Tuesday, January 27, 2009

Bread log

I have been experimenting with sourdough breads, with limited success.  Most of the breads have been edible; one even tasted good; none have had a pleasant texture.

I'm making it hard on myself.  I'm using a sourdough starter from wild cultures I harvested in my kitchen.  No commercial yeast.  The flour is whole wheat.  No white flour.  No baking soda or other tricks.  I also don't like to measure.

I want to write down my most recent attempt, so if it's successful I can work from it.
  • 3/4 C starter
  • 3/4 C water
  • 2 1/3 T olive oil
  • 1 1/2 T honey
  • 1 1/4 t salt
  • 2 2 /3 C flour
Neaded for 5 minutes.  Rested for 5 minutes.  When I came back, it was really springy.  Neaded for 5 more minutes, at which point it was no longer springy.  

Covered in olive oil, back in the mixing bowl, left in the oven overnight with the light on, door cracked.

In the morning it was huge and looked wet.  I dumped the whole thing out, intact, on to a cookie sheet.  Slashed the surface.  In to 350 degF oven for 45 minutes.

Let it cool for 30 minutes.

The crust is crispy.  The bread is sweeter than I expected.  Delicious.  This is a good starting point.

4 comments:

Sandy said...

I miss eating bread.

It's so expensive here.

Jay Bazuzi said...

And flour is expensive, too?

Tim said...

I love sourdough .. my favorite is thick slices brushed with olive oil (don't use extra virgin for this), finely minced tomato, a little basil, some torn spinach leaves and sliced mushroom.

Avoid the urge to put cheese on top, instead lightly salt the tomatoes .. you won't miss it.

Throw it in a hot oven for ~5 minutes (or toaster oven), its especially good with soup... but I just eat it as a snack.

Also, try to avoid the urge to add minced garlic .. if you really need the flavor, use a tiny bit of garlic salt instead of regular salt on the tomatoes. The garlic (if too strong) completely kills the taste of the sourdough.

The mushrooms add plenty of 'meat' to the snack and don't interfere with the taste of the bread :)

Tim said...

Yikes, forgot to add .. you want the mushrooms on top. When they heat and give off their liquid you want them on top.

Otherwise, your mushrooms are going to taste like tomatoes .. at which point, why add them?

 
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