Taking bread to Lindisfarne

[shewhomust]

durham_rambler tweeted:

Sounds from kitchen.
helenraven: is that the bread?
shewhomust: yes.
helenraven: maybe we should see if we can hire a chainsaw in the village.

It was, I admit, a particularly crusty loaf, and what my critics in the next room couldn't tell from the sounds alone was that it did look exactly like a brick.

This was my second attempt at the summer rye with, as I promised, more rye flour and more time. Even more time than I had anticipated, in fact, as the dough was very sluggish, and in the end I punched it into the largest loaf tins (more of the spoils of desperance) and went to bed. By the morning it ‪had doubled in size, but was still almost completely flat on top (with knuckle marks), and it didn't rise noticeably in the baking, either. It was flavourful, lighter than the previous rye loaf and toasted beautifully* - but it still looked like a brick.

The problem, I think, was that I had delayed a day or so too long before using this batch of starter, and it had lost its bounce. I promised myself that in future I would be ruthless, and on my return from Lindisfarne seeded a fresh batch of started and cheerfully discarded the remains of the shoggoth. That was on Saturday, and today Dan Lepard's barley, beer and oregano flatbread is expanding fit to take over the kitchen. I've put it in the fridge and run away, and we'll see what it's like in the morning...

---

*This seems to be a constant. I also took the remaining saffron buns with us: the first day I warmed them in the oven, and they were good, but the second day I toasted them, and they were wonderful. Another time I'll make a saffron loaf, for ease of toasting.