The little birds...

If you watch little birds you will see they are busy and happy! Using whatever they can find they create the most gorgeous little nest.
I would be the little bird with some glittery thread in her nest!
We can be like this. Happily working away with the things that are available to us to create a beautiful and happy home.
All the while with a little song in our heart.

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Monday 5 June 2017

Pantries and Preparedness. More on Sour Dough and bread making.

Sorry to be late with this post!  We have been at the farm for my Dad's 80th Birthday.  It has been lovely and very special.  I got lots of beautiful photos. One of my aims was to get good photos of Dad with the Great Grand Daughters.   Plus it was like a little holiday and so nice!

Now to my preparedness post!

Sour dough starter will be arriving in mail boxes in all sorts of places soon so I thought I would go on with Sour Dough tips this week.  This isn't what I planned so hopefully next week will be the easy mixes and recipes.


The photos in this post are from you all! 
This is from Rachel. Look at those goodies and the beautiful dried Peppercorns! 

There is "Sour Dough" on the right hand side in the index. The getting started post is here.  These are the instructions to get your dry starter going and begin making bread.

While I've been researching more things I can make myself I was amazed that you can make bread flour or bakers flour yourself!  Bread flour is much more expensive than regular plain flour and when you get going in bread making this puts the cost up.
The reason you need bread flour is that it is slightly higher in protein than regular flour. That slight amount is enough to make a difference to how your bread rises.  The reason is that both the starter and the yeast in your loaf of bread likes to feed on protein.


These cinnamon scrolls were made by Kelley!

To make your own bread flour you can add Vital Wheat Gluten to your plain flour.  There seems to be differing ideas on how much to add.  And there is a cost to buying this product and I am not sure it works out cheaper yet.  If you are interested in that sooner than I can report on the results just google "how to make bakers flour" and there is plenty on it.  Health food shops appear to sell it and it is available online.
(It is important to note bread flour is not "bread mix" as we are just talking about flour. Bread mixes are generally all mixed in with salt, bread importers and other things to save you all the trouble. They are commonly produced for bread mixers. Overall these are more expensive again. This is also something that you can make up yourself for quite a big saving!)

The information about making your own bread flour led me to some other discoveries.  If yeast likes protein so much and the difference between bread flour and plain flour protein content is only about 2% then there are other ways to add protein to your baking mix.  I am going to be trying this out a little bit more. So far so good.
Instead of using bakers/bread flour I am using plain flour and adding either a spoon of powdered milk or an egg to my mix.
I noticed with the sticky buns the rise on them was huge! They contained eggs! Ahh!
I will still buy bread flour to feed my starter and keep it going but for the actual baking I am now on plain flour plus protein.  I will let you know how this goes over the next few weeks!  This means Aldi flour will become my main bread making ingredient and less than half the price of the bakers flour I was buying!


Jane's Sour Dough bread (from Nanna Chel's and my starter) and beautiful pull apart bread.

 I was talking with Patsy as she started her own starter from scratch.  She did not feel it was right yet as it was very bubbly and bubbly quickly after feeding but it did not increase in size.
Many blogs I read have you half your starter, throw half out and feed the remaining. Why I will never know!  I suggested Patsy ignore that and feed it up and get making things!  So far it sounds like she is on to a winner now! So I thought I had better mention this. I have never noticed the starter increase in size other than because of the actually added flour and water. I keep adding and it gets bigger but not in a "rising" kind of way.



Next I started researching getting your bread to rise as I was worried about the cold weather.
Normally I get some warmth into things especially when working on the second rise before cooking.
Some of the ways I warm things up are:
Put my baking pan in the oven for a few minutes to warm it. Turn the oven off. Then when my dough is ready to go into the pan let it rise in the now only slightly warm oven.
Put the pan in the car if it's in the sun.
Soak my baking pan in a sink of hot water. Just before filling it dry it, pop the mix in and wrap a towel around the base.
Heat up a hot pack and sit it under the dish...
Sit it in the window if its sunny and warm.
Sit the bowl in a few inches of warm water.
These have all worked really well.


Maria's Chocolate and Berry Brownies. 
She made these low sugar for her husband. They look amazing!

My research paid off though!  I found out professionals usually have a proving box.  This always has something in it to provide moisture/humidity. I didn't know that!
A perfect substitute (if it is big enough) is your microwave.  You boil a cup of water and immediately set that on one side and put in your bread. Close the door.  The heat from the boiling water is enough to warm up that little space and the humidity will make the yeast very happy!  I think you could do this in your oven too, perhaps with a larger container of boiling water.



Next I found that your rising dough absolutely should be covered. Covered in a way that actually doesn't touch the dough but still keeps the air off it.  Without a cover the top of the dough dries out slightly and forms a bit of a crust. This crust is tough enough to keep it from rising more.
So a loose cover is a good idea.
This information seems to be good for the first rise and the proving box seems to be good for the second rise... as the steam seems to stop this crust issue.  So more experiments coming there!  Perhaps it is a case of either or... both these methods might stop the crust forming.

Finally I found that slashing or scoring your bread is a good idea as this also helps it to rise into a nice shape. Like cakes sometimes do, a loaf can split or rise oddly and that is the reason for scoring... it helps it to rise nicely without spilling over in some weird place.  Two or three slashes into the risen dough, about 1 cm deep, just before cooking, seems to be the formula.

It is so exciting to see bread or a tray of buns or scrolls rising sky high as you know they are going to be beautiful!  So hopefully these little tips will be a help to someone.  Also I hope the information about the protein and making your own bread flour will save you money.

I truly think if what you are doing is working keep doing that. If you have trouble with bread being too dense, not rising enough etc then try some of these ideas.  Bread making is a bit science and a bit art I think.  Dough has a "feel" to it and after a bit you come to understand how it should feel.
I figure this would be like making pasta but I just haven't gone there yet!

What are your tips for bread making and yeast cooking?
If you requested starter I hope it arrives this week or soon!
I hope you have a very good week!  I have a lot to report on Friday already! xxx


38 comments:

  1. Great post Annabel. I haven't tried sour dough yet, it's on my to do list. But I've always used plain label/generic plain flour and add 1 tsp gluten flour per cup when making bread. It was the way I was taught when I was 10. For anyone in Melbourne I buy my gluten flour from The Full Pantry in Croydon (I think they do online sales too). $5.95/kg. I also use gluten flour to make savouries so I usually buy in 5kg lots.

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    1. Dear Cath, Anytime you feel like some starter please let me know. It is actually really good fun! This tip about the gluten flour is fabulous. Thank you for the info on the store. I think I would love any shop called "The Full Pantry"!! With love, Annabel.xxx

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  2. I think you are right about the part science, part art Annabel! The last lot of scrolls I made were a bit doughy still after cooking, and even after I baked them longer they were not as good as my first attempt. So I will be adding more flour next time.

    I tried to post a comment on Friday but I don't think it worked, your bathroom is stunning. What a lovely feeling it must be to go in there. I love seeing before and after photos!

    And I'm sorry about your dishwasher hose bursting, though to be completely honest, as I was reading your story of the 'rain' I thought that something had gone wrong in the beautiful new bathroom, so was actually a bit relieved when you said it was the dishwasher! I hope that doesn't sound terrible! And that the insurance comes through quickly and you can get on to fixing the floor.

    I have finished two craft projects this weekend that should have been finished quite a while ago (like years lol), and have started crocheting a border around a blanket I have knit. I also pulled out some knitting that has sat untouched for over a year because I didn't like what I'd knit, and abandoned a cross stitch that I started last month but I used too many strands of thread for the fabric and it wasn't sitting well. And I'm actually really happy about not finishing those two projects!

    I hope everyone has a lovely week, and can I add a special thank you to Rachel for her lovely comments on the show and tell post.

    Jen in NZ

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    1. Thank you for the 'thank you', Jen!
      Undoing knitting/crochet is such a learning experience, isn't it?!! It does us good, I think .... I hope!!
      Regards,
      Rachel

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  3. Dear Annabel and Beautiful Bluebirds!!

    Wow! I think we're becoming Baking Bluebirds now! Maria, your baking looks excellent! Jane, your baking looks excellent! Kelley, your baking looks excellent!

    Annabel, your tips on using starter, and on bread making, look like little treasures! I'll be trying the milk powder/egg tip for using plain/all purpose flour!! I like your thoughts on the humidity rise, too! There's nothing like a humid Queensland summer for making bread, I think!!

    I am very grateful for your efforts here! I feel hungry!

    Warm regards,
    Rachel Holt

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    1. Dear Rachel, I never knew about the humidity before! There can be natural humidity or we can create it! I didn't know there was so much to learn on this but it has been really good fun. Thank you for helping with replies.... with being away, the "flood" the insurance people and so on I have been battling! Thank you so much! With love Annabel.xxx

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  4. Annabel, Since you gave me all those tips my Prudence is even more bubbly! She is one active girl! I like the idea of a proving box as having a warm place for the bread to rise can sometimes be a problem here. I'm going to add these ideas to my sourdough notes for sure. Prudence is looking forward to the arrival of her friend GG (Gertrude's granddaughter). My plan is to make bread with each of them taking notes and comparing as I go. I'm learning lots from you about this old art of sourdough bread making, thank you for sharing and helping as I learn this skill.

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    1. Dear Patsi, I am so glad! Sometimes it is just one little bit of information and we are right! Off we go! I am so happy to find I not longer need to be spending on bread flour like I was... big savings. I cant wait to see how the different sour doughs compare also. With love Annabel.xxx

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  5. Annabel, there is nothing like experimenting is there? I never liked the idea of throwing away any starter either that is why the method used by Chris from Gully Grove appeals so much. I need to do some more experimenting as a friend gave me a book on making sourdough that I mentioned on my blog that I would buy if it didn't cost so much....so she bought it for me as a surprise :-) How lovely!

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    1. Dear Nanna Chel, I think with us giving starter to people that we would just never throw any away. Also like today I have two lots of starter out of the fridge waking up. Tomorrow I want to cook two trays of scrolls so I need double. I will feed these up and make the sponges tonight I think. I don't think we can have too much starter! Im making chicken soup tomorrow and I thought scrolls would go with that plus Lucy is sick with a cold so I will make them the same. Its all very very handy! With love Annabel.xxx

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  6. I have a San Francisco Sour Dough Starter that I bought in 2014 before my husband passed away. Wondering if it is still any good. I used to make Sour Dough bread a couple of times a week but spilled my starter when I moved one time and I've never been able to get it going again. Suggestions appreciated!!!

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    1. Dear Charlotte, Is your starter in dry form? If so it might still be just fine. Follow my directions (the link is in this post) and see if you can get bubbles in a few days. If so you are good to go! It would be wonderful! Good luck! With love, Annabel.xxx

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  7. I am going to be trying the egg in the dough to see if I can make the switch to Aldi flour, too. Thank you for that awesome tip! My Mom, and so I do the same, always greased her dough rising bowl and when she put the dough in she would plop it in and then turn it over so that the entire ball was greased. This keeps the outside nice and moist. After that she covered with a towel and I do the same. It works very well.

    Happy Birthday to your Dad! My Dad will be 80 this year, also.

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    1. Dear Lana,
      ..... and the oil on the surface of the dough makes the loaf extra delicious once it has been baked up!!
      Thank you, once again, for sharing your experience!!
      Regards,
      Rachel

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  8. Happy birthday to your dad!

    This post has perfect timing for me, Annabel. My starter that I started from scratch, like Patsy did, is getting bubbly. I've been doing a lot of reading about sourdough! The more I read, the clearer it becomes, which is obvious, I guess. I've read your tutorial through many times, and I love how plainly you explain everything.
    Please correct any miscomceptions, but, for now, here's what I've learned:
    * The starter starts to grow yeast because there is natural yeast already in the flour; the starter isn't really catching it from the air (though it can).
    *. The leftover starter that is often recommended throwing out can be added to recipes. You said that! But, what I learned is that it can be added to many, many things, and most recipes are quite forgiving.
    *. Patience is important!
    * Feeding amounts vary by whomever is writing. I've seen it many ways, so that must be forgiving also. It's really just flour and water!!! I'm using equal amounts, though.


    I'm coming to sourdough baking from traditional yeast bread baking, so I wondered why there was no kneading with sourdough. Then it hit me: the starter slowly works on the flour much like yeast artisan bread that has a long rise time- thus all but eliminating the need to knead! I wonder if the kneading was what was throwing you off before with yeast bread? - not that it matters. You're an excellent baker!

    Also, I wondered that you had no eggs or milk in your sweet rolls/scrolls. I know they can be made without, so I thought it was a personal choice. Funny how you talked about that in this post.

    Kudos to you for getting ladies all over the globe talking about and trying sourdough bread baking! What an accomplishment. I am going to try the savory scrolls. I never thought of those on my own! My husband will love bacon and cheese scrolls for a quick breakfast. Thank you so much for your dedication to your readers.

    -Amy in the southern United States

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    1. Dear Amy, Thank you for sharing your discoveries! The sour dough I am doing still needs kneading. I don't feel it takes terribly long but I knead it until it is smooth and stretchy, usually in my electric mixer.
      My sweet buns i.e. sticky buns have eggs and milk. The scrolls (savoury) did not but now I am experimenting with those and including a little powdered milk.
      Another good savoury scroll is really just what you would put in a pizza only rolled up as a scroll. Yes they are beautiful warm for breakfast! I put them in the microwave for a few seconds if I have already cooked them!
      Thank you so much Amy! With love Annabel.xxx

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  9. Annabel, I love the in depth research you've conducted for all of us. It truly is all of these heirloom methods that get lost in trying to do everything 'quickly'. The modern day demon! I must look into whether sourdough can be made gluten free or whether it's self defeating. Baking gluten free bread is more like baking a cake than baking bread! Great discussion by the Bluebirders too! Love, Mimi xxx

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    1. Mimi I purchased a book from Booktopia called Gluten Free Artisan Bread in Five Minutes A Day - it is on my 'to do list' now that I have sorted out some extra bench space in the kitchen. Might be worth a look out for.

      Lynette
      XXXX

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  10. Dear Annabel,
    I think it will be a while before I start experimenting with sourdough, but I do appreciate your tips for getting bread to rise! The photos everyone sent in are beautiful and all the food looks so good. Kelley's cinnamon rolls look positively mouth watering.
    Satuday we made a trip to Costco so we could do one more big shop before the little Bluebird arrives. The pantry has been replenished and I bought several ingredients that I need for a big freezer meal cook up. That is this month's project- fill the freezer with pre-made meals. I just need to buy a few more ingredients from the grocery store to fill in the gaps before I get started. I am also going to order a couple of plastic milk crates to help organize the chest freezer. Hopefully they will make it less chaotic in there!
    Keep up all of the lovely baking ladies! And a happy birthday to your dad, Annabel! It sounds like your family had a lovely time.
    With love, Kelsey

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    1. Dear Kelsey,
      Looking on, your efforts show as valiant traits of a devoted mother.
      Be encouraged! May our Rock be your strength in the days to come.
      Regards,
      Rachel

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    2. Thank you for your kind words and encouragement, Rachel!
      Love, Kelsey

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  11. Hi Annabel and beautiful Bluebird friends. Firstly thank you to Rachel for taking the time to comment on Fridays comments.

    Annabel I feed my sourdough on Aldi plain flour. I don't have any issues with the starter not liking this. Often Esmerelda only gets one feed and has to last in the fridge for a whole week.

    We have a wholesaler who sells to the public here. Bluey bought me a 12kg bag of bakers flour for the same price as the 5kg bag from Woollie's. I am finding this flour really nice to work with. I ran out of SR flour and baking powder so used the bakers flour in some of my cake baking. Fabulous results. My sky high banana cake was a hit.

    Chris from Gully Grove uses an oven method for getting the dough to rise. She also puts a small amount of oil on the dough to stop it from crusting. In the oven there is a pan of boiling water to keep the humidity up. Given it really doesn't get that cold here I haven't had to explore with rising methods. When it feels too cold inside I put the bowl of covered dough in a pot plant in the sun.

    Can Maria please share her brownies recipe please. It looks scrumptious.

    I need to go and get my dough made up. Have a good week.

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    1. Hi Jane, here is ther link to the recipe, which is not like the usual brownie, thought Id better tell you that.My husband did not like them but I did as a healthier choice.HTH
      https://nadialim.com/recipe/healthier-chocolate-berry-brownie/ Love Maria x

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    2. Jane-my apologies I think I made this recipe,and in the last two weeks I threw out the page Id torn out of a magazine Id bought ,so I think it was this one form Healthy Food Magazine....https://www.healthyfood.co.nz/recipes/2014/january/choc-berry-brownies,
      Cheers Maria X

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    3. Dear Jane!
      Thanks! We all play our own little roles in supporting the Bluebirds mission! You are setting an industrious pace, and inspiring mountaineers with your amazing high top loaves!!
      Regards,
      Rachel

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    4. Dear Maria!!
      Your "my husband did not like them" was worth a gentle chuckle! My husband dislikes being a 'guinea pig', but that is part of the road we travel to find success!!
      Annabel could have been horrified when I told her that I halved the sugar in her banana cake recipe, and I never have icing sugar in the house! Ha ha!! However, we love the gently sweet custard tarts - and banana cake!! - made this way! Keep up your efforts!
      Regards,
      Rachel

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  12. Hi Annabel and Bluebirders,

    I'm sitting here, coffee in hand and drooling at all the baked goodies - even more so since being on a medically enforced diet to lose weight. You ladies are fabulous.

    Thank you for all the information Annabel. Every time I read you sourdough posts I wonder if I should give it a try, maybe one day.

    I hope your Dad had a wonderful birthday. I'm sure he really enjoyed having you all there for the celebration - 80 is a wonderful age.

    Rachel, I'd be really interested to know how you dry your peppercorns. We have the most beautiful (self seeded) peppercorn tree in our front yard, which I'm sure the lorikeets would mind sharing.

    Have a great week,
    Janine

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    1. Dear Janine!

      Oh, you made me laugh!! - about baking and weight loss! I've hardly baked bread for the last couple of weeks, and enjoyed the slimming benefits! Ha ha!! However, it does come time to eat bread again, and you'll just love being able to enjoy your own! Come on, Aussie! Come on!!

      The way I dried my pink peppercorns was to tie them up in a calico bag (to keep them free of dust) and hang the bag from a rustic rope by the fire! They were there for weeks before I got back to them, and they look every bit as good as when I picked them, only dry! I think one good tree could supply a small town! It would be good to see your pink peppercorns, too!!

      Regards,
      Rachel

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    2. Thank you Rachel. I'll give the peppercorns a go, especially as the fire's going these days anyway.

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  13. What a great idea for the flour iam going to try this too i know the place Cath is talking about too, and will try all these ways for good dough i think i know what i will be doing over the weekend :) thanks for this wonderful advice on making good dough.

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    1. Dear Melissa,
      It's wonderful to be of a feather with others who appreciate these homely pearls of wisdom! I'd say that it is Annabel's genuine concern for others' well being that drives this homely quest, and this never ceases to amaze me!!
      Regards,
      Rachel

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  14. Annabel, you are our little Scientist! I've never tried baking sour dough bread as I don't like the taste of it. When I've baked 'regular' bread, for the first rise, I've placed the dough in a large bowl, covered it with a stretchy plastic cover and placed it outside in the sun. It does the trick!

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    1. Dear Joy, I hope your bread was a big success! The sour dough starter doest have a different taste to normal bread and buns... to get that sour taste of classic sour dough there is an ageing process which I don't even understand and haven't yet tried. Used fresh and normally it is just a yeast that you don't have to buy. Also it seems to rise better for me I wasnt very good with dry yeast for some reason. However as for getting bread to rise, proving and so on well it is all the same really no matter what kind of yeast and as long as it works then that is all that matters! I hope your bread was really good, with love Annabel.xxx

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  15. Dear Annabel,

    Happy Birthday to your Dad!

    Your sourdough instructions are fabulous! xxxJen in NS

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  16. Thank You Annabel. I will go ahead and try to start the mix as it was a dry mix.

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  17. Dear Annabel,
    I loved this post. It was so full of helpful tips and excellent advice on using sourdough. I have found my sourdough does poorly compared to yours. I use a low protein flour, however, due to gluten sensitivity. Einkorn is much lower in gluten than normal flour. To boost it for baking I add some milk powder and egg powder.
    In the old sourdough cookbook I have, it states that the sourdough should be kept around 86 degrees to get it started good. Our house is not situated where we have windows that get a lot of sunlight, so we purchased a seed starting mat. These are used under trays when starting seeds inside to keep the soil temperature warm. It worked great to keep the sourdough warm and at the right temp.
    Thanks again for a great post.
    Love and hugs,
    Glenda

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    1. Thank you Glenda! We all have our own issues with climate that we have to navigate. The boosting of protein in non gluten ways is another very helpful point. I had never thought of a seed starting mat! It only takes a bit of warmth to make a world of difference! Thank you so much! With love, Annabel.xxx

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