Sourdough bread shaping

I’ve been watching on youtube a Danish guy called Sune “The Food Geek”.  He’s very into sourdough and is a fabulous baker.

I’ve always had a problem with the final shaping of my sourdough.  I do the preshape no problem shaping it into a lovely tight ball with a good skin.  But after that, I should be able to stretch it out a bit and overlap it top and bottom and sides to do the final shape before it goes into its batons to prove in the fridge overnight.

My dough is around 75% hydration which is not as high as some sourdoughs but higher than others.  I cannot do an 80% hydration loaf because French flour absorbs less water so it becomes unmanageable.  My hydration levels are good and I’ve just not understood how I cannot do this final shaping (it is too sticky and I just cannot do it).  Sune makes it look so simple.

Anyway, the day before yesterday when I started my new batch (the process takes 3 days) I did it completely differently for an experiment.

I had my starter on the benchtop as usual for the day.  Then at about 2.30pm I autolysed the flour and water and mixed 40gms of starter with 35gms of flour and 35gms of water which is normal.

Usually, I then leave it overnight to begin the stretch and folds the next morning adding the salt.  This time, however, I combined the starter mix with the autolysed flour that same evening with the salt at about 8pm and gave it a good dose of stretching and folding.  I then left it out of the fridge overnight covered in cling film.

The next morning it was fabulously bubbly and had risen well so I did about 3 or 4 lots of stretch and folds over the course of around 1.5-2hrs.  I then left it alone for a couple of hours and at around 11am I preshaped the dough.  To my surprise, I was able to handle the dough far better and actually managed to properly do a final shape.

So I did this and put them in their batons to prove in the fridge for the rest of the day and overnight, baking both the following morning.  On baking, I was also able to give both loaves a far better score before baking which is another aspect I’ve been having issues with.

They were slightly different.  They’d risen a little more than normal and looked really good.  I’m very happy with the result and I’m getting this down so that I don’t forget what I did.

We’ll see how it goes next time, whether if I do the same process I can do the final shaping.  These are the only aspects I have not been able to perfect with my sourdough and I’d be thrilled if I can finally get them sussed.  Even though my bread is very good, not getting these technical aspects perfect has been bugging me.

I am also going to experiment with baking the bread in my Cuisinart iron pan rather than in the pot, putting water in the bottom of the oven for steam rather than using the lid method for steam.  It will enable me to do a better cut on the dough before it goes into the oven.  

We’ll see!  Anyway, it’s now lunch time and time to eat my yummy sourdough with Pavé d’ Affinois cheese and tomato.

Springtime in Signeville

The garden is looking sooooo pretty this spring.  Andy has been in the garden every morning while I go for my run.  

There are flowers everywhere, the clematis is blooming loads of new blooms every day.  The pansies have popped up all over the place as have the forget me nots.

Our tree at the front is full of leaf, our cherry tree is full of blossom.  Even our apple tree is blossoming this year.  We thought it was dead because it didn’t blossom last year and there were no apples.  We thought it had caught the rust disease.  Which it had but this year it seems to have shoved it aside and is in blossom which means we’ll get our fantastic tart little apples in October.  They are perfect for cooking up with pork, turkey, smoked chicken or in cakes and strudels.

It continues to be a very very strange time during this COVID19 experience.  It’s a vulnerable and isolating experience especially not knowing where we are all going with it.  But this morning on my run it was like things were back to normal.  I saw Fanny’s dad drive by going to her house (not technically allowed but …) I saw the couple I see most weekends walking their dog who I haven’t seen for a couple of months.  There were about 5 cars that drove by along with the usual tractors which are unusual during lockdown.  I usually only see farmers cars.  There was even a guy visiting the old lady who lives up the road and is housebound due to ill health.  She lives in a very dark grim-looking little house and the district nurses go to her most days.  

So here, today it almost feels normal.  The weather is beautiful.  The cat is his usual crazy.  Andy is cooking pork vindaloo (which is smelling utterly divine).   

Easter Sunday Dinner 2020 Signeville

Easter Sunday 2020.

I had pre-bought myself a wee treat of a big bar of white chocolate with toasted hazelnuts and a big bar of dark chocolate with freeze dried raspberries.  I haven’t tried the dark choc freeze dried raspberry yet, I’ve been rather in love with the white chocolate.  A real treat for me because it’s my absolute ABSOLUTE favourite and with toasted hazelnuts it’s even better.  

It’s a damn odd Easter this year.  We are all in lockdown which usually here means not too much but right now it means a lot. We can’t travel more than 5kms from home in a car, more than 1km walking or running.  

My Joey and dad would be coming here in 3 days time for a trip we’d planned forever.  That’s off.  It’s sad.  Very very sad.  

I worry about the world’s health and mental health in particular.  I worry about our finances as we are not cashed up at all.  We have a bit to come and go on and we are in far better shape than most but it’s stressful and we don’t have government support. 

If anything happened to either of us we’d be on our absolute own.  I worry about that because we are so isolated.

In fact, I worry about the Baggage Retrieval System They Have At Heathrow (although obviously not right now, there’s no baggage going through Heathrow which is even more of a worry).  

It’d be neat to see my mum and dad right now.  

Despite all of this we had a really good Easter Sunday.  It's nice knowing the family in the UK and Downunder are safe and happy.  

We made tortillas, smoked Mexican chicken, guacamole, salad and it was very very scrum.  Our neighbour gave us a bottle of Chinon wine from the Loire Valley for an Easter present.  Very posh is our neighbour, a lovely drop indeed.  

The Metrics

I went down to a friend’s today to get a face mask she’d hand made. I wanted a face mask because I fear it will become compulsory soon and my buffs don't fit around my face. It’s only a very short (less than 1.5km) drive away but I took my attestation paper and ID card just in case.

She had made this mask for me so carefully.  She’s a real treasure and is quite lonely at the moment.  She lives on her own.  

It’s becoming more and more difficult the longer this goes on with no end in sight.  

We discussed (from the 2 metre distancing) how terrible this is and how pissed off we feel when we read about people flaunting self-distancing because it just sets us all back.  

It’s isolating and bloody depressing.  Emotionally, financially and physically. 

On the bright side, Trump has “the metrics” in his head, (pointing to his sad orange head when he says it).  No need for science, it’s all there.  The world depends on THAT????

We don’t all rely on the U.S. but we do hope some sense will come out of that vast country. 

They’re the ones that phrased the U.S. President is “The Leader of the Free World”(a phrase I’ve always detested).  

But if you, Mr. President are the leader of the so called free world,  please… show us some Leadership because right now the “free world” and the rest of the world is flailing about with no clue.   

All you can do is point to your head and say it’s all in there when you cannot even string a sentence together with coherency.  Hmmmm.  It makes me sick Mr. President.  

Pork belly, braised and pressed then cooked...

This is my favourite way of preparing pork belly.  It is braised the day or 2 before, then pressed and weighted between 2 plates and set in the fridge.  It’s then cut into squares and cooked on a low heat skin side down in a pan with baking paper under the skin and covered with foil until it’s lovely and crispy but not like burnt crackling.  It’s the best way to eat it. The flesh is all tender from the braising, the skin lovely and thin and crisp.

I served it last night with shaved courgette quickly cooked, an onion puree, a celeriac puree, freekah (toasted smoked cracked wheat) and roasted apple.  It was scrum.  The freekah worked so well with it giving it a lovely texture and a smoky flavour to the dish.