So I’ve wizened up a little on bread baking since my last post. I’ve learned a bit more about my bread pans (see my updated comments on cast iron baking); I’ve learned to always warm or scald milk for a biga; I’ve learned to keep my starter in the fridge, with weekly regular 1:2:2 feedings; I’ve learned to throw away starter I don’t need, instead of creating a gargantuan monster; I’ve learned to use onion or toasted onion powder in my rye breads because, yes, they really do taste better that way.

Today, however, is a post about my first batch of whole wheat potato rosemary bread.

Continue reading »

My first attempt at Peter Reinhart’s rye meteil was a slight disappointment. The crumb was too dense. The crust wasn’t perfectly golden brown, crisp and chewy. The flavor was definitely an improvement over active-dry yeast bread, but the wild yeast probably could have used a bit more maturation. Finally, the single free standing loaf was huge, oblong and unsymmetrical (due to a mishap during transfer of the bread to the oven); in short, it was an unwieldy beast.

But one never becomes a baker without a second attempt (and a third and a fourth…), so I resolved the second time to make a few adjustments.

Continue reading »