Thread: trashed blade useful for Lame (bread slashing tool)

One member asked what uses a trashed blade had, and the honorable Utopia said they worked for slashing the tops of bread before baking. Indeed, they do quite well there. So in honor of the fine idea, a couple examples.

All Sourdough - the way God intended!

Left, front & back: White/wheat blend, back loaf w/ sesame and poppy seed crust.

Center: calamata olive, sliced in half w/ 7oz of freshly grated parmesan from a single 1/2 round block in sour San Francisco white

Back Right: sour Desem (desem being the fancy pants name for whole wheat sourdough). Traditionally, there's no sour, but I like it, so I make it sour, using fresh ground wheat, aged 10 days.

2nd photo, a shot of the crumb (fluffy interior of bread) on the Calamata/Parmesan loaves.

Those are absolutely beautiful! I used to bake a lot of bread. Lately it's just been bread machine stuff, but at least I still grind my own 7 grain flour.

My friend - that is a beautiful thing indeed. The crunch factor looks over the top.

Do you bake professionally?

When's dinner?

Those really look nice!

How are you kneading the dough? It appears to be by hand either that or slow speed on some sort of electric mixer

Originally Posted by NoseWarmer

When's dinner?

No Joke, now Im hungry!

The more I look at the crumb structure the more I suspect you knead by hand

Originally Posted by JMS

The more I look at the crumb structure the more I suspect you knead by hand

I just knead a slice of that!!!

If you like making bread this way I have 2 threads you may appreciate:

http://straightrazorpalace.com/finer...mentables.html

http://straightrazorpalace.com/finer...nterested.html

Thanks Gents.

There's some irony here, in that the same type of dissatisfaction with lunches/sandiches/bread that made me learn to make it - starting as many do with a bread machine - got me hooked on straight shaving.

I was utterly bored with bread, tired of sandwiches, and didn't want to blow alot of money eating lunch out alot. While the bread machine is head & shoulders better than most sandwich loaves, it dries out quickly, especially those loaves w/ the better nutrition (whole grains). A 70+ y.o. lady customer of my lovely bride, graciously walked me through 5 hrs of how she does sourdough, and it launched what has become a majorly satisfying obsession. Natural yeast (aka: sourdough/wild yeast) is a deal breaker. You have good natural yeast for any length of time & you're ruined. Flavor, texture, nutrition - you can't touch it.

Since getting over the novelty of shaving as a teen, I grew to hate the annoyance of having to shave & for most of my adult life, had a full beard. Friends 'discovered' DE shaving (which I started out on), and I certainly could find no novelty there, so I thought I'd go try a straight, since I'd never had a str8 shave. Again - experiencing quality was what it took to get me into it (16 wks now). Like most other things, I'll obsess until I get some degree of competency. I'm light years from expert w/ a blade or with a loaf, but when something captures my imagination, I do it till I drop. I bake 8-10 loaves/week, giving many away to the wife's customers, friends, neighbors, church.

It's a bit embarassing, but I've never gotten that good at kneading by hand. If I do, it will be w/ a wet fist, punching down the dough in the bowl. I do a technique called autolyse, which is a fancy word for letting the dough sit for 30-45 min BEFORE you've added salt. This reduces the need for alot of kneading, which I mainly do in a KitchenAid mixer.

Anyone interested, ping me and I'll gladly share anything I know about it. 'Seems only right for all the kind help I've gotten here. The short version is that like str8 shaving, there are a few skills to master right away, and then the rest takes time & abnormal obsession You can make excellent bread right away. Mastering it takes a lifetime.

Side note on sourdough: Anyone needing a starter can easily find someone in their area that will gladly give them some. As one forum member posted, Joed and CarrieM very kindly helped a noob with his early learning. I did likewise w/ a local friend. By our trying each other's gear (brushes/soaps/etc), we don't have to spend alot to see what works and what doesn't. I would strongly encourage that so those with humble means won't be stopped from enjoying great shaves.