Way OT, Bread making

[Rocketvapor]

Better than store bought Mouse pockets?

 

[McFred]

I make a few kinds of bread. But this is my favorite:

 

[ACF]

Swglenn,
I use a regular oven and bake on a “stone”. There are several good ones available but I find that the thickness is important. The stone I use is 3/4” thick and holds heat very well; downside is a takes a little longer to heat up, usually 45-60 minutes. I bake my bread at 475 degrees for 5 minutes to get the “jump/spring” and then reduce the temp to 450 degrees for 25 minutes or so. The pizzas cook at 500 degrees for 8 minutes.

The first loaf is a standard loaf while the second has an egg-wash to give the crust some sheen; I do this for loaves I give to others. Let me add though, I think the recipe used has a bit to do with the crust. It’s been my experience that breads made from a starter vs a poolish (pre-ferment) or traditional recipe tend to have a more robust and chewy crust. These breads also seem to display more, what’s called, “oven jump or spring” meaning the loaves rise rapidly when the yeasts are exposed to the heat of the oven while they are still alive.

I basically use the same recipe for my pizza dough except I make the dough and then refrigerate it for 3 days to let the flavors develop. I also like a healthy “bone” (outer rim of the crust) on my pies which also takes advantage of the oven jump when the pie is put on the hot stone.

Hope this helps...

Hey Jarhead, the pictures of your bread and pizza got my saliva flowing big time, they look mighty tasty.
I've been trying to make some tasty pizza dough but not having as much luck as I would like.

Could you tell me what the difference between starter and poolish is??

I've got to go and get something to eat now after looking at your baked goods.

Chris

 

[Jarhead6870]

Could you tell me what the difference between starter and poolish is??

Sourdough starters are a maintained product made of flour, water and starter; they are regularly fed to keep the health and activity of “wild” yeast it contains. When used in a recipe, a small amount of the starter is held in reserve to be fed and maintained. A poolish is similar but can be made anytime Using flour, water and a small amount of “commercial” yeast. Since I maintain a starter, I typically only use a poolish when making Ciabatta.

ACF you have a PM

 

[divingin]

I do a boiling soda dip for 30 seconds, much more than that they start to taste metallic. Never tried a cold solution

I haven't either. I saw it on some recipe site about making pretzel wrapped hot dogs. Didn't sound right to me.

 

[jsn]

When I made bread I used fresh coarse ground hard red winter wheat berries, with yeast in a bread machine until the final "knockdown". This was almost two hours if I remember correctly. I then removed it and baked it in the oven after waiting for it to rise. The bad news was it had no preservatives or dough softeners, so it got hard pretty quick. I would give away half of the loaf, eat a couple of slices, and save the rest for toast.

Almost all of the classic bread loaf pan sized "bread" recipes (pumpkin, banana, etc.) can also use the same ground wheat. I always wondered why they called these breads since they are really more like cakes.

Primitive bread recipes and how to videos can be found on YouTube by searching "primitive breads".