Any Home Bakers Here?

So many firsts today. Weighing instead of measuring ingredients. Autolysing the flour. Making a levain to proof the yeast. Using a proofing box. Three risings instead of two. Baking in a covered cast iron pan.

It’s killing me to wait until this loaf cools before I cut into it. But that’s new to me, too.

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I've not heard of levein before. So I looked this up . I'm still getting my heard around it.
 
Wow, a theft ring! Wonder if the woman involved was keeping or selling the items received. 🤔 Seems if the officer could SEE the article described, that sounds like "probable cause" to investigate a theft. Maybe he could have found evidence, like the packaging and shipping lable.
I hope the police work out what's going on

There was a couple of rings in UK, one started at the sorting office, they were caughton camera. Its disgusting :fl . We had two parts of the country at it. Another was the actual postman he would keep parcels and scan for money in cards he was eventually caught.
I think taking on new staff around Christmas is a risk, unless the staff they employ has been applying for some time or students.

My friend had three of his parcels go missing and myself a couple. I lost a fair few pounds and was given a book of stamps which no where near covered the loss

I was most angry about my friends, he hadn't had contact with his sisters for years and after a heart attack and stroke his sisters contacted him, he was ecstatic. It was then his precious mail and contacts were intercepted. But his sister is no one too mess around with and she got onto it.
 
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I've not heard of levein before. So I looked this up . I'm still getting my heard around it.
I stumbled across it for the first time after reading this thread and looking it up. I found it’s mostly related to sour doughs, but can be used with yeast breads. That was probably the hardest part, as many sites mention it for yeast breads, but few offer much explanation.

Most of them autolyse their flours with yeast included, then admit it’s more fermentation than autolysis. 😖 I was forced to improvise that step.
 
For the professionally curious and other stalwart souls following my tale of all-new breadmaking lessons, here is the result of yesterday’s many “firsts.”

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The bread is fairly dense. I kneaded instead of stretch-and-pull (am I the only to whom that sounds vaguely obscene?). I think it could have used another 5-10 minutes as it seems moister than I expected. Not doughy, though.

The crust came out crunchy from the oven, but after cooling then spending the night wrapped in clean cloth, it softened to a firm chew without being tough.

The crumb/texture is close and firm. But I was going for more if a sandwich bread, so it works. I don’t know if it would go well with soup because of the density and moisture content, but I expect it will toast well. I think three risings helped with that.

As for taste, I’m pleased with it. Not overly sweet (just less than 10%) or oily (3%, not counting coatings during rising and greasing the pan lightly). Whole wheat flour was roughly 1/4 of the flour blend and the flavor really comes through. But not in an overpowering, offensive way.

A few tweaks to ingredients and playing with proofing box and oven times/temperatures; and I think I’ll have a keeper.
 
For the professionally curious and other stalwart souls following my tale of all-new breadmaking lessons, here is the result of yesterday’s many “firsts.”

View attachment 2914162

The bread is fairly dense. I kneaded instead of stretch-and-pull (am I the only to whom that sounds vaguely obscene?). I think it could have used another 5-10 minutes as it seems moister than I expected. Not doughy, though.

The crust came out crunchy from the oven, but after cooling then spending the night wrapped in clean cloth, it softened to a firm chew without being tough.

The crumb/texture is close and firm. But I was going for more if a sandwich bread, so it works. I don’t know if it would go well with soup because of the density and moisture content, but I expect it will toast well. I think three risings helped with that.

As for taste, I’m pleased with it. Not overly sweet (just less than 10%) or oily (3%, not counting coatings during rising and greasing the pan lightly). Whole wheat flour was roughly 1/4 of the flour blend and the flavor really comes through. But not in an overpowering, offensive way.

A few tweaks to ingredients and playing with proofing box and oven times/temperatures; and I think I’ll have a keeper.
WOW...first ...I am impressed. It is BEAUTIFUL.
May we see the Recipe for this Keeper. Aria
 
Thank you. I’m not sure what I’d do if my food sang to me as it came out of the oven. Freak out comes to mind. 😉 But yes, it crackled at me a little.

The crust was better than what I usually get with my “normal” bread. I believe that’s the cloche effect of covering the pan. I put it on a rack to cool and threw a towel over it to keep off dust and cat hair. The towel absorbed some of the steam, which in turn softened the crust a little. I’ll find out how much when I cut tomorrow.

Next time, I think I’ll return the loaf to the oven after removing from the pan. I’ll leave the oven door cracked open with the bread in it until everything cools and see what that does.
I love it when the bread makes crackling sounds when baked!
 

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