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My first attempt following the beard and bun method from YouTube. Cooked in a lecruset casserole pot
I’ll try and post images from Instagram
https://www.instagram.com/p/B_UkTFwn9EX_wCTlBcYBSG3F6X8WmGbipsDxdE0/?igshid=193wj4j6v9ko7
Is your account private?
Looks awesome RD! is that a mix of white and rye?
I’ll try again as I think my account was set to private.
I give up
Needs more heat Albanach
Is that from the Scotland the bread Banneton Alba?
Needs more heat Albanach
im assuming thats the pic before it went in the oven?
(or was that sarcasm, hard to tell with no smiley 😉 )
@sadex yes both the round banneton and the oval from Scotland the Bread. I hope everyone else can flock right to see the finished loaf?
Ah yes sorry, hadn't twigged you could do that.
Look great Albanach! Proper airy crumb that.
Looks awesome RD! is that a mix of white and rye?
325g strong white, 50g wholemeal
ok lets see if i can make a success of it this time, my starters looking promising. id like a bit of advice please.....
as mentioned earlier in this thread im following 'bake with jacks' method this time, purely for the 'no waste' element of it. the idea being 4 days worth of 25g rye flour/25g water will lead to 200g starter, dont throw half away.
ive done 3 days, last fed yesterday lunchtime, got up this morning and it looks a lot more like a starter should be, bit bubbly and increased in volume. it was just a thick shaggy mess when i left it.
im a little surprised at how it looks this morning as thats maybe 18hrs after feeding it, id have thought even if it was spot on then itd be at its best mebbes 6 hrs after feeding and have died down by now.....
so one more feed today? or...... should i wait for the last feed until im about 6 hrs or so from making a loaf, which may be in a couple of days or so. and if so should i keep it in the fridge now until that time?
im going to be an infrequent baker, maybe one loaf a week, so how best can i keep this starter healthy?
thanks
If I’m reading this right you are one 25g flour/25g water feed away from making a loaf? If so, I’d leave in fridge until the night before you start - so for a Monday bake, take starter out fridge in Sat night feed starter and leave in counter. Sunday mix ingredients and follow folds etc and prove overnight in fridge on Sunday then bake on Monday.
After you’ve added your starter and left the scrapings just pop this in the fridge and pull it out when you next plan on baking and add the necessary amount of flour/water. If it’s been a while it may need a couple of feeds to get going again but you should have a fair idea of the activity at that stage
im going to be an infrequent baker, maybe one loaf a week, so how best can i keep this starter healthy?
He does a 'scrapings method' as Alba pointed out to me earlier in this thread, have a wee watch of that.
I don't find waste starter to be a problem, even when I'm not baking regularly. Not sure what the method you refer to is (maybe splitting it into two and feeding both halves? That would work) but this is what I do...
My starter lives in the fridge... when I want to make a levain, I'll get it out early evening, leave it a couple of hours to warm up (not sure if that's totally necessary), "discard"* roughly half of it, and feed it, usually 50g flour + 50g water.
When it's ready, I'll take some to build a levain and put it back in the fridge. Then it's good til the next time I want bake. If it's left for more than a week, I might being it out and feed it, just to make sure it comes back to life when I want to use it, but it should last a while longer.
*Except I don't chuck it away, I add it to another jam jar I've got in the fridge. When that's full, which takes a couple of weeks at least, I'll mix it into pancakes, or mix it half and half with flour and make flatbreads, or something.
If I’m reading this right you are one 25g flour/25g water feed away from making a loaf?
correct, 150g in there at present.
so for a Monday bake, take starter out fridge in Sat night feed starter and leave in counter. Sunday mix ingredients and follow folds etc and prove overnight in fridge on Sunday then bake on Monday.
see thats what im confused about, i always thought a starter would be at its bubbliest around 6hrs after feeding in a warm place. if thats right, a feed saturday night would see it at its best in the early hours wouldnt it? and in the morning itd be well on its way down? or am i wrong there?
He does a ‘scrapings method’ as Alba pointed out to me earlier in this thread, have a wee watch of that.
i did watch it and thought it made sense, ive mebbes got confused somewhere so ill watch it again.
Not sure what the method you refer to is (maybe splitting it into two and feeding both halves?
no, its the 'bake with jack' method linked to in my earlier post.
When it’s ready,
so when do you find yours is ready? 6hrs or so?
My starter lives in the fridge… when I want to make a levain, I’ll get it out early evening, leave it a couple of hours to warm up (not sure if that’s totally necessary), “discard”* roughly half of it, and feed it, usually 50g flour + 50g water.
When it’s ready, I’ll take some to build a levain and put it back in the fridge. Then it’s good til the next time I want bake. If it’s left for more than a week, I might being it out and feed it, just to make sure it comes back to life when I want to use it, but it should last a while longer.
ok, i think i need to understand this a bit better.....
so you think youll want to bake a loaf next day. you take out your cold starter and leave out a couple of hours to warm up. got that. then you take some to 'make a levain'? dont understand this bit, so ill guess.....
you take 50g of it and mix 25g/25g fresh flour/water with it to make a new 100g starter? then it goes back in the fridge til next day (which is the day youd decided to bake). but then itll be cold. and identical to the other cold starter you built this one from? so whats the point?
sorry, if you can spare the time id be interested in a bit more info and your timings up to baking.....
The bake with Jack beginner sourdough (on his page, not the video) has a step by step run through, have a look. I'm planning on using this method until I get a fair grasp on what works best for me, then I'm for branching out a bit and trying other methods.
Anyhoo, Sourdough Pizza tonight! took starter out the fridge yesterday, fed 30g rye flour, 30g water, it flew up, started the mix this morning, just gonna do the folding part of it, then when it comes to when I'd normally go for the overnight prove, I'll be making the pizza with it instead.
Pics to follow....
see thats what im confused about, i always thought a starter would be at its bubbliest around 6hrs after feeding in a warm place. if thats right, a feed saturday night would see it at its best in the early hours wouldnt it? and in the morning itd be well on its way down? or am i wrong there?
I'm not sure but I normally take mine out of the fridge and feed mine up at 10pm with 100g wholemeal or rye flour and 100g cold tap water and put it on the kitchen counter - when I wake up its bubbly and risen so it's good to go.
so when do you find yours is ready? 6hrs or so?
It normally sits for 8-10 hours and I've never had an issue.
Last night before bed I took my 250gm starter out the fridge. I stirred in 125grm flour and 125grm tepid water. I then put half back in the fridge and half in a tub on the bookshelf.
This morning I added flour (half white and half spelt), water, sugar and salt. Kneaded it and plonked it in a tub.
Its sat in the warm all afternoon and I have just dusted it and snipped it.
I'm going to give it another hour or so before I bake it. I will actually keep an eye on it this time.
I'll let you know how I get on.
have my 3rd attempt at a sourdough loaf fermenting on the fridge overnight....ready for baking tomorrow... I have cut down a great deal with the water to the reciepe, I now have a firmer more workable dough this time.... will get some pics posted up of the baked article whence it's goose has been cooked....:-)
Looking pretty good if a bit squiff. The starter was fed with semolina last night which it seems to be more than happy with.
The bake with Jack beginner sourdough (on his page, not the video) has a step by step run through, have a look. I’m planning on using this method until I get a fair grasp on what works best for me, then I’m for branching out a bit and trying other methods.
yep, seen it thanks, i think its pretty much the same as the video, so will use that to make my next loaf.
I’m not sure but I normally take mine out of the fridge and feed mine up at 10pm with 100g wholemeal or rye flour and 100g cold tap water and put it on the kitchen counter – when I wake up its bubbly and risen so it’s good to go.
thatll do for me, thats me sorted then, ill feed it the evening before mixing and then get to work on it the next day.
thanks
sadexpunk... sorry I didn't have time yesterday to follow the link and find out what the bake with jack method was.
To summarise my usual procedure...
Day 1 pm - take starter out fridge, warm up, feed
Day 2 am - build levain (take some of the starter and add flour and water - feed it, essentially - to make the bit that will go into the loaf)
Day 2 pm - make dough, fold and stretch, start bulk fermentation
Day 3 am - divide, shape and start prove
Baking might happen day 3 pm or day 4 am if it's proving in the fridge
All the details and pictures are in my post on the previous where I embedded some Facebook posts (I can see them but did that work for everyone else?).
I think I mentioned it before, but timing is really key with your starter (and levain), but it's really dependent on temperatures and your flour so you need to experiment and get a feel for it.
The best way to do that (I reckon) is to find a time when you're at home (and awake) for a good while (ideally all day) and feed your starter then come back to it every so often and see how it changes (and mark the level on the jar or whatever if you want). It'll expand (while the sugar in the flour is consumed) and reach a peak where it's most active, then (when the sugar is all used up) start to fall back. That peak is where you want get some off it and use it to make a levain. Then the cycle starts again and you want to get the peak of that when it goes in the rest of your dough.
The only way to get a feel for how long it takes to reach the peak is to let it go too far, but you learn. Temperature has a big impact. If I want change my timimgs to fit around something else I'm doing, I'll speed it up by adding warm water for the feed and/or putting it in a warm place, or slow it by using cold water and/or putting it in a cooler place. I can probably vary it between 4 and 12+ hours depending on the flour. Flour is the other variable. Rye and wholemeal seem to work a bit quicker, while white is slower, but it'll depend on your particular flour.
HTH
getting there.... more practice needed..
Looking good davy-g! And looks like you've got supplies to keep you going too.
Took some more pretentious photos of my pretentious bread...
Writing this while enjoying a few slices of the tin loaf grilled with some blue cheese. Actually baked these on Thursday, but we were finishing the previous loaf. I gave the boule to some friends who are on 12-week isolation. Even giving a loaf away every time I bake, there's still too much. I'm going to make pizzas with the dough that's proving now so we can catch up.
Some nice looking bread up there!
ive done 3 days, last fed yesterday lunchtime, got up this morning and it looks a lot more like a starter should be, bit bubbly and increased in volume. it was just a thick shaggy mess when i left it.
im a little surprised at how it looks this morning as thats maybe 18hrs after feeding it, id have thought even if it was spot on then itd be at its best mebbes 6 hrs after feeding and have died down by now….
I’m not sure but I normally take mine out of the fridge and feed mine up at 10pm with 100g wholemeal or rye flour and 100g cold tap water and put it on the kitchen counter – when I wake up its bubbly and risen so it’s good to go.
well, ive just tried this method and unfortunately a disappointing result now ive just got up.
as previously mentioned, building the starter id been feeding 25g/25g rye/water over 3 days. feed at lunch, leave on windowsill, same again 24hrs later. 3rd day it had bubbled up (18hrs later which surprised me) so thats when i asked about timings so that i could look after it ready for baking a few days later.
so as the above method ^^^, in the fridge it went, took out yesterday evening to warm up, then fed it at around 10pm.
got up this morning hoping for a bubbly concoction and it bahhhh, it doesnt look much different :-/
im thinking back and trying to work out whether its bubbled up and died, or not bubbled up yet. its history suggests it hasnt risen yet, as when i fed it at lunchtime and was then surprised at its bubbles, that was the next day, at room temp. so could it be that my starter is at maximum life close to 18 hrs later? that sounds daft!
i was expecting to get up to a load of bubbles and seize the day and start mixing early-doors. ill give it a few more hours and see if it shows any more life.
To summarise my usual procedure…
thanks northwind, bit more complicated than what im trying but ill keep that in my back pocket in case i need to try something different.....
EDIT: although reading back, the timings seem to be similar to my method anyway, feed at night, ready in the morning, if i understand correctly tho, you then refeed that in am then mix in the pm.
ill leave mine for now, see if i can get a feel for when it rises.
thanks
Looks superb Davyg!
tasted good...chewy but tasty.. I may be able to add a tad more water to the mix next time.. as this one was kinda dryish and that made for a tighter crumb...makes for lovely toast and marmalade though..LOL
EDIT: although reading back, the timings seem to be similar to my method anyway, feed at night, ready in the morning, if i understand correctly tho, you then refeed that in am then mix in the pm.
Sort of... feed starter at night, ready in the morning, when I take some of that and put it into a levain, and the starter goes back in the fridge. Making a levain is basically feeding the starter again, yes, but it's different in that the starter is kept for the next time, whereas the levain (all of it) ends up in the loaf - though it's just semantics really.
Good crumb davy-g. I too kind of crave that really open airy crumb you see from the true experts, but in all honesty, something like our loaves (my best loaves look similar to yours) is much more practical for actual eating, which is the point!
ill give it a few more hours and see if it shows any more life.
nope, 6 hrs or so later and no sign of much life, certainly not enough for me to think its become lively enough to bake with, so just fed another 25g/25g rye/water and will monitor this over the next 10 hrs or so......
well, i believe the official term is..... its dead as a dodo :-/
bubbled up on feed 3 (75g), refridgerated ready for feed 4 but then never rose again.
feed 4 (to a total of 100g) was before bed then still flat in the morning, i did the extra feed yesterday (125g) at around lunchtime, kept an eye on it and it never rose past my elastic band marker. neither before bed (10 hrs later), nor this morning.
dont know where to go now..... looks like ill probably have to start discarding and feeding til it shows signs of life again.
took my starter about 10 days to become fully active and ready for baking with, at no time did I place the starter in the fridge during that period, I only done that once I had used the first batch and used the cold of the fridge to slow things down until the next time It was needed for baking with...
took my starter about 10 days to become fully active and ready for baking with, at no time did I place the starter in the fridge during that period,
ok, so how much starter did your 10 days worth of feeding give you, and how much do you use/discard each loaf?
thanks
I started of with 100g of both flour and water, the next day I kept 70g of the mixture and added 100g each of water/flour to this, same for the next day and the next day, kept 70g and kept adding 100g each, until the starter became active and useful for baking (I performed the float test with the starter).
I use 100g of starter for my bread, and then place the remainder in the fridge to slow things down, I get the starter back out of the fridge when I am going to be baking more bread, I leave it to sit on the kitchen worktop for a few hours to acclimatize and then add 100g water/flour and leave to ferment....once it has doubled in size then it is ready for use....take what I need and then return remainder to fridge... I usually have about 270g of active starter for my use...
If it's not reacting at all to feeding, that suggests there's no live yeast cultures in it, or very few. Usually there's enough in the air or on the flour to get a high enough concentration, but you could try adding something that's more likely to have some on: apple skin, grape skin (preferably organic - the yeast is less likely to have been killed by pesticide). Even better flour if you can get hold of it (difficult at the moment I know) - stoneground (the heat from steel milling kills the yeast) and organic (same reason as before) will have more yeast on it.
forgot to mention that I used strong white bread flour....
I used SWBF for the first 3 days, then got some rye flour, was like adding Nitro!
hmmm..... mines fully rye, so i expected great things.
thanks for the info, ill persevere......
Another batch started today, 2/3 SWBF, 1/3 SWholemealBF, be baking tomorrow morning, as my Bannetons arrived from scotland the bread this morning, thanks @Albanach
Excellent. What’s SWBF?
Sorry, strong white bread flour!
fed last night, still nowt this morning so id like to ask a question please.....
say i keep trying to build this starter for another few days, and remove say 50g each evening and refeed. i know some people use the discarded stuff for pancakes etc, but i dont really want pancakes. but i dont want to just chuck it away either, its a waste.
im thinking i could save each 50g in another pot, keep it all in a pot and then make pizzas one night with it instead. so in effect im 'stockpiling' the flour and water ready for a recipe?
so, say ive got 200g starter squirrelled away in the fridge, and a pizza recipe calls for 300g flour/200g water, ive now started that off with 100g of each and just need less to make the dough yep?
and......if thats right, would you then put yeast in too, as this is basically just flour/water from a dead starter?
tbh ive never really understood why yeast is an ingredient in pizza recipes, as youre not really looking for a rise as such, and can make pizzas soon after mixing if you so wished. whats your thoughts on these questions please?
thanks
I always put yeast in my pizza as I prefer a softer risen crust like a Neapolitan type. Normally use about 60-65% hydration and 0.2% yeast.
I’ve not tried dourdough pizza yet but Here is a video of Patrick Ryan making one and he does add a wee bit of yeast as well as the starter.
I made it without yeast, was grand. I like to make mine with just sugo til it's half done, then pop the mozz on. Like it crispy.
I also freeze a few.
Sadexpunk, there's a vid on bake with Jack about dead starters, suggests too much of it? Worth a watch.
Anyway, 2nd effort. 2/3 white, 1/3 wholemeal.
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👆 great looking loaf. Crumb pic?
Sadexpunk, there’s a vid on bake with Jack about dead starters, suggests too much of it? Worth a watch.
thanks, hadnt seen that, just had a look. he recommends binning most of it and starting again with 25g or so, so thats what ill get cracking with tonight. ill put most of it in a separate jar ready for some pizza.
cheers
A bit of a sandwich crumb, due to the 1/3 wholemeal, possibly a tad more versatile than pure white airy sourdough.
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Today's effort. Wife's kneeding, my shaping. Think this one has some spelt in it.
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There are some good looking loaves on this thread.
I have had a first go at sourdough today. I used the BBC food starter and it seemed to go from the off, it looked and smelt right, and it seems to have worked okay today, the breadsticks anyway are really good, I think the loaf may be a little dense and will need more proving next time.
First ever attempt at sourdough - I’ve been making soda bread most days since lockdown started, so decided it was time to step it up a bit. It was made with a ‘no knead’ recipe, and I’ve another due in the oven in 3hrs which I made following Patrick Ryan’s basic sourdough process. Will remember to brush excess flour of the next one!
Superb, all looking good!
Tried a different pattern on loaf #2 (agree with bake with Jack, your as well doubling up and making 2 loaves, while you're at it)
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We have a freezer shelf full from doubling up 😀. Now using the second half as pizza dough 👍.
Second effort, using Patrick Ryan’s kneaded recipe - much less faffing about, and a much better looking result. I’m really quite chuffed with that, given today’s my first foray into sourdough baking.
Superb dj!
Some early morning sourdough baking done. Followed @sourdough_tim recipe so a couple of 24% wholegrain 78% hydration loaves
4th attempt today.... started a full white loaf (no wholemeal added at all) today... it's in the fridge doing a long ferment..... see what happens in the morning when it's baked... added a tad more fluid to this mix... but not to much to make it sloppy....
must admit that the starter went mental within an hour of feeding it.....LOL
Not sourdough but, for those asking about out of date yeast, today I made this using dried yeast that was over two years old.
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It weighs the same as the sun and is only good for breaking up a patio.
must admit that the starter went mental within an hour of feeding it…..
i dream of days like that 😀
Double feed of mine today for a first try at this easy, no kneed, fairly quick recipe tomorrow...
https://bakerbettie.com/no-knead-sourdough/
My first attempt at a loaf today using a homegrown sourdough starter.
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Tasted great although a bit heavy. I think I was a bit heavy handed during the folding stages and knocked too much air out of the dough.
My starter’s been ticking over on the dregs of a bag of flour for the past week. Managed to get 3kg today from a local deli so have a loaf waiting for its overnight prove.
I made some crumpets with the discard this morning when feeding. Milk and self raising added by eye with a pinch of salt and sugar. Bit of an experiment as I’ve never tried making them properly before. I didn’t get the temperature right until the last one, low and slow!
i dream of days like that
good timing, i looked tonight and my starter had just about doubled, so thats promising. i fed it again this morning just so i could monitor it all day, so its taken about 14 hrs to do this.
now a starter thats ready last thing at nights no good to me so it looks like ive got to adjust my feeds. with that in mind i had to choose between leaving it to die down, not feed it again in the morning and then feed evening time so that itd be ready for a bake the next day, or..... remove most while its still doubled, feed again now and see how that goes by tomorrow.
ive chosen that option. took mebbes 100g out, left 30g(ish) and topped up with another 50g/50g. will it die again? will it be spilling out the top? who knows.
just a question about the stuff ive removed from it. ive now got mebbes 150-200g of dead starter in another jar in the fridge (i hate chucking it away).
say its 200g, can i assume that can now be 100g/100g flour/water thatd be ok for mixing for my next loaf? after all thats what it is isnt it, just flour and water. or should it really be binned or used for flatbreads/pancakes or somethings?
just out of the oven.... practice does indeed help.... my 4th attempt at sourdough.... you just got to tweak the recipe to your liking..
Superb davyg! 👏🏻
I even threw together a DIY dutch oven..... lmao
Saw this and made me smile.
I am not saying that a sentient sourdough culture created
COVID-19, I am just suggesting that we should look very closely
at who has benefited most from this virus?
can i assume that can now be 100g/100g flour/water thatd be ok for mixing for my next loaf?
I think the yeast has acted on the carbs in the flour, it's what results in the 'sour' smell. As a result it won't work as well as fresh flour and water mix. I'm not saying it won't work at all, just that it may not ride as well. I'm no expert though!
I had a really good loaf last week with a smallish amount of the rye (campillou) flour, so I've upped the quantity for this week and fingers crossed it seems ok so far. Oven was still warm from some biscuits though, perhaps started the first prove a little too enthusiastically!
I think the yeast has acted on the carbs in the flour, it’s what results in the ‘sour’ smell. As a result it won’t work as well as fresh flour and water mix. I’m not saying it won’t work at all, just that it may not ride as well. I’m no expert though!
i was going to say there is no yeast in it yet, but of course you mean the natural yeast from the starter dont you. point taken, i just used it in a 'moroccan bread' mix that ive done for tea tonight with a tagine. that breads always a bit dense and flat anyway, so wont notice the difference 😀
my starter has juuuuust about doubled from last night, so again that was about 14 hours. sooooo.....ive just started mixing the 'bake with jack' loaf, see how that goes. left the scrapings in the starter jar and back in the fridge for a few days.
itll ferment in the fridge overnight and ill probs bake it tomorrow lunchtime or somethings, ill post the results tomorrow.
This took 2 weeks of coaling into life which I hadn't previously needed to do. Were friends now.
https://imgur.com/gallery/rd4VvAb
Wow, there's some great looking loaves on this thread, and given the general lack of experience, some natural baking talent. It took me ages to get to this point.
remove most while its still doubled, feed again now and see how that goes by tomorrow.
ive chosen that option.
That was the right choice. If it's at its most active, best thing to do is either use it or feed it again for later. In terms of timing, you can control it to an extent with temperature. If you feed your starter in the morning and are going to be out all day and want to make the dough late in the evening, feed it with cold water and keep it somewhere cool. If (as I did the other day) you forget to get your starter out of the fridge and need to get it going pronto, feed it with warm (not hot - I think <40degrees is probably safe) water and stick it in a warm oven (I put mine on the lowest setting for 20 mins or so, then turned it off and put the starter in). By doing it warm, I can have an active starter from cold in 3 or 4 hours.
just a question about the stuff ive removed from it. ive now got mebbes 150-200g of dead starter in another jar in the fridge (i hate chucking it away).
say its 200g, can i assume that can now be 100g/100g flour/water thatd be ok for mixing for my next loaf? after all thats what it is isnt it, just flour and water. or should it really be binned or used for flatbreads/pancakes or somethings?
I think nobeer's probably right on this - the yeast has already eaten the sugar in that flour, so it won't work as well. The yeast starts to feed on the main bulk of flour when you mix the dough. I made flatbreads with the last couple of weeks of discard (been in a jar in the fridge) last night. Dead simple: mix roughly half and half with fresh white flour, kneaded it for a couple of minutes with plenty of flour to make it easy to work (probably ended up quite low hydration, but it's fine for this). Stretched it flat and left it on the worktop for an hour or so. No visible rise, but puffed up nicely under the grill (so nicely a few bits burnt onto the grill from the shelf 4" below).
Look forward to seeing how your loaf turns out today.
I am not saying that a sentient sourdough culture created
COVID-19, I am just suggesting that we should look very closely
at who has benefited most from this virus?
😀
Some more breads what I made:
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A couple of those batches are 75% white, 25% spelt, which seemed to have worked out OK.
A friend who works in Waitrose has just set me up with some wholemeal, so a bit of variation from pure white on the way. Speaking of which, off to shape some loaves and get them in the fridge now.
eh up Jimmy.... have you given your starter a name yet......? , mine is called "Sophie"
My son's partner says that she is sick of him feeding his fridge based Tamagotchi and not using it to bake with yet.....LOL
My starter, Covid the Breadarian, is only 5 days old, but I wanted to try this no kneed super abbreviated recipe
https://bakerbettie.com/no-knead-sourdough/Turned out not bad considering and very tasty.
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1aqAkEjwSdd4RuNOVTZjAQK7acyhGydyg/view?usp=drivesdk
Looks good longdog!
I think nobeer’s probably right on this – the yeast has already eaten the sugar in that flour, so it won’t work as well. The yeast starts to feed on the main bulk of flour when you mix the dough.
he was indeed right, the bread was sh1t 😀
I made flatbreads with the last couple of weeks of discard (been in a jar in the fridge) last night.
i think thats what id try next, although i plan on not having any discard now, just scrapings in the fridge.
Look forward to seeing how your loaf turns out today.
then i shall show you my good man. went through different emotions throughout the process, contentment, concern, happiness, then a slight come-down.
i did the 'bake with jack loaf' ^^^, exact same measures (well, halved as he made two loaves) and was pleased to see initially that my mix looked the same. however, on first folds as i stretched it out it felt lumpy, so i was worried it hadnt mixed well enough. watched the vid again afterwards and he fast forwards his mixing, so im wondering if i just didnt mix it enough. i was worried id have lumps of dry flour in there.
also throughout the series of stretch and folds, mine was always a bit sloppier than his, no tidy folds, just sloppier dough that i made my best effort with.
as the process neared the end tho it was firmer and i was happier. baked the loaf and.... ta-daaaaaahhh.
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i was well happy with its appearance, obviously didnt slice it deep enough with my razor blade, but i was happy with the rise and excited to cut into it and try it. itd risen well so its got to be airy, right? 😀
so, waited a few hours to cool and then in we went....
this was my slight come-down after thinking itd be pretty much spot on.
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doesnt look toooo bad in the photo but in the flesh its a bit dense and chewy, with that sort of sheen that gives it a bit of a 'crumpet' texture if you know what i mean. bit disappointing. nice enough tho, and will also make good toast for my eggy-wegs tomorrow.
ill keep trying tho, looking for improvements. bit more flour in the next mix to lower the hydration, more time mixing it, and a better slash with the razor.
hopefully ive got my timings sorted for my starter now. the scrapings are in the fridge, ill take it out during a morning, let it warm til lunchtime, feed, then leave til next morning and hope for some bubbles.
thinking about it, the bastard will probably be dead and ill chuck the towel in 😀
thanks for your advice, learning all the time.....
Covid the Breadarian
Lol.
Mines called Anne. After Anne Widdecombe, the sourest of the sour.
bah, my starters playing tricks on me.....
hopefully ive got my timings sorted for my starter now. the scrapings are in the fridge, ill take it out during a morning, let it warm til lunchtime, feed, then leave til next morning and hope for some bubbles.
thought id have another go using those times ^^^
take the scrapings out the fridge, warm up til lunchtime, feed, then leave til next morning as per the last one. but.....starter had doubled by around 9pm this time instead of the morning! dohhhh.....what do i do, decisions decisions. bin half my starter and stick it back in the fridge? tempting, but i thought id experiment.
im also out all morning tomorrow and part of the afternoon too.
googled away at no-knead methods where i dont have to do folds every two hours or so, found some that said mix and leave out for 10-12 hours, thats still not much use to me.
so..... im gambling. following a happyfoodie no-knead recipe, ive just mixed flour/water/starter, leaving for an hour to autolyse, then adding salt, but instead of leaving out at room temp for 10-12 hours its going in the fridge til i can allocate some time to it, probably tomorrow teatime. mebbes do some folds and shaping and then bake it before bedtime.
anyone want a guess as to how itll turn out? 😀
i think im going to just take it out, get it to room temp, then do the 'bake with jack' folding method if the mix will let me. ill make it up as i go along.
on the plus side, im happy that my scrapings have produced a bubbly starter, thats promising.