from internet recipes, then got my hands of FYSW and learnt poolish and biga techniques. With the exception of making your levain you know all you need to already.

                        Giving the bread a gentle fingering to check before  twatting it out of the banneton by slamming the banneton onto a baking tray (I warm my fam when I’m going to do it it makes that much noise), helps a lot. It doesn’t damage or de-gas the dough at all, happily. I read somewhere that home bakers treat their doughs with a lot more reverence than they need to.

                        «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:

                          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
                          • D
                            dan79
                            Raw and Unwashed
                            Joined:

                            This afternoon’s bake; 60/40 white & Cotswold Crunch, done as a one day bake (Forkish “Saturday white bread” schedule).
                            The sandwich tin loaf was still proved in a banneton, and then moved to a solid iron 2lb loaf tin, then covered with foil instead of transferring to a dutch oven.

                            For anyone interested, the loaf tin was from Netherton Foundry:
                            https://www.netherton-foundry.co.uk/shop/baking-tins

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

                              Lovely looking loaves @dan79

                              Busy weekends and hungry family meant a slightly creative baking schedule for me. Saturday morning I prepared two poolish and a levain starter and yesterday evening I was mixing and folding three lots of dough at the same time, a 100% white and a 80/20 eight corn, on the two poolish, and a Country Brown on the levain. I was baking the two poolish doughs around midnight and the Country Brown this morning.

                              The four Poolish loaves have been sliced and frozen and will be for breakfasts and lunch boxes this week (or at least the first half of it), while the two levain loaves were breakfast, lunch and dinner today.

                              The poolish:





                              And the Country Brown:



                              «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
                              • ?
                                A Former User
                                Joined:

                                Incredibly Impressive

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

                                  Master Baker

                                  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
                                  • GilesG
                                    Giles
                                    IHUK Crew
                                    Joined:

                                    Yes, brilliant…..

                                    "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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                                    • SeulS
                                      Seul
                                      Joined:

                                      Pass the wine…

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

                                        I know it’s getting boring… but after struggling quite a while when I started baking bread earlier this year to get some good results, I am very happy now that it became routine...

                                        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:

                                          Wow. Thank you @adam313  @Giles  @Chap  really too kind. I have to admit that I was struck by the resemblance of my Country Brown to the jacket photo of FWSY, and it made me quite proud.

                                          @Chap as for boring, personally I get as much pleasure looking at the same pictures of all our bread, as I do from looking at men in jeans all the time. Wait, that came out wrong…  ???  😃

                                          Seriously you guys have set the standard that I am just trying to match.

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

                                          • Dame Vera Lynn
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                                          • ChapC
                                            Chap
                                            見習いボス
                                            Joined:

                                            Very satisfying… Forkish 80% Biga with White Flour, Eight Grain(remnant, but should receive a restock soon) and dark rye

                                            Mixing poolish for an overnight pizza dough at the moment

                                            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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