Recently I was laid-off from my job as a software engineer, so, since I'm home all day writing software, I've taken up breadmaking as a hobby since it gives me an excuse to get up from my desk every so often to knead or punch down the bread or put it in the oven, take it out, etc. It also saves money since I can make the equivalent of one of the $6 local bakery loaves I ied to buy for about 80 cents in ingredients.
Hi,
I have been maintaining my starter in a bit of a different way than the 1:2:2 formula usually suggested.
Instead of discarding when I haven't used some starter, I just add equal amounts of flour/water to the starter. This is usually ~4 oz. each. Since I usually refresh the starter and use recipes with large amounts of preferment, I haven't run into the problem of the ever-growing starter. It still maintains well in my 1L jar.
However, I was wondering if this would cause a problem with balance of organisms or some other issues like that.
Can anyone advise on what the best way to store a braided challah or other softer bread? I'm planning on baking it tomorrow (Tuesday) but would like it to still be edible on Christmas morning (Thursday). I'm usually a sourdough baker and 2-3 days is no trouble for most of my loafs.
I was just on King Arthur's Flour site and for anyone who's interested, they have their nice storage bags for boules, medium and bagette loaves on sale for half price. They're usually 9.95 for 30 or 35 and they're on sale for 4.49 or 4.99. I've ordered some and will let you know how the quality is.
Trish
