space invader

by kevin walsh, 2011

test site

by kevin walsh, 2011

butternut squash bread from the culture

percentages:

100% flour

62% squash

38% starter

16% eggs

12% butter

6% milk

1% salt

approximate proportions used:

800g white whole wheat flour

500g butternut squash pureé
300g elaborated white/rye starter

130g eggs (2 whole eggs + 1 egg yolk)

100g unsalted butter (a little less than half a stick)

50g unsweetened almond milk

10g sea salt

opptional ingredients:

spices infused in milk: cinnamon, nutmeg, allspice, coriander, chili pepper

flour additives used: vital wheat gluten, diatastic malt powder, toasted wheat germ

toppings: egg white wash, milled pecans, wheat bran, dried squash seeds

preparing the squash: i usually try to find a squash in the ballpark of 1 kilo, this should usually yield 500g of usable squash. below is a series of photos i shot to demo on how to safely, and easily, cut a butternut squash in half.

start the cut near the steam of the squash and draw the knife down toward the large end.

it will feel like you are cracking open a nut when you draw the knife around the larger end.

you can now hold the squash by it's ass in the air and the steam facing downward - with the blade pointing down and finish it off.

scoop out the seeds and save - they make a great topping for larger loaves. i don't worry about getting those tendrils out until after the squash is softened.

the squash will now be baked - to ensure an even texture, i've found that a slash in the middle helps as well as a small amount of butter on each half. bake the squash at 350ºF for up to 2 hours and allow to cool until able to handle. below is the squash out of the oven and cooled.

you may notice some extra slashes made from when i checked the squash in the oven. take out all the tendrils and scoop the pulp free from the skin. i got just over 500g from this squash, though i can't trust this scale of mine - but hey, it's good enough for jazz.

i will toss the squash skins and other bits into a compost pile - however this is a long term compost because squash will invite grub worms galore. 

to mash the squash into a pureé, i simply go hands first - that way i can feel out the chunks i don't want. i don't have a photo of this process because of my squashed up hands. the consistency should eventually become like chunky baby food, but don't stress out too much.

now, if i'm ready to start the dough, i will throw the eggs into the squash at this point. otherwise, the squash alone can be put in the fridge until needed. about the eggs - i crack 2 whole eggs into the squash and separate the yolk from a third. i save the leftover egg white for the wash before baking. stir the eggs into squash and be sure to aerate the mixture in the process.

preparing the milk: i have been avoiding dairy for a good while now and have found almond milk to work quite well as a replacement in bread baking. i try to use almond milk that has the fewest ingredients as possible and even though i get unsweetened, there is still evaporated cane juice added. for this reason, i have refrained from adding much, if any, sugar to my sweet breads. if you follow my persuasion, be sure to check the ingredients of whatever milk substitute you use and adjust the dough ingredients. if one where to use whole milk anyway, i would advise to go easy on the sugar with this recipe as to not overpower the squash's natural sweetness. 

anyway, pour more than enough milk into a saucepan and heat. add whatever spices you like - i use cinnamon, allspice, cloves, coriander and chili pepper - i use very little and i use them all whole - i suppose you could toss some nutmeg in, i personally don't care for nutmeg. keep in mind that if ground spices are used, they will have an enormous impact on the bread's flavor and could very well hide the fact that you used a squash at all. i want only a small pumpkin-pie-like kick to come from these spices, so i keep them whole. i let the milk heat to a near boil and remove it from heat. i watch the temperature while keeping in mind the rule of 240. once ready to use, strain the milk to keep the spices at bay.

flour prep: this time around i used white whole wheat as my base flour with small additions of vital wheat gluten, diatastic malt powder, and toasted wheat germ. the vital wheat gluten is used to help support the dough as it tends to get a bit heavy, it also helps out as a preservative. the diatastic malt powder is used here as the white whole wheat flour is straight up hard spring wheat without the usual additives bread flour or all purpose flour have. one of the handiest additives inside those 2 common white flours are malted barley. adding the malt powder increases the sugar of the dough as the yeast do their thing. the toasted wheat germ is something i found discounted on the bulk isle some time ago. i have found that it imparts a wheatier flavor and really has no negative or positive effects

the proportions of these additives i used are very intuitive. but to give y'all an idea, per 500 g of flour, i normally use no more than 1 Tablespoon of vital wheat gluten and no more than 1/2 a teaspoon of diatastic malt powder. too much of these additives will cause heartache, don't say i didn't warn you. the toasted wheat germ should be added sparingly as well but the exact proportion is not significant.

once i get the ingredients in order, i run my standard method

in a bowl, mix flour, starter, squash, eggs and milk into shaggy mess - rest 10 min

add butter, salt and more milk, if needed, and mix until there's a clumpy dough - turn out to knead

briefly knead until things start to keep together - autolyse for 20 min

continue kneading until medium level gluten is present

form into ball and place into oiled bowl for fermentation

ferment 3-5 hours with two folds

preshape into balls - bench rest 20 min

shape into loaves - proof 45 min to an hour

preheat oven to 450ºF, prep stones and steam

apply toppings and score loaves

bake high heat with steam for about 10 minutes

lower heat and remove steam, bake up to an additional 20 minutes

allow to cool on rack for 4 hours

this has become a trustworthy recipe of mine and has gone thru several variations - only recently have i begun using milk as you normally would with a sweet bread - using water instead will normally open the crumb up some but will sacrifice the soft texture. this bread isn't overwhelmingly sweet, which is my preference, so if you are into sweet, you might want to add some sugar and withhold the malt powder that i use. in this batch, i made 1 large boule, 2 medium sized boules and 12 brioches - i was itching to try out these brioche tins i just got in the mail and used them without any experience in the traditional brioche. it was a fun experiment but the larger loaves are overall softer and moister and i prefer them over the briochlets - the dough didn't fill the tins through proofing and just went upward - i suppose a more straight forward sweet bread would suite the tins use better. another day, eh.

so,  below are some crumb shots followed by a spirited rant...

 if there are any folks that have been actually reading all of my bread work over the past few months, i want to thank you as you have validated my current purpose, i assume, as the student under no instructor. you must certainly of picked up on a few contradictions through the experience. i'm sure that if a pro were to have read my initial freeform bread experiments, they probably would of laughed their ass off a few times. back then i had some obvious handicaps and the usual misconceptions any noobie would formulate.

i had the intension of this post to not only show off my squash bread but also issue some corrections to my previous statements - however, i can't stand to draw up such a list as it would drawl on for days. i will instead list some better internet sources that more experienced bakers have maintained for a long while. though you can't doubt it that i have been able to turn things about in a seemingly short amount of time and i am proud of my evolution as a baker as it is a continuation my total artistic evolution. still, the fact remains that my total experience as a baker of bread is quite minuscule compared to countless other bakers.

my ramble can never function as perfect instruction, although this has never been my intention - i only want to show people the door that i found - over here, down this dark hallway ... it should lead outside ... i aim to prove to the doubtful drones that old ways (i.e. the correct ways) are still obtainable with just a small amount of effort - just replace one flawed practice of your lifestyle with the better way and things will click. i could tell it to you this way - if you stop eating shit then you'll stop feeling like shit and you'll be able to get a shitload more done in your life. can't you see, begging for modern convenience is just begging for the shackles to be tightened. we who take matter in our own two hands stand the strongest. it has become annoyingly easy for me to become upset with my generation - and i tire from the frustration - there's a general lack of motivation, aggravated by video games and pharmaceuticals - there's so much apathy toward what happens all around us that criminals have hijacked much of modern society's food supply - this is compounded by the burden to achieve - to work that job for that car, and that house, and then that new job - and i'll be skull-fucked to see the day that any of us really gets to retire - know this, the end result to each day is food - so did you eat well today?

at the same time, our generation is the aggressively hopeful one - we are the generation to stand up in masses for any ideal without fear of censorship or punishment - many of us care not about ethnicity or religion - we are banded together across vast stretches of space through this marvelous medium called the internet. this why i bake and then type about it - should i be considered an amateur, then my purpose is strengthened. we all start somewhere and this blog has documented one such start. knowing that, is it so hard for you to undertake these practices? i tell you, the feeling of liberation i get from baking and my other natural activities is very addictive, and once you get started it just gets easier. the best part is, not only living healthier, but also knowing that with each pound of food i produce and eat, i am right there pissing and crapping on the Man's front doorstep. a revolution does not need an army or a political party or mob on the street. a revolution starts and ends with the individual. one individual abandons the system and walks thruogh that door and then another individual follows, until there is no system.

i don't know how i got so fired up all the sudden - guess i was hanging around the Hill Country Humidor too long on my day off. anywho, about them links i promised - they'll be listed bellow. but i suppose this blog needed an artist statement, so there it is. so, if you're willing to join the cause and break free as best as any of us can, just go find yourself a few pounds of flour, mix it with an equal part of water, then chill out with some new reading material.

peace - kevo

sourdough and sourdough starter by richard packham

http://home.teleport.com/~packham/sourdo.htm

breadtopia

http://www.breadtopia.com/

resources from the san franciso baking institute

http://www.sfbi.com/resources.html

the artisan, italian food recipe and bread baking site

http://home.earthlink.net/%7Eggda/

the fresh loaf, a community for amateur artisan bakers and bread enthusiasts

http://www.thefreshloaf.com/

bread and original yeast

http://originalyeast.blogspot.com/

sourdough home - an exploration of sourdough

http://www.sourdoughhome.com/

by kevin walsh, 2011

SNORFHYRP! process 1: peppers

that acronymn stands for sprout now or forever hold your piece!

one of the subjects i've had the expectation to discuss on this multifaceted weblog of mine is gardening. three of you beautiful readers may of caught my abstractions on an acorn from a bur oak. i've not yet witnessed anything phenomenal in that experiment, so i've not reported anything. other gardening adventures in my life have been limited due to the season. i've thankfully had a wonderful bounty of greens and herbs through these cold winter months, as any advantageous gardener would assume - spinach, chard, mustard greens, mint, sage - those have been my most productive plants in my feeble urban garden. i also have some snap peas and brussel sprouts that are working hard but but do not provide a "daily" forage as the others. 

each year as i gear up for spring planting, i often neglect seeds that need a head start like peppers and tomatoes. this year, i am determined to get these two plants established in my garden - along with greens, peppers and tomatoes are my most digested produce. so why shouldn't i attempt to grow my own favorites. 

i've always preferred to specifically to grow from seeds rather than nursery transplants, and one day i read some information about using seeds from actual peppers to grow new plants. this ignited a strange madness inside me and over the past year i've been collecting seeds from my garden and produce. i intend to collect as many seeds as possible to mass my own personal seed bank. this obsession has been further inspired by asshats like monsanto who have been creating their own genetically modified seed bank with the usual capitalist intentions. whether the corporations know full well that they can bring about the downfall of humankind, and all life as we know, is beyond my speculation here (though the thought haunts my dreams nightly). thankfully that there's enough of us organic socialists working to break free of the system. as one of the rebels, or post-industrial-new-primitives, if you will, i've have been sucessfully cultivating and digesting matter raised in whatever dirt is nearby. i wish to inspire my dozens of readers to take part. if you can't partake at the present, then may the experiments i document provide a foundation of thought to promote your future actions as we near the climax of "the big twist." 

what i present today is the beginning of a sprouting experiment involving pepper seeds. i have collected seeds from peppers originating a variety of sources - farmers markets, healthfood stores, big boxes and my own garden. like all of my experiments, take my wild yeast starter, i might of gotten off to a hap-hazard start. when i began collecting the seeds from peppers, i cataloged them appropriately with what type they were and which source they came from. however, as i continued collecting, i began throwing everything together figuring nature will sort itself out by the end. the bluck of my pepper collection is a chaotic mix but i've luckily been able to sort out some reliable test subjects, which will be described later in the post. 

as all of my research concludes - the best idea is to germinate seeds and great healthy sprouts grown indoors during the colder months and transplant the successful seedlings outdoors when weather conditions warm up. this basically "extends" the season or, at best, provides more room for production. as i am currently living in the central-south-west of whatever north america means, i am in the prime climate for peppers to grow. i have grown some peppers from seeds with minimal success without taking the precursing steps indoors. 

the purpose for my experiment is to find out what pepper seeds can be harvested and replanted. this also documents an effort in "up-cycling" - which is a cute term i picked up from the instrucable crowd. anywho, i am not going to make a lick of sense just typing from here on out, so let's break down the process and variables as simple as i am artistically capible of.

the medium:

my base media for the pepper seeds, and whatever other seedling experiments i'll engage myself in, will be a local soil/compost mix. the composition of the media should not be ignored while examining the continuing experimentations. the compost is 100% organic as i am - that is to say, i sometimes have to buy an onion from the gas station down the street (that's one extreme) but i normally ingest produce and what not from the farmer's market or other "organic" outlets - i do compost most anything, however, i do separate some really funky bits into a long term compost pile. i can't compost my shit as i would honestly prefer - still an urban dewier, dig. the compost used in these trials is primarily, but not exclusively, composed of the following: fresh vegetable scraps, garden clippings, used coffee grounds and tea, various foliage, brown egg shells (of local free range hens), pine shavings, brown board (commonly unused egg cartons) and local soil. 

the soil:

i am very fortunate to have rich, dark, adaptable soil on this alluvial plain, south of the balcones escarpment, inside the splash-zone of rio de san marcos. preparing compost in this locale has been very easy for me. i've been able to work the soil like i do my wild yeast starter and have different piles full of crazy nonsense - yes, unused starter does have a pile too - waste not, want what? as previously hinted, the funky bunch of my compost is not been incorporated in this current effort, nor any other usable soil yet used in my garden.

the life already inside:

the composting soil has been steadily evolving life since the mid summer when my garden slowed down. my gardening activity became scant during an incredibly hot and dry summer here in centex - along with the harsh elements were my half-attentive action - you see, i've been playing musical apartments for over a year, finding my niche - my ill-prepared horticulture was an annoyance but in hindsight, i guess i needed the space and time to collect the matter that i have now to comprise the compost. the compost has now been festering in large 30 gallon (i suppose) plastic containers for nearly half a year. many forms of live, both disgusting and amazing, have spawned. one such disturbing ecosystem of late summer compost can promote a bona-fide infestation of grubs. they will probably turn into something - i let them do their thing away from my garden - so they don't grow up to munch down on the living plants. most of these grub things die, i speculate that the survivors become beetles. during the humid and colder fall, mold and the occasional fungus came around - the various fungal growths were allowed to rise and fall on their own and eventually were mulched into the compost. within winter's onset i had begun separating the compost - keeping the least broken down bits in the new mix and working fresh soil into the better composted matter. recently, i distributed the soil/compost into the planting pods and found another stage of life inside the dirt - earth worms (images below), very encouraging! i have been known to toss some worms into pots and compost when i find them during a new till. surprisingly, i found 5 to 6 small earthworms (smaller than any i ever remember seeing) actively wiggling through the dirt. i have left them in the planting pods. i am confident the soil in ripe for sowing.

the pods, or planters:

the majority of the the planting pods i am utilizing are up-cycled egg cartons of the brown board variety. these will serve as my primary test structures. these provide soil space at least 1.5 inches deep, which i feel is adequate - i've heard of people using ice cube trays with good results. i have also prepared other vessels for the hell of it - common terra cotta pots, bur oak acorn husks and old flour bags - these are going to be used informally in "set 5", keep reading. i am curious if the soft material of the egg carton will lend itself to easy transplanting - i am familiar enough with it to know that it easily composts as is.

the pepper seeds, organized: 

i have grouped the best documented seeds of my collection into 4 sets. in each set there are 3 basic varieties fulfilled: bell pepper, jalapeño, and sweet pepper (commonly the "banana" pepper). a fifth set will test natural decomposing peppers, in this set, i have no sweet variety - instead there's serrano, quite the opposite

set 1: control, Ame®ican Seed, factory expiration 12/10, purchased from Tuttle Lumber

so these are to be expected to grow, the expiration doesn't phase me, infact these could make up the "oldest" seeds of the experiment - which kinda brings it to better comparison with the next set

set 2: organic, local, spring collection, peppers purchased from farmers markets

seeds were collected between 8 to 10 months ago and were labeled to note type and source, each variety is correctly represented are all from vendors at the tuesday farmers market.

set 3: possible organic, semi-local, summer-fall collection, peppers purchased from grocers, i.e. HEB and Cornucopia, exception noted below for sweet pepper seeds

seeds collected between 4 to 8 months ago. the bell pepper seeds came from  green peppers purchased from groceries. these specific jalapeño seeds were noted to be from peppers from heb, collected in july 2010. sweet pepper seeds are collected from garden grown red peppers (that were rather sweet but unlike a usual banana pepper), the seeds used to grow these peppers were a similar brand as what's used in the control

set 4: organic, local, fall-winter collection, peppers purchased from farmer's markets, exception noted below for sweet pepper seeds

seeds collected between 2 weeks to 3 months ago. seeds have been kept with dried bits of pepper and are easily identifiable. bells and jalapeños were purchased from local farmer's markets. the bell pepper seeds had a note describing them as "long-red-bell". the sweet variety are more of the same garden grown pepper as in set 3, these were picked from the plant very recently (this plant was some 11 months old, amazing) and have been allowed to completely dry - they were literally cracked open to collected the seeds.

set 5:  organic, local, new winter collection, peppers purchased from farmer's markets

not too shocking, but more skilled horticulturists have been able to keep pepper plants producing well into the winter, and hell yeah i bought some from them - notice that the peppers are much smaller than what you can find during the summer (or what's shipped to the big box). these are some peppers from the farmers market, obviously grown within the limits of the season, that somehow got away from me and began to decompose. i think they'll make a handy opportunity to observe the peppers try to naturally reproduce.

each seed variety is given four pods each. as i'm always curious about what should be the "correct" number of seeds to plant, i'll vary the number of seeds per pod and to keep my own numerology from influencing design, i'll use the first four prime numbers, 2, 3, 5 and 7.

looking at this image, set 1 is far left and the next 3 sets follow in sequence to the right. all bell varieties are in the top four pods, the jalapeño occupies the middle four, the sweet peppers are in the last four. simple enough? cool, then no labels needed.

the environment constructed around time:

now that everything is placed, i create the sprouthouse with plastic wrap - i hate plastic wrap - and because of my aversions to it's use in the kitchen, i've got plenty to use and figure it'll get a wider breathe of utility as a greenhouse cover. i'm sure it will soon become a pain in my ass, so i'll look for a better cover - it'll have to do for now. i use wooden skewers to mix my wild yest starter and am up-cycling them as supports for the plastic. the light source while indoors is the biggest florescent bulb i can find locally. this light will not be used until germination is complete and sprouts begin to grow. i expect sprouts should develop in 12 days and at that point, the sprouthouse will collect light from the florescent bulb 8 to 12 hours a day. i expect to continue this for a month up to a month and a half, hopefully right and ready after the fear of freeze s gone. my apartment stays relatively cold in the absence of central heat - ranges from 65º to 75º F.

thanks for keeping tabs all the way down. as a reward for your patronage, i'll post a series of youtubed videos about baking bread in camp by Ray Mears - wait, no i can't, the videos have the embedding disabled. well shit, you tube Ray Mears, you won't be disapponted. how about some blockhead instead? alright, it's down there. stay keen on the muthaship for continuing progress as i hope to bear fruit from these experiments a expand into different organics as the new year unfolds. peace, kevo

by kevin walsh, 2011

my tribute in bread to uncle steve

 Brother Stephen Vincent Walsh 1941 - 2011

my uncle, my godfather, my internal voice of reason

i've always respected uncle steve's wisdom and taste. his appreciation of art was, of course, one generation more refined than my post-modern tendencies could produce. throughout my photographic evolution i would often find myself in the darkroom with a wet print in hand, thinking - yeah, even steve should like this one - then sometimes i could hear that deep voice of his say - hmmm...

i would often understand his issue with the piece and continue working. uncle steve was an artist himself, his best studio was the kitchen. he made magic with food - a good example of his expertise and strict judgment lies in his cheesecake. he could bake a cheesecake to end all cheesecakes - funny thing was, he hated cheesecake.

each culinary endeavor i undertake involves a generous proportion of steve's quiet critique.

it was last week that i began experiments with an apple cider bread

the first batches ranged from pancake to brick in terms of failure.

between then and now, uncle steve suffered some complications of human biology and eventually passed on monday.

when i visited him last weekend at the hospital - he was connected to maybe a dozen different things, the one apparatus i zeroed in on was the tube that kept him breathing.

in steve's past presence, i could always catch that subtle alarm in his breathe

as he was always so calculated and patient in conversation.

a narrow sigh, a quick inhale, a hardy chuckle - i would tune into these as much as his words.

and a word with steve was always a good one, it was complete.

that visit to the hospital ushered in a new context, one i was not prepared for,
and so has began some long days of incomplete silence.

but it is now and it is today and i began kneading myself forward...

i picked up where i left off with the apple cider bread, and there he was, the voice of reason.

helped me nail the apple cider bread.

uncle steve taught many folks throughout his years.

i was never formally a pupil of his

but with my attitude toward education, he was my best teacher.

steve, you will always be my obi-wan kenobi

and i'm sure several others will honor you the same

our work is yours

your life is now ours

so now, i present the batch inspired by my uncle

those baguettes are just sweet bread, the other four are the apple loaves. the following is the apple bread recipe and it's legit - the first recipe i've put up here that could actually be replicated by another, enjoy...

mulled apple cider sourdough

percentages:

flour 100%

starter 45%

water 25%

apple purée 60%

other flours 15%
fat 8%

salt 3%

specific ingredients and proportions used:

400g bread flour

30g coarse rye flour

30g buckwheat flour

5g vital wheat gluten

180g elaborated starter at 100% hydration

100g water

240g mulled apple cider purée*

30g unsalted butter (about half a stick)

10g sea salt (approx 1 Tbsp for 5 c flour)

topping: milled pecans and egg wash

*mulled apple cider purée:

2 apples 

1 long cinnamon stick

8 whole cloves

4 whole allspice

indiscriminate mount of apple cider, no more than 2 cups will do

any kind of apple works. granny smith apples are used for traditional mulled cider - which i used for the first couple of batches - i used some of the red variety for my successful batches - the lower acidity most likely helped the bread's structure but the flavor is what i found most pleasing over the granny smith apples.

preparing the cider:

start heating cider in shallow metal pan with cinnamon, allspice and cloves

peel apples and grate into the heating cider

bring to a boil - foam will begin to form at surface - lower heat and keep at a low boil

allow foam to fully develop around all shreds of apple

keep heating until this foam turns from a pale green to a browner color

remove from heat and cover

allow to cool until able to handle 

- i begin mixing the dough at this point, once i need the apples the dough is ready to rest and ready for a warm liquid infusion

remove cinnamon, allspice and cloves 

drain most of the cider - save excess cider for a nice drink

mash and/or cut apple shreds - this should be quick and easy - just make small uniform chucks of apple

whip softened apple into a chunky slurry 

whip it good, too - so that you stir in some air - like you're making scrambled eggs correctly

you do know how to scramble eggs correctly, right?

add small amounts of cider if needed to get to desired consistency - drink the rest

extra cider should not be added to replace water in the final dough

this adds too much acid to the bread. like adding vinegar, any ingredient that introduces acidity to a batch of dough will condition the gluten - in appropriate proportions, this can have positive results but too much will retard the yeast. 

my abridged and generalized method:

elaborate starter (approx 8 to 12 hour)

prepare apple purée (30 min to 1 hour, see recipe above)

hydrate starter with total water

mix bread flour and salt, then mix in  starter and water

mix to a shaggy mess - it won't look like dough yet - not enough liquid

allow this mix to rest for about 10 min

add the apple purée, it's good to still be quite warm

add other flours, butter and salt and mix

autolyse for 20 min once everything starts to hold together with first visible signs of gluten development - i've learned that the autolyse step should not be skipped even when mixing by hand - this gives the flour time to take in the moisture and ultimately makes kneading a lot easier.

begin kneading dough by letting it stick to a clean surface - stretching it - folding it to provide air pockets - turning and - repeat - repeat - repeat - repeat - repeat - repeat - repeat - repeat 

this dough was odd, the first couple trials took me probably 45 minutes and 900 calories and i took the dough well into gluten development

- once i got my shit together, i kneaded for less than 10 minutes and just let the dough get a low level of gluten development - i could of kept on for about 5 more minutes to get the gluten fully developed but i reasoned this led to some of my past failures.

so the dough was sticky when ready to ferment but still held a good round body.

i decided to change up my fermentation rules

i allowed the dough to double, as normal, which took 70 minutes in this brutal texas cold, and then gave it a quick second session of kneading instead of simple folds.

the dough can be pulled to a thin film with little grit (there will be some due to the nature of the ingredients) and this is a similar result as when i had when i busted ass for 45 minutes in previous trials.

after kneading, shape back into a ball and return to bowel to continue ferment

ferment another 2-3 hours with a "punch-down" fold in the middle

the entire fermentation step lasted no more than 4 hours for me

divide dough and preshape, rest for 20 min

shape loaves and place in proofing baskets

proof loaves until less than doubled (approx 50 minutes)

ready stones and preheat oven to 450º-500ºF

bake at high heat with stem for 10 minutes

lower heat and remove water for remaining baking time (another 15-35 minutes)

allow loaves to cool for at least 4 hours
below are some crumb shots

 

thanks for reading, i'll end this post with some words from my uncle
a formal obituary can be read here

peace - kevo

"The best among us do not excuse themselves from matters of the heart. 

The heart does not know the Pythagorean Theorem, 

the parts of speech or plant phyla. 

The heart knows love and its loss, 

craves compassion and responds to hospitality. 

The heart struggles with ambiguity, 

weighs choices and considers consequences. 

The heart, given space, learns to risk once it finds courage and hope. 

In the stillness of listening, it is the heart that hears the gentle breeze"

- Brother Stephen Walsh

Inaugural Convocation of the Holy Cross Institute

March 27, 2006

by kevin walsh, 2011

most recent breads and sourdough pancakes

chestnut and fig mini boules

using a rye based wild yeast starter

milled chestnuts mixed into flour

chopped chestnuts and figs folded with honey into fermented dough

baked with wheat bran topping

gifted to Shaun Palmer and Jonna Beck 

those were great, what's next though...

FAIL!

this is an experimental loaf i made.

the bottom seam of this loaf exploded during proofing and i decided not to flip it and rather bake it in this exploded form. the base ingredients of this bread are whole millet i put through my coffee mill and incorporated it into a whole wheat flour mix. i used a crazy starter that was feed whole wheat germ and milled barley. end result is a dense and odd tasting chew. i want to revisit the use of milled millet - ah, shit, i was trying to avoid it - i mean, try saying it - "milled millet" - ah, not so hard, anyway - maybe put that millet to soak before adding it to the dough - that would of be the educated method - and the starter i had was beyond reason. i dared not let any other human but myself eat the bread from this batch. so far, i'm doing fine. the starter was, by all appearances, approachable but i think i need to read up on barley before i use it in bread again. there's that not-bread-but-not-beer limbo in the art of fermentation that has yet to find culinary application. if this experimental starter of mine did not stare of the edge of paradise, it most definitely plunged into the void.

no nonsense sourdough bread from white/rye starter

this has become my handy staple bread. something to make out of whatever basic  ingredients i have around.

a simple formula is used 

i measure, by weight, x amount of starter that i have elaborated throughout the day

i add slightly more water while reserving some for later mixing

i measure flour to this amount of starter and water

sea salt is added half way through mixing

as for flour, anything goes - different proportions create different results.

i have become reliant on 4 main flour types, which many different breads can be made from: white whole wheat flour, natural bread flour, stone ground rye flour, vital wheat gluten - keep in mind that this is american nomenclature, which annoys the shit out of me. i envy the hommies in europe who get a tight numerical and/or symbolic itemizing of what flour they're buying, while we more primitive cultures in the western hemisphere just dump a variety of flours into categories and leave it to the consumer to read that tiny ingredients list that's printed somewhere on this package, here on the side usually but, i know it's gotta be on the bottom - no - take "all purpose flour" for instance, what is it? it's flour that can be used for bread or for cake. but we have bread flour and cake flour, why not just take your pick. enter the muffin - the perfect solution for such a dipshit qualification that is "all purpose". fucking quick breads will end us...

here's a crumb shot of a small batard i had for myself...

and here's the large boule of the batch, turned out looking like a luchadora mask...

sourdough pancakes

these have become an every-other-day morning meal when i feed my starter. i use the discard for the batter and have been toying with the ingredients for the recipe i started the practice with. through this practice, i've stumbled unto some interesting flavors and textures i never though possible in a simple pancake. if you could only taste what you see...

these are the standard proportions i use

200g 100%-hydration wild yeast starter

1/4 - 1/2 cup ingredient x *

1/4 c flour 

1 egg

1 Tbsp agave nectar or honey

1 Tbsp canola oil

pinch of sea salt

1/4 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp baking powder

* i often used ingredients that are leftover previous bread session - tahini, apple purée, chopped chestnuts - most anything i've used in bread works well except i've not cared it get real grainy with the pancakes. these leftovers often add water to the batter which is why i add flour.

there's a simple method to these pancakes, although it is a method that should be done correctly - mixing is easy but mind these rules: mix baking soda and baking powder last, mix all other ingredients without starter, once these ingredients are well mixed with each other add the starter and get it fully incorporated. the consistency should be like a mature starter, just a bit runny. now add the baking soda and baking powder and it's ready for the griddle.

cooking the flapjacks is an easy affair as well - just be patient. with low heat, i give about 5 to 7 minutes on each side. i get to the point were i feel like they're getting the shit burnt out of them - at this point they're perfectly done and not burnt at all, these pancakes just develop a dark color and toasty exterior. 

the cream is whipped soy protein powder with cinnamon and brown sugar.

butternut squash breads from whole wheat starter

i've also been messing around with the butternut squash bread, it has become a favorite of mine. just above is the photo of a freeform loaf with the squash's own seeds as a topping. below is an attempt at a multiple roll brioche. after that, i'm out - peace

by kevin walsh, 2011