Careful monitoring, rather than a more or less casual approach, of the bulk ferment reaching the doubling of volume has proved to be a sound reason to eliminate a fault in my process. That also means that it's time to go back to study shaping methods and proofing. Practice, practice, practice....
The first loaf was a 1-2-3 loaf where 16% of the the total flour was a blend of white whole wheat and rye. The second loaf has a 20% blend and had five grams of wheat bran in the starter just for fun. The second loaf definitely has the better flavor.
Starter
The starter was built in two stages with Wheat Montana Natural White AP, adding the bran in the first stage to soften the rough edges. I wanted to see if it would make any difference in the speed of the growth due to the additional wild yeast spoors. I couldn't tell that the bran improved the growth speed but that won't stop me from trying again and with more bran. My hydration level on this loaf was just a bit higher this time to adjust to the changing seasonal "thirstiness" of the flour.
120 g at 100% hydration
Main Dough
264 g Dakota Maid Bread Flour
44 g WM Prairie Gold White Whole
Wheat Flour
22 g Rye Flour
220 g water at 85F
8 g kosher salt
The local area here on the Middle Coast had its first snowfall on 15 October and there is a rumor of more to come in the forecast for this week. The hackberry and oak trees in the front yard are shedding and I can't keep up. It doesn't help that a maple tree in the neighboring yard is contributing as well. At best, I have an excuse to bring out the electric leaf blower to save myself from raking.
It's almost time for my annual garlic planting ritual. There's enough area in the garden that has been cleaned out but just out of habit I'll clean some more weeds out and get a bale of straw for mulching the garlic planting. I'm not superstitious enough to think that the very woolly caterpillar I saw has any significant meaning but after three winters in a row where there haven't been any significant snow events, I can't see anything wrong with being prepared.
Besides that, I've seen some juncos, AKA snowbirds, around my feeders. They're probably the scouting team of males that precede larger groups.Getting another "squirrel proof" feeder isn't a bad idea either. The usual suspects of the bird world have returned after scavenging in the recently harvested fields in our area.
Comments, humor, and questions are welcome.
