October 26, 2008 - 7:17pm
Susan's Sourdough
Susan's Sourdough
Susan's Sourdough
The sourdough bread recipe from SusanFNP is wonderful.
These bâtards were made with 10% Giusto's whole rye flour and 90% Giusto's high-gluten flour. The starter had been last refreshed 2 days before mixing. This resulted in a 6 hour fermentation. The formed loaves were allowed to proof for 1 hour then refrigerated overnight. They then proofed for 4 hours more before baking. I baked them on a stone, under a disposable aluminum roasting pan for 10 minutes at 480F, then uncovered for another 15 minutes at 460F.
Crunchy crust. Chewy crumb. Moderately sour, delicious flavor.
David
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You did a great job. They look delicious.
Susan from San Diego
David
Lovely bread and some nice scoring...
Both loves were scored the same way. That was the theory, anyway. The exhuberant bloom obliterated the separation between the cuts in the loaf on the right.
But, you know, they both taste great.
David
David, those look wonderful! Now what is your starter?
Eli
Hi, Eli.
My starter is 1:3:4 (starter:water:flour). The flour with which it's fed is 70:30:10 (AP:WW:Rye). I absolutely love this method.
I find this starter is very forgiving of my inconsistant, neglectful ways. It comes alive with one feeding after 2-3 weeks in the frige. It raises dough after not being fed for 2-3 days. The bread always tastes good - usually better than good.
This is not to say it is masochistic, or anything. It does okay with conscientious care, too. At least, I think it does. Hmmm ... I think it was back in '05 I fed it twice in the same week. It survived.
But, I'm a terrible role model. So, pay me no mind.
David
Beautiful loaves.... of course!
The obvious question coming from me is, How does it compare with your with your Pain de Campagne? Are the differences so noticeable than you would prefer one over the other for certain meals, etc? Or differences in crust and crumb? It's amazing how so small tweaks to a recipe can change so much.
Jane
The flavor is very similar to the pain de campagne. The hydration is lower. I used the "French fold" rather than in the bowl kneading. I retarded the formed loaves.
The crust was crunchier and the crumb less open. The flavor was more sour. I prefer whichever one is just baked.
As you say, "small tweaks" do make a difference.
David
I mean, you crank out the most handsome loaves at will... Impressive looking bread!
A quick question about the 4 hour proof between fridge and oven: Have you tried pulling the finished loaves directly from the fridge into the oven? If I'm not mistaken, in "Bread" Hamelman suggests to simply put them straight into the oven, to prevent any over proofing. It would be interesting to see if this "thawing" step has any influence on the final volume.
Congratulations on the mighty bread :-)
Cold retarding right after forming the loaves and proofing just before baking versus retarding after fully proofing and baking right out of the refrigerator: Do they give different results?
I really don't know. Do you?
The reason for the 4 hour proofing about which you ask is that the bread was refrigerated before it fully proofed, and not much rise occured in the refrigerator.
It's interesting that Peter Reinhart has recipes for his "San Francisco Sourdough" in both "Crust and Crumb" and in "Bread Baker's Apprentice." In "C&C," he has you proof before retarding. In "BBA," he proofs after retarding.
In fact, I was thinking of trying fully proofing before retardation next time I bake this bread. My reason is simply convenience. With this method, I would have time to bake the bread in the evening after work.
David
Very nice David. That combination of AP and rye is my favorite also. That must be a big roasting pan to get them both under cover.
Eric
Actually, I used high-gluten flour (Giusto's Ultimate Performance) and rye.
The roasting pan is rather large. It barely fits on my stone, which is 16 inches wide. It's meant for roasting a turkey, I think. It is about 12x16x4 inches, but I haven't actually measured it. The two loaves fit under it nicely. The fact that the sidewalls were as firm as the tops suggests the loaves were sufficiently far apart.
David
Look at those bubbles all rising to escape. I too like to make this bread with rye and sometimes with spelt, they're all good. Susan gave us a winner.
Did you just double the recipe or did you more than double it? The loaves look big. I use a large foil pan as a cover. I turned the edges of the pan up so that gave a little more height. I fiddle with it so that it sits inside the edges of the cookie sheet I'm baking on and it's a pretty good seal. It's the best I can do till Eric starts selling us lids he's manufactured for our use. :) weavershouse
The loaves were about 490 gms each. Not so big, really. The recipe was based on 500 gms of flour.
Now, I do recall Eric talking about having a cover custom made for him. I didn't know he was going into the business! Is he taking orders?
Eric??
David
I haven't done that yet but I didn't forget. I have the design and just need to find the time to scout out a sheet metal shop with a sense of humor.
Eric
Hi David,
As you write, retarding makes bread baking fit more easily into a hectic schedule!
David,
I only hope someday I can make loaves that perfect!
T
I'm glad you liked how the loaves looked. But perfection is like the horizon. As you travel, it recedes.
I can't believe how much I've learned from other bakers on TFL, reading and re-reading bread books and making lots and lots of breads, always working on techniques.
I'm confident you will find the same. Keep baking!
David
her recipe is also on her blog
http://www.wildyeastblog.com/2007/07/08/my-new-favorite-sourdough/