Walnut Gouda Bread

The 40% rye sourdough from the last bake was so flavorful that I was inspired to make more rye bread. It was also a good opportunity to use up some Gouda cheese. For this bake, I made up a rye starter using 500g of Organic Rye flour. I used up the 2kg of Pilsbury Maida which I picked up on my way home on Friday. After making the mistake of using too much water in my last bake, I reduced the hydration this time round to 68%.

The walnuts and cheese were folded in before the bulk fermentation. During the shaping of the loaves, I added in the remaining cheese. I decided on a batard shape as I wanted to cram it in a single bake.

The smell was heavenly and I am looking forward for a bite as soon as they cool down.

40% Rye Hazelnut Fruit Load

A friend asked me for some sourdough starter recently but I was unable to give him then because I had thrown out my existing culture. I promised to give him some as soon as I have started a new culture.

To test this new culture, I decided to bake some rye fruit and nut bread. I had only some Pilsbury Maida and the remaining organic rye flour. The formula was based loosely on Hamelman's 40% rye sourdough formula.

The loaves turned out a little flat as I included a little more water than the formula called for. Their lack of beauty was compensated by the robust flavor.

I can't wait for the morning to slice it and see how the crumb turn out. Just thinking of the bread with Sarabeth's Blood Orange jam and butter has already got me drooling.

Super Peel from Cut The Mustard


Walnut Fennel Raisin Bread with Wessex Mills Strong White Bread Flour



Cut The Mustard

I visited Cut The Mustard at 1 Greendale Ave in Bukit Timah recently. They carry a range of specialty and gourmet products at very reasonable prices. There was a range of flours from Wessex Mills as well as Organic Stoneground Spelt and Whole Wheat flour from Gilchester Organics. I picked up a bag of the Strong White Bread Flour to try. It was very reasonable at $6.50 for 1.5kg. Considering that the local Prima Bread flour is retailing at over $3.00 per kg, the price for this unbleached high quality flour from the UK is a steal.

There is also a surprise find at the store. They actually carry The Super Peel. The Super Peel is a magical tool and it works in a very dramatic way. See this video. This is probably the only store in Singapore carrying this product.

For this test bake, I used the entire bag together with 1kg of whole wheat flour, making it a total of 2.5kg. This was the largest quantity of flour I have ever attempted. As it was a totally new flour and I was clueless about how much water it would absorb, I hazard a guess of 80% hydration.

I prepared a preferment with 500g of the White Flour in the afternoon and the main dough was mixed at around 11.00pm. As it was already very late, I opted for the prolonged autolyse method. The following day after about 12 hours, the dough was taken out for a couple of folds. I decided to make my favorite walnut fennel raisin bread. The 2.5kg of flour yielded 6 loaves.

After the loaves had cooled down, I sliced a couple of them and was very pleased with the results of the bake.