Hi

Ok first post and pretty much just to say hi and put a few sentences together .... so hi.

I’m Wazza and I live in BrisbaneAustralia. I’ve been home baking bread for most of my adult life. Until recently I was never tempted to bake a sourdough. Anyway very recently a friend gave me a bread book, Classic Sourdough -  A Home Bakers Handbook so I thought I‘d give it a go. Its starter recipe worked for me on the first try. I ended up with a culture with a bubbling layer of foam about two inches high and set about making my first sourdough. Everything went according to plan giving me a smooth dough that rose to a satisfactory level above the baking tin. However, when I placed it into the oven it failed to give me the bloom that I was expecting. As a result the bread was heavier than ideal, with a tight crumb. Taste was fine, sour but not overly so, but not a loaf I would boast about.  I’ll probably bake a couple more as I have the culture living happily in my refrigerator and maybe use extra of it next time. I used one cup for the first attempt. Possibly I’ll let it rise a little more before baking and see if that helps.

Cheers … Wazza