Out of bed this morning at 5:30 am to bake the two loaves I fashioned yesterday. And I do know which is the band aide loaf 😇
Romeo and Demitri (who had a quick trip outside) are still sleeping. I am listening to the tick tick tick of the oven. 1:42 minutes left until I can remove the lids from the dutch ovens to see how the bread looks. Will it rise spectacularly? Or not? It's always like Christmas when you remove the lid.....and here we go.
Both look great, but the "A" loaf looks wonderful. That's good for giving away. And the smell of sourdough bread baking ~ even despite the heat the oven puts off ~ is worth it. At least I won't have to subsist on pita bread (Greek pita, which is a flatbread). My baking friend gave away bags and bags of frozen Greek pita to make room for the baklava, so I still have two in the garage freezer.
We will have to consume the sourdough quickly ~ it's been so warm that mold grows on it after a week. I may slice and freeze some if we don't gobble it down.
I have enjoyed my garden this year, lots of summer tomatoes ripening. I have plenty of basil to go along with it and smoked balsamic. If you've never tried smoked balsamic, do. It is wonderful over salads, and over tomatoes with basil and feta, it's just divine. Hey, Peg, the balsamic is gluten free!
Enjoy your Saturday!
Love, 365
Stunning photos!
ReplyDeleteDo gobble up the sourdough. It sounds divine, specially with those tomatoes
I did end up putting 4 slices in the freezer. There's been a lull in the tomatoes, so I had to buy some ~ boo!
DeleteWe love the rock colours in that first photo - amazing. F can't wait to have the time to devote to making sourdough bread. One of her full time working friends with 2 kids used to make all their bread from their own starter but F has no idea how she fit that into her days. Enjog your bread.
ReplyDeleteFor my main recipe, I mix the dough in the evening (around 8pm), then it does the bulk ferment overnight. In the morning I just take it out and shape it, put it in my banneton (a cane basket, but a towel lined bowl would work) and stick it in the fridge. From there, you can leave it in the fridge until you're ready to bake it, which could be 3 hours or 2 days. I also have recipes that require attention every 30 minutes for 2 hours. Sourdough can be easy or hard! I like to do the easy one, which is usually indistinguishable from the longer process.
DeleteI have never had smoked balsamic but I bet I'd love it!! One day a year ago I was watching Rachel Ray. She went on and on about this balsamic she brings back from Italy. She held it so the camera could do a close up. I wrote down the name. Then she said you can now get it on Amazon. So I did. We use it many many ways so I have to try it smoked!!
ReplyDeleteIt's just soooo good. Here is the website where I order it. https://www.oleaceaeoliveoil.com/search-results?q=smoked+balsamic
ReplyDeleteThey had a shop in Santa Fe, but are currently moving to a new location (the one they had was super expensive) and I hope it opens again soon!
A little goes a super long way, it is rather thick. But you will find yourself licking the bowl/plate to get every last drop :-)
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