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Last Saturday I started my SFO sourdough starter from Sourdoughs, Intl.   As a newbie to breadmaking and especially to sourdough starters the directions were a bit complicated. 

Tried the lightbulb and styrofoam for a proof box and was glad I tested the temp before starting my starter.  Temps got up to 102 degrees!

I ended up proofing inside my oven with the light turned on.  Temps stayed steady at about 91 degrees.

Second stage proofing was done at room temp.

My starter was very active by Tuesday/Wednesday.

Last Saturday I started my SFO sourdough starter from Sourdoughs, Intl.   As a newbie to breadmaking and especially to sourdough starters the directions were a bit complicated. 

Tried the lightbulb and styrofoam for a proof box and was glad I tested the temp before starting my starter.  Temps got up to 102 degrees!

I ended up proofing inside my oven with the light turned on.  Temps stayed steady at about 91 degrees.

Second stage proofing was done at room temp.

My starter was very active by Tuesday/Wednesday.

I began a rye and pineapple juice starter this week.  When Igot to day 5 and needed to split the starter, I just couldn't throw any away.  The culture has a fruity aroma and a good bit of rise action.  Not wanting pancakes, I decided to make sourdough biscuits.  The result was a two and a half inch rise from oven spring, a tosty crunch for the bottom with a tender crumb inside.  Appealing to the eye? Yes.  The aroma in the house, divine.  The real tell, of course, is in the taste. And the Mr. was pleased.

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We cut the miche today, three days after baking...and after a lazy Saturday lunch sent my parents home with half.

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I have been making Susan's, Wild Yeast Blog,  100% sourdough bagels for a couple months now...every 2 weeks. They have been perfect every batch. That is not something I can usually say about formulas . I have been stressing my KA and doubling the batch...the motor juuuust manages to do what needs to be done. I give a minute or so by hand on the counter top. The lovely thing about the 100% sourdough is that you needn't do the float test and there is never a worry about the " wrinkled " finish to which many yeast raised bagels succumb.

Bolstered by my success in baking White Mountain Bread, I finally had the time and the flour to attempt the second recipe in Beth Hensperger’s Bread Bible, French bread, or Pain Ordinaire.

Things began auspiciously enough with a beautifully smelling, light, spongy and almost fluffy slurry.

UPDATED: Adjusting ingredients as shown below, and a bolder bake — to nearly 220°F internal temperature — yielded pleasntly crunchier crust with even more pronounced flavors. Color is so bright I think I may have forgotten to add the rye flour. I've decided I like the formula both ways, just depends on what a person wants. New photos at end.

Hello,
I had some extra time at the beginning of last week to bake some breads to enter in the fall fair.
The fall season is now here - so I thought I'd post this today - season's greetings everyone :^)


A sourdough bread, with the idea for the stencilled leaf and lettering coming from these beautiful breads

A few weeks ago, I blogged about a bake that was destined for dinner with friends.  I had asked what they would like us to bring and the response was "Something that would go well with snoek pate."  Since I didn't have a clue about what Marthinus put into his snoek pate, other than that snoek is a fish, that left me with (in positive terms) a lot of freedom of choice.  I wound up choosing two breads: a sourdough in the pain de compagne vein and Reinhart's pain a l'ancienne.

Yesterday I prepared my bread for today's wfo bake.  My starter had been neglected and could have used one more feeding but it seemed to work out fine.  

I had my oven fired up very hot for several hours and could have started it later.  I had  plenty of stored heat, more than I needed.