On Bread Alone
We may not be able to live on bread alone, but we can surely try. Besides, it never hurts to have a good recipe up your sleeve, a natural starter in your fridge, and a gaggle of teenagers ready to try it right out of the oven (ok, give it time to cool).
These beauties were baked late in the afternoon and yet the process started yesterday. They are the result of a natural starter I made at the end of last year following a recipe from the Moro folks over in London (a restaurant that has been on my radar for several years-anyone eaten there?). The starter is made from Organic grapes, includes a 2 week plus fermentation period, then daily feeding for another week or so before it’s ready to use, and a little love over time.
The dough itself is much wetter than the other bread recipes I have made, but that’s exactly why I like it, plus you hardly have to knead it. In fact, you can’t really, as it’s quite sticky and wet. All it takes is time and remembering to start a day ahead, as well keeping up with your starter. It is by nature, a longer, slower process, but one that produces loaves with more character. As their book says, a good loaf should be moist, chewy and slightly sour with a proper crust. I think I’ve just about got it.
After feeling less than inspired today, this has sent me over the moon.
Wow, what a way to go!
Nani, they look like artisan loaves, luscious and so rustic…and made with such an interesting starter!! I am game if you can ever spare any of it! anything organic. And sourdough bread is better for you in the sense that it takes more time to produce insulin in our system. what kind of flour do you use?
Bread is called the staff of life for good reason.
And what a heavenly smell emanates from it!
I can see that cooking is such a release for you!!
Thanks, Mary xoxo
Jealous crumbs
- warming
Hearth.
Is it all gone?
I’ll be making more this week-2 batches this past weekend; 1 loaf in the freezer, more to come. Will make sure you get some.
Well, is it?
I come from france and of course enjoy French “cuisine” like many people around the world (you can visit my newbie blog speaking about french “cuisine” history and recipes ). I discover that french food is not only famous in france and also foie gras of course. Happy to see that many peopple enjoy eating like us, your page is really intersting about cuisine. Thanks
Seriously, well done.
However, I have to know more about this starter. Titillating stuff about it being fed daily. Fed What! Sheesh, what a tease.
Gorgeous photos! I plan to pick up your book at Nepenthe in person soon (I live in Mendocino County now); if not, a call to The Phoenix and a delivery will have to suffice. Someday I hope to call Big Sur home but will happily live vicariously through others in the meantime.
I have been experimenting with long-fermented doughs. As Mary Stewart Anthony states above, the resulting bread has a gentler insulin response and is also more digestible. And the texture is so fabulous with these wet doughs! The next step for me is not using any commercial yeast on the starter or dough; my current dough has some commercial yeast in it.
Thank you for sharing.
Cheers!
Nancy
Hello Nancy, Thank you for writing in. You can purchase my book through the Phoenix, but they might also have it at the bookstore in Mendocino. I did a reading there last month which was great fun, and they did have a few books left. Perhaps stop in and ask?
It’s been very interesting to play with my natural starter; made a second batch almost immediately, one loaf I baked in a cast iron cassoulet pot. It gave it a great crust and allowed me to bake a round loaf without the use of a French baker’s basket. I like the long, slow rise of this bread–it really does have great texture, and a nice chewiness to it. Haven’t yet tried this recipe with anything like a Rye flour, but that may be in order. Take good care-Romney
Fantastic! I must drive to Mendocino later this week so will stop in to the bookshop. The Mendocino Yarn Shop recently moved and the new location is filled with light; I hope to have time to stop in there as well.
My latest bread is some you can leave dough in the refrigerator for a week or two; the longer you wait, the more flavor that develops. I was very skeptical but after getting a sterling review from a respected and experienced bread-baker, I thought I’d try. How great to be able to tear off a hunk, shape and let it rise for 45 or so minutes then only 30 minutes to baked bliss! So simple and the feedback over the holidays . . . convincing and encouraging to experiment more and more. Now to try some non-commercial yeast starters and then other flours after that perhaps. But even if only these simple loaves are all that are fantastic, that is enough.
Is it wine and bread time yet? Cheers! –Nancy
last week Monday Jan 11th i made my way to Moro on Exmouth street and it was closed for a week for renovations- think it opened again on Friday by which time i was back in CA! alas- i was hoping to surprise report back for you – but I did tell the manager all about your bread!! There is a great little hot food market on the same pedestrian street they are on- Ghanaian stews, Germans selling vegie stir fry, and Asianand Polish food, all very hearty and warming in the London freeze. From there I went on walking, as one does in London, and found my way to a lovely casual little deli on Sloane Street-
One thing thats very interesting about Moro folks is their involvement with the levelling of an allotment for the upcoming olympic games- its a sad story- they made a little film about it – it is on moro.co.uk -
happy baking
g