droidman's blog

I've been working on this one for quite awhile. The original was a variation on the Basic Sourdough in the Bread Baker's Apprentice. Between trying different proportions of the ingredients and consulting the good advice on The Fresh Loaf, I've arrived at this version, which I'll probably stick with for awhile. I've pushed it up over 75% hydration, so I've had to switch from kneading to stretching-and-folding. 

Barm
150 g Bob's Red Mill light rye
150 g water
75 g white starter @ 75% hydration

Dough
305 g barm
610 g water
915 g flour
22 g salt
3 g caraway seeds

Barm allowed to rise 5 hours. It was wetter than take 1, but I decided to just go with it and see what happened.

Dough very soft and sticky. Miserable to work with, but I persisted. Kneaded for 10 minutes or so.

Initial fermentation in greased bowl for 5 hours.

Proofed in two bannetons for somewhere between 2 and 3 hours (I know, I know: I should keep notes).

Backstory

I had lunch with a friend in Minneapolis at an establishment called The French Meadow Bakery. I had bacon and eggs, which was served with a couple slices of toasted sourdough. The bread was like a typical sourdough, but had a hint of caraway.

It's listed on the menu as organic sourdough toast. No mention of caraway. Perhaps it was just stored next to a caraway rye. In any case, I decided that I would try to make a sourdough that has all the wonderful characteristics of a standard sourdough, but with a subtle taste of rye and hint of caraway.

NOTE: This post is superseded by http://www.thefreshloaf.com/node/16314/goat-milk-sourdough-final-word