My attempt of Vermont Sourdough
Hello,
First -- wanted to say this is a wonderful place! I have spent much time searching and reading the archives. Great community!
I am still a newbie but here was my recent attempt at Hamelman's "Vermont Sourdough". I began my sourdough starter two weeks ago, and feed it twice a day at 125% hydration. (I began the culture with fresh milled rye and so far maintaining with KAF AP flour).
For these baguettes, I used the same ingredients and ratios as the book says. I adjusted for my desired total weight, and I did the main bulk-ferment in my wine chiller set at 50F for 12 hours. Final rest / rise for 30 mins prior to scoring and baking. I did the final rise directly in a perforated baguette pan. Used my handy-dandy oven steamer injection. My shaping needs improvement but for me, it's not too bad.
Tastes great! Very bold sourdough flavor, a hint of rye, and thin crispy crust!
(edited to add last pic).
JVZ, a novice? i think not, your scoring looks advanced to me! well done!
Thanks Mebake! But I really am very much a novice. :) Many of my attempts so far have "failed" for various reasons, but most of them are still quite edible. :-)
Here's my sourdough starter at 2 weeks, about 2 hours before the next feeding. This is my first starter ever.
And it works! Amazing. I am fascinated, and it is a lot fun! It seems to be continuing to build strength as the days go by. Smells very nice also.
Stick to your mixing level... It is spot on. any more mixing and these wonderful grigne flaps will disappear.
Your scoring looks really good. I think you are real good at bread baking.
Kimmy
Thanks Kimmy for the compliment. Scoring has been one of the biggest challenges for me. I have a lame tool but for me, simply holding a razor blade between my thumb and index finger works best. Many of my previous scoring attempts drag the dough, pinches, etc. One thing that helps me is cold-retarding the dough until it is nearly ready to bake, the colder dough seems to make it easier to get clean cuts. For me anyway..