Hello!
I've just joined the forum and thought I would say hello and tell you about my journey here.
I bought some live yeaast from the supermarket three weeks ago having been enthused by some friends on another forum who were baking bread. Around the same time I wanted to have a go at making a starter so set wo work with flour and water (don't worry I didn't use the yeast - that was to make my first ever white loaf). The starter looked a bit iffy after a couple of days and I wasn't happy with the smell, having done loads of research on the internet I binned all of it with the exception oa a teaspoon and added more flour and water - it all started looking better a few days later.
Anyway, with my yeast from the supermarket I baked my first loaf with reasonable success and then a week or so later I made a second loaf. From my second batch I held back some dough which I then used with a bit of my starter and some French flour to make some French rolls - they should have been baguesttes but I panicked when it came to rolling them out - LOL The result was pretty amazing with a crunchy crust and a lovely white fluffy inside - see pics.
So yesterday I baked my first ever Sourdough Boule! I had bought a banneton to give it some shape and a peel as I thought I'd never get it into the oven without one (I know, newbie buying all this and that etc).
It was a bit tricky removing it from the banneton as it did stick a little and I think I lost a bit of lift in the process but it turned out pretty good. I can't stop thinking about it and looking at the pictures - so, two white loaves, a couple of rolls and a bouIe later - think I'm hooked!
Here's some pictures of my rolls and the boule.
Replies
Ah - where did my pictures go?
I can see them :)
Great way to start. They look good.
I noticed I hadn't inserted the images - silly me, lol!
Cheers HVHB :)
Hi, Thank you!
No, my sourdough starter was just water and flour, I started off with two types, one was a rye flour and water and the other a wholemeal and water they both went a bit manky, so threw most of it away with the exception of a teaspoon, then added organic bread flour and water (1 cup of each). I covered with clingfilm and stirred twice daily with a plastic spoon. After a couple of days it started to smell great so I binned half and added more water / flour and kept doing that for a couple of weeks, every few days throwing half and replacing it with fresh flour and water. All this time they were kept out of the fridge and looked pretty lively. It was only after about three weeks I decided to refrigerate them.
I have seen 'sourdough starter kits' online somewhere, but with a bit of fiddling and attention it seems fairly easy to start your own.
I love it. Did you use the same formula for the rolls?