Bakery Easter Sunday, preparing the first loaf

Easter Sunday

I've been trying to find a baking stone on Taobao. So far no luck. Sophia has sent me a number of links, but haven't found it yet.

Last night about 14 ex pats gathered at a local Chinese (Cantonese style) restaurant for an Easter Eve dinner. We all went our separate ways upon leaving the restaurant. But I was still wound up, so I decided to start a sponge with my new dough.

I had forgotten that Traci and I had agreed to meet Sunday morning for breakfast. Whoops.

Using Beranbaum's The Bread Bible, and a recipe I've done a gazillion times, I chose the hard wheat from the small Hebei farmer. It's the one I'm rooting for, since it is the least expensive.

Weighing carefully on my new digital scale, I started with 341 gms of flour (I included some fine bran, maybe 1/4 cup, didn't measure), 405 gms water, 45 gms honey (not the best tasting I've had) and 2.4 gms instant yeast.

I beat that together, and it seemed quite thin. Usually I use less water, when I was using the local soft wheat flour.

I covered it with a blanket of 2.4 gms yeast, 311 gms flour (I included another 1/4 ~ 1/3 fine bran), dry milk (fat included).

I let it sit for an hour, then I refrigerated overnight. At 6 a.m. I removed it from fridge so it could warm up to room temperature. At 7, I add the oil and salt ( 40 gms, olive oil 128 gms, 15 gms salt), and another 1/4 cup flour. I was afraid it would be too moist.

Mixed it as best I could with a wooden spoon. It always has streaks of oil in it after mixing that way, which bothers me, but through the different rises it all seems to get incorporated. I worked it as long as I had energy, a few minutes once it was coagulated, and then dumped it on the floured bread board. I covered it with the mixing bowl, while I checked the instructions again. It has been a while since I made an actual loaf. More recently, without an oven, I've been limited to making rolls like English Muffins on the stove top.

Following directions I gently kneaded it a few minutes more (not the full 5 called for, since I've got rough bran in it), then let it sit 20 minutes again under the inverted bowl.

Washed out the bowl, coated it with oil, put the dough in it. Flattened it out and turned it over. It seemed huge! I had read that fresh dough rises better, and this certainly seems to be what I am observing.

Because I'm meeting Traci for breakfast, and also because I have to be to work sooner than all the rises and baking calls for, I'll just let it rise for a little over an hour. Before going to breakfast I'll flatten it, fold the four sides in "like an envelope", and put it back in the bowl. After breakfast I'll shape it for the loaf, and hope it rises enough to bake before I leave for work.