OneGuyFromBarlick

Been out on town this morning and there's a nithering wind out there. So, a good day to set to and bake some Chia and Sunflower seeded bread. Artisan bakers equivalent are up to about £1.50 - £1.60 a loaf. I can bake more than two for that.

Artisan Bakers are not cheap are they Ian....

Nope and they are now listing the ingredients on their loaves. I know one thing, mine don't have any of the "E's" that they chuck in the ones they bake.

One thing that I have noticed is that they list a sourdough starter and also added yeast. I suppose that along with the emulsifiers will bulk out the mix further for a given batch of dough.

Just had a look at the why's and as well as expanding the dough it is used as a stabiliser so that you can over work the dough without detriment. Industrial chemistry at work. Mine is flour, salt, water, milk, butter and yeast.

I believe you. Home cooking is always the best. That was all I used when I was baking a stone of flour a week at Hey Farm.....

I do bulk out mine with natural ingredients though. I find that I can make two loves from one 500g flour mix if I soak 4 tablespoons of Chia seeds in the liquid content and allow them to expand before adding to the dry. I also add 4 or 5 tablespoons of sunflower and sometimes pumpkin seeds into the dry along with the salt and yeast. By the time this has had it's first rise and then knocked back it just fits in 2 x 2lb loaf tins.

Thinking about it, salt is added as a preservative, a home baked loaf doesn't really hang about long enough to require it.

A change of tack on the bread making today. Same mix but just strong white and wholemeal no added seeds. We are having a lot of soup for lunch at the moment so I thought I would get my x6 bread tin out. Here we are after the first rise and knock back. These will be in the oven before tea time I reckon.

A bit later and just in time for tea. I had one to go with my corned beef and tatie hash. Can't beat a bit of fresh baked bread

I'd say that was quite an achievement.

Well done.

My mouth waters but after my latest episode bread is streng verboten!

Thanks for the comment's. They have the reverse Hobbit effect in the picture. They look a lot bigger than what they are. They are a bit like the small Ovis loaves that were about in the past. Each loaf is about the same as one and a half slices of bread.

Paulette's dad was a baker so I have to cook one loaf a year to remember his birthday. I love the smell and the taste but can't eat it regularly

Same here Kev. I used to bake a loaf, get the farm butter and the strawberry jam out and OD on jam butties.... Times change!

It should have been today for baking but covid, and social responsibility, has delayed it.

We needed some bread so I had a session this afternoon, just out of the oven.

Chia and Sunflower seeds, 25% wholemeal 75% strong white. I put a bit of Turmeric in just to colour them up a bit.

Good enough to eat. I do miss my bread......

Just had some lovely bread bought from Marc the artisan baker who is vending on the market on the town square. Sun dried tomato and olive sour-dough twists. Short reheat in the oven and spread with salted butter, very tasty.

I might have a go at some similar variants but I will need a sour-dough starter first. It's getting warm enough now which will aid fermentation in the building and feeding stage. I will set one going this afternoon.

I was salivating as I looked over his stall Ian. The sourdough with Brie in it looked good!

I have set my starter off, it's arguing with itself in a large Kilner jar. I see bubbles.

Feed it in another two or three days. I have used red grapes in this one, I think it will be OK.

A wonderful natural process.....

We have no bread so I am knocking a loaf together, slight variant.

On the sour-dough starter, I had activity then it tailed off so I have filtered the remains of the red grapes from the mix, discarded half and fed it again with 50/50 of strong flour and water. I have added a further six green grapes to see if I can liven it up a bit. Time will tell but it's a naturally slow process.

I remember the care Colin Barritt gave to the starter at West Marton. It was treated like a coddled child.
I remember at one point he was having a problem and when he consulted Fred Lawson our cheesemaker he said to try treating it a bit more roughly, he was being too clean and nice to it. It worked.....

Aye, the main activator are air borne yeast spores. I might leave the lid off for a few days. The last one I had was very active and came over the top of the Kilner on more than one occasion.

Nowt's happening, I may have to start again on this. Slight problem, Aldi had no strong flour and we called at Asda yesterday and I forgot to look!

I made sea salt and rosemary focacia today. It got the seal of approval from the baker's daughter (Paulette).
500g strong white bread flour
7g sachet of fast acting yeast
Teaspoon of ground sea salt
2 tbsp olive oil
400ml warm water
Teaspoon sea salt flakes to sprinkle on top
Fresh rosemary to push into the dough once proved in the tray
Tbsp olive oil mixed with tbsp water and spread over the top before going in the oven
I made the dough very slack in a big bowl with my mixer and dough hooks (no hand kneading) and it only takes 20 minutes in a hot oven (200C fan). Two 1 hour provings takes the time, 1 in the bowl and 1 in the tray. We had a bit with a latte for lunch and the rest is in the freezer for later consumption.