The Fresh Loaf

A Community of Amateur Bakers and Artisan Bread Enthusiasts.

todays bake

qahtan's picture
qahtan

todays bake

This was my baking for today.
I thought this time the colour tad better and the taste was far better,
maybe sourdough has to get established before you really get the full
flavour of it..... qahtan

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2 cups starter,
8 cups flour
2 1/2 cups water,
1 tablespoon sugar
3 tablespoons soft butter
2 teaspoons sea salt

Paddyscake's picture
Paddyscake

They look yummy..how was your crumb?

qahtan's picture
qahtan

This was the crumb. qahtan

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Paddyscake's picture
Paddyscake

Very nice loaf! I will be trying your recipe. As for sour
tang..I think the thing that has made the most improvement
in my bread is the retarded rise. It really made a difference.

Teresa_in_nc's picture
Teresa_in_nc

qahtan,
I've kept the same starter going for a year and a half now and I'm convinced that the starter imparts more flavor to my bread now than it did in its early days. I think we breadmakers get frustrated with our sourdough starters, thinking that they don't give us the flavor we've found in commercial sourdough breads. But, we forget that usually, those starters have been kept going for quite a long time, and the bakery keeps using dough from the previous day to start the dough for the next day's baking.

Your loaves look wonderful to me! ~ Teresa

qahtan's picture
qahtan

Thank you Teresa.... You are always kind about my bake. :-))))
Yours always look wnderful also, what do you paint them with to give them that sheen.
qahtan,

andrew_l's picture
andrew_l

Those look ace loafs! Well done.

I do find that my starter has increased in both flavour and speed of rising over the months. Wonderful stuff, sourdough, isn't it!

And I do agree with paddyscake, retarding the rise does wonderful things to the flavour. Do you retard after shaping the loaf, or after proofing? I find the after rise makes the biggest difference to flavour, but after proof does the best things for retaining the shape of the loaf and achieving oven spring. So when I have time, I refrigerate twice now!!!

Paddyscake's picture
Paddyscake

Well, I can't claim much experience. I had baked a few loaves
without retarding. The bread tasted good..but I was having
trouble with shaping, the loaf would spread out.. not up.
Then I followed SourdoLady's recipe and her suggestion of
retarding after shaping, the flavor was incredible, very tangy!!!
How long to you retard after the proof?

Teresa_in_nc's picture
Teresa_in_nc

gahtan,
Is there a particular bread photo of mine that you are refering to? Most of the time I don't put anything on top of my breads - too lazy or distracted probably. Maybe what you are refering to is someone else's bread photo?

qahtan's picture
qahtan

I just think your breads always look nice on the crust.
qahtan

qahtan's picture
qahtan

I just think your breads always look nice on the crust.
qahtan