Since returning home from vacation, my bread has been less then good. After making a vain attempt to make decent bread in Turkey with strangely un-absorbing flour and the dreaded commercial yeast anyone experienced sourdough baker avoids,(usually?), the results of baking bad bread has fermented into an irritating brew in my head. Try as I might, all of my attempts have failed. The loaves have sucked! I am in a funk, my ying and yang are off, my chakras are not in tune, as this baker has repeatedly failed to simply bake a nice loaf.
After a week of prepping for a tasting for my club's board members, I tried again. And again, I found myself in a rush. When would I be able to bake and enjoy a decent homemade loaf? I wasn't about to buy one, or let my wife purchase a store packaged bread. I found myself eating crackers this morning, waiting impatiently as my loaf took its sweet time to rise. Time was short. I had to get to work. I was impatient and found myself repeatedly touching the loaf for signs of life!
Even with the convenience of retarding a loaf, overnight, I felt at the mercy of the sourdough. Sometimes the change of weather can screw things up. Cooler air, global warming, blame it on someone else. In truth, I was just being lazy, hoping for miracles. That's what I think it is, preparation, feeding my friend, my levain, taking time... and what's my point? Take a deep breath, follow the rules and sometimes instinct. Most of all, listen to your dough. It will tell you everything. What else? Take notes. Maybe even take the temperature. Just don't get lazy, as it makes for a crappy loaf and some hungry family and friends!
This was my breakout loaf, inspired and based on MC's Valentine miche. I didn't have any high extraction flour, so I subbed 20 percent white whole wheat flour, and for the rest all purpose and bread flour in the final mix. Tastes good, but I know the next try will be better. I'm getting my groove back. Thanks MC!
Take the temperature? Yes, that's what I will do.
Hi, Jeremy, your breakout loaf looks very good to me. Yesterday I made (or tried to make)a Fresh Pea and Spinach sourdough; the loaf baked into a huge pancake, ocupying my entire baking stone and the worst part of it all was that the taste was gummy! My children turned off the oven when the timer beeped (it was meant to be a reminder for me to check the oven). It looked great before it was baked, but was a disaster after!
Posted by: Shiao-Ping | September 20, 2009 at 05:18 PM
I dunno MC, seems like my bread stales pretty quickly, the levain must be tired, but it was in a good way when I returned?? All sorts of issues, I hate having to try to schedule a good, no great bread because of my work, but I will have to either do that or have horrid bread or maybe use yeast!!!!!
Posted by: Jeremy | September 20, 2009 at 01:57 PM
Wow! It sounds like you were breaded out! But the loaf looks delicious... I wish I could have a slice for breakfast as my chef is just started to perk up after its 5-week stay in the fridge. One of the main ingredients of a good bread is truly patience, isn't it?
Posted by: MC | September 20, 2009 at 09:29 AM