Hi. I have been a yeast baker for quite awhile and and I am pretty "old school" when it comes to bread. I am now exploring sourdough and have a great starter in the fridge. It loves KAF with a dash of sugar now and then and produces some outstanding breads. My question is this: I see that these baguettes use instant yeast. Is there any way to use sourdough instead of yeast and lengthen or somehow modify the rise periods to accomodate for the longer rise times of sourdough?
Absolutely, Tim - you'll have to experiment a bit, but several long, slow rises should do the trick. Get your starter good and active by feeding it a couple of times in close succession, then have at it. I suggest your final rise, of the shaped baguettes, be overnight in the fridge. As I said, you'll have to experiment; sometimes you just let it go too long and the wild yeast exhausts itself. But you'll figure it out, and have some really tasty bread. Cheers - PJH
July 8, 2010 at 9:01pm