Hi ... take two
Looks like my intro. post came a cropper. (like my first sough dough attempt.) So trying again.
Hi! I’m Wazza and I live in BrisbaneAustralia. I’ve been home baking bread for most of my adult life but until recently I was never tempted to bake a sourdough. Anyway, very recently a friend gave me a bread book, Classic Sourdough - A Home Baker’s Handbook so I thought I‘d give it a go. Its starter recipe worked for me on the first try. I ended up with a culture with a bubbling layer of foam about two inches high and set about making my first sourdough. Everything went according to plan giving me a smooth dough that rose to a satisfactory level above the baking tin. However, when I placed it into the oven it failed to give me the bloom that I was expecting. As a result the bread was heavier than ideal, with a tight crumb. Taste was fine, sour but not overly so, but not a loaf I would boast about. I’ll probably bake a couple more as I have the culture living happily in my refrigerator and maybe use extra of it next time. I used one cup for the first attempt. Possibly I’ll let it rise a little more before baking and see if that helps.
Cheers … Wazza