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A bit proud of myself here. First time I made two loafs at once. Following internet advice I did not double the yeast but I did double the rest of the ingredients as well as the kneading time. Bringing it to twenty minutes instead of my normal ten.
As before I continued to bread paint. Tumeric, cinnamon, followed by paprika. Seeds on the other end. Would like the paprika to jump out a bit more with the red.
Not my first braid, but it's been a couple of years since I did the last one.
Also, I made this almost 3 weeks ago, I just couldn't post it due to Lemmy federation troubles. So here it is now.
Tried 4 ways to apply it on one loaf
Lessons learned: need to puree blueberries and mix blueberries with milk for the deepest shade
Been playing with using tea instead of water. This one is everything bagel + sesame seed + poppy + painted cinnamon + painted tumeric + painted paprika.
Everything bagel spices and a double egg wash
She did pretty much the whole thing and I supervised. Further adventures in bread painting. The yellow is turmeric.
My project for tonight was a crusty Italian bread-- and I think I did pretty well!
Hadn't made one before, but needed a bread to go with a soup I'm working my way through.
It came out pretty well, but definitely more dense than I would have liked...
...but that's my fault, I overworked the dough a bit while second-guessing myself.
Could also be browned a bit better, but I was using a convection oven instead of the normal oven, so I was erring on the side of caution.
I’ve been refining my bread for the last decade, making all the bread my family consumes. Over the last couple of years I’ve arrived at something we are all really happy with. I’ll try my best to transmit what I’ve learned via this recipe. Feel free to ask questions in the comments.
Final hydration 74%
Example for one oval banneton:
Mix water, flour, and starter until fully hydrated. Sprinkle salt on top.
Wait 1-2 hours for autolyse and hydration.
Stretch and fold once every 30 min - 1 hour, at least 3 times and up to 5.
Bulk ferment 2 more hours.
Sprinkle liberally with rice flour, liberate from bowl with a plastic scraper, place rice flour side down in banneton, pinch top to stretch surface touching banneton, sprinkle rice flour on top.
Cover. Proof two hours or until banneton is filled.
Refrigerate 12 hours to 3 days, longer if more sour flavor is desired.
Preheat baking stone to 500°f / 260°c with a pan for water on a rack below the stone.
Liberate the bread onto a peel and score as desired. Place on stone and put a couple handfuls of ice cubes on the heated pan. Reduce temperature to 444° / 230°c and bake for 36 minutes.
Paints were made the same as last time. Vodka and spices mixed applied with small paintbrush. Still having difficulty sealing the two ends of the braid but I think I am improving. I might give up if I keep failing and hide it with baked apple pieces.
The potatoes and olive oil are really helping with the braiding process. I did not dust the loaf this time because I forgot to.
Everything bagel, sesame seed, poppy, and dusting of cinnamon.
Lessons learned: dusting cinnamon vs painting makes a huge difference in how far it penetrates into the crust. Painting was obscured by seeds so combining the two is non-ideal. Still struggling on sealing the ends but improvement over last rev. At least the center hole is more prominent.
Paint was made with cinnamon and cheap vodka. Vodka evaporated nicely. Paint was applied via tiny brush. Double egg wash. The rightside is poppy, cinnamon in the middle, and the left side is sesame. 4 strand braid.
Need to work on the shape a bit. Still proud of this and now my house smells like cinnamon bread.
Following the advice of chatgpt I put in about a quarter of a small potato. It very much helped with stretching it. Just for fun I covered one half with poppy and the other half with sesame. I am proud of this loaf and my family approved.
5% Pete fermentation, olive oil base, everything bagel spices, double egg + honey wash, increased 3rd rise time to 45 minutes.
3 strands. At the rate I am going the 40th or so attempt will look pretty decent. Haha
