Took last week off of posting, but not baking. Sorry.
I tried out a couple breads I had previously made with limited or minimal success. Problem is that when one tries that, failure may follow.
Sourdough can be complicated. The lack of the assistive device of yeast can be a issue. Is it enough to rise the dough? Is it too funky? Is it funky enough? Has it had time to mature and cultivate the wild strains that will give your sourdough its unique character? I have a starter that has been developing in fits and starts (hehehe) over the past few months. When it came time to give it a go I had my doubts. However, it turned out not bad. If you want to give it a try here's how I do it. Start with 200g of a half and half mix of whole wheat flour and bread flour combined with 200g of water (tap, filtered, whatever). Mix to a paste in a glass bowl, cover with a clean towel and put in a place that's dark and cool, but not where you'll forget about it. Leave it for three days. You can look if you want. No point really. After three days take it out and peel back the crust. The pungent liquid left underneath is what you want. Take out a portion (40-60g) and put it in another glass bowl. Mix that with equal portions of the flour mix and water so the whole thing weighs about 200g. Repeat daily and try to do it at the same time every day for four to six weeks. After that you should have a good starter.
Brioche shouldn't be as hard as it is. It's a wet, messy concoction of flour, yeast, milk, eggs and fat. It doesn't do what its supposed to and thus requires improvisation. I started out with a formula that had worked in the past, but rather than mix by hand I used the Kitchenaid. It made it easy but It lacked the feel. It didn't behave how it should but eventually came together. Rather than knead by hand I used bulk fermentation and that's where it all fell apart. After some reflection and some profanity, I abandoned the bulk fermentation in favor of hand kneading and added enough flour to bring it together. I did a warm and cold proving (total of about 48 hours) and produced something pretty good. If you're going to give it a go just remember to be patient.
The day before make a poolish (yeasted starter) and leaven (sourdough starter). For the poolish mix 100g each AP flour and water with half a packet of active dry yeast. Leave for at least 4 hours or preferably overnight in the fridge. For the leaven use a teaspoon or so of the sourdough starter mixed with same flour and water in the poolish. Also leave overnight on the counter.
I can hear a portion of those reading this saying "Jake, you said fresh yeast is superior to active dry. What the hell?" Yes. Recall that it's hard to find and there's only 24 hours in a day.
Preheat to 450. Mix half of the leaven and poolish in a bowl with 550g bread flour, 15g salt and the other half of the packet of active dry yeast. You can mix by hand but I'd recommend the mixer. It's about to get messy. Don't pour the yeast on the salt or the salt on the yeast. It's the baker's equivalent of crossing the streams. Start the mixer on low to combine then add 250g eggs, 125g room temp whole milk and 80g honey (use good honey). You can also use rose water or orange blossom water if you want, about two tablespoons. Raise the speed to medium to combine and scrape as needed. Once you have a combined dough drizzle in 200g olive oil. I use Spanish arbequina, but you should use what you like. It's going to look too wet. Turn up the speed to not quite full and combine fully. It will start to pull away briefly from the sides. This is your cue to turn off the mixer. Take the wet dough ball and place on a lightly floured surface. Sprinkle with more flour and work the dough. Through kneading you will add about another 100g flour (three handfuls or so). it should feel tighter, less wet and when sitting on the bench should have rounded edges. place this dough ball back in your mixer bowl, cover and rest on the counter or in a cold oven with a bowl of boiling water in it for about 2 hours. After this initial proving move to the fridge and prove for about 24 hours.
Scrape the dough out on the bench and allow it to flatten. I would recommend a bobble loaf for shaping. Grease two loaf pans with plenty of unsalted butter. Divide the big dough ball into half and then each half into twelve equal pieces. To make dough balls flatten the pieces and fold inward several times to create dough tension. If they rip, it's too much. Once you've folded the edges inward a few times roll it over on the bench and lightly roll around into a ball. It takes practice but it's not rocket surgery. Place seam down in the greased pan, six on the bottom and six on top of that. It will look small but it will rise. Place in a clean cardboard box, cover the box with a towel and rise for 3-4 hours until it at least doubles in size.
Beat one egg with a tablespoon of water and brush on the loaves. Place in the oven at 450 for 10 minutes. drop the temp to 350 and bake an additional 30-40 minutes. It should look golden and sort of shiny. Dump out of the pans and cool on a rack fully.
Let me know if you try. If you do I applaud your patience in advance.
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