Bread Porn

[Bribie G]

Quick question re breadmaking in a bread machine. I've only ever attempted bread a few times in my life but I've got this loverly sack of stone ground Atta.

I'll be using dried yeast (yes I will rehydrate in warm water ) and I'm being presented with a bread making machine later today.

Should I put a small bit of dex in with the flour to get the yeast hammering away, or does the yeast attack the flour directly to cause the dough to rise? I seem to remember my Mam using a bit of Lyles Golden Syrup when I was a kid.

 

[Mardoo]

Don't need to add sugar at all but you can if you want. No need at all, but if you wish, any sugar will do. Former baker. Me. If you're able to do the kneading it's likely you'll develop a real affection for the process, based on my triangulation of other posts of yours.

 

[indica86]

^^^ No to the sugar, YES to salt. You don't even need oil.
Hand kneading is also a win. If you enjoy nice bread Bribie go sour dough and you'll never look back, makes a cracker pizza too.

 

[Bribie G]

Hey indica without going through twenty pages, could you update this thread with a quick sourdough culture 101?

Local bakeries around here are still stuck in the Vienna loaf, vanilla slice and chunky steak pie era and I lurve sourdough warm from the oven. I really like Taree but it's socially somewhat like Innisfail, Ingham.... nice place but not too many hipsters :lol: We do have sushi however. B)

 

[indica86]

I'll get back to you.... shortly..

Actually here >>> http://sourdough.com/blog/sourdom/beginners-blog-starter-scratch

Easy.
Mine is over 3 years old and so easy to use.

 

[Bribie G]

Thanks, will put on my Wiccan gear and read that under the full moon. B) I would guess that all bread was made that way before the 20th century.

edit: tying two threads together I see that it's possible to use some milk kefir to initialise the starter - kefir is a yeast and bacteria mix as well.

Will go the traditional method first.

 

[indica86]

Bribie, go the simple organic flour, water, dump some add more and repeat method. It works so well, without fail. And then it lasts forever.
It will take a little time to stabilise but will do. Then you'll find a happy place with it.
Mine is used once a week and then fed and put straight back in the fridge.

It is sometimes said you need different cultures for different breads.

The bagel recipe on that forum is AMAZING.

 

[4KingAle]

Yes a tablespoon of sugar will work .No rehydrating necessary if the yeast is fresh.....
Peter Reinhardt bread bakers apprentice.
Try cold fermenting in the fridge overnight. I ditched my bread machine for cooking and now use a stone in the oven with a steam bath.
Your brewing skills should translate well.

 

[Blind Dog]

Just out of the oven. Lean dough with added herbs and grains based on the recipe and techniques in Peter Rineharts Artisan Bread Every Day. Simples

Also remaking sourdough starter after MIL threw the old one out when they stayed to look after the dogs when we were in the UK. not happy!

 

[Blind Dog]

Pic

 

[Blind Dog]

Maybe the right way up this time?

 

[Danwood]

I preferred the former, BD...it gave the impression of an extremely light and airy loaf, so much so it defies gravity.

 

[Airgead]

Made my usual 7 loaves yesterday. 20 year old sourdough culture. All hand kneaded. Give it a go Bribie... you'll never look back.

 

[Bribie G]

I'll make up some sourdough culture soon. So far I have been getting to grips with bread machine using more conventional ingrdients. Every time I switch on the oven I've done a couple of bucks so I'm keen to use the machine instead.

Friend presented me with a very old Breville machine from her old mum so I have been experimenting. I'm using Golden Grain stone ground Atta flour (from the mighty Grewal Bros) as I have a sack.

It's a bit different to supermarket flours and seems, as found to my grief, to absorb water differently so experimenting is very much the order of the day. It also contains less gluten apparently, as it's more geared towards chapattis and parathas rather than Western bakery bread, so needs a bit more kicking along with yeast etc.

Batches:

#1 turned out like a brick and could be used for smash and grab raids at Prouds Jewellers. Binned.
#2 turned out about the consistency of blu tack. Binned.
#3 - massive readjustment of the recipe, swelled up like the blob, rushed up from the pan and filled the whole void and stuck to the inside of the glass lid and baked on. It was edible but more like brown Madiera cake than bread.

How do I clean this up? I wonder if I can remove the lid for cleaning. Wiggle jiggle, ancient perished plastic gives way with a snapping sound and lid is detached, various washers and spacers drop out.

#4 No probs, stick lid back on. I've finally hit the sweet spot of the recipe, I think. Come back after the final beeps and take the lid off. Instead of bread there's a lump of slightly warm dough. Obviously I've destroyed the seal and it won't bake properly. Binned.

Binned the Bread maker as well. h34r:

#5 Go to Bing Lee. Buy latest model. Follow instructions. Batch #5 is in there now :lol: :lol:

Will post.

As I said, (ed: using the domestic..) oven is pretty expensive and these things don't use a lot of power so I want to get pretty smooth with operating it. Any half decent bakery bread round here is around five bux a loaf. I only have to bake twice a week and the new device will pay itself off after three months. Grewal's flour is only about a dollar a kilo if you can find it in sacks.

Now where have I heard that sort of DIY logic before ??? :beerbang:

 

[Bribie G]

Hey airgead that Grewal's is at the Hornsby Indian store in the street right next to Westfield, have ten kilo sacks if you are interested in trying for twelve bucks.

 

[Crouch]

Well ... the wife wanted a Thermomix so given all the money I've put into my brewery I had to oblige. I forget to get a shot when it came out of the oven, but it was a little over done but still tasty. We made some butter earlier in the night (with the thermie) so used the buttermilk in this loaf ... first loaf of bread ever, pretty happy with the result. Far from being 'traditionally made', but using that machine is so easy and chasing a 9 month around I couldn't see another way to do it.

(yes, the oven needs a clean)

 

[Airgead]

Hey airgead that Grewal's is at the Hornsby Indian store in the street right next to Westfield, have ten kilo sacks if you are interested in trying for twelve bucks.

I might have a look. I tend to use Demeter flours. I buy them in 12.5kg sacks in bulk from a wholesaler. Great organic, stoneground, unbleached flours. I have 6 sacks to get through before I need to buy more. I think the missus might just have a small fit if I add more flour to the pile.

I know that indian grocer well. We go there a lot.

Cheers
Dave

 

[Not For Horses]

How many people here use malt flour in their sourdough?

 

[primusbrew]

How many people here use malt flour in their sourdough?

I haven't but I have been wondering recently what the effect would be.

My bread making is mostly sourdough using wheat and rye stoneground wholemeal flours. Would adding malt flour result in any starch conversion at proving temperatures (18c) over say 6-10 hrs? If so this could add a slightly sweet note that might go well with the wholemeal loaves.

I think I've just convinced myself to give it a go.

I'd be keen to hear if other people have any experience with this.

 

[Bribie G]

I ran up a small batch of wheat malt flour in my Marga and kneaded it in with wholemeal flour to make some bread buns, maybe a third wheat malt to wheat flour. They turned out pretty sweet and sickly, the malt completely overwhelmed the taste and I'd guess there was some conversion during rising. If using malt flours, I'd go a very small amount.

I seem to remember that the good old Hovis brown bread in the UK had a bit of malt.