Last night we set a massive amount of rolled oats (probably 4 cups) in with about 2 cups of flour, some yeast, and enough water to make a loose poolish. (No, there’s no measuring – it was all just dumped into the bowl.) Letting bread ferment overnight tends to make it nicely sour – not too sour, but just flavorful. This morning, we stirred in some more flour and some salt, formed it into loaves, and let it rise in the very cold kitchen. It rose for probably about 3 hours. I split the tops and added butter (handy tool for this is our apple-corer) because T. asked, “hey, do you remember those bread commercials where they split the top of the loaves?” They baked for 45 minutes, turning them around in the oven every 15, because our oven tends to run hot towards the back.
The bread is moist, and stays moist even when toasted. That’s because of the oats, we think. It’s a bit on the crumbly side, but overall quite tasty! Even though it has a hint of sour, we figure it’ll be quite good with jam, not just with savory things. It’s definitely not light in texture, but who wants light bread?
To the left is some vegetarian “tuna” paté, some cheese, mustard, and avocado, on slices of the fresh bread which have been toasted and then everything but the avocado went under the broiler until it got warm and melty.
-D
Below your post, I read the words, “Be sociable, share!” If only. I have not yet attempted sourdough, and look yearningly at your photos. Do you make the “tuna” pate? On occasion, I get Field Roast for yummy textured vegetable protein.
That avocado looks so appetizing on your lovely bread. Yum!