Of Bikes and Bread

[Bicycle Belle Ding Ding!]

This is a bike story that starts out as a school lunch story.

School lunch is always a crapshoot - we all remember the days, don’t we? The rise and fall of my elementary school happiness could be determined by the menu in the school cafeteria. Would it be the celebrated chicken patty on a bun? Or would we suffer through the dreaded sauerkraut and sausage? Yes, school lunch is a crapshoot alright, and all the more so if you come from a religious background that necessitates a vegetarian tray.

My son, whom we’ll call #TheClemRider, sits next to one such kid, who we’ll call E. Inevitably, the evil trolls of the school lunch program will serve E something decidedly non-veg - like a hamburger. E will dump his tray and look longingly into #TheClemRider’s lunchbox of fresh and homemade things and beg a morsel or two. #TheClemRider, who has a golden heart, will always share. And sometimes, we pack extra for E. And this is the pattern we have had for their entire 8th grade year.

The thing that E wants most out of my son’s lunchbox is his sourdough bread. I’ve been baking sourdough for years, and I use it to make the boys’ sandwiches. So much does E love this bread that he asked for the recipe. If you know about sourdough, you know you’ve got to have and keep a starter. So, I finagled a way to send the recipe and the starter with #TheClemRider. The first day, E threw the starter in the trash. He would need to clear this with his mother, he said, so she wouldn’t “think it was crack.” On our second attempt, the starter made it home with E where he attended to it and promptly killed it. He came back to my son asking for a 3rd dose of starter.

I said no more. New deal: E comes to our house and I will give him a one-on-one lesson in my kitchen and THEN send him home with his 3rd attempt. Surprisingly, E agreed.

E told #TheClemRider that he is not the only one who bikes - he considers himself *quite* accomplished and rides his bike all over his neighborhood. Killer Hill would not be a big deal for him. It’s a school holiday, and E got permission to ride his bike to our house and get his sourdough lesson.

But what stands between E and his sourdough lesson is a monster we call Killer Hill. Killer Hill is a mile long punisher with several hundred feet of elevation gain. The roadies use it as a challenging workout. The rest of the population avoids it. We use it to get to and from school. We know the burning of lungs and straining of legs required to conquer Killer Hill. I am not optimistic.

#TheClemRider worries. He knows the trials of that hill and has rarely seen any other kid ride it. He told E he would bike down to E’s neighborhood and ride up Killer Hill with him. I wonder what type of bike E will be using, and if he can carry anything. I tell #TheClemRider to look out for E at the crossings for the side neighborhoods. I have been told I am not allowed to check on them - #TheClemRider was very strict about this - but I’m tracking his iPhone and they appear to be moving very, very, VERY slowly.

***Update! They have arrived! E made a fine showing with a final burst of speed at the end, and then, heaving, asked me, “HOW do you DO that hill?!? That was terrifying.”

Gotta go, Friends. We’ve got sourdough to make!

[Leah Peterson]

And in case you wanted the recipe:

[Joe Bernard]

E made it! I'm so impressed 🙂

[Kent Peterson -- Eugene, Oregon]

Great story. The recipe and starter care tips give me added respect for all the bakers out there.

I can barely keep houseplants alive so I'm happy to leave the sour dough care to several of the fine local bakeries we have here in Eugene.

Kent Peterson

Eugene, OR USA

[Roberta]

Yes!  It shows how much we can do if we REALLY want to.  Also, what a fabulous way to spend a day.  BBDD, did E let you know how his bread turned out, or at least how much he liked making it?

[phil k]

Awesome! I've been trying to make einkorn sourdough bread for my wife due to her wheat sensitivity. It's been quite a year long challenge to get it right.

[masmojo]

I wondered what you've been up to!

I've tried a couple times to get my "starter" started using recipes off you tube and failed miserably will try again in a month or two.
I was trying to figure out what the difference between a sourdough started and yeast for pizza dough!?
I'll try your recipe next!

[JAS]

Not only is ClemRider a cool, good looking young man, he’s a sweetheart as well. What a compassionate friend. Good going, Mom and Dad! Can’t wait to hear how the baking lesson went.

[Leah Peterson]

Mas, I’m up to my same old tricks, and a couple new ones. Instagram folks are in the know about my recent misadventures on a hiking trip, but all is well!

There’s a lot of difference in quality and flavor of commercial yeast vs starter. Some would say starter has a lot more health benefits as well; I generally find this to be true of most homemade things.

It took me, a complete novice, one month to get my starter going. That was 5 years ago. Keep at it; it’s worthwhile.

Once, I relented and bought hamburger buns. I made a real show of reading the science experiment that was the ingredient list. After stumbling through the complex chemicals - er - ingredients on the label, I asked the boys, “Do you know the ingredient list in my bread?”

“Flour. Water. Salt.”

I bet I’ve purchased bread 5 times in 5 years. Baking bread is just part of my routine now. You can do it!

Sent from my iPhone

> On Jan 21, 2020, at 1:40 PM, masmojo <mas...@sbcglobal.net> wrote:
>
> I wondered what you've been up to!

>
> I've tried a couple times to get my "starter" started using recipes off you tube and failed miserably will try again in a month or two.
> I was trying to figure out what the difference between a sourdough started and yeast for pizza dough!?
> I'll try your recipe next!
>

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[Leah Peterson]

JAS, thanks, I do love The Clem Rider. I keep waiting for him to really give me trouble but there is no hint of it yet. He’s nearly 14, but he still has time! I know that no woman will ever be good enough for him, though he would disagree. Pity my future daughter-in-law! 🤣

Roberta, such a great way to spend an afternoon! That kid is a genius; I couldn’t believe how much he knew - he had done so much reading before coming for his lesson. I started to introduce concepts and terminology and he was finishing my sentences. He was an absolute joy to teach.

He asked for a slice of sourdough toast with butter so The Clem Rider served it to him. E asked me, “What is this butter? This is not like my butter!”

“It’s Irish butter from grass fed cows,” I said. “See how yellow it is? That’s good butter.”
What 8th grader do you know who would be so discerning? !?

Phil - have you gotten your recipe right? You are a total love for helping your wife this way. Food sensitivities and allergies can be so alienating.

Kent - if you’ve got good haunts for sourdough, that is hard to beat! I know it’s an art. I can’t pretend mine is as quality as theirs; I have watched so many bakers work with their sourdough - like 48 hours and several rise times. Per loaf. I’m not that committed. Plus, it seems like you either love to cook or love to bake, but few are masters at both. It’s cooking for me!

If only we all were neighbors and could share starter and bike rides, life would be perfect. ❤️



Sent from my iPhone

> On Jan 21, 2020, at 2:15 PM, JAS <swanso...@gmail.com> wrote:
>
> Not only is ClemRider a cool, good looking young man, he’s a sweetheart as well. What a compassionate friend. Good going, Mom and Dad! Can’t wait to hear how the baking lesson went.

>
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[Bicycle Belle Ding Ding!]

Joe - me, too. I was allowed to ride back home (and so was Baby Bear) with the boys to drop E off. I could tell he was telling the truth about being a biker. Most kids don’t know how to ride bikes well; they don’t have polite etiquette or street smarts, and they can never keep up. Not so with E. He did scare both The Clem Rider and me at the start. He was so excited about going DOWN Killer Hill he decided he should start by pedaling as fast as he could as we began our descent. He did this with my sons and me screaming from behind, “Nooooooo!!!!!! Don’t! Slow down!!!”

He’s got a well-enjoyed Roadmaster that was pretty rickety. I’ve taken school kids down that hill before and witnessed pieces of their bikes fly off.

The Clems were gems, of course. 💎

[Philip Williamson]

That’s awesome! Shame the school can’t provide a vegetarian cheese sandwich or something on Hamburger Day.

How often do you bake bread? It looks from the recipe like the starter rhythm could work without discarding any if you baked twice a day? Or no?

I’m not suggesting we SHOULD, just imagining how the people-and-yeast symbiosis might have worked a few generations ago.

Philip who doesn’t need another hobby
Santa Rosa, CA

[Joe Bernard]

Of course! #clemsaregems 💎

[Leah Peterson]

Gah, Philip, we’d be 400 pounds and diabetic if we did that. I do not know how the settlers brought their starter along, but I know they slept with it at night to keep it warm. There’s a guy somewhere in the PNW who died many years ago, but his starter lives on. He used to have a mail-order starter club. He’d send you his starter in the mail! His friends have kept it alive and distribute it out for nothing but the cost of shipping, just as he did.

I bake bread twice per week.

Joe - #clemsaregems is totally my hashtag and you know it.

PS I decided we can grow Rivendell one Clem at a time. I just need some really exciting hashtags. So far I have: #clemsaregems and #betterlivingthroughclemistry...



Sent from my iPad

> On Jan 21, 2020, at 5:17 PM, Philip Williamson <philip.w...@gmail.com> wrote:
>
> That’s awesome! Shame the school can’t provide a vegetarian cheese sandwich or something on Hamburger Day.

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[tuolumne bikes]

Sourdough pancake recipe attached. The pancakes are on the thin side and far tastier than the norm, and making them includes feeding the starter. My wife is a sourdough nut--crust, crumb, size of the holes, whole wheat...always experimenting and rarely completely satisfied. It's all great bread to me.

Carl

On Tuesday, January 21, 2020 at 5:26:37 PM UTC-8, Bicycle Belle Ding Ding! wrote:

Gah, Philip, we’d be 400 pounds and diabetic if we did that. I do not know how the settlers brought their starter along, but I know they slept with it at night to keep it warm. There’s a guy somewhere in the PNW who died many years ago, but his starter lives on. He used to have a mail-order starter club. He’d send you his starter in the mail! His friends have kept it alive and distribute it out for nothing but the cost of shipping, just as he did.

I bake bread twice per week.

Joe - #clemsaregems is totally my hashtag and you know it.

PS I decided we can grow Rivendell one Clem at a time. I just need some really exciting hashtags. So far I have: #clemsaregems and #betterlivingthroughclemistry...



Sent from my iPad

> On Jan 21, 2020, at 5:17 PM, Philip Williamson <philip.w...@gmail.com> wrote:
>
> That’s awesome! Shame the school can’t provide a vegetarian cheese sandwich or something on Hamburger Day.
>
> How often do you bake bread? It looks from the recipe like the starter rhythm could work without discarding any if you baked twice a day? Or no?
>
> I’m not suggesting we SHOULD, just imagining how the people-and-yeast symbiosis might have worked a few generations ago.
>
> Philip who doesn’t need another hobby
> Santa Rosa, CA
>
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[Mark Roland]

#betterlivingthroughclemistry -- Get outtatown, too funny!  First it was rock bands, then website urls, then beers. Now coming up with catchy hashtags is the nomenclature game all the cool kids are playing! Got one! #ohmydarlinclemL! Wait. No. #clemup? #clemsmithjrforpresident? #imacleminist? #rockonwithclemology! #icouldahadaclemdough! #nomenclemture

On Tuesday, January 21, 2020 at 8:26:37 PM UTC-5, Bicycle Belle Ding Ding! wrote:

Gah, Philip, we’d be 400 pounds and diabetic if we did that. I do not know how the settlers brought their starter along, but I know they slept with it at night to keep it warm. There’s a guy somewhere in the PNW who died many years ago, but his starter lives on. He used to have a mail-order starter club. He’d send you his starter in the mail! His friends have kept it alive and distribute it out for nothing but the cost of shipping, just as he did.

I bake bread twice per week.

Joe - #clemsaregems is totally my hashtag and you know it.

PS I decided we can grow Rivendell one Clem at a time. I just need some really exciting hashtags. So far I have: #clemsaregems and #betterlivingthroughclemistry...



Sent from my iPad

> On Jan 21, 2020, at 5:17 PM, Philip Williamson <philip.w...@gmail.com> wrote:
>
> That’s awesome! Shame the school can’t provide a vegetarian cheese sandwich or something on Hamburger Day.
>
> How often do you bake bread? It looks from the recipe like the starter rhythm could work without discarding any if you baked twice a day? Or no?
>
> I’m not suggesting we SHOULD, just imagining how the people-and-yeast symbiosis might have worked a few generations ago.
>
> Philip who doesn’t need another hobby
> Santa Rosa, CA
>
> --
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[Mark Roland]

#clemocracy... The constitution? Just Ride! (Although it could be argued a bit too close to kleptocracy for comfort...)

[Mark Roland]

#clematics  Not to be confused with #clemaddicts  Okay, sorry. Off to do some anagrams...

[Bicycle Belle Ding Ding!]

Mark - also let’s add #clemantics. I love #clemocracy and #imacleminist as well. This is too funny. Hurry up and build your Clem so you can post photos to Instagram and join in with the hashtags. Slim Wonder uses #thatclemlife, also good. Hashtags are great for business - we are gonna grow Rivendell, one Clem at a time. Yesterday on Insta, Utility Bicycle Works posted a photo of what I think is a 2019 green Clem. They had this to say about it (and I’m parsing it for the sake of brevity): “We installed new pads, cables/housing, rear rack, and made slew of adjustments before blowing the bicycle 67 kisses and sending it home...Clems ride soft and nimble, like a jet-ski in a pool of Cool Whip.” I’ve begun to think of Clems as the bread and butter of Rivendell - which may or may not be true. They hit such a sweet spot in the market - nothing has been sacrificed in the way of comfort and practicality, they are still beautiful, and they are less expensive than the fully-lugged models. My husband would have never bought that 2015 Clem had it been the price of a Sam. My son certainly wouldn’t be riding a little Rivendell for the same reason. But because the Clems exist and at such a friendly price, we are practically collecting them. 😬

Carl - I make sourdough pancakes, too! My recipe is similar to your wife’s, but I’m going to try hers just to see. Does she use whole wheat or white flour?

Got a FaceTime call from E last night - he had a couple intelligent questions as he was working with his starter. I think his first loaf will be baked today. Man, if that kid gets good at sourdough his mother is going to have to ration him. He’s totally nuts about this bread!

[Drew Saunders]

As we used to say in my old dorm (where fresh bread was baked 6 nights/week) "Make Loaf, Not War"!

Sadly, my wife really dislikes sour flavors, especially sourdough, so I may not be able to try this. If I knew anyone with a starter, I might borrow theirs to see if the result is just a pinch sour. I'll still download and save your recipe, thanks!

Drew

'91 RB-1 (long ago sold)

'93 XO-1 (in storage, mostly disassembled)

'99 match-built Road Standard

'06 Quickbeam.

[Deacon Patrick]

Our eldest is our bread maker and exploring ways to make Weston Price breads (soaked grains or sour dough to get rid of breads anti-nutrients et al for far better health). One challenge she's run into is spelt flour is different from modern wheat, so she's puzzling that out. For those looking at me funny (I though he was ketogenic!), yes, I've been ketogenic for over a decade. For the last six months I've been testing an intermittent fasting (eating in a 1-6 hour window each day) combined with a 24-72 hoyur fast weekly. So far so good, and it is tasty to again eat carbs while still being fat burning. I still don't eat anything on up to all day rides, and my most recent bikepacking trip included cold soaking oats with buckwheat and a bit of yoghurt. Amazingly tasty, and very light to carry a weeks worth of oats, drawing on me Scottish roots. Grin. 

Anyway, any tips you (et al) have for starting and maintaining spelt sour dough would be fantastic.

With abandon,

Patrick

[R P]

Bread and Bikes Make the World Go Round for sure!

FYI, as a reference for all the bread and flour questions floating around this thread, check it out: http://thebreadlab.wsu.edu/ . 

A whole department of people dedicated to research of grains and the use thereof--delightful and very important. 

They nerd out on bread and grains (akin to what happens here about bikes) so I'd bet they'd have answers to the spelt sourdough and other grain/flour questions! 

Rachel

 

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[Mark Roland]

Utility Bicycle Works is in Kingston, about 45 minutes up the river (and on the other side) from Beacon, where I live. Proprietor Bryan used to work at the shop in Beacon, but has been on his own now for a couple of years, and doing a great job. Worth following on Instagram for fun, down-to-earth bicycle related stuff. Seeing that green Clem L (one size up) tempted me to drop mine off to have him build it, since I am spending too much time at work these days. He is also an RBWOB member. Hi Bryan! (Also a good writer. Though "jet ski in a pool of Cool Whip" puts me more in mind of spring break than Riv Clems...;^)

[Pancake]

Angry baker on a Clem = #MadClemist
Delivery Clem: #ClemOnTime
Riding up hill: #ClemingGym
Speed dating Clem (or sour): #ClemOn (#CLemon)
Step through loaded with water: #ClemL
Gravel “grinding” step through: #ClemLTool

Abe

[tuolumnebikes]

White for the pancakes, varies for the bread. I don't mind the bread
being denser with whole wheat, but she really wants the voids to come
out right.

#clemtrails

Carl

[George Schick]

You all (y'all for those in the South/SE) are starting to make me hungry for something I haven't made for over 35 years or so -  buckwheat pancakes topped with sorghum.  I had forgotten all about them.  I think it's time to rekindle some old recipes ('course, I'll be the only one who eats 'em :-)

[William deRosset]

On Monday, January 20, 2020 at 4:48:29 PM UTC-7, Bicycle Belle Ding Ding! wrote:
> And in case you wanted the recipe:

Dear BBDD,

That sourdough recipe is about as non-fussy as it gets.

Last night I jump-started a sourdough starter with commercial yeast.
I divided it, fed it this morning, and mixed up the dough. I baked it when I got home from work.

I don't expect it to have the complexity of a symbiotic wild yeast/bacteria culture yet, but it sure baked up nicely.

Thank you!

Best Regards

Will
William M deRosset
Fort Collins CO

[Curtis McKenzie]

Will,

Wonderful bread creation.  Good to see some cast iron on your stove top!

Curtis

"Who thinks this thread is almost perfect:  bicycles and bread.  Just add banjos and the universe will align"

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[Bicycle Belle Ding Ding!]

These responses have brought me no small amount of joy today. You are SO fun. I love the photos (esp. the one with the knife in the head, Drew) and all the stories. I had no idea how much interest you all have in breads, but I see I am in good company. My bread is NOT fancy. You can go down the rabbit hole and learn 357 different tips that will make your bread better. I just do what’s simple. Mom has a starter her family got from a priest in the 70s, and she treats hers totally different. She uses flat beer and skim milk to feed her starter, and her bread is different as a result. It’s really good, but I won’t keep those ingredients handy just for bread making. But this is very much a choose your own adventure - go wild!

I got 3 FaceTime calls tonight from E, who was baking his first loaf. I whooped, “You’re so smart! What did your mother say?” He replied, “She isn’t home yet; I wanted to surprise her.” Totally overcome, I shrieked, “You SWEETIE! Does your house smell like fresh bread?” “Kind of,” he said, with a shy smile.

Man, I love teenagers. Everything is right in my world.

[Joe Bernard]

I love hearing the continuing adventures of E and his breadmaking. It's all so adorable and joy bringing! ♥️

[Mark Roland]

#clemtrails FTW! From wikipedalia: Many conspiracy theorists believe Clemtrails release substances known to cause smiles and happiness in humans and possibly other animals. #portmanteau

On Wednesday, January 22, 2020 at 2:41:38 PM UTC-5, tuolumne bikes wrote:

#clemtrails

Carl

 

[Max S]

Leah,

I’d attempted baking bread a few years ago, which resulted in several ruined kitchen towels and dough-based rocks. So, I had decided that I’m not a baker, and that was that.

Until your post many weeks ago — it inspired me to try baking bread again. A dozen loaves and close to a hundred pizzas later (not exaggerating — suddenly the kids started liking my cooking, so I had to oblige... several times per week), I’m still doing it!

Confession: I did go with the “artisanal bread in 5 minutes a day” master recipe, but I’ve kept the same container all this time, which lends the bread a sourdough flavor eventually.

Thank you!

- Max “rising, no matter the cold” in A2

[Patrick Moore]

Bread! I started baking bread back circa 1981-2 as a poor graduate
student in Philosophie, Universite' Laval, when I cooked for myself
and a couple of roommates. I'dI walk down the hill from our
appartement in the old quarter to the nearby "organic" co-op" and buy
a 25 kg cloth sack of whole wheat flour and a 500 gr bag of yeast,
then schlep it all back up the hill to the apartment by bus -- much as
I handled 3 months of laundry. The routine was to make the equivalent
of about 4 24 oz loaves; big bowls of yeastily rising dough scattered
all over the kitchen. One of the most smug-making compliments I
received was from a woman guest who exclaimed, "Your bread is like
cake!" I've made it ever since, on and off, by hand, over the years,
although I'll confess to a brief, adulterous fling with a bread
machine way back when they first came out (easy, momentarily
thrilling, ultimately unsatisfying).

Oh, do please stick with it! A few mishaps and you'll get that "sense"
of what a successful bolus of bread dough feels like.

The whole knack or skill is to get to know the "feel" of the right
ratios of flour and water. The amount of other ingredients -- hell,
even yeast -- is secondary. As long as the dough has the right
consistency and "feel", you can use 1 tsp for ~ 6 c flour (I don't
really measure) or double that; it all turns out the same. Likewise,
you can add a cup of oil, or none; sure, too much oil makes a more
compact loaf, but within reason, no big difference. Salt? Sure, a
half-cup will be noticed, but just toss it in and experiment. I don't
stoop to adding milk or eggs (faugh!). Really, oil, no oil, salt, no
salt -- the results depend on the flour/water ratio (tho' even this
has ample tolerances) and, above all, on the kneading.

I've started baking bread again recently (and will continue if I can
find more flour in our coronavirus-depleted shelves), and I have to
say that the results are worth the very small input of effort. This
effort is, basically, 2-fold: (1) mixing the ingredients. (2) Kneading
for 10 minutes. Apart from that, the rest is just waiting and eating,
except for cleaning the mixing bowl.

I've got enough (~6 cups, +/- 2 cups) for another ~5 lb of bread
before I run out. My daughter is with me for a week furloughed from
college (share her with her mother), and I think I will learn her in
the tricks o' the trade.

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--

-----------------------------------------------------------------------
Patrick Moore
Alburquerque, Nuevo Mexico, Etats Unis d'Amerique, Orbis Terrarum

[Bicycle Belle Ding Ding!]

Max, how fantastic! Truly a heartwarming story. You might be able to launch a business during this time of quarantine, and I’m not joking. Most folks don’t bake bread and the grocery store shelves have been bare. You sound like you’ve got it down and can really turn out the loaves. Start a business!

Charmed,
Leah

[lambbo]

I've been quarantined for 2 weeks, and it's given me so much time to bake (and need, as I can't go shopping).

My favorite recipe is from Mark Bitman's How to Cook Everything, Jim Lahey's No Knead Bread.   It makes VERY GOOD WAFFLE BATTER too, if you add more water and the next day you mix in whipped egg whites and sugar before pouring into the iron.

I've been making it for years and refuse to look at the original recipe, so here's what mine is.  It turns out chewy, with an airy but substantial and moist crumb, crispy but not too hard crust.

Into a kitchen-aid blender, add:

2 cups white flour

2 cups whole wheat 

1/2 teaspoon instant dry yeast

2 teaspoons salt

Pulse for a few seconds, until the white and wheat have mixed up a bit.

Slowly add 2 cups of 75 degree water, stopping when the dough forms a ball zooming around the blender.  Sometimes I add a few tablespoons extra to make it almost soupy, for a different, airier crumb, but only if I'm doing 100% white. 

Transfer to a huge bowl, cover with plastic and let sit overnight.  The next morning, early, fold it, let it sit for 30, then form into a ball (hard part for me to be consistent on) and let it sit for at least 2 hours.  Take a 2 hour bike ride.  Turn on the oven to 450 with a large pot inside (lid on, a little water in the pot to steam), when it's at temp flip the dough into the pot seam side up, put the lid back on, and bake for 20 minutes. Take the lid off and cook for another 20 or 30.  Sometimes I bring it to Broil for the last 10, if I want max crust.   

Enjoy!  It's the easiest, best bread I've ever made. 

[David Bivins]

Here's my take on the same recipe that lambbo posted. I've been making it for many, many years and I don't make any other bread. This makes a BETTER loaf than Antone's (just kidding, really). It doesn't involve a blender. It does involve a dutch oven.

I put a medium-sized mixing bowl on a scale, tare it, and add 15 ounces all-purpose flour. King Arthur's has consistently been the most delicious. 

Add 1/2 teaspoon salt and 1/4 teaspoon active dry yeast (not instant). Whisk the dry ingredients or just stir them up with the handle of a spatula.

In a large measuring cup, add 7 ounces warm water, 3 ounces beer, and 1 tablespoon white vinegar. 

(The beer can be crappy beer, good beer, or non-alcoholic beer. I use non-alcoholic beer, but I've used everything from Trader Joe's crappy lager to Lagunitas IPA.)

Using a large spoon or spatula, mix the liquid into the dry until you have a shaggy ball of dough. It might not seem like you have enough liquid, but you do. Just keep flipping the wad of dough over until all the dry bits get picked up by the wet bits. 

Cover the bowl with saran wrap and let it sit somewhere not cold for 8-18 hours. 

Pull it out (don't throw out the plastic wrap) and plop it on a floured surface. Fold it over onto itself over and over. I.e. take the top edge and fold that into the middle. Rotate the dough to the left a quarter-turn. Take the top edge and fold that into the middle, etc. Repeat until you have a nice tight ball of dough. Pinch together any seam you have left. 

Get a small skillet or pan - about 9 inches is good - and lay a sheet of parchment paper in it, about 18-24 inches long. Spray the part over the skillet with cooking spray. Put the ball of dough, seam-side down, on the parchment so it's centered in the skillet. Spray the top of the dough with cooking spray - just a quick overall spray. Put the plastic wrap you used before over the dough ball. Let this rise again for 2 hours, again somewhere not cold. 

An hour-and-a-half later, heat the oven, with the dutch oven inside, to 500 degrees. A half hour later, reduce heat to 425. 

Remove the plastic wrap from the dough, sprinkle the dough with a dusting of flour. Cut the dough with a razor 1/4" deep - along the center is fine. You can make an "X." You can make a square. 
Remove the dutch oven from the oven and remove the lid. Using the parchment paper like a sling, lower the dough ball into the dutch oven. Put the lid back on. Put it in the oven for 25 minutes.

After 25 minutes has passed, take the lid off the dutch oven and bake another 25 minutes. Remove from the dutch oven and let it cool. 

Enjoy.

Here are a couple pictures:
https://www.instagram.com/p/B9eTEmaBmOo/
https://www.instagram.com/p/B9XmU0zhlI6/

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[David Bivins]

SORRY! It's 1 1/2 teaspoons salt. 1.5 teaspoons. SORRY! I just made a batch of dough and as I measured I thought I might have typed it wrong. SORRY!

I fixed it below:

On Sun, Mar 22, 2020 at 10:53 PM David Bivins <dabi...@gmail.com> wrote:

Here's my take on the same recipe that lambbo posted. I've been making it for many, many years and I don't make any other bread. This makes a BETTER loaf than Antone's (just kidding, really). It doesn't involve a blender. It does involve a dutch oven.

I put a medium-sized mixing bowl on a scale, tare it, and add 15 ounces all-purpose flour. King Arthur's has consistently been the most delicious. 

Add 1 1/2 teaspoons salt and 1/4 teaspoon active dry yeast (not instant). Whisk the dry ingredients or just stir them up with the handle of a spatula.

[j.schwartz]

Not my best effort, ..but with not that much to do (all my Rivs are currently dialed in), I had plenty of time to cultivate a new starter.

This is with very course whole wheat flour from a small miller locally to me, so it didn't get the rise I was looking for.  Very tasty nonetheless 

2nd loaf goes to my neighbor 

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[David Bivins]

Looks delicious! Probably has a nice nutty and tangy flavor, too.

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[lambbo]

Wow what mill, how did you get it?

[Nick Payne]

Bicycles and bread. Well, I baked a loaf of bread this morning - 50/50 wholemeal and rye - and then went for a bike ride. And towards the end of the ride I stopped at a bulk grocery and bought a couple more kilos of rye flour so I can keep baking.

[David Bivins]

Nick, do you have a ratio of rye to all-purpose or rye to whole wheat, etc? I have about 5 lbs. of rye flour but I've not had much luck with it.

On Thu, Apr 2, 2020 at 9:19 PM Nick Payne <njh...@gmail.com> wrote:

Bicycles and bread. Well, I baked a loaf of bread this morning - 50/50 wholemeal and rye - and then went for a bike ride. And towards the end of the ride I stopped at a bulk grocery and bought a couple more kilos of rye flour so I can keep baking.

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[Leah Peterson]

I made this loaf on Tuesday. Yellow pots are just so happy.

[Nick Payne]

My recipe is 500ml warm water in which I dissolve a packet of dried yeast, add a small amount of salt, and then 250g rye flour, 250g spelt or hard wholemeal flour, 50g of rolled oats, 25g each of sesame seeds, sunflower seeds, pumpkin seeds, poppy seeds, and caraway seeds, a tablespoon of honey, and a couple of tablespoons of olive oil. It makes a very sticky dough - your loaf tin needs to be well greased or you'll have problems getting the loaf out.

[Curtis McKenzie]

Here is my loaf from today.  

On Thu, Apr 2, 2020, 8:48 PM Leah Peterson <jonasa...@gmail.com> wrote:

I made this loaf on Tuesday. Yellow pots are just so happy.

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Sent from my iPad

> On Mar 21, 2020, at 7:48 PM, Bicycle Belle Ding Ding! <jonasa...@gmail.com> wrote:
>
> Max, how fantastic! Truly a heartwarming story. You might be able to launch a business during this time of quarantine, and I’m not joking. Most folks don’t bake bread and the grocery store shelves have been bare. You sound like you’ve got it down and can really turn out the loaves. Start a business!
>
> Charmed,
> Leah
>
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[j.schwartz]

Lambbo

The flour is whole wheat from Wild Hive Farm which is in NY's Hudson Valley .

It's pretty course and from what I've read, those spikey whole wheat bran particles can puncture the gluten structures and prevent rise.

I blended it with another flour that was from a grain trial at another farm near me.  New York State used to produce most of the country's wheat at one time and there are efforts to restore some of that work

That flour was like a white whole wheat.,.also pretty rustic.

I think the final proportion was about 75% course whole wheat from Wild Hive and 25% white whole wheat from the Hudson Valley Farm Hub grain trail

I haven't been able to purchase any straight up white bread flour.   blending some in would help.

They loaves were a little flat but really tasty.  Not too tangy on purpose.

Here's another couple of photos from my previous bake ...this was a blend of flour.  I think this was mostly ""half-white bread flour" from Farmer Ground also in New York that I added a little bit if Einkorn to just bc I had it.

JS

[Leif Eckstrom]

Thanks, Leah, for starting this great thread. I’m edging closer to starting a sourdough culture thanks to you sharing a straightforward method.
David, I’ve been experimenting with your recipe /take on the Lahey no-knead recipe.
I’m having trouble getting much height with my loaves. I’m using unbleached all purpose flour. I’m using saf-instant red label yeast. I know you wrote not to use instant, but in reading around it seemed like instant would be fine for a long, slow rise of 12-18 hours. Is this my problem? I don’t really know the difference between active dry and dry instant yeasts.
Anyway, any thoughts on getting more of a boule shape, less of a pancake shape?
I’ve tried using a smaller diameter sauce pan for second rise, and I’m trying to shape a tighter ball before second rise, and that’s helped but I’d like more height. I’ve also tried using 1/2 teaspoon saf-instant yeast. I’m baking a lil hotter at 450 to get more color on these loaves.
Thanks for any insight. I’m a novice. If my photos attached, this is the loaf from this morning.

Best, and thanks for these great photos,
Leif in Chicago.

[lambbo]

JS, thanks for the info!!! Just ordered an embarrassing amount of wild hive flour, every kind these have and am going to do a lot if experimenting! Your loafs look incredible btw

[David Bivins]

Hi Leif,

Well your loaves look better than mine! I'm just a dabbler in this, but I'll say a couple of things: the choice of yeast might not have anything to do with it unless it's too old. I only specified the non-instant type because I don't use the non-instant type. More like "if you want to start with how I do it..." How long is your second rise? If it's too long, the dough will be soupier and the boule will usually be flatter (and sometimes the bread will be more sour in a delicious way). Also choice of flour makes a difference. Everything else being equal, I have found that a loaf baked with King Arthur all-purpose will bake taller than a loaf baked with Hecker's.

Your loaves look great. Keep experimenting! Also, do you intend to share those cookies? I'm getting very hungry looking at them.

Have a great night,

David

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[Leif Eckstrom]

Thanks, David, for weighing in about yeast type and rise times. Wow, that loaf I made yesterday was the best I’ve ever baked. Great crust all around and beautiful air holes. So thank you very much for this recipe idea.

I might have been letting the first rise go too long. On the first two loaves I baked, the first rise might have been close to 22 hours. Yesterday’s loaf was about a 10-12 hour rise, over night. I’m really pleased with it, and it had a bit better height than the others.

Oh man, those cookies are good. My wife handles the sweets in the family. The recipe comes from the displaced housewife blogger. She has a cookie book that’s great. She also recently posted a pizza dough recipe that uses a full can of beer. I highly recommend this pizza dough. It is sticky and a bit challenging to shape, but it’s produced my best crust yet. I’ll attach some pictures. Thanks again to everyone on this thread for the inspiring pictures and tips and recipes for better bread.

Best,
Leif in Chicago

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[Daniel D.]

Anyone have a good one day ciabatta recipe? I'm a baker, at my last work we had a wonderful quick recipe, no poolish needed. But when i left forgot to make copies of my favorite recipes. My last home ciabatta didn't turn out so well. Too dense like a French bread.

[LeRoy]

I hate to be a contrarian <nose grows slightly>, but some of these lovely loaves just seem so healthy. I won't argue against that virtue, but there should be room for a little decadence in life. On that note, here's my effort: Cinnamon Raisin Bread. Derived from a Cook's Illustrated recipe, and including a couple serendipitously wonderful mistakes on my part, these loaves turned out to be gooey, raisiny, aromatic and tasty. The aroma while baking made for the perfect air freshener and the whole process -- including the eating -- was the sort of thing that makes being cooped up at home a little more bearable.

[Paul Richardson]

@david--

adding beer is truly an inspired idea.  i've made similar no knead / overnight rise loaves many times, but never strayed far from the flour+water+yeast formula.  i used 3oz of great lakes porter that added a real je ne sais quoi.  thanks for the tip!

paul

takoma park, md.

[David Bivins]

No problem! It was in the recipe I started with, and it never fails! 

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[J Imler]

On Monday, January 20, 2020 at 3:48:29 PM UTC-8, Bicycle Belle Ding Ding! wrote:
> And in case you wanted the recipe:

I’m attempting to activate my starter. It’s been two days since I’ve been discarding some and feeding. No big bubbles or ride yet. Be patient?

[Leah Peterson]

It took me a month to get mine going. Yes, patience is key here. There’s activity in there, as seen by the bubbles. Keep at it! You’ll get that nice sour scent soon.

Sent from my iPad

> On Apr 16, 2020, at 12:31 PM, J Imler <imle...@gmail.com> wrote:

>
> On Monday, January 20, 2020 at 3:48:29 PM UTC-8, Bicycle Belle Ding Ding! wrote:
>> And in case you wanted the recipe:
>
> I’m attempting to activate my starter. It’s been two days since I’ve been discarding some and feeding. No big bubbles or ride yet. Be patient?
>

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> <D0AAA90F-4ED3-44F2-B55C-99915EE56C90.jpeg>
> <E83B1E24-7B5E-498C-B3FC-F4E911C31003.jpeg>

[John Philip]

Here's mine.
On Monday, January 20, 2020 at 6:43:23 PM UTC-5, Bicycle Belle Ding Ding! wrote:

This is a bike story that starts out as a school lunch story.

School lunch is always a crapshoot - we all remember the days, don’t we? The rise and fall of my elementary school happiness could be determined by the menu in the school cafeteria. Would it be the celebrated chicken patty on a bun? Or would we suffer through the dreaded sauerkraut and sausage? Yes, school lunch is a crapshoot alright, and all the more so if you come from a religious background that necessitates a vegetarian tray.

My son, whom we’ll call #TheClemRider, sits next to one such kid, who we’ll call E. Inevitably, the evil trolls of the school lunch program will serve  E something decidedly non-veg - like a hamburger. E will dump his tray and look longingly into #TheClemRider’s lunchbox of fresh and homemade things and beg a morsel or two. #TheClemRider, who has a golden heart, will always share. And sometimes, we pack extra for E. And this is the pattern we have had for their entire 8th grade year.

The thing that E wants most out of my son’s lunchbox is his sourdough bread. I’ve been baking sourdough for years, and I use it to make the boys’ sandwiches. So much does E love this bread that he asked for the recipe. If you know about sourdough, you know you’ve got to have and keep a starter. So, I finagled a way to send the recipe and the starter with #TheClemRider. The first day, E threw the starter in the trash. He would need to clear this with his mother, he said, so she wouldn’t “think it was crack.” On our second attempt, the starter made it home with E where he attended to it and promptly killed it. He came back to my son asking for a 3rd dose of starter.

I said no more. New deal: E comes to our house and I will give him a one-on-one lesson in my kitchen and THEN send him home with his 3rd attempt. Surprisingly, E agreed.

E told #TheClemRider that he is not the only one who bikes - he considers himself *quite* accomplished and rides his bike all over his neighborhood. Killer Hill would not be a big deal for him. It’s a school holiday, and E got permission to ride his bike to our house and get his sourdough lesson.

But what stands between E and his sourdough lesson is a monster we call Killer Hill. Killer Hill is a mile long punisher with several hundred feet of elevation gain. The roadies use it as a challenging workout. The rest of the population avoids it. We use it to get to and from school. We know the burning of lungs and straining of legs required to conquer Killer Hill. I am not optimistic.

#TheClemRider worries. He knows the trials of that hill and has rarely seen any other kid ride it. He told E he would bike down to E’s neighborhood and ride up Killer Hill with him. I wonder what type of bike E will be using, and if he can carry anything. I tell #TheClemRider to look out for E at the crossings for the side neighborhoods.  I have been told I am not allowed to check on them - #TheClemRider was very strict about this - but I’m tracking his iPhone and they appear to be moving very, very, VERY slowly.

***Update! They have arrived! E made a fine showing with a final burst of speed at the end, and then, heaving, asked me, “HOW do you DO that hill?!? That was terrifying.”

Gotta go, Friends. We’ve got sourdough to make!

 

[Robert Tilley]

Something tells me every time a picture of a loaf of bread is posted Grant eats a pound of bacon. I tried a few times to pick up some flour here but the shelves have been empty for weeks. I need to seek out a local mill I think.

Robert Tilley

Surviving on corporate bread in San Diego, CA

Sent from my BlackBerry - the most secure mobile device

From: japhil...@gmail.com Sent: April 16, 2020 4:16 PM To: rbw-owne...@googlegroups.com Reply-to: rbw-owne...@googlegroups.com Subject: [RBW] Re: Of Bikes and Bread

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[Leah Peterson]

I can’t find flour, either. A couple of weeks ago I found spelt, sprouted flour, but it is really different from my white flour. My starter goes crazy for it. The loaf is dense and the sour flavor is muted by the spelt flour. 

I stayed up late closing a jigsaw puzzle last night, so this loaf was baked at 11 pm. 😬

Sent from my iPhone

On Apr 16, 2020, at 11:01 PM, Robert Tilley <rlti...@gmail.com> wrote:



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