Turkey Red-Spelt Boule

Here's another loaf that I just free styled for the fun of it. I saw the turkey red and spelt flours in my beer refrigerator and decided to put them to work. The dough was a little bit sticky and not very amenable to slashing but I persisted because I wanted to try the fan scoring pattern that I had seen on Farine's blog.

This loaf benefitted from long bulk fermentation and proofing periods. The bulk lasted about 4 1/2 hours and the proofing lasted four hours at room temperature. The taste is mild and the crumb is tender.

Starter
First stage
40 g bolted turkey red flour       
40 g water at 85F
22 g starter

Second Stage
50 g AP flour
40 g water at 85F

Main Dough
250g bread flour
100 g bolted turkey red flour
50 g Spelt flour
280 g water at 85F
10 g kosher salt
150 g starter

My garden has been getting some attention lately. Yesterday, I added a couiple plantings of cilantro, an Italian flat leaf parsley, and some Barbecue rosemary.Today was spent digging and preparing a bed area for my tomato plants. I did manage to restrain myself and bought only three tomato plants- a Park's Whopper, San Marzano Improved, and a Tommy Toes cherry tomato plant. There are only three peppers so far- Giant Marconi, Big Chile, and an Anaheim, but I could be tempted if I saw something unique. After I put in some loose leaf lettuce and snow peas, I'll also add the bush cucumbers and baby watermelon plants. I'd like to add some fennel for the Monarch butterflies that stop by during their migration but since Mrs PG has added some butterfly friendly plants to the flower beds, I may just sit down and have a cup of coffee instead of adding more clutter to an already jam packed garden. The garden has been more overplanted in past years but this may be my first year that I can truly say that I cut back enough for it to be visible.

The male cardinals showing up at the feeders appear to be molting in preparation for a new set of feathers. The females can't be too far behind. A male indigo bunting has been showing up lately around the yard. The females are a non descript dun color so it's hard for me to identify them. They're summertime only residents.

Comments, humor, and questions are welcome.