Garlic!

Today I busted out the most delicious sourdough I've ever made, all thanks to some olive oil and garlic--and, you know, these past two months of experimentation and learning.

Basically, I wanted to copy a bread I love from Beach Pea Baking Co. in Kittery, ME. It's a roasted garlic boule that is so good I've had dreams about it. Wonderful dreams, in which I am prancing through a flowery meadow towards the boule, the sun lighting my grin in the most delicate and subtle way. But I didn't feel like roasting the garlic, since we didn't really have a good head, and I didn't really feel like waiting a while for it to fully roast, so I pan fried about 10 smashed cloves in extra virgin olive oil and added to the dough before the first rise.

The result was a fantastic blend of garlic and sour that I can't really figure out. Is it garlic that is making me feel so great or is it the sour? My breathe must be awful right now.

The only major issue with this bread came when I slashed it just before baking. It seemed that as soon as I punctured the skin the swelling monster I'd been patiently proofing exhaled deeply and deflated to about half its height. Nooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo! I read just now that the blade should perhaps be wet when scoring. I need to research that more, but it sounds about right. Also, it could definitely use a darker crust.

Lucky for me, I followed Peter Reinhart's method closely and have a second boule retarding in the fridge right now. Tomorrow I will bake again and hopefully nothing will collapse.


Notes for next time: will think about this more and post with the second garlic boule.