It goeth before a fall-
My goal; to improve upon the Sourdough No Knead ala JMonkey and Susan adding only the overnight proof in the refrigerator and hopefully improving the "nice slashing on top". The result; I managed to bake a couple of weird looking loaves with unremarkable crumb. I thought I would make two batches of no knead testing the old starter against the new starter. In my mind any differences would be incremental. Wrong.
The new rye and grapefruit culture doubled so quickly that I had to fold and form it last evening and put it into the refrigerator. The other batch was just sort of sitting there so it stayed out to ferment at room temperature overnight. This morning it still didn't look puffy so I put it into the 85 degree place. When I next checked it, it was overproofed, of course. Now I know what folks are talking about when they say their dough became soup. I poured it out onto the board and began CPR when it probably should have been DNR. About half a cup of flour and a sprinkle of instant yeast later it was formed and went into the refrigerator.
I slashed loaf one in a crosshatch as carefully as I could. Here's a pic in which it doesn't look too bad-
Sourdough NK view 1
And here is a more accurate representation-
Sourdough NK view 2
I feel lucky it didn't blow the door off the oven! For all that oven spring, the crumb is plumb unremarkable-
Sourdough NK crumb
Slicing really improved the appearance of this wacky loaf. It is soft and chewy with a crackley crust that only requires hand tools to slice! The flavor is nice and sour but not as complex as the older starter. They all say it gets better with age.
Comments
how do we live with ourselves, seeing as our standards loom so? You've got crust, character, and it tastes good, too? Gosh! In fact it looks very inviting, redivy, just the kind of white bread I like, I would have no trouble at all grabbing a piece or two. (What is the backdrop behind "door no. 3"? That looks really interesting.) Did you slash with your filet knife?, because whatever you used clearly worked.
that's the work of the filet knife, alright.
how do we live with ourselves, seeing as our standards loom so? What a poetic turn of phrase. Bread and Poetry, I shall name your cafe'.
I see now what you see in the backdrop. It resembles a wonderful Hudson Bay Blanket but it is, in truth, two kitchen towels draped over the chrome back of the espresso machine to cut the glare!
in that case, can I borrow your espresso machine?
Sure. RC just carted home another to tinker with, a full sized commercial weighing a couple hundred pounds, I'm guessing. If it's a bargain, he's all over it. The plan is to remove part of a wall to fit it into the eating area of our kitchen! We could outfit several entrepreneurs.