Bread .......any kind

Saw the brioche comments - it is not my favorite as a plain bread but makes really good hamburger buns + cinnamon rolls; the flavor/structure work well in combination.

 

Liability, mostly. For example, Some one allergic to cats gets sick...they blame the food prep.

 

I get that and why the rule exists, it is just that my dog is a non/negotiable in my life -
He keeps me somewhat sane

He is also super handsome:

 

@Kwikvette - Do you guys ever use malt powder when you bake?

 

Never even heard of it; today was the last day of our Yeast Breads module and after we get back from vacation, we'll be doing quick breads.

I heard they call it cookie mod, and we make a lot of muffins, scones, etc.

On an unrelated note, because it's the last day, I get to take home some of my sourdough starter.



It's pushing 5 weeks today.

 

That is cool - haven't messed with the sourdoughs yet, much less gotten a starter going.

You had remarked about how the brioche was sticky/hard to handle - the malt powder seemed to make it easier to handle for me; both in brioche [cinnamon rolls] + pizza dough; if I remember correctly it adds some more enzymatic activity as well so I add it to every batch of dough I make these days.

Diastatic malt power FYI

 

Make sure you sift the flour you feed your sourdough with!



Gonna leave it out and uncovered for some 4-5hrs before cater wrapping it and throwing it back in the fridge.

Thinking I'll make another sourdough at the end of next week before feeding.

 

The recipes we use are to create breads in their most "original" form. We don't substitute things for a healthier or easier alternative or anything.

The Brioche was absolutely moist, I mean it stuck to the parchment paper I had drowned with non-stick spray.

10 minutes in the freezer each time allowed me to get a fold going otherwise it wasn't going to let go from the paper.

Cutting the dough in half to make two loaves was a pain in the ass itself.

The recipe calls for a minimum of 6 folds, but even with 4 mine came out as intended so you could do 4 if you so desire.

 

That is cool - and I totally respect that approach.

I started using the malt powder b/c I just could not get the pizza dough into shape/bake it; it was making me really frustrated.. really frustrated and I needed a solution.
Since it is a natural ingredient [sprouted barley, dried and ground up - retaining the enzymes from the sprouting process] I feel okay adding it to my baking routine; it gives the yeast some added 'food' and makes things more manageable for lack of a better term.

Commercially baked bread has some funky ingredients that are totally un/natural and that grosses me out + I swear I can taste the crap these days.
Publix sells Cuban bread and I love/d it for a long time but now I will only tolerate it when I don't have the time to make my own b/c I can taste the junk they add to make it shelf stable or whatever.


When you get to making biscuits/scones in your next module - please, please share a good recipe!
I will probably make a batch of biscuits soon but mine don't rise very well and are a tiny bit too buttery [this coming from someone who adores dairy fats] though they taste pretty good - - I need a better recipe.

 

Any one got a good cinnamon roll recipe? We tried one yesterday, it was a let down, didnt rise well, and not great flavor...still edible but not great.

 

If I find it, I'll post a pic of it.

This is what we use.



Found the page for cinnamon roll folding/rolling/etc techniques but not the recipe itself.

 

Lol pizza dough, ours was pretty easy to make and fairly quick but it was pretty sticky as well.

If you want to have your hand at an extremely frustrating dough, let me know and I'll post that Brioche recipe. No amount of non-stick spray on your hands or gloves will help

Speaking of other breads, I only buy one specific brand loaf bread but now I find myself not settling for anything other than fresh. Something about fresh good stuff right out of the oven....can't get that unless you're making it yourself now.

Your recipes for the stuff you make, does it specify to underproof, or knead shy of window pane, etc?

Sourdough for instance you don't knead to window pane as it will proof over time during dividing, rounding, and makeup. If you knead to window pane, and continue with the above steps, you'll have overproofed dough that will degas like crazy when you go to score it.

In short, intensive mixing requires short fermentation and vise versa.

 

My wife says that about certain breads, it does have a "chemical" taste, which isnt in fresh breads. You dont notice untill you make fresh baked breads

 

Here is the cinnamon roll recipe I use [and am actually making now]

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1JapycGag-y6aoHjVPUnUbMjxxq4kIu0M6IoiW7odlyg/edit?usp=sharing


I have converted the dough part to mass but haven't gotten the filling/frosting masses sorted quite yet so use this at your own risk!

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1oc7G-6gqGOaS45ddp5j1mz3ltimOC_HOFy0jYkGMlyo/edit?usp=sharing

I 1.5X-2x the filling and I totally eyeball the frosting these days
I also use ½ dk brown sugar + ½ reg brown sugar
And I split the cinnamon - half Siagon, half Celeyon
And I mix the butter/brown sugar/cinnamon and then spread it on the dough [final edit, I swear!]


IDK where I found this but it has worked great; I use a metal pan lined with parchment

I edited this b/c when I first posted it, my power went out and I hit the button and ran out to connect the generator, so my apologies!

 

Thanks! I got a new batch going, ill use the frosting though

 

Just made a ton of rolls...cause family wanted some.

Will spare you guys from the pics

 

used the rolls from this

Creamcheese frosting from yours
looks like a win!

 

Don't need to be more frustrated

The recipes I use don't usually specify to underproof or knead to window pane - I have been 'slacking' lately and just letting my mixer do most of the kneading till it doesn't shear, then I round it and into the proofing drawer for rise #1 - after that it is usually manageable re: stickiness

You are totally right - making fresh bread has me spoilt b/c nothing can come close!

I do freeze the hamburger buns and toast them - they seem to be totally great that way and I like to divest the work from the enjoyment.
The Cuban bread looses a bit of something in the freezing process but if you press the sandwich, it doesn't matter.

The cinnamon rolls I usually make the night before and then fridge, take em out an hour or so before baking and voila fresh, warm cinnamon rolls for breakfast! If you sub in some goat cheese for the cream cheese and add some lime zest to that frosting, it is $$ money.

 

Yeah

I've noticed that recipes are written assuming the maker has a certain amount of knowledge and experience.

I lack the experience, as I have far less than anyone here, but school definitely teaches you the science behind it. So it's nice to learn why a rich dough receives an egg wash versus a hard crusted dough receiving a water wash, ryes receive a starch paste, and so forth.

Knowing how long to proof certain doughs, knowing what mixing method to use, which in turn tells you if you'll need to proof at all, or not.

Laminated doughs are fun for sure, but they're very temperamental and you can't proof them otherwise the butter layers melt.

School resumes January 9th and I'll keep you in mind for the quick bread goodies, not to mention I'll emphasize on techniques used if applicable.

 

I have zero real experience - just many failures and what I learned from the internet/Youtube . . .

I set out to make effective versions of certain things [pizza, bagels, cinna rolls, flatbread, h/buns, cuban bread] that I desired and basically kept failing till I got it right in my eyes/my taste buds. I learned specific tricks to do each but no cohesive baking science or any of that; it would be cool to learn all of that someday.

I have tried to do some laminate doughs but it went terribly, made a big mess and I think my house is too warm most of the year to execute such a thing.
I have tried to do some folds/laminate type stuff with biscuit dough and while it worked and tasted decent, it was very messy/never rose very well, so I just try to keep it simple these days

I am glad you are enjoying learning all this cool stuff and I appreciate you sharing with us here.