Great success! Instead of going through the multi-step sponge method, I went back to starting my sourdough the night before by mixing all the ingredients in one go, kneading, and then letting it rise overnight. In the morning I have a pillowy dough ready for shaping and proofing. I don't know what the science is behind this but I get a more open crumb (left, whole wheat) this way which makes for a great morning toast with jam or lunchtime sammy with turkey, tomato and lettuce. The bread on the right is spelt bread for which I used a very coarse stone ground flour giving it the expected dense crumb, which is great for making a European style open-faced sandwich with butter, cheese and ham. This loaf could have probably been slightly more open had I not kneaded it so much before letting it rise. But alas, sometimes I just cannot help myself when it comes to kneading. It is so therapeutic in so many ways.
Speaking of therapy, I am taking an online grammar refresher course because writing is something I love to do, but grammar is something of which I am not always sure. (Boom! prepositional phrase with an old-school ending)
3 comments:
Both kinds look so good. Homemade bread is such a treat.
I enjoy your baking posts -well, really, all of your posts! And I'm learning so much. I made bread for years and really enjoyed it, but I would love to start again using sour dough started instead of yeast. I've read about the health benefits of sour dough, so hopefully, I can find a way to work it into my life routine. Thanks for a lovely blog.
Paula
Connie - Homemade bread is one of my favorite treats. And there are just so many types of bread out there, I don't think I'll ever get tired of it.
Paula - Thank you for your kind words! I'm so glad you're enjoying this little corner of the internet. There are so many links and how-to videos out there in google land about sourdough bread, I'm sure you could get some more in-depth details about how to begin, especially if you already have some bread baking background. Not only is sourdough healthy, it is also pretty forgiving to work with and has a great shelf life.
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