I have made KyleW's Barm Starter that he so kindly provided in another thread. Followed directions carefully, and it did just exactly what he said it would do right down the line. Bubbly, slight vinegar odor, expands, even in the refrigerator!
So finally the day arrived when it was time to make the bread. 2 1/2 cups of unbleached bread flour, 1 1/2 cups of cool water, 1 cup of starter. I had to add much more flour as my mixture was pretty "loose". I messed up a little, in that I accidentally added the 2 tsp of salt right away. I'm assuming that is why the bread didn't rise a whole lot. However, I went ahead and retarded it for 24 hours in a basket in the refrigerator. Carefully extracted it onto a cornmeal dusted peel. Put it into the 550 F oven, lowered the temp to 450 and baked it for approximately 40 minutes. Got a nice crispy crust. The "razor cut" down the middle spread out about 2", and the loaf rose a bit in the oven to a maximum height of about 3".
There are nice air holes in the bread varying in size from small to about marble size. The taste is extraordinary. Has a great crumb color. And the starter, all by itself in the refrigerator, has already compensated for the missing 1 cup, and rose again almost to the top of the 1 gallon glass jar in which it resides.
I am pleased. Thank you KyleW. I intend to work with this again soon, as this loaf will not last for more than a day at best!
Just curious, has anyone ever taken the dough and put it into a good bread machine? I noticed my Zojirushi has a "Sourdough Starter" selection on it, and therefore assume it can bake sourdough bread. I would find it exceptionally hard to believe the machine could produce anywhere near the type of loaf I got out of the oven!
doc
So finally the day arrived when it was time to make the bread. 2 1/2 cups of unbleached bread flour, 1 1/2 cups of cool water, 1 cup of starter. I had to add much more flour as my mixture was pretty "loose". I messed up a little, in that I accidentally added the 2 tsp of salt right away. I'm assuming that is why the bread didn't rise a whole lot. However, I went ahead and retarded it for 24 hours in a basket in the refrigerator. Carefully extracted it onto a cornmeal dusted peel. Put it into the 550 F oven, lowered the temp to 450 and baked it for approximately 40 minutes. Got a nice crispy crust. The "razor cut" down the middle spread out about 2", and the loaf rose a bit in the oven to a maximum height of about 3".
There are nice air holes in the bread varying in size from small to about marble size. The taste is extraordinary. Has a great crumb color. And the starter, all by itself in the refrigerator, has already compensated for the missing 1 cup, and rose again almost to the top of the 1 gallon glass jar in which it resides.
I am pleased. Thank you KyleW. I intend to work with this again soon, as this loaf will not last for more than a day at best!
Just curious, has anyone ever taken the dough and put it into a good bread machine? I noticed my Zojirushi has a "Sourdough Starter" selection on it, and therefore assume it can bake sourdough bread. I would find it exceptionally hard to believe the machine could produce anywhere near the type of loaf I got out of the oven!
doc
