HeiHei29er's blog

I took another shot at Vermont Sourdough today.  After my attempt a couple weeks ago, I wanted to see if the tweaks I made to my starter maintenance would speed up the bulk ferment.  Ironically, I think it actually went slower.

Overall, can't complain.  Got decent oven spring, a nice color and crispiness to the crust, and the aroma is pleasant with just a bit of tang.  I think it will taste good.  Was shooting for my typical sandwich loaf type crumb, and will see tomorrow if I hit that. 

Pulled the trigger on a new 8x4 Pullman pan after getting comments in this thread.  Came in today and decided to try a quick loaf.  Threw together a quick recipe with the goal of making a soft sandwich bread.

Decided to start with the dough weight the pan is rated for.  I think the bake went really well and am optimistic about the crumb, but not nearly enough dough.  :-)

Bake from a couple days ago...

Overall, bake turned out decent.  Made the loaf for a friend and they liked it, so I guess that’s all that matters.  Had to slice and check the crumb before giving it to them. ?

Levain build went well.  Starter was 2 weeks old, but levain was over doubled and very bubbly at 11 hours (72-74 deg).  Dough temp was right on target after mixing (as 75 deg).  However, as usual for me with high white flour recipes, my BF progressed very slowly.

Today's bake was based on this method with really only a change in hydration to suit my flours.  That, and I made a sandwich loaf versus a boule.

This past weekend, got to do a "little" experimenting.  Didn't need to make a full loaf, and my daughter got me a set of silicone mini loaf pans.  The perfect size for experiments.  So, decided to try something simple and see if my wife liked it.  She's not much of a sourdough fan (although she said the Durum Pain au Levain is the best bread I've made, so maybe it's my SD execution to-date that's the problem).  Started simple and made a 90:10 white flour:WW loaf with raisin yeast water.

I was encouraged to try this bake, and with the recent activity in the 5-grain Levain CB thread, I decided to give it a go.  Wow, learning curves galore on this one.  First time baking the bread.  First time using inclusions.  First time using a soaker.  Mistake transcribing the formula to my spreadsheet caused a big mess in the first attempt on Saturday.  A few curveballs today.  It was a weekend of ups and downs, and won't have the verdict for at least another few hours. :-)

Round 2 for this recipe, and I'm much happier with the result!  Main difference...  Going back to the KAF WW.  Very easy to handle at 81% hydration.  

I tried this recipe a while back and really enjoyed it, especially toasted with a bowl of oatmeal in the morning.  Thought the flavors complimented each other well.  Ever since then, have been wanting to try to put something together, and this is Take 1. 

After making my first successful loaf earlier this week, the goal this weekend was to see if I could reproduce that first loaf using my starter directly from the refrigerator.  If I could do that, it would go a long way towards building some confidence.  Happy to say that I think I've got two in a row!

I started looking into sourdough baking in late November, and since that time, the learning curve has been steep and often times like drinking from a fire hose.  I've made bread in the past using packets of IDY and looking up a recipe on the internet.  Mix it up.  Throw it in a slightly warmed oven till it doubles.  Pat it down, roll it into a log, throw it in a bread pan, and put it back in the slightly warmed oven.  Bake it at 350 deg for 20-30 minutes after the loaf is just cresting the pan.  Never had a failure.