We kept checking the precious cargo in the cooler as we headed back from Maine to Waterloo. We had been given some "Miss Isleford," sourdough starter from Barb and this would be the key ingredient in our new bread making adventures. We were so excited when Barb offered to take us through the process of making sourdough artisan bread during our visit there. With the sourdough starter, the only ingredients needed would be flour, water, and salt. We carefully measured portions the night before, fed the starter, and tucked everything in the fridge overnight.
The next morning we turned the dough several times in the bowl, shaped it into loaves, and let them rise in a willow basket to give the bread a beautiful design on top. Barb showed us how to put the loaves into a cast iron dutch oven to bake.
And voila, our very first loaf of artisan bread!
How exciting! Now the real test would be making it at home on our own! On the way back from Maine, we went shopping for a cast iron dutch oven, a willow basket, and a kitchen scale. We wanted to have everything we needed to bake bread as soon as we got home! On our first day back, we bought some OakManor bread flour which is milled nearby in Tavistock so that our bread could be truly local. And now it was time to remember all that we had learned at Barb's! She gave us this beautiful dough shaper bench knife to help shape the loaves perfectly!
The bread dough doesn't have to be kneaded, only stretched and pulled.
We couldn't wait to see the results!
Amazing! We did it! Could have let it get a bit browner-next batch! O.K...now let's brag about the texture! Perfect!
Now...to taste it! Our very first veggie bacon and tomato sandwich on our own sourdough bread! Could life get any better! What a sense of accomplishment! Now we can hardly wait to do it again...and again...and again!
(Couldn't wait to take the picture BEFORE tasting it...i.e. notice the bites!)