Author Archives: Jim Hayden

Creating a Sourdough Starter (Part 1)

I’ve had a number of folks ask “How do you create a sourdough starter?” I thought it might be fun to create a new starter and document the process. You can follow along with this thread and start your own if you so desire. There are many ways to create a sourdough starter….this is oneContinue reading “Creating a Sourdough Starter (Part 1)”

My Baking Implements

Previously I posted about my “Most Important Baking Implement“. I had someone ask me the other day “What’s a Dutch Oven?”. That made me think that maybe it would be helpful for me to write a post about what my other baking implements happen to be. This post will list my baking implements. I won’tContinue reading “My Baking Implements”

“Expected” (Anticipated?) Results

It is amazing how one little change can yield a different result. As you may be aware, on my last Sourdough Batard bake I decided to throw a couple ice cubes into my Dutch Ovens to “aid” in the steaming of my crust. That choice DID NOT yield the results I expected. You can seeContinue reading ““Expected” (Anticipated?) Results”

Unexpected Results

On my last post I described how I take copious notes and document so that I can learn. Well…. Here’s an example of what I mean. Same Recipe and Method. Same Dutch Ovens. Same temps and timing. The ONLY change is that I threw in a couple ice cubes into the Dutch Oven as IContinue reading “Unexpected Results”

My Sourdough Bread Visual Observation

Earlier I mentioned that I took copious notes and that my “Pencil” (or computer) was My Most Important Baking Implement. My baking notes cover three basic areas: recipes, methods and results. My intent is to connect the outcomes (results) to what I did upstream in my bakes (recipe and method). Understanding how variables in theContinue reading “My Sourdough Bread Visual Observation”

Basic Sourdough

Here is the basic recipe and method that I’ve developed to this point. It started out as a derivative of Paul Hollywood’s recipe for Basic Sourdough in his book How To Bake. INGREDIENTS Bread Flour 750g (I use #KingArthurBreadCompany, Sir Lancelot 14.2% Protein) Water, Filtered 440ml Levain, 500g, 100% Hydration Sea Salt, 18g The aboveContinue reading “Basic Sourdough”

Feeding Cold Starter

Before COVID-19 I traveled extensively for my job and wasn’t in a position to feed my starter every day. I came across #BakeWithJack and started watching his videos on bread making. Episode 71: SOURDOUGH – The Scrapings Method, No Waste, No Discard describe a method that I’ve been using (modified) since. The method involves leavingContinue reading “Feeding Cold Starter”

My Most Important Baking Implement

So I’ve a question… “What do you think is my most important baking implement?” I’ve asked that particular question to a number of folks over the years and I’ve heard answers from my convection oven, my mixer, dutch ovens, various pans or knives. All of these answers, while important to me are not the oneContinue reading “My Most Important Baking Implement”

Feeding Your Sourdough Starter

One of the things I’ve found out about sourdough and baking is that there is a cadence and rhythm to baking. One of those cadence and rhythms is the feeding of my sourdough starter each morning. Here’s how I maintain my starter. First I remove about 100g of starter from my crock. I do thisContinue reading “Feeding Your Sourdough Starter”