Getting Starter

Unfortunately, the requirements for my bakery experimentations involved 4 different kinds of flour (all-purpose, whole wheat, bread (high-protein), and oat), all of which are heavy. Bread flour especially comes in 10lb bags, which are not small. When I had all my needed ingredients at the store (minus the bread flour, which I was convinced was in too large a size) it would not all fit in my bag, which must have weighed about 25-30 lbs.

I made a stop at the local market on the way back to try to find a smaller bread flour but they only had the big size as well, which I got. M pointed out that you typically need a lot of flour to make bread, which was a good point.

I definitely got plenty of exercise on this excursion, which was 1.5 hrs all told.

I've decided to bake bread, which I've never done before and equate somewhere with alchemy in mystery and difficulty. Along with smoking meat, which has also been done since humanity first oozed its way out of the Almighty Platypus, these very basic culinary exercises intrigue me. I know that "modern" bread can be complex to make, just like good smoked pork (which I've done once to moderate effect), but at the heart these are simple concepts and techniques that I have never taken the time to master. Well, no more. Bread, here I come.

I'm going with a milk starter (not sourdough) that will ferment for 2 days before I try to assemble a bread with it. I use 2% milk instead of skim, which I am hoping will not mess with anything. Other than it's ability to go rancid, I wonder if there will be any other ill effects. I've read on the net that as long as it smells like a "good" sour and doesn't turn pinkish, I should be fine.

I follow Alton's technique for combining in a food processor (what a great, utilitarian name for it) but the batter overruns the top of the blade and leaks all over the counter. It takes me like 7 tries to get a solid seal back together.

After cleaning up, the yeast (rapid-rise) has already gone to work and the container is overflowing (not in this picture, though) so I transfer to something much bigger. The starter is supposed to be kept at 85 degrees for 2 days and I'm not sure how I'm going to swing that. I'll have to leave it at room temperature and hope for the best.