Bread

It was a significant amount of rye actually.

I also believe starters don’t respond as well to different types of flour. From what I’ve gathered rye requires a rye-fed starter as the bacteria in a regular starter can’t digest the rye flour.

ryecist

https://cooking.nytimes.com/recipes/1016277-tartines-country-bread

After countless changes of recipe and method this time I'm really sticking with this one for a while.

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Yeah I think it took about a week for my starter to play nicely with being fed with rye

Not my experience.

I use rye to make a starter in a hurry. My mother is fed organic white flour.

This morning at 7am I mixed 175 of mother with 175g water and 175g rye that I milled this morning. The rubber band is the level mark from when it was mixed.

3.5 hours later and the starter has doubled in volume.

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Ok that does sound like a lot! I'm never able to not eat all the pizza when we make it at home. Foccacia is something I keep meaning to get around to but never do, must remedy that.

Been making bread recently. Most of my loaves seem quite dense though so wonder if anyone can give me any pointers?

From a quick google and search through this thread for 'dense' I'm guessing It might be moar kneading needed?

They generally rise alright on the first prove and a bit on the second and then rise in the oven but kinda sink a bit once out.

I've been using this recipe and subbing in a variety of granary, spelt etc flours for the 400g that's not the strong white flour and baking it freeform.

Sometimes I bung a bit of water in the kettle and run it for a few seconds to make 'tepid' water as what comes out the tap at the moment is pretty freezing. Would the temperature of this have any bearing on anything?

I think I've noticed that the dough rises more when the water is warmer.

I do 1st prove/rise in the plastic bowl I've mixed it up in, covered with a tea towel and plate for an hour. Knock back in there (try to do this gently and quickly as I read that too much handling at this stage isn't good?) and put it in a proofing basket for 45mins, bung the oven on at like, 220/230 with two trays in (one for bread to go on and a deeper one in the bottom that I put 2-300ml water in). Let the oven heat up with the trays in then knock the temp backto 200 and chuck the bread and water in and bake for 30minutes generally.

Anything sound obviously wrong in that?

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Bakers lazy brain means I almost always just use 1kg of flour as the maths/percentages are easier that way. And I have an industrial stand mixer that doesn’t get on too well with small batches of dough.

I find that the temperature during the proof tends to affect the rise and oven spring more than anything. On colder days I'll proof in a slightly warm oven to help, and this will provide a better end product.
I do use the no kneed method though.

Do you keep the oven on at a low low temp or let it heat up a bit then turn it off and use the residual warmth?

Preheat the oven to about 80°c for say 10 minutes and then let it cool slightly, it stays warm for about an hour

Another good option is a pan of boiling water in the bottom of the oven for warmth

With our old oven, just turning on the light would provide enough warmth to aid the proof

Fed the starter with half white and half whole meal.

I also Chuck in a little dill and gherkins

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The gherkins might make the starter too acidic.

Dill and gherkins in the bread recipe, right? Not the starter itself? Interesting either way...

It’s in the starter.

I was reading kitchen confidential a while ago and the baker he works with Adam last name unknown has a starter with dill and gherkins in so thought I’d give it a try. Maybe I need to feed the starter more often to reduce the acidity. But then that would dilute the flavour

If you're using dried yeast, have you tried just adding a bit more yeast?

This is close to perfect for me, 10% whole wheat spelt 90% strong white. Might up the whole wheat in time but not changing a thing for now.

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That’s a beaut

Today’s effort.

Rye starter, flour was 80% organic stone ground t80 and 20% a blend of Hen Gymro, Maris Widgeon and Mulika - old grains milled by a friend at a local old mill that has been refurbished recently.

It’s interesting to see how two tiny variables have affected the spring. One did its final rise in a cloth lined shorter and deeper bannneton, the other in a longer thinner unlined basket. Both cooked in the steam oven at the same time, but on different t shelves.

The better rise was from the shorter deeper basket, on the higher shelf.

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Is that lid on tight or loose

Loose.

Is my starter ready? It’s rising about 50%

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