Salt Fermented Sourdough and my Book

I have been playing with the salt fermented dough again. I cut down on the amount of salt in the initial pre ferment dough and it still did very well. I am not sure if it is better or what, it came out really good. I have to experiment with it a few more times to see what is different enough about it to compare it with the first iteration.

I am also back in Tokeland and having a cool wet summer so far. Great weather for baking though! I came here to clean up the place and get rid of stuff. It has been a while since we left here to live in Hawaii.

I did not have an oven when I got here, but had to bake my bread in the shop next door, where my son has his place.  I did not want to buy a new oven right now, so I decided to wait. Then I found an oven for free on the side of the road when I came home from town. It was an odd looking oven with solid flat burners and a nice sized oven. We came home, got the dolly and went and grabbed the oven. I baked with it for the first time today and I loved it! It bakes great bread.

Here is the result of today’s baking:

This is the signature loaf in my book, “Discovering Sourdough”  I submitted the manuscript to Ten Speed Press over a year ago and it actually made it to the aquisition stage, but they chose to redo Ed Wood’s book instead, as he is a more well known author.

Then Running Press Book Publishers had my book and the editor there said he really liked it and was even thinking of starting to bake sourdough himself, but my book was too technical for the style of books his company publishes. They publish quick and easy kinds of baking, and well, mine isn’t about quick and easy. It is about long and fun. It’s the book you will want if you started with,” Artisan Breads in 5 Minutes a Day”, and are wanting to take the next step.

I now have queried the publisher, Harvard Common Press and I am waiting to hear back from them. So please be patient, I will let you know when I hear any positive news. Thank you to all of you who have emailed me over the past year encouraging me and asking about my book.

Peter Reinhart has been helping me throughout this whole process and has offered to write the preface for the book. He has been very kind and supportive, which is what he is well known for being. Thanks Peter!

I am hoping to be doing a lot more baking now that I have an oven back in my kitchen. Happy baking everyone!