Sourdough Bread Fail – I’m Baking My First Loaf. Whoops. Not What I Expected.

As you have been following my adventure into making sourdough bread … for the first time in my life … today is the day that the dough actually goes into the oven to make sourdough bread. It took five days to make my sourdough starter before using some of the starter to make sourdough bread.

I will admit, the process of actually making the loaves… hand mixing the flours correctly (i.e., the autolyse), adding the starter, then mixing and folding it all together with salt was a bit harder than I thought. The dough stuck to my fingers a lot, I had issue transferring the starter to the flour mix, etc.

I have doubts as to whether these first loaves will turn out great based on the way the dough felt (Ken Forkish’s recipe makes two loaves of sourdough bread). But, of course I have no experience in that so who am I to say? (update, yep, those doubts were spot on.)

Even so, that’s A-OK! I know it’s a process to learn all of this.

The dough fermented overnight and I woke to what looked like successful fermentation.

See the bubbles?

 

And, it certainly still looked alive. See those bubbles on top?

 

Then, I had to get the dough divided into two loaves and ready to proof in the proofing “banneton” baskets for four hours.

Once that is done, I heat up my special Dutch oven, you know the one, Blossom, in the oven to get her nice and hot.

That’s where I am at now.

To be continued….

Update… ok, I’m back and experiencing what could be failure on the sourdough bread front.

My dough going into Blossom, my special Dutch oven, was way less than ideal. It stuck to my banneton baskets and didn’t pop out easily, was quite gooey.

I am thinking of two potential problems:

1. You know those banneton baskets? Well, when they’re new it’s important to flour them so the dough doesn’t stick. I did flour them, but perhaps not enough?
2. And, Ken Forkish, talks of a Proofing and Finger Dent test. Well, when I did it, perhaps it wasn’t proofed enough, though I kind of thought it was.

Ah well. It’s in the oven so let’s wait and see.

OK! They’re done and they so super suck!

But, I’m okay. You see, following Taoism this past year has taught me to surf the waves of life with my imaginary surfboard. Wu-Wei.

I’m ready to try that sourdough bread thing again.

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