I am back to baking bread again, and I absolutely love it.
I enjoy baking so much more now that I am retired; I have all day to spend mixing, kneading, shaping, resting, and baking. In fact, I have been baking two loaves of bread, weekly, for the past two, or three weeks. I found a large two kilo bag of whole wheat flour on the top shelf of the pantry that I had forgotten all about. So, I have been making the best bread with 1/3 of the mixture as whole wheat and the rest bread flour. The loaves are soft, and tender, with the delicious, nutty flavor of the whole wheat.
I have never had any luck baking bread with whole wheat, but this has been turning out better than even using just the bread flour. Let me show you what I mean.
I have learned, over time, that sourdough bread, with the wonderfully dark, crispy crust, and chewy crumb, is a Northern thing. Folks here do not care for the crispy crust, or all of the airy holes in their bread. The most common bread here is called Bimbo, and is very much a white Wonder Bread™ bread. Soft white bread without substance, but is easy to eat.
I have settled for the whole wheat version, and it is lovely. I just thought to take a photo of it before it was all gone. Here it is. The hole in the middle is from the temperature probe I use to check the temperature, making sure the bread has reached a final temp of 195º internally before calling it “done”.
All I can say is it is too bad that you cannot be here for me to make you a loaf too.
Stay happy, stay healthy, stay safe. Wash your hands, cover your mouth, and protect your loved ones.