Bertinet Sourdough

As I mentioned in my last post, I’ve been trying Richard Bertinet‘s sourdough ferment recipe. The ferment is lively and strong and gave a good rise to the dough. I have to admit that I struggled somewhat with getting the dough usable as the water content of Richard’s recipe is higher than other recipe’s I’ve tried. I reckon it’s all in the technique  and I still need to work at it (I reckon a place on Richard’s breadmaking course is on the cards).

After 20 hours in the proving baskets, I found the dough very delicate and a little ‘runny’. In fact, I had to throw one of the doughs away as it just collapsed in on itself in a runny mess when I took it out of the basket. The other dough was a little more stable, but didn’t like being slashed with the lame – almost like popping a balloon!

The loaf I managed to get in the oven turned out to be light and somewhat sweet tasting rather than sour. For my taste, I will need to leave the leaven a little longer than Richard suggests to develop a sourer taste.

All in all, not an unqualified success with sourdough so far, but getting better. I will carry on trying because I love the taste. It can only get better (I hope).