My 1st Sourdough Loaf

I made my first loaf of sourdough bread today.  3 lb. and 7 oz. worth!

I bought the dried starter from the Wilbourne  group and revived it over the last week.  It turned out to be very active and I was so pleased to see that this giant loaf actually rose and had good oven spring.

The taste is wonderful with a very mild sourness and chewy crust.

I followed the Wilbourne directions up to baking and then used the No Preheat method and it worked great.  I put 1/2 cup of water in the bottom of a broiler pan on the shelf below the bread.  

I baked 30 min. at 450, 10 min. at 400 and 12 min. at 375.  I reduced heat as the loaf was so big I didn't want the crust to over brown before the inside was done.  An instant read thermometer read 197 degrees.

BTW, this site has really been the catalyst to activate my baking interest.  It's a lot of fun to read the recipes, techniques and look at the pictures here. 

1st SD loaf