Food Lockdown Loaves

Based on the availability of flour, at least anywhere near us, I guess a lot of people must have suddenly become huge fans of the GBBO. Sadly when the current small container is empty I'll be out of wholemeal rye, which is a shame for the starter, although I'll keep it going on straight bread flour (got one-and-a-bit 16kg sacks of that left...)

First lockdown loaf. Perfectly acceptable without being the absolute best-looking loaf ever.

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Looks jolly good to me. I meant to make a 100% wholemeal loaf yesterday but confused my 'razowa' with 'orkiszowa' so ended up with spelt. It was surprisingly successful, though, 200g starter, 470g water, 650g spelt and 15 g salt, all mixed together, left to rise at room temperature overnight-about 15 hours at room temperature-with a couple of opportunistic stretch and folds, shaped then proved for half an hour in a banneton, turned into a cold iron casserole, slashed, covered then put into a cold oven, the oven turned to 250C, the lid removed after half an hour at temperature and the baking continued for another 40 minutes or so. Bread is such good tempered stuff, it turns out, this was really very good and not at all challenging to eat in the way that wholemeal spelt can sometimes be. In a household of two, however, one loaf goes quite a long way.
I'm trying to get good at chinese dumplings at the moment and made 72 jiaotse between 6 and 8 this morning in between doing my exercises but I mean to move on to some of the fancier dimsum items. The simple problem with many of them is that my galumphing western hands are just too large.
 
I have a loaf currently developing on the counter - light rye and wheat with wholemeal rye starter. Will stretch and fold over the afternoon then shape and fridge overnight before baking. Intrigued to try from a cold start in the oven (especially with the reduced chance of burns from the casserole) but might stick to preheating this time.


I'm trying to get good at chinese dumplings at the moment and made 72 jiaotse between 6 and 8 this morning in between doing my exercises but I mean to move on to some of the fancier dimsum items. The simple problem with many of them is that my galumphing western hands are just too large.

Would love to see the results Tom, if you can put any pictures up. I must say the “potsticker” dumplings you made last year were very good indeed as far as I was concerned - although I know shockingly little about the cuisine.
 
Looks jolly good to me. I meant to make a 100% wholemeal loaf yesterday but confused my 'razowa' with 'orkiszowa' so ended up with spelt. It was surprisingly successful, though, 200g starter, 470g water, 650g spelt and 15 g salt, all mixed together, left to rise at room temperature overnight-about 15 hours at room temperature-with a couple of opportunistic stretch and folds, shaped then proved for half an hour in a banneton, turned into a cold iron casserole, slashed, covered then put into a cold oven, the oven turned to 250C, the lid removed after half an hour at temperature and the baking continued for another 40 minutes or so. Bread is such good tempered stuff, it turns out, this was really very good and not at all challenging to eat in the way that wholemeal spelt can sometimes be. In a household of two, however, one loaf goes quite a long way.
I'm trying to get good at chinese dumplings at the moment and made 72 jiaotse between 6 and 8 this morning in between doing my exercises but I mean to move on to some of the fancier dimsum items. The simple problem with many of them is that my galumphing western hands are just too large.

I sense a new TV series in the offing where you take turns with a Chinese chef each week making various Chinese delicacies and alternately playing the Piano. At the end the public must judge if the chef is a more accomplished pianist than the Pianist is a chef.

PS nice loaf Bryan!
 
I sense a new TV series in the offing where you take turns with a Chinese chef each week making various Chinese delicacies and alternately playing the Piano. At the end the public must judge if the chef is a more accomplished pianist than the Pianist is a chef.

PS nice loaf Bryan!
If the chef started off already half as good a pianist as Tom is at shaking the pans, we would be in for culinary and acoustic treat!
 
My exercise, in sharp contradistinction to the astonishing feats of derring-do engaged in by our runners, cyclists and skiers, consists of vigorous stepping up and down on a piece of orange and black apparatus while watching youtube videos of people cooking what I am about to cook. There is lots of wheat among the chaff.
 
Looks jolly good to me. I meant to make a 100% wholemeal loaf yesterday but confused my 'razowa' with 'orkiszowa' so ended up with spelt. It was surprisingly successful, though, 200g starter, 470g water, 650g spelt and 15 g salt, all mixed together, left to rise at room temperature overnight-about 15 hours at room temperature-with a couple of opportunistic stretch and folds, shaped then proved for half an hour in a banneton, turned into a cold iron casserole, slashed, covered then put into a cold oven, the oven turned to 250C, the lid removed after half an hour at temperature and the baking continued for another 40 minutes or so. Bread is such good tempered stuff, it turns out, this was really very good and not at all challenging to eat in the way that wholemeal spelt can sometimes be. In a household of two, however, one loaf goes quite a long way.
I'm trying to get good at chinese dumplings at the moment and made 72 jiaotse between 6 and 8 this morning in between doing my exercises but I mean to move on to some of the fancier dimsum items. The simple problem with many of them is that my galumphing western hands are just too large.
I see that you still haven’t got the technophobia under control....

Photos please!
 
Just popped my loaf into a cold gas oven turned to max. I usually do 25 mins lid on then 15 or so lid off when oven and casserole pot start hot - trying 40 mins lid on and see what it needs after that.
 
My usual supplier of Marriage’s strong Canadian flour only had their strong French bread flour this morning. The proprietor looked quizzical when I asked if it only worked for baguettes!
What are the differences though?
 
Ah. Was it sufficiently floured on the underside? it may be that the best way to free it is to repeatedly and vigorously shake from side to side.
 
Ah. Was it sufficiently floured on the underside? it may be that the best way to free it is to repeatedly and vigorously shake from side to side.
No, unfortunately I floured the pan rather than the loaf, obviously insufficiently! I’ll let it cool and see if it shakes free, else we will be cutting a hold in the top and accessing it that way!
 
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My first lockdown loaf was frankly a mediocre effort. Fortunately I can report a good crust and reasonable flavour but an overly dense and doughy texture really relegates this loaf to second division status and provides further evidence, if any were required, that I am still some way off attaining the hallowed but entirely fictional MF postnominals. That's Master of Flour, by the way.

I must be brutally honest and admit that the inadequacy of this loaf was entirely of my own making. First, a schoolboy error in forgetting the salt, then a significant work-based distraction which derailed my otherwise Swiss-train like kneading schedule, then, just when I'd quietly convinced myself that things were back on track, I absent-mindedly made a beef rendang in my preferred Dutch oven, forcing me to squeeze things into a titchy Le Creuset that's usually called into service only when a maximum of two eggs need boiling.

The result is an awkward looking thing, pinched and squinty like a badly judged Croydon face-lift. In more buoyant times I might even consider using this for a bread soup, but given the attendant flour shortages, I will probably just force myself to eat it.
 
If it's saltless you have an ideal base for more or less the whole of the Tuscan repertoire, I would deliberately slice it and dry it out and it will be just as nutritious as it would have been.

What flour, Oliver?
A mix of light rye (129g) and white canadian (386g) with the leaven being dark rye (155g of starter at 80% hydration).

Local bakery seems happy to sell me some flour so may pop down there to get some supplies in. I’m ok on light rye but v low on all else.
 
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