Baking with Betty

 

I might hate all this heat and humidity but Betty sure doesn't. All the struggles I had when the weather was cold have disappeared and now I've got a starter that's run amok. 

I first noticed the changes two weeks ago when it really got hot. Same recipe, same techinique. Much bigger bread. 

Look at the ears on these two little loaves. I thought they were going to explode. For non sourdough groupies, the ears are the flaps that open up when you cut down the middle of the dough before you bake. It helps the steam escape. 

In spite of the eruption, the insides were fine. These two little loaves didn't last long so I had to make more.

She made basketball sized loaves. Again, same recipe, same technique. The dough puffed up so quickly that bulk fermentation, the main rise, only took a couple of hours. I was baking by dinner time.

I was worried that the fast turnaround would result in bad bread but it looks and tastes fine. 

Then I put her to the test with a few English muffins and ......

...a few bagels. Both were bigger and fluffier than my usual sorry specimens. I'm going to repeat "same recipes, same techniques" again because I need to give credit where it's due. It's all Betty. I hate the summer but I do love what it does for the wild yeast that creates the sourdough bubbles. They've gone crazy.