Sourdough, part 3

Continuing the Sourdough Adventure... 

After having conversations with both Scary Yankee Chick and Broken Clay, I decided to start weighing my ingredients.

Prior to now I was using measuring cups and texture.  Also the recipe I've been using was written by someone living in the US mid-Atlantic region, which is a much lower altitude and more humid environment than Colorado.

I remember my mother making bread when I was a kid.  She used commercial yeast, but she also always made adjustments to baked goods when we lived in the Rocky Mountains at an altitude of 10,000 ft.

While our current altitude is closer to 5000 ft on the Colorado Front Range and I have not been making adjustments to cakes or cookies, but I figure bread might be more sensitive... and perhaps the weighing of ingredients normalizes the amount of moisture in the ingredients...?

I decided to use Broken Clay's method.  Her bread is extremely good...  and since she and I are in the same region, we are baking at a similar altitude and humidity.

> Combining Initial Ingredients; starter, flour, water.

> After 30 minute Autolyze.

> After adding the last 50g of water and salt.  This dough is much more wet than my previous versions.

> The next step is to proof the dough for 30 minutes then do 4 stretch-and-folds, turning the bowl 1/4 turn between, for 3-4 hours.

>> After 30 minutes.

  

>> After 1 hour.

   

>> After 1:30.

   

>> After 2:00.

   

>> After 2:30.

   

>> After 3:00.

   

> After 3:30.  The dough is supposed to be "billowy" by now.  I wouldn't call this billowy, but there is air in the dough.  It's been a cool day, so perhaps not the best for rising bread and certainly my stretch-and-fold method needs practice.

> Then shape and bench rest for 30 minutes.

> Final Shaping and Proofing for 2-3 hours.

   

> I don't have a Dutch Oven, Baking Stone, or Bread Peel so I'm using a Silicon Mat dusted with Corn Meal in a Jelly Roll Pan along with a small ramekin of water.

   

> Bake at 500F for 20 minutes, then reduce to 450F for 30-40 minutes, but I removed at 20 minutes.  Previously I was baking at 350F the entire time.

   

This method certainly requires more attention than my previous method.  However, there is less kneading and less flour used.

This bread is significantly better than my previous attempts... better in flavor, color, and texture.  I can't wait to try again!

References:  Scary Yankee Chick's Method.

Sourdough, part 2

After a week or so of daily feeding the reserved portion of my first starter, I had another 3 cups of prepared sourdough starter... 2 cups for a second loaf and reserving the remainder for the next batch of starter.

Last time I took the idea of "soft dough" as the outside texture.... I am a fiber artist.  So while the texture was smooth, soft, and therefore not sticky, the resulting bread was tough.

So this time, I spent less time kneading and was more mindful about the flour I added.... I do think this is a "softer" dough, in that it's a bit sticky, but not tough.

I also put it through two rounds of proofing.  The first in an oiled bowl overnight that was covered in both plastic wrap and a towel.  I think this helped to keep the dough from getting too dry.

The second in loaf form... also oiled and covered in plastic wrap and a towel.

I slashed the loaf after 2 hours,

and baked for about 45 minutes at 350F.

I tried to take extra care in the shaping step this time around, but I need more practice to ensure any remaining creases are on the underside of the loaf.

This definitely a better loaf.... in crumb, texture, and taste.  Even if it is a little flat.  The final bowl rise photo shows the dough loosing it's shape.  So I think it needs to knead longer, but probably not much more flour.  So round 3 should be even better, right?  :-)

Happy Baking!

Sourdough Bread

I love bread.  I mean, I LOVE bread!  Especially Sourdough bread.

So I have toyed with the idea of making my own sourdough starter over the years.  I even received a starter from a friend a few years ago, but I just wasn't able to do the care and feeding with everything else in life.

So now with staying at home due to COVID-19 and not travelling due to being laid off due to COVID-19, I've been thinking about it more.

I've been doing very well with my home-grown Kombucha and we're in a good routine now.  So I feel I have space in my mind for another fermented pet.  ;-)

I'm using the instructions from Nourishing Traditions by Sally Fallon, but starting with a 1/2 recipe.  Since there are only two of us, and Hubba doesn't eat much gluten, I don't need a huge starter.

This is a 100% rye flour starter per the book's suggestion.

Day 1 - July 4:

Day 2 - July 5:

The start looks interesting.  There are small air bubbles forming already and it's growing in volume.

Per the recipe instructions, I moved the Day 1 start to a second jar.

As mentioned above I'm making a smaller start and I want to keep the entire starter in this 1/2 gallon jar size, so I added only 1/4 cup each of rye flour and cold water.

The move was quite messy, so I think I will keep the remainder in the same jar.


Day 3 - July 6:

It's very interesting to watch this culture grow and shrink each day.  It is very much like having a pet.

You can see from the markings on the jar that it had grown to a point above the label in the last 24 hours.

Using the same jar as yesterday, I added 1/3 cup each of rye flour and water.

Day 4 - July 7:

I remembered that I have a wide-mouth funnel with my canning equipment, so I used it to transfer the culture to a new, clean jar today.

I added a 1/2 cup of rye flour and a little more water today.  The mixture is soupy, which the instructions say it should be.


Day 5 - July 8:

We're starting to have a good amount and I think the frothing period is starting to wind down now.

Day 6 - July 9:

I forgot to take an after-feeding photo.


Day 7 - July 10:

Day 8 - July 11, First Bake:

I have about 3 cups of finished starter.

So I took 2 cups for a loaf and added 1/4 cup of rye flour and water to the remaining starter.

I forgot to photograph the start of this loaf, but I greatly enjoyed kneading this dough.  It's been a long time since I made a loaf of bread.

I have made quick biscuits and pizza dough, but this was a different, wonderful, almost contemplative experience... slowly kneading a dough for 15 minutes.

After doing the math to reduce the recipe to 25%, I added somewhere between 3.5 and 4 cups of all-purpose wheat flour, salt, and water to my 2 cups of rye sourdough starter.

Ready for proofing...

First check at 4 hours...

Second check at 6 hours...

It could probably rise a bit more, but I'm anxious to eat this bread... I baked it for 47 minutes at 350F.

It's definitely bread.  It's definitely sourdough and the rye flavor is coming through.  I will make a point to slash it deeper and ensure there are no creases when set to rise next time.

The crust was a little tough so I think I need to make a more humid environment for proofing next time... and maybe consider two rounds, even though the recipe only called for one.

I'm really happy with this first loaf.  It was delicious with dinner last night and will go well with the meals I have planned for the next few days.

The next round of starter is already in progress.