October 6, 2014 - 10:20am
Just saying hello
Hi all,
I've just joined the forum as I have found this a good place for info. I'd like to share some of my experiences and gain some extra tips from all of you.
I was a baker in my youth and after a 30 year break, I'm finding it really nice to bake fresh bread for my family.
I've been making all sorts of regular bread and started making sourdough bread about two months ago with great success I'm please to say.
Kevin
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Welcome to our little community of bakers! There are bakers of all kinds on the site, and I know I have learned a great deal from exploring what TFL has to offer. Do I gather from your ID that you are in the UK? I'm an expat from the UK, now living in the US.
Thanks for the welcome.
I live in Essex.
Welcome Kev
There are quite a few UK bakers on TFL, including me. I live on the Shropshire/Staffordshire border.
Happy Baking
Thanks for the welcome!
Do any of you use a bit of sourdough starter along with yeasted dough? I've tried this and had some great results - amazing open crumb!
Also, regarding sourdough, I've had great results making a poolish the night before with a sourdough starter. It's all really bubbly by the morning and I just make it up to the desired quantity, rest, put in a tin which goes in the fridge, and I bake when I get home.
However, when I've tried to add the starter straight to my dough mix, I get poor results in comparison - a very slow rise and a flat lifeless appearance to the dough. What do you think the issue is?
Well, Kev, you've not given us much to go on but I will pitch in first with a suggestion that your starter is generally not in peak condition when you use it. The poolish you sometimes make probably feeds the starter and gets it active so that it raises your bread better than just using the starter. You can adjust your starter feeding routine so that it is very active before you use it, if you wish, but you could just as easily keep on using the poolish as an interim stage. That way you don't have to store as much starter.
HTH
Hi Ruralidle. That is my thinking too.
So... my starter. I've had this about 4 months now; made from just flour, water and green grapes as suggested by Paul Hollywood. I have often discarded a good bit and given the remainder a good feed. When I feed, it increases about 30% in size.
I initially tried to feed with 100gms water and 100 gms flour every day, but ended up with too starter for the amount I bake (800gms of dough per day as rolls or loaves). Now I keep it in the fridge and feed every 3 days. Perhaps I'm not it feeding enough?
Oh and... how comes the photo in the two seater spitfire?
Hello Kev
I feed my wheat starter every couple of days, 21g flour and same of water, but I only bake with it every 10 days to a fortnight. I feed my rye sour 14g wholemeal rye and 21g water on the same schedule. I tend to use both in the current formula that I - and recipients of loaves - prefer and I use about 20% to 25% of pre-fermented flour in my loaves, which I bulk proove for about 2.5 hours, shape and proove for a similar time before consigning the dough to the depths of the fridge for about 15 hours. An hour on the bench and then bake.
I suppose another reason for the slow rise when using the starter could be because you may be using less pre-fermented flour than when you make a poolish.
As for the Spitfire, I had agreed to make a not insubstantial donation to a charity the pilot was raining funds for, in return for a flight. Unfortunately, as you can see, my head was a bit too close to the canopy and the fuselage is narrower in the rear seat position so my wide shoulders would have prevented a swift exit in the event of an emergency. So, in the end, I only got to sit in it - no flight :( ! Damn!! Damn!! Damn!!