I've done another couple of refurbs since my last post and have photo sets for them...but alas still no links here...I plan to remedy that soon.
On the kitchen front...I've been tinkering with a sourdough starter for about the billionth time...most of my attempts have been utter failures and the few that worked were mostly tasteless and not really memorable (truly best forgotten to be honest). I finally have a very active starter (doubles in eight hours or less, can be stirred down and doubles again in a matter of hours) and ran a test loaf today. Not bad...didn't get the rise I wanted, but I just cut into it (sue me about cutting into warm bread) and I have a decent crumb structure and the flavor is pretty good...wheaty with a distinct, but not overwhelming tang. I'll give the starter another week or so to develop the yeast/bacteria balance and then run another loaf. The next loaf will also be of a lower hydration (this one was at 68% (really soft dough)...the next will be in the 60-65% range...seems to handle better with this flour blend).
