Cookaholics Bulletin Board

I made the starter from the January issue of Martha Stewart Living. It is from Tartine. This starter took easier and more successfully than any of the ones I have tried before. I have made 4 loaves of country bread and they are really fantastic!

http://porterhouse.typepad.com/porter_house/2011/01/tartine-country-bread.html
http://porterhouse.typepad.com/porter_house/2011/01/tartine-country-bread-results.html

Now I just need a few ideas for other great breads to make with this starter. One question I have is, if I was making some of the sourdoughs in BBA by PR, how would I make sure that the starter has the right level of hydration for his recipes?

Becca,

Your bread looks wonderful! Can you either post or PM me his formula?

Typically, you make adjustments using baker's percentages, but it's not always strictly possible or practical. Sometimes you just have to adjust based upon "feel."

There is a section in BBA which discusses baker's percentages, however, there is also some lengthy discussion between Tim and I on TOBB in his thread dedicated to this book.

Amy

Thanks Becca!

This recipe is similar to others I've done. My biggest problem is keeping to a schedule to feed my starter...somehow life gets in the way. I'm going to try this one, and attempt to be better about my ADD.

Amy

Yay! I am so glad you are doing it. I am baking two more loaves today. Btw, here is the article that accompanied the recipe, as well as links to the recipes you can make with the bread. I loved the warm winter bread salad, the Croque-Montagnarde, cinnamon-breadcrumb sprinkled ice cream, and the herb vinaigrette.

http://www.marthastewart.com/article/life-of-a-loaf

I am finally going to try the Poilane style miche from BBA tomorrow. I have been wanting to try this for years, but I never had an active enough starter. The barm is in my fridge awaiting the next step.

Are you going to make one large miche, or a couple of smaller boules?

Amy

One large, mostly so that I can hold it and look like the girl on the cover.

We will see how it works. Do you think it would fit in my brotform? I am thinking probably not.

How is your starter coming along; have you started it?

How big is your brotform? If it's 10" it might work.

I had to delay starting my starter. I'm going out of town for a few days.

Amy

P.S. If you do like the looks of your loaf, you absolutely must use that pic as your avatar.

Great idea! Will do.