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Last night I baked this bread for the first time. I started the biga on Thursday after dinner and made the final dough Friday around 5 p.m., finishing the bake around 9:15. The biga spent the night in the fridge (in a bowl covered with plastic wrap), and developed a skin. The skin seemed to get incorporated into the final dough alright, but next time, I'll wrap the biga in oiled plastic and zip it into a bag as well before refrigerating.

 After about 2 1/2 weeks of love and care, my starter is officially alive and kickin'! I made a couple olive sourdough loaves today, since this is my girlfriends favorite, and wanted to use my sourdough starter. It looks delish! It just came out of the oven (still crackling as I took this picture) so I haven't cut into it yet. One of the reasons I LOVE making bread is to fill the entire house up with that aroma of wild yeast and flour. Mmmmmmmmm.....

I spent all day on a long fermentation trying to duplicate bwraith's beautiful sourdough ciabatta. What I produced was the best tasting thing I've baked. On the down side the crumb is unremarkable again, proving I'm starting pretty low on the learning curve. My sourdough starter which has been dormant for months is now hyperactive as evidenced by this proof-

Sourdough Proof

Well I'm starting a self-directed course of study in bread making.  I'm taking inspiration from the products of the very accomplished bakers of The Fresh Loaf community and plotting a course to learn what they know-and-can-do in their kitchens. I plan to document my efforts in this space.

This week I have revived my tired and sluggish sourdough starter with two feedings at better ratios.  I'm happy that the starter doubled vigorously this morning in three or four hours.  It is day three for the rye and grapefruit gruel; patience required there.

Since my faith in my baking skills has come back I have been baking every 2 days or so.

I made a batch of rustic bread last night and it was soooooooo tasty. We couldnt get enough of it......needless to say we have almost finished the first loaf :)

Each time I bake I get more and more excited.!

heres a link to my flickr bread photo site.   

http://www.flickr.com/photos/7688602@N04/

Sourdough Raisin Focaccia

Sourdough Focaccia

Sourdough Raisin Focaccia (a)

Sourdough Ciabatta 

Sourdough Ciabatta Crust: Sourdough Ciabatta Crust

Sourdough Ciabatta Crumb

I used sourdough lady's starter recipe and suddenly after two weeks of feeding...ITS READY!!! Wow, it really sprang to life and easily doubles every time I feed it! I'm like a proud father every time I look at it (which is about every 30 mins at this point).

So now I need help. I need SD recipes and advice on the next step. Thanks in advance for your help.

Jeremy

Portland, Oregon

Slashing a loaf of very loose bread dough can be quite an experience. I've found a way that works on even very soft dough, without deforming or tearing the loaf. This sounds rediculous, but it works. 

An electric knife will cut the most slack dough without deforming the loaf. It takes practice, don't press down or you'll cut your loaf to the bottom. The knife blade doesn't even get dirty. No dough sticks to it and if you don't have one, you should be able to get a low cost knife for $5.00 at a Big Lots or other discount store. Give it a try.