Make ahead bread dough, "Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day"

[tsmba]

The bread turned out well. Its not quite as flavorful as a loaf made with a levain, but the texture is great. My only beef is its a small loaf....next time I plan to double the recipe and extend the cold fermentation time, and (maybe) up the hydration from 70-75%.
The possibilities are endless.
One thing surprising: I used a LeCreuset round oven preheated at 450F. After dropping in the dough and covering the pot, I heard a <pop>, and later discovered the knob on the lid exploded. Anyone have this happen?

 

[Indigo3]

Get a stainless steel replacement knob asap, in response to a previous post you do not need to use any form of releasing agent or non stick medium when using a Dutch oven...the loaf just doesn't stick, must be the steam.

 

[tsmba]

I just proofed my loaf on floured parchment, then slid it all into the pot. No fuss, no muss!

 

[Indigo3]

I must admit I really don't like those two bread baking publicity chancers, it seems they've jumped on the Reinhart/Lahey bandwagon and done even more corner cutting without really understanding the consequences.

High hydration and a long fermentation time is nothing new but the point of using a very small amount of yeast and long ferment time is in part to allow other bacteria to come into the equation and develop better more complex flavor's rather than have a bread flavor that is simply dominated by an over population of yeast, oh and guess who they are sponsored by?

 

[Sullybob]

I baked the soft white sandwich loaf last night, it sat in the fridge for about 5 days.

It looks like I could have let it rise a little more, but it was still delicious!

 

[tsmba]

I love the texture of these breads and am tinkering with the recipes to try and improve the flavor. The batch I have going now has the hydration bumped up to 75% and a bit more salt, and I plan to stretch out the fermentation time. I also googled "best" no-knead bread and found a recipe that includes beer and a little vinegar.

 

[emmetgilgunn]

this fridge method was real eye opener for me. i use it for my pizza bases by adding some olive oil and some minced rosmerry and tyme. if i want garlic flavor i brish my bread with garlic olive oil (a bottle of oil with sliced garlic cloves in it for a week) when it comes out of the oven.

i have played around with sourdoughs as well with variing degrees of results. sourdoughs are fun but if i have guests i stick with yeast

 

[Topgumby]

After digging in to this some more, as well as gaining some great knowledge from some of the old hands on this thread, I think that that I can compare the make ahead fridge bread to shaving....while it's not the art form that straight razor (traditional baking methods) is, it's a great alternative to the Fusion and goo (WonderBread from a store) and at least on par with most of what you'd get from the store bakery.

It's certainly a hit with my wife and two boys. I made some of the make ahead brioche dough from the book and we've been using it for blueberry and morello cherry breakfast muffins.

 

[duotone]

Sounds interesting, will give it a try on a baking sheet tomorrow, so the water underneath helps give a better crust?

 

[blackfoot]

This has certainly peaked my interest. I haven't made bread at home since I've been on my own. But I had already been considering doing it soon. I'm interested in this process now.

 

[Topgumby]

Just a post to say I'm still at it. About four loaves a week, sometimes more. Last night was pizza, using an olive oil dough, and tonight we had honey, soy and ginger glazed pork chops, a garden salad, and some new potatoes. Quite good, all of it, and there's a peach cobbler cooling for later...you'd think that's plenty, yet the family insisted on having a some of "dad's bread" at dinner.

Tomorrow I'll do a batch with whole wheat and rye flours added to the all purpose.

 

[bassopotamus]

Just a post to say I'm still at it. About four loaves a week, sometimes more. Last night was pizza, using an olive oil dough, and tonight we had honey, soy and ginger glazed pork chops, a garden salad, and some new potatoes. Quite good, all of it, and there's a peach cobbler cooling for later...you'd think that's plenty, yet the family insisted on having a some of "dad's bread" at dinner.

Tomorrow I'll do a batch with whole wheat and rye flours added to the all purpose.

That's great. I've cut way back now that the market is over, but I've done a few. I made a ridiculous 7lb loaf of bread for a spectacle at a party, and a couple tonight for a get together tomorrow.

 

[Sullybob]

That's a lot of bread Top. Fresh bread is hard to resist!

I'm experimenting with freezing bread dough right now. I have two loaves worth of dough sealed in vacuum bags and stored in the freezer. I'll probably cook one this weekend and see how it turns out.

 

[bassopotamus]

That's a lot of bread Top. Fresh bread is hard to resist!

I'm experimenting with freezing bread dough right now. I have two loaves worth of dough sealed in vacuum bags and stored in the freezer. I'll probably cook one this weekend and see how it turns out.

I freeze pizza dough just in standard zip loc freezer bags, and it seems to do fine.

 

[Sullybob]

I freeze pizza dough just in standard zip loc freezer bags, and it seems to do fine.

That's good to know, thanks. It makes me think that their may be hope for my frozen bread dough experiment.

 

[RogerStenning]

heh. saw the title of this thread, and rembered one of my first few blogging posts, after my heart attack three and a bit years back.

Have a read, I think you'll like it - it's related, kinda

http://rogersblant.blogspot.com/2008/02/british-rail-sandwiches-make-comeback.html

 

[Alacrity59]

heh. saw the title of this thread, and rembered one of my first few blogging posts, after my heart attack three and a bit years back.

Have a read, I think you'll like it - it's related, kinda

http://rogersblant.blogspot.com/2008/02/british-rail-sandwiches-make-comeback.html

I love the soggy "artesian" bread comment. Here in Toronto a guy named Jared has lost 180 lbs. by eating only subway sandwiches and ended up as a spokesman for the company for a while.

 

[RogerStenning]

That's rather impressive - but did he have breakfast subs and dinner subs as well, or a more balanced diet for breakfast and dinner? Come to that, what was his Loyalty Card total at the end of it?

 

[Topgumby]

Digging up this thread again to say that I've kicked it up a notch with "better" flour (Pendleton Flour Mills High Gluten Power Flour), and that I had my first casualty...my old NIB cheap pizza stone finally popped.

I'm thinking of going unglazed tile for awhile....

 

[bassopotamus]

Digging up this thread again to say that I've kicked it up a notch with "better" flour (Pendleton Flour Mills High Gluten Power Flour), and that I had my first casualty...my old NIB cheap pizza stone finally popped.

I'm thinking of going unglazed tile for awhile....

Fibrament. Not cheap, but worth it