Levain day 6, several days later
I suppose I was supposed to post on day 6. It’s day 6! No it’s not. So what happened?
Well, let’s just say that day 6 didn’t go well. Day 5 featured a dough, it had some nice aromas, looked like it might be ready to actually become bread after I completed the final mix. We should be able to make this work. After all, I followed the process. This is going to work because a professional baker said so, right?
Ok, maybe not so much. The dough didn’t come together. And it wasn’t about the professional baker. I don’t actually think there was a problem with the technique. Where I went wrong was in not trusting my own instincts.
I’ve been baking bread on and off for the past year and change. And in that time I had hoped I had learned something about the process and the feel of a dough with good gluten structure. About how a bread should feel through its various stages of coming into being, how it should look and taste when out of the oven. About how to rest a dough, what should happen through the rise, how to administer a dent test, and maybe even having an inkling about when a dough has proved properly. Don’t get me wrong, I’m not ready to step into the tent on bread week. But in my home kitchen, I can pull together a nice loaf.Â
Back to the levain and my lack of trust in my own instincts. In retrospect, I should have known the dough was too wet. I should have known there wasn’t enough gluten structure. I should have known the dough was out of balance.
Ironically, I did. I did know what was wrong. I knew the dough needed more gluten formation. I knew the dough was too slack, and its moisture content was out of whack.
I know these things because on Saturday morning I tried to salvage the dough (and tried to recover my bannetons that were caked with sticky dough) by kneading, reducing the hydration levels and by trying to get a slack dough to hold a shape that didn’t act like a liquid in a container. Flour was everywhere, the dogs were in hiding, it was a desperate attempt. We may never see the cat again.
Alas it was too little too late. And if the Summer games were being played locally, I’d have gladly donated the discus for the throw. My bake went south in a major way. I didn’t get a shape that was consistent, I didn’t get a good rise, there was no oven spring. What came out of the Dutch oven was a pleasant smelling ovoid object that resembled bread with a seriously hard crust and no crumb.
What I was left with was a frustration that took me a while to get over. Thus the delay in this post. I’m over it now. My levain culture is in hibernation in the fridge awaiting a second go at the leavened bread. The culture see the light of day once more, wherein during such endeavors I shall trust my instincts. I’ll knead. I’ll pay closer attention to the feel of the dough. I’ll make sure I have good gluten structures. I’ll make sure hydration seems right. And hopefully, I’ll have something wonderful to eat.
I failed this time, but the next will be at a minimum incrementally better than the last until I get it right.Â
On your marks, get set... Hang on, we’ll bake soon.
This post is part of a series tracking my levain build process and first leavened bread bake. Below are the posts that belong to this series.
Day 1
Day 2
Day 3
Day 4
Day 5
Day 6 (this post)
