Cooking
sourdough sponge
I tried to make sourdough bread again last weekend. I had better luck with the sponge this time, but that was it for the good news. I repeated a mistake from last time – I started too early in the day. I did it without thinking, but then I decided that I would just let the sponge rise for a really long time (the recipe says to let the sponge rise for at least 8 hours or overnight). I got started somewhere between 10 and 11 in the morning. I checked my sponge before going to bed and it was really bubbly. I was very optimistic at that point – this was much different than last time.
In the morning I found that the sponge was still very bubbly, but that it had deflated somewhat from the previous night. The picture above was taken after I had stirred the sponge down, but even then it was bubbly.
It was downhill from there. I added more flour and some salt to make the dough and then left the dough to rise. The first rise was supposed to take an hour or an hour and a half, but I left it quite a bit longer. I checked it from time to time but there was little progress. At some point I decided to go ahead and shape the loaf and start the second rise. I tried putting it in a slightly warm oven, but it did nothing. I let it go for several hours, but there was no sign of life. I decided not to bother with baking it.
I’m going to give it one more shot – I’ll let the sponge rise for 12 hours or so and see how it does. I’m also tempted to try it without the salt. After that, unless I get a decent loaf of bread, I think I’ll be tossing the starter – either that or start charging it room and board.
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Cooking
Strike two!
sourdough sponge
I tried to make sourdough bread again last weekend. I had better luck with the sponge this time, but that was it for the good news. I repeated a mistake from last time – I started too early in the day. I did it without thinking, but then I decided that I would just let the sponge rise for a really long time (the recipe says to let the sponge rise for at least 8 hours or overnight). I got started somewhere between 10 and 11 in the morning. I checked my sponge before going to bed and it was really bubbly. I was very optimistic at that point – this was much different than last time.
In the morning I found that the sponge was still very bubbly, but that it had deflated somewhat from the previous night. The picture above was taken after I had stirred the sponge down, but even then it was bubbly.
It was downhill from there. I added more flour and some salt to make the dough and then left the dough to rise. The first rise was supposed to take an hour or an hour and a half, but I left it quite a bit longer. I checked it from time to time but there was little progress. At some point I decided to go ahead and shape the loaf and start the second rise. I tried putting it in a slightly warm oven, but it did nothing. I let it go for several hours, but there was no sign of life. I decided not to bother with baking it.
I’m going to give it one more shot – I’ll let the sponge rise for 12 hours or so and see how it does. I’m also tempted to try it without the salt. After that, unless I get a decent loaf of bread, I think I’ll be tossing the starter – either that or start charging it room and board.
- Wartime Wednesday: Much Too Tired For Coffee Cake
The age-old dependence of man upon bread as food has not been disturbed by the most recent researches in nutrition. Indeed it is considerably strengthened. Bread is not only an inexpensive source of carbohydrates and vegetable protein but carries minerals...
- Amy, I'd Like A Word With You...
I don't know what's gotten into me, but I've been making bread. I've long had this fear of yeast, and sice Matt always made our bread, it wasn't an issue. But now, with the house eating up much of our time, and an active two-year old,...
- The Biography Of A Starter: The Proof Is In The Pudding
With my starter now alive and well, I've gone ahead and made two loaves of bread with it on two different days. It is clearly sourdough bread, though the characteristic flavor is more subtle in mine than I'm used to. If memory serves, however,...
- Cracking The Baking Books: Cracked Wheat Rolls
.flickr-photo { border: solid 2px #000000; }.flickr-yourcomment { }.flickr-frame { text-align: left; padding: 3px; }.flickr-caption { font-size: 0.8em; margin-top: 0px; } Bread books. I have, oh plenty. There's the old time favorite, Bread Book,...
- Dining With The Bloggers - February 9th.
It's dinner-time! Or rather, it's baking time this time around, as Cathy's done a couple of rolls and a toaster oat bread, and I tried my hand at TinyFork's Bialys. I had no idea what Bialys was - I'm not even sure I do now I've...