The High Attitude Baker, Part 3

It’s almost anti-climactic.

In case you haven’t been keeping up with this experiment, I built a pâte fermentée starter, also known as “old dough,” which doesn’t sound nearly as exciting.  I started from scratch, using only organic whole wheat flour and water…no commercial yeast.  The only yeasts involved are the natural yeasts in our good old New Mexico air and the ones that live on the wheat berries themselves.

The term “old dough” describes the way bread was made for ages uncounted before fresh yeast cakes or packets of dried yeast became widely available at the grocery store.  The way most people leavened their bread was by keeping back a piece of dough from each batch to jump start the next batch.  These starters were often handed down from mother to daughter.

But, of course, somebody had to have made that first starter.  Which is what I wanted to try.  And I finally succeeded.  From starter to dough to bread in 6½ days.  Good thing I’m not a pioneer woman, depending on this bread to feed my family.  Our bones would be bleaching on the prairie by now.

The loaves are smaller than I expected, which may be partly due to the cold weather–about 7″ in diameter and 3½” high.  I proofed them on flat sheets instead of in bannetons or bowls, so they were pretty flat before I put them in the oven.  But they’re attractive (I think) and delicious–moist and chewy crumb with a nutty grain flavor, thick, crisp/chewy crust.  They make fabulous toast.

So now I’m thinking…pain à l’ancienne baguettes like Phillipe Gosselin makes in Paris.  Or maybe a semolina bread such as Pane Siciliano, a traditional S-shaped bread from Sicily.  Or olive cheeks, adorable little rolls from Daniel Leader’s book Local Breads by way of my friend Susan Thomas’s incredible food blog, Farmgirl Fare.

That’s the amazing thing…so many breads, so little time.  And if you ever think you’ve finally got it all figured out, something new–a technique or a book or kind of bread you never even heard of–comes along and you just have to try it.  Not to mention quick breads…muffins and scones, biscuits, flatbreads…don’t get me started.