Breaducation – first sourdough and more

I was hoping to do some cooking last weekend, but the weather didn’t cooperate.  I’m almost embarrassed to admit that, but the one type of weather I don’t like to cook during is rain, especially freezing rain!  We got about 5" of snow yesterday, with rain following.  As it turned out, I probably could have gotten away with it, but I just baked instead.

I wanted to try my new sourdough starter, and my wife wanted pumpernickel bread, so I decided to do a sourdough pumpernickel.  The recipe was from King Arthur Flour; I wanted to do one from The Bread Baker’s Apprentice, but I didn’t realize that just about all the recipes there require time the night before.  Even with sourdoughs, I think the recipes call for some work, letting the starter/poolish rest for a few hours, then refrigerating it.  I didn’t start until after 9:00 PM, so that was out.

The recipe was different than I expected; instead of just flour, yeast and water, it also called for a touch of vegetable oil and a cup of coffee, along with a quarter cup of molasses.

Here’s the biggest mistake I made:  The recipe didn’t call for
slashing the bread, and I should ahve done so. The bottom crust cracked
a bit because it couldn’t expand, but that’s about it.

Other than that, the taste is good; the bread is dense and a bit
sweet, but not too sweet.  It’s got some color, but it’s not as dark as
what I typically consider pumpernickel.  The main thing is  –  The
Sourdough Worked!!!  This made a REALLY large loaf; next time, I’ll
divide it in 2, if the recipe I use is as large, and make 2 loaves so I
can freeze one.

Along with the pumpernickel, I tried a French country bread, too.  I
hadn’t made a boule yet, and I wanted to try it to see what I thought.
I wanted something with bigger bubbles, but I didn’t really let it rest
long enough to get them.  Or, more accurately, I think I handled it too
much between the first and second fermentations.  The result, though,
was still really great.  The crust is chewy without being too hard for
sandwiches, and the caramelization in the crust has a fantastic
flavor.  This bread was on par with what I would expect to buy most
places.  I’m going to have to play around with the slashing to come up
with something nicer.  I have some ideas that I’ll try, though.

I’m trying what the books say to do for storing; Put them on a
cutting board, cut side down, and just leave them.  The loaves were
that way overnight, and I have to say that they were fresh and ready to
slice this morning, without the cut side needing to be cut off first.
Plus, they look kind of cool on the counter that way.

I brought a slice, cut in half, for a ham sandwich for lunch today,
and, not to be immodest, it made a GREAT sandwich!  It’s pretty
rewarding throwing together bread, water and yeast, then having it come
out so darn good.  If you have been thinking about trying a loaf, don’t
hesitate any longer!  If I can do it, it can’t be that tough.