Pandemic Baking: Sourdough #33, #34, #35

Starting with this, we are now baking using the beautiful Le Creuset round 5.5 Quart Sugar Blue Dutch oven, purchased as an anniversary gift and picked up from Le Creuset Outlet at Leesburg Premium Outlet mall. Oooh, can't wait to see the result with our new toy!

Brand new Sugar Blue Le Creuset round 5 1/2 quart Dutch oven

We started the process the night before by feeding the starter around 11:30pm.
We woke up and started getting the ingredients ready around 7:45am.

8:00am: mix dough (big glass/#33, metal bowl/#34, small glass/#35)
FDT was: 77.9 deg big glass, 77.7 deg metal bowl, 78.1 deg small glass
8:15am: fold #1
8:30am: fold #2
9:00am: fold #3
9:30am: fold #4
10:00am: fold #5
12 noon: preshape
12:30pm: shape and into banneton baskets
FDT was: 73.9 deg big glass, 73.2 deg metal bowl, 75.5 deg small glass
Basket #1(big glass/#33) was proofed at room temperature, basket #2 (metal bowl/#34) and #3 (small glass/#35) were refrigerated overnight.
Sourdough #35 final weight was 897g going into the banneton (using a 900g loaf recipe from ThePerfectLoaf)

Baking time for sourdough #33:
1. 2PM: Preheat Dutch oven at 500 deg F
2. 3PM: Score and put in oven
3. 20 minutes with lid on (rotate at 10 minutes)
4. Reduce temperature to 475 deg F
5. 30 minutes with lid off (rotate at 15 minutes)
6. Convection at 475 deg F
7. 2 minutes on bare rack (rotate at 1 minute)

Sourdough #33 post-bake weight: 718g

Sourdough #33 using ThePerfectLoaf recipe: nice and round from Le Creuset round Dutch oven

Sourdough #33: good rise and nice coloring

Sourdough #33 cross section: crumb still damp, not completely dry

Sourdough #33 first cut: nice crust

Sourdough #33: very airy open crumb 

Overall a very good loaf. With the new Dutch oven, perhaps we do not want to reduce the oven temperature to 475 deg when taking the lid off.

The next day, we took sourdough #34 out of the refrigerator at 12:54PM as we preheated the oven.

Sourdough #34 baking time:
1. 12:54PM: preheat the Dutch oven at 500 deg F and take banneton #2 out of the refrigerator
2. 2:00PM: oven is ready (thermometer reads 465 deg F); sourdough #34 skin temperature reads 53.4 deg F (so far from reaching room temperature of 75 deg F)
3. 2:05PM: score and put in oven
4. 20 minutes with lid on (rotate at 10 minutes)
5. 30 minutes with lid off (rotate at 15 minutes)
6. During the last 3.5 minutes, check on the bread and lower the oven temperature to 475 deg F to avoid burning the bread

Sourdough #34 post-bake weight: 709g

Sourdough #34 using theperfectloaf recipe and the new Le Creuset Dutch oven: nice and round

Sourdough #34 proofed in the refrigerator overnight: nice rise, lots of blisters

Sourdough #34 cross section: crumb still a little damp

Sourdough #34 first slice: crust is nice and thin and crispy

Sourdough #34 middle slice has big holes and airy crumb

Sourdough #34 was baked at 500 deg F until the last 3.5 minutes when the temperature was reduced to 475 deg to avoid burning. However that may have been unnecessary, since the crumb needs a little more baking time. Overall it was still delicious.

Sourdough #35 baking time:
1. 2:55PM: take banneton #3 out of refrigerator
2. 3:30PM: preheat Dutch oven
3. 4:47PM: oven reaches 465 deg F, and dough temperature was 55.2 deg F
4. 4:51PM: score and put in oven
5. 20 minutes lid on (rotate at 10 minutes)
6. 30 minutes lid off (rotate at 15 minutes)
7. add 2 minutes, check
8. add 1 minute, take out

Sourdough #35 post-bake weight: 719g

Sourdough #35 following theperfectloaf recipe and using Le Creuset round Dutch oven

Sourdough #35 cross section: crumb still slightly moist even with additional 3 minutes of baking time

Sourdough #35 first slice: nice crunchy crust and airy crumb

Even with the additional 3 minutes of baking time and not lowering the oven temperature, the crumb is still slightly damp. Overall still an excellent loaf with crunchy crust and airy crumb.

Pandemic Take Out: Hooper's Crab Truck at your local Giant

Hooper's Crab House from Ocean City, Maryland brought Maryland blue crabs to our local Giant this past Saturday.

We purchased two dozens crabs and feasted at home.

We brought out Gugu's crab tools for the occasion.
It was really satisfying.

Pandemic Baking: Sourdough #30, #31, #32

Last night we started the process by feeding the starter at midnight.
This morning we are repeating the Perfect Loaf's recipe for all three loaves.
We started the dough mixing at 7am, and performed 5 stretch-and-fold.

7am: mix dough
7:15am: fold #1
7:30am: fold #2
8:00am: fold #3
8:30am: fold #4
9:00am: fold #5

Amy came at 11:15am to pre-shape and shape with us.
11:30am: pre-shape
12noon: shape into banneton

Two bannetons were proof'ed at room temperature, and the third was put in the refrigerator for overnight proofing.

At 2:20pm, sourdough #30 was scored and went into the oven.
Coming out of the banneton, it spread out pretty flat.
We followed the Perfect Loaf's baking time while keeping a close eye to not let it burn.

Sourdough #30 baking time:
1. Preheat Dutch oven at 500 deg F (to reach 460 deg F)
2. Score and put in oven
3. 20 minutes with lid on (rotate at 10 minutes)
4. 26.5 minutes with lid off (rotate at 13.5 minutes)

Sourdough #30 post-bake weight: 739g

Sourdough #30 following thePerfectLoaf recipe and shorter baking time

Sourdough #30 cross section: bottom crust almost crunchy enough

Sourdough #30 shows promising air pockets around the crust

We could bake a tiny bit longer for a crunchier crust, but this loaf's crust was almost as crunchy as #28, and without the burnt. Very promising!

We waited for the oven to heat up to 460 deg F again.
Sourdough #31 was the one that Amy shaped, and it was ready to go into the oven around 3:37pm.

Sourdough #31 baking time:
1. Preheat the oven to 460 deg F
2. Score and put in Dutch oven
3. 20 minutes with lid on (rotate at 10 minutes)
4. 30 minutes with lid off, however we lowered the heat at various point
       - after 6.5 minutes: rotate on long axis and reduce setting to 475 deg F
       - after 6.5 minutes: rotate on long axis and reduce setting to 450 deg F
       - after 6.5 minutes: rotate on short axis
       - after 6.5 minutes: rotate on short axis
       - after 2 minutes: rotate
       - after 2 minutes: rotate
5. 2 minutes on bare rack with convection 475 deg F
       - after 1 minute: rotate
       - after 1 minute: done

Sourdough #31 post-bake weight: 695g

Sourdough #31 following thePerfectLoaf recipe, shaped by Amy

Sourdough #31 cross section shows even open crumb

Sourdough #31 has the desired bubbly crust 

We are finally happy with the resulting crunchy crust and airy crumb, a perfect combination of texture and taste!

Our question next is whether we can reproduce this with sourdough #32 that is being proof'ed in the refrigerator overnight. Will we need to take it to room temperature before we bake it to achieve the same result? Is the cold-to-hot preventing the crust from being crunchy and holy?

The next day we didn't get around to baking our sourdough #32 until after lunch.
We brought sourdough #32 out of refrigeration at 1PM, at the same time that we preheated the oven.
Sourdough #32 went into the oven at 2:03PM after approximately one hour left on the counter.

Sourdough #32 baking time:
1. Preheat Dutch oven and take banneton out of refrigerator
2. One hour later, score and put in Dutch oven
3. Bake with lid on for 20 minutes (rotate at 10)
4. Lower oven temperature to 460 deg F (oven temperature reading is around 425 deg F)
5. Bake with lid off for 30 minutes (rotate at 15)
6. Switch to bare rack and convection 475
7. Bake for 3.5 minutes (rotate at 2)

Sourdough #32 post-bake weight: 713g

Sourdough #32 following thePerfectLoaf recipe

Sourdough #32 crumb still wet, crust not as crunchy

Sourdough #32 coloring is beautiful, but the crumb is still wet, and the crust did not have the big holes for the crunchiness we looked for. We lowered the temperature too much and underbaked this loaf. Sigh.

Lobster Rolls bring back memories of our trip to Maine

Last summer, we planned a weekend in Maine using our Southwest companion fare. We hoped to have selected a weekend during wild Maine blueberries harvest season, and as it happened, we were there on the first day of harvest from Alexander Wild Blueberries farm.

While in Maine, we attended a blueberries festival, and enjoyed all things blueberries: blueberry lemonade, blueberry pie, blueberry ice cream, etc.

We timed ourselves to be at Red's Eat around their opening hours, in order to avoid the long lines for their famous lobster rolls.

We ate twice at Red's Eat, and carried back in our carry-on luggages the precious 10-lb box of wild Maine blueberries.

It was a crazy weekend, with long drives between Alexander Blueberries farm and Red's Eat and the airport.
We discussed making this an annual summer driving trip.

With COVID cases not abating as we entered mid-July, this year there was not a lot of hope for our second annual trip to Maine.

So the kids brought lobster rolls to us instead!
Robo and Ric Ric gifted us lobster rolls kits from GetMaineLobster, shipped overnight.

Maine lobster rolls right in your own home

Such thoughtful gift from thoughtful children!

Pandemic Baking: Sourdough #28 and #29

Today we are trying a new recipe!
We will follow the instructions of the Perfect Loaf at
https://www.theperfectloaf.com/sourdough-bread-with-all-purpose-flour/

The recipe results in a slightly smaller loaf size:

ThePerfectLoaf Sourdough Bread with AP Flour

460g all-purpose KA flour (100%)

340g water (73.9% hydration)

92g leaven (20%)

9g salt (1.9%)

Loaf size: 900g

We fed the starter the night before, and started mixing the dough at 6:45AM.

Because the Perfect Loaf uses less starter, we had enough starter to make two loaves.

We also followed the Perfect Loaf instructions and performs five stretch-and-fold total:

1. 6:45AM: Mix dough then wait 15 minutes

2. 7:00AM: First fold then wait 15 minutes

3. 7:15AM: Second fold then wait 30 minutes

4. 7:45AM: Third fold then wait 30 minutes

5. 8:15AM: Fourth fold then wait 30 minutes

6. 8:45AM: Fifth and last fold then wait 30 minutes 

Per the Perfect Loaf, bulk fermentation would end around 10:15AM, but our dough did not seem like it rose enough.

Finally around 11:30AM, we realized that this dough would not rise as much as what we were used to seeing, since we used much less leaven (20% instead of 30%.)

We pre-shaped at 11:30AM and shaped at 12 noon.

Sourdough #28 proofed at room temperature for this evening's baking, and sourdough #29 proofed in the refrigerator for next day baking.

We then went to get our haircut, and returned at 3:30PM.

We may have left sourdough #28 to proof a little too long: it rose very high in the banneton basket and then spread out flat as soon as we took it out of the basket to score. Uh-oh. A quick simple scoring will do for this one.

Sourdough #28 went in the oven at 4:30PM after we preheat the oven.

Sourdough #28 Baking Time followed the Perfect Loaf instructions:
1. Preheat Dutch oven until 460 deg F reading

2. Score and place on double parchment paper

3. Bake with lid on for 20 minutes (rotate after 10 minutes)

4. Bake with lid off for 30 minutes (rotate after 15 minutes)

Sourdough #28 post-bake weight: 737g

Sourdough #28 (73.9% hydration): no ice cube, 2 parchment

It turned out that even though the dough went pretty flat during scoring, sourdough #28 rose significantly in the oven.

The color was a little dark though, and we may have sprinkled too thick of a coat of rice flour.
This was not one of our best artwork.

We waited one hour to cut.

Sourdough #28 (73.9% hydration) by thePerfectLoaf recipe

Several surprises awaited us.
1. The bread cuts very well, as the knife went through easily
2. The bottom crust looked thick, but did not taste thick at all; it was crunchy and light, and yes with a bit of a burnt taste
3. The crumb was super light and airy
Very interestingly, the ugly duckling may end up to be the best tasting sourdough we had so far, minus the burnt taste. The texture of the crust and the crumb was excellent.

We have sourdough #29 to try not to burn the next day.

We started bright and early the next morning, and sourdough #29 went into the oven at 7:35AM.
The dough looked good coming out of the banneton basket: it maintained its shape nicely and did not spread out flat like sourdough #28.

We made slight modifications to the baking time to avoid the burnt crust as followed:
1. Preheat Dutch oven until 460 deg F reading (500 deg F setting)

2. Score and place on double parchment paper

3. Bake with lid on for 20 minutes (rotate after 10 minutes)
4. Reduce temperature to 475 deg F setting

5. Bake with lid off for 27 minutes (rotate after 15 minutes)
6. Move to bare rack and switch to convection
7. Convection on bare rack for 4.5 minutes (rotate each 1.5 minutes)

Sourdough #29 post-bake weight: 711g

Sourdough #29 (73.9% hydration) using the Perfect Loaf recipe and overnight proof 

Sourdough #29 (73.9% hydration) rose very high

The crumb is very open and airy; the crust is not as crunchy as sourdough #28 but still good.
Next time we will not lower the oven temperature, just shorten the bake time, to see if we can achieve the crust of sourdough #28 without the burnt.

Pandemic Baking: Sourdough #26 and #27

Still working on getting rid of the damp crumb, we decided to make a couple of 70% hydration loaves this week to see if it makes a difference.

Both loaves are using 70% hydration with 100% KA AP flour.

Last night both loaves went into the refrigerator around 9PM for overnight proofing in their banneton baskets.

Today sourdough #26 went into the oven at 4PM.

Sourdough #26 baking time:
1. Preheat the Dutch oven to 500 deg F until thermometer reading reaches 460 deg F
2. Score
3. At 4:15PM put the loaf into the Dutch oven with 2 ice cubes and 2 parchment papers
4. Lid on for 15 minutes
5. Rotate, vent lid, reduce temperature setting to 475 deg F (reading 430 deg F) for 15 minutes
6. Lid off for 7 minutes
7. Rotate, wait another 7 minutes
8. On bare rack, switch to convection oven for 2 minutes
9. Rotate, wait for final 2 minutes

Final weight for sourdough #26: 778g

Sourdough #26 (70% hydration): 2 ice cubes, 2 parchment

Sourdough #26 (70% hydration) cross section: we are happy with the thin crust

We are very happy with sourdough #26 thin bottom crust, and the crumb is nice and open.
We are sharing half of this loaf with Amy.
We are going to make the next one for Sam to make up for the last Sam loaf being a little burnt.

Sourdough #27 went into the oven at 6:57PM.
Sourdough #27 baking time is almost the same as #26, except we added one minute at the end.
Final weight for sourdough #27: 786g

Sourdough #27 (70% hydration): 2 ice cubes and 2 parchment

Sourdough #27 (70% hydration) cross section

The namesake for Sourdough #27 proudly presenting...

We received good review after watching the family taste-test our Sourdough #27. The consensus was that the crust was very thin, especially the top crust was excellent. There are parts of the bottom crust that tasted a little burnt. The crumb was nice and light.
The bearer of the Sourdough #27 was especially pleased.

Pandemic Baking: Sourdough #23, #24, #25

We are still working out our baking time, looking to achieve that crispy and thin crust with an open airy crumb.

We prepared 3 loaves, all at 75% hydration using KA AP flour.
The only difference will be the scoring and the baking time.

Last night all 3 loaves went into the refrigerator at midnight after final shaping.

This morning sourdough #23 went into the oven at 10:18am.

Sourdough #23 (75% hydration) scoring

Sourdough #23 baking time:
1. Preheat the Dutch oven until the temperature reads 455 deg F (set at 500 deg)
2. Score
3. At 10:18am, put the dough in (no ice cube)
4. Lid on for 15 minutes
5. Rotate the Dutch oven, vent the lid, reduce setting to 475 deg F and wait 20 minutes
6. Lid off for 7 minutes (temperature reads at 435 deg F)
7. Rotate and wait 7 minutes
8. On bare rack, switch to convection, for 2 minutes
9. Rotate for final 1 minute

Final weight for sourdough #23: 776g

Sourdough #23 (75% hydration): no ice cube, vent lid, slightly misshapen

Sourdough #23 (75% hydration) cross section: slightly wet crumb center

It seems that the first of the three loaves (#23 of 23/24/25, and #15 of 15/16/17) is the most misshapen of the three. Our theory is that it hasn't proofed long enough (about 10 hours in the refrigerator). The next two, having proofed at least 12 hours in the refrigerator, were more round.

Sourdough #24 baking time:
1. Preheat the Dutch oven until the temperature reads 455 deg F (set at 500 deg)
2. Score
3. At 2pm, put the dough in with 2 ice cubes
4. Lid on for 20 minutes
5. Rotate the Dutch oven, vent the lid, reduce setting to 470 deg F and wait 20 minutes
6. Lid off for 7 minutes (temperature reads at 430 deg F)
7. Rotate and wait 6 minutes (we thought the crust was browning too fast)
8. On bare rack, switch to convection, for 1 minutes
9. Rotate for final 1 minute

Final weight for sourdough #24: 788g

Sourdough #24 (75% hydration) with 2 ice cubes and venting lid

Sourdough #24 (75% hydration) still seems to have wet crumb

Sourdough #25 baking time:
1. Preheat the Dutch oven until the temperature reads 455 deg F (set at 500 deg)
2. Score
3. At 5:10pm, put the dough in with 2 ice cubes
4. Lid on for 20 minutes
5. Rotate the Dutch oven, vent the lid, reduce setting to 470 deg F and wait 20 minutes
6. Lid off for 7 minutes (temperature reads at 430 deg F)
7. Rotate and wait 7 minutes
8. On bare rack, switch to convection, for 2 minutes
9. Rotate for final 1 minute

Final weight for sourdough #25: 750g

Sourdough #25 (75% hydration): 2 ice cubes and vent lid

Sourdough #25 (75%) longer baking time has great crumb but thicker bottom crust

This loaf has the lightest post-bake weight since we started recording the data.
The crumb is now fully baked out with the trade off that the bottom crust is thicker.