Sourdough starter-the art and science

The secret to great sourdough bread is your starter. I think anyone who makes sourdough bread will agree with me and you cannot spend too much time getting your starter ready to perform. I have two starters: one is from Neven Maguire’s book, “Home Economics for Life”, and is made up of strong white flour,… Continue reading Sourdough starter-the art and science

The key ingredient in successful sourdough bread making

I make sourdough bread every week, sometimes more than once a week, too. And I might make two or three loaves at a time or at least over the weekend. I know what a good sourdough loaf should look and taste like. And I am familiar with the occasional disaster loaf too-the one that fails… Continue reading The key ingredient in successful sourdough bread making

My wholemeal sourdough loaf

This is my wholemeal sourdough loaf, using Neven Maguire’s sourdough bread recipe from his book “Home Economics for Life”. Neven’s recipe calls for 150-175 ml of water but I increased this to 250 ml for this particular loaf as I was trying to get the most open crumb possible. This may not be the most… Continue reading My wholemeal sourdough loaf

I made a Pain au Levain Moderne at the weekend

I made a “Pain au Levain Moderne” at the weekend for the first time. I got the recipe in Daniel Leader’s baking book, “Living Bread” and it turned out fantastic. It is a rustic loaf made with a levain, white flour, rye flour, a pinch of instant yeast, salt and water.  The levain I had… Continue reading I made a Pain au Levain Moderne at the weekend

What I Baked at the Weekend (and the most important ingredient)

I was busy at the weekend-baking. In this post I will review what I baked, what worked, what didn’t work.  Firstly, though, where do I get the recipes? I have been baking for about 12-18 months now, I believe, and am beginning to become more ambitious and broaden my horizons with different recipes. I received… Continue reading What I Baked at the Weekend (and the most important ingredient)

What I baked yesterday:100% rye sourdough loaf and wholemeal sourdough loaf

I baked two loaves yesterday: a 100% rye sourdough loaf and a wholemeal sourdough loaf. 100% rye sourdough loaf I followed Patrick Ryan’s recipe and Youtube video to make this loaf. The starter was a rye sourdough starter and all the flour that went into it was wholemeal rye flour. 500 g rye flour 10… Continue reading What I baked yesterday:100% rye sourdough loaf and wholemeal sourdough loaf

Making bread-therapeutic and fascinating

I’ve always been a bread man. It has been a lifelong love affair. In the last few months I have begun to bake bread. And I am getting great enjoyment out of both making, and consuming, my bread. There is something ancient and timeless about bread. You can go back to the bible and the… Continue reading Making bread-therapeutic and fascinating