Recent Bread Baking

In My Kitchen, May 2015 »

Recent Bread Baking

April 28, 2015 by Celia @ Fig Jam and Lime Cordial

I’ve been doing quite a bit of baking this month!

For Easter, I baked eight dozen hot cross buns – two dozen yeasted and the rest sourdough (not including the batch I made for Dan). They were hoovered up, mostly by Small Man, who over the course of the Easter break ate 23 in total. In the photo below, half were coated in a milk glaze (for Small Man), the rest in crabapple jelly (for Pete). They do get fussy here…

. . . . .

Small Man is studying for exams, so he’s ravenously hungry all the time. I was feeling lazy and he was starving, so I baked a batch of our man’oushe fougasse (they’re very easy to make). Small Man loves za’atar and he ate two of the fougasse for morning tea…

. . . . .

On Saturday, I mixed up two batches of sourdough – a high hydration (90%) dough, and a white sandwich one. I’m always amazed that two formulas with such similar ingredients can produce such different results. I wrote a bit about dough hydration here (point 6)…

The high hydration dough was seriously soupy and fiddly to work. It needed numerous folds over the course of the day to build structure. But it was worth the effort, because the finished loaves offered a thin crispy crust and a very tender, elastic crumb…

This isn’t the bread I make most of the time, because it doesn’t suit our routine very well – it needs to prove during the day (so I can look after it), which means baking quite late in the afternoon. Usually I make the overnight sourdough recipe because it’s so easy, and I can shape and bake it in the morning, giving us fresh loaves for the day.

Having said that though, these high hydration loaves, with their open, delicious crumb, are definitely the family favourite…

By contrast, the sandwich loaf was classically shaped with a tight, but still tender, crumb. It sliced and toasted brilliantly. I baked the Romertöpf version this time – it made a nice change not having to preheat the oven…

. . . . .

Inspired by an email from my friend Sally, I tried the black pepper and Parmesan loaf from the Josey Baker Bread book. I followed the instructions fairly closely, but I cut the salt down by a third, and only proved the shaped dough at the end for an hour rather than two to three. I find Priscilla never needs such a long second rise…

Even with the reduced salt, the loaf was still very strongly flavoured. It was also the most artisan-looking loaf I’ve baked to date, with a dark burnished crust and an elastic, open crumb…

. . . . .

My cousins Kathryn and Lynette were in town last weekend, and we ended up having an impromptu dinner at our house. With nothing planned, we rummaged through the fridge and freezer to pull something together. The freshly baked loaves were a huge hit, and we accompanied them with tapas-style chorizos, smoked trout with homemade lime mayo and assorted antipasto, edamame beans (not in the photo) and a slice of the fondue cheese log. It was a wonderful night of catching up and nibbling!

. . . . .

Any exciting bread being baked at your house at the moment?

Posted in Recipes | 40 Comments

40 Responses

on April 28, 2015 at 12:07 am joanne

Hi Celia, I do wish you could make it to the Kneading Conference in Skowhegan, Maine this year. Check out their program here: http://kneadingconference.com/
on April 28, 2015 at 12:11 am thecompletebook

Oh how I wish I was a your neighbour Celia!
Fabulous and scrumptious from beginning to end.
Have a beautiful week ahead.
:-) Mandy xo
on April 28, 2015 at 12:31 am Sally Olsen

HI Celia’ I read your posts avidly and how I wish I could make bread like your self, I have a question for you, can you make a short video on how you make your sour dough bread and post here I am sure I am not the only one who would welcome it. I look at your bread and wonder why mine do not turn out the same, and I know so well practice makes perfect and I keep on practicing getting better slowly
Sally
- on April 28, 2015 at 7:33 am Celia @ Fig Jam and Lime Cordial
  
  Hi Sally, no video, but I did write a very detailed tutorial with photos here. Hope that helps! https://figjamandlimecordial.com/2014/12/12/an-overnight-sourdough-in-pictures/
on April 28, 2015 at 12:41 am Linda

Every single one of those loaves of bread look incredible!! I also wish I was your neighbor!!
on April 28, 2015 at 12:53 am Glenda

Celia, your bread looks stunning. You are a real star barker :)
on April 28, 2015 at 12:57 am Dale

Oh I really NEED to learn how to make bread…
on April 28, 2015 at 1:04 am Chica Andaluza

Everything looks amazing but wow – that last loaf, What an incredibel colour! We had chorizo yesterday….you mentioned it and then we got cravings :)
on April 28, 2015 at 1:24 am Emma

Gosh your baking is inspiring. We’ve been so busy here and the kids are powering through so much food (growth spurts) that I just seem to be alternating between plain and fruit overnight sourdough. But I laugh that Little Man (6 months old now) loves chewing on crusts of Pickled Fig, sultana and Sunflower/walnut sourdough. Just a little bit fancy indeed
on April 28, 2015 at 2:07 am Selma's Table

You are such an inspiration Celia – that last loaf looks incredible. It must have been so nice to have an impromptu with your cousins and be able to pull out a feast from that well stocked kitchen of yours! I agree with Mandy – wish I was your neighbour too!! x
on April 28, 2015 at 4:37 am Cristina

What gorgeous bread!
on April 28, 2015 at 4:57 am narf77

What an awesome recap and some seriously excellent links to wrap it all up. Cheers for the wonderful share Ms Celia :)
on April 28, 2015 at 5:13 am Elaine @ foodbod

Wow! What a collection! So interesting to see such different looking loaves from the same kitchen :)
on April 28, 2015 at 5:28 am Debra Kolkka

I have been making some fairly basic loaves here at Casa Debbio. It is either that or go down the mountain to the shops.
on April 28, 2015 at 6:06 am TopInteresting

Yummy… Those look so amazing..
on April 28, 2015 at 6:21 am andreamynard

All sounds wonderful Celia, partic love your impromptu nibbling at the end – what a feast from the freezer! have just baked with Edna, Priscilla’s offspring today, the results were very yummy and enjoyed at lunch and dinner but I have to say my loaves vary every time I bake and much as I enjoy the variety it’s all down to accidental changes each time – in awe of your carefully planned, beautiful loaves!
on April 28, 2015 at 6:32 am themateriallady

My bread always looks like your toasting loaf so I am going to try a higher hydration loaf. The Management would like the more artisan finish. Your loaves look magnificent.
on April 28, 2015 at 6:32 am Julie is Hostess At Heart

I just love baking bread Celia and just love looking at your beautiful loaves too.
on April 28, 2015 at 7:02 am hotlyspiced

That is a lot of baking. So many hot cross buns! I do like the look of your casual dinner party. Good luck to small man with his exams xx
on April 28, 2015 at 8:45 am Carol

Just stunning – your photos are so good that I can almost smell the bread. Do you have a large oven or do you bake one loaf at a time? How lucky are your boys (and neighbours)!! I love reading your posts.
on April 28, 2015 at 9:14 am lambsearsandhoney

I haven’t baked for a couple of weeks – been a bit busy with research work. It must be time to get my starter out and get moving again!
on April 28, 2015 at 9:55 am Jan (A gluttonous wife)

Your bread is so inspiring Celia!!! I’ve been venturing out of my no knead bread safety net this month and trying a few other types. I made a plaited white loaf last week and I’ll try foccacia this week. Truthfully, I’d bake bread everyday if I could but my waistline protests!! Jan x
on April 28, 2015 at 10:32 am Johanna GGG

I had a burst of baking over easter with hot cross buns and bread – followed by very little bread baking because I have bought fluffy white bread with intentions of using it in baking and ended up just eating it. My starter is needing attention.
on April 28, 2015 at 1:52 pm Jane @ Shady Baker

Gorgeous bread things happening at your place as always Celia. I love the look of that black pepper and parmesan loaf. Yum!
on April 28, 2015 at 4:34 pm Joanna

What gorgeous looking bread – I have a theory that a starter loved, fed and used often has a supercharged population of natural yeasts and maybe that is why Priscilla works so speedily, or maybe it is some special Australian sunshine yeasts in there? It would be so interesting to see under a microscope what is in there as compared to someone whose sours take a long time to rise. How warm is your kitchen while the dough is rising usually? I love the crumb of that wet dough, it looks stunning! Hugs, Jo x
- on April 30, 2015 at 8:40 am Celia @ Fig Jam and Lime Cordial
  
  I think Priscilla is a bit of a supercharged starter anyway – everyone who bakes with her finds her very active, at least initially. She is also very mild flavoured, and copes well with a very very long bulk prove – I’ve had her go 100 hours in the fridge, but the final loaf was very sour. Kitchen is usually around 18 – 20C in winter, up to 30C in summer! Cooler overnight which is when a lot of the bulk proving happens.
on April 28, 2015 at 4:43 pm Elizabeth

WOW so much bread… I have been doing one a week and I think that is a lot :) I now have a white as well as a rye sourdough starter and I have to alternate making the bread :) Liz xx
on April 28, 2015 at 4:52 pm Lina

Celia all you have to say is Bread and I’m in! I never get sick of it! X
on April 28, 2015 at 7:41 pm Lisa

Lovely! I always say the latest loaf I bake is my best yet but still nothing compared to yours! My sourdough efforts are never consistent although I do use the same recipe each time. I love the variety and surprise. Bread, yeah!! :-)
on April 29, 2015 at 2:23 am marilynscottwaters

OOohh! We like! I’m going to try that high hydration loaf today. Thanks, C!
Hugs, Maz
on April 29, 2015 at 6:15 am cityhippyfarmgirl

I love impromptu dinners with loved ones. They always taste the best!
Beautiful looking loaves Celia. x
on April 29, 2015 at 8:27 am MamaD1xx4xy

It all looks so delicious! Your loaves are always gorgeous. We’ve been at it with our sourdough and the boys love it, hubby too of course. My big bake is next week as I volunteered to bake all the sweets for one of the teacher appreciation days at school as well as cookies for their luncheon another day!
on April 29, 2015 at 9:13 am cravesadventure

OMG – Just need a knife and a hunk of butter – YUM :)
on April 29, 2015 at 9:40 am Mary Frances

These all look so amazing! I’ll have to try one out sometime! Your post on hydration is a really great resource. I don’t do much bread baking–mostly pastries, cornbread or cakes. I actually just recently posted a an angel food cake recipe with strawberries and whipped cream.
on April 29, 2015 at 6:23 pm Sandy

WOW! I just LOVE seeing all your bread creations. It’s so inspiring :D
on April 30, 2015 at 7:04 am sallybr

As usual, Celia, you bring bread baking to the highest possible level, and do it in a way that it seems effort free!

in awe, as always!
- on April 30, 2015 at 8:41 am Celia @ Fig Jam and Lime Cordial
  
  Thanks for the inspiration on the parmesan loaf, hon! It was a treat! :)
on April 30, 2015 at 7:23 am Maureen | Orgasmic Chef

You should speak at the Kneading Conference. It’s 25 miles from where I grew up. :)

I’ve made a few loaves of sourdough and have been playing with adding more filtered water and I added some cheese to one. Gone in a jiffy!
on May 1, 2015 at 12:52 am Eva Taylor

Your bread looks like it was proved in a basket, I’m dying to get one! I baked Charlie’s hot cross buns for Easter, a batch of my favourite naan recipe for an Indian feast we hosted last Friday and on Tuesday I baked naan pizza with the same recipe for a dinner party that night. I usually don’t bake a lot of bread as it’s too dangerous to have around the house.
on May 2, 2015 at 10:08 pm Sally

Golly – no one could complain about an impromptu dinner at your house. What a spread. The links to hydration are very useful – still need to get to grips with this. I’m rubbish at maths and it still seems to baffle me. Love the black pepper and Parmesan loaf.