Sourdough Journal

A journal of my attempts to make a sourdough starter, make sourdough, other breads, etc.

Friday, June 30, 2006

Injera Starter


Injera Starter

This is a starter for the traditional Ethiopian/Somalian/Eritrean flatbread, Injera.

It is traditionally made from Teff flour. Teff is the smallest grained of the wheat family, the whole grains are about the size of a poppy seed. Hopefully it will be ready soon!

I just started it this morning, and it is supposed to take about 3 days to ferment. It doesn't seem to mix all that well, a lot of the flour is sitting on the bottom. But we'll see how it goes!

Thursday, June 29, 2006

A name...

Well, since it is still alive I've decided to finally name the current starter.

*drumroll*

And I am proud to introduce... AimilĂ­ona. May she fare better than the rest now that she is named.

Sunday, June 25, 2006

Focaccia


Focaccia

This was cooked on a pizza stone on a charcoal grill. It took a bit longer than it would have in the oven as the coals were already winding down from what was cooked beforehand.

It was delicious, and heavenly soft. The bottom got a bit burned though.

The crumb was more open than I've had on previous breads, so that was a plus. I did the dimpling you're supposed to do, but the dang thing sprang it all right back out.

Thursday, June 22, 2006

Marbled Pesto Bread


Pesto Bread

For the dough:
5/8 cup milk
scant 2/3 cup water
2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
4 cups unbleached white bread flour
1 1/2 tsp granulated sugar
1 1/2 tsp salt
1 1/2 tsp rapid rise dry yeast
7 tbsp ready made (or home made) pesto sauce (I would actually cut this to no more than 5 tbsp, it was bit too much when I made it)

For the topping:
1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
2 tsp coarse sea salt

1. Remove the milk from the refrigerator 30 minutes before using, to bring it to room temperature. Reserve some of the water and mix it with the yeas, pour the rest of the water, milk, and extra virgin olive oil in a bowl or bread machine pan.

2. Sprinkle the flour over the liquid, then put the sugar and salt on top of the flour.

3. Mix the ingredients together and knead until you have a nice dough. Should be about 4-8 minutes.

4. Put the dough in an oiled bowl and cover to rise for about an hour, or until doubled.

5. Punch back the dough gently. Then roll it out to a rectangle about 3/4inch thick and 10 inches long. Cover with oiled plastic wrap and leave to relax for a few minutes if it is difficult to roll out.

6. Spread the pesto sauce over the dough, leave a clear border of about 1/2 inch along one long edge. Roll up the dough lengthways, jelly-roll fashion, tuck the ends under and place seam down in a lightly oiled 10x4 loaf pan.

7. Cover with oiled clear film and set aside in a warm place to rise for 45 minutes or until the dough has more than doubled in size. Preheat oven to 425F/220C/Gas7.

8. Remove the clear film and brush the olive oil over the top of the loaf. Use a sharp knife to score the top with four diagonal cuts. Repeat the cuts in the opposite direction to make a criss cross pattern, sprinkle with sea salt. (I also sprinkled with some dried herbs. Added some to the dough as well, thyme, basil, oregano. Also added garlic and onion powder to the dough in small amounts)

9. Bake for 25-30 minutes, or until the bread is golden and sounds hollow when tapped on the base. Turn out on to a wire rack to cool.

Tuesday, June 20, 2006

Baguettes


Baguettes

These are from a recipe in my other main bread book, of which I don't remember the title. I also am not sure where it is at the moment. Alas.

They turned out well, the one I had anyway. Gave one away. As with my other ones, still not as open of a crumb as I would like.

Baguettes


Baguettes

These aren't sourdough. Just regular commercial yeast driven.

The recipe came from the Bread Bible by Rose Levy Beranbaum. They tasted great, and the texture was fairly good. I still have a hard time getting as open of a crumb as pictures I see.
But they seemed a bit small to me, I know my previous baguettes have been larger than normal, but these seemed small.

Thursday, June 08, 2006

Sourdough Baguettes


Sourdough Baguettes

Two sourdough baguettes, made with the same recipe as my other baguettes, just with sourdough starter instead of yeast. Poor lighting so the picture is not the best, sorry. Not sure how they taste, haven't had the chance to try them yet, and gave one away.