After years of practice and changing steps to make the process simpler, I think I finally have the classic sourdough loaf down.
Thanks to all of you who offered advice after I lost my starter to mold after a long trip. As I mentioned, the gluten-free starter was fine, so I stole some and built it up using ww, white and rye flours. It really perked up quickly, and this is the first loaf I baked using it, a classic sourdough. Thanks again to all for their suggestions. I will try them all when I go on my next extended journey. Best, Phyllis
Well, it's finally happened. I lost two of my starters during a long trip away in England. I have an all white flour starter and a mixed starter with white, rye and ww flours and both bit the dust as I was away for five weeks. I fed them right before I left and put them in clean jars. I'll never do that again! I've traveled before and they have been fine. AND in the UK, my starter seems OK, but smells terrible. My niece feeds it while I am away, so I am not sure why it smells so bad.
I made this recipe today for the second time. It is so good, and so light. It's probably more like cake than a donut as it is baked. I am always happy to find gluten-free recipes that are tasty and easy. Jeanine Friesen has many wonderful recipes, and this is one of her best. If you are gluten-free and haven't found her Faithfully Gluten-free site, I highly recommend it. These donuts are so sweet and good! I hope you like it....my husband and I love these donuts. I used fresh strawberries from our local farmer's market in the donuts and for the glaze.
I have been so boring in my baking and sorry I haven't posted in so long. I keep making the same recipe and trying to eliminate steps as I go, to make it as easy as possible, including the clean-up.
For this loaf, I don't accurately measure the ingredients...I sort of do it by feel. I use about one cup of really active starter (still on the rise); 1-1/2 cup of water; 1 cup whole wheat flour and 2 cups of bread flour. I generally use King Arthur Flour or Bob's Red Mill; you can't beat high quality flour.
Hello everyone: I am back in the U.S. after over a month in the UK, where I did quite a bit of baking, but have really spotty internet, so I wasn't able to post very much or keep up on your wonderful bakes. Lots of catching up to do!
The good news is I think I am getting somewhere with David's Italian baguettes. The bad news is, I had so many baking mishaps I felt like a hapless beginner again. You name it, it happened during this trip:
--Overproofing as I wanted the bread to fit my schedule, not the over way around!
Baked a lot today to take to a friend's house for Father's Day to share. Made David'd baguettes and my old standby classic sourdough. I really hope our friends enjoy the bread.
I do cheat and use the aluminum baguette baker, as it works quite well.
I haven't posted a lot as it seems I have been traveling all the time, but I have been baking, so I will share some of those photos. When I found out that we were so close to the King Arthur Flour HQ during our New England trip, I just had to go visit there. It was so much fun, and I wanted to buy everything. Generally, carrying flour in one's suitcase does make it a lot heavier, and I am already at the limit! I got a gift certificate for my birthday, so I will be ordering a lot of KAF goods when we aren't traveling so much.
Like many of you, we end up having lots of leftover bread from my bakes. I always like to have a fresh bread on hand, so that leaves the rumps of many loaves to be thrown out or made into bread crumbs. I ran across a recipe in Cooking Light for a sourdough artichoke and spinach strada, and I was intrigued. On closer study, I saw that the reviews said it was bland, so I spiced it up a bit. I actually used a chunk of the gluten-free sourdough I baked, cutting it up into cubes. This is a very filing recipe, so I suggest using more vegetables and fewer bread cubes.
I have really enjoyed making David's baguettes recently (link to recipe below), both in the UK and back in the U.S. in California. I use a baguette tray for proofing and baking and that has worked well for me. I tried the couche cloth to start, but found that it was harder for me in handling a wet dough.
