At long last--sourdough!

[Shakespeare]

Well, Spongebob is now converted over to a white-flour starter (no more rye), and I just baked my first two loaves today.

Yesterday, sponge phase 1 (using the basic recipe on housewolf's site), freshly mixed:



Which evolved into sponge phase 2, fully activated & more than doubled in size, this morning:



And dough:



And fresh from the oven:



The dough made 1 free-form loaf and one boule, which we've almost finished off already. :9

And now I'm back to my weekly weekend sourdough habit! :bounce: One tip (for those of you thinking about starting up a starter)--I'd forgotten, and now re-learned, that my starter and sponge both seem to perform much, much better if they're very, very thick. I have no idea why, and YMMV. I've seen Youtube videos where thinner starters do fantastically well, but I just have better luck with super-thick starter and sponge.

[hippywife]

1. Oh, yum!

Looks fantastic. I can almost taste it! I really am going to have to knuckle down and try this. Maybe I can start one next weekend and make Lucinda's recipe while I'm waiting for it.

:hi:

[Shakespeare]

2. It's really worth it, and aside from keeping it fed, it's pretty low-maintenance.

I have a recipe for sourdough English muffins I want to try this week, so that may be the next offspring of Spongebob. :hi:

[Lucinda]

3. Sourdough english muffins sound great.

Your loaf is gorgeous too!

[housewolf]

4. Congrats, Shakespeare! That looks teriffic!

And should keep getting better for a while as you continue to maintain the starter.

I've always gotten better results with a thick starter, too... IMHO thick starters develop more complex, richer flavors which is what I go for, rather than just sourness.

Beautiful loaf! I'll bet it delicious! Wish I had one just like it...