Homemade Bread Thread

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Happy St Paddy's Day! Wish I could share the aroma too.

image.jpg
 
I eat my fresh products within a few days of baking, mostly because I have friends and family to share with, however; what is everyone storing their breads in?
 
Vacuum seal ziplock bag, sometimes in the fridge. Sometimes I parbake a few loaves and stash them in the freezer
 
I just made a batch of spent-grain dough last night, it's in the fridge now, & will remain so for another couple of days.

I only made it because we are getting a cold-blast here starting tonight, lasting through Saturday or so. Turning on the oven in NC during the warm seasons is a no-no for me.

Maybe I should make a few batches of bread to freeze... hm...
 
Any idea how to "enhance" beer bread? Girlfriend pulled out another box my parents got us for Christmas and told me to make it so we could throw the box away. I'd like to use the bread for BLT's this week but figured if there was any way to spice it up, I would. I'm not really a fan of beer bread kits like that unless it is LOADED with butter haha.
 
View attachment ImageUploadedByHome Brew1460547104.993948.jpg

This was an all day sourdough. Plus the 3 days of refreshing the starter. It took several hours for each rise. It tasted good, but the crust was kind of sad looking.

I've been using 1 part starter, 2 parts water, 3 parts flour. The dough is very wet and hard to work with. And won't hold its shape. I'm thinking about trying 1:1:2 next time.
 
Beer bread...I would add either some rosemary or a cup or so of some shredded cheese...something with a strong flavor, like sharp cheddar or gruyère.
 
ericbw said:
View attachment 350233

This was an all day sourdough. Plus the 3 days of refreshing the starter. It took several hours for each rise. It tasted good, but the crust was kind of sad looking.

I've been using 1 part starter, 2 parts water, 3 parts flour. The dough is very wet and hard to work with. And won't hold its shape. I'm thinking about trying 1:1:2 next time.
Click to expand...


Looks pretty dense, especially for a wet dough.

Wet dough is fine. Wet your hands before working with it during folding/kneading so it won't stick. Then flour during shaping. You'll probably need a banetton or one of @ChefRex 's homemade setups for it to keep its shape during the final proofing.
 
ericbw said:
View attachment 350233

This was an all day sourdough. Plus the 3 days of refreshing the starter. It took several hours for each rise. It tasted good, but the crust was kind of sad looking.

I've been using 1 part starter, 2 parts water, 3 parts flour. The dough is very wet and hard to work with. And won't hold its shape. I'm thinking about trying 1:1:2 next time.
Click to expand...

BGBC said:
Looks pretty dense, especially for a wet dough.

Wet dough is fine. Wet your hands before working with it during folding/kneading so it won't stick. Then flour during shaping. You'll probably need a banetton or one of @ChefRex 's homemade setups for it to keep its shape during the final proofing.
Click to expand...

What temp are you baking at?
 
Flour sprinkled on after the first rise helps to make it easier to work with.
The 1,2,3 formula needs to be adjustable as conditions change you need to know how it feels, believe me I'm no expert although I have been at it for a bit, I'm told baking is exacting science (as is beer) but I basically wing it :D
 
ChefRex said:
Flour sprinkled on after the first rise helps to make it easier to work with.
The 1,2,3 formula needs to be adjustable as conditions change you need to know how it feels, believe me I'm no expert although I have been at it for a bit, I'm told baking is exacting science (as is beer) but I basically wing it :D
Click to expand...


Definitely needs some tweaking. I think the biggest variable is the starter. My fed starter is probably wetter than others, so i need less water.

Baking is science, but sourdough is more art!
 
BGBC said:
Looks pretty dense, especially for a wet dough.

Wet dough is fine. Wet your hands before working with it during folding/kneading so it won't stick. Then flour during shaping. You'll probably need a banetton or one of @ChefRex 's homemade setups for it to keep its shape during the final proofing.
Click to expand...


I put them in pans this time to get nicely shaped loaves. I have been meaning to try a banetton.
 
SeraW said:
2nd attempt at bagels. They're expanding in the fridge overnight, leaving them to being "overproofed" and deflating during the boil. But I love the flavor all the same so I'll keep trying.
Click to expand...

Yup, ugly breads often taste just as good as the pretty ones ;) I was wondering if you are rolling a rope of dough and forming a ring, or making a ball and forming a hole? Most pro NY bagel bakers do the first method. I don't think that would change the texture, but it might give you the look you are going for. I haven't yet done bagels at home, but I've baked some ugly pretzel rolls.

image.jpg
 
Been trying to make some plain old white bread loaf. They've been collapsing after they cool. Tastes good, makes good toast, but in the collapsed state they're too dense for sandwich bread. Comes out of the oven in a nice looking loaf, collapses to a cinderblock as it cools and ages over the next day or so. Well, not quite a cinderblock, but you get the drift. :)

What gives?
 
I've been trying to grow a sourdough starter for the last couple of weeks... First 2 attempts smelled horrible and were summarily dumped. Third one smells much better but does not look like what I expected.

What I went with was 1 cup purified water (my tap water is terrible) and 1 cup of whole wheat flour. Replaced half at 24/48/72 hours with 1/2 cup of each. On 4th day I did not discard any just added 1 cup of flour and about 3/4 cup of water. On 5th day took half and added 2 cups of flour and 1.75 cups of water.

It currently looks a little like under cooked/uncooked sourdough bread and smells pungent like I expected. Problem is, I've never actually seen a sourdough starter, never made one and do not remember my Mother or Grandmothers ever having one. Any suggestions?
 
CA_Mouse said:
It currently looks a little like under cooked/uncooked sourdough bread and smells pungent like I expected. Problem is, I've never actually seen a sourdough starter, never made one and do not remember my Mother or Grandmothers ever having one. Any suggestions?
Click to expand...

Easiest thing to do is order one of the little freeze dried packets from Breadtopia. I tried growing them up homemade many times, and it's just easier if you start with a known culture of the appropriate microorganisms. It'll eventually mutate to reflect your own environment anyway since you're not maintaining a sterile culture over time. If you are, it's probably safe to say, you're putting to much effort into it ;)
 
I've made a natural starter a few times, and have has successfully going very small, as in a tablespoon of flour and one and a half teaspoons of water. Feed it first after seeing signs of fermentation with another tablespoon of flour and 1.5 teaspoons of water. After that double it's size after 24 hrs, and every 24 hours after that until you have a quart or so. It should look like thick pancake batter. After that feed it 1 cup flour and half a cup of water every day, or put it in the fridge and feed a day or two before you plan on baking with it. I have let mine go over 4 months in the fridge and it was still fine. I have kept my last one alive since 2010, it's nice to have something you raised yourself and didn't buy.
 
Hoppy2bmerry said:
Yup, ugly breads often taste just as good as the pretty ones ;) I was wondering if you are rolling a rope of dough and forming a ring, or making a ball and forming a hole? Most pro NY bagel bakers do the first method. I don't think that would change the texture, but it might give you the look you are going for. I haven't yet done bagels at home, but I've baked some ugly pretzel rolls.
Click to expand...

I was following the recipe from The Bread Baker's Apprentice and using the "make a ball and form a hole" method because it felt more intuitive.
 
Made these last weekend using the 1-2-3 formulation (I believe this formulation was originally created using a 100% hydration starter, so, if your starter is higher or lower hydration, you need to adjust the amount of water in the "2" step to achieve the target....which is about 71% if I remember correctly.) These loaves were retarded in the fridge during the final rise, about 12 hours....not sure why the round one achieved less oven spring.....

KoiYSvvAcRxTfD_q78I1pwn_lK4USSLLIU6XeuAO3S3embnVp4pKDJa0jr8EjmjbRrGrYATwMk6n8GCtfK3gFP6deIe_72fFCxiJ8fML1l2YX-YCNOkbcxO2KnpFRgbORH5H0U443NrdqNl4-e8dJsJJyfx__w8G_vQ3ro0wmRyGF-5njIT7g18Q4pS6ZqSiFEtSzODWx8CWmTkU32sNWRS83SlPFdhtHyLZjm72PzAy0V-zM5nskAdgMy5rPP-xLdM7owpPZe32Gisvvrmv4SZtLlEcIbd7pYeJIxuXYGc-yszByAXgrjSCbKedgtyc8pMLVWD6M0NWbEgCZ6-b0sx3UeHrdwW_EQZc9Ie8Qy4DDp9djQ4xH6_gCLHQFsyrjvHnARV9u6VnoiQ0DNcwY0K8wtcuihWDXV_1zMKiUO5_lEKZQhA7Qwfzu7qiWeT0XRDFLgOJrLNUmQPP-xw_vjCTiDff-NHvkeKW6KZGWpOzSArdBCSWi_Y5VD6OYiSO9X0SiSGup64UuYh52_td3lBL7VvAbdhQqonVgSK_L6uulf3uPVmoERG1NZ8suo1ICEe7=w994-h745-no
 

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