More sourdough experiments

Loaf of freshly baked sourdough
Originally uploaded by michelle1975.

My sourdough starter has been through its share of ups and downs: being neglected in the fridge, dropped on the floor (in a container), used daily and then not for months... In spite of it all, it is still alive and well after a program of twice daily feedings for a few days, and I spent much of the day trying to convince it to become a loaf of bread. I tried a new recipe from The Bread Bible by Rose Levy Beranbaum and was shocked to see how much it differed from the King Arthur Flour Baker's Companion ones that I've been using. The texture is totally different. Where King Arthur's breads were fine-crumbed, sweet and dense, this one is full of big holes, tangy and light. Almost too light, in fact, for my taste. It turned out as I think it was supposed to, though. She has a rye caraway that I'm dying to try, as well as a pumpernickel, which also sounds perfect.

Baking bread is a wonderful thing, but when you work with sourdough you really need to stay around the house all day as it requires all sorts of folds and it needs to rise every hour or two. This makes it "inconvenient" for modern on-the-go lifestyles, especially now that the weather has turned lovely, tempting one to drop everything and run outside. I am curious to move on to some yeast breads to see if it would eat up less of the day. I'm sure they are faster, but are they better?

m