Dan Leader's Baguette au Charbon Vegetal

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A post was merged into an existing topic: Giving Away Three Copies of Dan Leader’s New Book: LIVING BREAD

My latest bread baking adventure is pumpkin sour dough with toasted pecans. Found this on the line and changed it up a bit. Really yummy if you like pumpkin. Especially good toasted with fig butter.

Wow- what a gorgeous/ exotic looking baguette! I look forward to getting the latest news/ recipes from breadtopia, and am gradually becoming more adventurous. Right now the 3 day Poilane sourdough is my weekly go-to bread for every day. Lovely flavour and texture in the 24 hour refrigerated slow fermentation. i sometimes divide the basic recipe into two, baking one in the emile Henri cloche and the other in my cast iron dutch oven (using Eric’s tip to place a cookie sheet under the cast iron has helped prevent the crust from getting too hard.) And everything turns out better since I started milling my own berries with the Mockmill 200. My partner jokes that while my friends all cut back on carbs, I purchased my own mill! Freshly milled flour for sourdough waffles every Sunday morning, for pizza, for all our bread… Pumpkin sourdough with toasted pecans - wow, Denise, sounds incredible!

It sounds like you’re enjoying a good range of baking! I need to try the Poilane loaf someday soon. Plenty of my loaves (and definitely pizza) extend into the 3-day range, but I’ve never done that exact dough build.

Your bread looks amazing, and I think it would be a fun loaf to try. However,I do want to draw attention to some concerns I have read about when eating foods with activated charcoal. This is no reflection on anyone, but just a possible piece of useful information. Charcoal is a cleanser of toxins and is used to remove certain elements from air and water. I have researched that it also helps detoxify people who have ingested specific poisons. Unfortunately, it may also rid the body of certain nutrients and medicines as well. Charcoal may not be able to pick and choose what it is going to cleanse, but I would be concerned if someone is on a much needed prescription med that could be attacked by the charcoal as it would attack a toxin. Again this is no reflection on anyone, but I think it may be a piece of useful information for people who seem interested in eating foods made with activated charcoal. I may be completely wrong about this, but it may be worth doing a little research.

I read some of that research, too, though I was thinking / hoping it applied to heavy consumption and people who take charcoal supplements. It’s definitely worth noting, though. Thank you!

@natureartist72, thank you for mentioning a very valid caution on ingesting foods that have activated charcoal in them. I do realize activated charcoal being added to some foods is a rather recent trend but for anyone taking prescription medications it could be problematic. I AM NOT A TRAINED MEDICAL PROVIDER but have family members on daily prescription drugs. The general rule of thumb that I’m aware of is to avoid eating any form of activated charcoal within 2 hours before or after taking any prescription drug too avoid the charcoal from absorbing the prescribed drug and rendering it’s effectiveness to zero.

Leah

Thanks for sharing the rule of thumb of activated charcoal and meds. That is super helpful!

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I finally got around to making this bread last week after taking a class with Dan Leader at the Stonewall Kitchen Cooking School in York, ME in December 2019. It is nothing less than phenomenal and worth the wait times, as from start to finish is about 14 hours. I started the poolish the night before (8 hrs) and the next day worked with the bread over the course of 6 hours (mix, autolyse, mix, rest, fold, rest, fold, rest, fold, rest, shape, final proof, bake). I suggest two process modifications: (1) make the poolish in the mixing bowl instead of using a separate bowl. One less bowl to wash :slight_smile: and (2) start the oven at the same time you start the final proof.

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