Sourdough notes

As already reported my last sourdough bread experiment left me with a lot of dense bread. But after living on that bread (and my rennet cheese) almost exclusively for the last few days I was ready for a new batch. I followed the protocol described in my last sourdough post:

• Mix the starter with four cups of flour and two cups of water, cover and let sit for a day,
• Add another four cups of flour, four teaspoons of salt, and one cup of water (the extra cup of water is new), let sit for another two hours or so,
• Form and score the bread loaves (four bigger sized loaves this time instead of the six smaller ones), let sit for another half hour,
• Bake it while spraying it with water every ten minutes. Total baking time was 40 minutes at 400°F, up from 30 to 35 minutes from the smaller loaves made without the extra water.

As in my last experiment I added baker's yeast to half of the dough to see whether it would make a difference. The result was resounding success: Though made from only 50% extra dough they are at least twice as big. The crust is firm but no longer tough to the point of cracking, and the crumb has much bigger bubbles and feels a lot more moist. Finally, a bread that other people would probably like as well!

Of course, there are some observations to carry on toward the inevitable future experiments:

• I does not seem the extra yeast has made much difference in the finished bread (though it seemed as if the dough with the extra yeast had risen I little bit more before baking). So even if there is a difference it is not very significant- at least not for the pure wheat bread I am currently making.
• There were a few spots in the crumb that seemed a little too wet. I believe I can fix that by baking the bread a little longer the next time around. The crust also looks as if it could take some extra minutes of baking without me having to worry about it getting burnt.
• Once again, the salt is not all evenly distributed. Next time I will try dissolving it in the extra water added in the second stage of the dough making.

So my quest for a good home made bread seems finally over. Of course, I am not stopping here. I want to see how the bread changes if I replace some of the wheat with rye or other types of grains. Or add bits of bacon and/or fried onions. And of course I am still curious to figure out how to make pumpernickel style of breads as well.

So stay tuned!