I’m still experimenting and making observations my with my natural “lievito 2.0”. All that experimenting and nothing to show for it… So while I had the time I decided to actually make something. Something different to Panettone…
I've always been intrigued by the yeast water method of raising bread.
Although yeast water is started with fruits I did something (just can't help it) different...
I created yeast water from sourdough!
Biga acida
Lievito dissolved in water first then mixed with flour to create a very dry dough. Pin rolled until smooth. Rolled flat, ~4mm thick, wrapped in cling film and refrigerated for 2 days before removing and left overnight until mature.
Final dough
I couldn't resist making my favourite Panettone again!
As I wrote previously my regular Italian sourdough has been dried up and stored away in the fridge so that I could focus on making rustic sourdough breads. I created a new, wet 100% hydration starter but the temptation to convert it into a new Italian starter was too strong. And after bringing it to maturity I couldn't resist making Panettone again!
Whenever I make bread my main goal is volume. Admittedly this isn't the most rewarding feature of bread but I am a technical junkie and love taking things to the limit. Not to mention, I love super-light bread.
This loaf is somewhat akin to the improved loaf I made a few months ago but uses acidity from sourdough to boost volume. Milk and diastatic malt are used to soften the crumb.
Here I am again with another highly hydrated white spelt loaf. This time around it's sourdough raised...
I didn't set out to make this sour but boy, I mean wow is this sour!
If ever proof was needed that warm and wet makes for a more sour bread, then this is it!
On a flying visit to Dorset my family and I stopped off in Sturminster Newton to take a tour around the water mill. Wonderful! A very informative and interesting tour provided by delightfully friendly staff reminded us of times gone by. Fully automated machinery that is surprisingly old for the ingenuity. I highly recommend this tour.
I made an enormous ciabatta weighing nearly 1 kilo. I used an 18hr-fermented biga starter and a combination of medium and weak flours. This thing was massive!
Biga:
400g '00' flour from Shipton Mill
160g cold water
1.3g Instant yeast
Final dough:
Fermented biga
320g cold water
200g plain flour (9.4% protein)
24g Extra virgin olive oil
12g Non-diastatic malt powder
12g Salt
2g diastatic malt powder
olive oil for S&f.
This morning I was on the way to making some lovely artisan bread using a long-fermented Biga starter but unfortunately I over-mixed the dough! Over-mixing creates a horribly sticky mess and it took me half an hour to clean everything, including my hands. Hopefully those that have experienced this will sympathise.
Pressed for time I decided to make a quick loaf with some improving ingredients available in most kitchens.
