Rosemary, Roasted Garlic & Olive Oil Sourdough Boule & Recipe
This was our favorite, and there isn't much left of it. I used a soaker for the rosemary herb. Wish I could get fresh here in Thailand! The internal temperature didn't quite reach 200F and the top got a bit dark, probably because of the oil, but it was soooo delicious, I can't believe I made it.
My sourdough boules are churning out of the oven regularly now.
Recipe:
DAY 1
100 grams sourdough starter at 100% hydration, mixed with 100g breadflour & 100g water +1/2 tsp salt
Rosemary hot soaker: 1 Tablespoon dried herb & 100g hot water +1 tsp salt
200g water mixed with 100g bread flour & 100g whole wheat flour (I used water mixed with what was left in my pan after sauteeing onions) +1 tsp salt
Leave out levain, autolyse & soaker overnight or 8-10 hours. If I go beyond that I put it all in the fridge. I add salt because it is 95F here & I don't want too much enzymatic action turning everything to mush.
DAY2
Morning: Drain soaker, mix everything together, add several cloves of mashed roasted garlic. Add 200g of bread flour. Knead lightly to mix everything well. Put in bowl oiled generously with olive oil, turn to coat. Cover & let bulk ferment for 3 hours. I did a stretch and fold at every hour using olive oil generously. Preshape, put in bowl seam side down & put in fridge.
Evening: Invert bowl, very gently shape again and put into floured couche in bowl (I have no banneton.) Cover & put back in fridge.
DAY3
Soak terra-cotta cover to my improvised Thai La Cloche
Take out dough & wait until almost doubled, then put the Thai La Cloche in oven & preheat to 475F. Gently invert bowl over parchment covered peel, slash it & sling it into the pot. Cover & bake 20 minutes. Take lid off, rotate loaf & bake another 25 minutes. Check temperature. I usually give up at 190 or 195 or so and turn off the oven. After a few minutes I put the loaf on a rack to cool for an hour before cutting into it.
I wonder, though, is there any way to get bigger holes in the crumb???
Comments
They are looking great, too. A lofty rise and a lovely open crumb. Nice work.
Syd
Thanks for the encouragement! You live in Asia, too, right? What kind of oven are you using?
Yes, I am in Taiwan. I have a medium sized oven. I recently bought a new apartment and had it built in when the place was furnished. It's a convection oven: Baumatic. It bakes beautifully. My only complaint is that it is a bit on the small side.
Best,
Syd
I had a gorgeous one last summer, and unfortunately it didn't get enough water when I brought it in for the winter, but grew it from a start, but I think they do have seeds for them. I used what is called a tropical pot, which has a base that you can fill with water, and a wik system to draw the water up. They do like a lot of water! Almost as much as tomatoes, but am sure you could grow a nice one inside if you had a good window and lots of water.
thanks for the suggestion, I am not sure where to buy a plant or seeds here, though, in Thailand
seed company for herbs is Richter's, www.richters.com I think is the web addy, but if you can't find the seeds locally, then try a web search for an Australian seed company that might send to you. I don't know if you can get seeds but know that plants are usually not accepted through the mail, or if brought in,generally has to go through quarantine etc, which is not easy. So seeds are a better bet.
If you have no luck with that, and want to contact me through the message center and give me a mailing address, I can send you seeds from here its not a big cost for the seed packet, and the stores are full of them right now, so it wouldn't be hard to get a package.
Thank you, EvaB, for your good suggestions & very generous offer. I need to ask my Thai friend who knows where everything is, or isn't! :)