Any Home Bakers Here?

[ronott1]

Today I bought a Lodge brand enameled cast iron Dutch oven. Yay! Merry Christmas to me.

I also am starting my GF sourdough. Yay! The packet I bought is only about 1/2 teaspoon, so let's hope it works. I'm making it with rice flour. It starts out with 1 Tablespoon each of flour and water, then 2T, then 1/4 cup, then 1/2 cup.

Since the garden is done (though I can always find something to do in it, until the ground is frozen), I need a "tinkering" project, and sourdough is just the right thing.

Nice! Many of the lodge versions have a metal knob too so they take high heat.

 

[Sally PB]

Nice! Many of the lodge versions have a metal knob too so they take high heat.

Yes! I looked at that specifically.

Now I just have to get used to a reeeeaaaallllly heavy pan!

 

[bruceha2000]

It’s only 7 in tall!!!!!

Oh, so you used a wide angle lens to make us believe you made a cake 2' tall!!

 

[pennyJo1960]

Looked about 2 foot to me also very tall but great yum factor

 

[BigBlueHen53]

Well I made three loaves of the Alaska bread today using my sourdough starter. I set the sponge last night and put it in the oven overnight. This morning it was nice and bubbly. I added the rest of the flour and the remaining ingredients, kneaded it and set it back in the oven to rise. (There is no light in my oven, so I had turned it on for a few minutes to warm while kneading.) It doubled in size in a couple of hours so I shaped it and put it in the loaf pans.

So far, so good, but then ... Several hours later, it wasn't rising much. I waited some more and finally it did seem to have risen, so I scored the tops. But they seemed to have crusted over a bit. Rats! I had only covered them with a tea towel, not with plastic wrap! Is that why they didn't rise so well? This never happened with my yeast loaves! Well... The oven was hot, 375°, so I went ahead and put them in. They do taste good (with that nice sour flavor), and they feel nice and light, but I'm not delighted with the flat shape. Here they are. I buttered the tops. They're nice and crusty.

 

[Sequel]

Well I made three loaves of the Alaska bread today using my sourdough starter. I set the sponge last night and put it in the oven overnight. This morning it was nice and bubbly. I added the rest of the flour and the remaining ingredients, kneaded it and set it back in the oven to rise. (There is no light in my oven, so I had turned it on for a few minutes to warm while kneading.) It doubled in size in a couple of hours so I shaped it and put it in the loaf pans.

So far, so good, but then ... Several hours later, it wasn't rising much. I waited some more and finally it did seem to have risen, so I scored the tops. But they seemed to have crusted over a bit. Rats! I had only covered them with a tea towel, not with plastic wrap! Is that why they didn't rise so well? This never happened with my yeast loaves! Well... The oven was hot, 375°, so I went ahead and put them in. They do taste good (with that nice sour flavor), and they feel nice and light, but I'm not delighted with the flat shape. Here they are. I buttered the tops. They're nice and crusty.

View attachment 2892558

I’ve never done sourdough in a loaf pan. I think they’re beautiful! The only thing I can think of is how did you shape them? Did you work it on the bench so there was surface tension on the loaves ? I know that’s important for the slashing and resulting oven spring on the loaves baked either on a stone or in a Dutch oven. That’s all I have but if your bread was a good texture I think you did just fine!

 

[MTKitty]

I’m with @Sequel. If the taste and texture are satisfactory, that’s a win. Poofy bread is nice, but it’s a distant third, in my book

 

[Sequel]

I’m with @Sequel. If the taste and texture are satisfactory, that’s a win. Poofy bread is nice, but it’s a distant third, in my book

 

[BigBlueHen53]

I’ve never done sourdough in a loaf pan. I think they’re beautiful! The only thing I can think of is how did you shape them? Did you work it on the bench so there was surface tension on the loaves ? I know that’s important for the slashing and resulting oven spring on the loaves baked either on a stone or in a Dutch oven. That’s all I have but if your bread was a good texture I think you did just fine!

Yes I did. All I could think of was, the yeast (sourdough) had risen all it was going to.

 

[BigBlueHen53]

I’m with @Sequel. If the taste and texture are satisfactory, that’s a win. Poofy bread is nice, but it’s a distant third, in my book

Thank you. I appreciate the encouragement. "It'll eat," as my MIL used to say. Hmm, that's my second reference to her this evening. Guess I miss her.