White Leaven Bread

It's day six in natural leaven week and will I be able to use it to make a loaf of bread today? I went to the cupboard first thing this morning to check progress and it had doubled in size again overnight, I think it may have worked! What an amazing thing. Just by mixing a few easily obtained ingredients you can make this wonderful thing that I can now use to make bread. Isn't chemistry wonderful?
On this high I went out to get some shopping and on my return checked out the recipe for the White Leaven Bread, the first recipe in The Handmade Loaf. I wish I had read the recipe a bit closer before going out! It takes all day, start at 8am and the bread comes out of the oven about 12 hours later! Deja vu, it's Colomba all over again. But not being one to be put off by the length of time a recipe takes I started at about 1pm.
Although the recipe calls for it to be baked the same day I think I will put the dough in the fridge overnight and the bake it in the morning. I've done this before with a yeast bread and it worked so we shall give it a go.

Ingredients:
200g white leaven
375g cold water
500g Strong White Flour
1 and a half tsp salt
Semolina for dusting
There is also an optional 1 and a half tsp ground malted grain and as I didn't have any and it's optional I left it out.

Whisk the leaven with the water until mixed and then add the flour and salt. The instructions are to then get your hands in and mix it all together to a soft dough. I really don't like getting my hands into dough when it's a this stage (I know...) so I used a wooden spoon, it worked perfectly fine. The dough is left in the bowl for 10 minutes. It is then kneaded for 10-15 seconds on a lightly oiled surface and left for 10 minutes. Meanwhile, clean out the bowl and lightly oil it. When the 10 minutes is up knead it again for the 10-15 seconds, shape into a ball and pop in the bowl. Leave for 10 minutes. You can see where this is going. You basically repeat this but the next time the dough is left for 30 minutes, then an hour and then 2 hours. The dough is just a dream to work with, silken, smooth, elastic. Very different to working with traditional yeast.
After the 2 hour rise you then divide the dough into two, shape into balls and leave for 15 minutes. Prepare two bowls for the dough. I have one linen covered bowl and for the other loaf I floured a tea towel and popped it in a bowl (as per the instructions, I wasn't just doing my own thing).
This is where I am at this moment, just waiting to pop the dough into their prepared bowls. I will then put them in the fridge overnight and bake tomorrow. So pictures of the finished articles tomorrow. Here's hoping my fridge rising works.

Natural Leaven: Day Five

Another late night last night but no rest for the leaven-makers of this world. As the boyfriend went off to bed I opened the cupboard to complete my week of bread fun. The leaven had really bubbled up over the last day, the mixture had almost doubled in size. It had a lovely sour smell too.
Instructions for today were to discard three quarters of the mixture and then add in 100g of water at 20C and 125g of strong white flour. When I poured away the three quarters you could see the big bubbles that had formed, it reminded me of the texture of the sponge stage when I was making Colomba. Water and flour added and mixed and back in the cupboard with crossed fingers for a loaf tomorrow.
And off to bed with me too.

Natural Leaven: Day Four

It's getting exciting now. I've just had a look and there is definitely something happening. There were some bubbles, still very liquid and the water was separating from the solids. And the smell was even more sour, I really got a sense of the smell you get from a sourdough bread.
Instructions for today were to remove and throw away three quarters of the mixture and then strain it to remove the raisins. I got rid of the raisins when I was throwing away the excess. The raisins looked very swollen and pale, like all the goodness had been stripped out of them. I then added 100g of water at 20C and mixed it well. Then its just strong white flour today, 125g. The mixture now has the consistency of the sloppy dough. Back into the cupboard with it. Same time same place tomorrow.

Natural Leaven: Day Three

As I was coming home last night (it was past midnight) I kept thinking about my concoction in the cupboard and that I had to feed it once I got in. So even though it was late, a school night and I had drunk a few glasses of wine the first thing I did when I got in was check out the leaven.
It didn't look much different from day two, shiny on top with maybe a few bubbles but it definitely smelt different. A definite souring from yesterday.
Yesterday's feed was 100g of water at 20C and 4 tsp each of rye and strong white flour. Water in first again then the flours. Back into it's cupboard ready for feeding later this evening.

Natural Leaven: Day Two

I'm a bit later than I should be tonight with my next stage but it is Lindy Hop on Tuesdays so I'm just in.
According to the instructions on day two the leaven shouldn't look too different from day one. I've just opened it and had a look and smell. It's supposed to look shiny "as the solids separate from the water and sink to the bottom" and it pretty much looks like that (see the picture). It smells of flour and raisins, sort of sweet.
So I have just fed it with another 50g of water at 20C and then 2 rounded tsp each of rye flour and strong white flour. Mix the water in first and then add the flours. Then the lid is back on and it's left for another 24 hours.
It will be later tomorrow night as I'm out again. I will do the feeding and let you know how it's going the following morning, I know you will be waiting!

Natural Leaven: Day One

When I started this breadmaking lark back in January I had read about "starters" and "leavens" etc. This is where you use the natural yeast found in grains and fruit. These are mixed with flour and water and the natural yeasts multiply and ferment. This leaven is then used in your breadmaking in the place of yeast.
I recently bought Dan Lepard's The Handmade Loaf and on reading it I have decided it's time to give this whole leaven thing a go. He makes it sound very easy, hopefully it is Sharon-proof!
The instructions he gives are over 6 days so I will keep a record here, both in words and pictures, to keep you up to date with my adventure. On day 6 I should be able to use this to make my first loaf, i.e. on Saturday.

Day One:
50g water at 20C
2 rounded tsp rye flour
2rounded tsp strong white flour
2 rounded tsp currants or raisins (I have raisins)
2 rounded tsp live low-fat yoghurt
These are the ingredients needed for day one. I have them all, I will leave you for the moment while I get the ball rolling.

I'm back (about 15 minutes later, but that includes a trip to the shop around the corner).
I have mixed all the above ingredients in an airtight container. I leave it at room temperature for 24 hours. I haven't taken a piture today as there is nothing to see except a sort of greyish slop. But more tomorrow with the first picture.

Guest Blogging Again

Follow this link to read about my first attempt at Hot Cross Buns and my second guest blog on My Kitchen Table.

My Big Colomba Easter

Last Easter I started a tradition, to bake an Easter cake, a traditional Easter cake. I know one year does not a tradition make but this year I made another step towards the establishing of this tradition. Last year I went to England for my inspiration and baked a Simnel cake (you must remember marzipan-ball gate?!) and it worked a treat. This year I went to Italy and found a rich seam of seasonal baking and cooking. They really take it all very seriously, there is a dish or cake for most big celebrations. And the Italian Easter cake is a Colomba.
This is a Panntetone-style cake that is baked in the shape of a dove and topped with flaked almonds and pearl sugar. As I was looking around for a recipe I found that my new favourite site, Bakery Bits, had just posted a recipe and they sold the dove-shaped cases too, result. I ordered the cases and then made sure I had all the ingredients (I won't list all the ingredients, they are fairly extensive, so follow the link here to get the recipe). I wanted to make a few over the holidays and decided to practice on work, my willing guinea pigs. So it was Wednesday evening before Easter and I was ready.
Having read through the recipe I realised that I would need about 6 hours to complete it (and that was if all went well), my estimated completion time was about 00.30. But nil desperandum. With that in mind I started the first stage, the sponge. A mix of yeast, flour, warm water, egg yolks and sugar which you leave for 30 minutes when it bubbles up and almost triples in size. You then add a bit more yeast, flour, butter and warm water and mix. Cover this with clingfilm and leave it to double in size (1 to 2 hours). I left it for an hour and it had doubled by then I added all the rest of the ingredients. This makes a dough which you knead until smooth and elastic and leave this to rise until it has trebled, about 3 to 4 hours! It was already 9pm by now so I was hoping for the lower end of the rising time.
I left it for about 2 hours in the end. You then cut the dough in half and flatten each and press the mixed peel into the dough and role into two logs. One log should be longer than the other and forms the main body length of the dove and the other should be slightly shorter and forms the wings. And now, you guessed it, more rising, about 2 to 3 hours. Again I scrimped on this and it went in the oven at about 11.45. You have to suffer for your art!
And what a triumph, it looked so good, it rose beautifully and was lovely and shiny and crusty on top. I couldn't find any pearl sugar but it still looked good and the tasting the next day proved successful.
Number two was a bit less time sensitive, I had the whole day. But because the weather was so good I put the dough in the conservatory to rise which really speeded up the process. This one went to the in-laws for Easter. I think this was the best of the three. Number three was for a Royal Wedding gathering we had, it was still a yum Colomba but the middle one was definitely my best effort.
I'm already thinking about next year and what country to look to to continue my tradition!