Pulla, things learned and stumbled upon

Well this is the nicest loaf of pulla I have baked in some time. With this being ski season, I began taking shortcuts. I assumed that because I was using a sponge, I could use less than a fresh starter. I did and the previous two bakes had about 1/3 less oven spring than this bake. For this bake I refreshed my 100% starter 1:1:1 and left it on the kitchen counter overnight to double or more and then fall back. I then began the sponge and the bake and easily +1/3 more oven spring. With the additional oven spring the crumb was lighter and less chewy. So much for shortcuts.

Three or four pulla bakes ago, I absent mindedly used 100% strong bread flour. Prior I used about half and half BF and AP. To my surprise the 100% BF dough was more extensible when rolling out the braids than the blend. So all of my pulla is now 100% strong bread flour which I buy out the back door of our local artisanal bakery JK Bakery.

One of the things I love about cooking and baking is that is an ongoing learning experience. Oh yeah, my baiding is getting a little better with each loaf.

Happy baking! Ski