How to Bake a Traditional German Rye Bread

December 5, 2012

Bread, Fermentation, Food, How-to, Recipes

...o cooker to 475º F. Just before you’re ready to bake, turn the oven down to 450º F. Put the boule into the dutch oven and cover. This style of bread is not slashed. Bake, covered, for 20 minutes. After 20 minutes remove the cover from your dutch oven and bake for another 20 minutes or until it is dark and the cracks in the loaf are just starting to burn. Josey Baker calls this “bold” baking. In other words don’t make the newbie mistake of pulling...

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Cooking Bread in a Dutch Oven and Alternative Steaming Techniques

Mr. Homegrown

February 12, 2013

Bread, Food

14 Comments

...you stick the pot on top. I imagine that the handle is handy. Someone in a bread class I was teaching suggested using a bread baking stone and simply inverting a pot or large roasting lid over the stone. As long as the lid or pot seals properly, this should work too. Other folks use parchment paper and don’t do the inversion at all. I’m a bit skeptical, but haven’t tried this technique myself. You can also buy a clay cloche, but they’re on the exp...

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Why You Should Proof Bread in the Refrigerator

Mr. Homegrown

November 13, 2013

Bread, Food

21 Comments

...ulk fermentation takes place at room temperature, I almost always proof my bread in the refrigerator. Why? Proofing bread in the fridge slows down the fermentation. Most of my breads are made with a sourdough starter (levain is a better word). A long proofing stage allows the acid producing bacteria in the levain to create a more developed tangy flavor than you would get if the bread just proofed for a few hours at room temperature. Slowing down f...

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Los Angeles Bread Festival This Weekend!

Mr. Homegrown

June 3, 2016

Bread, Events, Food

1 Comment

...e only bread menu offerings–special, hearth-baked loaves from Clark Street Bread, cornbread from Horse Thief BBQ, flatbread specials from Madcapra, handmade tortillas from Chiles Secos, “butter flights” from DTLA Cheese, salted caramel bread pudding and fruit bread pudding from Valerie Confections Bakery & Café, cultured butter and Bruce Kalman’s signature giardiniere from Knead & Co. Pasta Bar + Market and much more. The festival will also includ...

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Quick Breads

Mr. Homegrown

February 20, 2007

Bread, Food

6 Comments

..., and we’re back to making sourdough. That being said, an occasional quick bread ain’t a bad thing: Quick breads are easy, involve no yeast or rising times, and are nearly foolproof, . [Erik here speaking in 2020: This is an incredibly offensive and stupid remark. I apologize. It’s the worst kind of cheap humor. It’s a humor not based on experience but, instead, just making fun of other people based on where they live. It smacks of classism and el...

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