ChemSlice

Baked 6 loves today, which is the most I’ve done in one batch (I gave one away before getting to no. 6). Some interesting differences:

I inadvertently did a single and then a double ‘Caddy clasp’ in the wicker bannetons. As expected, the single clasp was longer and the double clasp was taller. If you’re not familiar with the shaping technique it’s a game changer! Explanation here: thesourdoughjourney.com/faq-shaping/

Baked 6 loves today, which is the most I’ve done in one batch (I gave one away before getting to no. 6). Some interesting differences:

Strangely the bannetons seemed to matter… the cheap cane ones with a liner were a bit misshapen and also ‘flatter’ compared to the (also cheap) brotform ones and the fancy cane ones. They also didn’t brown as well.

Baked 6 loves today, which is the most I’ve done in one batch (I gave one away before getting to no. 6). Some interesting differences:

A couple of New York-ish pizzas cooked in a home oven on a baking steel. ‘Upside down’ Margherita (which needed less cheese next time) and an aubergine, lemon zest & juice, pepper and vegan mozz inspired by one I had at Omnipollos hatt in Stockholm. Still tweaking this but love the baking steel. % ⬇️

Further exploration of oat porridge bread & I think this is my favourite so far. Based on Vanessa Kimbell’s ‘Sourdough School’ formula with honey but with the hydration dialled down a bit vs the book, as it could easily end up in the high 90%s after adding cooked porridge!

This version makes a porridge of oats, toasted wheatgerm and honey. I think by cooking the wheatgerm you end up with a gelatinised effect similar to a tangzhong or a yudane which softens the crumb. The honey doesn’t add too much sweetness… perhaps it gets digested by the yeasts during fermentation?

30% YQ Population wholemeal in these. This was developed by the John Innes Centre and the team at Wakelyns from the ORC. They used 20 ‘parent’ wheat varieties to create 190 crosses and mixed the seeds. The increased diversity is more sustainable & led to greater ‘yield’ and ‘quality’ (hence ‘YQ’).

Ran out of yeast so made some sourdough grandma pizza. I always feel like you trade a bit of texture and lightness for flavour when you use sourdough rather than IDY for pizza. If anyone knows how achieve both with sourdough lemme know! Aldi vegan pepperoni is decent… watch it disappear after Jan!

Shipton Mill No. 4: 60% Wildfarmed T80: 30% Merchants Mill Wholemeal: 10% Hydration: 80% Firm Levain: 10% Olive Oil: 2.5% Salt: 2.3% Diastatic Malt Powder: 0.4% 24hr dough, overnight in the fridge

This is my sourdough starter/levain. It’s 50% hydration & made of a mix of white & wholemeal flour, which may surprise people who follow the Tartine playbook of batter-like 100% hydrated starters. Inspired by the Bread Code & Wayne Caddy’s experiments with lower gluten flour from the UK & Europe.

I find it very reliable and easy to maintain. Give it a go if you feel as though you aren’t able to replicate some recipes, particularly from authors in the US or Canada. Simply feed your 100% hydration starter at the new ratio.

Sourdough focaccia v2. Lowered hydration a bit & it held its strength. It caught a bit on the bottom so a lesson from this one is to take it off the baking steel after 10-15 mins or bake at a lower temperature (I was thinking pizza and cranked the oven). Intentionally baked hard so not burned imo!

Had a recent urge to get back into sourdough focaccia… here’s my last attempt from back in June 2023! I think I went a bit overboard with the hydration (aimed for 90%) and I think it lacked the strength for mega bubbz 🫧. Taking inspiration from Chatsworth Bakehouse and Flout Pizza on the next one.

In the pan & will be in a cold room (like 14°C) overnight.

I had a big bag of Gilchesters Organics’ farmhouse light brown flour. Despite the ‘light’ tag this is is a high extraction flour. What you might lose in photogenic holey crumb, you more than make up for in flavour & you don’t get the dense texture often associated with pure wholemeal.

Had a recent urge to get back into sourdough focaccia… here’s my last attempt from back in June 2023! I think I went a bit overboard with the hydration (aimed for 90%) and I think it lacked the strength for mega bubbz 🫧. Taking inspiration from Chatsworth Bakehouse and Flout Pizza on the next one.

Sourdough focaccia take 2 after a first mix… used most of the water, then resting for 20 mins, then adding salt with 20g water, then going to make a decision as to whether to add oil straight away or wait a bit as I find things can go wrong then due to the shortening effect of oil.