Adapting a tradition - Panettone

This year, as well as the hot cross buns, I had a go at panetonne, and I'm very pleased with the results:

The enriched dough is a  fetching yellow courtesy of 6 egg yokes. I followed Dan Lepard's nut topping suggestion - but not the addition of chocolate to the mix.

A bit of origami is required:

Crumb shot and taste test to follow.

Reviving a Tradition

Here's this year's batch of hot cross buns.

 I've followed Paul Hollywood's suggestions in two respects - adding some apple and bunching them up close.  The jury is out on the first, as the taste test will be tomorrow.  The second makes piping the crosses easier.  It looks more professional, but I think they mine are TOO close (and I don't have a problem crossing them individually and having more crust).

Goodbye Rye Smile... Hello Mal's Edinburgh Allotment

This blog has been archived due to Google's limits on capacity for uploading pictures.

You can catch up with me at the following link:

Mal's Edinburgh Allotment Blog

Cracking Pumpernickel

Here's the Wikipedia picture of a slice of pumpernickel:

...and here's the result of seven hours baking today...

Not bad you might say, but that's the crust.  Inside things are a good deal soggier

Matters were not helped when the loaf split on turning out:

I've tried this recipe 3 times now, without success. Fourth time lucky?

Campagrain - DIY

The remit was clear:

"Nothing white - I want a hair shirt loaf!"

Time to roll out the Campagrain experiment

Campagrain?  Oh yes, that flour mix with a blend of five flours and four seeds

but which grains, which seeds - a closely guarded secret, except  it's

wheat, malted wheat, rye, oat, barley and sunflower, sesame, brown flax and yellow flax

(can that really be for real:  "brown flax and yellow flax").

How does it taste?

Like $£X in a hair shirt!

Onion and Bay Loaf - Mellow Bakers

This is something I would not have tried (nor the lemon one) but I am pleased I did.  Thanks Paul at mellow bakers.

Sad to say I appear to be the only repeat offender from the group as contributors have dwindled.  Oh well,  we get to eat the results, and this one was appreciated by the family.

Mellow Bakers - Dan Lepard's Mill Loaf

Guess what I forgot to slash my loaf.  It might have been because I was preparing the Onion and Bay Loaf hot on the heel of this one. You can tell I cut this loaf before it cooled properly. It's a great tasting loaf  even if I had to start up a new white starter (adaptred from my rye starter) for this one and also for the other two breads this month. (Give us a break from white starter, pleeease  Paul)

Adaptations.  A teaspoon of malt extract instead of malted grains. I'm out just now. I added yeast to get the bake done on Sunday night rather than Monday when I'm off to work, sob. It was ready for my sandwiches as a result. And I did use the bread machine for kneading.  Otherwise entirely in line with Dan.

Yummy!

p.s. Radio 4 Food Programme on Sunday was "Sourdough" .  Listen again before next weekend. I am as I only caught the last 5 mins. Andrew whitley featured but it was a different Dan.