Adventures in Wild bread

Posted by Ann at 11:40 PM


Brian here. So,when we were in Seattle we had this bread from the Essential Baking Company. A 100% whole wheat round crusty artisan loaf called 'pain du george'. It was a revelation- perfect crust, chewy open crumb, beautiful flavor with a hint of sour. Usually 100% whole has signified 'healthy but not so tasty', so when I tried this I knew I needed to learn how to make it. I looked at the ingredient list: Whole wheat flour, water and salt. SO, I have been learning about culturing my own wild yeast starters. Today, after a week of nurturing my starter, I made my first loaf, pictured above. I'm not ready for 100% whole wheat yet, so this one is 30% whole. But the ingredient list is: All purpose flour, whole wheat flour, water and salt.


I was pretty happy with the crumb and the flavor is really interesting. It has a wheaty but mellow flavor with a slight tang.


Meet my new pets: Ozzie (whole wheat on the bottom) and Harriet (part wheat part white) on the top. I have lots of plans for them. Ann is very amused and possibly slightly concerned about my new obsession. I now belong to on online community for crazy bread people, and they are not moderate. Really though, once the starter is going, it doesn't require a huge time commitment.
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5 Comments:

  1. susan m hinckley said...
    8:00 PM  
    Oh -- I didn't even know you are a "breadgetarian" -- we have quite a few at our Hinckley house. Try to bake something next time we're out in Utah, okay? The pictures are delicious.
    sestissimo said...
    10:07 PM  
    Ha haha haha! You ARE going to become a bread farmer or something. Good luck Ann, dealing with your crazy yeasty husband!! (and I hope you're having fun in Cenerentola with my friend James :)
    Ann said...
    11:15 PM  
    Yeah, it is a little crazy. The other morning Ozzie and Harriet and the bread dough were all hanging out in the kitchen taking over things. I had to get Brian's loaf out of the oven because he had to go to work and I almost played a really mean joke. I was going to send him a text telling him the bread did not turn out but since he had been working on that loaf for more than a week I was not sure how quickly I would be forgiven. Brian is trying to figure how to best get some starter home. He may be starting starters as we travel so we can have lots of different strains of breads as souvenirs. Can't complain too much because I get good bread but yeah, kind of crazy and a bit of a mania.
    Anonymous said...
    11:22 PM  
    I understand this obsession perfectly. It is completely normal. I have been obsessed with recreating a German pretzel and have gotten closer with Alton Brown's help. Making bread is therapy.

    Liz
    andi said...
    2:58 AM  
    The real obsession has to be that you are traveling around with a giant dutch oven. I have to admit, it would be the first thing I would take to a deserted island.

    Nourishing Traditions cookbook has a bunch of interesting starters. One calls for "Toe-Jam". As for the ride home -- take a cup of starter and add to it each day of the trip. By the time you get to Utah, you'll have enough to make a double loaf. Just don't spill it all over the back seat.

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