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First Ever sourdough loaf | The Fresh Loaf
It has been a long time coming. This was my fourth time trying to make sourdough. I have tried to make a starter three other times over the past 30 years, it never worked because I was inpatient. I gave up too soon. Had other things to do, etc. But this tme I was determined to be more informed, try different ways, and to more patient. I did cross my fingers and toes too. Cannot wait to make my next loaf.
100% brown rice bread | The Fresh Loaf
This is a follow up to clazar123's post on gluten free rice shokupan.The idea was to use very simple pantry ingredients to make a gluten free loaf with rice. This means: rice, water, salt, oil, sugar and yeast. A few days ago, I managed to make a simple loaf with soaked short-grain rice. Today, I made two loaves with brown rice, one short-grain, and the other long-grain.
No-Water-Added 85% hydration Sweet Potato Baguettes | The Fresh Loaf
Ladies and gentlemen, I present you, high hydration stiff dough paradox!I chose to postpone my quest for soybean baguettes for awhile, turned out it's a bit frustrating trying to get good enough results using flour so fatty. I love the flavor though. Might make ones again as batards with chocolate chips.So I had too many sweet potatoes on hand, I decided to make baguettes.I had beef with my outlandish complainer neighbor about me practicing flute, I forgot adding salt lol.
Panettone Progress 24' | The Fresh Loaf
It's been about a year since I posted my "first" panettone. That was at the end of 2023 and in 2024, I set out to make panettone every week - that actually lasted a few months until I couldn't really manage it anymore. I had to get creative, stashing the dough in the fridge if something came up, controlling fermentation with temperature or by moving sugar between the first and second doughs, even letting the second dough fully proof and putting it in the fridge to bake the next day.
SANA Breadmaker - Yeast Bread Recipe (with Autolise) | The Fresh Loaf
For anyone looking for a recipe for the SANA Bread Maker.We have been milling our flour and baking our bread for years. Since our bread machine let go of all the Teflon layer in one go after 10 years. We decided to go for a machine with a stainless steel pan, and we got a SANA Bread Maker with the Tempeh fermenting option.
50% Einkorn | The Fresh Loaf
Recently I posted a loaf of bread that was 50% bread flour and 50% emmer. This bread is identical except for the substitution of einkorn flour in place of the emmer. The texture is similar, and the dough was easy to work with. Because our kitchen was 68F, I opted to put the dough in a Brod & Taylor proofer after the first stretch-and-fold and during the entire final proofing.
Tangzhong plus Corn Flour Scald Multigrain SD | The Fresh Loaf
For the first bake of 2025, I figured I would try something new. I’ve never combined a Tangzhong with a Scald. I used fresh milled green corn flour for the scald, which had boiling water poured over it and stirred until combined.The final mix was done in my Ankarsum and open-baked with steam.This was a very high-hydration dough, and with all the fresh milled flour, it ended up over proofing. I should have baked it the next morning, but I had to go to work, so 18 hours ended up being too long. The dough didn’t hold its shape and had very little rise.
Soybean baguettes, hasn't nailed it yet lol | The Fresh Loaf
Practicing baguettes is so much fun! I decided to scale down my baguettes from 29% soybean 78% hydration to 23% soybean 70% hydration to emphasize shaping and scoring. apparently soybean is too fatty to allow me to produce open crumb. Still have to practice! Jay
Elevate Your Walls with Flower Pattern Wallpaper: Timeless Elegance for Every Room | The Fresh Loaf
When it comes to domestic décor, few design factors are as universally loved as flower pattern wallpaper. From smooth, sensitive florals to formidable, artistic blossoms, this undying fashion breathes existence, shade, and character into any area. Whether you’re trying to create a serene bedroom retreat, a energetic residing area, or a contented accessory wall, floral wallpaper adds an plain appeal that never is going out of fashion.
Initial proof | The Fresh Loaf
So the recipe says to mix and “let double” for 8 to 18 hours. How do I know if I let the dough overproof? I prepared the dough at noon and checked before going to bed but felt maybe I should let it continue to rise. (My previous breadmaking experience taught me to allow the fermentation to develop longer.) This morning it looks like it’s fallen and has a strong alcohol smell. Yikes! So where’s the sweet spot? How do I know when’s enough???
Microsoft Unveils Limited Edition Pulse Cipher Xbox Controller, Available February 2025 | The Fresh Loaf
Microsoft has unveiled a new limited edition of the Xbox wireless controller, the Pulse Cipher, designed for Xbox Series X|S, Xbox One, PC, iOS, and Android. This controller follows the legacy of the Sky Cipher and Ghost Cipher, featuring a transparent front shell that offers a peek into the device’s inner workings.
Porridge Bread with/ Yudane | The Fresh Loaf
Off to a good start! Picture resized automatically! Yeah ! This is Maurizio’s original formula with my adaptations which are pretty extensive but I’d never have tried those without his base information. I used my flaked grains , the last of my Kernza and the rest is my flaked Barley. I subtracted 8% WW flour and made a 2:1 Yudane ( scald) subtracted the water from the overall water. I also used my Trinity 35g each EVVO, Buckwheat honey, homemade yogurt and subtracted that from overall water.
Another milk bread | The Fresh Loaf
I made the tangzhong milk bread in my Pullman pan again today. It came out well! The only difference was I used powdered milk (50 grams) and water rather than liquid milk. I also rounded up to 10 grams of yeast.It fit my pan perfectly, just hitting the top without significant leaking or compression.
Tangzhong Milk Bread | The Fresh Loaf
I got a small Pullman pan for Christmas so I've been testing it out. I am starting simple with a white milk bread until I get a sense of how much dough it takes to fill it. The box the pullman pan came in said "450 grams," which I initially took to mean 450 grams of dough total. That isn't close to enough! And I didn't read this fantastic FAQ on pullman pans and dough weight until after baking. That said, though it was small, my first bake came out quite nicely.
Two biga loaves at a family party | The Fresh Loaf
The request was for two loaves of bread for a family party of about 30. The bread would be served with pumpkin soup and alongside some tomato-based vegetarian mains.I thought I would make two rather contrasting loaves but both 50% whole grain 50% white bread flour. One seeded loaf with khorasan and wholewheat, and the other with spelt and rye, mixed with a tablespoon of malt and some walnuts (ran out of cranberries).
Ruchmehl | The Fresh Loaf
Hi guys, I was away for many years from your webpage and the blog, but I have now time for baking and finding new ideas.Years ago, we had a discussion about a substitute for the Swiss Ruchmehl. Has somebody a good solution with a reasonable success?I'm baking St. Galler Puerli with AP and Rye and they are excellent, but you need time for this bread. I do another bun with AP and Acadian flour - an also very interesting combination.Cheers - Hampi
Körnerrebe | The Fresh Loaf
I saw this new recipe on homebaking.at and thought I would give it a try. I'm not exactly sure what a Körnerrebe is; it translates as grain vine, so a bit of a mystery - perhaps someone can enlighten me.It's a yeasted recipe with a biga and a scald, but pretty simple. One thing to watch is that a special "half active" malt is used. I used my normal amount of diastatic malt ( 2.5g for a half recipe, which is what I made) and made up the difference with liquid ND malt extract (7.5g).
The Fresh Loaf is 20 today! | The Fresh Loaf
It's pretty crazy but while preparing for the migration to the new system I noticed it was almost TFL's birthday. Today the site turns 20 years old. That is older that the iPhone. Or Twitter. My kids were babies/toddlers when I started the site; now they are almost out of university.
50% khorasan biga | The Fresh Loaf
Made a 50% khorasan/bread flour with the khorasan in a biga. Whole khorasan flour was hydrated at 45% with 10% sourdough starter and left at 15 degrees for 14 hours. I then mixed the biga with bread flour this afternoon to make a loaf at 75% hydration. Bulk fermented at 18 degrees for 4 hours, proofed for 1.5 hours and baked at 220 degrees for 40 mins. I was expecting the mixing by hand to be very difficult, but it was really just like any other loaf. I enjoyed making the "apple crumble" texture biga!
Playing with the new site photo uploads | The Fresh Loaf
I'm going through the discovery process on how to do things on the new site. Sadly I deleted my profile photo (it needed replacing) before figuring out how to do things. Looks like most photos upload much more easily. I just can't seem to reduce the file size enough for the profile pic. Also, when I click on "preview", it shows me what things will look like before saving the blog entry, but I can't actually change anything on that screen. Using the back button gives fair warning that everything will be deleted. Meanwhile....
Pineapple tarts for CNY | The Fresh Loaf
In a few weeks it's time to celebrate chinese new year and this means getting pineapple tarts baked well in advance, since there's way too much cooking to be done leading up to the day itself. In Singapore these are consumed in the weeks leading up to the new year and as kids they had to be hidden from us to ensure that there were some left for visiting guests during CNY itself! I've continued baking these tarts ever since I left, and my kids and family here have grown to like them.
Test Post With Altamura Image | The Fresh Loaf
This a test post to try the new image machinery, and to try editing the post. Here's a crumb shot:This was one of my efforts at making a Altamura-style loaf. Not bad, not great.After saving the post, I used the "Edit" link to add this sentence. So far, everything has gone smoothly.[Added later] Here is my original post about this bake:
First bake in a long time | The Fresh Loaf
I haven't baked in quite some time. Largely that is because we have a nice local bakery within walking distance of our apartment now. But the updated site launch seemed like a good time to celebrate by baking a loafThis is made with Anita's Organic 60/40 Bakers Blend. I had some in the house because I like it for muffins.
Whole Rye Wheat Sourdough Hokkaido Milk Bread with Sunflower Seeds | The Fresh Loaf
Tony’s recent beautiful rye loaf reminded me that I still had some whole rye flour in my cabinet. So for this bake I used whole rye for the tangzhong which is 20% of the total flour and hydrated at 200% of the rye. This creates a cement like consistency to the tangzhong that bakers who work with rye would be very familiar with so you have to get your pot soaking in water or else it can be challenging to clean. I hadn’t baked a 100% Wholegrain bread in quite some time so I was overdue.
Merlot Whole Wheat Tangzhong SD | The Fresh Loaf
I really like the effect that using a Tangzhong has on the bread. It helps the bread stay fresher longer and I find the crumb to be a little more moist.I usually use water to make the Tangzhong which is typically 5 parts water to one part flour. I decided to try something new and used a nice Merlot wine in place of the water. It worked out great and gave the final dough a subtle wine flavor but not overpowering.This was a very high hydration dough I probably could have cut the water down 20% and still had an excellent overall bake.
"Guilt free" cookies | The Fresh Loaf
These are our "I want a sweet treat but I'm really not supposed to be eating sweet treats so what can I do to have a sweet treat without having too much sweet" go to cookies. Around here we tend to call them our "hippy cookies"Sugar free and no butter.Ingredients
Shrimp Scampi Spinach Sourdough Roman Pizza 20% Whole Spelt | The Fresh Loaf
I’ve been busy in the kitchen recently and today had two things to bake. For this SD Roman Pizza, I’ve made adjustments to my pizza formula to increase hydration by 3% and increase the PFF from the original 8% to 15%. Next time I’ll up that again just so the dough will be ready for baking early enough for our typical early dinner time.The toppings were inspired by a recipe in
Panettone - Sourdough - Giorilli - My Second Panettone | The Fresh Loaf
After my first rushed attempt at a naturally leavened panettone without much research, I decided to try again, but with more planning and using what I think is a more respected formula. However, I am still reluctant to try to build a LM. I invigorated a new 50% hydration version of my starter over two days with feedings of 1:0.5:1 at 82°F to ensure that it could triple in 4
New Year, New Loaf (coming soon) | The Fresh Loaf
I hope everybody had a good holiday. Welcome to 2025. :)As I've mentioned before, the software that this site runs on is being put out to pasture. No more security updates, the development community has moved on. I've held this site back as long as I've felt like I could, but it has come time to get the site onto the newer platform.Dorota and I have spent the better part of