The Fresh Loaf

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A Sourdough Novice

David Wilson's picture
David Wilson

A Sourdough Novice

I just finished a loaf of sourdough from this recipe http://www.thefreshloaf.com/node/4737/finally-100-whole-grain-hearth-bread-i039m-proud

...And I think it turned out fairly well. I had to take some liberties with the development/rising times due to time constraints, but it seemed to work. The dough sat covered for an hour or so after mixing, then a stretch-and-fold, four hours in the fridge, stretch-and-fold, overnight (10 hours) rise in a cool-ish room (~62 degrees), a third stretch-and-fold, after which I shaped it and let it rise in a basket for just over 3 hours. Baking was 40 minutes at 450 degrees, on a stone.

The dough after mixing:

 

After a stretch-and-fold:

 

In the basket:

 

A Fresh Loaf:

 

The crumb:

 

Clearly I need to learn how to score loaves properly. Nonetheless, I'm pretty happy with the look of it. The crumb could have been a little more open, I think, but it was tasty! Not super sour; the spelt and rye go together very well. Many thanks to JMonkey for coming up with a superb recipe. As this is only my third or fourth sourdough loaf I hope to improve upon the results next time.

Comments

xaipete's picture
xaipete

I think your loaf looks terrific, David. One-hundred percent whole grain breads are challenging! You didn't mention whether you baked with steam. Using steam or a cloche really helps with oven spring because it delays the formation of a crust.

--Pamela

SylviaH's picture
SylviaH

David!  Nice looking loaf!  As far a slashing..with the two straight slashes across the boule..it will make the loaf elongate!  Three slashes would even make it a little longer/oval shaped.  dmsnyder, David has some excellent instructions on how to slash loaves!

Sylvia

TeaIV's picture
TeaIV

very nice looking bread! glad to see your starter is working!

 

TeaIV

 

yes I think there are some good scoring videos in the handbook, but I'm not sure. In my opinion, it's one of the harder things in baking :(

Nomadcruiser53's picture
Nomadcruiser53

Hope I'm as fortunate with my first SD today. I have my doubts for sure. Dave