Einkorn Miche

16 Comments read Ancient Grain, Fresh Milled Flour
Einkorn Miche

This hefty einkorn miche epitomizes community. It’s substantial and baked with the intention to share, to break with others, to enjoy its hearty flavor and nourishing quality gathered at the dinner table. A loaf so heavy it practically requires two hands to lift — and oh what a statement it makes.

Traditionally, miche are large, round country-style loaves pmeant to sustain a family for the days between their turn at baking in the communal oven (and with natural leavening, and all the subtle acidity built up through lengthy fermentation, it certainly will1). If you think about it, a massive round loaf is probably the most efficient way to bake large quantities of dough: It takes up less space in the oven, has plenty of crust, it can be divided and wrapped up, and finally, if meant to go to a single destination, a single loaf makes sense. A true daily bread.

Over time as the central community oven became more and more scarce, these large loaves began to fall out of favor, replaced by more ephemeral bread meant to be consumed entirely on the day of baking. But there’s still a place for this beautiful, and enticing, loaf.

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  1. As you know, sourdough breads have incredible keeping quality due to the natural acids produced as a byproduct of lengthy fermentation.↩

Kamut Demi-Baguettes + KoMo Mill Giveaway!

82 Comments read Ancient Grain, Fresh Milled Flour, Specialty Shape
Kamut Demi-Baguettes + KoMo Mill Giveaway!

Baguettes are something I’ve had my sights on for some time and they’re also probably one of the most requested. I’m really happy these are the first ones to share here. These demi-baguettes are comprised of close to 50% whole grain, most of which is fresh milled kamut1, an ancient wheat variety. Kamut imparts a sweet and nutty flavor to this dough that contrasts beautifully with the baguette’s rustic and craggy crust. I’ve talked in the past about spelt which also has some of these characteristics, but kamut, to me, is even sweeter and also brings a very appealing creamy, yellow color to the crumb. The hallmark of a good baguette is a thin, crispy crust and ultra tender interior — I’d say this recipe yields just that, and more.

But first, let’s talk about the mill giveaway.

I’ve partnered with Pleasant Hill Grain to give away a brand new KoMo Classic electric grain mill to one lucky reader of The Perfect Loaf. I’m very excited about this giveaway; it’s the first one of its kind here, and I love the idea of getting more people into baking sourdough with fresh milled flour. Entry to the giveaway is at the bottom of this post, so read on and enter!
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  1. Kamut is the commercial name for khorasan wheat.↩

A More Whole Wheat Sourdough Pizza Dough

48 Comments read Other Food, Pizza
A More Whole Wheat Sourdough Pizza Dough

A pizza addict. Me. The person writing this post. The person slinging these pies and taking these photographs. I do have a problem, but do I need help? Asking for help is the first step. But I don’t want help, especially with pizza this good. And besides, I have some dough in bulk fermentation right now, I couldn’t possibly let it go to waste. Ok, one more round of pizza, I’ll write this post, then take a good long break, ok? Deal.

The Addiction1 means I’ve made some form of this pizza dough at least once, sometimes twice — or even thrice — a week since midsummer. One might think my desire to eat all this pizza would wane, after all, how much pizza is too much pizza? As it turns out (and as evidenced on Instagram), my upper bound on pizza consumption never really materializes. This is not because of some twisted gluttony I have for pizza, it’s just simply because it’s so good, and so dang easy. Continue reading →

  1. I talk about it like it’s sitting right here next to me as I write this.↩

Brioche Hamburger Buns

63 Comments read Enriched Dough, Whole Grain
Brioche Hamburger Buns

This past weekend I had the wonderful opportunity to attend a workshop by the one and only Sandor Ellix Katz, author of The Art of Fermentation (essential reading!). I walked away from the workshop infused with inspiration and a head full of fermentation ideas. Of course it wouldn’t be a hands on workshop if I didn’t leave with a jar of bubbling veggies — a relish of sorts. The fermenting relish we created by hand during the workshop had numerous spicy New Mexico chiles1, onion, corn, tomato, sweet potato (cooked) and garlic added to the mix. After getting my hands dirty with mixing, mashing, and packing I began to ponder what I’d first like to use this spicy concoction on, and then it came to me: hamburgers!

Coincidentally, the upcoming weekend of July 4th has always been a big grilling weekend out here and what better way to celebrate our Nation’s independence than to fire up the grill and throw on some burgers and veggies. I’ve made hamburger buns several times in the past but have yet to formalize a recipe for my favorite version. This formula has evolved over time and is similar to my cinnamon roll recipe in that it’s based on an enriched brioche dough, but with changes to butter, milk and flour types. Continue reading →

  1. As is the custom here in New Mexico, if it’s not spicy let’s first make it spicy, then figure out the rest of the details.↩

Build Your Own Dough Retarder

31 Comments read DIY, Tools
Build Your Own Dough Retarder

Over the numerous years I’ve baked bread, and the countless nights my dough has proofed overnight in the family fridge, there have been (so many) times where I yearned for the luxury, and sometimes necessity, of a dedicated space for my dough. An open, wide space where I could control the temperature and didn’t have to fight with those items that spoil at warmer temperatures. Oh that precious fridge real estate, something highly tussled for in a family with two kids. I finally decided it was time, time to remove my dough as a contender for that sought after space and construct it: a place just for dough.

This may seem like an extravagance. But when you bake as often as I do, and in ever increasing quantity, this dough retarder1 has gradually elevated to necessity. The actual physical space was one motivator but I’ve also yearned for the ability to experiment with warmer proof temperatures (45ºF and above) to test the effect on the resting dough overnight. If you’ve read my posts for a while now you’ll know that I typically push bulk fermentation pretty far and/or I’ll leave the dough out, in shape, for some period of time before retarding in the fridge at 39ºF. This, in effect, helps further the fermentation in the dough but in a different way due to the warm ambient temperature, whereas proofing at a cooler temperature, say 50ºF, has the effect of slowing yeast activity in relation to bacteria activity (more on this below). These varying proof temperatures, warmer than a typical household fridge but cooler than ambient temperatures, are something I’ve wanted to test and experiment with for some time now.

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  1. I like to colloquially call it a fretarder (freezer + retarder)↩