Jim Hayden

Roasted Red Pepper-Jarlsberg Cheese Sourdough

I’m trying out some new breads with inclusions. Thinking that I’d like to add some additional loaves to my repertoire and “dial them in”. Thought I’d try a roasted red pepper/Jarlsberg cheese recipe. The red pepper was intentional (went to store and bought a jar). The cheese not so much … I had a pieceContinue reading “Roasted Red Pepper-Jarlsberg Cheese Sourdough”

Cinnamon-Raisin Sourdough

I’m thinking about trying a series of sourdough breads with “inclusions”. There have been a number of different breads I’ve observed other bakers baking which look quite tasty. I’ve done Cheddar-Jalapeño. This time I thought I’d try Cinnamon-Raisin Both leverage lamination for the inclusions. The cheddar adds a bit of additional moisture to the equationContinue reading “Cinnamon-Raisin Sourdough”

Sourdough Batards – Different Scoring

Thought I’d try a different scoring technique on my Batards. I’ve been unhappy with my oven blooming as of late. Today I made an “S” with my lame. One of the loaves had just the “S”. The other I made a second pass undercutting it a bit more on the curves. Everything else about theContinue reading “Sourdough Batards – Different Scoring”

Trying Out My New Dough Sheeter

Today I tried out my new dough sheeter from Kneader Official. I’m very pleased with my first use! I bought the Dough Sheeter to improve my lamination consistency over what I’ve been able to achieve via hand-lamination. At first glance this will accomplish it quite nicely! I will certainly get better as I use andContinue reading “Trying Out My New Dough Sheeter”

How to Recover from Broken Butter…

Broken butter when making laminated dough is my nemesis… …actually it’s my impatience and not consistently waiting for it to be the right temperature and malleable that’s the culprit. Last batch I had HORRIBLY broken butter. I was so excited to use my new dough sheeter that EVERY lesson I’d learned about butter simply vanishedContinue reading “How to Recover from Broken Butter…”

Sourdough Croissant Proving Experiment

Decided today to experiment with my proving length. A while back I had inadvertently lengthened my proving time (at that point 2 hours) to 4 hours. Those croissants weren’t “ruined” and actually caused me to intentionally prove for that length of time for batches since then. Earlier this week I saw an Instagram post byContinue reading “Sourdough Croissant Proving Experiment”

New Dough Sheeter!

I’m excited! Going to be upping my croissant lamination game. I received my new Kneader Official table dough sheeter from Japan yesterday! Here’s my unboxing… I was a bit disappointed in UPS’s handling of my package. The hole in the packaging went all the way thru and caused a small scratch on the cover. MinorContinue reading “New Dough Sheeter!”

Chia Boule & Cheddar/Jalapeño Batard

Trying to get back on my baking cadence since I’ve been traveling lately. My starter feeding has been a bit off and I’m not feeling it’s as “happy” as it has been. As a result I fed it 1:5:5 and did the same for the levain. Decided I’d mix my dough, let it bulk fermentContinue reading “Chia Boule & Cheddar/Jalapeño Batard”

Trying a new method… (Part 4)

Well … they’re baked and it was a first attempt for sure! I had some interesting results for sure. I’m going to need to ponder, research and think a bit before my next attempt. All loaves came out different than I expected. All were moist (more so than normal). Tasted good with an OK crust.Continue reading “Trying a new method… (Part 4)”

Trying a new method… (Part 3)

Today is bake day! I’m excited but also apprehensive. Not quite sure how this will turn out. The oven has been preheated to 420°F (convection) with my Dutch oven and Challenger Bread Pan inside. The dough has visibly risen and the “finger test” seems to indicate it’s ready to go. Concerned a bit about howContinue reading “Trying a new method… (Part 3)”