15-02-2019, 09:24 PM
82
Re: What are you baking today?
Had a bit of a baking day using my recently delivered grains.First a couple of bread loaves:
These are both the same, just used different bannetons. A blend of White Bread Flour, and freshly milled Wheat, Spelt and Rye flours at approx. 70% hydration.
Then I knocked up a quick batch of Rhubarb and Stem Ginger Muffins which also had raisins and cinnamon and some crystallised ginger sprinkled on top.
Didn't have the proper muffin cases sadly. Definitely not going to win any prizes in the presentation stakes but they taste scrummy all the same.
They are made purely with freshly milled Spelt flour rather than the usual Plain baking flour and with 1/3rd of the sugar the recipe called for. Healthier this way.
16-02-2019, 03:40 AM
84
Re: What are you baking today?
Aha, it's the crystalized ginger I couldn't figure out! Brilliant, Realist!Your flour combination must make for a hearty and filling loaf. I imagine it doesn't last long around there. I'll take my slice lightly toasted, please!
Nice selection of bannetons you have there too!
16-02-2019, 09:34 AM
86
Re: What are you baking today?
[QUOTE=summer;1641850]The cake looks delicious....I don't bake Pauline mainly because I'm a greedy person and I know if that cake was in my house I couldn't resist it.I know exactly what you mean,summer,...when did I bake this cake?...I have been home alone!.....
....mind you I deliberately go without proper food for a day,just to eat cake.
16-02-2019, 10:50 AM
87
Re: What are you baking today?
Originally Posted by summer
->
Blimey realist.. you should open a shop 
The clincher was volunteering to work in Artisan bakeries for a week.
I did one week in an Artisan Bakery in my city centre which was fun, but hard. They started at 4am each morning and worked solidly until 10am-11am. No breakfast other than a bit of toast and the odd 5 min break for a cup of tea. Place was small and pokey, not ideal and I found it really difficult standing up for 6 hours solid at a time (remember my past career was office chair based in IT).
Then I did another stint. At the time we had Masterchef and the Great British Menu on TV, there was also another series called Britain's Best Bakery on ITV. It was hosted/judges by Mich Turner and Peter Sidwell below:
The winning bakery from Series 1 was the Hambleton Bakery in Rutland. Consequently I wrote them a letter explaining my bread making enthusiasm and past experience and asked if I could volunteer for a week. They were pleased to take me on so I got a week's experience in Britain's Best Artisan Bakery.
This was much harder than the previous one. They started at 3am in the pitch blackness of what was still night. Every morning we would create over 1000 loaves of bread and 1000 smaller bread rolls of differing shapes. ALL of these were shaped by hand. The only machines involved are the dough mixers and a machine that can cut the dough into the correct sizes (it would take forever cutting and weighing every piece by hand).
Volunteering for real bakeries in this way you quickly learn all the shaping techniques for boules, batards, baguettes and so on. It's all really great fun and extremely satisfying.
BUT . . . doing that as a daily job, in such unsociable hours, is very hard work and definitely not for everyone. I really couldn't do it.
Aside from that there is little to no money in bread itself. There is a limit to how much people will pay for a loaf of bread, even a really healthy well made one. So you find that pretty much all artisan bakeries are actually either cafes selling bread on the side or are bakers who get most of their profits from selling cakes, pastries and other treats.
Anyway, the outfall of all this is that I'm reasonably adept at making all manner of bread, from ordinary loaves to sourdoughs, baguettes, focaccia, ciabattas, French Fougasse and much more. I was able to grab the dough mix recipes from the bakeries I volunteered at which is a great bonus. Hambletons Bakery make THE best English Muffins and that's now my most requested bready item from friends and family.
Here's how they come out :
Right, time for some Tubby Toast !
16-02-2019, 03:36 PM
88
Re: What are you baking today?
Aha! Your volunteering and how you got your foot (or hands) through the door a fantastic endeavor, Realist! I was wondering how your breads were so exceptional.They say that if you do something 10,000 times, you are a master. I suppose that you hit that mark just volunteering!
The early hours what would have gotten me in the end.
Get on it and send a care package of those muffins, would you!
17-02-2019, 12:55 AM
89
Re: What are you baking today?
Originally Posted by Surfermom
->
They say that if you do something 10,000 times, you are a master. I suppose that you hit that mark just volunteering!
"I fear not the man who has practiced 10,000 kicks once, but I fear the man who has practiced one kick 10,000 times"
To be fair I'd never thought about the numbers in that way but you are quite correct. We shaped 1000 loaves and 1000 rolls every morning for a week in that 2nd bakery. Shared between about 4 people though. Still, it's a lot of shaping !
I also learned a lot of technique from Youtube clips from master bakers shaping and scoring loaves and baguettes.
17-02-2019, 01:28 AM
90
Re: What are you baking today?
Originally Posted by Realist
->
Kind of you to say Summer. In truth it was something I considered quite a while ago but quickly decided against it.The clincher was volunteering to work in Artisan bakeries for a week.
I did one week in an Artisan Bakery in my city centre which was fun, but hard. They started at 4am each morning and worked solidly until 10am-11am. No breakfast other than a bit of toast and the odd 5 min break for a cup of tea. Place was small and pokey, not ideal and I found it really difficult standing up for 6 hours solid at a time (remember my past career was office chair based in IT).
Then I did another stint. At the time we had Masterchef and the Great British Menu on TV, there was also another series called Britain's Best Bakery on ITV. It was hosted/judges by Mich Turner and Peter Sidwell below:
The winning bakery from Series 1 was the Hambleton Bakery in Rutland. Consequently I wrote them a letter explaining my bread making enthusiasm and past experience and asked if I could volunteer for a week. They were pleased to take me on so I got a week's experience in Britain's Best Artisan Bakery.
This was much harder than the previous one. They started at 3am in the pitch blackness of what was still night. Every morning we would create over 1000 loaves of bread and 1000 smaller bread rolls of differing shapes. ALL of these were shaped by hand. The only machines involved are the dough mixers and a machine that can cut the dough into the correct sizes (it would take forever cutting and weighing every piece by hand).
Volunteering for real bakeries in this way you quickly learn all the shaping techniques for boules, batards, baguettes and so on. It's all really great fun and extremely satisfying.
BUT . . . doing that as a daily job, in such unsociable hours, is very hard work and definitely not for everyone. I really couldn't do it.
Aside from that there is little to no money in bread itself. There is a limit to how much people will pay for a loaf of bread, even a really healthy well made one. So you find that pretty much all artisan bakeries are actually either cafes selling bread on the side or are bakers who get most of their profits from selling cakes, pastries and other treats.
Anyway, the outfall of all this is that I'm reasonably adept at making all manner of bread, from ordinary loaves to sourdoughs, baguettes, focaccia, ciabattas, French Fougasse and much more. I was able to grab the dough mix recipes from the bakeries I volunteered at which is a great bonus. Hambletons Bakery make THE best English Muffins and that's now my most requested bready item from friends and family.
Here's how they come out :
Right, time for some Tubby Toast !
What a interesting experience Realist !
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