baking – Planet B Gardens

yeast from scratch

Cultivating wild yeast to leaven bread is something I’ve been wanting to try since I learned it was possible. I should have done it much sooner. My bread game is changed. The process creates a sourdough starter that will last as long as I keep feeding it. Creating the initial starter takes around 14 days before it’s ready to use for baking bread. I started with local hard red wheat berries that I ground into a course flour. I mixed equal parts of the whole wheat flour with pineapple juice — 60 grams each by weight. I kept it in my proofer set to 70F, and followed the remaining sourdough starter-making videos here. After a

March 26, 2017

endless snow and baking

Getting mad baking skills with the endless snow this winter…. Rye batard today—fresh out of the oven.

crusty boule

I’m getting closer, but still working on mastering artisan bread making. The crust is crunchy, and the inside “crumb” is bouncy this round. I’m going for a bit more crunch in the crust, and bigger holes with a chewier interior next. I’d love to master a great sourdough flavor, too. Mine is a tiny bit sour, but lacks the depth of flavor and slight tartness of a great artisan sourdough. Plenty of winter baking time left for practice, fortunately!

dark rye bread

A hearty, dark deli rye is hard to find in our neck of the woods, unless you bake it yourself. To do it right is an all-day job. Most of the time is hands-off — you just need to be around to manage the transitions. I highly recommend purchasing buckwheat honey for this recipe instead of substituting another variety. It adds an authentic malty flavor you’ll find in traditional dark deli rye bread. Dark Deli Rye Bread Recipe (PDF) Note that this bread is “dark” because the recipe uses dark rye flour. Some dark deli ryes add coloring and flavoring ingredients like instant coffee, unsweetened cocoa powder, or molasses to make the

October 24, 2016

preserving apricots

Apricots are in season! One of my favorite stone fruits both for eating fresh and preserving through the winter. Traditional Apricot Jam Apricot jam made the traditional way has so many uses. Chop fresh apricots into chunks. Add sugar and lemon juice to taste. You need enough sugar to create the jammy consistency, so err on the sweet side. Simmer until they’re a chunky jam consistency (don’t overcook or you’ll lose the fresh apricot essence). Put the cooked apricot mixture in mason jars, leaving 1/4″ headroom, put on the lids and rings Submerge in boiling water for 10 minutes. The resulting preserves are more runny than preserves made with added pectin. If you

August 17, 2016

hand pies for freezing

Large pies work well for freezing in my experience, but they take up a lot of room and are more suited for a larger crowd. Hand pies seem like the perfect solution. They can be tucked in nooks and crannies in the freezer, and I can take out as many servings as I have people when I’m ready to bake them. The process starts the same as for large apple pies. If you’re preparing a large batch of apples for pies (or dehydrating) I highly recommend investing in a hand-crank apple peeler and corer. It’s fast, fun, and you get perfectly uniform slices. Once you’ve run the apples through the

October 5, 2015

knäkkebrød

Traditional Swedish knäkkebrød is a great option if you’re looking for a high-fiber, low calorie, and low gluten alternative to regular bread. I’ve been buying the Wasa brand for years, and finally decided to make some from scratch. I like the result much better, and it’s fairly easy to make. First, gather your ingredients: 1 1/2 teaspoons dry yeast 2 cups lukewarm water 2 teaspoons salt 1 tablespoon fennel or cumin seed, crushed 1 cup coarse rye meal 2 1/2 cups dark rye flour 1/2 cup rolled oats 1 1/2 cups whole wheat flour (more as needed to make a firm dough) Mix ingredients in order of the list above.

August 23, 2015

sesame bagels, homemade

My first try at homemade bagels was a success. While they take several hours to make counting rising times, the recipe is easy and hands-on time is just little over an hour. I got the original recipe from Munchies, and made some minor adjustments. Here’s the skinny: 5 cups bread flour (you can use all-purpose flour as well; I like the chewiness bread flour gives them) 1 tsp yeast 2 tbsp sugar 2 tbsp buckwheat honey (barley malt syrup could also work) 1.5 tbsp salt 2 cups water 1/2 cup raw sesame seeds *** Put water, yeast, sugar, salt, and honey in stand mixer (like a KitchenAid) with dough hook. Mix

February 8, 2015

easy crunchy crust bread

Homemade chewy, moist bread with a crunchy crust is something I attempted for years. I’ve tried a variety of bread bibles, baking stones, clay cloches, brotforms, multiple gadgets and techniques to make the kind of bread I was aiming for. Turns out, the very easiest technique I tried ended up creating exactly the kind of bread I wanted. Here’s the skinny: Step 1 – Mix the dough The dough has only four ingredients: 3 cups bread flour, 1.5 tsp. salt, 1 tsp. yeast (I use Saf Instant), and 1.5 cups water. Put the ingredients, in order, in a 2- or 4-quart mixing bowl. Mix ’em together. The dough will look shaggy when completely mixed.

August 31, 2014