Well, I say success, but hmmm… it tasted good… it looked great. It was just a bit firmer than I’d have liked. That’s quite a disappointment as we had high hopes for this one when we took it out of the oven.
So what went wrong? I suspect that it didn’t prove for long enough.
Sourdough bread needs to rise twice. Three times if you count the fermenting of the sponge from which you make it, although in that case there’s so little bulk to the watery mixture that the rising only really results in a good dose of fermentation bubbles.
When it’s got to that stage, which is an overnight process, you mix in your flour and salt, and some olive oil if you want (we did) and spend a good ten minutes kneading it. Kneading done, you put it back in your bowl and pitch it close to a radiator for half a day or so as it slowly rises.
This we did without problem, and half a day later is was a wonderful soft balloon that sprang up as you touched it with a gentle finger. That’s when you knock it all down and have it rise again. This is the proving stage.
We did this, and we waited (and waited and waited and waited) and when it had risen again we popped it in the oven to bake.
The result was two beautiful crusty loaves that taste fine but, as I say, were still far more dense than I’d hoped.
We shall persevere. We have to – we still have a jar full of starter in the fridge.
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I believe this bread is usually a little denser than what you get at the shops anyway. It may just be something you have to get used too. I slightly stodgier loaf!
Love your blog, Louise
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