Water+salt+flour+heat=MAGIC

Amazing what three simple ingredients can create with a little bit of heat. My yeast is a natural culture called a sour where you let water and flour ferment, as well as capture the wild yeast and bacteria, for some days until you see some action in the form of bubbles. This culture will last your lifetime as long as you continually tend to it by the means of "feeding" or refreshing it with equal amounts of flour and water.

So last night I prepared some bread dough with this culture, at about 23%, and let it enjoy itself acting on the sugars of the flour for a good 4 hours. At about 3:30 I punched down any large pockets of gas and shaped the dough into four loaves and placed each on a board covered with a cloth. In the refrigerator until 10:00 and then let them proof outside until 14:00 where I then got to see them spring up in the oven with life.

This method of long and slow fermentation is what gives artisan bread it's notorious crunchy golden crust and chewy open crumb. Buon appetito!