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I've been experimenting with cutting back on yeast. For the 8x4 loaf I baked today, I used 1 3/4 tsp. yeast rather than 2 tsp.
On the Pumpkin-Ginger Braid that I baked yesterday (and it is delicious, particularly with a Greek Yogurt-Cream Cheese blend that Kroger sells), I cut back 1 Tbs. to 2 3/4 tsp. The rise and bread came out great.
In fairness, I also cut back the salt by 1/4 tsp in both breads. I have a hypothesis that recipe developers don't like to use 3/4 tsp. measurements where yeast is concerned.
I've locked the weekly baking thread so I can test new themes to see if they exhibit the lost posts problem, so I figured I'd start the new weekly baking thread a day early.
Report on Kassel Rye (Ginsberg, pps 332-335):
I was tempted to call 'no joy' on this recipe and not give much of a report; Ginsberg says it is technically challenging, and that certainly appeared to be the case for me, but I've never been one to gloss over my less successful bakes.
To start with, I'm not sure my new starter was fully ready for this recipe, though it looks and smells like the last one did. I'll give it a few more feedings before I try it again.
The recipe uses a 67% hydration sponge, so it should have been similar to the final dough, which is at 65% hydration. But it seemed quite dry, and it just sort of sat there overnight when it should have doubled in size. So, I added some more water and another teaspoon of starter and gave it another night. It was plenty active this time, maybe too active, I'll explain further later on.
Of course I subtracted the extra water from the final dough. It came together fairly easily, and the final dough weight was pretty much spot on. In retrospect, the dough might have been a little too slack, though.
The bulk rise instructions didn't exactly specify how much it should rise, though it did increase by about 50%. The final proof was done in a basket lined with my couche.
Here's what it looked like after proofing.
When I turned the proofed dough out onto the parchment, it flattened out a bit. Docking the dough didn't seem to deflate it much.
It bakes at a high temperature with steam for the first 10 minutes, then the temperature is lowered. After another 30 minutes or so the top is sprayed with water and it is baked another 5-10 minutes; spraying it with water is what is supposed to bring out a shiny finish that should have a red tint to it.
My steam setup wasn't working quite right, later I figured out that the tubing had gotten pinched a bit. I wound up squirting about 50 cc's of water by hand into the steam pan, but that means opening the door, letting at least some of the steam escape. I don't know how much impact that had.
After the top was sprayed with water, it still wasn't getting very dark, so I let it bake a bit longer. It was already pretty solid and the internal temperature was already 208, I think it may have already been overbaked by then.
Ginsberg says the recipe is fully risen when it goes into the oven, and I can confirm that was the case, as there was little or no oven spring. It did blow out a bit on one side, so it seems likely that the final proof needed more time, underproofed dough often results in a blowout as the water in the dough turns to steam.
The cross section was no more than 2 1/2 by 4 1/2 at the widest point, the piece below is 2 x 4 inches. I was expecting it to be more like 3 x 5.
I didn't weigh the loaf before cutting into it.
The crust is very thick and REALLY dense and hard to cut through. The inner crumb is fairly tight. It smelled very good, but the taste is well beyond what I'd call 'mild sour', and there's a slight bitter aftertaste. I'm tempted to attribute the sourness mostly to the sponge having sat for a total of 40 hours with twice as much inoculant and the bitter aftertaste to being overbaked.
I did double-pan it so the bottom doesn't appear burnt.
I'm OK with the bread, I think it is a bit too sour for my wife. The crust is too stiff to be used as a sandwich bread. The crust may be too stiff to toast.
So, what have I learned for the next time?
1. My starter may not be ready for prime time yet.
2. Don't give the sponge 2 days to rise.
3. Make sure it is fully proofed before prepping it for the oven.
4. Lower the oven temperature. (This is something I've noted in other recipes, and so have others baking recipes out of this book.)On Friday, I baked Ginger Pumpkin Bread, a yeasted, six-braid bread from the KAF site. I’ve baked it once before and substituted in 2 cups of white whole wheat flour. This time I increased that to 2 ½ cups. I used 1 ½ cups bread flour and ½ cup of high-gluten flour to stretch my bread flour. I added 1/3 cup special dry milk and ¼ cup flax meal. I reduced the salt from 1 ½ to 1 ¼ tsp. I increased the diced ginger to ½ cup and used golden raisins. I replaced the butter with 4 Tbs. canola oil. I use my own spice mixture of 1 ½ tsp. cinnamon, ½ tsp. ginger, and ½ tsp. freshly ground nutmeg. The recipe calls for 1 Tbs. of special gold yeast. I reduced that to 2 ¾ tsp. I warmed the pumpkin puree with the sugar, then proofed the yeast. I mixed in the eggs, then put that into the Zo bread machine bucket, then the flour. I held back the raisins and the minced ginger until near the end of the kneading cycle when the machine beeps. I let it rise in an oiled 4-qt. bucket with snap lid.
I have the KAF baking mat with the braiding instructions. I managed to do the braid on my second try. It helps to write the numbers and put them at the top. The second rise was 55 minutes. I brushed with an egg (did not add water, as I want to use the rest of the egg wash for another recipe). I baked it on the third rack up in my oven. I probably should have used the second rack up, which is my usual rack for loaf pan breads, because it was not done in 30 minutes. I needed to bake it almost 15 minutes longer to get it to 193F. I tented it with foil after 30 minutes because it was starting to overbrown. It’s cooling on a rack now. It’s a lovely looking loaf. I look forward to cutting it tomorrow.
