3 years ago, I decided to set myself a personal challenge to see if I could bake a decent loaf of bread at home with just basic ingredients of flour, water, yeast and salt (without any additives and/or improvers). Using recipes from the internet and a number of bread baking books, I managed to bake reasonable white and wholemeal loaves of bread including some incorporating water roux (tangzhong) for a softer crumb.
On a family holiday to the US in March 2015, we enjoyed a fabulous breakfast at Tartine Bakery & Cafe, San Francisco and bought a couple of their famous breads (Country & Whole Wheat) as gifts for my brother’s family residing in Missouri. I was amazed with how naturally leavened bread could taste so good and wondered if I could make similar breads with the tropical climate back home.
After returning home, I googled for naturally leavened bread recipes and came across The Fresh Loaf, The Perfect Loaf, Weekend Bakery amongst others. I managed to get a starter (20g bread flour, 20g wholemeal flour, 40g water) going after several attempts and it has survived since Jan 2016. My first attempt at naturally leavened bread was based on the Tartine Country Bread recipe and it turned out quite dense. I went back to reading various tips, guides and experiences from TFL members and many loaves later, I was able to bake decent looking and great tasting naturally leavened breads. So, a big thank you to everyone who have contributed to the TFL as you have all helped me to be a better home baker.
I baked a tweaked version of the Tartine Country Bread recipe last Sunday as follows:-
Leaven 72g
Bread Flour 135g
Plain Flour 135g
Seeded Wholemeal Flour 90g
Water 270g + 18g
Salt 7.2g
Olive Oil 10g
It looks delicious! Don't be afraid to ask questions. We are a pretty friendly bunch. And welcome to TFL!
Thank you Danni