My First loaves

Well - 1 week and 1 day after I started my starter, I made my first loaves. Yesterday ( saturday 1 week after starter) I mixed 1 pound of Rye flour and 1 pound of water and a cup or so of starter. Gave it a good mix, and put it into my heater closet. After 3 hours it had tripled in size and was bubbling away happily.

Today - I took that mixture - it was fairly fluid, added approximately 1 1/2 pounds of organic wheat flour, 1 teaspoon of sea salt, 1/2 cup of Natural homemade yoghurt (instead of oil), and mixed. It was stil fairly moist, but as I kneaded it about 15 minutes, I added more flour until it was a nice texture.

I cut it into 2 loaves and shaped them, covered them with a cloth, and set them aside to rise. They are nearly double in size after 4 hours and I am thinking I should be firing up the oven to pre-heat it.

I was unsure when I was supposed to slice the top, after the rising or right after shaping, so I am not going to cut the top at all this time round.

I will bake at 350 for about 5 minutes or until they sound hollow when tapped.

They are going to be baked on stoneware, so that should provide a nice base for them.

Will let you know how it turns out.

Andrew