Wish me luck, I'm waiting for the 1st rise on my 1st try at bread - ever!

M

mariadnoca

Moderator
I've feared yeast forever (never touched it) and I've skipped ahead to a starter!

I'm attempting SallyBR's SF Sourdough (recipe at the link). I'm seriously winging it given I had to return the library books on breadmaking and was too sick with the flu to read them.

My biggest worry is how to bake, but I'm going to try the dutch oven and lower the bread in on parchment and hope I don't drop/smoosh/burn myself or start the zombie apocalypse.

Basically, I don't expect it to turn out (keeping my expectations low), but rather considering this a learning experience - I've already decided a bowl scraper is a must.

PS

y*utube videos I've decided are of no help, you should see the sorry looking bread on those!

Anyhoo cross your fingers - I'm excited I'm finally giving it a shot!

http://bewitchingkitchen.com/2011/10/19/san-francisco-sourdough/

 
Well, I think I read the instructions wrong so, let's just say expectations are lowered

"Remove the dough to a slightly floured surface, knead it by hand a few times, place it in an oiled bowl, cover loosely with plastic wrap, and let it rise for 2.5 hours, with quick cycles of folding after 45 minutes and 1 hour and 30 minutes. After the second folding cycle, leave the dough undisturbed for the final 60 minutes of bulk fermentation."

You see...I am math challenged.

I read this as let rise for 45 mins, then fold, then let rise for 1hr 30 mins additional, then fold. Which didn't add up to 2.5, but I ignored that (ha, wrong) and then thought let rise some more for 1 hr.

Now I'm thinking it's let rise for 45mins, fold, and fold again 1:30 -after you started - not 1:30 mins after the first fold...so, gah!

Lowered expectations and it's not even in the oven yet!

This is why I'm not allowed outside on my own....(shuffles away muttering to herself)

 
So not sure how to get back on proofing timing track should I?...

So my miss timing means I'm already in for 2hrs 25 mins of what should be 2.5hrs in total. And I haven't let it do it's final 1hr bulk rise....

Should I go ahead and give it that 1 hr (overproofed concern) or should it now be only 35 mins? (not enough time to rise to expectations)

Thoughts?

No, apparently you can't take me anywhere - I know, I know!

 
The timing is not that important. All that matters is how high the dough rises. Sometimes it takes

longer or shorter, so don't worry. If you haven't formed the loaf yet for the final rise, you can do so and just watch until it has doubled in size. No need to time it at all.

 
agree; don't worry so much about the exact timing

You can even put it in the refrigerator overnight and shape and bake it tomorrow. I do this with lots of bread recipes just to make things more convenient.

I can't stop thinking about that chocolate sourdough.

 
Wish I never admitted starting- so far it's gone as wrong as nearly possible and it's all user error

So after getting the timing wrong and changing it up in ways I now can no longer recall in an attempt to adjust...

To quote Marilyn:
"So, just when I thought it couldn't get any worse, but I bet you could."

(Cue Jaws music)

The oven started smoking...bad. I was in the back so didn't notice till I had to open all the windows and put the fan on (it's chilly, going to be 37F tonight). Some was the unused in decades dutch oven, the other, well guess something spilled I didn't notice before.

Decided to give up...then light bulb goes off! I do have that old little oven...

Mad rush to change ovens. Pulled out a big counter top oven (had from eons ago in garage) that the dutch just barely fits in. I would've just made the bread in that except the stone that came with it says not to go over 425F in case of fire --- fire. In other words, do I feel lucky? Hell no! So in goes the dutch to preheat.

Just when I thought it couldn't get any worse, but I bet you could...

The timer rang to put in the bread and it's looking a bit over proofed, so guess we can't wait for everything to preheat, in goes the bread. The DOven didn't seem very hot, but it did get a presmoke, errr preheat in the other oven. Oh well...

Just when I thought it couldn't get any worse, but I bet you could...

The oven itself did not feel nearly hot enough...this oven does not have a temp readout, but I had it set to as hot as it gets -450F. The temp gets turned down to 425 after 10 and then the cover comes off the DO in 30. I sprayed water on the dough in hopes of some false hope for oven spring and slashed the top, though my razor and the knife wasn't sharp enough.

But, tick-tock....who wants to take bets on the sad, sad outcome? Wait, do you hear that? It sounds like soft chanting..."heavy as a rock, flat as a board"

 
OMG...alert the media...I somehow didn't screw it up!!! Pix inside...

Cancel the Jaws music!!!

OMG, it has risen, OMG we may even have oven spring!

Ummm, it's out and it looks GREAT!!!!

I checked the internal temp and it was 206, plus I heard the crackle they talk about. Looks to have a great crust. It's not flat at all, in fact it pretty much looks like one from a bakery.

Freaking excited over here!!!

Excited!!!!!

http://i788.photobucket.com/albums/yy163/4ebay_bucket/Food/Bread%20rising/IMG_2486_zps2e8baa1f.jpg

Blurry with excitement side shot:
http://i788.photobucket.com/albums/yy163/4ebay_bucket/Food/Bread%20rising/IMG_2487_zpsb7a9b9ba.jpg

 
You're hooked now, Maria! A baker is born. See how forgiving it can be?

That is a beautiful loaf of bread and it's pretty impressive you started out with sourdough. Congratulations.

 
It's OK to tell you now, there will be times you do everything exactly right and it doesn't come out

nearly as well as your picture below. But it's almost always better than store-bought and you have the pride of authorship.

 
Yeah, I think I might be...and you know what else?

If the whole oven crisis hadn't happened I wouldn't ever dragged out that old counter top oven that, guess what?

Yep, it has settings to be used as a proofing oven, even has instructions to use it as one - yay!

PS
I started with sourdough because that's what I eat. It's my normal everyday bread and the price keeps going up and the quality/selection has gone down.

 
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