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Experiments in (Stress) Baking
Yesterday I made the no-knead bread recipe again, because we basically devoured the loaf over the week. This time I wanted to see how sourdough starter would work in it. So Friday night I made one bowl of regular dough (half wheat, half strong white) and a second the exact same, but with one cup of sourdough starter replacing the water. Well, I had to add a bit more water to get the right texture. I called them Thing One and Thing Two. Thing One was the sourdough.
After the 18 hour rise, Thing One was heavier by ~100g and Thing Two was schlorpier. This made some sense; more mass in the sourdough and more aeration/yeast activity in the dry yeast. I pulled out my 14" Lodge footed pot from the garage (I don't use it anymore for tourney baking, but I can't get rid of it) and started the oven with the two pots. When the timer went off, I checked the oven... to find out that I had apparently not gotten it lit. Sigh. Another half hour and I started the bake. Unfortunately by that point Thing Two was a bit over-proofed, so it was significantly wider and flatter.
Given that last week's single loaf was too hot at 450, I heated the oven to 425. This time the loaves did not get near-burnt. In fact, Thing Two was significantly softer on the underside. Which makes sense, because the 14" Lodge has a cake rack living in it, so the loaf did not touch the bottom of the pot. Apparently I should have let it. Also, with two cast iron pots in the oven, neither one got as hot and so both could have used a higher temp.
Thing One has a significantly tighter crumb, which I expected. It also has more sourdough flavor as expected. Both are good but Thing One looks better because it is rounder. Thing Two has a softer crust (even discounting the underside). I'd like to try the experiment again, but with our two smaller cast iron pots and a longer pre-heat (I might heat to 450 and turn it down after the initial 30 min). But we have to finish these loaves first.
After the 18 hour rise, Thing One was heavier by ~100g and Thing Two was schlorpier. This made some sense; more mass in the sourdough and more aeration/yeast activity in the dry yeast. I pulled out my 14" Lodge footed pot from the garage (I don't use it anymore for tourney baking, but I can't get rid of it) and started the oven with the two pots. When the timer went off, I checked the oven... to find out that I had apparently not gotten it lit. Sigh. Another half hour and I started the bake. Unfortunately by that point Thing Two was a bit over-proofed, so it was significantly wider and flatter.
Given that last week's single loaf was too hot at 450, I heated the oven to 425. This time the loaves did not get near-burnt. In fact, Thing Two was significantly softer on the underside. Which makes sense, because the 14" Lodge has a cake rack living in it, so the loaf did not touch the bottom of the pot. Apparently I should have let it. Also, with two cast iron pots in the oven, neither one got as hot and so both could have used a higher temp.
Thing One has a significantly tighter crumb, which I expected. It also has more sourdough flavor as expected. Both are good but Thing One looks better because it is rounder. Thing Two has a softer crust (even discounting the underside). I'd like to try the experiment again, but with our two smaller cast iron pots and a longer pre-heat (I might heat to 450 and turn it down after the initial 30 min). But we have to finish these loaves first.
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