Sourdough with millet

I’ve been baking more often since we moved here, partly because we have lots of friends and family visiting, and partly because I have a cracker of a new oven that bakes beautifully. I usually make sourdough from my trusty starter culture that I’ve had for many years now, but I change the style with the extra flour, usually rye (sometimes with caraway), also wholemeal or fruit and nut or multi-seed, but this week I thought I’d try some of the millet flakes I’ve had in the larder for a few months.…

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Rye sourdough

Restriction is a great stimulus for change, and lately I’ve been shaking up my usual sourdough, partly because I ran out of wholemeal flour. That led to a couple of white loaves, a few with semolina (very nice), and then, since I was on a roll, so to speak, I sourced some rye flour. For some reason it’s been hard to find here for a year or so, but getting it reminded me of the advantages of sourdough. My first loaf was 1/4 rye flour with a heaped teaspoon of…

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Sourdough rising, shaping, baking

Following on the ‘Sourdough recipe’ post, here’s a quick outline for finishing the loaf. Leave the kneaded dough to rise for around three or four hours. The timing isn’t critical, and will depend on your kitchen temperature, but the aim is to double the dough volume. I use the mixing bowl with cling film over, and it’s important to either cover the bowl or give the dough ball a light cover of oil to stop a crust forming. Next comes the shaping. Remove the risen dough and give it a…

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Bread making methods: why so many?

A favourite quote of mine is from a kindly Singaporean professor, who said to a student who had just given a particularly fraught presentation “My dear girl, what is the point of arriving if you haven’t enjoyed the journey?” (Imagine an Indian accent). If you’re going to take on a commitment like bread making, you want the process to appeal to your situation. It seems like there are almost as many bread making methods as there are bakers, and if you’re making bread regularly then you’ll probably have found a method…

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Sourdough recipe: machine kneading

This sourdough recipe gives me a good sourdough loaf with machine kneading. It evolved from reading Emily Beuhler’s excellent book, Bread Science. Make sure your mixer can handle the heavy work though, before you try. Method 3 cups (750 mL) bakers flour 3 tablespoons starter 350 mL filtered water 1 tsp salt 1 cup (250 mL) secondary flour (ie wholemeal or rye) Mix the bakers flour, starter and water and leave to stand for at least 30 min. Tip the dough into a kitchen mixer with the dough hook attached, and begin mixing…

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Sourdough starter

I got mine from a friend who got his from Tasmania. Before that I tried making my own starter, but the flavour wasn’t great. Emily Buehler’s method involves leaving organic rye flour paste to ferment, and hoping that after a few weeks it settles to a good equilibrium. This is not guaranteed. I’ve seen a TV cook prepare a sourdough starter in a few hours, but that is far from my experience of what’s involved. However you get your starter, you will need to keep it going. A typical regime…

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Sourdough vs yeast bread

Sourdough and yeast leavening are suited to different styles of bread. It’s not just about the flavour but also about the techniques that suit loaf types. After using sourdough culture, yeast bread is alarmingly fast, and is probably best for working up techniques as you are not dealing with uncertainty over whether your dough has risen enough, on top of getting shaping etc right. Flavour first. I think the flavour of sourdough suits rye and wholemeal, and for spreads it’s suited more to honey and ‘brown’ jams. It has a…

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