Cara goes to learn all about sourdough bread baking, proofing, sourdough culture and the useful tools to create a boule that is worth all the effort.
Like half of us (according to Google) during the not very fun times of lockdown I tried sourdough making and other forms of baking. Some gave brilliant results while others were a gooey mess, I’m referring to my 100% sourdough rye loafs.
They looked misleadingly good from the outside but were betrayed by the runny middle. So today I am learning the art of proper sourdough baking, because the final result – golden crust and an airy spongy middle that melts the butter, is an art, no one is should deny that.
But feeding a sourdough starter, measuring flours and temperature monitoring has never been my thing. I love pets especially if they are shelter adopted, not store bought but I don’t own one and the sourdough creations almost sound like pet sitting to me.
After the rye bread failures, I always wanted to give sourdough another chance, but under professional guidance. So I was thrilled to receive the invitation for a masterclass at the Bread Ahead Bakery School in collaboration with Brød & Taylor.
The London Borough Market venue runs brilliant baking classes for exactly that, people like me who need professional guidance. And we left with a sourdough at the end and no, it wasn’t a week later. But rather 2 hours.
The masterclass takes you through step by step, you get to whisk and prep the starter, and it comes home with you to become bread a week later.
You knead the dough, wait for it to proof until finally the last stage of folding and shaping it into the bread. To achieve that we’re working with doughs of different “age”. That were fermented and proofed till the needed stage.
The class is hands on and on the table, which is brilliant because I learnt what sourdough should look and feel like at different cycles, all under a thorough guideance of an experienced baker.
To make life easier we of course tried some handy tools by Brød & Taylor, that have recently launched to the UK market.
Brød & Taylor, renowned for innovative high-quality products that turn baking challenges into everyday pleasures, has tools designed to support bakers everywhere on their bread making journey.
Whilst experimenting with whatever I had in the kitchen during my lockdown baking was at times fun, folding the dough without a handy bread scraper was more challenging than fun.
Watching my sourdough grow in a former gherkins jar with no proper lid, which still had a stubborn pickled spell despite million washes – again was not great. I would have preferred gazing at the bubbly creature in a proper starter jar with a designated lid.
But the most challenging was the baking, recreating a humid environment in the regular over by putting an additional tray with water under.
Balancing the hot water in a tray was tricky, as was keeping my rye loaf well covered with tin foil in an attempt to recreate an artisan Dutch oven. Again a baking shell would have been very handy.
So if you are into baking Brød & Taylor does a great range to suit any baking needs from starter machines to control the temperature to whisks.
While Bread Ahead makes delicious bakes for the time when one doesn’t feel like baking. And runs baking masterclasses for when baking skills need a little pick me up.
But I can say for certain after the class and with plenty of tools now I feel confident enough to try the sourdough rye bread baking again, even bought the flour now.
Bread Ahead Borough Market, Cathedral St, London SE1 9DE
Full list of Brød & Taylor products can be found at www.brodandtaylor.com