Sourdough Bread (Mis)Adventures

 

My sourdough starter was finally ripe enough to use. So I tackled the Multigrain Sourdough Boule, since I wanted to try out my new Dutch oven. First, let me say that this is not a recipe where you heat the Dutch oven empty in the oven prior to adding the dough. I do want to try one of those, but want to buy or make some better oven mitts before then. Mine are getting pretty old and thin. This recipe is also one that I call "cheater sourdough" - one where some commercial yeast is added to boost the leavening effects of the sourdough. I also plan to make some more "authentic" sourdough that does not require any added yeast, sometime in the not too distant future.  
This recipe calls for a cup of "King Arthur Harvest Grains Blend", which I assumed was just a blend of different flours. No problem, I have oats, barley, rye, millet, rice and several kinds of wheat, so I could blend my own. But when I looked at the ingredients, I discovered that it wasn't a flour blend at all. And not sure why they call it "grains" because most of it is seeds.

So, I just used what I had to create my own blend, replacing the rye flakes with rolled oats and the millet with quinoa (realizing afterwards that I did have millet in my cupboard...). Of course, I had no idea what the proportions were, so I just winged it. When I poured the boiling water over it, as per the instructions, it just soaked up all the moisture and when it was combined with the other ingredients, the resultant dough was the consistency of play dough that was just starting to dry out. I added water, and then more water, and then it was too much water, and it wasn't combining well in the bowl of my mixer. So, I massaged it in by hand. And then had to add more flour, including some rye flour since I didn't have any rye flakes to add to the "Harvest Grain Blend". And it turned out well, in spite of my misadventures. It did end up kind of flat on top, so I'm not sure if it's supposed to be that way or if I had over-risen it and it fell during the baking. But it doesn't seem extra dense, and the taste and texture are good.  But this loaf is so huge that it wouldn't fit into the generous sized bags that I have for bread, nor large freezer bags. I had to "steal" an extra large freezer bag from my quilting supplies, where I use them to store/organize projects. 

And I think I need to get a lame. My steak knife didn't do a very good job of scoring the top of the loaf prior to baking. 
I also made some more crumpets - again without the rings - and I found that whole wheat taste much better than rye. But they also taste much better when they're fresh than when they're reheated. And while I do toast store-bought crumpets, I find mine are already brown enough and I'm afraid toasting may scorch them. 

Finally, I made a loaf of Whole Wheat Sourdough Bread, also a "cheater" recipe. I'm not sure what went wrong, but while the Multigrain Sourdough Boule had been too dry, this one was much too wet. I really couldn't knead it, because it was just this limp, sticky blob. I tried adding more flour, and finally managed to get it firm enough to knead, but didn't want to add too much, as the recipe did say that it was supposed to be slightly sticky. But it didn't rise as highly as I felt it should. I haven't tasted it as I put it directly into the freezer. I still had most of the Whole Wheat and Rye Sourdough Bread that I made using discard, the huge multigrain boule, some crumpets and parts of 2 storebought loaves in the fridge, so I definitely did not need more bread out. But next time, I'll be more careful about adding sufficient flour to attain a dough consistency that I feel is appropriate. The funny thing is I measured the ingredients by weight, not volume, so it should have been accurate. But maybe I forgot to zero out the weight between ingredients? Who knows? I'm sure it will still be tasty. I also found that I had to bake it for significantly longer than the time stated in the recipe, but that was likely due to the dough being over-wet. 
I would like to continue "playing" with bread, but I have retired my sourdough starter to the fridge for now. I only have so much freezer room and I can only eat so much bread, and, unless I start dropping off loaves in my neighbour's mailboxes, I will have to limit myself to what I can consume in a reasonable amount of time.