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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!

Recently I had an urge to try to recreate one of my favorite breads.  This one originated in Ken’s Artisan Bakery in Portland, OR.  To me it tastes almost like a dessert or sweet treat.  Eaten fresh, toasted, whatever, and with a slathering of butter or cream cheese across the top, the sweetness of the raisins just pop out on the taste buds.  It has more whole grain than any of the other baguettes I’ve made at home so far, and uses a stiff rather than a liquid levain.

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.

Ideally I'd like to have a nice bread that I mix the dough for in the evening, bulk ferment it overnight on the counter and finish by shaping, proofing and baking in the morning. To get there I started experimenting yesterday with the Basic Country bread from Tartine and modifying the schedule and levain % to extend the bulk fermentation.

While at it I mixed two batches of dough, each with different %s of levain, one at 6% and one at 10%. Room temperature started at about 18C/64F in the early morning, to about 68F later in the morning and for the remainder of the day and evening.

this time i made them a bit heavier, round 300 g before baking, 240 after, 69 % hydration, i do an autolyse, then i  mix in salt and yeast by hand, then it goes in the fridge. after a day of fridge rest i divide the dough and preshape, 15 min later i shape it and let it proof for 25 min, cut, oven for 25 min.

Okay, so I started with the brown rice, which is so good in bread... and of course added polenta, with its homestyle goodness, and a 50/50 blend of WW (Red Fife from Grist & Toll in Pasadena) and BF... then wanted a little something more to really establish a theme, and found some shallots that were begging to be included, and added some poppy seeds for color and a bit more texture. And this is what happened.

Thanks to everyone who responded to my cry for help, I established a rye starter, invested in a dutch oven, and made sourdough for real. This is my first loaf without training wheels, and I'm quite pleased. After some research this is my approximation of FWSY's Field Blend #2.

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.

 “It was the best of times, it was the worst of times…It was the spring of hope, it was the winter of despair….”