The Fresh Loaf

A Community of Amateur Bakers and Artisan Bread Enthusiasts.

Newbie looking for critique

bbeirnes's picture
bbeirnes

Newbie looking for critique

 

I’m a newbie (aka lurker…) to this site.  My name is Bernadette and I’m from southern Ontario (Canada). I had been trying to absorb as much as I could before diving in head-first.  First off - thank you, to everyone who posts anything about everything here.  While somewhat overwhelming in information, I picked up quite a few tidbits from everyone’s failures and successes to boost up my confidence.  And I still have so much more to read!

I got my feet wet with a basic white sourdough bread last week.  It was somewhat floppy to handle, and spread more than I wanted.  It also burned to the bottom of my enamelled cast iron Lodge DO.  It was still edible so that’s something.  More reading and learning resulted….

This week I attempted Trevor Wilson’s Holiday Cranberry bread.  The pictures had me drooling and I figured even a total flop could still be deliciously edible so what the heck.  I am hopefully attaching pics of the final loaf and looking for critique.  I will definitely be making it again in the future - it really is yummy!

Here’s my oopsies:

1.  Carefully measured out all the ingredients.  Then I accidentally added the starter remaining in the original jar, instead of the measured out amount.  OOPS!  I should have just attempted to pour out the initial-add but panicked and decided to add more flour (1 spelt to 3 white) and a wee touch of extra salt.  Had no clue how this would all affect things.  Dough was sticky-wet but was scared to add even more flour.  Worked with what I had created at that point.

Carried on with the recipe as written.

2.  Final rise was in the fridge for 22 hrs.  We, here in Ontario, pay a premium for hydro between 7am and 7pm, so I need to try and time things around those hours.  On day 2, I read posts about fridge temps.  Water-tested mine and it was sitting at 6C.  Too warm.  Who knew?  Liked how my dough had risen to banneton level overnight but started to worry about what it would be like by the end of the day.  Overproofed?  Hockey-puck worthy?  I lowered fridge temp immediately and hoped that would make a wee bit of difference.

Finally baked the bread last night and this is my result.  My first-ever cross-slash on top could have been deeper, for sure, but didn’t think I’d push things by going over the cuts again.  Did get quite the thrill, however, watching the sides of the cut open up after I did the cut :)

We broke bread this morning and it is so good!  I do find it a bit gummy, and the bottom crust was hard to cut through.  But, if this is what an amateur bread tastes like, I can’t wait until I get better at this!  The cranberry sweetness came through as did a slight sour taste.  They balance each other out.

Can't wait to hear suggestions on how to improve!  Thank you in advance! 

Mini Oven's picture
Mini Oven

Add a Hot beverage and a little sweet butter!   Yum!

DanAyo's picture
DanAyo

Hi Bernadette! Your claim to be a newbie is in question when I look at your bread. It is GORGEOUS. You have to be proud of this bread.

I suggest to post a message with images on Trevor’s site. I know he will be excited to hear from you and see your results.

Well done...

Danny

bbeirnes's picture
bbeirnes

Thank you, Mini Oven & Danny, for your confidence-boosting replies!  What I did do right was merely beginner's luck, for sure, but there's nothing like diving in and getting your hands full of sticky dough, to gain the experience you guys have!  So glad to have found The Fresh Loaf.  You guys are all such an inspiration!

Benito's picture
Benito

Hey there, I’m also a Newbie from Ontario, Toronto in this case.  I haven’t bake any sourdough yet as I’m working on two starters which maybe ready to bake with, I’m not sure.  Just wanted to say that I hope my first sourdough can look anywhere near as good as this one you posted, it looks wonderful.

bbeirnes's picture
bbeirnes

I'm just a wee bit north of you - Bradford.  Thank you for the compliment.  All credit goes to Trevor Wilson and the flow of his recipe.  Easy to follow, especially with the pictures!  Extra credit to this forum for being an amazing reference!  I still believe beginner's luck had a lot to do with this loaf.  We'll see when I repeat it LOL!  Good luck with your first loaf - I'm sure it'll be amazing!  Be sure to take pictures!