Cookhacker » bread

Tip of the Day – Never Refrigerate Bread…Freeze It!

Tom — Sat, 07 Jan 2012 11:06:52 +0000

The best way to keep bread is at room temperature. After 2-3 days, you should wrap the bread well, put it in a freezer bag and freeze it. Never store any bread in the refrigerator, because the cold temperature (38º-40º) accelerates the crystallization of the starches, causing the bread to stale much faster. When I bake a bread, as soon as it cools completely, I cut it, freeze half immediately and keep the other half cut-side down on a cutting board covered with a clean cloth. When that’s consumed, I take out the frozen half, defrost it at room temperature or wrap it in foil and bake in a 450º oven for 10 minutes and it tastes just as good as the day it was baked.

Sourdough Starter – Drying and Reviving It (and how to get it for FREE!)

Tom — Wed, 25 May 2011 04:33:48 +0000

It’s always a good idea to have some dried starter on hand as backup if, for some reason, your “live” starter suffers an untimely death…it’s sad, but it happens. It’s also a great way to share your starter with someone. The drying process is very simple. Thinly spread some of your live starter on a sheet of parchment paper or plastic wrap…a pastry brush or spatula works well here…then just let it dry. When completely dry (it can take from a few hours to a full day, depending on temperature), just peel it off the paper and crush it up…a coffee or spice grinder works well or you can just put it in a zip lock bag and whack it a few times with a rolling pin (that’s the post-whacked state in the picture on the left). Store it in an air-tight zip lock bag at room temperature or in the refrigerator or freezer…it’s all good.

Now, if your ready to get started, you’re going to need some dried starter to start your starter, so check out my Sourdough Whole Wheat Pumpkin Seed No Knead Bread post where you’ll find the link to send for some Carl Griffith’s Sourdough Starter…it’s been around since 1847! I’ve been using it for years, it’s excellent and you can’t beat the price…literally…’cause it FREE!

Reviving your dried starter is a relatively simple process also. This great video clip is from Breadtopia, one of my favorite sites, and it shows you exactly how to do it. If you’re into bread and baking, you should definitely check out Breadtopia for amazing recipes and videos.

The Best Bread (and Bagel) Knife

Tom — Sun, 22 May 2011 15:52:29 +0000

If you bake your own bread and love to eat it straight out of the oven, you know how hard it is to get a good, even slice from fresh-out-of-the-oven, warm bread. This handcrafted Hand Crafted Cherry Bread Knife, Made in USAbread bow knife (another non-essential but really cool kitchen tool) has a beveled, scalloped edge (it never needs sharpening) that works like a super-sharp saw to cut a neat, uniform width slice of that crusty, aromatic freshly baked no-knead sourdough whole wheat pumpkin seed encrusted loaf that you can then slather in butter and watch as it melts into the nooks and crannies…ok, I’m getting a little carried away here, but there really is nothing better then homemade bread.

This knife is also perfect for cutting bagels, ripe tomatoes and just about anything else that you may have trouble slicing with a conventional knife…and, with the beautiful cherry wood handle, it looks really great just sitting there on the kitchen counter.

This also makes a great gift for the cook who has everything…that’s how I got it (thanks Ned and Debi)!

Whole Wheat Sourdough Pita

Tom — Wed, 08 Sep 2010 02:39:11 +0000

I know lately I’ve kind of been dwelling on whole wheat sourdough baking variations, but I’m on a roll (get it?). Anyhow, if you take the Sourdough Whole Wheat Pizza Crust dough recipe and divide it up into 60-70 gram (about 2-2.5 oz) golf ball size portions, flatten them out into 4-6 inch rounds about 1/8 inch thick and throw them in a 500 degree oven (preferably on a preheated baking stone, but a baking sheet works too) for 5-6 minutes (flip them over after about 3 minutes), they will puff up into beautiful, tasty pitas. It’s actually amazing to watch!

Sourdough Whole Wheat Pumpkin Seed No-Knead Bread

Tom — Thu, 05 Aug 2010 20:44:22 +0000

I have been experimenting lately with recipes for a simple no-knead whole wheat bread and I think I’ve come up with a one that seems to be pretty foolproof and gives consistently great results. Some sourdough purists might object to the use of instant rise yeast in addition to the sourdough starter, but I think for the novice sourdough baker, it insures that you’ll get a good initial rise and excellent oven spring with an amazing sourdough taste. I’m currently using Carl Griffith’s sourdough starter, a strain of starter that is over 160 years old that can be obtained for a FREE at this address. This recipe is adapted from one on the amazingly informative Breadtopia website and solves the common problem of a too “wet” no-knead dough. I recommend watching this excellent video at Breadtopia.com before making this bread…it does a great job of demonstrating the techniques needed to make an incredible no-knead bread. Please click the links below for my recipe.

Click here for a printable text only version of the recipe.

Click here for the recipe with photos.

Danish Dough Whisk…a very cool bread baking tool

Tom — Wed, 04 Aug 2010 04:47:29 +0000

This Danish Dough Whisk - LargeDanish Dough whisk is an indispensable tool for mixing dough by hand prior to kneading. It’s long, thick wooden handle provides a great ergonomic grip, which gives you the leverage you knead for easily blending a stiff bread dough. Because of it’s funky shape, it’s much more practical and efficient then a wooden spoon for mixing heavy sticky doughs, and as an added benefit, it’s way easier to clean!

Proofing Bread

Tom — Mon, 25 Jan 2010 18:41:36 +0000

A great way to get a proper proofing atmosphere for bread is to place the covered dough in the oven and turn the oven light on…that will keep the oven at about the proper temperature for proofing.

No Knead Sourdough Fresh Out of the Oven

Tom — Wed, 23 Dec 2009 03:52:11 +0000

Fresh out of the oven No Knead Sourdough Bread with Pumpkin Seeds…I’ll post the recipe soon! Ok…here it is now!