At first it was clearly the levain which objected to being returned to the west coast after spending several months on the east coast. Finally it decided it would make due with its new, but in reality old, surroundings. Then it was clearly my hands which had totally lost their mojo after spending those same months generously feeding the levain but not demanding that it work for its living. One bread after another was poorly shaped, poorly developed or overproofed, or poorly scored. Friends asked me to bring bread for a dinner; I had to bake every day for a week to get loaves decent enough to share. Then I stumbled across a set of videos by Northwest Sourdough which provide step by step videos for a bread whose formula is provided so that, if one were to make the same bread, one could compare dough consistency, development, and shaping to that in the videos. It was a godsend for me.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dbdIxrneL6E&index=1&list=PLDqMWhgSTguFIDx4AdxdsjImf_c6aWCLB
And so I baked “blistered sourdough” , an absolutely delicious bread, made with potato water, which results in a gorgeous and creamy crumb and a shatteringly crusty crust. Certainly hoping this is a return of my mojo…
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I'd say your mojo has returned with great fanfare. The blistering is awesome, and the crumb is the ultimate example of "consistently open," which is not easy to achieve in my experience. Great work!
Thanks! I have been eyeing your gorgeous bread, profiled at the top of the TFL homepage, talking about a beautiful, open and creamy crumb!
Very pretty loaf!
Paul
Just hoping it is not a one night stand...
I've never been able to get blisters, at least not on my bread ;), and my most recent SD bake was disappointing. I am going to have to try this one.
Well done!
-Gabe
even though she uses the equivalent of a dutch oven to bake. I followed suit though I used a real dutch oven. Not sure if the spraying was responsible for the blistering but I decided to follow her as exactly as I could, including the longest and warmest bulk ferment I have ever done.
Will definitely try next time. Can't hurt the steam in a DO, either!
Ooh, that's a beauty V's sis! Love that russet color and those blisters. And the crumb with its upward motion frozen in time, so that it is forever striving higher but never quite reaching its zenith. It doesn't get much better than that.
You have a way with words!
SD bread to pump things up a notch! This one is a keeper for sure - love the crust and crumb and it has to taste just as good.
Well done and happy baking
for your tastes, I think, maybe even for mine. Am thinking about a repeat with some rye or whole wheat or both next time. Thanks for the kind comments!
from jet lag and changed kitchen woes. Don't be so hard on yourself although it did work! Lovely loaf.
A crust I can't turn away from. :)
I must admit, though, that the levain and I returned in Nov and it has taken until now to bake a decent loaf, so I probably should be harder on myself!
to "get our mojo back" and what it nice about it, once we do, everything else seems to slowly fall into place. :)