I told you all, recently, that I was going to bake some sourdough sandwich bread soon, though I don’t recall that I gave much detail.
Well, I did just that.
In fact, I made two loaves of bread, and, although both use sourdough the sourdough starter, one loaf was made using All Purpose flour, and the other, with bread flour. I needed to see what the differences were between the two.
Have a look.
Starting the entire process, making 2 loaves of bread, started at about 12:45 on the 26th, I put both dough boules into their respective containers for their first rise around 1:15pm-1:30pm, as you can see on each of the containers. The photo was taken after 1 1/2 hours of initial rise time with the temperature in the apartment about 68º F. I did use 1/2 tsp. instant yeast with each loaf, even though I also used 1/2 c. sourdough starter, as it helps the bread rise a bit faster, but it also cuts some of the sourness of the final product. I’m not interested in sour bread, just the health benefits of the sourdough itself.
The above photo was taken at 5:00pm just after taking both loaves out of the main oven. The 3pm on the toweling is when they began the second rise in the loaf pans. All in all, it was a 4 hour investment of my time, and the energy of our appliances that helped with them.
The shininess of the final loaves is due to the butter that I spread on the crusts to make them soft enough for Ivan to be able to eat them. It makes for a much more pleasant sandwich, for sure.
The smell is amazing, of which neither of us can get enough.
When they finally cool enough to slice, I will do that, and add it as a PS.
Until then, stay happy,healthy, and safe. Wash, cover, and protect yourselves.
Post script: as promised, here are the two loaves finished, and sliced. The loaf made with the AP flour has a better taste when eaten as is, with a smear of butter, whereas the bread flour loaf has a slight bitter taste to it. Not sure the reason, but I’ll use it to toast, and grill.
