Fun with Sourdough
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Sourdough & Baker's Kaffeeklatsch--la Troisi�me
Comments (104)Feeding the birds is a good use of bricks, too, especially when they're surprised by early Winter weather. :) Here (SoCal), we've had a couple of brief entries into Autumn weather, but always quick rebounds into general Summer. It's very confusing since it still gets dark when it feels like it should be light until a couple of hours later. If KAF actually put the recipe on the back of the bag, it's probably foolproof. That is, it's probably meant to be successful even with variations in temperature, humidity and oven climate. Edie, I just tell the truth as I see it--I'm happy to be supportive, but won't mislead you to do so. Baking bread is a normal kind of thing. Everyone with ordinary physical and mental acuity can bake bread, can dance, can sing. Perhaps there will be differing levels of natural giftedness, but all can learn to a level of competency, no matter the age. The homely arts belong to all of us. Not everyone can engineer a skyscraper that won't topple in an earthquake. Even among those well trained to do so, there's a level of magic, that is, intuitive synthesis of massive knowledge, that is necessary as well. I read once that a German master baker, who grew up in the trade, said that there was no way to learn what he knew without dedicating decades starting from puberty. I'm sure that's true. But if you're not in the business of making loaves by the dozens daily, and requiring a level of perfection that comes from professionalism, you can still bake bread. Same as someone who only has middling control over productive pitch can still learn to sing a song that won't make listeners put their fingers in their ears. Practice and familiarity with one bread, or one song, and from there to a repertoire, substitute for the lifetime of study of all breads or all vocalizations. Going wrong sometimes helps. I would never have landed on WTF Bread if I hadn't been out of it on baking day. :) And WTF is the closest I've come yet to what I've been aiming for. :) I'm not far behind you in age, or far in front in experience out of my comfortable recipes. I've learned scads in the last six months, and have learned far more from my "failures" than my roaring successes. At a certain age we have the time and head space for contemplation and a more interesting kind of learning. And we can have, oh, so much fun!...See MoreFun with Flour #2
Comments (86)The meal got pushed a day (pix in what's for dinner), but it came out great. I did the pita recipe with the second rise I had mentioned. I realized, I shouldn't have said these women are "Indian". Their accents sound Indian, to me, but they could come from elsewhere. One mustn't assume. Apologies. Anyway, this recipe uses 1/5 whole wheat, which gives them a lovely flavor and she says it gives the dough "stability" and makes it easier to roll out without springing back. I'd say that it interfered, personally. Whatever. They didn't puff, but tasted great, and did have a pocket. She calls for a screaming hot pan, but mine was too hot and I got a little more char than I'd have liked. I took the squished ones so can't comment more, but one diner wanted the recipe. :) My mother asked how I kept them so soft. I said it was because they were fresh out of the pan. :) One can buy excellent pitot here, in theory. I'm not going there. ;) I ended up using Tori Avey's recipe (very similar to Bittman--thanks again for the link!) for the falafel balls because she said they were fluffy enough without the baking soda (they were) which made it easier to make here and fry there. They were SO good! The best I can remember eating. My secret is to heat the oil early and do a tester then turn it off while finishing other things. The oil evens out in the meantime. The other secret is to use a big pan and waste the oil to keep them from crowding. I'll definitely try these pitot again. I like that they're rolled thin. She says thin is essential for puffing. :) Oh. This was AC (not plus) and home milled hard red wheat....See MoreI think I'm giving up sourdough . . .
Comments (4)Freezing doesn't completely halt it, just slows it way down. Better to freeze the whole thing, tahw and feed the whole thing to use, then divide off a piece to freeze anew. Drying make it dormant, but you still need to keep it in the fridge. If your starter is thick, thin it with water to paint consistency, then use a pastry brush to paint it on a piece of parchment. When it's dry, crumple it over a tray, and make a cone to funnel it into your jar. The tray is to catch clean any that escapes. Store in fridge. You can also do semi-dry, where you use less than half your usual amount of water to make a crumbly clay, to keep in a jar in the fridge. That won't need feeding more than once or twice a year but revives fast....See MoreQuestion for Sourdough Bakers
Comments (11)I never put sourdough in a dutch oven. You need that for ultra high hydration dough because it’s goop that won't hold its shape. Your starter is ready to use if it will double in size, after feeding, reliably within eight hours and hold its top height for several hours. You might get a decent loaf before then, but you might have trouble. i posted my easiest, most reliable recipe, along with other things, in this thread: https://www.gardenweb.com/discussions/5924521/fun-with-sourdough. Do a protein wash (egg or milk) for prettier crust, and don't forget to slash the surface to control the let out of steam, preventing cracking. Any recipe where you feed up a potion of your starter, and let it get all bubbly, then add flour, water and salt, should give you good bread. A smaller proportion of water to flour will keep it out of the pot. BTW, if you're not trying to make high hydration “artisan” bread, but your dough is too wet to stand, you can bake it off in any vessel, such as a saucepan, springform or bowl. Clay works if you don't want to use metal. Good luck!...See Moreritaweeda
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