After floating in a sea of pumpkin delight on Instagram, I decided to shoot my best shot and try to create something suitable for artisan sourdough with the addition of pumpkin. I don’t know if this is my best shot, I see what more has to be done for this loaf to improve, but until I try to shoot again, I’ll leave you with this one. It’s still beautiful and it tastes incredible. Many more to follow.

So far I’ve made a few loaves with higher percent of whole grain, and with each I’ve learned valuable lessons. Yes, you can achieve open crumb with 50% or higher whole grain if you follow few simple steps and have an understanding of the things you do and why you do them.

Autolyse is the quiet part of mixing. It does a lot without much or any work done. Simply by mixing only flour with water, the dough self smooth itself just by sitting in a bowl. It gives a good start for gluten development and at the same time the enzyme protease in the flour degrades it, weakens it, which is a good thing. To a degree, protease activity is very good for the dough because it makes the bread soft.

I think making doughnuts is my second favorite thing after bread. There’s something so satisfying about the whole process.

Watching them blow up in the hot oil makes me so happy. Especially when you try to flip them over and you struggle to do so because they are so round and plump that they don’t stay flipped. They are like impish children.

I am going to talk to you about this paprika sourdough that I baked the other day, and before I begin, I’d like to say that this bread turned out very good…BUT it could be better! What’s wrong with that? Nothing! If you see its potential why not explore it to the max?!

Crepes are a big part of my childhood. There was this family, which we called “The doughnut family” because they were the only ones in my small town to make and sell doughnuts. There was always a long line in front of their little shop. People would buy their doughnuts and carry them in a small paper bag, eating them on the way home, very often in the late afternoon which spoiled their dinner. I was one of these people.

This 30% wholemeal sourdough is your everyday kind of bread. It’s like the classic Chanel 5 that goes with everything. Or like the comfort of your daily tee and jeans attire that you can easily dress up. Or like the signature of the classic little black dress, it will never go out of style

In my book I talk in detail about how important it is to mix your dough well. During mixing we aerate the dough and create air bubbles. The CO2 produced by the yeast during fermentation will encounter these air bubbles and dissolve into them and come out as gas. In order for the CO2 to become gaseous, it has to enter an air bubble.