On 7/5/2016 9:46 PM, Dusty wrote:

> Well, past experience is certainly valuable. Sadly, too often in my
> cooking pursuits, I've found that too many of those old "rule-of-thumb"
> sayings were without merit. I'll give your suggestion a try, but
> that'll be after I've made it work with my regular starter (as I've done
> for years and years--which means that's it's both handy and available
> today ). Then at least I'll have the opportunity to compare one to
> the other...cuz THAT'S where one learns the value of techniques of that
> kind. I'm always on the lookout for a newer, better way of making bread
> happen. And your tip may well be the one I've been looking for.
> I think that my biggest bugaboo is the notion by so many posting in
> places like this, that YOU MUST WEIGHT ALL THINGS TO GET IT RIGHT! An
> utter load of rubbish! Yes, the "pro's" do it that way. Having worked
> by/with some of them, I also learned why they do it. It's because today
> they'll make 36 units of something, and tomorrow they'll need to make
> 104. That is why they do it by weight. It's the only rational thing to
> do, given what and how they're doing things. But for the single loaves
> that we reading here usually make, volume measurements are far more
> useful. I can scoop out a cup of flour in a flash...having to weigh it
> out is a pain in the behind. There's no inherent accuracy advantage
> from using volumetric measurements as opposed to weight measurements.
> It's easy to grab 1-1/4 teaspoons of salt. But a real PITA to ramp it
> up for 104 units of bread. That's when using weight shines (especially
> metrics). Oh well...I guess it's like with so many things...ya use what
> works for you. Demonstrate the advantages...let me see what works...as
> opposed to preaching them as accomplished gospel.
> It's going to be a few days before I can tackle that (on the road ATM),
> but I'll certainly give it a lash sometime soon. Thanks again for your
> kind words, recipe, and tip.
>
> Dusty
> Dodging the raindrops in the ever-damp Pacific North West.

All of that makes good sense. When I decided to tackle sourdough I
looked at a lot of sites and found all kinds of conflicting information
about what you must and must not do. Luckily, I had enough bread making
experience under my belt to realize that most of those rules were just
what you say - a case of "this is how I did it and it worked so this is
how everybody must do it to be successful" and I was able to proceed
with a jar, some flour and water, and time.

Just to be clear, I was not making a suggestion; I was curious to see if
anyone with more experience than I have knows whether or not there is
any basis for that idea. Since that is how I made my first loaf of
sourdough that had rye and it worked, that is how I do it, but I would
never suggest that everyone else should do it that way. I suppose I
should try a loaf of rye with my regular starter and see if I notice a
difference and if so, then I can tell everyone that they must do it my
way.

I do weigh my bread ingredients but that is mostly because I have the
scale and I am a little bit obsessive and I like the idea that I am at
least *starting* with the same amount of ingredients. I do realize that
it makes absolutely no difference in the end, as I constantly add more
or less flour depending on all of the usual factors.

I am sure I have many bread making habits that would make the experts
shudder. But I enjoy the process and overall I am pleased with my
results and most of my friends seem to be as well and that is what
matters in the end.

Good luck with the bread and I hope you stay dry!