The first month of bread has been refreshing, and tasty :) Many mistakes and trial and error, fun stuff.
I really wanted to get to sourdough and I'm having success with my starter. I'm reading books, but TFL is an amazing translation tool for application.
First, I can mis remember the amount of flour I'm measuring and end up at 72% hydration instead of 70%.
Then I can set the levain/flour/water to pseudo autolyse for 30 minutes, get an urgent call and come back to it 1.5 hours later.
Then I can start to work the dough, remarking how much slacker it was than last time and realize, after 15 minutes of slap and folds appearing to accomplish nothing, that I forgot the salt.
Practicing dough handling before working on another batch of baguettes. My sourdough starter became quite crazy active after I switched it's last feeding from the generic AP I've been using to KAF AP so I tried a simple sourdough recipe to test it out.
http://stellaculinary.com/recipes/70-hydration-sourdough-boule
Thanks to a lot of wonderful feedback, I've made some modifications to suit my space better and to contribute to improved bread making.
1. Trying a stone dutch oven to explore the difference in the baking process using stone. In just two bakes it is very clear how dramatic a difference the stone makes.
Adventures in Baby Steam and Razor Blades!
Recipe: Txfarmer's practice baguettes
Results of Take I - My beginner baguettes
Last week it was so cold I spent a lot of time making kefir cheeses and web surfing. Found a site that used kefir as a sourdough starter so I decided to give it a try. Followed the starter directions and looked for a recipe online to make a loaf. Found a blog site that had pictures so I followed it. I produced two loaves - boules - that had some flavor but the texture was extremely lacking. I decided to pursue an actual sourdough starter and basic sourdough bread so I hit the library. I have a culture in progress and needed something to do while it mature
