Saturdays are for sharing the things that bring us joy, happiness, and peace. What are those things for you?

Let's talk about anything fermentation-related! (Tip: maybe try that line as an ice breaker the next time a party starts to get a little dull 😂. Or maybe not...) So I've got a half gallon of whole milk that is open, some cheese cloth, and a bit of yogurt with active cultures (store-bought). It seems like I should make some homemade Greek yogurt, right? I'll let you know how it goes! And since we're talking about fermentation, has anyone had a chance to check out the Bulk Fermentation Video Learning Series in the classroom yet? There are several hours of videos there for you to watch. If you're looking for a quick overview, take a look at #Fast Practical Reference. It is just 5 minutes. (And remember to click on the check mark in the upper right hand corner each time you complete a page in a classroom course! ✅)

My weekend is going to be busy but I think tomorrow night I will get started with That Sourdough Gal’s copycat Wonder Bread recipe. You mix in the morning and then it bulk ferments for quite a long time. So not much to do until later in the day. I would have started tonight but I do not have avocado oil. So I will bake on Monday.

It really is a beast. I used the recipe from That Sourdough Gal which made a pretty typical 500 gram flour bread. But this was massive. The blueberries pushed the total dough weight up over 1,000 grams but it completely filled my normal batard banneton after the final shape. (I should have taken a picture. Oops.) It was too big for my Dutch oven, so I had to open bake it on my baking stone. If I would have gotten the oven spring I tend to get with a Dutch oven this would have been absolutely huge after baking. Excited to see the crumb when it cools down enough for slicing! And it smells so good...

Finally back from vacation and got my starter out from the fridge 3 days before this bake. It doubled in size in 4 hours day of with a stiffer feed. For this loaf, I did 75g starter, 350g water, 500g bread flour, 10g salt. I mixed my starter, water, and flour first and let it rest for an hour before mixing in my salt. I also let that rest for an hour before doing 2 sets of stretch and folds and 1 set of coil folds. I let it bulk ferment for about 6 hours total at around 74 degrees. I did shaping, let it rest, final shaping, and threw into banneton for overnight cold proof. Baked at 475 for 25 minutes lid on and 15 minutes at 450 lid off. I waited an hour and a half before cutting into it. This is one of my highest rising loaves yet but I can’t seem to get rid of the big holes, I’m going for a tighter crumb. Thank you!