Bread Thread

Gary Knowels

Hack of all trades
Forum Supporter
Is glacier peak T85? I haven't used it, but I thought it was more sifted/white flour than either trailblazer or expresso. If I get a 50 lb bag of it, I'll give you a bunch to test out
How did I miss this?!

Looks like I should try the espresso before I get another 50lb bag of the Glacier Peak. All our t85s right (I cant remember off the top of my head)
 

cdnred

Life of the Party
I dunno about a toaster oven but I recently looked this up because we bought one of these countertop aroma roaster ovens because we don't have an oven, looks like with a few extra steps you can bake bread in it.

I just thought about toaster ovens since I saw that some of them are quite elaborate now and mention baking but maybe they're just too flimsy compared to a regular oven. It would save time waiting for the oven to pre-heat besides my wife has been using the regular oven as more of a closet for her pots and pans meaning it'd be less accessible. Below are some examples of the type of Air Fryer/Convection/Toaster Oven that I had in mind..

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mcswny

Legend
Forum Supporter
Is glacier peak T85? I haven't used it, but I thought it was more sifted/white flour than either trailblazer or expresso. If I get a 50 lb bag of it, I'll give you a bunch to test out
I think its T65 if i remember correctly. So somewhere in the middle.
 

Gary Knowels

Hack of all trades
Forum Supporter
I just thought about toaster ovens since I saw that some of them are quite elaborate now and mention baking but maybe they're just too flimsy compared to a regular oven. It would save time waiting for the oven to pre-heat besides my wife has been using the regular oven as more of a closet for her pots and pans meaning it'd be less accessible. Below are some examples of the type of Air Fryer/Convection/Toaster Oven that I had in mind..

View attachment 52383 View attachment 52384
I think there are really 2 main barriers: interior dimensions and baking style

Is the inside large enough to bake the loaves you want? That depends on what you want to bake. They probably could accommodate 1 sandwich loaf in a tin, or even a focaccia on a half sheet pan or cake pan. So, yes, some breads would be feasible.

Hearth bread would be a different story. To make a proper hearth bread (boules, batards) at home, most people need to turn to a heavy, large thermal capacity vessel to bake in: Dutch oven, combo cooker, bowl covering a baking steel/stone, specialized bread baking vessel, etc. This is required to generate and trap large amounts of steam to help crust development and oven spring. If you can fit a 6 quart Dutch oven in your countertop toaster oven and heat it to 450 degrees, then it would probably work for that too, but it would have to be a pretty larger device for that.

They also make countertop ovens specifically for bread baking.

At the end of the day, it depends, mostly on what type of bread you want to bake. I, of little counter space, wouldn't buy one for with bread as it's intended purpose. If I already had one, I would definitely try tossing a tin loaf in it, especially when it is warm outside.
 

cdnred

Life of the Party
I think there are really 2 main barriers: interior dimensions and baking style

Is the inside large enough to bake the loaves you want? That depends on what you want to bake. They probably could accommodate 1 sandwich loaf in a tin, or even a focaccia on a half sheet pan or cake pan. So, yes, some breads would be feasible.

Hearth bread would be a different story. To make a proper hearth bread (boules, batards) at home, most people need to turn to a heavy, large thermal capacity vessel to bake in: Dutch oven, combo cooker, bowl covering a baking steel/stone, specialized bread baking vessel, etc. This is required to generate and trap large amounts of steam to help crust development and oven spring. If you can fit a 6 quart Dutch oven in your countertop toaster oven and heat it to 450 degrees, then it would probably work for that too, but it would have to be a pretty larger device for that.

They also make countertop ovens specifically for bread baking.

At the end of the day, it depends, mostly on what type of bread you want to bake. I, of little counter space, wouldn't buy one for with bread as it's intended purpose. If I already had one, I would definitely try tossing a tin loaf in it, especially when it is warm outside.
Thanks much for your reply, that was exactly the answer that I was seeking. After reading your reply, I agree with you that the regular oven is the better route to take for the best results..
 

Gary Knowels

Hack of all trades
Forum Supporter
Will have to give these a try! They look great! I think I've seen a recipe, but post it if you have it handy! Thanks!!
200g mature starter (100% hydration)
80 g bread flour
50g whole grain flour
4g salt
32g olive oil

From there, add whatever inclusions you want.
I went rosemary and black pepper
Lemon zest and herbs de provence are great
Roasted garlic is awesome

Mix it all together we'll and knead to get a smooth ball. Rest in the fridge for 1-24 hrs. Allow to come to room temp and divide in 3. Roll each as this as possible and place on a parchment lined sheet pan. You should expect each ball to take most of a sheet pan. Brush with olive oil and sprinkle on flaky salt (plus whatever else you want). Cut into the sizes you want then bake at 350 degrees until they start to brown and are crisp.
 

Gary Knowels

Hack of all trades
Forum Supporter
More Cairnspring testing this weekend and I think I'm starting to dial in the fermentation. With Cairnspring flours having more protein and more bran/ash content, they have proportionally less fermentable carbohydrates than the Central Milling flours. The first few places I had a hard time adjusting my visual and tactile clues to account for the shorted proof times of Cairnspring, but I made some adjustments and I'm pretty damn happy about this loaf.

280 g trailblazer
60 g Skagit 1109
60 g Whole grain expresso
10 g salt
310 g water
80 g starter

All ingredients mixed together followed by 4 sets of stretch and folds spaced 30 minutes apart (dough ~70° F). Then bulk ferment for 2.5 hrs at ~78° F. Shaped and placed in a banneton where it counter proofed for 45 minutes before going in the fridge overnight.
IMG20230219114111.jpgIMG20230219114124.jpgIMG20230219114209.jpg
 

klq@stl

Steelhead
Being newly retired this thread got me started baking artisan bread. So I decided to make my mom's cinammon rolls. Found the recipe and began. I had never had store bought, sliced, bread until the mid 60's because mom baked every week. So this recipe was from that time Era.
The recipe called for 1oz of yeast softened in 1/4 cup warm water. Sounded like a lot since bread only takes 1/4 teaspoon. I followed the directions, and got a big brown blob. After the first batch, i did some research. I believe mom was using fresh cake yeast vs active dry yeast.20230321_190303.jpg Moral, be careful using dated recipes in modern times.
 
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