Bread

If any-one wants a good sourdough starter I'm happy to give lots away. I always have more than I need.

Will post anywhere in the uk for free...

I'd be up for some of that. PM'd.

If any-one wants a good sourdough starter I'm happy to give lots away. I always have more than I need.

Will post anywhere in the uk for free...

dibs :)

What did you use for a starter? Rye? Spelt?

Shameless plug for a friend here... My (effective, not actually married yet!) brother in law quit his job in middle management to set up his own bakehouse - with the intention of making affordable, artisan bread (and other, simpler offerings too).

He has built a pretty serious bread oven in his garden and is now supplying a few shops in the Honour Oak / Crofton Park area. He really is a lovely bloke (also a pretty serious cyclist) and the bread is really something too - he's taking a big risk on this so if you live locally you should support a local business and buy some!

Sorry for the shameless marketing - but small businesses need all the help they can get.
More details here: www.coopersbakehouse.com

What did you use for a starter? Rye? Spelt?

I just keep it simple, strong white bread flour is a good base, you can add rye, wholemeal etc.

The video that helped inspire my recent desire to experiment with bread.

Tartine Bread on Vimeo

If any-one wants a good sourdough starter I'm happy to give lots away. I always have more than I need.

Will post anywhere in the uk for free...

Me too! PM'd as well.

First loaf made from Dimitri's starter and my first loaf of actual bread, ever.

Came out better than expected, in that it came out at all! I think I over did it a little though and it's slightly drier and crumblier than ideal. It's also very salty, though I only used the 1tsp that the recipe I was following called for. I think next time I'll try with just a small pinch.

I don't know why it looks like it's absolutely caked in flour in the picture, it's actually just a light poncy dusting that looks more like it does in the bottom picture.

Big thanks to Dimitri/Well it is for the starter...I can see this turning into an obsessive quest for the perfect loaf!

Loaf:

With butter and with honey:

I've been making bread for the last couple of months now, using recipes from Dan Lepard's Handmade Loaf, and if we're friends on the book of face you will have seen some photo's.

But some of the recipes turn out really small, I'm not sure whether the loafs aren't doubling when I leave them to prove??? because they aren't in a warm enough environment, or if I'm just missing out on something.

bread tastes nice and all, but some of the recipes which include you breaking the dough into two equal sized portions and then baking seem to come out one person sized, rather than the 2 1/2 person sized you expect a loaf to be..

any suggestions/hints/tips...

much appreciated..

Haven't done a lot of bread baking in the last few years, but I remember that warmth and endless punching down seemed to give the dough extra life.

What kind of bread are you making cornelius? If you're making sourdough it's most likely the problem you mentioned above. Don't know how to explain it English but you might want to let it proof next to a "massa madre" in order to get the chemistry going...

#notapro

Jaw, most are sourdough, with a little dry yeast involved.
Not a grrat fan of pumping up the heating so you can get your bread to rise, but will investigate...

Good to see my sourdough starter put to good use Sanddancer!

I've been baking with it at least once a week for the last few months now and am still trying to refine the process further. It's very consistent now, at least.
There's a great book I found called "dough" by Richard Bertinet which is pretty much just lots of variations of one recipe for basic white bread, with a few darker, more complex recipes too.
It's extremely well illustrated and really teaches you the instinct of baking bread. Most of it is all very quick and easy once you've got the basics dialled so you can rustle something up to have with tea without it being a three week lesson in alchemy.

Anyway, I've basically added my sourdough to the recipe I learned from the book to make up half of the dough, if that makes sense. It works extremely well, gives a lot more air to the crumb and generally just tastes better overall.

The only thing left to reach bread nirvana is getting the crust to stay crusty. It tends to soften as it cools. I have a small tray of boiling water in the oven to steam away which has helped develop the crust but it's just too thin.
I suspect that I'm baking it too hard and fast, the general wisdom says as hot as your oven can go but I think this is the problem.
My loaves are usually the right color etc after only 25 ish minutes at 220. I'm going to try a lower temp, say 200 and try to get the cooking time up to 40 mins. This should hopefully result in a thicker crust rather than the brown rizzla paper I'm getting at the moment.

Another method I use to get a nice crust is to prove the loaf smothered in olive oil and zata (a mix of dryed thyme and sesame seeds found in any middle eastern food shop), this seems to almost fry the outer crust but it tastes totally delicious. Note the olive oil isn't mixed in with the dough, it's just sploshed on the outside.

+1

Just got back from spending the morning with this baker, Francis, and his bread is really really good. I was trying to film something of his process, from lighting his fire through to delivering by bike/trailer.

A standup and awesome fellow.

Buy this bread if you happen live in SE near Brockley/Forest Hill/Catford ends.

Shameless plug for a friend here... My (effective, not actually married yet!) brother in law quit his job in middle management to set up his own bakehouse - with the intention of making affordable, artisan bread (and other, simpler offerings too).

He has built a pretty serious bread oven in his garden and is now supplying a few shops in the Honour Oak / Crofton Park area. He really is a lovely bloke (also a pretty serious cyclist) and the bread is really something too - he's taking a big risk on this so if you live locally you should support a local business and buy some!

Sorry for the shameless marketing - but small businesses need all the help they can get.
More details here: www.coopersbakehouse.com

I've been making bread for the last couple of months now, using recipes from Dan Lepard's Handmade Loaf, and if we're friends on the book of face you will have seen some photo's.

But some of the recipes turn out really small, I'm not sure whether the loafs aren't doubling when I leave them to prove??? because they aren't in a warm enough environment, or if I'm just missing out on something.

bread tastes nice and all, but some of the recipes which include you breaking the dough into two equal sized portions and then baking seem to come out one person sized, rather than the 2 1/2 person sized you expect a loaf to be..

any suggestions/hints/tips...

much appreciated..

Maybe you're just greedy?

nah just taking his advice and splitting the dough into two, think I'll leave as a big lump and see what happens then..

Just picked up some shipton mill wholewheat flour because the shop was out of the white flour. Have to say, theres nothing quite like the smell you get from wholewheat when its baking. amazing stuff.

This is a loaf I just made using what I had left of the white flour with the wholewheat and with my sourdough starter, plus some fresh yeast to speed it up a bit.
Still on the cooling rack now but it looks tasty.

That's good looking bread! I need to spend some time making a starter. Has it risen in a proofing basket? Its a good shape.

Thanks! Nah, no proving basket yet, need to get one really, and a stone.

I use 4 terracotta floor tiles in my oven - works a treat.

So, digging out an old thread here, but why not!? Everyone knows that bread is clearly the best carb - pisses all over rice, pasta, potatoes, grains and whatnot, awesome for breakfast, lunch or dinner, and comes in so many glorious forms.

Been baking quite a bit in the last few months, and am getting a sourdough starter on the go at the moment - any key tips on how to keep one of these beauties alive? Have been sticking to busting out a malty / seedy / wholemeal tin loaf and want to start expanding. As sourdough is pretty much the greatest thing ever it's the natural progression. Also, trying soda bread for the first time this weekend. Looks easy - which means it will go horribly wrong.

And has anyone got any top tips / recipes to share? Nuknow / wellisit looking your way here...

Desem's even better.
We eat it allatime, but I'm no baker.
http://www.sourdoughhome.com/index.php?content=desemstarter

That sounds pretty ace, thanks! I've never even heard of it! What's the flavour and consistency like?

Am also gonna try pitta breads soon, think I'm setting myself up for a massive fall...

Desem is more a style of bread starter/prep than any particular flavour. The one we buy
http://www.integrityfoods.ca/bakery/our-products/bread/ from these folks, is made with just spelt flour, water and salt! (this of course includes the starter which is made from flour and water)

I love the fact that every time I plan to start a thread on here there is already one in place, like minded people.

Where's the best place to get good live yeast in central London?