BACK IN THE SWING OF THINGS

It's been unbearably hot in eastern North Carolina, so baking has been on the back burner for the past two months, except for my commitment of Challah for our local shul. 

But yesterday I got energized and put together two Overnight 40% Whole Wheat from Ken Forkish's Flour Water, Salt, Yeast, two loaves of Vogel's Bread and three Baguettes.

Overnight 40% Whole Wheat

Very pleased with this result, good oven spring, crisp, chewy crust, and soft crumb. Great flavor.

Crisp crust, soft crumb - delicious.

Vogel's Bread? Among other things it is the best selling bread in my home country of New Zealand. Created by a Swiss, Alfred Vogel who cared a lot about the enjoyment of good food and healthy living, believing that:

The best quality of life could be achieved by maintaining a well-balanced diet of wholesome natural foods.

And what better place to start than the ‘humble’ loaf? Alfred wanted to create bread full of wholesome and natural ingredients, making it simple and enjoyable for anyone and everyone to get essential nutrients into their everyday diet. So Vogel’s bread has been around for over 60 years now and baked in New Zealand since 1967.

Vogel's Bread

Essentially it's a multi-grain seeded loaf. Mine has 7 grain hot cereal, rolled oats, sunflower, pumpkin, flax and sesame seeds with 20% whole wheat flour. Here is a link to the recipe I used: Vogel's Bread. I used the 7 grain cereal in place of the kibbled wheat and rye. 

Cut into the Vogel's bread for a crumb shot, but did not try yet. Into the freezer for later in the week.

Vogel's Crumb

 
Baguettes were from a King Arthur recipe with an overnight retard in the refrigerator. Not at all happy with the result, so no photo. Recipe called for baking in a stoneware baguette baker, which I don't have. Tried baking in the oven on a stone with steam, but the crust did not crisp up, even with an additional five minutes. However, did make a great grilled Cuban sandwich from one of the baguettes, so all was not lost.