Just finished my first loaf ever. The topside is a bit burnt, the bottom stuck to the bowl I baked it in, but it is delicious! I would call it a success. I'll need some quality scraping to get that crust off my bowl.
Any hints on improving this loaf to a more presentable piece? Here was my process:
mix: 1 cup starter (consistency of thick pancake batter)
1 cup water
2 t. salt
little less than 3 cups flour (1 c. all purpose, 1 c. bread flour, and 1 c. whole wheat)
The finished dough was quite wet, I could hardly hold it without it going through my fingers. I stuck it in a bowl to rise (which I forgot to grease) and came back in about 10 hours. I didn't feel like trying to put it on a pan cause I think I might have ruined the dough, so I just stuck the ceramic bowin in at 450. After about ten minutes i brushes a generous amount of butter onthe surface, which I'm sure was too soon because the top burned way too much. Maybe next time no butter? Wait longer? Use a cookie sheet? any advice is greatly appreciated
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there are pictures, i'm new to this site but I think they're ended up in the pictures section somehow...
This is a quote that I got when I first baked my pizza and I could not get it unto a peal. So I would like to pass this on to you and to all new bakers.
"A baker once told me that the first 2,000 loaves were the most difficult. After that it was easy."
Good Luck and have funn at it.
http://www.ourwholesomehomes.com
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Maedi,
Admin
Congtrats azbycx,
I don't care what the final first loaf looks like. It's the fact of being a first loaf that makes it special no matter what. Baking like everything is a learning curve so congratulations for having the courage to try it yourself and post your success! :)
Now for a couple of things. I think your rising time was good but as you said, you forgot to grease the bowl it was rising in so that in itself caused it to stick. Also, depending on what you were going for your probably needed to knead the dough let it rest, then need more until it got to a soft but not wet/sticky consistency. Idealy it needs to be able to stand somewhat on it's own before the rise so maybe a little more tlc with the kneading. Gooey is good but wet and gooey, not so good. haha (for bread) Also, no matter what you bake it in if you're not using a stone then make sure the container is well greased. You might even want to try using parchment paper. Also, with properly formed dough, you could put it either on parchment and on a cookie tray or use the tray and sprinkle some semolina or cornmeal on it then put your dough on that, it will prevent the sticking. If you want a bit more rise then use a bit more starter.
For the top, try maybe about 20 minutes on the middle rack at about 400 deg. then dial it back to 350 for another 20-30 minutes and see if that makes it better. I'd brush a small amount of melted butter on the top before it went in the first time because even a light coating will produce a nice brown top. Check on it periodically and if it's getting really brown on top then dial down the heat a little.
The best advice I can give is try to keep notes on what works and what doesn't and bake bake bake. The more you do this the better you'll get and then the artistry of your personal style of "artisan" baking will start to show through.
Again congrats and feel free to ask questions. :)
Chris
thanks, it appears it will be some time before I get the hang of this. Let the experimenting begin!
congrats on your first bread! it looks way more bread like than my first one, which looked somewhat like a small stone. (not the one i posted here, the first one I made with commercial yeast). Mine get better every time. (It does sound like your dough is too wet if it's going through your fingers though)