Bad Bread

This loaf did not turn out well.  I had to soak the pan for a few days to release the bread, which then got tossed in the dumpster.  Also an example of why it is good to ALWAYS take notes as well; if I knew what I'd done, perhaps I wouldn't repeat it.

Back in the bread!

I am back in the bread habit.  I took a little break so I could shrink back into my pants and started keeping my starter in the refrigerator so I don't have to feed it everyday.

Here is a loaf I made that I thought wouldn't make it but turned out to be one of my all-time favorites.  I used potato water as the liquid and a warm oven for rising.  For the second rising, I put the dough in a 4.5 quart dutch oven and left it overnight.  In the morning, I woke up to a huge, sticky mess that completely filled the oven and adhered to the lid.

I pulled the lid off, sliced the top, threw it all in a hot hot oven, and expected a deflated mess.  To my surprise, the bread stayed tall and the crumb was very open - much closer to my goal of huge holes!

And it was GOOOODD!

lazy loaf

I started this sponge and then got busy.  For a couple of days it sat, in which time I fed it like I do the starter.  Finally it reached a point where I either had to make bread or toss it.  I kneaded the mass, cut it into quarters, rolled each quarter in oil and nestled them all in my 7.25 quart cast iron oven.  I let them rise only once and then baked them.  Not too bad.  The sections break off where the oily sides met.  Very little fuss.  For busy and lazy bread bakers.