Sourdough bread workshop

[cakeinoz]

A perk of cookieman's job at the Uni is that he receives emails informing him of upcoming cultural events, exhibitions, and student projects. While the first two can be hit or miss (though always welcome imo- this town is hardly a smorgasbord of intellectual stimulation), the student projects can be quirky and often have the added element of a

Comments

[laurelwood]

Woohoo! I've really been looking forward to this recap. The outreach theme of the class reminds me a lot of the "Master Class" composting classes that the garbage company gives now and again, where you go, learn about composting, and then eventually become a teacher of the subject yourself.

I wish I were closer so that I could be the recipient of some of your culture. I'll be satisfied, though, by hearing all about your bringing yours to bread fruition. Make it a good long story, with lots of details!

[cakeinoz]

Yes, it sounds just like that garbage thing, but tastier. :D I hope to have positive results soon. I did bake some rye this weekend, and while it came out flavourful and reasonably well-risen, it was a bit burned on the outside. We've got a convection oven and I think it runs even hotter than the usual convection. I reduced the given temp at more than 20 degrees Celsius and this still happened. So, trial and error. I might do another one on Wednesday!

[annette09]

Count me in too for wanting to hear about the results. And I'm a little skeptical about there being big, or even medium, interest in passing along the starter and knowledge. Bread baking, to me, seems to be one of those areas where people express interest but don't actually follow through to do it. Kinda like knitting. At least in my circle. I haven't run across anyone who doesn't love homemade bread, but the love of eating it isn't enough to launch them into actually making/baking it themselves.

And Jamie Oliver is a bit full of himself, isn't he.

[annette09]

Oh, and I've been meaning to mention, have you heard of no-knead bread? It seems to be the latest trend here (or I'm just awfully behind times). You stir together the ingredients, including the yeast, use cold water instead of warm, let the dough rise for 18 hours or so and bake. (The last sentence was a very simplified version of the recipe). I received a free booklet from Fleischmann's Yeast and plan on trying a few of the recipes soon. And I've seen a couple of no-knead cookbooks on Amazon too. Obviously it's not sourdough bread, but I want to look at a cookbook to see what variety they have. The booklet recipes are along the lines of oat bread, pull apart rolls, focaccia, pizza dough, and coffee cake and a breakfast bread.

[cakeinoz]

I actually HAVE heard of no-knead bread.. strangely enough. Those foodie forums I used to frequent were all abuzz about it whenever the book first came out a few years back. I wasn't going to do it myself (still can't, really, not until I've got a fridge with more space. We're still using a traditional one here, which fits under the counter. Tiny by US standards, and it's always jammed full) but I read along with interest. The thread was very busy on the subject; I think everyone who was even remotely interested in baking bread tried the recipe out. The verdict was overwhelmingly positive.

It sounds like the perfect bread to me. Unlike so many other people who seem to find kneading bread cathartic, I just get annoyed by getting gunk under my fingernails. It's a bit of a Thing I have. :D

[cakeinoz]

oh and btw, let me know if you try this method out!

Sourdough rocks!

[ext_236839]

But the bread tastes great! Just as hearty as good German bread, despite all that Loughborough culture... :-)