Adventures in Dough!

I love bread. Whenever I have been trying to lose weight, it has always grieved me that the first thing to go is bread, although to be honest, its not the bread, its the butter and cheese that I have with it that challenges my many and various bids for a sylphlike figure! 

Anyway, bread. I have always enjoyed baking with yeast, but this has usually been limited to making my own hot cross buns at Easter. During my career break, when the children were small, I did bake most of my own bread, but I always remember it being worthy, wholemeal loaves that didn’t always rise, but that we ate anyway!

New book!

As part of my retirement basket of goodies, my daughter gave me Brilliant Bread by James Morton and it’s reignited my passion for baking my own loaves. I started at the beginning (a very good place to start) and made the first loaf in the book. It was a genius recipe that involved lots of time waiting for the dough to rise, but minimal kneading and faffing about. James Morton is not a lover of faff, and this makes his recipes relatively simple to follow.

My first baking success

My first loaf was amazing and I thought I had this bread business cracked…then I baked another loaf, following exactly the same recipe. Disaster! Not a taste disaster, but it stuck, wouldn't slice and, although we devoured it while it was still warm, would never have passed muster as a loaf of bread!

My second baking...

I was a little disheartened, but persevered, and when my daughter sent me photos of the bread she had made on a french bakery course, I determined to prove myself (little baking joke there!) and had a go at baguettes. Unfortunately I mis-read James Morton’s recipe and, having made his ‘poolish’ pre ferment, realised that it used a sourdough starter that I didn't have. If I’d only done as he suggested and worked through the book from the beginning instead of jumping ahead, I would have known what to do, but I hadn’t, so I didn’t. Suffice to say that following about three different recipes from the internet does not produce professional baguettes! Again, they were tasty and we very much enjoyed them dipped in home made soup, but no self respecting Frenchman would have carried one home under his arm!

Bamber - our faithful, frothy friend

Undeterred, I decided to try making a sourdough starter. Sourdough is, after all, the holy grail of breads, and how hard can it be?! I followed the instructions to the letter, even the bit that says to tip 75% of the mix away after two days, and now have a jar of bubbling, fermenting stuff. As it needs feeding and nurturing I felt it had to have a name - it’s like my surrogate child! After much deliberation, we decided on Bamber, as he’s our ‘starter for’, oh well, never mind! 

I then went out and bought rye flour, semolina, a proving basket and a lame, for cutting the top of the dough. Up until that point, I’d intended ‘baking bread’ to be a cheap thrill. £15 later, I thought maybe not!

Last night I used 100grams of Bamber in the dough for a Pain de Campagne. After kneading (in my Kitchenaid, I can not tell a lie, because I was trying to watch Strictly at the same time!)I did the windowpane test, just like on the Bake Off, and left the dough in the fridge overnight.

New proving basket

This morning, I shaped it, proved it again in my new basket, and baked it. I felt so proud when I got it out of the oven, smelling delicious, and so crusty! 

Crusty!

I suppose we should have eaten it with a baked Camembert for authenticity, but we had Stilton instead. Yummy.

Yummy!

I haven't progressed to a loaf that uses only the sourdough starter as a raising agent, but in time I’m sure I will. In the meantime, there’s an interesting Marmite Bread that I might try next…

So baking bread is a luxury that I can enjoy because I am retired - poor Bamber wouldn't have survived a nanosecond this time last year - and having the time to indulge myself, and my family is, I have to admit, ever so slightly wonderful!