Milk Loaf

In an attempt to get my two young daughters to eat more home made bread instead of the super soft supermarket pap, I've been trying variations on the milk loaf from Dan Lepard's The Handmade Loaf. The fat in the milk helps make the crumb soft and the extra calcium is great for growing girls even though they already consume a reasonable amount of milk and yogurt. My first attempt was almost straight from the book:
250g strong white flour
250g plain flour
350g whole milk
20g maple syrup
25g unsalted butter
8g salt
5g dry yeast
I divided the dough into two balls, placed them both in the large 2lb tin and sprayed the top with water. I preheated the oven (non-fan) to 260C but turned it down to 240C when the loaf went in. I baked it for about 30 minutes with the last 5 minutes out of the tin.
The result was OK. I didn't get any oven spring but the loaf was quite soft. It was much tastier than any supermarket white loaf and fairly popular with my girls. The top of the loaf was very brown although not burnt.
My second go was similar but I used 100% strong flour just to see if it made a difference to the rise. Dan's recipe bakes the loaf at 210C (fan oven) for 15 minutes followed by 180C for 25-30 minutes. As my previous loaf had been very brown I decided to try this lower temperature. He also brushes the top with milk so I did this too.
This loaf was not a great success. The loaf didn't seem to be fully cooked after 45 minutes so it had to go back in the oven for longer. In the end it was in for about an hour - twice as long as the previous time. This meant the crust was quite thick. Also, when I brushed the top with milk it ran down the side. This meant the loaf stuck to the pan although I did eventually get it to come out. Again, the bread was edible but not as good as I would have liked.
For my latest attempt I made two loaves and decided to add some spelt flour in an attempt to make it more tasty - I normally like to eat wholemeal rather than white bread. I also increased the amount of flour per loaf as my tins are quite large. This time the recipe was (for two loaves):
900g strong white flour
200g wholemeal spelt flour
770g whole milk
44g maple syrup
55g unsalted butter
18g salt
8g dry yeast
In an attempt to get some decent oven spring I preheated the oven to 300C non-fan. I sprayed the tops with water instead of brushing with milk. On putting the loaves in the oven I turned the temperature down to 230C. After 25 minutes I tried to get the loaves out of their tins but struggled again. After a bit more time in the oven I managed to get them out but one loaf lost part of its crust as it was stuck fast to the tin.
Despite being damaged these loaves are a great success. They taste delicious - the little bit of spelt has really helped. There was a decent amount of oven spring and the crumb is lovely and soft. Most important of all I don't think I've seen my two girls enjoy my home made bread so much.
Next time I won't divide the dough into two balls - I think this is making the loaf stick to the pan as it sticks round the middle. I shall probably also try with more spelt and might also try rye or even wholemeal wheat, but the bulk of the flour will be white. At least I know there are no additives and the salt content is low.

Yeasty Brown Bread

When writing a blog it's always tempting to only record your successes and quietly forget about the failures, but analysing these is probably the best way to improve. So what happened? I was given some Tesco Brown Bread flour that was two years out of date. As it looked and smelt fine, and not wanting to waste food, I decided to use it to make a loaf. I intended following my normal procedure except I used about 3g of yeast and left the dough to ferment at room temperature, instead of putting it in the fridge. It didn't work out this way as the dough seemed too dry in the mixer so I added some more water. Unfortunately I didn't measure the amount so I ended up making the dough wetter than I normally would. Since I keep reading that "wetter is better" I didn't try to correct it with more flour.
The next morning the dough had almost filled its 4L container, which this quantity doesn't normally do. I knocked it back. During the rest of the day the dough filled the container again and then sank back a bit. This, combined with the yeasty smell, was a sign that perhaps things were not perfect.

I shaped the dough for the tin and left it to proof at 30C. After two hours it was still not quite at the top of the tin and the poke test suggested it was still not fully proofed. Running out of time and hoping that being underproofed would give good oven spring it went in the oven. There was no oven spring.

Disappointing rise

As you can see, I slashed the top. I thought it would help the oven spring but it just healed up. After it cooled it was time to taste. Tasted off, very yeasty. After a couple of days we have eaten about half of it - it tastes better toasted, but it's not great. The rest will go as breadcrumbs for a treacle tart or to the birds.

So why did it go wrong? As the dough was quite wet I think the fermentation was much quicker - it was much nearer a poolish or starter. Having seen the dough was wet I should have put it in the fridge. I've left dough to ferment at room temperature for this long before without the yeasty taste, so I think the quicker fermentation used up all the fermentable sugars, even though I had added sugar.

Initially I didn't think the age of the flour was an issue but I have since read in Andrew Whitley's Bread Matters that "The yeast may be exhausted or may not have a sufficient supply of fermentable sugars in the dough at the time of the final rise or proof. This may be due to using a flour with a naturally low level of amylase or flour that is a bit old." I have relegated this flour to dusting duty.

I don't think this photo shows it but the crumb looks odd.

Bacheldre Update

As my last post explains, I made 12 rolls with Bacheldre Watermill Stoneground Strong 100% Wholemeal Flour. I used one of them to make a sandwich and froze the other 11. I was delighted with the roll saying its taste and texture were superb. Having got through about half the rolls I need to qualify this. The taste is certainly excellent, however they are heavier than I would like. I think I must have chosen the largest (and so most risen) roll for my first one. I am pretty certain that if I make the dough wetter next time this problem can probably be solved. But there is another one - every so often they taste a bit gritty. I've notice that the flour contains some dark bits and I'm guessing these are what I can taste. Perhaps they are a consequence of the traditional milling although I haven't noticed anything like this with Gilchester flours.

So will I try Bacheldre flours again? Yes, but not until I have made 100% wholemeal rolls with my usual Waitrose or Marriage's flours and had another go with Gilchester Organics.

Bacheldre Watermill

I am always keen on trying interesting flours, particularly those from traditional mills. Bacheldre Watermill's flours are fairly widely available as they are stocked nationally by Waitrose and Ocado, although I bought my bag of Stoneground Strong 100% Wholemeal Flour from a local deli. It was expensive (£2.50) although it is much cheaper from Waitrose (less than £2). You can also buy it online direct from the mill but postage is high unless you spend enough. I used my new recipe and technique as described in my last post but scaled to 1kg flour to make 12 large rolls.

1kg Bacheldre Stoneground Strong 100% Wholemeal Flour
5g Doves Farm Quick Yeast (I don't usually bother scaling the yeast)
16g light brown sugar
14g sea salt
16g unsalted butter
700g water

I normally make wholemeal bread with 65% hydration but I found the dough wasn't coming together well in the mixer so I increased this to 70%. I followed all my usual methods (20 minute autolyse, 10 minute knead in the Kenwood Chef, 20 hour bulk fermentation in the fridge etc).
The overnight dough was very heavy and didn't seem to have risen very much in the fridge. I shaped into 12 rolls and left on the trays (in bags) to rise - in the end I left them for 2.5 hours until they looked ready to bake. My rolls normally spread sideways but these kept their shape due to the much stiffer dough.
As I was using two trays in the oven I baked them with the fan oven at 240C for 5 minutes, 220C for 10 minutes and a further 5 minutes at 170C (this last temperature was just because I was going to use the oven for something else).
I am pleased to say that despite the dough being much stiffer than normal the rolls have come out very nicely. Their taste and texture is superb - much tastier than my previous rolls (with about 30% white flour) or my 100% wholemeal bread made with Waitrose flour. However, I need to make 100% wholemeal rolls with the Waitrose or Marriage's flour to make a fair comparison.
My only disappointment with this flour is I'm not sure it's 100% British. So I shall need to revisit Gilchesters Organics and see if my new skills will produce a decent loaf with their 100% British wholemeal flour.

100% Wholemeal Bread

I have never liked white bread and I find it amazing that the majority of bread sold in the UK is plastic wrapped white sliced bread. I find it bland and boring, both in taste and texture. I prefer wholemeal bread but even these are pretty bland when bought as a plastic wrapped loaf from the supermarket. Unfortunately all my attempts at making 100% wholemeal bread have resulted in bricks. As I have developed my bread making skills I have increased the proportion of wholemeal flour from 50% to about 70 or 80% now (the rest being strong white bread flour). I am pleased to say that I have finally managed to make a very good 100% wholemeal loaf with a nice soft crumb that isn't at all heavy.

Excellent oven spring

I have to admit that the fantastic oven spring in the photo is actually only on one side making the loaf slightly lopsided. However the taste and texture are great and it certainly isn't heavy. Next time I will slash the top with a razor blade before baking for a more even rise in the oven.
So what is the secret? As reported on my previous post I am now using a Kenwood Chef stand mixer for kneading and am being very careful not to overproof.

700g Waitrose Organic Stoneground Strong Wholemeal Bread Flour
5g Doves Farm Quick Yeast
11g light brown sugar
10g sea salt (coarse but ground in a pestle and mortar)
11g unsalted butter
455g water (temperature calculated for a DDT of 27C)

With a Desired Dough Temperature (DDT) of 27C I subtracted 3C for the heat generated by the mixer to get 24C. With a room temperature of 21C this gave a water temperature of 27C (21 + 27 = 2 * 24).
I first used the K beater to mix the dry ingredients and then used it to rub in the butter. Then I switched to the dough hook and slowly added the warm water. Once the dough was formed into a ball on the hook I scraped the dough off the hook and removed the bowl from the mixer. I put it into a large plastic bag for about 20 minutes to autolyse. Strictly speaking this should be done before adding the yeast and salt but I just combine everything for ease.
The next step is to return the bowl to the mixer and knead with the dough hook for 10 minutes at slow speed. Every now and again I increased the speed a bit for a few seconds or stopped the mixer and used a spatula to scrape the dough from the hook. I'm not sure this is necessary but it isn't always obvious that any kneading is actually happening.
After kneading I put the dough into an oiled plastic food storage box, put on the lid and put it into the fridge until the next evening (about 20 hours).
I took the box out of the fridge for about an hour and then shaped it for a greased and floured large 2lb loaf tin, covered with a shower cap and left it to rise.

This is after about 40 minutes of final proof

Just before going in the oven

After about 2 or 3 hours it was ready for the oven. I sprayed the top of the loaf with water and sprinkled with rye flour.

I preheated the oven to 260C (non fan setting) but turned it down to 240C as soon as the loaf went in. After 10 minutes I lowered the oven to 220C for another 25 minutes.

Fresh from the oven showing the nice oven spring

Kenwood Chef

When I started this blog I intended contributing to it on a regular basis. Recently I have not written much although I have been very busy baking bread, with various experiments. I hope to update more frequently.

A few weeks ago I bought an old Kenwood Chef A701A off eBay and it has made a big difference to my bread baking.

According to Kenwood Chef Restore this would have been manufactured between 1962 and 1976 so it is at least 35 years old. It has all the scratches and paintwork chips that are to be expected on an appliance of this age but it has the original glass bowl and 3 tools (K beater, whisk and dough hook). The motor sounds and feels as powerful as ever. These UK made machines certainly have a reputation for their quality unlike the modern Chinese made versions. There were no instructions but I downloaded these from Kenwood Chef Restore for 50p.
The main purpose for the machine is for kneading dough. I use the K beater if there is any fat or butter to rub in but once this is done I switch to the dough hook. On minimum speed I slowly add the liquid until the dough has formed into one lump (perhaps stopping and using a spatula to ensure all the flour is combined) and then I scrape the dough off the hook and remove the bowl putting it into a large plastic bag for between 10 and 20 minutes. This autolyse step is to ensure all the liquid is absorbed by the flour and to let the enzymes in the flour start work to help make the kneading as effective as possible. I could, of course, do exactly the same if hand kneading and I will probably do so as an experiment in the future to see if the Chef really has made a big difference. I then put the bowl back in the mixer with the dough hook and knead on speed 1 for 10 minutes. Occasionally I have increased the speed to 2 for a few seconds and I have also usually stopped the machine, lifted the hook and used a spatula to redistribute the dough. It's not always obvious that anything is happening as the dough ball appears to be just stuck to the hook but I am pretty sure that the dough is actually touching the bowl and so is being stretched and hence properly kneaded.
So what improvements have I seen? The main one is the enormous improvement in oven spring that I am now getting even on wholemeal loaves. I have to admit that I have made a number of changes to my method at the same time as starting to use the Kenwood Chef so these may also be very important. The main one is being very careful to not let the dough over prove during the final rise. In my next entry I will fully describe my latest recipe and method.
As the Chef was very old its feet had squashed over the years to end up very flat. While kneading, the Chef would walk around the worktop and I wouldn't dare leave the kitchen or even turn my back in case it walked on to the floor. I have now bought a genuine replacement set of 5 feet off eBay and now the mixer does not move very much while kneading. The feet are slightly tricky to remove - having worked out the old rubber there is a pin to remove. This has to pulled and twisted out. The new foot is pushed in and then the pin has to be replaced. I just pushed it in as far as I could with a screwdriver - this seems to have worked. This was £4.50 very well spent.

Gilchester Success

I've previously tried Gilchester wholemeal flour but have been disappointed. This time I made 12 rolls:

500g Gilchester Organics 100% whole wheat strong flour
300g Marriage's Organic Strong white flour
200g Marriage's Organic Strong stoneground wholemeal flour
2g Dove's Farm Quick Yeast
14g table salt
16g unsalted butter
16g soft brown sugar
635g warm water

The water was heated in the microwave for 1 minute at 1000W taking it to about 30C. This was all mixed and then kneaded for about 5 minutes. Then into a plastic container, covered and left in the kitchen at room temperature overnight - this is why so little yeast is needed. The dough more than doubled in size in this time. The next morning I divided the dough into 12 rolls, put on greased and floured baking sheets and left to prove at 30C for one and a half hours. In this time they rose and started touching one another. Then baked for 15 minutes at 220C (fan).

The result has been a success with nicely shaped rolls. Mixing the Gilchester flour with some stronger flour has worked nicely.

British Flour

Ideally I'd like to make bread with flour that's 100% organic stoneground wholemeal and British. There are a number of small mills producing flour that fits the bill but when I tried Gilchester Organics I didn't have much success. I've become more experienced since then and I have now tried a more local flour - Sunflours from near Ripon in North Yorkshire. I've tried the organic stoneground wholemeal - this isn't described as strong but on the packet it does says it is suitable for bread making. It gives the protein as 12g which is the same as Gilchester but lower than other strong wholemeal flours. To give it a good chance I made a loaf with 50% white flour.

350g Sunflours organic stoneground wholemeal flour
350g Marriages organic strong white flour
3g dried yeast
10g salt
11g butter
11g brown sugar
440g water (at about 30C)

I mixed the ingredients, kneaded for 10 minutes and put the dough in a 10 litre plastic box with lid. I left this at room temperature until the following evening (about 20 hours). I then tipped it out onto a floured worktop, pressed it down into a rectangle and rolled it up tightly to go in my large 2lb loaf tin. Covered with oiled cling film it went into the oven at 30C for 2 hours to prove. It crested the top of the tin so I took it out of the oven which I then set to its highest setting of 300C top and bottom heat (without fan). Once it was up to temperature (I check this with an oven thermometer now as I don't think the oven is fully hot when it says it is) I sprayed the top of the loaf with water and sprinkled with rye flour. Into the oven and the temperature down to 240C. It was in for a total of 30 minutes with the last 5 or 10 out of the tin.

This gave a nice amount of oven spring which I wasn't expecting - it seems this only happens when I'm not trying. I think the really hot oven helps this - trying to introduce steam seems to be a waste of time.

After the loaf had cooled I tried a slice - I was very impressed. Lovely flavour and nice texture. The only other flour that has tasted this good is the Marriages organic wholemeal although I need to do a comparison with the Waitrose organic using the exact same recipe. Despite the high white content the taste was superb.

So, a British flour that has worked well for me. The real test will be if I replace the Marriages white with the Sunflour white and if I increase the percentage of wholemeal. I shall also try the Gilchester again as I think the overnight bulk fermentation helps develop the gluten. In fact, I suspect there is no need to knead so much. As always there are lots of things to try.

More experimentation

Firstly, I'm pleased to say that the loaf I baked in the previous post didn't have any flying crust. The crust did shrink a little but it was still attached to the crumb and nice and soft, just not very even.

Over the last couple of weeks since my last post I have continued to bake bread trying out different ideas. I have managed some success and one failure. Three ideas I have been trying are to use potato water (that's just water used to boil potatoes), proving with less yeast at room temperature instead of the fridge and kneading in a different way. This is the use of three very short kneads over half an hour instead of a continuous 10 minute knead. It's the technique championed by Dan Lepard and used in his sour cream sandwich loaf (see my earlier post):

• After mixing the dough in the bowl, cover and leave for 10 minutes.
• Turn the dough out on to an oiled work surface and knead for 10 seconds. I think in practice I do it for longer.
• Cover and leave for 10 minutes.
• Knead for another 10s, cover and leave for 10 minutes.
• Do one more knead. So that's three kneads over 30 minutes.
• Clean out the bowl and put the dough back in and cover. (I use oiled clingfilm but you can also use a plastic bag or a floured cloth).
• Leave for at least an hour. I usually leave overnight or till the next evening (about 20 hours).

The failure was a 100% wholemeal brick. I used potato water and half the flour to make a sponge which was left for about 24 hours. I then added the flour and salt and left it for another 20 hours before shaping for the tin. It didn't rise in the tin and didn't spring in the oven. Although a nice taste it is just too heavy and so it will be blitzed in the food processor and given to the birds. I didn't add any sugar and I suspect the yeast ran out of food over the very long proving time. I thought the potato water would provide food but that's starch and not sugar.

The great success was 100% white bread. For the liquid I mixed a small amount of fat-free Greek yogurt (just what was left in the pot) and potato water and then made it up to the full amount with full-fat milk. I made two large loaves with 1200g flour and 720g liquid - about 500g of this was the potato water. I used about 4g of dry yeast and kneaded as described above. I left it overnight. Over this period I had to knock the dough down in the bowl a couple of times - the milk probably provided enough sugar for the yeast. I divided the dough in two and shaped each piece just by flattening it and then tightly rolling. I cooked the loaves for about 30 minutes at 200C. One loaf had risen by more than the other and it also sprang up in the oven quite well. So high temperatures and steam don't seem to be necessary for oven spring.

Last night's bread was for two large loaves as follows:

• 900g wholemeal bread flour
• 500g white bread flour
• 930g liquid (about half and half potato water and tap water)
• 15g salt
• 20g light brown sugar
• 4g yeast

Three quick kneads and in the bowl at room temperature until the next evening. The dough rose very well and had to be knocked down several times. Divided into two tins and left to prove. Baked at 200C for 35 minutes with the last 5 out of the tin. Reasonably successful but I would change a few things:

• Less liquid. The dough was a bit slack and so when it rose in the tin it spilled down the side instead of going up. This is a similar amount of liquid I have used before so perhaps the potato water affects this.
• More salt. I decreased the salt but probably by too much as it tastes a bit bland. Probably should have used 20g.
• Less yeast. Having to knock the dough down in the bowl several times shows there was plenty. Another option would be to put the dough in the fridge overnight but then leave it at room temperature during the day before baking in the evening.
• Knead the traditional way. I want to see if this makes a difference but I would need to compare two identical recipes for this to be valid.
• Bake at a higher temperature. The loaves are a bit pale and the crust is a bit thick. This may change after a day or two but I think going back to a higher temperature and cooking for less time would help this. At high temperatures I find the loaf looks burnt but isn't.

Variations

I have repeated my previous recipe a couple of times but with some variations. The first was to bake it at 200C for 40 minutes with the last 10 of those out of the tin. This was very similar to the previous except the crust was not as brown.

The other was to omit the sour cream and to increase the water to 465g. This rose a bit more in the fridge overnight and then again during the day. However, the rise in the tin, while OK, was not nearly as spectacular as with the sour cream. It seems as if the sour cream is not doing so much in the fridge and then putting in lots of effort in the tin. This was also baked at 200C. You can't tell from the photo but I am concerned that this may have a flying crust.

More sour cream

I added sour cream to one of my normal recipes:

400g wholemeal strong flour
300g white strong flour
125g sour cream
340g (approx) warm water
10g light brown sugar
7g dry yeast
10g salt

I mixed the sour cream, water, sugar, yeast and salt together first and then added the flour. I adjusted the exact amount of water to get the dough to the right consistency. I kneaded it in the normal way for 10 minutes or so.

The overnight rise was ok but not amazing, although the fridge does seem to be colder at the moment (2C instead of 4C). I knocked it down and put it back. The following evening it didn't seem to have risen much so I was not too hopeful.

I left the bread to rise in the loaf tin for longer than normal - about 2 hours at 30C followed by 1 hour at room temperature. The bread rose spectacularly in this time. I was worried it may have over proved.

In the oven at 260C with steam for 10 minutes there was no oven spring - in fact it shrank a little. The top was quite brown so it was down to 200C for 15 minutes plus 5 more out of the tin.

The loaf is a day old and the crust has shrunk a little. It is now much softer than when baked - it is not burnt

No flying crust, despite my fears

A lovely crumb - very soft

Sour cream sandwich bread

I made Dan Lepard's Sour cream sandwich bread and it rose nicely with some oven spring although still not a huge amount. Even though the recipe uses 550g flour compared to my normal 700g it ended up taller than my loaf recipe although using 100% white flour must help. The sour cream may be the secret ingredient though and I will have to try adding it to my bread to see if it helps.

Too much salt and yeast

I managed to scale some of the ingredients for the bread incorrectly. I previously made two loaves with 500g of flour each. For my new, larger tin, I need 700g of flour. I should have scaled the recipe from 1000g down to 700g but instead I scaled up from 500g to 700g so, although I got the water right, I managed to use twice the amount of salt and yeast.

The recipe should be:
400g wholemeal strong flour
300g white strong flour
465g water
10g salt
7g yeast

I made the loaf again with the right ingredients and again it was good.

The dough stretched out to about three times the length of the tin.

The dough folded for the tin.

The dough patted down before rolling.

The dough in the tin before proving.

The dough nicely risen before going in the oven.

The baked loaf just out of the oven.

You can see where the loaf has sprung in the oven just above the tin line.

Nice crumb.

Success

Overnight the dough rose a decent amount so I knocked it back and put it back in the fridge. This evening it had risen again so I shaped it and put it in the greased and floured loaf tin. I followed the shaping process at breadsecrets.com where the dough is stretched out to three times the length of the tin, folded back twice and then rolled up.

After an hour and a half the dough had risen to the top of the tin. I preheated the oven to 275C with the grill pan. Once the oven was nice and hot I poured boiling water into the grill pan and then waited a minute. Sprayed the bread with water and then into the oven. After 10 minutes, grill pan out and temperature down to 220C. After 15 minutes I took the loaf out of the tin and put it back in for a final 10 minutes.

There was some oven spring but not a huge amount but it least the loaf hadn't shrunk like before.

So what was different this time:

• Making enough dough for the size of tin so it didn't overprove.
• Getting the right hydration. Instead of just putting in a fixed amount of water I put in enough to make the dough feel right - not too dry and not too wet and sticky.
• Simple recipe - I suspect the oil may have not done the gluten any good. Certainly the dough felt much better this time.
• Shaped the dough differently.
• I put boiling water into the grill pan a minute before the loaf went in.

Back to basics

I've decided to try some radical changes to see if I can make a better loaf.

The first is to increase the amount of dough I make. This is because my new tin is bigger than I had been using. It seems there is no such thing as a standard 2lb loaf tin. So, instead of using 500g flour, I am now using 700g.

The second is to return to a wholemeal/white mix rather than the oaty white that I am a bit bored of.

Finally, I am trying the most basic bread recipe possible - just flour, yeast, salt and water. No oil, sugar or vitamin C.

Here is what I have tried tonight:

400g wholemeal (Doves Farm strong wholemeal bread flour)
300g white (Waitrose Organic strong white bread flour)
465g water (this came from a cooled kettle so it was not warm but not as cold as tap water)
21g salt (Saxa table salt)
14g yeast (Doves Farm Quick Yeast)

The precise salt and yeast amounts were just the same baker's percentage as I always use.
I started with 450g water but added more as the dough was very dry. I suspect that other wholemeal flours might need even more water based on previous experience of Doves Farm wholemeal. I didn't use warm water as the dough went straight in the fridge. Slowing the rise down doesn't seem to be a problem when I won't be baking until tomorrow night.

I kneaded the dough in the usual way. It was less sticky than usual, probably due to the lack of oil. After about 12 minutes I was very happy with the windowpane test - it was much better than I have ever seen, even with white flour. Hopefully this is a good sign.

We will have to wait and see how the dough does overnight.

No improvement

The quick loaf, as reported last time, did not spring up in the oven but otherwise it seems to taste very similar to the slower loaf. The most noticeable difference is that the top is very uneven - the slow loaf has a nice dome.

The other experiment was to use different flour. This had no oven spring either so using a more expensive flour did not help. I can't comment on the taste or texture as it is in the freezer.

So perhaps it is the recipe or some other aspect of my method that is at fault.

An Experiment

After last night's lack of oven spring I've tried an experiment (two in fact) to see if I can get a better result.

First, I wanted to see if over-proving could be a problem. So I made the same dough as last time but used a sachet of Allinson Easy Bake yeast. I only had 340g of the Asda flour left so had to add 60g of Gilchester strong white flour. I also omitted the vitamin C as there is already some in the yeast. After the 10 minute knead I shaped the dough and put it straight in the tin. After 1.5 hours proving at 30C it had almost filled the tin so it was in the oven just like last night with the steam etc. Once again, no oven spring. The top of the loaf is a bit uneven and not as brown as last time but otherwise it looks much the same. As for taste and texture that will have to wait.

The other test was to try a different flour. I made the dough just like the first time but used Waitrose Organic Strong White Bread flour. It's now in a bowl in the fridge and I shall bake it tomorrow night. The dough certainly felt different - after 10 minutes it was less sticky and seemed more stretchy than with the Asda flour. We'll have to see if it works better or if that is just my imagination.

Elusive oven spring

Apparently to get oven spring you need lots of heat and steam. Ideally the temperature needs to be as high as 260C but my non-stick loaf tins are only safe upto 230C. The highest I've seen for non-stick is 240C. Above this they start to produce toxic gases. So I have bought a silver anodised loaf tin from Silverwood which can be used at any temperature. To make it non-stick it has to be greased and floured. They recommend groundnut oil as some vegetable oils (such as olive oil) go very sticky at high temperatures.

Last night I made a white oat bread with 400g flour, 50g oat bran, 60g medium oatmeal and 310ml water. This made a nice sticky dough which kneaded fine. Overnight it rose nicely in the fridge so I knocked it back and put it back in the fridge. This evening it had risen again. After knocking back and a quick shape it was in the loaf tin to rise. After a couple of hours it was near the top.

I pre-heated the fan oven to 260C with the grill pan at the bottom. I sprayed the top of the loaf with water. As soon as the loaf was in the oven I poured boiling water into the grill pan and shut the door.

After 10 minutes the top of the loaf was a lovely brown colour but there was no sign of any oven spring. I removed the grill pan and set the oven to 200C with top and bottom heat for another 15 minutes. I removed the loaf from the tin (it came out very easily) and put it back in the oven for a final 5 minutes.

After leaving it to cool I am pleased to say it is delicious, just not as well risen as I would have liked. It doesn't seem too heavy though.

I am wondering if the long initial rise in the fridge is too long and the dough has no more stretch to it. I could lower the yeast or only leave it overnight although this means only baking at the weekend. I also wonder how effective the heat and steam are as a lot is lost with the oven door open. I could try different flour - I used the cheap Asda strong white flour which has worked well for me in the past but it isn't as strong as some.

Gilchester revisited 3

The dough rose reasonably well in the tins in the fridge overnight. I took them out about 5pm and left them to rise further which they did. However there were some very obvious large gas pockets at the top. The loaves went in the oven at about 7.30pm. In an attempt to get some oven spring I preheated a grill pan and when I put the loaves in I poured boiling water into the pan to generate steam. I started the oven at 230C and after about 15 minutes turned it down to 210C and removed the grill pan. After 25 minutes I took the loaves out of their pans but they were not fully cooked on the bottom so they were back in the oven, out of their pans, for another 15 minutes (making 40 minutes total).

The resulting loaves taste good and are moist but have huge holes under the crust. I think this flying crust is probably due to the very long proving period and I suspect the dough was still too dry.

The undercooked bottom of the loaves would have been due to the grill pan under the loaf tins. Next time I will try using the fan oven (instead of top and bottom heat) so that the grill pan doesn't block the bottom heating element.

So my view of the Gilchester flour? I'm disappointed but not surprised. For the moment I shall stick with the more usual bread flours available. Once I have my technique perfected with these I shall try the Gilchester again.

Gilchester revisited 2

The dough hasn't risen as much as I would have hoped - in the morning I didn't bother to knock it back and this evening it still hadn't reached the top of the bowl. As it happens, this slow rise helps me as I didn't have time to put the dough in tins until late this evening. Instead of baking tonight the tins are back in the fridge and hopefully will have risen well enough by tomorrow evening. Even if they haven't, taking them out of the fridge and putting them somewhere warm is easy to do as soon as I get in. Tomorrow night will finally show if this has all been a success.

Gilchester revisited 1

My first attempt with Gilchester Organics flour was disappointing with a rather flat loaf and rolls. Tonight I tried again but with some changes to maximise my chances of a well risen loaf. Firstly, instead of my usual 80% wholemeal, 20% white mixture I used 50/50 wholemeal and white. I also used 50/50 water and milk, instead of just water although I don't think this makes any difference. I normally use 600ml liquid for white flour and 700ml for wholemeal, so for a 50/50 mix I used 650ml. Once again this produced a very dry dough so I added more water until the dough consistency was better. In total I used 700ml with my 1kg of flour.

The results won't be known until tomorrow evening but after a couple of hours in the fridge the dough is definitely rising so it seems promising. Watch this space.

More cheap flour

Asda are selling wholemeal (and brown) bread flour for £1 per 1.5kg bag. It's protein content is the same as  Allinson Premium Wholemeal Very Strong Bread Flour but whether this translates to the same gluten quality I don't know. If you want stoneground flour then Tesco Strong Stoneground Wholemeal flour is £1.29. If you also want it to be organic then Waitrose Organic Stoneground Strong Wholemeal Bread Flour is £1.49. This is also available online from Ocado (as well as Waitrose Deliver).

Cheap Asda flour

Asda are selling white bread flour for 50p a 1.5kg bag, which is much cheaper than any other strong flour I have seen. It also contains Ascorbic Acid (vitamin C) as a flour improver which may be to make up for it having a lower protein (and hence gluten) content than other strong white flours. For example, it is 11% protein compared to around 12% for other strong white and almost 14% for very strong white flours.

Oat bread

I've made an oat bread by using my basic bread recipe with 800g very strong white flour, 100g oat bran and 100g medium oat meal with 300ml water and 300ml skimmed milk. Although a white bread I did include the vitamin C tablet. This was very successful rising very nicely. It tastes delicious although the oats are very subtle. Next time I will increase the proportion of oats. I suspect that using any strong white flour will also work although using more oats will decrease the gluten content.

Gilchester Organics

Most bread flour sold in the UK contains at least some imported flour. This is because most wheat grown here is not strong enough for bread so the millers mix in foreign, often Canadian, flour to ensure there is enough gluten. Hovis claim that all their flour is British although it doesn't say this on the bags - their bread mixes and breads do state this on the packaging. However, Premier Foods have told me that their flour is 100% British.

The other source of UK bread flour are the many independent mills around the country, although getting hold of their products can be hard unless you can visit the mill. Booths supermarkets stock Gilchester Organics flours so I have tried their 100% whole wheat strong flour and unbleached white strong wheat flour. These are organically grown on their own farm in Northumberland and stoneground in their own mill.

I followed my standard recipe (80% wholemeal, 20% white) although I didn't use any milk, just 700ml warm water. The resulting dough was much paler than from other wholemeal flours that I have used and it was also a bit dry. Once I added oil it kneaded quite well and I did so for about 15 minutes which is longer than I usually do. It was then in the fridge overnight for its first rise. The next morning it had risen but not as much as usual. I knocked it back and left it in the fridge until the evening. Again, it hadn't risen as much as doughs from other flours. I shaped it into 9 rolls and a small loaf and left them to rise. After a couple of hours the rolls had spread like I would have expected. The loaf had done the same but hadn't risen as much as I would have liked.

After baking and leaving to cool I tried one of the rolls. The inside looked pretty much like the other wholemeal rolls I have made but a bit paler. They tasted good. They might have been a bit heavy but not as bad as I was expecting. The next few days will see how they fare, especially the rather flat looking loaf. I shall report back after a few breakfasts and lunches.

Next time I use this flour I will remember to use half milk with the water and I shall add more water until the dough is the consistency I expect. This might help it to rise better.

Spelt bread for breakfast

So how was the spelt bread the morning after? It's been stored overnight like I store all my home made bread - in greaseproof paper in a bread storage bag in a bread bin. The crust is still quite hard to slice (probably due to it being baked for an hour) and the flavour is the same. I don't like it. This may be more to do with the seeds in the recipe so maybe I'll try it again without the seeds. It still isn't the right texture for bread - I much prefer my basic, almost wholemeal recipe which tastes great. My wife likes seeds in bread so she may like it. I doubt the children will though as it's too heavy.

3 minute spelt bread

On the bag for Gilchester Organics 100% Whole Spelt Flour is a recipe for Three Minute Spelt Bread. This involves no kneading and no leaving to rise. Could it possibly work? I was very sceptical but gave it a go.

The dough is nothing like for normal bread - in fact it's more like a rich cake mixture which you spoon into the loaf tin. It goes straight into the oven at 200C for an hour. Amazingly, after a few minutes it has risen. It doesn't look like normal bread - the rise is very uneven.

So what's it like? I tried it while still warm with butter. It's fairly heavy and is very nutty. I'm not sure if this is the spelt or the seeds in the recipe. It's more like a heavy cake than bread.

Would I make it again? I'm not sure - I'll have to see what it's like for breakfast.

The recipe linked to above is not very clear - it uses 500ml water. The recipe on the bag is right.

River Cottage Bread Book

I have learnt a lot about bread from many sources including various books and the internet. One book which has been helpful is Bread: River Cottage Handbook No. 3. I'm not sure I'd recommend it to a complete beginner as it might put them off but for anyone who has tried making bread and wants to learn some more it is a good guide.

Basic bread

I shall start my bread blog with my basic bread recipe. This makes 2 loaves or 12 rolls (or 1 loaf and 6 rolls).

800g strong wholemeal flour
200g strong white flour
10g dry yeast (I use Doves Farm quick yeast)
15g salt
20g light brown sugar
1 crushed vitamin C tablet (500mg)
350ml skimmed milk
350ml water
30g sunflower oil

The liquid should be hand hot which can be done with one third boiling water and the rest cold. Always check the temperature - if it is too hot to hold your hand in then it could kill the yeast.

Mix the dry ingredients in a large bowl and then mix in the warm liquid but not the oil. Mix with a wooden spoon. Leave for a couple of minutes for the liquid to soak in and then mix with your hands until all the flour has been incorporated into the dough. Then knead in the oil (still in the bowl).

Turn out the dough on to your work surface. Do not flour the surface as the dough sticking to it helps it to stretch as you knead. Knead for 10 minutes or so. Initially it will be very oily and then will become sticky but eventually you should get a nice smooth dough.

Oil a large bowl (I use the same bowl that I used for mixing having washed and dried it). Shape the dough into a round and put in the bowl. Cover it with oiled clingfilm and put in the fridge until the next day. I usually mix the dough in the evening and the next morning knock the dough back down and put it back in the fridge. The following evening it is ready to shape into loaves or rolls. I regularly leave it for around 20 hours.

Shape the rolls or loaves. Then leave covered with oiled clingfilm (you can reuse the piece that you used to cover the bowl) for a couple of hours to rise. I often put them in the oven set to 30C if the kitchen is a bit cool and I am in a bit of a hurry.

I bake loaves in tins with the oven set for top and bottom heat at 230C for 30 minutes. For the last 5 minutes I turn the loaf out of its tin and place directly on the rack in the oven.

I usually do rolls on two layers so have to use the fan oven. For this I start at 230C for 10 minutes and then 10 more minutes at 210C. I use a baking tray with holes but if you have a solid tray you may want to put the rolls directly on the oven rack for the last 5 minutes to crisp the base.

I always grease the trays and tins with butter. You can use oil but in a tin this can sink down and fry the base of the loaf.

I intend adjusting the recipe so check this blog to see how I get on. Ideas are:
- Reduce the yeast
- Use just water and not milk. The milk is supposed to make the bread softer.
- Use 100% wholemeal flour. The white is to help it rise.
- Eliminate the vitamin C. This is also supposed to help the loaf rise.