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A scheduling tool for bread baking

breadscheduler.com

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Re: A scheduling tool for bread baking

#101

Post by 01100011 »

danielovichdk wrote: post #27

So funny how tech people must have such a detailed recipe for baking with sourdough. It's the same with coffee. Listen. Dough is a living organism. You cannot set a timer to it. It must be nursed, especially based on what flour you use, freshness of the flour, the climate, the moisture etc. If you want to be really good at baking, then bake at least 100 loafs and see what you learn. Then try to change the flour brand…

The internet psuhes this idea that you can quickly be an expert in anything, you just need to read a few websites or watch a few YouTube videos. It's nice to have those resources, but the advanced info is often useless without the context of experience. Doing things is often the only way to attain ability.

Re: A scheduling tool for bread baking

#102

Post by badfrog »

tjomk wrote: post #90
sampo wrote: post #72

I have found that a minimal version of no-knead bread is already good: 700ml flour, 350ml water, 1 to 1.5 tsp salt, 1/4 tsp instant yeast. Mix in bowl, cover, let stand for 12-16 hours. Put dutch oven in oven, heat to 250C. Take out the hot dutch oven, sprinkle some bran or flour or cornmeal on the bottom, scrape dough from the bowl into the dutch oven, sprinkle some bran on top. Bake 30min with lid, remove lid, bake…

What are people want to avoid kneading so much? Most of the recipes are for no-knead bread. I find this process very relaxing and prefer this over a session of meditation.

I think it's just unnecessary. Kneading helps gluten develop, but the same thing can be accomplished by letting the wet dough sit out for longer.

Re: A scheduling tool for bread baking

#103

Post by vkou »

melenaos wrote: post #85
juanbyrge wrote: post #25

I have been baking sourdough for 2+ years and I don't think people should take the timing too seriously. Yes it's good to loosely follow a schedule but if you don't the bread will still turn out fine. I don't think I've ever followed the exact same schedule twice. A few times I flat out forgot about the dough and shaped it hours after I was supposed to, and it still came out amazing. Sourdough is very forgiving. The…

I am just trying to create my first loaf using sourdough so I have no experience on this (I will bake tomorrow) and I have read a book that says that the more you leave the dough the taster it becomes. The normal recipe is to leave 24 hours the dough in fridge and it says that you can leave it for 48 or even 96 hours :)

Leaving dough out too long will overproof it. Leaving it out not long enough will not rise enough, or, in the case of sourdough, not develop that sour taste people are looking for.

Your first loaf is unlikely to come out great, if your starter is not matured yet - because the yeast/bacteria ratio in it is unlikely to be optimal.

Re: A scheduling tool for bread baking

#104

Post by wiredfool »

Theodores wrote: post #84
wiredfool wrote: post #83

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Your rant would be better if you didn't misunderstand the need for sugar.

Look, in my opinion the rejection of store bought bread made with the Chorleywood process to go for sourdough or anything else trendy is not entirely rational, there is much to recommend bread baked the conventional way with a machine. It means you ain't spending your time scheduling your life around some silly baking affectation but you get your bread. That is a fair comment that needs a few words to understand. I a…

You don't need sugar, You need carbohydrates, which are supplied in the flour. 4 ingredients are required, Flour, Water, Yeast and Salt. (though, in a pinch, you can do without salt, but it works as something of a regulator to the speed of the yeast and it affects the texture of the dough. (And you can do it without the yeast. but then it's sourdough. (Water and flour though, I'm pretty sure those are really required))) Fat isn't required either, but in some doughs, it can help with the workability or flavor.

Try this: Mix yeast and a batch sized quantity of water. Nothing really happens, but the yeast (depending on the type you've added) will dissolve or break apart. Add some flour, about what you'd add in sugar. Mix it so that the flour is not in clumps.

If the water temperature is reasonable, the yeast will start to break down the carbohydrate in the flour into sugar, consume it, and start bubbling. Then add it to bread, as the yeast has been proofed.

Some yeasts don't require the proofing step (SAF red for one). It's perfectly fine to add to the dry ingredients. I like that stuff, super reliable and easy to use but despite being french, I've never seen it outside the states. Some yeasts are better for sweet breads (like panettone, cinnamon rolls, or others). Some yeasts come in little sachets just suck and are hard to work with, like the stuff I had in the cupboard pre-pandemic.

Re: A scheduling tool for bread baking

#105

Post by fxtentacle »

crispyambulance wrote: post #59
fxtentacle wrote: post #54

I feel like that website is slightly counter-productive, because it puts a very strong emphasis on timing, whereas for producing high-quality bread, things like dough handling techniques, dough and oven humidity, or baking temperature have a much stronger effect than timing.

You're right that it's important to observe the dough and modify timing as needed. I think, however, that for many folks who are trying out baking sourdough for the first time, it helps them a lot to start with a fully detailed recipe that includes timing. The instructions on that bread scheduler will AT LEAST get you to the right ball park (assuming you use similar flour to the instructions). For those starting this…

I believe what most newcomers will want to bake is not a large bread - because then you're stuck with it if it turns out so-so - but rather smaller bread rolls. Those are based on instant yeast and prepared rather swiftly, so then the kitchen temperature becomes a major success/failure factor.

Re: A scheduling tool for bread baking

#106

Post by fxtentacle »

gen220 wrote: post #75
fxtentacle wrote: post #54

I feel like that website is slightly counter-productive, because it puts a very strong emphasis on timing, whereas for producing high-quality bread, things like dough handling techniques, dough and oven humidity, or baking temperature have a much stronger effect than timing.

Also ambient temperature and dough temperature! My dough was a full 10 degrees F warmer than normal after mixing recently, and it finished rising 1/6 faster (about 2 hours). Temperature strongly impacts the fermentation stage (warmer means the yeast works faster).

You are absolutely correct, I forgot to mention that. When it's cold outside, I actually have to keep the window closed and turn on the heating, or else my kitchen will be like 15 degrees celsius and the yeast won't rise quickly enough to counteract the wet dough slowly sliding flat.

Re: A scheduling tool for bread baking

#107

Post by jfim »

quicklime wrote: post #86
ChristianBundy wrote: post #69

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> So for example, "3% salt" just means 3 grams of water for every 100 grams of floor. I think maybe there's a typo here with "salt" vs "water"? I've had a hard time with these percentages. 3% salt means 3 grams of salt for every 97 grams of flour, but that doesn't seem to be how it's used in baking. Same with water: 100% hydration is half water, half flour, because they're talking in ratios rather than actual percent…

Yes, you're right! It should say "water" instead of "salt"...and it's too late to edit now. I too have a hard time with the percentages - it's a ratio against the weight of the flour, not a proportion of the entire dry mass. I guess that's why they call them "baker's percentages", as opposed to "the common understanding of percentages" :)

It makes it easier to adjust the ratios that way. Increasing the contribution of an ingredient only changes the percentage for that ingredient (other than the flour, obviously).

Re: A scheduling tool for bread baking

#108

Post by jfim »

Hackbraten wrote: post #95

Very well designed and implemented! Would you mind adding a 12h/24h switcher? I’m in the EU and I can’t figure out what 12am means vs. 12pm even though I keep looking it up.

It's super confusing.

The easiest way I've found to understand it is to think of 12 as being zero, so the times go 11am (11) -> 00pm (12) -> 1pm (13) -> 11pm (23) -> 00am (24) -> 1am (25).

Re: A scheduling tool for bread baking

#109

Post by awinder »

rand_r wrote: post #76
sampo wrote: post #72

I have found that a minimal version of no-knead bread is already good: 700ml flour, 350ml water, 1 to 1.5 tsp salt, 1/4 tsp instant yeast. Mix in bowl, cover, let stand for 12-16 hours. Put dutch oven in oven, heat to 250C. Take out the hot dutch oven, sprinkle some bran or flour or cornmeal on the bottom, scrape dough from the bowl into the dutch oven, sprinkle some bran on top. Bake 30min with lid, remove lid, bake…

Does the bread rise while it's baking in the oven? I've tried to do this no-knead recipe and the bread came out pretty flat.

The Dutch oven basically acts as a little mini steam oven which contributes a lot to the rising. Also the walls for it to rise up.

Re: A scheduling tool for bread baking

#110

Post by etrautmann »

juanbyrge wrote: post #100
etrautmann wrote: post #66

Earlier quoted context omitted.

As a beginner, I find a tool like this useful for understanding the general schedule and a visual depiction of the steps required, without taking the precise timing too seriously

Definitely as a beginner it helps to follow a schedule and start to notice some patterns. As you make bread more and more you start to rely on more visual and tactile signals. For instance, I know that the levain is ready when it appears 'bubbly' enough, and the stretching and folding is done when the dough is 'tough' enough, and that the bulk fermentation is complete when the dough has approximately doubled in size.…

Thanks! I'll give this one a shot too.
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