a_warming_trend's blog

Yet again, it's been way too long since I last posted. I won't dwell on the reasons, because we all have them...the important part is that I've still been baking, even in these crazy North Carolina summer temperatures!

I'll focus on posting some photos of bakes from the last few months, but I also wanted to share a few thoughts I've been mulling recently 

1) Bulk fermentation:

Hello, Fresh Loafers! I haven't posted a formula in awhile, and I think that this one for 76% hydration batards with rosemary and cream cheese is nice and reliable. 

I haven't made a post in awhile, but I have been practicing, practicing, practicing. I hit one year of baking last weekend, and six months since I fell in love with sourdough. I actually haven't baked with commercial yeast since I baked that first fateful SD loaf on November 4, 2014. 

Over these last weeks, I've been experimenting with a range of ways to bake sourdough in the midst of a busy work week. This is the quest of a home baker who can't seem to limit herself to weekend baking, despite a pretty demanding full-time job. 

These were commissions! 20% whole wheat, long cold bulk fermentation (24 hours) and long cold proof (18 hours). 300 g levain for 800 g flour, so about 38% levain by baker's percentage. Produced two medium-sized loaves. I can't stop experimenting with levain percentage!

A Southern Twist: Pimento Cheese Sourdough!

This might be my favorite sourdough variation ever. Okay, maybe second to my Dark Chocolate Chunk endeavors. Anyhow, the red pepper and cheddar cheese compliment the tang of the sourdough so perfectly...and the slight sweetness of the white flour and malt...it's good, y'all. It's really good. The following is the formula I developed for one loaf.

One of the most intriguing questions in my (admittedly short!) sourdough adventure thus far has been: How do I create a loaf that I can consistently proof in the refrigerator and bake straight from that cold environment, without it under or over-proofing? While the length of bulk fermentation is important in this calculus, it’s not the only part.

It's been a busy few weeks, both with baking and with other areas of life! As always, baking grounds me. The ritual...it's one of the best things about it.

These are 76% hydration, 20% levain, 30% whole wheat, with a smidge of pate fermentee for that little added umph. 

No crumb shots, because they were gifts. 

Abe, thanks for inspiring me with your scoring pattern! The boule is exactly your pattern, with a few extra very shallow swirls

Here's to making it through Monday, TFL!

For whatever reason, these last few weeks have forced me to challenge my preconceptions about sourdough baking. My previous challenge: Could I bake nice loaves from dough retarded in the back of a Ford Fiesta during an ice storm?

It's been a weird few weeks in central North Carolina. We're not used to seeing this much snow here -- especially not this close to March!

This week in particular has been particularly rough. Long story short, I had planned a few different bakes for mid-week, only to be hit with two consecutive snow storms, the second of which led to an extended power outage.