Starting again for the new year
Hi all,
I have a lovely starter that I was able to keep alive at (mostly) RT for the past three years.
I think I am still grieving for my last starter in some ways, but this one is lovely. Six months ago, I moved it to the fridge and refreshed 2x a week at most and haven’t baked a single loaf. This past month, we are working on having her back at RT and strong enough for every other day use.
I decided to make things even harder for myself by focusing on whole grain blends. For my first recipe, I chose Perfect Loaf’s Fifty-fifty Whole Wheat Sourdough [1] which I haven’t made before.
Slapping your forehead yet?
First loaves there was a weighing mishap with the water. I tried my best to recover but the dough was awfully tight. It did turn out alright on a Dutch Oven bake with decent oven spring and a fairly nice crumb. BUT I felt like the it was a cheating win and want to get it repeatable.
Second loaves proofing was a bit wobbly due to our increasing changing temperatures. Just a small bit of lift, and a moist crumb. Nice brown crust, but still not ideal.
Things I am thinking I should try next:
- Change the levain sitting time
- Pay a bit more attention to temperature
- Trust myself a bit more about proofing time
- Try to remember to take pictures
Thanks for the space to share!