Note: We use affiliate links in our post.
woman’s blog – STARCHDATE 161326.8
10:00 AM
Today’s mission will be to make the Classic Italian Bread recipe for the 5th time, using a special guest, and keep Rory and Amy (our sourdough starters) alive.
10:33 AM
Morning check on Amy and Rory.
Amy is going STRONG.
Rory (who isn’t supposed to be fed until tonight) looks like he is starving.
And EVERYONE’s jars are a hot mess.
We feed Amy… while doing NO unnecessary math this time.
We just need to get the jar total weight to 539g.
That’s it.
We need to find some good flat sided jars to switch these guys out. I do NOT want to get mold after all this hard work.
I also think I need a better plan for Rory. I may increase his feedings tomorrow…
1:37 PM
For our fifth attempt at the Classic Italian Bread, I have decided it is not a true test without trying the royalty of flours, King Arthur Bread Flour.
Everyone and their knights swear this flour is the holy grail in baking…
So I figured I would see just how different it is, given I have made this same recipe four other times.
2:30 PM
I follow all our usual steps and everything seems pretty normal.
I don’t really see any major differences in the mixing or the initial ball.
She is slightly smoother maybe but pretty comparable to other makes.
3:38 PM
She doubled nicely and is quite smooth. Her doubling time is right on track.
3:45 PM
I have her shaped… and in my upper oven with the light on as my lower oven starts preheating.
4:46 PM
She rose quite nicely and now time to do battle with the blade.
Better… better…
But still I feel like I am making this WAY harder than it needs to be.
NOTE
This where I should say spritz. spritz…
But I did not… because I forgot.
Sigh.
And, into the oven.
Side Note
This is also where I should mention that the oven rack had been removed and neither the husband nor I could remember exactly which of the EIGHT notches it belonged on…
That mystery is about to be solved… and not in a good way.
5:01 PM
12 minute (halfway check and turn)
WOAH.
Girlfriend is WAYYY more brown than usual AND dry.
I pull her out and definitely decide the oven rack is too high.
We adjust the very hot oven rack.
Have I just totally screwed up loaf number 5???
How do I make something FIVE times and totally go all loosey goosey all of a sudden??
I decide to spritz with water since I forgot before.
And we put her back in for… what is supposed to be 12 minutes.
But in my not-bread-expert opinion we need to adjust.
10 minutes? No… no.. let’s do 8.
I am TOTALLY just making up times at this point based on vibes alone.
5:12 PM
Ok… she is out.
And a bit darker on top than we normally prefer.
Oh gosh, I hope she is done in the middle.
But heyyyy… my razor blade cut kind of looks cool this time all baked up.
or what we really REALLY hope is all baked up.
Now we let her cool.
She has been through a lot.
I am afraid his royal majesty King Arthur will cry foul at my handling of today’s test.
6:14 PM
Well I am afraid her cool off has to be cut short too.
So sorry m’lady.
The crew is hungry.
Here goes nothing…
GASP.
My word, she is absolutely beautiful on the inside!!!
I really was not expecting such a difference.
Especially given the…. journey… we have taken today.
Those holes are a good thing.
I have never made bread so holey in my life!
I believe folks call them the “crumb”.
And my girl has got crumb!
The Results
Despite a little over done to our liking outside crust (which really ended up not being bad at all), everyone RAVED about this loaf.
She had amazing texture and flavor.
She was lighter and airier that her predecessors but still soft and delightful.
Does this now mean I am a subject in King Arthur’s kingdom?
We will see… but things are looking likely.
More testing is definitely needed.
10:28 PM
Feeding time for Amy and Rory.
I really feel like we need to start helping Rory more but that will mean departing from Captain Sourpant’s orders.
The daughter that I determine that the best course of action will be to make a back up starter of Rory in case we mess him up.
I mean, in Doctor Who canon, Rory’s namesake does have a bit of a reputation of dying…
So better safe than sorry.
We will use the discard tonight as our back up and keep it in the fridge.
So we discard half as instructed and we feed both Rory and his clone.
Then we place Rory back on the heat mat…
And we place his clone, now named the Centurion in the fridge.
I set a timer on my phone to remind me to feed the Centurion next week.
Now onto Amy.
The daughter and I keep forgetting what the jar needs to weigh when we feed her, so I grab a dry erase marker to make our lives a bit easier.
Amy is doing great.
She more than doubles after every feed.
She is always super bubbly.
She might be ready to start working with.
10:45 PM
We put the Ponds to bed.
Experiment Updates for Future Bakes
- I need jars to rotate Rory and Amy with to practice better jar clean up. I do not enjoy how messy they are getting.
- I also need to start researching both beginner sourdough recipes AND discard recipes to plan ahead. We are almost ready. I can feel it.
- I do want to make the Classic Italian Bread again and test freezing it. But not quite yet. I want to give us all a break from this recipe for a bit.
- Tomorrow I want to try my hand at a Cranberry Walnut Loaf that uses a lot of the same techniques as my Classic Italian. I think we will enjoy the flavor change and I like building out my skills.
- I think I am going to ditch the lame tomorrow and just use a straight blade. A tool is only as useful as the skill of the person using it and well…
Leave a Reply