Now *That* is How to Bake Bread !

[s/v Jedi]

Yes you see it right, it is a real sourdough rye/multigrain boule, baked in a silly Force 10 stove. It took us 10 years to get to this point. Here are the crucial points:

1. You need a good sourdough starter. We have been trying without success until Michele aboard Reach gave us a cup of good San Francisco sourdough.

2. Making the dough, it never really started rising, resulting in very compact bread (that others still called acceptable or even good, but we are spoiled I guess). This all changed when we bought a Zojirushi bread maker which can also be used just to knead and rise the dough before transferring to a regular oven.

3. Except for feeding the sourdough starter, use beer instead of water (if needed at all). For Rye or whole wheat breads, we use Guinness beer (see my other post with recipe here: http://www.cruisersforum.com/forums/...ipe-55680.html)

4. Do not use a loaf pan for these fancy breads. Officially it should be baked on a stone, but we cheat with a cheap silicone matt (see picture below)

5. Finding ingredients like rye flour can be a daunting task. It is very hard but not impossible to find here in Panama, so we buy a lot when we find it. To keep it good, we pack each bag in a separate ziplock bag and then freeze it for 2 weeks. After that, we move it to the regular storage box, making sure the ziplock stays closed. When opening, never open the bags where they are glued, but make a slit with a knife instead (these are weevil protection measures)

Here is the loaf just before it went into the oven. The cookie sheet is that of a 3-burner Force-10 stove to get an idea of the size. The silicone matt underneath the loaf is sold in many places incl. Amazon.com where we got it. It's much lighter than a stone

The recipe is below the picture:


We started the night before with 1 cup of sourdough started from the fridge. Add one cup of water and two cups of white flour to feed the sourdough (our's is named Leia). Mix well into a big bowl and keep covered at room temperature (can be tropical but shaded) overnight.

Next morning, stir the contents of the bowl well and take one cup out to be put back in the fridge for next time. A good sourdough can be kept in the fridge without feeding for up to a month!

Transfer the rest into the pan of the breadmaker. Add:

- 1 Tblsp olive oil
- 2 cups rye flower
- 1 cup whole wheat flower
- 1 tsp salt
- 1 Tblsp sugar
- 1 tsp instant coffee
- 1 tsp real cocoa
- 1 tsp caraway seeds
- 1 tsp (dried) yeast

Set the machine to no-preheat and the quick-dough program. When it starts kneading, add white flower if the dough is too thin, keep adding until it doesn't smear over the bottom of the pan anymore. When the machine beeps for adding extra ingredients, check consistence and add more flour if too thin. Remember how much you add for next time, but this will change with climate so keep an eye on it.

When the quick dough program has finished, sprinkle white flour on the clean galley counter and dump dough on top. Find the paddle(s) of the machine if they came out. Put silicone matt on cooky sheet and sprinkle that with some flour too. Sprinkle flour on top of dough and start folding it again and again, adding flour if too sticky, until you can form the "boule" (That's why bakeries in France are called boulangeries). Google how to form it but basically you turn it into a ball and turn that inside out, like a face lift Put the boule on the silicone matt and sprinkle some flour again. Place the cleaned bowl over the boule and let rise 15-20 minutes while the oven preheats at 200C.

Now remove the bowl and use scissors to cut a pattern in the top. Look at Google images for inspiration. Transfer into oven and bake for 45 minutes.

Bon appetit!
Nick.

[sarafina]

WHAT a beauty!

I love my Zo and if we ever manage to cast off the docklines for long term cruising I plan on bringing along the mini Zo

Thanks for sharing the recipe. I have it saved into my cooking files already!

[Cheechako]

mmmmmmmmmmm.... let me know when the next one comes out of the oven..... I'll be right over!

[MacG]

I got a recipe from the chef of the Tour d' Argent for French bread. It is as complicated as making a Guarneri violin and has similar complexity as the beauty recipe as per above.
For baking bread, you must have time, knowledge and the correct ingredients.
It looks easy, but is factual one of the most difficult things to do.

[avb3]

Originally Posted by MacG

I got a recipe from the chef of the Tour d' Argent for French bread. It is as complicated as making a Guarneri violin and has similar complexity as the beauty recipe as per above.
For baking bread, you must have time, knowledge and the correct ingredients.
It looks easy, but is factual one of the most difficult things to do.

Baking bread does not have to be complicated at all.

I bake all my own bread with the following recipe, and I doubt it takes me more then 25 minutes prep time, and that includes the 10 minutes it takes the bread to rise, be punched down and kneaded.

The following is for one loaf, increase ingredients for more:

3 3/34 cup whole wheat flour
1 1/4 cup water (may need a touch more, but this is the minimum)
1 TBSP Flieshman's Quick Rise (also sold as Rapid Rise in US markets) Yeast
1 1/2 tsp salt
2 TBSP oil
1 egg

Mix dry ingredients, take 1/3, add very warm water (if you have a thermometer, 140F, although I never take the temp), mix, add rest of water and this mix to the rest of the dry ingredients, mix all, let stand for 10, yes TEN minutes to rise.

Take risen dough, punch down, knead for 5-7 minutes (you will know after making a few loaves when it is right) place in bread pan and in preheated 350 degree oven.

Bake for 25 minutes, check to ensure center is baked by inserting a long tooth pick in and see if it is dry, let cool, enjoy.

Quick, easy, delicious.

Definitely not complicated.

[s/v Jedi]

Originally Posted by sarafina

WHAT a beauty!

I love my Zo and if we ever manage to cast off the docklines for long term cruising I plan on bringing along the mini Zo

Thanks for sharing the recipe. I have it saved into my cooking files already!

Originally Posted by Cheechako

mmmmmmmmmmm.... let me know when the next one comes out of the oven..... I'll be right over!

Originally Posted by MacG

I got a recipe from the chef of the Tour d' Argent for French bread. It is as complicated as making a Guarneri violin and has similar complexity as the beauty recipe as per above.
For baking bread, you must have time, knowledge and the correct ingredients.
It looks easy, but is factual one of the most difficult things to do.

Thanks guys! It was a long long road but so much fun to discover these secrets

Originally Posted by avb3

Baking bread does not have to be complicated at all.

Oh agreed! If you follow the link in my post above you will find a very easy recipe too, where the machine does all the work. However, the purpose of this boule is not to avoid complexity, the goal was to create a French boule using rye flour and real sourdough. It is probably the most complex bread to get right.

The other loaf we have been after is the real French baquette and flute. We have given up on those because the average oven aboard our boats is just not suited for it. And we have tried everything, incl. bowls of boiling water under in the oven, spraying a mist against the sides to produce steam etc. etc. but it doesn't work (is just not hot enough)

p.s. all the info required is in the book called "The Bread Baker's Apprentice" which is the best I think. It's being sold everywhere and looks like:


cheers,
Nick.

[delmarrey]

Originally Posted by sarafina

WHAT a beauty!

I love my Zo and if we ever manage to cast off the docklines for long term cruising I plan on bringing along the mini Zo

Thanks for sharing the recipe. I have it saved into my cooking files already!

Ditto! I've been working on a better banana bread then the one in the book. Seems a bit bland. More bananas I guess.

[MacG]

Yeah Nick, I knew your bread is not the easiest thing to accomplish. The problems are locate in the temperature and the right yeast for the right flourtype.
The French boule is a story apart. We have them in the Dordogne but yours look absolutely like an epicurists dream.