Well my 2nd bake was much better than my first bake! I tried to follow the instructions closely and although these are not perfect they're much better than my first try. Thanks for all the great help I got yesterday on sourdough starters and for all your great tips!
Trish
Great work Trish.
Well done!
Andy
Dramatic improvement in crust and crumb!
You got nice crust color and better shine. Very good bloom on your cuts. Your crumb is much more uniform throughout the loaf with a nice distribution of many-sized holes.
Good job!
David
Thanks Andy and David - I was pretty excited and pleased with the way everything came together. My starter has been refreshed with 50% water and 50% flour so I'm on my way to achieving 100% hydration starter and it doubled within a short time. I have joined the mellow bakers group and next week-end my project will be Hamelman's Cheese Bread which calls for a stiff levain. Something new to learn!
Trish
These 100% hydration levain loaves will taste tangier than a stiff levain...how did you enjoy the flavor? The sourdough tangie was just right for our tasty buds. Enjoy your next project with the stiff levain. It's also very delicious replacing a little of the white flour with some rye flour or wheat flour.
Sylvia
Tangy but not too tangy. We probably cut into it a little earlier than we should have as it was still a little damp - it was too hard to wait any longer. I'm anxious to see the crumb of a completely cooled loaf. Thanks for pointing me toward this great recipe!
Trish
Hi Trish,
You may want to see my post on this bread, here: http://www.thefreshloaf.com/node/18164/whitsuntide-baking-and-other-antics
The nack is to cut the cheese into pieces which are small enough that they don't create holes in the bread crumb, and just big enough to give hits of flavour in the eating. It does not have to be parmigano regiano, as I found out, but the cheese used should be good quality and mature for full flavour.
Enjoy
Andy
Thanks Andy! I should have mentioned earlier that I was inspired to bake this after Sylvia's post last week and the recipe and method came from www.northwestsourdough.com. The flavor is good and I think will be even better tomorrow. The recipe is definately a keeper.
Trish
Wonderful loaves! I love the recipe from Northwestsourdough... That's my favorite recipe! Comes out prefect everytime - I also add kalamata olives in my loaves.
happy baking!
LeeYong rolfmester@yahoo.com
I think your loafs look great
Good job-keep going you are on the right way.