Second Bake of 2017

Second bake is for a weekend visit to some friends.

This is a sourdough loaf made using Reinhart's BBA recipe as the foundation, this time with KAF BF (15 oz), Gold Medal AP flour (4 oz), and a bit of rye flour (1.25 oz). I used 10 oz of firm starter ... I didn't measure the flour or water, but I'd estimate it was mixed to 70% hydration or so ... also I used the Gold Medal flour to build the starter.

I mixed 15.7 oz of water with the flour, and let it autolyze for about 30 minutes. I then added .50 oz of salt and the starter. I used my Kitchen Aid to knead the dough ... I did 3 intervals of 5 minutes of kneading with 5 min of rest between intervals. I could tell as soon as I started the mixer that the gluten development was good as a result of autolysis. It bulk fermented for 2 hours at room temp, then went into the fridge overnight. I shaped it in the morning, put it in the banneton, and let it proof at room temp for about 3 hours.

I baked it in my cast iron skillet+Dutch Oven, preheated to 550dF. I loaded the dough in my cast iron skillet with a small bit of baking parchment, slashed the top, put the DO over the skillet, anda put it in the oven. After 5 minutes at 550dF I reduced the oven temperature to 475dF and let it bake for 30 minutes. I then removed the DO from the skillet and let it bake until golden, about another 15 minutes.

No crumb shot as this is intended for our friends.

Oven spring is much better than the first bake of 2017, although I was mildly disappointed that the "ears" on the loaf were subdued.

Lesson for me on this one will be to always autolyze(!).

-Dave