More bread experiments

[trystinn]

Another 70 degree day, so very glad the heat broke yesterday. The late afternoon sun nicely warms up the kitchen, so I'm taking advantage of the warmth to bake bread. I have a nice sponge (ala "Tassajara Bread Book") on its 2nd rise on the counter. Sponge isn't my favorite method of bread baking, but it is quick and folks have complimented so often on the sponge loaves I have to keep it in my repertoire. I'm rather more partial to Focaccia, beer bread and Sourdough, personally.

I'm keeping a careful diary of the bread making, so I can track what works best in what conditions. Consider it OCD bread baking, I guess. So far, so good. Finally managed to find a decent oven thermometer, definitely does help - my electric oven appears to run about 20 degrees cooler than it reports. Technology. Blah.

Plans are to go to the Harry Potter movie tonight, but given these plans are with Deb I'm thinking its probably 50/50 chance of a rain check.

Comments

[wild-heart.livejournal.com]

Once you've gotten a few years' worth of notes in that notebook, you should write a breadbaking book! I'm sure your attention to detail will be useful.

I've got Alton Brown's pizza dough in the fridge and am planning on feeding my sourdough starter tonight so I can bake tomorrow. So what if it's going to be in the upper 80s? I'm in the mood for BREAD.

[winterlion.livejournal.com]

What do you not like about the sponge technique? I've been using it for a while and have been fond of it.

I'm curious :)
(my fav's sourdough actually but I still haven't started a new starter. Looks like I can in about two weeks though once I get back from a trip)

... and any beer bread suggestions? That's one field I'm very very uninformed, coming from a family of teatotallers.

[wild-heart.livejournal.com]

Speaking of bread . . .

I've had my second-in-a-row sourdough disaster. It bubbles in the crock, bubbles in the bowl, rises for the first rise, then . . . when I shape the loaves it just slumps and refuses to rise again.

I'm wondering if my starter is contaminated.

I'm also wondering why I thought it was a good idea to do this on a hot summer day (although the kitchen temp was just about perfect for dough rising).

[tryst-inn.livejournal.com]

Oh no! What a mystery, I've a ton in my freezer if you think it has been contaminated. Lemme know.

I'm probably due a few sourdough loaves, as the sponge really needs decent loaf pans - and I've only mini-loaf pans.