Sourdough Part 17

[Steffos666]

The verdict? Possibly one of the best so far. Even has a slight hint of that sourdough flavour too. Cooked all the way through and has a decent structure to it too.

as we had hot weather and 28°C in the kitchen i didnt want to bake bread.

Now my sourdough died because I was too lazy to feed the starter

but well sad story is short because I already got a new starter running already

at first it smelled really awful and I thought I had to make another one(now it smells somewhat right). I already saw airbubbles after 12 hours - that also was astonishing how it could grow so quick.

I now tried a lot of bakeries to find some sourdough bread but I just dont like them.

Now my wife is happy to hear that I finally start baking again

 

[glenwilson]

We have found two sourdoughs that we like. One is 500gm for €/£2 and the other is a 800gm sliced one that is €/£4. Both have a flavour similar to the bread you can get in California. The one I make is about £0.35 and a bread machine loaf is probably about £0.55 (including the cost of the machine). I know it isn't about cost but the bread you can get here for about £0,60 is bland and tasteless.

I am really glad that I had another go at sourdough. Like everything it can take practice and learning what to do. Yes, it isn't as easy as dumping ingredients into a machine but it is satisfying making something tasty out of just flour and water.

It is fascinating watching the starter react when you feed it.

 

[Steffos666]

We have found two sourdoughs that we like. One is 500gm for €/£2 and the other is a 800gm sliced one that is €/£4. Both have a flavour similar to the bread you can get in California. The one I make is about £0.35 and a bread machine loaf is probably about £0.55 (including the cost of the machine). I know it isn't about cost but the bread you can get here for about £0,60 is bland and tasteless.

I am really glad that I had another go at sourdough. Like everything it can take practice and learning what to do. Yes, it isn't as easy as dumping ingredients into a machine but it is satisfying making something tasty out of just flour and water.

It is fascinating watching the starter react when you feed it.

Well in our world of direct positive response everytime we want it, it's a lesson in patience and I learned a lot about dough in that time.

We now got a decent sourdough bread(400g) for 4 euros and goddamn is that expensive well but we know the work put into it and the bakery has to pay rent for a shop in the mid of Köln

I just think that there may be culture difference between franconia and the rhineland. Sourdough flavor is not wanted in bread here
People who eat their minced pork without seasoning it cannot be trusted.

Feeding my starter since saturday I believe and im astonished that its already ready today Thats how much expectations change - first time i made it I baked after 3 days with a very weak starter and couldnt wait for it
(feeding it until friday just to be sure!)


bubble look bigger in RL

 

[glenwilson]

That looks really nice. It definitely is a learning process that you need to workout what you did wrong and make a change. Not too often we get an inedible brick now.

We try and bake a variety of bread, white, half whole meal, full whole meal and now decent sourdough. Aldi do a "German" type of loaf for €/£2 which isn't too bad. When we have the German market in Edinburgh the bread there is €/£4 but is much better than the Aldi version and worth the cost. It freezes really well too.

The link below shows the supermarket price for a bland sandwich loaf. Would rather have the 'hassle' of making our own than have that tasteless stuff.

https://www.tesco.com/groceries/en-GB/search?query=sliced%20bread

 

[Steffos666]

That looks really nice. It definitely is a learning process that you need to workout what you did wrong and make a change. Not too often we get an inedible brick now.

We try and bake a variety of bread, white, half whole meal, full whole meal and now decent sourdough. Aldi do a "German" type of loaf for €/£2 which isn't too bad. When we have the German market in Edinburgh the bread there is €/£4 but is much better than the Aldi version and worth the cost. It freezes really well too.

The link below shows the supermarket price for a bland sandwich loaf. Would rather have the 'hassle' of making our own than have that tasteless stuff.

https://www.tesco.com/groceries/en-GB/search?query=sliced%20bread

most importantly it doesnt smell like compost anymore

Never bothered with full whole meal in the past but the lady likes it - Even the local organic supermarket uses a lot of sugar and white wheat for it. Not unhealthy but dishonest in my opinion.

 

[Steffos666]

Quick update

made my next breads last week and wanted to make a cake afterwards...
Destroyed the oven and had to take the cake into the freezer

The heating unit in the bottom ähm äh it was melted into the insulation

But short story long it is already fixed and gladly it was no new oven necessary( well would have been nice to have induction on the top but thats not really worth it with an 6 year old oven)

 

[glenwilson]

Repairs like that can be a relatively easy fix and saves lots og €s

 

[glenwilson]

Latest sourdough effort. Been gradually adjusting the water/flour balance and think I have it about right now. Also used some spelt flour in this one. Tastes great.

 

[Steffos666]

Looks good

Im baking one bread every 2 to 3 weeks at the moment 80% spelt 20% rye. Maybe this weekend I'll make 80%rye bread again. In Octobre I visited my parents and got 10kg of grain to have enough when its getting rare again. Though nobody wanted whole grain in the last lockdown anyways.

 

[glenwilson]

I am doing one about every 10 days. Flour in general is OK but stuff like spelt is still quite rare and very expensive. Was very pleased with this loaf, glad I tried again with sourdough. That would cost about €5 here yet cost about €0.4 in ingredients.

 

[glenwilson]

Latest effort. Thanks for the encouraging me to try again, it has been worth it.

 

[glenwilson]

Yet another effort. This one is 50% rye and 50% white flours. Did try a 100% rye last week but I didn't add enough water. Was too dry and stodgy but did taste fine so when we can next get some rye I will do another 100% one. Even with this 50% version I had to use about 50% more water to get a decent dough.

 

[glenwilson]

So started a new starter about a month ago. Seems to be really active and is working really well. This monster is just a white loaf as we had some full rye and wholemeal loaves.

 

[Steffos666]

This is mine from yesterday already halfway eaten. Im boring its the same 80% rye as almost always

 

[glenwilson]

That isn't boring, you do what you like. That looks really good though. Sounds like an insult but that looks as good as what we got from bakers when on holiday.

 

[glenwilson]

Usual Sunday sourdough. Gradually getting the recipe right for the flour, water, starter ratio.

 

[lakaelo]

Usual Sunday sourdough. Gradually getting the recipe right for the flour, water, starter ratio.

View attachment 13592

looking nice. could be a bit "browner and more crust" but that is moaning on a high level lol

 

[glenwilson]

looking nice. could be a bit "browner and more crust" but that is moaning on a high level lol

Only used white flour so that explains the colour. Not a great fan of crusty bread so deliberately do it at 180C and then check the internal temp reaches 70C to make sure it is cooked through.

 

[Lady_Musketeer_GER]

Glen, this loaf of bread looks gorgeous.
I bet it tastes as good as it looks.

 

[glenwilson]

It does! For something that is really just flour and water it really good. Cost about 30p to make yet "artisan" bread in some of the shops that look similar and don't taste as good are about £4! Really glad I tried again. The current starter is so active that it was escaping the jar in the fridge!