This bread was made using a week-old starter, one that has to be fed at least thrice a day. But the bread it yields makes it worth all that extra effort.
This loaf was my first experiment with the new starter. It had:
300 g flour
300g wholewheat flour
60 g starter
540 ml water (90%)
9 g salt
I added all the water to the flour and let it autolyse, covered, for 2 hours (my computer has shown its disgust with a red line below autolyse and no suggestions).
I then added the starter and kneaded the slack aromatic dough by hand for about 10 minutes. When I had two rippling biceps and dough that could be stretched thin enough to let light through, it was time to stop (not that I could have gone on anyway, with my arms practically on strike). I added the salt at this stage, and persuaded my arms to knead it in.
The dough lay balled up in its bowl and snoozed. I was ready for the usual 6-8 hours of rising time, but it took no more than 3 hours.
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Do you see a chubby face in the loaf? I do, but it could just be love :) |
In ten minutes, the oven spring was greater than I had ever achieved before. In 50 minutes, it was done.
I realised too late that I had forgotten to score the dough, and the finished loaf had cracks and tears all over.
As for taste, I needn't have worried about lack of flavour.
My next loaf will have 10 g of salt instead of 9, but other than that, we're good.
And yes, the new starter has been christened. It is called Joy.
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A couple of slices off the side, and the crack in my camera lens making its presence felt. |
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