This is an updated version of an already popular recipe of mine, located here. While it almost always worked perfectly for me, other people have had issues, so I tweaked it slightly to make it more foolproof.
I make this toasting loaf frequently and love it. I solved the dark spots problem months ago by mixing the solution of baking soda and water (recipe 1.0) into the room temperature milk just before adding wet to dry. The resulting loaf is great as far as I can tell, and the new 2.0 step of “beating like hell” isn’t required. The dough raises fine while proofing. If there’s a loss of taste or bad chemical something resulting from my mixing the soda into the milk, please let me know. Otherwise, I’m going to maintain using my recipe tweak. Thanks. I love Wordloaf!
This was a perfect lazy ‘leftovers’ loaf. Wished I had the cornmeal (but see above re: lazy), so I pressed some ground up oats into service, let it rise a hair too much, and baked to just shy of 200 (New Mexico elevation or my wonky oven, who knows), and it was still all delicious. Can’t wait ‘til I muster the effort to toast the bread. Thanks for forcing me to clean out many containers of discard. ;)
At last a tasty way to use up a large amount of discard. I don’t have a 9x5 loaf pan so used a parchment-lined Pullman pan (without top) to good effect. Dough rose surprisingly quickly in an 80 degree kitchen so I might cut down on yeast next time. Loaf had nice texture and flavor somewhat reminiscent of English muffins and toasted up well. Definitely will make again.
I make the original recipe regularly - so easy and so tasty. I haven't felt the need to add extra yeast, in spite of old discard. Also, I never had trouble with dissolving (partially) the soda in water as per that recipe. My soda tends to have lumps, so if I mix it in the dry ingredients as in the 2.0, I'll have to de-lump it first! I do like the idea of letting it rise in the pan - one less step. I'll try this version next time I accumulate enough discard.
I couldn’t get the soda dissolved & mixed well with 1.0 so I doubled the new method by sifting the soda in with the flour and then whisking in the salt and yeast — and it did the trick. The crumb was the best of the half-dozen loaves I’ve made so far.
The yeast makes the bread taste more like English muffins and guarantees a good rise, so I’m liking this addition!
Ran out of medium corn meal this time so I subbed in Red Mill polenta / grits … and I’ll be doing this from now on because it made the crust extra crunchy, especially when toasted. Highly recommend.
This was a success. Made the original recipe twice. This new one was clearly the winner for me. It got rave reviews from my friends. I always wish for more sour flavor though. It’s elusive.
I love the new version. I made the old one several times and liked it. My husband recently requested a loaf so it was perfect timing to try the new version. I love all the changes -- although I too figured out adding the baking soda to the milk in version 1.0. But as a tester, I followed this recipe exactly and it was perfect. My husband and I are both fans of the more open crumb -- much more like an English muffin. Or as my husband said: "Like the holes in English muffins that fill with butter."
Back again - I finally tried the new recipe, and I'm not impressed. It ended up overproofed after 60 minutes in a 75 degree space, maybe because of the extra yeast? So, not much rise in the oven. The flavor was more yeasty than I like, too. The end texture was similar to the original recipe. And is the extra sugar really needed? I did like pouring the dough directly into the pan, saving a step. My conclusion - stick with the original ingredients, but perhaps add a ½ tsp of yeast if the discard is very old.
Finally got around to making this! SOOO good! I found I should have tented rather than covered loosely with plastic wrap since it rose and stuck...and then I lost some batter, and it didn't rise any more in the oven. BUT the texture was great! I might leave out the baking soda so it would be a little more sour next time. It's only the morning after the bake and it's all gone already.
This looks like a fun thing to try. Ironically, I had just pulled out my copy of Beard on Bread the other day. It was a bible in our house once upon a time — I hadn’t used in many years. Did you happen to see what he said about sourdough? “Despite my own feeling that sourdough bread is much overrated and is difficult to perfect at home, I am including one recipe in this collection because interest in the subject is so tremendous.” He goes on with more disparaging and discouraging comments. And then provides a recipe for the starter which includes milk, sugar, salt (!) and yeast! Oh well. I own the book for nostalgic purposes and it doesn’t take up much room on the shelf ….
I make this toasting loaf frequently and love it. I solved the dark spots problem months ago by mixing the solution of baking soda and water (recipe 1.0) into the room temperature milk just before adding wet to dry. The resulting loaf is great as far as I can tell, and the new 2.0 step of “beating like hell” isn’t required. The dough raises fine while proofing. If there’s a loss of taste or bad chemical something resulting from my mixing the soda into the milk, please let me know. Otherwise, I’m going to maintain using my recipe tweak. Thanks. I love Wordloaf!
This was a perfect lazy ‘leftovers’ loaf. Wished I had the cornmeal (but see above re: lazy), so I pressed some ground up oats into service, let it rise a hair too much, and baked to just shy of 200 (New Mexico elevation or my wonky oven, who knows), and it was still all delicious. Can’t wait ‘til I muster the effort to toast the bread. Thanks for forcing me to clean out many containers of discard. ;)
At last a tasty way to use up a large amount of discard. I don’t have a 9x5 loaf pan so used a parchment-lined Pullman pan (without top) to good effect. Dough rose surprisingly quickly in an 80 degree kitchen so I might cut down on yeast next time. Loaf had nice texture and flavor somewhat reminiscent of English muffins and toasted up well. Definitely will make again.
I make the original recipe regularly - so easy and so tasty. I haven't felt the need to add extra yeast, in spite of old discard. Also, I never had trouble with dissolving (partially) the soda in water as per that recipe. My soda tends to have lumps, so if I mix it in the dry ingredients as in the 2.0, I'll have to de-lump it first! I do like the idea of letting it rise in the pan - one less step. I'll try this version next time I accumulate enough discard.
I couldn’t get the soda dissolved & mixed well with 1.0 so I doubled the new method by sifting the soda in with the flour and then whisking in the salt and yeast — and it did the trick. The crumb was the best of the half-dozen loaves I’ve made so far.
The yeast makes the bread taste more like English muffins and guarantees a good rise, so I’m liking this addition!
Ran out of medium corn meal this time so I subbed in Red Mill polenta / grits … and I’ll be doing this from now on because it made the crust extra crunchy, especially when toasted. Highly recommend.
Thanks for the A+ changes, Andrew!
This was a success. Made the original recipe twice. This new one was clearly the winner for me. It got rave reviews from my friends. I always wish for more sour flavor though. It’s elusive.
I love the new version. I made the old one several times and liked it. My husband recently requested a loaf so it was perfect timing to try the new version. I love all the changes -- although I too figured out adding the baking soda to the milk in version 1.0. But as a tester, I followed this recipe exactly and it was perfect. My husband and I are both fans of the more open crumb -- much more like an English muffin. Or as my husband said: "Like the holes in English muffins that fill with butter."
how would this be with 1/2 whole wheat bread flour and 1/2 regular bread flour? need more water?
Back again - I finally tried the new recipe, and I'm not impressed. It ended up overproofed after 60 minutes in a 75 degree space, maybe because of the extra yeast? So, not much rise in the oven. The flavor was more yeasty than I like, too. The end texture was similar to the original recipe. And is the extra sugar really needed? I did like pouring the dough directly into the pan, saving a step. My conclusion - stick with the original ingredients, but perhaps add a ½ tsp of yeast if the discard is very old.
This was GREAT! I had a hard time with the first version, I think the yeast really did the trick. Thank you so much for the update!
Finally got around to making this! SOOO good! I found I should have tented rather than covered loosely with plastic wrap since it rose and stuck...and then I lost some batter, and it didn't rise any more in the oven. BUT the texture was great! I might leave out the baking soda so it would be a little more sour next time. It's only the morning after the bake and it's all gone already.
This looks like a fun thing to try. Ironically, I had just pulled out my copy of Beard on Bread the other day. It was a bible in our house once upon a time — I hadn’t used in many years. Did you happen to see what he said about sourdough? “Despite my own feeling that sourdough bread is much overrated and is difficult to perfect at home, I am including one recipe in this collection because interest in the subject is so tremendous.” He goes on with more disparaging and discouraging comments. And then provides a recipe for the starter which includes milk, sugar, salt (!) and yeast! Oh well. I own the book for nostalgic purposes and it doesn’t take up much room on the shelf ….
I'm coming back to this and wonder if there's a math mistake? 150 g of milk is not 88% of 400 g of flour. Am I looking at the formula wrong?
I've made this recipe several times and it always sinks in the middle, why? What causes that?