Over the weekend I made yoghurt – I think I overdid something, I used one of those easi yo packets, and it all separated into curds and whey.
So I drained the curds through a muslin square and was left with a big bowl of golden yellow whey which I stuck in the fridge, remembering that there was something about making bread with it.
I have been reading Wild Fermentation: The Flavor, Nutrition, and Craft of Live-Culture Foods by Sandor Ellix Katz
Published by Green Books and reviewed by David Whitehouse here which made me curious so I got the book at the weekend. Only part way through it, but very interesting so far…..
Yesterday I found the whey in the fridge and decided I had better use it.
I looked through the Handmade Loaf and based this loaf on Dan Lepard’s white maize and wheat loaf but used wheat and rye flours. I used more whey and less leaven, simply because that is what I had to hand and was worried that the whey might go off if I left it another day while I built up the starter.
100 g white leaven (which had been fed a couple of tsp of the new yoghurt the day before and been refreshed and was a bit over excited and smelt sweetly lactic!)
400g or so of yoghurt whey
350g of very strong white flour
100g of whitewholewheat ( American flour)
50g of rye flour
8g fine sea salt
5g of fresh yeast
I made just over one kilo of dough, which I proved in two oval bannetons. They were quite slow to rise to start with as I mixed them with the whey from the fridge so it was all quite cold. Plus the initial amount of leaven was smaller so I expected it to take its time.
I mixed the dough at 11 am and popped the shaped loaves into bannetons 3.5 hours later. Finally into the oven at 220 C with steam at 6.30 pm.
I lowered the temperature after 15 minutes to 200 C and again to 190 C for the last 15 minutes.
It made a beautiful fragrant loaf with a pale yellow translucent crumb and a dark golden brown crust.
Well worth doing! Definitely a bread to make again and again!
Zeb Bakes 
Welcome to the wonderful world of blogging!
Loved the layout, and look forward to your posts – you are such an outstanding baker, I know I’ll learn a lot from your blog, as I did already from our exchanges in forums
Have fun with it!
Thanks for visiting me, see you soon !
Hooray! What a magnificent looking post! Love the cut slice with the sun shining through…
Can’t wait to see what’s coming next!
Celia
Thankyou for the encouragement Celia – I think I will have to go to bed early tonight though :)
That is a stylish, clean looking blog you’ve started Zeb.
Roll up your sleeves and get ALL your hard baking work posted, so we can ooooo and ahhhhhh at it, please.
And I offer you a joyous welcome from me to you into the world of blogging.
I’ve changed the theme about six times so far. Trying to find something neat and tidy and legible! Not sure which version
you have seen. Thanks for dropping by Gill!
Looks lovely, expecially that slice with the sun shining throug…love the blog…I shall be seeking inspiration on here
That one of course was taken by Bigdog! He is trying to improve my photographs as well! See you soon Lynne!
Wee, it works, the widget and the blog! Congrats to that wonderful loaf!
Ulrike @ Küchenlatein
Wee indeed, Hi Ulrike ! :) though I think I might have to change the theme as the comments boxes are eating people’s names ….
That’s a great way to make bread, I also make my own yoghurt but haven’t thought of producing my own whey for baking. Excellent!
Regards,
Nils
Not my idea originally, but that’s the great thing about bread, nothing is original and yet each loaf is uniquely and utterly itself :)
BTW We could do some flour exchanges ;-)
That would be fun :)
I did the same thing with my easy yo yoghurt as well the other day, I poured it into a cake but using it for a bread is a great idea.
Your breads look great!
Hi CHFG ! Is it ok if I call you that? :) I’ve just decanted a batch of yoghurt made with uht + milk powder (no 2) and it is incredibly thick, but a bit on the bland side. Next up
for the testing pot is organic whole milk, boiled and cooled + milk powder. (no 3) I made another bread with the whey from (no 2) and it wasn’t as nice as the easi yo whey.
So for whey the easi yo has my vote so far!
Thanks for visiting my blog !
I’ve never seen a cooked slice window pane!
Hi AnneMarie
In Olden Times they used bread when they couldn’t afford glass (wink!) I am just reviving that tradition…
Hi
Just found your new blog – I’ll keep an eye on it.
I see Joe is organising a bread weekend – camping in Swaledale – sounds like your kind of thing ;-)
Hi Robin, nice to see you!
We are thinking about Joe’s weekend, an opportunity to learn croissants from the expert maybe? How about you?
Hi Joanna at Bakers corner missing your yummy bread down here in north Cornwall!
Lovely blog making me hungry!
xxxxxxx
Hi Sarah and Willow, you should see what’s cooking right this minute!. A chocolate stout raisin slice, a cake mixed in a saucepan! We miss you too ! xx
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I just love the idea of using whey in bread and yours looks delicous, Joanna! Thanks for putting this post back at the beginning :) I have a copy of The Handmade Loaf and have to say, reading your bread posts, I am tempted to start another leaven… I stopped, one, because my starter ahh, shall we say, perished over summer (it did well lasting 18 months), and two, because the husband and I were the only ones eating up the bread…the kids started off eager but then became fussy..although that was before the arrival of our chest freezer, which could come in quite handy now. Apologies, I’m starting to ramble.
I’d love to get my hands on a copy of Wild Yeast, have heard many good things about it. And I’m loving the pic of the bread up to the window!
Hi Christine, Do you mean Wild Fermentation? I think Sandor Katz will ship it to Australia….if it’s not available easily.
The whey bread I am making right now is the whey butter and honey one, with less honey in it, it’s a very very soft dough, almost unmanageable! It’s just about to go in a basket to prove.
I am making a batch of extra creamy thick youghurt to turn into cream cheese for your cheese cake too. Hope to make it tomorrow…. Brian has asked for banana cheese cake with ginger biscuit base… fingers crossed :)
Whoops, that was what I meant, Joanna, (I really need to double proof read when commenting so late at night!). I just checked “thebookdepository” and they ship to Aus. Would love to try sauerkraut at some point and true ginger beer…
Hope all goes well with the cake, just think..you’ll have extra whey to use in bread! Banana cheesecake is sounding delicious, I don’t think I’ve ever tried that combination :)
Christine, the last time I made cheesecake, and it was a very very long time ago, ten years or more? I made this one – Delia’s banoffee cheesecake – She has put lots of her recipes from her old books online I see! Interestingly, the yoghurt I made yesterday had started to separate into some sort of curds and whey by the time I looked at it, so hope it will work ok… I might make little ones first off…
That is just lovely, truly lovely.
I have got to stop messing about with flowers and bake some bread.
Between your and Celia’s posts I am deep down HUNGRY for some lovely yellow bread.
Maybe I’ll make Saffron Bread- although corn bread sounds yummy, too!
Thanks for the inspiration!
You could do a stencil on the bread Heidiannie – though I bet you’ve done those before too :)
I have done stencils- but I use those ready made and spray with a little olive oil. The bread is raising now- I’ll post it when it is baked- maybe I will use a stencil.