As usual, it's hot and humid here in Kansas in the summer. The one redeeming quality is that my sourdough starter is much more active due to warmer room temperatures, doubling in less than six hours. Bulk fermentation and proofing takes a lot more attention as well. Dry yeast loaves seem to sprint through their respective cycles as well. Maybe I do have a yeast friendly environment in my kitchen this summer. Good times for sure.
This picture is one of my standard house loaves, a 1-2-3 sourdough loaf using 15% WWW flour. During the winter and into early Spring, I had been spiking similar loaves with 1/8-1/4 tsp of IDY to move production along but this one didn't need it at all.
I baked a small boule using some KAF Artisan Flour. The flavor is very good but the pricing, $9.95 for three pounds and $121 for fifty pounds from Amazon, makes it one of those flours that aren't always going to be stocked in depth in my pantry. It handles well, if a bit sticky, at around 72% hydration.
Pre ferment/Sponge:
90 g KAF Artisan Flour
194 g water at 80F
1/4 tsp IDY
Add flour and water and stir briefly. Add the yeast to the slurry, let it hydrate or soak for a minute or two and stir again.
This picture is one of my standard house loaves, a 1-2-3 sourdough loaf using 15% WWW flour. During the winter and into early Spring, I had been spiking similar loaves with 1/8-1/4 tsp of IDY to move production along but this one didn't need it at all.
I baked a small boule using some KAF Artisan Flour. The flavor is very good but the pricing, $9.95 for three pounds and $121 for fifty pounds from Amazon, makes it one of those flours that aren't always going to be stocked in depth in my pantry. It handles well, if a bit sticky, at around 72% hydration.
90 g KAF Artisan Flour
194 g water at 80F
1/4 tsp IDY
Add flour and water and stir briefly. Add the yeast to the slurry, let it hydrate or soak for a minute or two and stir again.
Dough
180 g KAF AP
6 g salt
1/4 tsp IDY
Spoon remaining flour over the top of the slurry. On one side of the flour, add the salt and add the IDY on the other side. Cover the top of bowl and let it set at room temperature for 4-6 hours depending on room temp. When there are large cracks in the top of the flour, the original yeast has been active long enough to stir all the contents of the bowl into a shaggy mass, not leaving any dry flour. Cover the bowl and let it set for 20-45 minutes at room temperature. Lightly flour the counter and scrape the dough onto the counter. Flatten the dough into a square. The dough will be sticky. Pull each edge towards the center of the dough and fold over. Flip the dough over to the smooth side and cover with the bowl. Repeat the pulling of the dough and folding three to four times at 4-6 minute intervals, dusting the counter with flour as needed and not any more than that. The dough strength will increase with each folding. Place the dough back in the bowl or in an oiled container, cover, and bulk ferment until almost doubled in size.
Turn the dough out onto a floured counter, preshape, and cover. After resting 10 minutes, final shape and place the dough in a banneton or on a couche. Proof the loaf for about 60 minutes, slash the top, mist the slashed loaf with some water, and load onto a baking stone in an oven preheated to 450F. I usually cover my loaves with an aluminum foil roasting pan deep enough to allow for loaf expansion and use parchment paper as well. After closing the oven door, lower the temperature to 425F for 22 minutes. Remove the roasting pan and parchment paper. Turn the loaf 180 degrees and close the oven, baking another 20 minutes at 425F.
After removing the loaf from the oven, test for doneness with a thump on the bottom or a thermometer and then cool on a wire rack for at least two hours. That's the quick and dirty instructions that should get most people to the finish line. They're not original or at least I don't claim that.
If you have ADY, you can always just start your preferment by mixing the artisan flour and water, adding the same quantity of ADY to the slurry, letting it hydrate for up to ten minutes, then mixing in, and covering. When the preferment shows evidence of vigorous bubbling from yeast action, add the second 1/4 tsp of ADY, let it hydrate, add the remaining flour and salt and mix to a shaggy mass. At this shaggy mass point, follow the same steps as the IDY version. Using ADY may take a bit more time but not a significant amount.
Gardening hasn't been really rewarding. A successful garden, IMHO, is one where I can share generous amounts with family and friends I did harvest my garlic, a French strain named Music, another named Carpathian, and then there were my mongrels. The mongrels are from the largest bulbs harvested from year to year to year. I'm fortunate that I've got enough garlic to select for planting for next year, enough to share with family and friends, and more than enough for Mrs PG and I to eat. Cucumbers have been a mixed bag in that the vines are long and have huge leafs but actual production is meh, adequate for the Mrs and I. On the tomato front, my grape tomato plant is as vigorous as in previous years but the beefsteak types are already being victimized by blight and occasional raids by deer. The tomatoes do taste excellent just the same.
180 g KAF AP
6 g salt
1/4 tsp IDY
Spoon remaining flour over the top of the slurry. On one side of the flour, add the salt and add the IDY on the other side. Cover the top of bowl and let it set at room temperature for 4-6 hours depending on room temp. When there are large cracks in the top of the flour, the original yeast has been active long enough to stir all the contents of the bowl into a shaggy mass, not leaving any dry flour. Cover the bowl and let it set for 20-45 minutes at room temperature. Lightly flour the counter and scrape the dough onto the counter. Flatten the dough into a square. The dough will be sticky. Pull each edge towards the center of the dough and fold over. Flip the dough over to the smooth side and cover with the bowl. Repeat the pulling of the dough and folding three to four times at 4-6 minute intervals, dusting the counter with flour as needed and not any more than that. The dough strength will increase with each folding. Place the dough back in the bowl or in an oiled container, cover, and bulk ferment until almost doubled in size.
Turn the dough out onto a floured counter, preshape, and cover. After resting 10 minutes, final shape and place the dough in a banneton or on a couche. Proof the loaf for about 60 minutes, slash the top, mist the slashed loaf with some water, and load onto a baking stone in an oven preheated to 450F. I usually cover my loaves with an aluminum foil roasting pan deep enough to allow for loaf expansion and use parchment paper as well. After closing the oven door, lower the temperature to 425F for 22 minutes. Remove the roasting pan and parchment paper. Turn the loaf 180 degrees and close the oven, baking another 20 minutes at 425F.
After removing the loaf from the oven, test for doneness with a thump on the bottom or a thermometer and then cool on a wire rack for at least two hours. That's the quick and dirty instructions that should get most people to the finish line. They're not original or at least I don't claim that.
If you have ADY, you can always just start your preferment by mixing the artisan flour and water, adding the same quantity of ADY to the slurry, letting it hydrate for up to ten minutes, then mixing in, and covering. When the preferment shows evidence of vigorous bubbling from yeast action, add the second 1/4 tsp of ADY, let it hydrate, add the remaining flour and salt and mix to a shaggy mass. At this shaggy mass point, follow the same steps as the IDY version. Using ADY may take a bit more time but not a significant amount.
Gardening hasn't been really rewarding. A successful garden, IMHO, is one where I can share generous amounts with family and friends I did harvest my garlic, a French strain named Music, another named Carpathian, and then there were my mongrels. The mongrels are from the largest bulbs harvested from year to year to year. I'm fortunate that I've got enough garlic to select for planting for next year, enough to share with family and friends, and more than enough for Mrs PG and I to eat. Cucumbers have been a mixed bag in that the vines are long and have huge leafs but actual production is meh, adequate for the Mrs and I. On the tomato front, my grape tomato plant is as vigorous as in previous years but the beefsteak types are already being victimized by blight and occasional raids by deer. The tomatoes do taste excellent just the same.
There haven't been very many birds at my feeders lately which I suspect is due in part to substituting feed from a Lowe's store instead of the Costco feed. They appear to know what they like.
As always, comments, humor, and questions are welcome.
