This Monday, I've made a second try, the result is above:)
I was asked why I keep my starter in the fridge, the reason is that I went away for a week and that's the recommendation they give on one of the websites I linked to. Anyway, staying in the fridge didn't cause my starter any harm, quite the opposite - it was much more bubbly and smelled more sour, if you know what I mean:)
This time I simplified the process as follows: I didn't make any leaven, just put the starter in a clean container, fed it and let stand at the room temperature for a day. The I used the half of it for my next loaf, the rest went into the fridge again.
I loosely followed the instructions by Clever carrot and added olive oil, but less flour than he called for. I also only used normal wheat flour, a mixture of white and whole grain. I let the dough rise overnight and it rose quite well, but after I shaped the loaf it deflated and stayed pretty much deflated even after an hour or so when I put it in the oven. I have come to the conclusion that next time, I'll let it rise until it doubles or close to it.
As a result, even though I find that my second loaf tastes much better than my first one, it's still quite stodgy inside:
I also discovered that it tastes much better the day it was baked than afterwards and doesn't keep that well. Also, Housewife Outdoors, thanks for the baking tip, I baked it on a tray this time with some water in a bowl for moisture. It's much more convenient (and less dangerous:) to bake it like this!
If you make it wit rye (or buckwheat) flour only, it will only get better when it gets older. It is actually pretty harsh on your stomach if you eat it fresh.
ReplyDeleteIn some parts of Finland people used to bake sourdough bread only twice a year. It was made of rye flour and they made huge amount of it. The breads had holes in the middle like donuts and they were hanged from the cealing. Obvilously they tried and stayed good for months and months.
Like this:
https://www.ideakeittio.fi/sites/default/files/styles/recipe-show/public/recipes/Varpulan-ruisleipa.jpg?itok=4s-jZBa_
What they did with starter: well, the dough was made in huge wooden trough (kind of a tub) and the trough was never washed. They left some dough in it and let it dry. In old houses people could use the same starter for centuries.
I have also read that people actually had quite good teeth because they ate so hard bread and obviously there was no sugar. Old people's teeth might be worn out, but they had no cavities.
Housewife, what a cool picture:)
ReplyDeleteYes, I'd like to try baking rye bread, too, but since they don't sell rye flour in the supermarket, I'll have to go to the mill and I just haven't had time so far. It's not exactly in the part of the city that I visit regularly...
I know about fresh bread being hard on your stomach but when mine was fresh I could hardly stop eating small pieces of it, it tasted so good:) After a couple of days, it's definitely hard. I've just eaten the last of it and started working on loaf no3.