Basic Sourdough Bread: BBAC#30 Plus 5 More

The Bread Baker's Apprentice Challenge #30: Basic Sourdough Bread

For this challenge I used wild yeast mother starter (mistakenly referred to as BARM in the book) to prepare the sourdough starter. I didn't use commercial yeast for the final dough and fermented at a shorter period so the bread doesn't become too tangy. The sourdough refers to the starter which is acidic but depending on individual taste, the breads made with sourdough starters can be very sour or not at all. I prefer the latter because I never liked breads that are very sour.

I added a very small amount of rye flour to the dough and I really love the flavor of the bread which has a hint of sweetness. I made a free standing loaf and a small pain d'epi with half of the dough and into the second half I kneaded crumbled blue cheese then baked them in three 5 x 2 inch loaf pans. The mini loaves are incredibly yummy and the aroma is just wonderful. The crumb is chewy and the crust is very crispy. I love these tiny loaves. I started eating a large piece that I tore off from one of the loaves right after photographing them and ended up devouring the whole loaf while uploading the photos into my laptop. Yes, the bread is thaaat good. Mini sourdough loaf with blue cheese rocks!

shaping pain d'epi needs more practice

the middle part of the mini loaves had an enormous oven spring; they look like toy cars, don't they

mmmmm

Rating:
flavor 5
texture 5
visual appeal 5
ease of preparation 5
performance 5
worth 5
Total: 30
Average: 5

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I continued baking while on "vacation" from this blog and here are the photos and ratings:

#29 Pugliese

another flavorful bread from the book although crumb is not as open as I would have liked; the slices make very nice appetizer toasted and drizzled with black truffle-flavored olive oil, then topped with lemon zest and chiffonade of mint

Rating:

flavor 5
texture 3
visual appeal 5
ease of preparation 5

performance 4

worth 5

Total: 27

Average: 4.5

#28 Potato Rosemary Bread

I love everything about this bread: the flavor, the texture, and aroma

Rating:
flavor 5
texture 5
visual appeal 5
ease of preparation 5

performance 5

worth 5
Total: 30

Average: 5

#27 Portuguese Sweet Bread

sweet and soft, delicious just with butter; an instant favorite

Rating:
flavor 5
texture 5
visual appeal 5
ease of preparation 5

performance 5

worth 5
Total: 30

Average: 5

#26 Poolish Baguettes

bread is tasty but crumb is not open

Rating:
flavor 4
texture 2
visual appeal 4
ease of preparation 5

performance 3

worth 3
Total: 18
Average: 3

#25 Pizza Napoletana

the best tasting pizza ever; the bread is sweetish, its edges are crispy and the rest of the thin crust with its almost charred bottom is chewy, just the way I like it; it's also perfect for sweet dessert pizzas with berries, apples, or pears drizzled with chocolate sauce or ribbons of Nutella

Rating:
flavor 5
texture 5
visual appeal 5
ease of preparation 5

performance 5

worth 5
Total: 30
Average: 5