This weeks PoTW comes courtesy of our prolific bread baking as of late. Emmett was watching me knead the dough and asked if he could participate. I gave him a little piece of dough and showed him how to knead it. He very dutifully began to knead his little dough ball. Soon, he’ll be able to participate more fully in our cooking/baking because we’ve ordered this:
It’s a wooden tower that allows a child to come up to counter level without the worry of falling down or escaping. We’ll see how well it works. Should be here next week!
This week’s PoTW comes as a result of all the baking that was done this week. Emmett has been fortunate enough to enjoy the fruits of his dad’s labor. He’s even learned the sign for bread, and uses it quite frequently whenever we go over to where the bread is sliced and warmed in the toaster.
For a complete blow by blow of our bread making bonanza, head on over to the EcoWongs. And if you would like some sourdough starter, please feel free to ask via comment on this blog or on the other.
I’ve been baking a lot of bread lately, and I decided that it was high time that I had my own starter. Having a wild yeast strain grown from the air would allow me to save money on buying dried yeast and will ultimately make for tastier bread. I’m following the instructions for a Sourdough Starter in The Cheeseboard: Collective Works.
You start with 3/4 cup rye flour and 1/2 cup cool water
Day 1
After 48 hours, the yeast has begun to form:
Day 3
Add 2/3 cup of bread flour (I used King Arthur All Purpose White), and let it sit for another 48 hours
Day 5
On Day 5, remove 1/4 cup of the starter and discard the rest (we tried to make bread from the remainder, with mixed results). Add 1/2 cup of water and another 2/3 cup of bread flour. Cover and let sit for another 48 hours.
Here’s the bread we tried to make from our “discarded” starter:
It looks good on the outside, but the inside had not risen and the bread was too dense to bake properly.
Day 7
On day 7, repeat steps from day 5. From here on out, reserve 1/4 of the starter for future use, and use the rest for your recipe. Feed the reserved portion as per day 5 instructions.
Day 9
Day 11: You can really see the yeast working!
We tried again to make some bread from the Day 11 starter, but it still ended up a little flat:
We split the dough and made two loaves
The crust was good, but there wasn't enough air inside to make a good crumb. I guess the yeast didn't have enough rising power yet. It's also been cold here, so the yeast might have never "woken" up.
A couple days later, we tried again, using King Arthur’s recipe for Pain Au Levain, and we let it rise overnight. Whoah, nellie.
It's ALIVE! It's ALIIIIIVE!
The finished product!
It's HUUUGE.
First Slice!
First Bite!
The crumb is much lighter and airy on this loaf than the rest. The yeast is finally doing its job.
Success!
From here, we are going to try Sourdough Pancakes, maybe some Sourdough Baguettes. The sky’s the limit!
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