The Fresh Loaf

A Community of Amateur Bakers and Artisan Bread Enthusiasts.

New guy from Missouri

Ho Dough's picture
Ho Dough

New guy from Missouri

Found you folks from another forum. Been making yeast breads for a few years and once upon a time, beer, and recently took an interet in making my own sour dough (love the stuff). Learned long ago, best place to get answers is from the people who really know.

Most of my questions for now are about my starter. Tried a water/whole wheat starter.....twice. No joy. Then from my only bread making book, tried a milk/flour starter and it kicked over right from the start. That is what I have now. Seems to be working, but what do I know?

 

My first sour dough loaf (won't be my last):

 

 

ehanner's picture
ehanner

The opening post from a new guy from the "Show Me" state starts with a visual show of a great loaf, first or otherwise. Impressive! Welcome to the site. I look forward to seeing your breads and posts.

Eric

Ho Dough's picture
Ho Dough

"You Shoe Me yours, and I'll Show You mine". A number of boys and girls in my second grade class got into a lot of trouble over that one!

These are my two other success stories:

SD English muffins......

and SD biscuits........

 

Followup efforts for all three were edible but not as good as the first ones. Still have a lot to learn about proper care and feeding of the livestock (starter).

You may be able to tell from this that my tastes run to basic stuff....plain old chocolate and vanilla.... but basic stuff done well.  Basic is good by iteself, and I can always doctor it up as needed.

So greetings to all and I'm off to the sour dough section for some help.

 

 

jannrn's picture
jannrn

I am SO jealous of those Engish Muffins!! I have had SUCH a hard time doing them lately and have been making a lighter version of Hockey Pucks!!! Would you be willing to share that recipe??? Those look AMAZING!!!

And WELCOME!! You are gonna LOVE this site!!

korish's picture
korish

welcome, the bread looks wonderfull I would love to have a slice of it with some jam. In the middle of this coment I got up and made a slice of bread with some jam. Great job.

 

Regarding starter I have a rye starter going and it's wonderfull. The hydration is 150% but it's the most active starter I have ever had.


http://www.ouwholesomehomes.com

Paddyscake's picture
Paddyscake

They look awesome!! Have you got any crumb shots?

Welcome to TFL!! Look forward to your future posts!

Betty

Ho Dough's picture
Ho Dough

Thanks for the greetings. I learn fast, but I am still learning. A lot to learn about the correct terms and jargon. Example.....I always thought what you folks call the "crumb" was the crust. Reason? In some cultures.....the hard bread crust is cut off and discarded.....then there is the old term "begging for crumbs", which I always took to mean begging for the discarded crusts. So until I'm up to speed, expect more nonsense like this from me. My world is upside down right now (plus the heathen has been using cups and spoons vs. weights, although I do have a digital scale that I'm starting to use).

As for those English muffins.........right or wrong, here is the process I used:

 

To make about a bakers dozen muffins start a "sponge" by combining:

1 cup SD starter (mine is wet.....about like a very thick gravy)

1 cup warm milk

2 cups AP flour

Mix these together in the evening and leave at room temperature to work overnight

Next morning combine and mix together these dry ingredients:

1 cup flour

1 tsp salt

1/2 tsp baking soda

2 tablespoons sugar

When fully mixed, blend together with the sponge, along with enough additional flour to make a soft workable dough. Turn out on a lightly floured surface and knead for about 5 minutes, until smooth. Cover and let it rest about 10 minutes.

Roll out dough until it's about 1/2" thick. Cover and let rest an additonal 10 to 15 minutes. Cut out muffin shapes with a 3 inch biscuit cutter or similar utensil. Cover a sheet of waxed paper or cutting board with a light sprinkling of corn meal and lay the muffins out on these to rest. Cover and allow to rise for 1 to 2 hours, depending on temperature.

Toast on a griddle or cast iron skillet for a total of 20 minutes over med low heat. Five minutes a side, then turn. Cool completely before slicing.

Resting....they look like this:

 

Finished.....they look like this:

Although these remained a little dense (all purpose flour?), sliced and toasted on a griddle with a light olive oil and slathered up with apricot preserves  is a treat that is fit to eat!

I'm off to the SD section to post some questions and comments about my starter.