Day 6 of leaven

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Day 6 of leaven

by miramaze @ Wednesday, 27. Aug, 2008 – 13:19:28

It's day ~~five~~ no six of leaven - leaven , as you might know from previous posts is the rising agent I'm making to use instead of yeast to make bread the old - fashioned way , before yeast became commercially available in shops.

I've taken a bit of the stuff and made a little bit of dough , which is now rising. RISING , I tell you !

*Proud*

I don't think it is my imagination , either.

We shall see, soon enough.
Patience .

X

Started this leaven experiment on 21st August . The stars indicate the refreshments.

Day 6 , nice and frothy

Had to try a bit to see if it works and it does seem to be working !
The indentation is where I prodded it with my finger .
Not quite ready yet.
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19 Comments to Day 6 of leaven

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- SeasideMan ^Pro
- Wednesday, 27. Aug, 2008 @ 13:55:05
I've obviously heard the term "unleavened bread" before, but I wasn't aware until now that Leaven was an actual substance. Most interesting. I make my own bread, but I use yeast.

How does the bread taste?

Tom.
- - miramaze
  - Wednesday, 27. Aug, 2008 @ 17:30:15
  Yes .. a friend of mine got me interested in baking bread from scratch
  
  There are many names for the rising agent - leaven, biga , levain ( sp ? French term ) Pain Artisan apparently is made using this leaven.
  
  It's not in the oven yet. I've bashed it down once and kneaded it and it will go into the oven as soon as it's hot enough.
  
  Will let you know
  
  X
  - - SeasideMan ^Pro
    - Wednesday, 27. Aug, 2008 @ 18:04:39
    Great :-)
    
    Sounds like natural yeast then, rather than baker's yeast. I've been looking into this and fancy trying it myself...as long as yours tastes good!
    
    Tom.
    - - miramaze
      - Wednesday, 27. Aug, 2008 @ 20:55:49
      It tastes really good Tom !
      The starter was only 6 days old - I wasn't sure it would work , but it did !
      I'm so happy now that I know that it works.
      
      X
      - SeasideMan ^Pro
        
        Wednesday, 27. Aug, 2008 @ 21:54:30
        
        Very good, then I must try it myself. I looked it up and it doesn't look too hard, although knowing my luck I'll probably get a black stinking mess!
        
        Tom.
        
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        miramaze
        
        Wednesday, 27. Aug, 2008 @ 22:03:46
        
        That's what I thought when I began - there are so many recipes out there when I googled.
        
        I used spelt flour , a pinch of rhye, and a drop of honey.
        
        In another ( newer) jar I have a slightly different mixture which includes a drop of Greek yoghurt and some flax seeds, as they were already in the jar at the time lol
        
        Good luck !
        
        X
        
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        SeasideMan ^Pro
        
        Wednesday, 27. Aug, 2008 @ 22:23:35
        
        Thanks, it'll have to wait until after my next shop though.
        
        Tom.
        
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- SeasideMan ^Pro
- Wednesday, 27. Aug, 2008 @ 15:13:05
I've just been reading up on this and I see that my initial impression was correct: leaven comes ultimately from the latin "levare" - to raise - and is related to the French leve to raise. There are many leavening agents, of which yeast is one. Others are beer, buttermilk, yoghurt, sodium bicarbonate and tartar. It can also be done by beating for a hell of a long time using either sugar or egg white, and by using water and baking at a high enough temperature so that the water turns into steam and does the same thing.

So what leavening agent are you using?

Tom.
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- Jenniebaby
- Wednesday, 27. Aug, 2008 @ 15:21:04
I made a load of sourdough bread last year using my own leaven (Tom - made by basically leaving flour and water to go off) and it tasted very sourdoughy (and it rose really well) - I quite liked it, but it was hard to sell to anyone else...

Hope yours is nice
- - miramaze
  - Wednesday, 27. Aug, 2008 @ 22:50:01
  It is amazing isn't it Jennie ! Mine doesn't taste very sour at all. It might be nice to experiment with adding caraway seeds like the Latvian / Estonian sweet sour bread.
  
  I'd send you a slice if I could
  
  X
  - - Jenniebaby
    - Wednesday, 27. Aug, 2008 @ 23:13:40
    That sounds a very good idea - I might have another go when I get home...
    
    Min wasn't exactly sour, but it tasted like that French sourdough bread that you sometimes get - a bit sweet in some ways.
    
    Hope you enjoy it - things taste so much better when you've made them yourself
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- Old-Nick ^Pro
- Wednesday, 27. Aug, 2008 @ 16:05:11
The closest I have got to making bread was doing a pizza totally from scratch once. Well the base is bread technically.

As I remember it was the best tasting pizza I have ever had.
- - miramaze
  - Wednesday, 27. Aug, 2008 @ 22:52:33
  Good for you !
  I made a pizza base using the mixture when it was 2 days old. It was really good, but didn't rise very much , but then that's not important for pizza dough is it
  
  I'm picturing you now baking pizza in your very own kitchen
  
  X
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- deleted user (Visitor)
- Wednesday, 27. Aug, 2008 @ 17:03:09
I haven't made any bread in ages. I used to love to bake it. Now with another teenage boy who eats all the time, perhaps I will start again. I am enjoying watching the progress.
- - miramaze
  - Wednesday, 27. Aug, 2008 @ 22:56:19
  It's such a satisfying feeling slj and so rewarding - it's not hard at all the way I do it . Minimum effort , but quite a lot of patience.
  
  X
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- MissyMouse
- Wednesday, 27. Aug, 2008 @ 19:43:52
Do you know, this is getting really interesting....
I have started to wonder if the mixture would go bad while sitting there bubbling away but it can't do can it! This is how our ancesters used to make bread and they did just fine!
- - miramaze
  - Wednesday, 27. Aug, 2008 @ 21:02:16
  Yes ! I think it can go bad if you use a dirty jar or utensils. Apparently it's better stirring with a wooden spoon.
  
  So far so good.
  
  I am really pleased and will experiment with different starters and different kinds of flour !
  
  Feels like alchemy Such a feeling of satisfaction !
  
  XX
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- blumoon ^Pro
- http://blumoon.blog.ca
- Saturday, 30. Aug, 2008 @ 05:16:13
Wow that bread looks positively scrumptious! And what amazing dialog about bread. I made bread when I was young-it's quite therapeutic.
I love wooden kitchen utensils-and cast iron pans-those are what I use.
- - miramaze
  - Saturday, 30. Aug, 2008 @ 13:49:17
  Thank you ! I love my iron pots and pans The big cast iron frying pan was one of the first things I bought when I came to Sweden. It cost me next to nothing ,15 kr , I think and is really well seasoned
  
  X
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