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Recipes
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I
am trying to make a starter... It doesn't seem to work. I started last
Monday and it is now Sunday and I don't even have a bubble. It is also
giving a strange odour.
It is possible that the room temperature is too low at this time of year, and that does not aid the fermentation process. You could try mineral water, chlorination and the pH of tap water is not favourable to fermentation. But
above all persevere! You often need several attempts to make a starter.
I
have been trying to make bread for a long time, each time with varying
results. After numerous attempts with different yeasts (dried and fresh)
and different flours (white (UK) all purpose (US), wholemeal (UK) wholewheat,
(US) ) there is always something which I have never managed to achieve:
It
is normal that your bread should rise less than that from a bakery.
I would like to know what type 55 and 65 flours are.
With regard to the various types of flour, here is what you need to know: You can obtain various types of flour from wheat, according to the mass of flour obtained compared to amount of the whole wheatgrain used. This is called the rate of extraction: It varies from approximately 70 % for a type 45 flour (France) white flour (UK) cake flour (US) up to 95 % of the whole grain for whole-wheat flour (type 150). The rate of extraction increases when you use more of the whole wheatgrain: The more whole wheatgrain that is incorporated when the flour is made, the higher the rate of extraction, and the darker the colour of the flour (whole-wheat flour is brown). The rate of extraction is also significant to the amount of weedkillers and insecticides found in flour; the percentage of which increases in proportion to the amount of whole grain included. Making organic flour a necessity! (read a very interesting email (in french sorry) on this subject) You use type 45 (white or cake) flour in cake and pastry making, type 55 (strong (UK) all purpose (US) to make white bread, then various types of flour (65, 80, 110, 150) for more or less whole wheat breads. You
can find flour type 45 and 55 very easily commercially (at least in
France, especially 45). The others are more difficult to find, but you
can very often find whole-wheat flour in the supermarket. The type of
flour is generally written on packaging.
I
have a problem. During the winter I have no problem in finding a place
in the house which is sufficiently warm to raise my bread (near the
wood stove for example.) Now that we hardly heat the house, I am wondering
where I should leave my bread to rise.
With
regard to the temperature for raising, there are in my opinion two solutions:
Where
could I find on the Web or elsewhere a machine for making bread at home
(one that kneads and cooks.) Do you know of any interesting models,
and what do you think of them?
You
can find various types of bread machines in the United States and in
Canada, countries where they have made their own bread for a long time,
because so much of the bread there was insipid... It is unbelievable,
you put all the ingredients in, program it, and the machine does the
rest: kneads, raises, and cooks... you can even have piping hot bread
ready when your alarm clock goes off! Imagine the dreamy odour which
tickles your nostrils, and makes you leap out of bed, forgetting the
wretched ringing of your alarm clock! The price is affordable, and this
dream machine can be very useful; but be aware you will never obtain
this marvelous bread made with sourdough or yeast, made with so much
love... |