Tag Archives: Experiment

Trying a new method… (Part 1)

I’m trying a new method to increase the volume of dough mixed at the same time. I started with 1500g of strong bread flour (King Arthur Sir Lancelot) and 1275g water (85% hydration). I mixed it up with my Swedish Dough hook and left it to autolyse for 2 hours. Normally I mix with myContinue reading “Trying a new method… (Part 1)”

Sourdough Discard Sandwich Bread

I’m always on the prowl for ways to use my sourdough starter discard. I saw a recipe from http://shebakesourdough that had some wonderful looking sandwich bread. Thought I’d give it a go! RECIPE 200g Bread Flour 50g Whole Wheat Flour 200g Sourdough Starter Discard (2-3 days old) 100g Milk 20g Heavy Cream 30g Sugar 7gContinue reading “Sourdough Discard Sandwich Bread”

Sourdough Croissant Observations

This morning I cut into a croissant that I baked yesterday afternoon (and ate it soon afterwards!) I’ve been trying my best to see what I can do to affect the cross-section crumb to get the “honeycomb” I see mores skilled bakers attain. On this last bake I had played with my lock-in technique. AndContinue reading “Sourdough Croissant Observations”

Technique Tweak Wasn’t a Fluke!

I was able to recreate similar oven bloom results applying the tweaks to my feeding and autolyse methods. The results from my experiment were NOT a fluke! Yay!! I’m pleased with these results and will continue to use them going forward as my “standard method”. Always learning…

Sourdough Experiment (Part 2)

Whoa! Nice oven spring!! I am VERY pleased with these results! I took the dough out of fridge at 8am, divided it and pre-shaped into rounds. Bench-rested for an hour covered with a towel before final shaping and then placing into bannetons. I then put the loaves into my proving box for another 1.5 hoursContinue reading “Sourdough Experiment (Part 2)”

Sourdough Experiment (Part 1)

I’m continuing to experiment and tweak my technique. Lately I’ve been wondering about the oven spring and how my technique early on in my bakes are affecting my end results. Tweak #1: Starter Feeding I typically bake sourdough bread once a week. Pre-COVID-19 I traveled for work Monday – Thursday. I would store my starterContinue reading “Sourdough Experiment (Part 1)”

Sourdough Boules

Just finished baking some sourdough boules. This week I was playing with my bulk ferment, shaping and final proving to test some limits. Bulk ferment I pushed to 36+ hours. I divided and shaped into balls and bench rested for an hour. I then shaped into boules and proved at room temperature (72°F) for 2Continue reading “Sourdough Boules”

Sourdough Rye Loaf

Thought I’d try a Sourdough Rye loaf. My inspiration was watching a new bread baking #MasterClass featuring Apollonia Poilâne I’ve never made sourdough Rye bread before. Didn’t actually know what to expect. By my calculations the hydration of this dough is roughly 76%. I followed her recipe in the class cookbook I downloaded. The ryeContinue reading “Sourdough Rye Loaf”