7 Comments

I’m in the Twin Cities (Wayzata) about to do my second bake of your Challah and Shokupan formulas. They’re both sensational and were quickly devoured by my grandchildren, thus the second round.

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Hey. I live in Minneapolis. In case you weren’t aware of a local flour mill here: Baker’s Field in N Minneapolis. I use love their flours.

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I am aware of them and do use their flours. Sunrise Flour Mills in North Branch also has some nice, local flours.

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Thanks for letting me know. I’ve seen their ads but haven’t tried any yet.

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This quote from YQ population wheat sour dough recipe applies to all baking with regionally grown flours:

"A note of caution when following recipes, but using stone milled, identity preserved natural flours that have not been blended and engineered by millers:

Your YQ flour is pretty special. It has come from a named farm, with its own unique farming system, designed to suit and respect its own unique ecosystem. The YQ population wheat itself is a diverse collection of plants, each with a unique DNA, that allows the crop a library of tools to respond during the growing season, a natural way to adapt and survive the challenges of climate, weed burden and pests.

As such, there will be variability in the crops farm to farm, and year on year and even milling batch to milling batch. This requires the baker to respond, to be awake to the flour, and means that this recipe can only be your guide. Your water quantities & kneading times may require a little adjustment trial and error. Try not to get frustrated if you don’t get perfect results first time, breadmaking with real flour is a practice, and a joy.

Process flexibility is a key principle to de-commodifying our food system. Remember; ‘As we make bread, we make ourselves’. (Tara Jenson said that in her book; Smoke Signals Baking). '"

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Andrew, I've been puzzling over your brioche pictures. I am far from an expert in either baking or physics but some of what I've put to use in the kitchen I've learned from sewing. This is hard to explain but I'm thinking you should try that same formula in a flared pan. I think it might behave more like what you're looking for. I'm thinking it's something about how gravity is being exerted on the loaf. Just my 2 cents. (Actually less than two when discounted for lack of experience.) ;-)

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Thank you, Claire. Others have suggested the same thing, but alas this is not the solution, it happens no matter the shape of the pan. The problem is the vacuum that forms upon cooling and the loaf's inability to resist the force it applies to the crust & crumb. I need more structure, which is counter to the soft, plush texture I am aiming for. Reducing the butter would do the trick, but then it wouldn't be brioche.

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