Sourdough Disaster

I'm not to proud to admit it when things go wrong, and maybe someone else can learn from my mistakes, if you are upset by photo's of badly made bread look away now.

I’m in mourning for my sourdough project, which would appear to be in tatters. The trouble is, I tried to do too much (as usual) and lost most of it.

Initially I thought that my starter was not active enough, so I took it out of the fridge and fed it,

12 hours later I fed it again and boy was it bubbling.

Of course that meant that I had about a kilo and a half of starter, so I had to do something with it.

In the end I decided to try an overnight proof and then to make a couple of loaves using my proofing box for an accelerated proof.

Well the overnight loaf went really well,

and with high hopes I made dough, let it rise, shaped it and put it in the box.

 Unfortunately, I left it too long and when I came to turn it out too bake, I found that one loaf was stuck to the banneton, and the other was split and had a dry, hard crust. That’s when I made my second mistake. I tried to re-work and incorporate the dough, looking back I think I should have made rolls or flatbreads, anyway I only succeeded in making bricks.

At least my two loyal dogs liked them.

I have tried to dry some of the remaining starter,

but the hot weather has gone and its not really drying, I have kept a small portion in the fridge and I think that I will go back to what I know best, i.e. polish type focaccia or just plain loaves for a while. The sourdough bread was tasty, but there were so many bricks that I need to step back for a bit and re-think my strategy. I do hate to admit defeat, so I will be back. In the meantime, if any one has any suggestions, please let me know, but for the moment,there’s a Jubilee to celebrate !