Rav's Sourdough: formula, methods, baking with charcoal, free bread

[jacqueg]

Tomorrow is bake day here at La Posa South. I have 1/2 boule that is not spoken for yet. Anybody who is willing to pick it up at my campsite is welcome to it. Speak up here or send me a PM.

Cammalou, no. You cannot have just 1/2 boule for you and John. You have to take a whole one! You can only have whole ones -- at least until I manage to make you a beautiful boule. =) If you must, give half away yourself

If no one else wants it, I do!

 

[Ravella and X]

K Jacque
I'll text you when it's baking.

 

[highdesertranger]

dang I wish I was close by so I could claim one. they look yummy. highdesertranger

 

[Ravella and X]

What? You won't be in Quartzsite at all this season? I'm here til April. If not, maybe we will run into each other later in the year. If not then, its bound to happen sooner or later, yes? Hopefully not during a burn ban.

I want to feed the world. But feeding fellow nomads will have to satisfy me =)

 

[jacqueg]

K Jacque
I'll text you when it's baking.

 Great!

 

[highdesertranger]

I will be around the end of January. I will look you up then. highdesertranger

 

[WanderingRose]

I want to feed the world. But feeding fellow nomads will have to satisfy me =)

Good for you, Rav.   :heart:

Small acts of kindness can change the world.

 

[Ravella and X]

Thanks, Rose. I believe that, too. =)

See you then, HDR.

I cannot think what to add to the actual sourdough info in this thread today. I'll just offer this reminder: be careful about sourdough bread making sources on the internet. Many present their way with what seems like ironclad "musts". Most of those musts can be overwhelming, and they really aren't truly necessary for making good, satisfying, healthy and cheap fresh bread.

BTW, though I use charcoal and a Dutch oven, I have read accounts of people using Coleman camp ovens on a camp stove successfully. An RV oven is fine. I believe you could make good sourdough in a solar oven, too.

 

[WanderingRose]

You can also bake small sized pan breads in a skillet, as I do with my no knead dough that I refrigerate, and as I used to do for sourdough biscuits when my husband was alive.

I actually carried a starter as we traveled, and a couple of times a week I would make a scaled down version of sourdough biscuits, let them rise and then cook them stovetop with a lid.

Flipping at the very end to brown the top, and delicious they were.

I have a sourdough cookbook those biscuits are in.

One of these days I’ll pull it out and post it.

 

[jacqueg]

Thanks, Rose. I believe that, too.  =)

See you then, HDR.

I cannot think what to add to the actual sourdough info in this thread today. I'll just offer this reminder: be careful about sourdough bread making sources on the internet. Many present their way with what seems like ironclad "musts". Most of those musts can be overwhelming, and they really aren't truly necessary for making good, satisfying, healthy and cheap fresh bread.

BTW, though I use charcoal and a Dutch oven, I have read accounts of people using Coleman camp ovens on a camp stove successfully. An RV oven is fine. I believe you could make good sourdough in a solar oven, too.

The best loaf I ever made was in a toaster oven in a pyrex casserole dish!

 

[Ravella and X]

In case any readers are thinking about growing or adoping a starter, here is a short article I find fascinating:

https://www.bbc.com/future/article/20190730-the-strange-science-inside-your-sourdough

My starter, Hugo has lived all over the place, and I often wonder how he changes as we go. The part about most of the bacteria strains being present in the flour suggests that Hugo is much the same in Michigan and Florida and Kansas and Wyoming as it is here in Arizona -- since his food is almost always KA AP

 

[desert_sailing]

The version of the Red Hen ad told to me was.. yes she did refuse to share but at the next baking everyone helped in the preparation.

I myself would always share... i am probably too generous... if that is such a thing.

i have one very nice down coat. It is top of the line and I love it so very much... it is the only nice warm coat hi end coat ive owned... last night after a week of debating with myself i boxed and wrapped it to give to some cold soul out and about.

How can i possibly sit in my home.. next to the heater..81 degrees inside.. while that coat sits in the closet and knowing someone aching from the cold.. is sitting on a park bench for hours..

 

[Ravella and X]

Cammalu says she's read this thread and I do a lot of work to make sourdough. I say it's more knowledge than work. To try and prove that, here are the plain directions without the knowledge gained from experience:

Mix all ingredients. Cover bowl and rest 15 minutes. Mix again.

Stretch and fold dough 5 times at 1/2 to 1 hour intervals.

Bulk ferment either at room temp or in refrigerator.

Preshape. Shape. Place boule in prepared dutch oven for final proof.

When ready to bake, score top.

Bake with 32-36 coals (12 on bottom) for 45-55 minutes.

Sooo easy! Not much hands-on time at all.

 

[Cammalu]

Seems like a lot to me when there are so many factors that can go wrong.

Love that hot sour dough! Also the yummy lemon curd.

Oh yeah, it’s now “next week”. Time to take a trip out to the desert again to get dusty. Pick a day when you will be bathing the next day or later that day.

 

[Ravella and X]

Brrr. You are so much tougher than me! OK. I will brave the cold today if you're free. Love the desert tours

 

[bullfrog]

It is in the 30s here today. Think I’ll go out and fire up the Samurai, unplug the block heater and let the snow melt off the windshield while the heater warms up the interior toasty warm. Just saying. Lol!!!

 

[Ravella and X]

Before coming to the mainland to do the nomad thing, I lived on Kauai for 10 years and discovered how to be cold at 68 degrees. I don't care what the temp says here in the desert southwest... Too cold for me is too cold for me!

There is a reason why I am not with X right now in Idaho (hint: rhymes with idaho and blow and foe and NO!)

On a brighter note, I'm pretty good at making soul and belly warming soups from scratch. Thinking today might be potato corn chowder

 

[nature lover]

You all know it would be far from me to brag or make you all feel bad. It was over 80 here today in Sarasota. Thank God we had a cool gulf wind or we couldn’t survive it. “ He said with a real snotty look on his face.”

Rav and x - First you talk about your delicious sourdough then you talk about delicious soup. Have you ever done a sourdough bread bowl? I haven’t, I’ve tried other breads but it sounds delicious. My favorite is brown potato soup (that’s an East Coast thing) in a whole wheat bread bowl.

 

[Ravella and X]

Well, Cammalu took me out in her putt-putt (her name for her little off road vehicle) and we spent the afternoon mostly plenty warm. Saw cool stuff. Found even more things we have in common. So a good day all around, even if it could have been warmer.

No bread bowl baking for me - since I bake in a Dutch oven, doing individual size boules would be a waste of charcoal and pretty tedious for a one meal endeavor. Maybe someday, if I find myself in a stick n brick long enough.

 

[Ravella and X]

Tomorrow is baking day and I will have 1 1/2 boules to not keep myself. Anyone who wants to pick up fresh, free bread at La Posa South should PM me or reply here. Let me know whole or half, please.

I MAY attempt to make bomboloni (Italian doughnuts) in the next few days IF there are enough people willing to eat all of those bad, empty, fat filled, sugar laden calories. I will be filling at least some of them with homemade lemon curd.

I've only made these twice -- and they're not super easy. I cannot promise they'll be perfect. Only that they'll be fresh treats. Any potential guinea pigs?