Why won't my apple yeast water dough rise?
Admittedly I am a novice breadmaker. Never made a loaf in my life. So I decided to go the eccentric purist route, naturally. However, I believe my lack of experience and over romanticized ideal of simple breadmaking is getting in the way. I've tried making apple yeast water from granny smith apples and managed to get a nice strong vinegary smelling concoction that I brewed up in a mason jar with an air lock. Yesterday I used about a pint of it as a replacement for yeast packets and water. The dough had a nice consistency I thought so I let it sit for an hour to rise......but sadly it didn't. So with my need for instant gratification I decided "oh well let's just pop it in the oven and see what we get. Well what we got was a flat sourdough pita-like bread that was very dense and hard to cut....but it smelled very nice. What went wrong guys? I let my apple water ferment for 6 days and even began to see a mother forming at the bottom of the jar. I keep telling myself "it can't be this complicated, hell the pioneers were making this stuff with far less equipment that I have available to me today. I would greatly appreciate any and all advice given. I have an adventurous spirit and am willing to experiment....and fail.....if only for educational value.