Leaf drop on Lickman Rd

It’s taken me a long time.

Many trials, lots of sub-par bread, and more than a few loaves that didn’t turn out the way I hoped.

But I think after 7 years, I’ve finally figured out my perfect loaf.

The recipe is ingrained in my head:

100
300
10
500

It works every time and is a very manageable hydration.

Ingredients

100 g active sourdough starter
300 g water
10 g salt
500 g flour

Method

1. Mix

Combine the starter, water, salt, and flour in a large bowl. Mix until everything is incorporated.

2. Stretch and Fold

Do 3 sets of stretch and folds, waiting 30 minutes between each set.

3. Bulk Ferment

After the third stretch and fold, cover the bowl and let the dough rise on the counter for 6–8 hours.

4. Shape

Shape the dough into a loaf and place it into a floured banneton.

5. Cold Proof

Cover and refrigerate for 12–24 hours.

6. Bake

Preheat your oven to 500°F.

Place a baking sheet on the bottom rack and add ice when the loaf goes in. The steam is going to work its wonderfulness.

Bake at 500°F for 7 minutes.

Remove the loaf and score it.

Return to the oven, reduce the temperature to 450°F, and bake for another 40–45 minutes.

7. Cool

Let cool before slicing.

Or don’t. I usually cut into it before I should.😋

This year I left part of my dahlia field in the ground, fully expecting them to freeze and be a loss. I was fine with that.

We had a mild winter… and they didn’t freeze.

They’re actually coming back.

In all my years growing, I’ve never had dahlias successfully overwinter in the ground here. It’s usually way too wet.

Now everything is sprouting, but nothing is labeled… so that doesn’t really work.

We went back and forth on what to do, and Timothy just decided to dig them up.

He’s honestly the work