No, we’re not still in 2020 (thank goodness!), I simply want to share how pleased I am that I finally managed to bake a sourdough loaf! Yes, I, along with seemingly everybody else during lockdown, also tried to make my own sourdough bread, but unfortunately for some reason, it just didn’t work.
6th May 2020 – my first attempt
I fed my rye flour sourdough starter, “Bread Pitt”, and later “Robert Breadford”, regularly and tried here and there to bake a loaf following different tutorials. The loaves were mostly flat, although I followed the instructions exactly (or so I thought). It was so frustrating because bread-baking is my passion – I can make wonderful yeasted doughs, no problem, but this constant failure with the sourdough annoyed me greatly. I optimistically kept a regular feeding schedule for Robert Breadford for around a year, using him mainly for pancakes and flatbreads. Fast-forward to April 2022 – I want to give sourdough bread another try, but this time go in as if I knew nothing, which let’s be clear, wasn’t far from the truth.
Let me introduce you to Robert Breadford 2.0! A totally new sourdough starter I made following instructions fromLutz Geißler at Plötzblog Reading through it, I soon realised that my biggest failure last time was how lifeless my in comparison was. The Plötzblog starter followed a similar feeding pattern to my first attempt, albeit with one difference – the temperature of the water. I never even considered the temperature and was so surprised at how big of a difference it made. After 4 days, my sourdough starter was so lively and bubbly that it grew right out of my jar!
I could barely wait to bake a new sourdough loaf. London bakery Bread Ahead had throughout 2020, created lots of fantastic videos and online courses on everything to do with sourdough, and I used one of their recipes to create my first loaf with my new starter. The dough was so much easier to knead and fold than I remembered, and I had a food feeling as I put it into the oven – something that was very new to me.
It wasn’t a Frisbee! I was beyond surprised that it wasn’t flat, and I could barely wait for it to cool down to tear into it.
Although it isn’t perfect, this is still the best sourdough bread I’ve made by a considerable margin. It tastes so incredibly good, and didn’t last long at all in my house! Since I made this first one, I’ve gone on to make two more sourdough loaves with my new starter, and I’m happy to say they look as good as this one. I’m so proud of Robert Breadford 2.0, and I can’t wait to develop my new-found sourdough skills even further. Watch this space!
