Baking Einkorn Bread in a Hot Kitchen

I’ve been working with einkorn flour for a couple of years, and as with every other type of grain I’ve experimented with, I’ve had some successes and some flops. It takes a little while to get used to how the grain works, especially when compared to regular bread flour, but that’s part of the fun.

 

The “Baking with Einkorn” workshop I attended a couple of weeks ago helped me understand more about the nuances of the flour. So after I got home, I couldn’t wait to begin testing this grain again.

Armed with some new tips and techniques, I set out to bake bread. I wanted to jump right in and start converting some of my favorite recipes now that I have a better idea of how to do that, but I opted to make a tested Einkorn bread recipe instead.

Start with the Classic Einkorn Sandwich Loaf

I started with a Classic Einkorn Sandwich Bread using the recipe printed on the bag of all-purpose Einkorn flour (also listed on the Jovial Foods’ site).

I was still getting over jet lag when I started this experiment so I forgot about the adjustments that need to be made when you’re baking in a hot kitchen. It’s 78 degrees F. in my Atlanta kitchen (with the air on and the oven off) so all bets are off when making bread, even if the recipe has been tested.

The first time I made it, I had to add a good bit more water than the recipe called for. I also reduced the yeast a bit, but I kept the amounts of other ingredients the same. The flavor of the bread was good, but the texture was too hard and chewy. Due to the excessive heat (and my foggy brain), the loaf was over proofed. It also didn’t have enough salt, in my opinion.

I baked the loaf at the suggested temperature of 375 degrees F. That temperature was too hot, especially in a ceramic loaf pan. The loaf turned out a bit chewy and harder than I expected. However, it made for a good grilled cheese sandwich. So although the loaf wasn’t optimal, it didn’t go to waste.

 

This loaf rose too much, was a bit chewy & dry, but still edible

 

Make Adjustments for Baking in a Hot Kitchen

The second time I attempted this bread, I made several adjustments based on the issues I found with the first loaf. I ended up using more water than the original formula, but not as much as I did for the first loaf. I also reduced the yeast by half and increased the salt to help keep the dough from rising to fast and too much in the heat. I kept the flour ratio and the amount of honey the same for both loaves.

Einkorn is very extensible so the dough came together really easily. However, the gluten structure is weaker so it doesn’t benefit from a long mix like you would with regular bread flour.

This time, I paid careful attention to the bulk fermentation period and the final proof so the loaf didn’t overproof. As a result, this loaf turned out much better. It rose beautifully, but not too much. The extra salt helped with the texture and the flavor. The texture was soft and fluffy like sandwich bread is supposed to be and the flavor was good.

This is the version I really liked

 

Einkorn Sandwich Loaf (in a hot kitchen)

I have not tested this particular recipe in milder weather yet, but this is version that worked for me in my hot kitchen during the summer.

Adapted from: Classic Einkorn Sandwich Loaf by Jovial Foods

Ingredients:

• 4 cups (480 grams) all-purpose einkorn flour
• 1 teaspoon (3.5 grams) instant yeast
• 1 1/2 teaspoons (8.5 grams) sea salt
• 1 1/8 cups (260 grams) water, lukewarm
• 1 tablespoon (14 grams) honey

Method:

Whisk together the flour, salt and yeast in a large mixing bowl.

Mix the warm water and honey in a separate container and stir to dissolve.

Add the water/honey mixture to the flour mixture and mix, using your hands or a Danish dough whisk, until there are no dry bits of flour. Add in additional water if necessary.

Transfer the dough to a lightly-floured work surface and knead gently until smooth.

Place the dough in a large, clean mixing bowl and let it rise at room temperature for 45 minutes to an hour.

When the dough has doubled in bulk, remove it from the bowl to a lightly-floured work surface and shape into a loaf. 

To shape the loaf, press the dough out into a rough rectangle, then fold the bottom and top edges in like a letter, pressing the seams closed so they don’t pop open during the proof cycle. Fold the left and right edges in toward the center; then fold it up again so the seam is enclosed in the center of the dough. Flip the loaf over and roll it gently back and forth on the work surface to elongate it to fit the loaf pan. Use a bench scraper to keep the dough from sticking to the work surface.

Place the loaf in a greased 8” x 4” loaf pan and cover with plastic. Let the loaf rise at room temperature for 30 minutes or until the loaf crests slightly over the top of the pan.

 

Bake the loaf for 35-40 minutes in a preheated oven at 350 degrees F. for nonstick pans and 325 degrees F. for glass loaf pans.

Remove the loaf from the oven, and if using glass pans, allow the loaf to rest in the pan for 10 minutes. Then remove the loaf to a wire rack to cool completely before slicing and serving.

 

I enjoyed slices of this bread with butter and with peanut butter, my favorite taste test for sandwich loaves.  It passed both taste tests.

Happy Baking!

Cathy

 

A Sourdough Bread for all Seasons and Flours

I set out to make the sourdough sandwich bread that was featured in the Artisan Bread Bakers Facebook group. One of the bakers shared her recipe for a kid-friendly sourdough with a soft crust.  This sounded like a wonderful recipe so I decided to make it immediately.

Somewhere along the way, I got the inspiration to try this formula using three different types of flours. It was a rewarding experiment.

 

I made three different loaves: one using regular all-purpose flour, another using all-purpose Spelt flour and the other using white KAMUT flour.

I followed the same formula but made slight adjustments to the hydration due to the absorption characteristics of each flour. 

Each loaf is shaped into a batard shape, but scored differently. Each loaf is unique in flavor and texture due to the characteristics of the different types of flour and the scoring method used.

 

I call this a sourdough bread for all seasons and flours because it can be made with different types of flours, but it can also be baked as a soft crust sourdough sandwich loaf in a loaf pan (or freeform) to please picky kids or adults or if you prefer a chewy crust, bake it freeform on the baking stone at a higher temperature and reduce the bake time.

 

Sourdough Bread for all seasons

Adapted from Kid Friendly Soft Crust Sourdough by Nancy Winkelmann

Makes: 1 Loaf

Leaven: This bread uses a 166% hydration starter. Refresh the starter as follows:

In the evening combine:

All-purpose or Bread Flour	Spelt Flour	KAMUT Flour
1/8 cup starter	1/8 cup Spelt starter	1/8 cup KAMUT starter
7/8 cup water	3/4 cup water	1 cup water
7/8 cup AP or Bread flour	7/8 cup Spelt flour	7/8 cup KAMUT flour
1/2 tablespoon rye flour	1/2 tablespoon rye flour	1/2 tablespoon rye flour

Cover and leave the leaven at room temperature until it is bubbly, active, and passes the float test (8-12 hours). 

It took my all-purpose and Spelt leavens about 14-16 hours to ripen, but it only took the KAMUT leaven 8 hours. I fed all of the starters before I began this process, but the all-purpose and Spelt starters hadn’t been fed for a few weeks before being fed. The KAMUT starter had been fed and used recently so the leaven ripened much quicker.

Formula:

260g refreshed starter (all of above)
108g water (75F) *
88g milk (75F) *
15g honey
8g coconut oil, melted (or vegetable oil)
1 small egg, beaten
465g flour (Bread flour, AP flour, all-purpose Spelt, or white KAMUT)
15g sea salt (after autolyse)

* I used the same amount of liquid in the final dough for each version. 

Water absorption of the three different flours compared to bread flour: 

• All-purpose flour: The original formula utilizes bread flour. I used all-purpose flour so I had to add a little more flour during mixing to keep it from being too sticky. I used the same amount of water in the levain as you would for bread flour.
• Spelt flour:  Spelt doesn’t absorb water as well as bread flour so I reduced the amount of liquid in the levain and added a bit more flour to the final dough.
• KAMUT flour: KAMUT absorbs water better than bread flour so I increased the amount of water in the levain and reduced the amount of flour used in the final dough by 30g. 

 

Mix and Autolyse: Measure your starter into a large bowl, and set aside. In a separate bowl, combine all the wet ingredients (water, milk, honey, coconut oil, and egg). Pour wet ingredients into starter, and stir to combine. Add flour to the wet mixture, and stir or mix until no dry bits remain. Cover bowl and autolyse for 20 minutes.

After autolyse, add salt, and work into dough using pinch/stretch/fold (if mixing by hand), or by mixer. If using a mixer, mix about 2 minutes. If kneading by hand, turn out onto surface and knead, stretch/fold until smooth (about 5 minutes). Dough is easy to work with, and not overly sticky.

Bulk Ferment: Place dough in a large oiled bowl, cover and bulk ferment about 4 hours, performing 2 stretch/folds during the first 90 minutes. Dough will increase by more than half, and become pillowy.

Turn out dough onto lightly floured surface, shape into a rough round and bench rest 10 minutes.

Shaping: Shape dough gently without degassing. These loaves do really well shaped in the batard shape. Or you can shape them into a regular loaf shape and bake in a loaf pan. See variation at the bottom of the post for directions. 

Place the loaf seam side up in flour-dusted, linen-lined basket or banneton.

Final Proof:  This loaf can be baked the same day, or retarded overnight in the fridge. (You can do this for up to 2 days and still got good results). If you are making two loaves instead of one, you can stagger your baking over two days, rather than baking two loaves at once.

I baked the Spelt loaf the same day, but retarded the all-purpose and the KAMUT loaves overnight. I got good oven spring with all three loaves.

If baking the same day, continue to prove dough (covered) at room temperature for an additional 2-3 hrs. If retarding, this can be baked directly from the fridge, or proofed on the counter for 30-60 minutes.

Preheat oven to 400F with baking stone (at least 30 minutes). Sprinkle semolina on your peel or place the proofed loaf on parchment paper.  If you aren’t using parchment paper, a little flour on the bottom of your loaf helps prevent the dough from sticking to the peel, and lets it slide right onto the baking stone cleanly.

Score Loaf: Invert loaf onto parchment paper and score. As I mentioned, I tried three different scoring methods. I used 3 slashes on the Spelt loaf (first loaf below). I slashed the all-purpose flour-loaf directly down the center (middle photos) and added some slashes along the sides. For the KAMUT loaf (third set of photos below), I used a zig zag scoring method using a straight-edge lame. Each scoring method produced a unique loaf.

 

Baking: Slide the loaf (on the parchment paper) onto the preheated baking stone, spritz with water (using a spray bottle), and immediately close the door. Bake 20 minutes.

You can cover the loaf with a roasting pan during the first 20 minutes, then remove and follow the directions below. I didn’t use a roasting pan. I just baked the loaf uncovered on the baking stone the entire time. It didn’t take my loaf 40 minutes to bake so adjust the time accordingly.

After 20 minutes, reduce oven to 350F. Bake an additional 20-25 minutes, rotating once for even browning. The bread will have a pale blonde crust.

Cool completely on wire rack. Store bread in plastic bag for soft crust.

Variation: This bread can also be made in loaf pans. Bake uncovered (in the loaf pan without the baking stone) at 350F for 40 minutes. After baking, brush top of hot loaf with butter, if desired.

Thanks to Nancy for sharing her recipe for this wonderful soft crust sourdough.

 

Happy Baking!

Cathy

Semolina Bread & the Olive Oil Adventure

I was looking for a bread to make last Saturday, and happened upon a photo of a Semolina Sandwich Loaf posted by David, one of the bakers in the Artisan Bread Bakers FB group. I was hooked!  I just love breads made with Semolina. This sandwich bread, also known as Pane in Cassetta di Altamura, is made completely with Semolina flour.

 

 

I didn’t realize you could make a loaf using only semolina flour. I thought you needed to add at least some bread flour in order to give the dough its structure. I’m not sure where I’ve been, but I’m so glad I found this bread. It has become a new favorite.

My loaf is extra special because I used olive oil that was grown on a farm in Tuscany and delivered right to my kitchen, albeit in a roundabout way. The olive oil traveled by way of Italy, with a stay over in England for a few weeks, then it made its way to the U.S. and finally to me.

 

Let me explain about the traveling olive oil. One of the places I really want to visit is Tuscany. I wasn’t able to fit in a trip to Tuscany while I was in Europe last month so it’s still on my bucket list. However, my youngest son was in the UK for several months while he was attending school near London, and he was able to do a good bit of traveling.

On his trip to Tuscany, he toured a farm, Fattoria Poggio Allora, where they grow olives and make exceptional olive oil. This family farm also serves delicious meals from locally grown food so he and his friends were able to enjoy an authentic Tuscan meal. He really enjoyed the experience and knew that I would also enjoy it so he decided to bring that experience home in the form of olive oil. He bought me some olive oil from this farm in Tuscany and some from another place he visited in Rome.

I had no idea he had gotten me the olive oil. In fact, the entire time we were traveling in the UK, he never mentioned it. It was hidden in his dorm room. I only found out about it when he came back to the states and handed it to me. He found a very creative way of bringing the olive oil back in his luggage. He didn’t break any rules, he just had to think out of the box in order to fit it in small bottles. The presentation was humorous, but it was such a unique and thoughtful gift. 

 

Pane in Cassetta di Altamura

Semolina Sandwich Loaf

Adapted from: Semolina Sandwich Loaf on the Artisan Bread Bakers FB group

I used Tuscan olive oil in this loaf. It definitely lives up to its name of being one of the best olive oils. It imparts a delicious flavor that makes this bread melt in your mouth.

Ingredients:

Water (70–78 degrees)	300 grams	1 1/2 cups
Instant yeast	5 grams	1 teaspoon
Semolina flour	500 – 580 grams	3 1/4 – 3 3/4 cups
Raw sugar	15 grams	1 tablespoon
Olive oil	50 grams	1/4 cup
Sea salt	10 grams	1 1/2 teaspoon

 

Directions:

1. Mixing the Dough

Place the water in a large bowl, then add the yeast, sugar, flour, salt and oil.  Mix it well using a large wooden spoon or a Danish dough whisk until a rough dough forms.

I added more flour than the original recipe suggested because the dough was really wet. It was still pretty wet and shaggy so I gave it a longer bulk fermentation time to develop the dough without having to knead it.

 

2. Slow Rise/Fold Turn the Dough (or Knead/Bulk Fermentation)

Place the dough in a clean, greased bowl and let it bulk ferment for 2 – 2 1/2 hours, at about 70 – 75 degrees F.

To develop the gluten, during the first hour and a half, remove the plastic wrap every 30 minutes and fold and turn the dough in the bowl, for a total of 3 folds and turns. Recover the dough with plastic wrap and let it rise until it is doubled in bulk.

 

Alternately, after mixing it into a rough dough, you can knead the dough for 12-15 minutes by hand or 8-9 minutes using a stand mixer and then let the dough bulk ferment for 1 1/2 – 2 hours, or until it is doubled in bulk.

I have an injured arm so kneading by hand for 15 minutes was not an option. I did the fold and turn method and let the dough ferment longer to develop the structure of the dough. 

 

3. Shaping the Loaf

Transfer the dough to a counter sprinkled with semolina flour. Shape/roll the dough into a loaf shape and place it in a greased 9” x 5” loaf pan.

 

4. Proofing the Loaf

Cover the loaf with plastic wrap and let it proof for 1 – 1 1/2 hours, or until the dough crests over the rim of the pan.

 

5. Baking the Loaf

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.  Bake the loaf on the middle rack of the preheated oven for 35 – 45 minutes.  Test for doneness by placing a wooden skewer in the center of the loaf to see if it comes out clean.  Also, the bottom of the loaf should sound hollow when thumped. 

 

6.  Cooling and Slicing the Loaf

Place the loaf on a wire cooling rack and let it cool in the pan for a few minutes before removing it from the pan.  Let it cool completely on the wire rack before slicing and eating.  Enjoy!

 

Happy Baking!

Cathy

Sprouted Spelt Bread

The HBinFive Baking Group made sandwich breads this month. Sprouted Wheat Bread is one of my favorite sandwich breads so I decided to continue my experiment with different types of sprouted grains and come up with a new sprouted grain sandwich bread. I used my favorite sprouted bread recipe, but substituted spelt grains for the whole wheat grains and spelt flour for the whole wheat and bread flours. The finished bread is very tasty.

I milled spelt grains into flour and sifted part of the flour twice to remove a good bit of the bran.  I substituted the sifted spelt flour for the bread flour and the unsifted spelt flour for the whole wheat flour called for in the original recipe.

In the photo below, the sifted flour is shown in the top left.  The whole grain flour is in the bottom right and the sifted bran is shown in the bottom left.

 

Sprouted Spelt Bread Recipe

Adapted from The Pleasure of Whole-Grain Breads by Beth Hensperger

Makes: 3 Medium Loaves or 1 Pullman Loaf and 1 Small Loaf*

*The original recipe makes three medium loaves. I decided to make one loaf in my Pullman pan and one loaf in my small loaf pan.  I used about 2/3 of the dough for the Pullman loaf and the rest for the smaller loaf.

 

Ingredients:

• 1/2 cup (4 oz) warm water
• 1 1/2 tablespoons (1 1/2 packages) active dry yeast
• Pinch of sugar
• Pinch of ginger
• 2 cups (260 g) whole spelt flour
• 1 cup (85 g) nonfat dry milk powder
• 1 tablespoon salt
• 1 1/2 cups (12 oz) warm water
• 1/4 cup (3 oz) honey
• 4 tablespoons (1/2 stick) unsalted butter, at room temperature
• Sprouted spelt berries, chopped (see method below)
• 4 cups (540 g) spelt flour (sifted once to remove the bran and germ)
• Wheat germ, for sprinkling (optional)
• Melted butter, for brushing (optional)

 

Directions:

Step 1: Sprouting the Spelt Berries

Duration: 2 to 3 days

Makes: ~2 cups

1/2 cup raw spelt berries

Place the spelt berries in a bowl and add tepid water to cover by 1 inch. Let stand at room temperature for 6 to 8 hours.

 

Drain the spelt berries and rinse with fresh water. Place in a 1-quart jar. Cover with cheesecloth and secure with a rubber band. Place the jar on its side in a warm, dark place. Twice a day, rinse and drain the berries with tepid water poured through the cheesecloth.

 

How long should you sprout the berries? Sprout the berries just until the tiny sprout is barely beginning to show and the grain itself is tender – this could take anywhere from 18 hours to 36 hours, depending on the temperature in your house. If the grain sprouts develop long enough for diastatic enzymes to get started, it will make the bread very gooey and it won't bake through. 

 

Additional posts and helpful information on sprouted bread:

• How to make sprouted bread
• Sprouted Bread with sprouted wheat & bread flour
• Sprouted Wheat Bread with sprouts and no flour - Take Two
• Sprouted Wheat Bread with sprouts and no flour - Take One
• Sprouted Einkorn Bread with no flour
• Sprouted Einkorn Bread with flour

 

What if you’re not ready to use the sprouts just yet? Refrigerate the sprouts in a plastic bag for up to 3 days. 

I sprouted the spelt berries for a couple of days, then refrigerated them for a few days until I was ready to bake the bread. Just remember, they will continue to germinate while in the refrigerator.

 

When you’re ready to bake the bread, grind the berries in a food processor or blender. Be careful not to over process; the berries should be chunky.

 

Step 2: Making the Bread

Pour 1/2 cup warm water into a small bowl. Sprinkle the yeast, sugar, and ginger over the water. Stir to dissolve and let stand until foamy, about 10 minutes.

 

In a large bowl using a whisk or in the bowl of your mixer, combine the whole spelt flour, milk powder, and salt.

 

Add the warm water, honey, and 4 tablespoons butter. Mix by hand or beat in the mixer for 1 minute. Add the yeast mixture and beat 1 minute longer. Add all the spelt berries and the spelt bread flour, 1/2 cup at a time, beating on low speed until a soft dough that just clears the sides of the bowl forms.

Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured work surface and knead until soft and spongy, 1 to 2 minutes for a machine mixed dough and 3 to 4 minutes for a hand-mixed dough, dusting with flour only 1 tablespoon at a time, just enough as needed to prevent sticking.

 

Place dough in a lightly greased deep container, turn once to coat the top with oil, and cover with plastic wrap.

 

Let rise at room temperature until double in bulk, 1 1/2 to 2 hours.

 

Grease a Pullman pan and an 8-by-4-inch loaf pan and sprinkle the bottom and sides with wheat germ.

Divide the dough into two pieces.  Use about 2/3 of the dough for the Pullman loaf and the rest for the smaller loaf or divide it into three pieces to make three medium loaves. Shape the dough into balls, cover them with plastic and let them rest on the counter for 10 to 15 minutes.

 

Shape the large dough ball into a cylinder shape.

 

Place the cylinder in the Pullman Pan and cover it with the lid.

 

Flatten the smaller dough ball on the counter and pat it into a rectangle.  Then, roll it up jellyroll style into a loaf shape. Press the seam closed with your fingers and place, seam side down, into the prepared pan. Cover loosely with plastic wrap and let rise until level with the rims of the pan, about 1 hour.

 

About 15 minutes before baking, preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. and position a rack in the center of the oven. Bake the loaves for 45 to 50 minutes, or until crusty and golden. Remove the loaf from the pans to cool on a rack and brush the top with melted butter (if desired).

 

Let the loaves cool, then slice and enjoy. I like this bread, it has a great flavor.  It makes a great grilled cheese sandwich and tastes yummy spread with jam.

 

 

Thanks for joining me in the bread-baking blog. 

 

Happy Baking!

Cathy

Pullman Bread: Mellow Bakers

The final bread in the Mellow Bakers’ lineup for January is Pullman Bread. Pullman Bread gets its name from it’s former use on the long distance Pullman trains in the United States. In France, however, it is referred to as pain de mie, or “bread of crumb,” because it has very little crust. It is usually baked in a rectangular straight-sided pullman pan which gives it a firm crust and a delicious crumb.  It makes excellent toast!

Most of the Pullman Breads that I’ve seen are made with all white bread flour and are similar to the Simple Milk Loaf I made a few days ago. However, I have seen a few versions that include a portion of whole wheat flour in addition to the white bread flour. Since I had just made an all white sandwich bread, I wanted something different. So I made my version using white bread flour and about 35% clear flour.

Clear flour is flour that clears the first sifting (to separate out the bran and germ).  It still retains some of the finer bran fiber from the outer endosperm of the wheat berry and is thus coarser and contains higher levels of ash. It is usually made from very strong, high-protein wheat. I used whole wheat flour home-milled from hard red spring wheat for this bread. Hard red spring wheat has a higher level of protein than hard red winter wheat due to the shorter growing season.

Here is the sifted bran. I saved it for use in another recipe.  

 

Light Wheat Pullman Bread

Adapted from Bread: A Baker’s Book of Techniques and Recipes by Jeffrey Hamelman

Makes: 1 pullman loaf with dough left over for 1 small loaf

Ingredients:

• 4 3/4 cups bread flour
• 2 1/2 cups whole wheat bread flour (sifted once to remove the bran)
• 5 tablespoons milk powder
• 1 1/2 tablespoons sugar
• 3 tablespoons butter, softened
• 2 3/4 – 2 7/8 cups water (lukewarm)
• 1 tablespoon salt
• 2 1/4 instant or active dry yeast

 

Directions:

Mixing: Mix all of the ingredients in a spiral mixer until they are thoroughly incorporated.  The dough consistency should be medium.  You want to develop a fairly strong gluten network.  Desired dough temperature is 78 to 80 degrees F.

Bulk Fermentation: Cover the dough with plastic wrap or a linen towel and let it ferment in the bowl for 2 hours. Fold the dough once, after 1 hour of fermentation. 

This is the dough after 1 hour of fermentation.  I folded the dough and put it back in the bowl.

I was doing other things while the dough was fermenting so I let it ferment a little bit longer than the suggested 2 hours.  This is what the dough looked like after 2 1/4 hours. Oops!

Dividing and Shaping: Divide the dough into appropriate-sized pieces. My pullman pan measures 13 by 3-1/4 by 3-3/4 inches so I used 2.25 pounds of dough and had about 1 pound or so left over.  I preshaped two pieces (one big and one small) into rounds, covered them with plastic, and let them rest on an unfloured counter for about 15 to 20 minutes.

Then I shaped the big round into a long cylinder with no tapers at the ends.

I placed the dough in the pullman pan to rise.  The dough came about halfway up the sides.  Maybe a little bit more.

I slid the lid on it and hoped for the best.  I put it in the oven with the light on to rise for about an hour to an hour and a half as the recipe suggested.

Well, it rose all right. Right out of the pan. It didn’t take an hour. It oozed out of the lid and made a big mess.  Fortunately, I had greased the pan and lid really well so the clean up was fairly easy. After I had removed the sunken dough from the pan, I reshaped it and put it back in the pan to rise. I figured I might as well try it and see what happened.

In the meantime, I had shaped the smaller dough ball into an oval shape (sort of).

It rose really well so I scored it and let it rest on the counter while the oven preheated to 400 degrees F.

When the oven had preheated, I placed the loaf on the middle rack with a steam pan underneath. 

I baked the loaf until it was golden brown and sounded hollow when thumped on the bottom.  It was delicious!

Now, it was time to check the pullman bread again to see if it had risen enough but not too much this time.  It’s supposed to rise within 1/2 inch from the top of the pan.  There you go…

I slid the lid back on and baked the loaf at 400 degrees F for 40 to 45 minutes.  Then, I slid the lid off to see if it had an even golden brown color all around and a perfectly even crust.  Voila!

I removed the loaf from the pan as soon as I took it out of the oven.  If you leave these loaves in the pans, they will sweat from condensation and that would mess up the nice firm crust.

After the loaf had cooled, I cut it into slices and put the slices into two bags.  It’s a long bread so it made about 24 slices.  I froze one bag and I’ve been enjoying the other pieces toasted with jam for breakfast.  I’ve also had a slice or two with peanut butter. It passed the test!

This was a very forgiving dough. It performed well even when I overproofed it.  It has a terrific flavor.  This is definitely a keeper.  My taste tester really liked it as well.

 

This bread has been YeastSpotted. Please visit Wild Yeast to view all of the lovely breads in the roundup.

The Mellow Bakers are baking breads from Bread: A Baker’s Book of Techniques and Recipes by Jeffrey Hamelman. Feel free to join us.

 

Thanks for visiting the Bread Experience bread-baking blog.  I hope you’ll join me again soon.

Happy Baking!
Cathy