Bread

Don't understand difference between Strength & TensionSubmitted by Bread Head on May 23, 2013 - 2:54pm. In the Tartine book under Shaping and Bench Rest (pg75)I don't understand what he means with this statement;"Should I give the dough a long bench rest to develop more strength, or should I shape the dough twice to give more tension?Can someone explain to me in the most simplest terms what he means by this? Thanks for you time!

Bagels and Pate Fermentee question.Submitted by SadieBear on May 23, 2013 - 2:38pm. Hey there everybody,I've made Jefferery Hamelman's bagels many many many times  with great success.  But, yesterday, for the the first time I noticed that at the bottom of his recipe in Bread it reads, "note: 20% of the overall flour can be pre fermented in a pate fermentee".  I can't exactly figure out why this confuses me so much.  I've never baked with pate fermentee, only poolishes.  I guess my questions are...Would I make a 20% scaled down version of the recipe and then add that to the dough next time I made bagels?  And then reserve about 20% of the full recipe once finished?Really, if someone couple explain this to me like I'm 5 years old that would be great.Thanks a bunch everybody.

Baking time of Boule vs. BatardSubmitted by HairyBeast on May 23, 2013 - 11:20am. I only have 2 oval bannetons to make batard shaped loaves, but Hamelman's 90% sourdough rye calls for a boule shape. I would have thought that batards would be quicker to cook through to the centre due to their larger surface area and the shorter distance to the centre of the loaf, but I'm not sure whether I am over complicating matters. My gut instinct says it should make a difference but I can't find any info on the subject.Does anyone know whether it is necessary to adjust baking times when varying the shape of the loaf from a recipe? I don't have anything round to prove in and I don't think I could actually fit two boules in my oven at the same time...

Question on how much WW flour one can add while maintaining decent crumb Submitted by bread_chemist on May 23, 2013 - 10:55am. I like a nice airy crumb, but also like the idea of whole wheat in bread.  I find that 100% WW loaves are too dense (if I understand it correctly, the protein from the bran cuts gluten chains).  Any suggestions how much WW flour can be used while maintaining a loose, airy, crumb structure?

white flour and proportionsSubmitted by agrossbl on May 23, 2013 - 9:10am. I recently started feeding my starter all purpose flour instead of whole wheat. I'm still feeding it at 1:1:1 by weight, but the consistency seems quite thinner. Should I give it more flour so that it maintains the older consistency, or is it fine? (With whole wheat flour, the consistency was like biscuit batter, now it is more like muffin batter).Also, should I keep feeding it 1:1:1? How do I know when/if to change that? I was reading recommendations of 1:2:2 or 1:5:5.Thanks!

Any N.C. Home Bakers?Submitted by CJRoman on May 23, 2013 - 8:43am. ....who have gone through the Dept. of Agriculture certification process? I know you can't use "acid" foods in your kitchen...but are their any other ingredients you've discovered you CAN'T use? Like, mustard is an acid but can you use it IN a recipe? Can you add beer to your bread? Just curious if you've come across any.

Dense Loaf (moist) & Crumb is not WhiteSubmitted by walshie69 on May 23, 2013 - 5:51am. So I have been playing with recipes and modified a no knead to the following.3.5 cups flour1.5 warm water1tsp active yeast1 large tbsp sourdough starter1tsp saltcurls of marble cheeseprocess:Let sit for 4 hours, then refridge overnight.Turned it once and added cheese then back in freidge for 5 hrstaken out of frdige and placed in a round cake tin to proof.It might have over proofed as i left it unattended (at work) where by the plastic wrap was holding back the dough from further rise.I put another tin on top of the cake tin (dont have a dutch oven so I was creating my own)Baked at 475 for 30 minthen 15 min with lid off.results as you can see. Tastes great could have used more cheese! But not spring in the oven the top was flat but it was fully expanded all around. The loaf is moist but not a fluffy white which is what I would like to get.I am thinking no kneads dont get fluffy white?Any ideas? Cheers

Being from the Midwest, I didn’t know anything about Cuban sandwiches until I moved to California. You read that correctly. It took a move 1,600 miles in the wrong direction for me to finally experience the warm, toasty delights of the Mixto — roasted pork, sliced ham, swiss cheese, pickles and yellow mustard on fresh Cuban bread pressed with a plancha (iron) and cut diagonally across the center. ¡Delicioso! So far be it from me to shy away from sampling the newest addition to the Hot Pockets line-up, the Limited Edition Cuban Style Hot Pocket. Much like the East Coast/West Coast hip hop feud of yore, there’s a rivalry between Tampa and Miami regarding ownership of the Cuban sandwich. Tampa appears to be the original home of the Mixto (a.k.a the Cubano), which was introduced there in the 1890s by hungry Cuban cigar factory workers in the Ybor City neighborhood. They did, however, add salami to the sandwich — a highly controversial move, especially considering how Miami’s sandwich artists have adhered to the traditional recipe. I suppose this would be the “Who Shot Ya?” event of the sandwich war because things really popped off after that. Suffice it to say, the salami-free Limited Edition Cuban Style Hot Pockets seem to welcome me to the city where the heat is on, all night on the beach ‘til the break of dawn. Bienvenido a Miami… These Hot Pockets are demanding that I get Pitbull on the phone and tell him to meet us in the V.I.P. at LIV for some bottle service after the Heat game and then afterwards, crank up the salsa as we speed to the Ritz-Carlton South Beach in our yellow Lambo for the after party. But before I book that plane ticket, let’s pause for a moment and talk about Cuban bread. It’s delicious and airy with that necessary touch of fat that makes Cuban bread Cuban and almost all other bread crap. I can’t be sure that the Hot Pockets people have injected lard into their crust, but the Cuban Style Hot Pocket is soft and delicious. True, the crust isn’t crispy since these Hot Pockets are heated in the microwave and don’t come with a crisping sleeve, but it isn’t soggy either. It manages to maintain a perfectly bread-like exterior with the right amount of give and softness without becoming a mushy mess. When it comes to the innards of the Limited Edition Cuban Style Hot Pockets, they closely approximate the makeup of authentic Cuban sandwiches. They are full of pickle flavor, but I’m at a loss trying to explain where the intense pickle-y taste actually comes from. How did they manage to get so much flavor out of these itsy bitsy chunks of pickle? The meat portion of this Hot Pocket consists of diced ham and sliced pork — two delicious meats that come from the same magically delicious animal. There is a hint of mustard in the Hot Pocket, but it definitely takes a backseat to the pickle flavor. The Limited Edition Cuban Style Hot Pocket is a winner with a pleasantly soft crust, savory pork bits, gooey Swiss cheese, tangy pickles, and no salami. Though it lacks the crispy, toasted texture one can only get from using a sandwich press instead of a microwave, I am positive that anyone looking for some Cubano goodness won’t be disappointed. Just don’t tell Tampa. (Nutrition Facts – 1 sandwich – 260 calories, 90 fat calories, 10 grams of fat, 3.5 grams of saturated fat, 0 grams of trans fat, 30 milligrams of cholesterol, 680 milligrams of sodium, 32 grams of carbohydrates, 1 gram of fiber, 3 grams of sugar, 10 grams of protein, 15% Calcium, 10%Iron, 0% Vitamin C, 2% Vitamin A.) Item: Limited Edition Cuban Style Hot Pockets Purchased Price: $2.00 (on sale) Size: 2 sandwiches Purchased at: Ralphs Rating: 8 out of 10 Pros: Pickles, pork & cheese. Thick, soft bread. Lard injections. Pitbull. Cons: Teensy mystery pickles. Sandwich feuds. Definitely not plancha crispy. Only around for a short time. Related posts: REVIEW: Hot Pockets Limited Edition Spicy Hawaiian Style Pizz

Egypt tourist attractions!Submitted by Angellas on May 22, 2013 - 10:55pm. Egypt, the jewel of Africa, is a delightful country and a major tourist attraction. Globe-trotters from all over the planet love to pack their bags and scurry over to this historical land to feast on its myriad attractions and marvelous manmade creations. Egypt travel brings with it a wide range of things including plenty of sightseeing and even the memorable Nile cruise. Meet you in Egypt......:)

Reinhart's Pain à l'AncienneSubmitted by kenlklaser on May 22, 2013 - 8:08pm. I always meant to try Reinhart's Pain à l'Ancienne, and today was the big day.  This was an easy formula and process.I used a hydration of 70%, whereas Reinhart recommends a value somewhere in the range 70-88%. I diverged slightly from his instructions in a couple of places. I use a pressure cooker to pump steam into a gas oven through a copper pipe which I installed in my oven, which is a different from Reinhart's pan with a cup of hot water added when the dough is loaded. I did two batches in succession, I ended up steaming both bakes for the first 10 minutes, and stopped the steam for the final 8 minutes of 18 minutes total bake time.  He said they'd begin browning by 8-10 minutes, but with the pressure-cooker steam applied, they hadn't yet browned at 10 minutes when I turned the steam off.It took about 3 hours for the yeast to wake up from its refrigerated slumber at a room temp of 75 °F, the dough temperature was just hitting 62 °F. When the gas:dough ratio reached 0.2 just a short time later, I shaped the logs and placed them to proof.  I only had enough room on the baking tile to bake three at once in the way I planned it, so I did two batches in succession.  The first one was baked when the gas:dough ratio was 0.7:The second batch was by necessity 30 minutes later and the gas:dough ratio was 1.0 (a doubling):I preferred the shape of the batch baked at a 0.7 gas:dough ratio, but believe it's not yet an optimal value.  The 1.0 dough expansion baked flatter, more like a wetter ciabatta.  Both had a reasonably open crumb.