The Fresh Loaf

A Community of Amateur Bakers and Artisan Bread Enthusiasts.

Hi Bakers!

Dr. Sloth's picture
Dr. Sloth

Hi Bakers!

I am a broke college student that loves to cook.  I have been experimenting with bread making for a few years, and it has become a great hobby!  I own a bread machine, but lately I have been venturing forth into the realm of non-bread machine artisan bread.  So far, I am having pretty good luck at everything I have attempted (I just made my first loaf of artisan bread in the oven the other day and it turned out great!)  I also started my own sourdough starter (I may have cheated a little bit since I started with this recipe http://www.food.com/recipe/sourdough-starter-67075  before I actually stopped feeding it milk and sugar and started feeding it flour and water after day ten). 

It has been at least a month and the starter is still going strong and has a pleasant fermented smell to it, so I'm assuming the wild yeast has taken over by now and the commercial yeast is no more.  I tried to start other sourdough starters using only flour and water, but unfortunately my roommate forgot my starters were living in the oven and turned it on to bake something- thus killing my poor starters. :(  I have not attempted another starter after that, but have just been feeding my starter that was initially cultured with commercial yeast.

So, yea!  Any general advice or tips about your bread adventures would be greatly appreciated.  Here are a few pictures of things I have made. Enjoy!

   

Comments

lepainSamidien's picture
lepainSamidien

Looks like you are off to a very good start; your breads look fantastic already !

Keep at it and you will find bread-baking to be alternately maddening and rewarding; progress is rarely linear or unilateral, but it's a beautiful art of discovery. Best of luck in your adventure; surely you will keep us posted !

Also, what are those shiny, heavenly little parcels of pastry in the pictures ? They look amazing.

Dr. Sloth's picture
Dr. Sloth

I will definitely be posting some recipes I have found rewarding in the near future! As for the shiny, heavenly pastries, that is my version of lembas bread from Lord of the Rings.  It turned out a little too dry because I added too much protein powder, but they did look beautiful.  

Stuart Borken's picture
Stuart Borken

Your baking products look fantastic.  All of them except for the white bread which was probably sliced when it was still warm.  You are a wonderful baker.  The blisters on the crust of the bagels!  WOW.  The pita?  The recipe for pita was the first recipe I took off The Fresh Loaf.  You are following the best blog on the net for baking.  If you get any better you will be right up there with the best of the pro's.

Dr. Sloth's picture
Dr. Sloth

Thanks! I'm slowly getting there. As for the white bread, I got too impatient because it smelled amazing (rookie mistake).  At the time I also didn't have a good bread knife.  I am having tons of fun looking through all the stuff here, its great!

cerevisiae's picture
cerevisiae

I wouldn't say that cutting into warm/hot bread is rookie mistake, per say. Thinking that doing so is without consequence is beginner's ignorance; being hungry and impatient is simply being human. I've just about got my roommates trained to not do this, but I think I broke my own rule the other week because warm food.

Dr. Sloth's picture
Dr. Sloth

It's nice to be human every once in a while, or just when it comes to fresh bread!