I've been trying to bake with 100% whole grains and with only sourdough starters--no commercial yeast and no white flour. It's been a challenge!
I've spent a lot of time on rye breads and am satisfied with my ability to produce them and some rye/spelt mixes. I'm now moving on to wheat and trying to learn to make some whole grain breads that would be more appreciated by an American audience.
I am having terrible trouble with my sourdough and I'm about to give up. The recipe is the Richard Bertinet white flour and spelt sourdough from his Crust book. The flour is Waitrose Leckford estate and an organic wholemeal spelt, so I don't think there are any problems there.
My name's Dan, and I'm a relatively new baker. I love baking bread, and I can bake Challah, Brioche, Whole-Wheat, Rye, and other various breads with relative ease. (Mainly because they are easy.) However, everytime I try to make a loaf of bread (a baguette, boule, sandwich loaf, whatever) with big holes, I get none.
A few of you have suggested that I look at "DonD" recipes, in the past few days I have made a batch of "Baguettes a l'Ancienne with Cold Retardation".
Howdy All,
I seem to have a predicament on my hands. My name is Dan, and I'm a young, and very eager bread-baker. From Peter Reinhart's "The Bread Baker's Apprentice" I've tried the "Pain A L'Ancienne" bread a few times, along with Ciabatta. I get small, maybe 1/4'' holes, but nothing huge and extravagant like the pictures state. I will highly admit, I'm a new baker, I've only been baking for only a few years, I do have the equipment I need, but I will admit that my knowledge and skill are limited.
I've been making this bread for about two weeks now, and I am more pleased than I can say. It's an original recipe, and it didn't come out quite as expected, but nonetheless, I think it is the best bread that I have ever made. It is thick-crusted, but the crust is kind of soft and chewy like a ciabatta; and the crumb, while very open, is also moist. And did I mention that it's sour? It is almost certainly the sourest bread that I've had since I left the bay area five years ago.
Here's a pic:
