My starter dates to March of 2020. It's a pandemic baby.
* Timing is flexible. Especially if you toss in a tiny bit of yeast.
* The dutch oven is great, but it complicates baking. You get to do one loaf at a time. OTOH, It's a relly good loaf. Sadly though, the electricity costs are high.
* Wet doughs can use basic flour, which is good because hi-gluten bread flour has been scarce in Ireland for the past couple of years.
What I do:
540g bog standard white flour. (lidl, definitely _not_ self raising or with raising agents like most of the flour in Ireland). Replace up to 200g with coarse wheaten flour.
280g water
1 tbsp salt
1/8tbsp yeast if it's cold.
300g 1:1 flour/water starter.
In the morning, Mix the dry ingredients with a spatula, mix in the wet ones to a mixed dough. Let it sit for 1/2 hour. Lightly knead in your hands for 30 sec or so. Oil the bowl, put the dough back in and wiggle it around, then cover with plastic wrap. Do other stuff till dinner time.
Quickly (1-2 turns) form the loaf, plop it on a baking paper back in the bowl.
In an hour or two, depending on how warm it is and if it's final rising fast or not, start the oven with the dutch oven in it. Preheat at least 30 min. Bake 30 lid on +30 min lid off at ~180c fan.
Things not to do:
* Forget to start the oven, get ready to go to bed and realize that the loaf is still sitting on the counter.
* Worry too much. It's all grand.
* Forget to take it out, though an extra 30 min is surprisingly ok. Just thicker crust.
The starter gets equal weights of water and flour, supposedly every night, but more likely the night before baking and the morning of baking. I bake every 2 days.
* Timing is flexible. Especially if you toss in a tiny bit of yeast.
* The dutch oven is great, but it complicates baking. You get to do one loaf at a time. OTOH, It's a relly good loaf. Sadly though, the electricity costs are high.
* Wet doughs can use basic flour, which is good because hi-gluten bread flour has been scarce in Ireland for the past couple of years.
What I do:
540g bog standard white flour. (lidl, definitely _not_ self raising or with raising agents like most of the flour in Ireland). Replace up to 200g with coarse wheaten flour.
280g water
1 tbsp salt
1/8tbsp yeast if it's cold.
300g 1:1 flour/water starter.
In the morning, Mix the dry ingredients with a spatula, mix in the wet ones to a mixed dough. Let it sit for 1/2 hour. Lightly knead in your hands for 30 sec or so. Oil the bowl, put the dough back in and wiggle it around, then cover with plastic wrap. Do other stuff till dinner time.
Quickly (1-2 turns) form the loaf, plop it on a baking paper back in the bowl.
In an hour or two, depending on how warm it is and if it's final rising fast or not, start the oven with the dutch oven in it. Preheat at least 30 min. Bake 30 lid on +30 min lid off at ~180c fan.
Things not to do:
* Forget to start the oven, get ready to go to bed and realize that the loaf is still sitting on the counter.
* Worry too much. It's all grand.
* Forget to take it out, though an extra 30 min is surprisingly ok. Just thicker crust.
The starter gets equal weights of water and flour, supposedly every night, but more likely the night before baking and the morning of baking. I bake every 2 days.