Sorry, missed the “one day to go to the Great British Bake Off” post as nothing much was happening with the 1857 sourdough. It sat around all day – a pre-dough fermenting quietly away developing flavour and becoming easier and easier to digest.
Last night I added 830 grams of white wheat flour, 50 g of whole rye flour, 430 g of water, 25 g of salt and 50 g of honey for fun, and then I kneaded it and it did a four hour bulk fermentation with plenty of stretching and folding. Finally it was shaped into tight balls and popped into baskets to hang out over night. This morning – voila – risen to the top of the baskets and ready for the oven.
Now, I have a PANTS gas oven in Mexico city which does not get very hot and does not stay very hot and does not brown anything on top and burns things on the bottom….sigh. But that’s what was on offer this morning as I was not in the bakery. So, after about 90 years of waiting for the oven to get hot, in it went with the characteristic V slashes (V for Virtuous Bread don’t you know) on the top.
Of course it did not have a great oven spring. Of course it just went wonky because that’s what happens in a PANTS oven. But it’s lovely, it’s mine and it’s another miracle of the 1857 sourdough. A three day bread for the Great British Bake Off.
Take that Beaver from the West. It may be ugly but as we know: Even if it’s ugly it’s good toasted. Want to learn more about baking bread and sourdough baking? Click here to take a course with us.
