
10/21/2022
How to Score Branches and Leaves
New scoring video with a fall theme ๐๐ฟ
Dust with flour, then use a toothpick to trace big and small leaves.
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Here at Breadtopia you will find video tutorials; recipes; premium baking ingredients, Breadtopia-branded heirloom grains, flours, and sourdough starter; hand-picked, high-quality baking gear and supplies; and access to the friendliest, most dedicated baking community you could ever hope to meet. If you find yourself in the neighborhood and want to visit the shipping warehouse, be sure to give us a call first โ we'll be happy to set up a time that works for us both.
Here at Breadtopia you will find video tutorials; recipes; premium baking ingredients, Breadtopia-branded heirloom grains, flours, and sourdough starter; hand-picked, high-quality baking gear and supplies; and access to the friendliest, most dedicated baking community you could ever hope to meet. If you find yourself in the neighborhood and want to visit the shipping warehouse, be sure to give us a call first โ we'll be happy to set up a time that works for us both.
Operating as usual
New scoring video with a fall theme ๐๐ฟ
Dust with flour, then use a toothpick to trace big and small leaves.
Interesting article on the tradition of farming "maslins" or mixed grains for greater sustainability.
A past global staple you've never heard of, maslins are poised for a comeback.
This fluffy milk bread has a subtle acorn squash flavor ๐ The bread is soft and fragrant, and can lean sweet or savory. It's perfect for French toast, avocado toast, sandwiches and more.
Although the tangzhong method slows staling, it's so tasty you'll probably tear right through it!
Yeast and sourdough versions here: https://bit.ly/3S7RYmG
After mixing dough, this is often all I have left in my sourdough starter jar.
I feed that smear some flour and water (Photo 2), let it get bubbly (Photo 3 about 7 hours later), then refrigerate until the next bake. Depending on when that is, a few days vs. longer, and how much bread I want to make, I use the starter as is or feed it again.
At Breadtopia we're always pushing against the dogma that there's one correct way to manage starter. Some people do the method I just described; some make a separate starter build for each bake; some use cold starter that's fed once a month; and likely some of you have other unique methods. Please comment and share!
And if you want to see some research (comparison bakes), check out this experiment we did in 2019 with cold old starter and ripe starter:
http://bit.ly/2lQrCMN
Power outage or broken oven? Here's a neat guide to baking bread with tea lights (in German with subtitles).
Was ist ein Blackout Brot? Ein Blackout-Brot richtet sich nicht nur an Prepper, sondern in erster Linie, an alle! Wir wissen nie was passiert und in der Verg...
Here's a low-key recipe for a mostly whole grain sourdough: https://bit.ly/3RMFy3t A perfect daily bread for the whole family, wheat and white bread lovers alike. The flour choices make for a soft crumb, mellow and delicious flavor, and a lot of whole grain fiber and nutrients.
We have a delicious Whole Grain Challah yeast recipe by Eric: https://bit.ly/3SzDhdh This soft bread is ideal for baked French toast, a dish that sometimes breaks that fast of Yom Kippur, and for sandwiches and snacking. For this pair, I used 2/3 bread flour and 1/3 whole grain rouge de bordeaux flour without a hydration change.
The spice blend in these pumpkin donuts is quite entrancing and they're so easy to make. Dip the donuts in the coffee icing for a "pumpkin spice latte donut" or try the cinnamon-sugar topping that's less sweet. These are baked with high extraction khorasan flour for a buttery wheat flavor but substitutions will work fine.
Find the recipe here: https://bit.ly/3LUJhLb
Simple but decorative scoring of three differently shaped doughs of equal weight. I'm using the updated Breadtopia lame with a design that holds the blade more securely.
Simple but decorative scoring of three differently shaped doughs of equal weight, using the updated Breadtopia lame with a design that holds the blade more s...
Decorative scoring how-to with a diagram! Give it a try or make a spin-off design of your own.
Step-by-step summary at the end of the video.
Testing some new scoring patterns and lames. More videos to come.
We baked a bread from the UK with Queen Elizabeth II in mind, the Scottish bannock, a quick bread that's surprisingly delicious and easy to make.
Our recipe has the traditional, tasty oat flour, sprouted wheat flour for natural mild sweetness and extra nutrient bioavilability, and the option to use sourdough starter discard.
Learn more here: https://bit.ly/3UeLlBo
Here's the new Goose Lame by Wire Monkey that we're carrying in our shop:
The Wire Monkey Goose lame is good for both fine detail and deep slash scoring in sourdough bread due to the unique curved handle which allows you to grip it...
Sourdough multi-wheat fruit and nut bread recipe โฃ https://bit.ly/3Buc717 This bread is a symphony of flavor with figs, raisins, dried cranberries, toasted walnuts, and a multitude of wheats with baking spice aromas, buttery notes, and a bit grassiness.
The dough is scaled to a long Pullman pan, but you can also bake it in a smaller pan or as an artisan-style bread.
This started as a "dump" dough to empty out a bunch of bags of wheat berries and dried fruit, but it was proclaimed best in class by my mother-in-law who's a connoisseur of fruit and nut breads, so I keep making it, usually as a freestanding bread. Now I'm trying to figure out how much dough is needed to fill a long pullman pan. This iteration was a little too small at 570g flour and 275g dried fruit and nuts.
Looking for something different from hamburger buns this weekend? Lotus Leaf Bao are steamed buns originally from China that open up to hold all sorts of delicious fillings from the garden, grill, slow cooker, or baking sheet.
Yeast and sourdough versions plus detailed steaming instructions here: https://bit.ly/3q6FiB0
New bakers are sometimes intimidated by sourdough, and experienced bakers sometimes want bread at the last minute but don't want a storebought loaf.
With this simple, hands-on process, you'll have a crusty loaf of fresh yeast-leavened 100% whole wheat bread within 3-to-4 hours of measuring the ingredients, and milling your own wheat if that's an option for you.
Learn more here: https://bit.ly/3dVB0tr
We've written a guide to baking sweets with whole grain flours: https://bit.ly/3dMd2AV The switch is easy and so rewarding. Learn more and see this carrot cake recipe as a case study using red fife and einkorn flours.
Converting cake, cookie, and pastry recipes to whole grain flour ๐พ Blog post coming soon.
Yemarina yewotet dabo is an Ethiopian milk-and-honey bread baked in banana leaves, making the crust extra soft and imparting a sweet smoky flavor. It's filled with aromatic spices and is perfect for breakfast, a teatime snack, or dessert.
Learn more here https://bit.ly/3dhS4cG
I really enjoyed researching this bread and learning about the history of Ethiopia in the process, so you'll find a ton of links in the recipe blog post if you want to do a deeper dive too.
Recipes that fit in our batard and round clay bakers also fit in the oblong baker. The maximum dough weight is about 1.1 kg (2.5 lbs) which is about 4.5 cups flour or less, though for poofy white flour recipes, I'd stay under 4 cups/520g flour).
This is Eric's Artisan Rye recipe, an "aromatherapy" Swedish rye. It's 50:50 rye and bread flour, plus a lot of seeds and some orange zest. I used our new flavorful Serafino rye, and honey instead of molasses.
See how I scored a Swedish flag? That was on purpose ๐
Original recipe here: https://bit.ly/2A4imMx
"Making bread has forced me to become comfortable with the fact that intermittently I am going to make a bad choice. It has helped me to focus on the bigger picture: most of the time the loaf of bread is going to rise."
Before I made bread, I agonised over choices in life. But baking is all about making decision after decision.
The recipe for this flavorful and tender bolles hard red spring wheat sourdough bread is up on the Breadtopia blog here:
https://bit.ly/3So0cbU
Bolles wheat is high in protein as well as fiber and other nutrients, and it makes a dough with wonderful handling.โ This wheat was organically grown by Ben Penner Farms in Minnesota, and it's a relatively new varietal bred to thrive in extreme weather events. โ
Edit: The protein level of this harvest of bolles is 14.4%.
Hey whole grain bakers out there, I updated this blog post to have an index of our recipes that use only fresh-milled whole grain flour--from rustic country loaves to pop-tarts
Milling whole grains in my Mockmill meshes perfectly with my three intertwining goals as a baker/cook: great flavor, high nutritional value, and convenience.
Our pain de campagne recipe but with no autolyse, refrigerated starter that ripened days earlier, no active gluten development, and a same-day bake thanks to crazy summer heat.
Here's the original recipe and (quite modifiable) methods:
http://bit.ly/2XVO0GA
* 300g bread flour
* 75g hard red spring wheat flour (whole grain, sprouted, freshmilled)
* 25g rye flour (whole grain, sprouted, freshmilled)
* 310g water
* 80g starter
* 8g salt
Strawberry-rhubarb einkorn crumble is an absolutely delicious, fiber-rich summer dessert. You get the flavor and feel of pie, but a crumble is much easier to make with an ancient whole grain flour. You can even add sourdough starter to the crumble for some fermentation flavors. Serve with vanilla ice cream or enjoy it plain.
Recipe here: https://bit.ly/3ckCIne
Here's our recipe for pan pizza https://bit.ly/3NVCgc8 that you can build in the decadent and scrumptious Sicilian or Detroit styles, or a mash-up of the two. Pan pizza is perfect for summer because the oven time is brief, and it's a fantastic cookout appetizer or weekday meal.
Piadinas are popular flatbreads from the Romagna region of Italy. Check out our sourdough-optional recipe on the Breadtopia blog, with instructions for using different flours including whole grain farro/emmer.
https://bit.ly/3R7sfM7
These breads can range in thickness and are so tasty and convenient for all sorts of sandwiches and desserts (try Nutella or "crema di fichi" fig jam).
Piadina is an ancient Italian flatbread from the Emilia-Romagna region of Italy that became a popular street food in the mid-1900s. Here are white flour piadinas, and I'm also working on a whole grain emmer/farro version ๐พ
Piadina or piada is an ancient Italian flatbread made with just a few ingredients: flour, water or milk, olive oil or lard, salt, and sometimes baking soda. ...
Sesame durum rolls made from our classic Sicilian no knead sourdough bread recipe. The crust is crispy from baking in the clay Hearth Baker and the golden crumb is so delicious. Enjoy hot out of the oven with melted butter, or use for sandwiches or even as a lean, mostly whole grain hamburger bun.
Learn more here: https://bit.ly/3NndJwx
This Lithuanian-inspired black rye bread has a delicious sweet-and-sour flavor with citrus and licorice notes. It's soft, chewy, and wonderfully dense -- perfect to eat solo, with butter or cheese, alongside soups, and as part of a sandwich. โ
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Learn more here: https://bit.ly/3mVl4sz
Check out the neat color difference in the sprouted rye grains on the right. Sprouting also changes the inside of the grain: activating nutrients and making them more absorbable, converting more complex starches into simple sugarsโ , and making bread with more volume and slower staling.โ
Sourdough buckwheat crepes are both a fast food (ready in minutes) and a slow food (let the starter ferment the batter if you want). They're so tasty and versatile. Here I've filled them with strawberries, whipped cream, and dulce de leche.
Recipe: https://bit.ly/3MHN25e
Sourdough English Muffins with whole grain flour and all purpose flour at a ratio of 40:60. I've made this recipe with spelt, red fife, Kamut/khorasan and pretty much every wheat variety in my pantry.
They're so delicious.
Check the recipe here: https://bit.ly/3ma5aKr
When the weather gets hot, I do more double batches of bread. Same amount of oven time but more output, and the extra loaf can be sliced and frozen or gifted.
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Do you do anything different when it's hot out?
Learn about the process of mashing grains in our latest guest blog post by Corvus Corax: https://bit.ly/3PO2Shs
Apply the method to traditional New England corn-and-molasses Anadama bread or try other mashed grains, such as rye, oats, buckwheat and more. โ
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The mashing process combined with sourdough leavening brings out complex and delicious flavors in whatever grain or spice additions you choose, and the bread's texture comes out wonderfully soft, moist, and resistant to staling.โ
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Photos: โ
Turkey red wheat and purple cornโ
Emmer and yellow corn with a seeded crust
All the nutrition and delicious flavors of nixtamalized corn and soft white wheat in a perfectly textured tortilla. Recipe โ
https://youtu.be/t_fe3KgPyVw
200g masa harina (~1 3/4 cups)
200g whole grain white sonora wheat (~1 1/2 cups)
60g avocado oil (~1/4 cup)
Approx 300g water, start with 200g and add more (1-1 1/3 cups)
9g salt (1 1/2 tsp)
We sell a tortilla flour blend that's a collaboration of Hayden Flour Mills and Masienda made with white olotillo corn masa harina and white sonora wheat -- almost identical to what I made here.
https://breadtopia.com/store/masienda-x-hayden-mills-tortilla-flour-blend/
Give the blend a try or make it yourself. These hybrid tortillas are amazing!
All the nutrition and delicious flavors of nixtamalized corn and soft white wheat in a perfectly textured tortilla.Recipe:200g masa harina (~1 3/4 cup)200g w...
Our scalding experiment write up is on the Breadtopia blog with research links and recipes for the scald and no-scald breads.
https://bit.ly/3yN2QR2
The results surprised me. I didn't expect a dough that initially felt like cake frosting to gain structure and turn out so well, arguably better than the dough that initially felt stronger. Check it out via the link
The stickier dough became the more manageable one by shaping time. Scalding experiment writeup coming soon with these 100% whole grain spelt sourdough breads.
Clear breakdown of the benefits of sourdough bread. What's myth and what's not:
Consumer Reports checks out the research to find out whether sourdough bread is good for you. Some claim it's healthier than conventional bread.
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New bakers are sometimes intimidated by sourdough, and experienced bakers sometimes want bread at the last minute but don't want a storebought loaf. With this simple, hands-on process, you'll have a crusty loaf of fresh yeast-leavened 100% whole wheat bread within 3-to-4 hours of measuring the ingredients, and milling your own wheat if that's an option for you. Learn more here: https://bit.ly/3dVB0tr
Pottery class or dough shaping? ๐ Lithuanian black rye bread recipe published on our blog in June https://bit.ly/3mVl4sz and I've had it on regular repeat since. The levain and solod tea make an aromatic pre-ferment (opara), which is mixed up into a dense dough that's immediately shaped with wet hands. After a few hours, it's baked with a pause to apply a glaze. As with all mostly- or all-rye breads, wait 24 hours before cutting.
This week I've been learning about Ethiopian breads -- not the injera that most people think of, this is a milk and honey bread (yemarina yewotet dabo) wrapped in banana leaves for baking so it's soft and extra delicious.
Two new rye varieties we've got in stock: serafino and bono. They look similar and were both bred to resist ergot (a disease) and drought, but their aromas and flavors are quite different. I'm looking forward to making my Lithuanian black rye bread and Eric's Artisan rye bread (Swedish) with these!
Bolles is one of our new wheats grown using regenerative agriculture practices. I'm testing both sourdough (pictured here) and instant yeast recipes with this wheat. . . . #knowyourfarmer #pennerfarms #regenerativeagriculture #bolleswheat #grainrevolution #wholegrains #wholewheatbread #mockmill #breadtopia
Crunchy granola with minimal sweetness and a lot of flavor. Recipe is up on the Breadtopia blog. #granola #granolarecipe #homemadegranola #sproutedgrains #oats #nuts #seeds #granolalife #grainrevolution #wholegrains #easymeal #plantbased #goodeats #homemade #mockbake #flaker #mockmill #breadtopia
My pan de cristal project continues, close but not quite there yet. Here's the dough from my latest batch as it gains strength. So far I've learned a few things about super high hydration doughs: The autolyse and bassinage (add water later) are super important for the dough to not feel like pancake batter for most of the bulk ferment. (Ahem...the dough before the one in this reel.) Don't accidentally broil your bread #longstory #notpicturedhere p.s. Happy sourdough bread day ๐พ#nationalsourdoughbreadday #nationalsourdoughday
105% hydration dough (107% if you count the olive oil). My first attempt at *pan de cristal* or glass bread. I think my shaping needs to be less fussy and maybe I'll put my baking stone on a lower shelf next time.
Translated into German and published in the latest issue of Brot Magazin ๐๐ our "Sourdough Microbiomes and Bread Flavor" experiment where we compared the flavors and performance over time (almost 5 months) of a sourdough starter created with rye flour and a sourdough starter converted to rye flour from all purpose flour. If you haven't read it already, you can find the original blog post in English here: https://bit.ly/3BMUPKh
90% hydration and almost entirely whole grain spelt flour. Amazing strength though, from stretching and folding, bassinage (reserving some of the water to add later) and more stretching and folding. Details to come this weekend.
Music from the crusts of breads hot from the oven on a cool morning. These sourdough pain de campagne loaves are test bake #4 in our ongoing sourdough microbiome experiment using from-scratch and converted rye starters. Taste tests still in progress.
Turn up the volume to hear the lovely crackle of air being released in this fermented batter made from fresh-milled chickpeas. We've got a recipe coming soon (fermented and traditional versions) for this delicious pancake that originated in Italy and has flourished in South America.
One way to combine the pre-shape and final shape of birotes (or demi baguettes). I get a bigger score bloom if I do a pre-shape; but sometimes the dough demands a faster process. Here I make a round, pinch it into an oval, roll the dough, stitch it tighter, and re-roll. See yesterday's post for more info on birotes (recipe coming soon).
Altamura style sourdough bread can be shaped in a couple of ways. Here's a how-to video for making the high or "piled up" shape. Learn more about this Italian bread here http://bit.ly/3kV417P
A quick video demonstrating the hydration and feel of the cinnamon roll/babka dough from our sourdough book. This is after a short mixing and about to head into a long sourdough fermentation. Photos of the final product and a link to more info are in the next post.
*New Blog Post* combining a pasta recipe and shaping how-to http://bit.ly/2LzXJgT This unique corn-and-wheat pasta is from the Abruzzo region of Italy, inspired by Pasta Grannies but with some twists of our own. We use fresh milled heirloom corn flour and add sourdough fermentation to enhance flavor and digestibility.
Here's a simple pasta shape that you can make with three fingers after you roll and cut pasta dough into tubes. (Additional photos and cooking info in the next post.) I made these #cavatelliโ or #raschiatelli (name depends on the region in Italy) from a portion of last Saturday's sourdough pasta dough, and then froze the shaped pasta. I'll need a few more decades of practice to reach the skill level of the Pasta Grannies I learned this from -- search "pasta grannies raschiatelli" on YouTube to watch the pro. The Breadtopia store carries some really cool pasta-making tools if you want to extend your pasta journey into more shapes and textures.
*New Blog Post* on gluten development with a lot of instructional videos. There are so many ways to strengthen your dough, including this method that I developed both for fun and convenience. I call it a mixed technique or in-bowl lamination, and it's great for a loose dough early in the bulk fermentation when I don't have the time or counter space for regular lamination, but I want to layer in air and really tighten the dough. โ Click here https://bit.ly/2Zjgnxx to learn why and how gluten is developed in artisan style bread dough, and to watch short videos of the different techniques: Rubaud Mixing, Stretching and Folding, Rolling, Coil Folding, Lamination, Mixed, and Slapping and Folding.
*New Blog Post* with five shaping videos: boules, bรขtards, oblong loaves, baguettes, and sandwich loaves. https://bit.ly/3dgeyoN Learn strategies for shaping different doughs: under-fermented, floppy, and more; and share your shaping tips and tribulations in the comments.โ โ This video shows how I shape the loaves I bake in the oblong cloche. You can see the technique of "stitching" the dough in the banneton. I sometimes do this if I'm planning a long final proof and/or if I didn't achieve enough surface tension with the shaping.
How do you convert recipes from yeast to sourdough? Basically, you subtract some flour and liquid from the ingredients list, and add it together to be the total grams of starter that you plan to use. And of course, plan for longer rise times. When you want to use a sweet stiff starter, the conversion can be a little more complicated. Lucky for you we have both yeast and sourdough versions of this Japanese milk bread recipe on our site. Click here https://bit.ly/3eoXLAP for the yeast version, and in the recipe header, you'll find a link to the sourdough version.
How to Score Dough, a new blog post with scoring instructions, patterns, videos like this one, and a lot of tips. Check it out and share your ideas too. http://bit.ly/2IN5Xgx
At long last, here's my no-fuss recipe for a Vegan Sourdough Spelt Sandwich Loaf (there's non-vegan version too) โ http://bit.ly/2TXINLd This is a 50% whole grain bread that's soft, squishy and very tasty. These recipes are the culmination of many test bakes (see recent posts) and I'm really happy with the final formulas.
Long baguette version of Breadtopia's recipe published a few days ago "Demi Baguettes with Yecora Rojo Wheat." I multiplied the recipe by 1.5 to make five narrow baguettes that just fit on my 15"x20" fibrament pizza stone. Lots of crust on these bags. See my story today for some process photos and a video of how I coil fold this low hydration dough.
Breadtopia's experiments are in Brot Magazin! Our blog post, "Challenging Sourdough Starter Convention," is in the @brotmagazin January issue. We're honored to be featured alongside these gorgeous articles and recipes, and to share with more bread enthusiasts some of the surprising things we've learned through experimentation.โ You can view the original post here http://bit.ly/34SWD3f
How to stencil light flour on a dark crust. 1) Flip your dough onto parchment paper. 2) Brush off excess flour. 2) Paint the crust with water. 3) Lay the stencil on the dough. 4) Sprinkle the stencil with flour. 5) Gently peel off the stencil. Score and bake. (I'll do a how to stencil cocoa powder on a light crust video soon.)
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