100% Sourdough | Manitoba White Flour
28-29 May 2012

This is the last of my experiments, and its good to end it on a high. 65% hydration and the loaves are exactly what I was after. I tried to follow the same process, oven temperature and bake times, the first lot were baked at 240ºC for 26 minutes the rest at 240ºC for 15 then I kicked down the temperature to 220ºC for the rest of the bake.

A really light loaf, crunchy crust, chewy crumb, the sourdough flavour isn’t there at all… This will be my signature sourdough loaf.

We’ll have to see if the heatwave we’ve been having affects the flavour of this bread as I bake it week after week. We’ve been basking in temperatures of between 23-27ºC which is really unusual for the UK.

Oh yeah, lunch was delicious…

Sourdough | Manitoba White Flour27-28 May 2012 The second of three experiments with hydration, this one was identical to the previous mix but with 60% hydration. Sorry if you’re reading this and haven’t got a clue what I mean. Enlightenment time… Your total flour weight is always 100%. The water content is then relative to that weight. ie: 1000g flour with 60% hydration = 600g water. Clear as mud? Anyway, back to the bread - the dough was noticeably tighter but it did its thing. They slashed cleanly and came up like footballs in the oven. Great texture, crust, this one did have an extra 3hrs bulk fermentation and the flavour is lurking around the background a bit more than on the earlier bread. Not strong at all, but there and lurking in a nice way. Next dough on the go is 65% hydration, the dough felt good to handle, I’m hoping that it’s as good as this and the earlier bread.

Sourdough | Manitoba White Flour
27-28 May 2012

The second of three experiments with hydration, this one was identical to the previous mix but with 60% hydration. Sorry if you’re reading this and haven’t got a clue what I mean. Enlightenment time… Your total flour weight is always 100%. The water content is then relative to that weight. ie: 1000g flour with 60% hydration = 600g water. Clear as mud?

Anyway, back to the bread - the dough was noticeably tighter but it did its thing. They slashed cleanly and came up like footballs in the oven. Great texture, crust, this one did have an extra 3hrs bulk fermentation and the flavour is lurking around the background a bit more than on the earlier bread. Not strong at all, but there and lurking in a nice way.

Next dough on the go is 65% hydration, the dough felt good to handle, I’m hoping that it’s as good as this and the earlier bread.

sourdough | manitoba white flour
26-27 May 2012

The hydration I’ve been using on my sourdough bread has been about 80%-85%. It gives really good texture to the finished bread, however, when it’s ready to go into the oven, it’s been impossible to slash and I feel that it detracts from what could be an attractive loaf.

I made an overnight yeasted white with 56% hydration and wondered what that would be like. The result was great - so it got me thinking…

Here’s my first experiment of a 100% sourdough with 70% hydration. I proved it to the max and apart from it slightly resisting coming out of the banetton, both the tin and the boule held their shape really well.

I’m so pleased with this one - it’s such a light loaf. I think the boule shape is more suited to the longer fermented breads, they just feel so much lighter even though both dough weights were exactly the same.

Flavour - incredibly light, and the crust is light and crisp. The only thing that gives this loaf away as a sourdough is the satin crumb and that distinctive super crisp crust. It’s a good ‘un.

100% Sourdough | Organic Dark Rye, Khorason and Canadian flour This was quite a wet dough (I think my scales are in the process of giving up the ghost) but the results taste really good, rather like a really nutty wholemeal bread. I bought some mini loaf tins, so when I have dough left over, these are what I make. Also made my logo into a stencil and popped it on the top. I think they look super cute…

100% Sourdough | Organic Dark Rye, Khorason and Canadian flour

This was quite a wet dough (I think my scales are in the process of giving up the ghost) but the results taste really good, rather like a really nutty wholemeal bread.

I bought some mini loaf tins, so when I have dough left over, these are what I make. Also made my logo into a stencil and popped it on the top.

I think they look super cute…

Yo mo fo… I don’t just make bread.

Jus sayin.

iced buns
5 May 12

These are such a simple treat. A lovely golden crumb due to the free range egg and butter that’s in there and they taste like iced buns used to taste when I was small

Sourdough with mozarella, tomatoes and fresh basil 18 April 2012 This is an olive oil sourdough laced with buffalo mozarella, tomatoes and some fresh basil. Will let you know what it tastes like later once we’ve tried it. It smells as good as it looks, so here’s hoping.

Sourdough with mozarella, tomatoes and fresh basil

18 April 2012

This is an olive oil sourdough laced with buffalo mozarella, tomatoes and some fresh basil. Will let you know what it tastes like later once we’ve tried it. It smells as good as it looks, so here’s hoping.

Sourdough

12 April 2012

Well, this new method I’ve been testing out — I’m consistently making the best bread I’ve ever made. Great crusts, open crumb, tasty, time after time. Just when I think I’ve peaked, I go and outpeak myself. Gotta get this out to the masses - it really is too good to keep to myself.

What we have here is a reduced salt Manitoba sourdough loaf. Ingredients are | Manitoba flour, spring water and .57% salt.

Lavender, butter and honey biscuits… From a french recipe, these little biscuits are just super delicious. I’d never seen a recipe like this, fresh double cream, butter, honey, but it turns out really good results. Using the same dough I made another couple of variations, which were equally delicious, but the little bits of purple lavender in these make them look really nice. They have such an unusual and delicate flavour. Culinary lavender gets a thumbs up from me.

Lavender, butter and honey biscuits…

From a french recipe, these little biscuits are just super delicious.

I’d never seen a recipe like this, fresh double cream, butter, honey, but it turns out really good results. Using the same dough I made another couple of variations, which were equally delicious, but the little bits of purple lavender in these make them look really nice. They have such an unusual and delicate flavour.

Culinary lavender gets a thumbs up from me.

Pain de Campagne | Sourdough
27 March 2012

I’ve been experimenting with timings and doing things differently with my sourdoughs. If you’re a regular reader, you’ll know how I’ve battled to get a mild flavour on my loaves without waiting days and days for the bread to come to life or getting up at some wild hour to fold, shape etc, etc.

Well - I think I’ve cracked it…

The process I’ve used on the last few loaves I’ve made cut right across all I’ve read, but hell, this stuff is the best bread I think I’ve ever made. It’s 100% sourdough but it simply doesn’t tast like it. I’m a bit floored by it all really, but it’s opened up a whole new avenue of experimentation for me to try and that’s exactly what I’m going to be doing.

This one is my version of a French Country Bread. It was bulk fermented for 18 hours and the flavour is really tasty. The crust is quite thin, but very crisp and crunchy, the crumb super open and moist. Some organic rye flour gave the bread extra flavour. This one really is something else.