The Great OF Baking Thread

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Good god, @LesXL just pointed me to this thread...
Like many others, I tried baking bread during the pandemic, some of it OK, some of it not quite so OK.


Boule.jpg

Fantastic! I’ll take an end piece (anyone else call it a “bread butt”?? ) and as much brie as you can spare.
 
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Share with me your secret, I made OK bagels, but they flatten out shortly after cooling off. Mine did not look that good. Tasted pretty good, though a bit dense.
My tips are a long proof for the dough, traditionally boiling them before the bake, and using barley malt syrup.
 
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My tips are a long proof for the dough, traditionally boiling them before the bake, and using barley malt syrup.
Hmm. I do all of that, with the exception of the barley malt syrup. I couldn't find any, so I substituted molasses.
 
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Hmm. I do all of that, with the exception of the barley malt syrup. I couldn't find any, so I substituted molasses.
I use this specific recipe from the NYT. I think the barley malt syrup is the secret weapon. I had a hard time searching for it too but eventually found it. Go to any natural food stores or it is even available on Amazon if you can't find it all.
 
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Okay, maybe this is me going too far. Someone check me before I wreck me...

D'oh! I can't attach a PDF. Forgive me, admins, but this must be shared. Please, please, please.... trust me... this will change everything in your pizza/focaccia life, I promise.

(Whispering: I promise.)

Okay now, from the header, for click-ability:

Merging of Joshua Weissman
and Cook’s Illustrated https://www.cooksillustrated.com/recipes/6144-rosemary-focaccia

Screenshots of my PDF. And, sorry, but a scale is required. Go get an Oxo digital kitchen scale and thank me later.


Josh Weisman's channel is genius, btw. He's super weird, hilarious, and a legit and serious chef. Love his channel!

However, his original full recipe in the video is just too much for us, and frankly takes too long. Our "biga adaptation" is identical in terms of flavor/texture outcomes. Be generous with the oil in the bottom of the pan, since you will otherwise miss out on a massive world of texture and crunch if you haven't essentially fried the bottom crust.

The recipe is so good that during lockdown, we once made this FOUR SEPARATE TIMES in a 7-day span!! We're on foccaccia hiatus until at least autumn now.

I lie awake in bed and dream of this focaccia.

 
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Glorious color there, @LesXL !

This was an early experiment using 100% Einkorn (a grain worthy of googling, to any who are curious about nerdy things like the origins of modern wheat).

I don’t have photos of subsequent experiments (where hydration ratio was tweaked) but even this early one gave incredible height. There is zero all purpose flour in this!

Flavor with Einkorn is a bit nutty; has it’s own distinct flavor. We bake with it quite a bit. None of us are gluten sensitive, but it’s apparently much more tolerable to those who are.

 
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Glorious color there, @LesXL !

This was an early experiment using 100% Einkorn (a grain worthy of googling, to any who are curious about nerdy things like the origins of modern wheat).

I don’t have photos of subsequent experiments (where hydration ratio was tweaked) but even this early one gave incredible height. There is zero all purpose flour in this!

Flavor with Einkorn is a bit nutty; has it’s own distinct flavor. We bake with it quite a bit. None of us are gluten sensitive, but it’s apparently much more tolerable to those who are.

You're in another league, mate!
Fresh from the oven... Love the smell of bread in the house
 
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Fresh from the oven... Love the smell of bread in the house
This, plus soft cheese and cold grapes. I need for nothing else.
 
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This, plus soft cheese and cold grapes. I need for nothing else.
May I add some nice red wine too to accompany that 😀
 
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omg - just went through all 4 pages of this.. just wow!

I need to get busy for sure 😀
 
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Can any sourdough genius tell me how I can get the big holes you see in commercial sourdough? Not unhappy with mine just wondering.
Thanks.
 
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My wife made Anzac cookies/biscuits the other day...

 
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Can any sourdough genius tell me how I can get the big holes you see in commercial sourdough? Not unhappy with mine just wondering.
Thanks.

I only lurk there, but you'll probably enjoy reading http://www.thefreshloaf.com/forum

I'll take a stab at an answer (and I am in no way pretending to be any kind of baking guru!) but I think you may have over-proofed your dough. Or possibly your hydration ratio needs to be adjusted. If your baking with volume measurements, I'd urge moving to weight measuring, and a decent digital scale (like the one Oxo makes) will be a total game-changer, at least it was for me, in terms of consistently repeatable results.

But hey, if it successfully delivers delicious toppings to your mouth, it's a win! 😉
 
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Homemade sourdough bread (the photo is a few years old, it was my hobby back then)


A top end bakery has opened close to my home, so since then I buy bread there... and have more time for other hobbies...
 
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Does Pizza count as baking?? I did make my own dough, proved it for 12hrs, and baked it in the new Pizza oven for about 90secs
By the way, all the other pics of various breads and cakes are truly amazing, what a talented bunch on here 😁