The Fresh Loaf

A Community of Amateur Bakers and Artisan Bread Enthusiasts.

flux's blog

flux's picture
flux

I had a really rough start trying to get wild yeast to colonize on everything from a bag of NoName All Purpose to grinding some wheat berries into a rough flour with a spice blender; I think I've tried every starter recipe out there including a few from books.  I couldn't figure out what I was doing wrong so I sent off a SASE and cleaned the fridge of my other experiments when "Carl" arrived. Stuffed far in the back neither regions of my refrigerator was a ziplock of rye starter that was forgotten about, so I decided to try and revive that at the same time (I don't know what recipe I used, but its a very stiff starter, more like dough than batter) as Carl. I now have two starters and a kitchen that smells really nice on baking days. Flavour otoh still eludes me and will be working on how to bring out the tang.

I used the Alaskan sourdough recipe over on the Carl Griffith pages and divided the dough into three loaves (two boules and a loaf of cinnamon bread). I think I over proofed the loaves just a wee bit, but it's a bit hard for me to tell because I normally jump the gun and under-proof.

This time the loaves popped and crackled as they cooled on the rack.

The mouse holes are intentional. I haven't been deflating my dough after the initial mixing and have instead opted to use stretch and folds and a very gentle hand. I'm not sure what it is about this style of slowed down making/proofing/baking, but it makes for a wonderful grilled, or toasted, crumb.

 

I just wanted to thank everyone here who, without realizing it, has allowed me to pull loaves like these out of my oven. I've learnt a lot from this site.

And, if you think there's room for improvement let me know I'd appreciate the tips.

Subscribe to RSS - flux's blog