Bread Making

Over43 · Post by **Over43** » Sun Dec 29, 2013 10:24 pm

I was curious due to JW's comments on bread making. So, last yesterday I hunted down making one's own artisan bread. I baked a "loaf" last night and had it with the ham and beans. (

) The loaf, a bit overdone (450 as per directions was to hot...), turned out excellent, with butter.

Tonight I have another loaf in as I type, and I made a sourdough starter. I was watching Bourdain a year or two back and a bakery in San Francisco has been using the same sourdough starter since the 1850's. Amazing.

Anyway, thank you JW for getting me thinking about this.

O43

jw · Post by jw » Sun Dec 29, 2013 11:15 pm

Glad you're enjoying it, Over43! I picked up the link from OKbyXmas on these boards a few months ago: http://www.simplysogood.com/2013/03/art ... bread.html if anyone else would like to try.

I love sourdough but am not sure I want to get into keeping the starter going -- it's like having a pet! This recipe is a good compromise --

tobiasmom · Post by **tobiasmom** » Mon Dec 30, 2013 2:04 am

I've just started making sourdough. It surely is like having a pet keeping that starter going! But it sure is delicious fresh out of the oven!!!

Over43 · Post by **Over43** » Mon Dec 30, 2013 4:34 am

The acidity in sourdough keeps bloodsugar from rising, apparently considerably less that a traditional loaf of store bought. I am going to go with whole wheat in the starter tomorrow. My wife wondered if I could mix it with the white flower, I don't imagine it would make a difference. Like a great white wouldn't know the difference between Californian and an Australian, I doubt yeast knows the difference between whole wheat and white flour.

jw · Post by jw » Mon Dec 30, 2013 5:34 am

Yes, you can mix whole wheat and white flour -- no problem!

If you are looking into starches that don't raise your blood sugar much, check out chana dal -- it's a small chickpea from India that is lower on the glycemic index than many veggies. You can get it at any Indian market or online. It has a really nice flavor. It is also ground into a flour called besan or gram flour which makes very nice flatbreads and pancakes.

Over43 · Post by **Over43** » Mon Dec 30, 2013 8:21 pm

I have 100 pound, sixteen month old German Shepard. Now that is a pet (actually, he is part of the family), a mason jar full of bacteria should be manageable.

Over43 · Post by **Over43** » Mon Dec 30, 2013 10:21 pm

I mixed a batch with whole wheat flour this afternoon. Does it need vital wheat gluten? The whole whear flour?

jw · Post by jw » Mon Dec 30, 2013 11:13 pm

Whole wheat flour already contains gluten. (So does white flour -- you shouldn't need to add any.)

You do have a big boy! I have two dogs myself, one a shepherd-terrier cross, one a lab-border collie mix. If you don't go away much and bake pretty regularly, sourdough starter is easy to maintain -- but it does need to be fed on schedule or it will foam up, turn to alcohol, and die!

jw · Post by jw » Tue Dec 31, 2013 2:43 am

I just looked up vital wheat gluten -- it sounds like it would be an interesting addition to the dough once you start to make the bread. Whole wheat with no white flour incorporated can be pretty heavy and have trouble rising -- the vital wheat gluten could help. And, of course, it would up the protein content and reduce the starch in the final product.

I've never used it myself -- I have also heard that baking at a high altitude requires some adjustments. Thanks for letting me know about a new twist!

Over43 · Post by **Over43** » Tue Dec 31, 2013 3:16 am

Thank you everyone for not pointing out I spelled flour, flower. I caught it.