THE BEST BAKING

SOURDOUGH  BREAD

My family knows that I love baking, from scones, pies, bread to sponges, we like sweets as well as savouries.  Today is one of my daughters birthdays, I decided to bake sourdough bread, and it's the best baking I ever did, I am sure she would love to taste it, but she lives so far away.  The sourdough bread baked on the 25th of October was the best, and it 's almost perfect.  Happy Birthday, Jane, and thank you for the blessing.
They were round rolls and a long roll with lovely shapes. The look maybe not totally traditional, but I enjoyed shaping it and scoring with patterns that I like.  I used it as a canvas for my art.
I don't have a recipe for it, but I can show what I did.
The sourdough starter and the bread ingredients.  I made a new sourdough starter which took for five days to be ready, and it looked good, it grew and bubbling beautifully.  Yes, it's living.  I was confident that I will have a good sourdough bread with it.
The bread ingredients I used: plain flour, sourdough starter, water, salt and sugar the equal amount of the salt.  I could tell you that I used too much sourdough starter as the first proofing was almost doubled in bulk which is out of character from the sourdough making.  But overall, the bread was good.
Here are the pictures of the preparation and the baking of the bread.

 The Sourdough Starter

A lot of Bubbles

Thick and Strong and alive

The Dough

The Dough, ready for the First Proofing

After a few hours of proofing, it's doubled.

Dividing the Dough

Resting for 25 minutes

The dough in the portion before the shaping

The Shaping

Resting the dough onto floured cloth

Proof for two hours

The floured cloth for the dough to rest or to proof

The Baking
(I think the dough was over prooved based on the look after scoring)

The dough slashed/scored before baking.

Place a baking stone in the oven to heat up before placing the dough to bake and put a container with water in the bottom of the oven to make the steams.  Place the bread onto the hot stone and bake for 26-29 minutes.

Transfer and rest the bread immediately after baked, to the cooling tray.

Freshly Baked Sourdough Bread

The long bread

The Bread 

When it was cooled enough, about two hours later, the bread was ready to cut, and the crumb was good, soft and chewy, and the outer was crisp.

The crumb looked good, and the taste was good

The Baking Process was very enjoyable, with a high expectation of a great result.  Indeed it's the best baking sourdough bread ever.  It could be better, but it's almost to perfection.

The smell of the kitchen is always so homely while the bread is being baked, it is a beautiful place to be expecting such delicious food.  A good day a friendly time.

I don't have the recipe to share regarding this baking, but you have nothing to lose not following a recipe, as it is only a guide.  Sound judgment and the right ingredients and accurate application are the keys to success.  The weather on the day is playing a big part too.

I read an expert says a recipe in itself does not guarantee a good loaf.  They are so many variables that affect a good sourdough bread, from the kind of flour to the amount it is handled, to the weather on the day. ( These are things that a recipe cannot be accountable).
Baking a beautiful loaf is about more than just the practical external factors.  To make a really great sourdough, you need the ability to judge the dough; to know it, understand it, feel it and instinctively correct or modify your technique on any given day.

Personally, I agree with what the expert suggests and says. Once you understand the technique and the right reasons to make sourdough bread, then you will always bake a great loaf.

A basket of sourdough bread of the beautiful baking.

Beautiful Sourdough Bread the Good Loaf

I do think  I understand what sourdough is all about, but I will keep on learning and improve.  I am very passionate about baking sourdough bread the excellent loaf.


Last but not least I have to say that it freezes well, it was a reasonable effort and a great reward.

Until Next Post

Susy

Happy Spring Day.

It has been raining in my town, but mostly I am grateful, it helps the plants to grow and keeps the grass stays green, it is Spring.  Cut flowers from our garden to celebrate the spring, they are pretty and colourful.

Spring Flowers of My Garden

Beautiful day, Today is one of our sports days, and we loved it.  It was a hectic but pleasant day and looking forward to resting in the afternoon. Work out in any form is a must I believe, like the day of playing sports, which is very beneficial, getting fit and feeling good are the reward.  Game of competition in Spring is fun, the season is perfect for it, it is not too hot to be outside, but the indoor sport is even better.  Hot drink after we got home is our routine, but today I found a treat sat among these beautiful flowers.  Yes, lovely and luscious sweet cake, I enjoyed it without a gilt. 

Symphony of Colours, Beautiful Cut Flowers from My Garden.

 

Fun in the garden, we are lucky to have beautiful flowers to cut and to look at.  I am proud and please sharing these beautiful pictures of flowers to celebrate the Spring.  It is a shame for the unsharp images; still, they are freshly cut a colourful variety of flowers from my garden.

On that note, I wish you all the very best, enjoy your garden, and the beauty of the season.

Red Rose is the Flower of the Month.

It is a short post but sweet.  I hope you had a great day as I did.

Happy Spring Day to You All.

Until Next Time

Susy

Red Roses

Beautiful Red Roses.

The red rose bushes are flowering magnificently, and they are at their best.  It must be the year of the Roses. This year the rose bushes are very healthy, the leaves are large and glossy green, and there are no aphids to worry about.

 Enjoy your day today, and Have a Great Week Everyone!!!



Until Next Post
Susy

Flowers, Food and Family

Pictures and Snapshots.

Colours in Our Garden.

Winter Rose

Cream and Orange Clivia are at their best right now.

Pretty Clivia

Red Rose Bushes

Red Rose with an intense colour

The Red Rose Bushes are flowering beautifully.

Hippeastrum

Seven Buds 

\

Beautiful Flowers adorn the Season.
Love the intense pink and bright yellow.

Herbs -Wild Rockets and Silvia with their flowers

Home Baked Rye Bread

Delightful but a little Dense

 Soup for Spring

Cauliflower and Potato Soup

 Bread for Breakfast 

A Chocolate Cake was born for Mary Rose Birthday.

Pool Party at Airbnb in Brisbane.

 

 

 

In spite of the rain the pool party was successful, the children enjoyed it and the birthday girl was so happy.  Susan did a great job to set up the party, with fantastic decoration, and beautiful food.

It is always awesome to have a family holiday.

Fun in the Art Gallery in Ipswitch.

The grandchildren and the adults had a good time.

 After a long walk in the rain, we were sitting waiting for the hot drink.

In the Botanical Garden in Toowong

Walking along in the Japanese Garden, Cool and Calm

Raining and raining for six days in Brisbane, but we managed to visit places, one of them was the Beautiful Botanical Garden in Toowong.  Luckily the rain was easing.

Delicious Dinner, Ramen prepared by the Japanese, was an experienced introduced by Susan and Tris.  Must learn how to use the chopsticks.

Lovely Luncheon

 Together at Black Bird, Bar and Grill in Brisbane.

A delightful and delicious food We had before we left Brisbane.

Jacaranda is in full blooms everywhere, I would say it is the signature of Brisbane. Beautiful colour, perfect purple, so rich and yet so soft. 

The Purple Flowers  of The Jacaranda Tree 

At Park Lane, we were greeted with all the beautiful flowers in our front and backyard.  It's good to be home. Travelling from Tullamarine to Traralgon by shuttle bus took over three hours, it's at  8.16 to get to our house.  I was grateful, though.  Slept well and in the morning we went for our Thursday Fun.  It was fun indeed to be meeting with good people playing our sports games.

Such sweet but short visited Brisbane it was.  I am glad that we did it, we shall be back. 

Love to see you, Melanie and family have settled beautifully and also looking forward to moving to the brand new home soon. Checking out the town while the kids at school and the lunch at the Cafe were enjoyable, Mel! 

In Japanese Garden Ipswich

At Home Fun with Flowers and Food

 Orchid flowers for this year are not the best but still beautiful

Saturday for Sourdough Bread 

This time the inspiration from the recipe of Patric Ryan.  Added sugar to the ingredients of the bread and baked on a hot stone (pizza stone could be used).  Well, I have missed the brief, I did not read the recipe very well.

Sourdough starter created last week. Made it up, but it looks so good.

Sourdough Bread
Dense and Puddingy Texture

The result is not good enough; obviously, the bread is a little tight and dense, and there is not enough flavour.  A little disappointing.  Do again and learn from the mistakes!

Beautiful flowers,  a scene that I would miss is the purple flower Jacaranda, we don't have the trees alongside the road here in Victoria more so in Traralgon.  You find these beauties everywhere, in a home garden, alongside the street or in the botanical garden.
This picture is in the suburb of Goodna, and often we passed by or went through that road,  as we drove between Toowong to Ipswich.

Beautiful Jacaranda Trees with Their Blooms

Lily and Thomas.  Having tea and cake.

Cuppa Time. Mel, Thomas, Henry, Pop, Lily and Mary Rose

Travelling with Susan and Tris was fun and easy, and spending time with the grandkids and their parents was lovely.  We miss them already.

The Rewards

A short break was good for the body and the soul.  Now we embrace the daily routine with joy.

See you all again, family!

Love the look of the potted lettuce and could not wait to harvest.  An idea that planting vegetables could be done everywhere, in this case, easy to care, obviously keeping away from the slugs.

Enjoy the Sunday, and Have a Good Week.



Until Next Post
Susy