Nick that would be wonderful, thank you. I’ll message you and cycle over later…and share pictures of the result! Excited to join the sourdough trend 
2 Likes
If ever there was a hint…
4 Likes
I baked yesterday - added in some spelt flour (about a third) to my old recipe - and happy with how they came out. I made sourdough regularly for about 7 years and then really slowed down over the last 3 (as weekend time dried up and better bread was more readily available) so my first batch last week was OK but I’d forgotten some of the little details that make life easier. This time, felt far more natural! My shaping appears to have improved!
7 Likes
I am a bit crap at shaping but with the sourdough mine goes direct into the proving basket.
Ill see how my latest effort goes later - last week was a disaster!
That’s interesting. I’ve always ‘tried’ to shape my sourdough even with the proving basket otherwise I find slashing is much harder. My bannetons are oval so I tend to make batards. This page has a really good video on shaping that seems to give me a better shape that others that I’ve tried.
1 Like
I though this one was not going too well. It took ages to rise and then I fell asleep watching Gardeners World (Yes - we live in wild times!) while it was proofing.
It was way past bedtime when it came out the oven. 11:30 is too late for baking but it is one of the best ones I have made recently.
10 Likes
Nicely shot photo too, Nick! Looks very tasty!
Can I ask where people are getting flour from? I’m eyeing all these delicious bakes very jealously!
I’ve had no luck for weeks now, but I could just be going to the supermarkets at the wrong time…
Wellocks have some. Also yeast.
Huge bags of exotic things like pasta flour. But they have smaller bags of their own plain flour and Doves strong white bread flour. No wholemeal yet but stocks change almost daily.
I bought the Doves and made some white dinner rolls (rather late at night, as per Nick - but in my case I’d been drinking margaritas and watching Gilda and got distracted).
I’ve not used Doves flour before and the end result was rather grey looking. Whether that was a side effect of my lost evening, or the flour I don’t know. But they looked a bit like the rather grubby efforts primary school children proudly present you with.
There is a delivery charge. This is where I accidentally bought 2 kg of very nice mascarpone.
2 Likes
Jays Budgens often have flour, They tweeted This morning that they have stock today. Lidl had some yesterday.
Raise Bakery do mail order, but you need to order a fair amount, maybe share an order with friends, to compensate for the delivery cost. Worth it in my view at the moment to avoid wasted trips visiting local shops.
1 Like
I lucked out on an early morning Sainsburys trip a few weeks ago. There were a few bags of two strong flour variants on the shelves.
Then I lucked into a Waitrose delivery slot and picked up the spelt flour and very happily had my yeast order substituted with a bag of bread flour.
I haven’t seen any plain or self-raising on the shelves. I think it’s a case of if you’re a baker, pick it up when you see it. I like the sound of some of the bulk buying options but having had mice in the past when stocking up on it, it really might depend on how much I can squirrel away in containers.
1 Like
Blackbird Bakery in E Dulwich had strong bread flour today and Ayres in Nunhead had a number of different flours on sale as well as fresh yeast.
1 Like
Thanks all! Managed to find some bread flour in the Honor Oak Provender yesterday too.
2 Likes
Huge thank you to @Foresthillnick for sharing some starter and facilitating my first ever sourdough!
It wasn’t as airy as I had expected (maybe because I put in 20% wholemeal flour?? Or could have given more time to rise?) but I’m pretty pleased with myself. Here begins a sourdough habit!
Btw another flour tipoff - the off licence at the Peckham end of Barry Road has bread flour, plain, wholemeal, the lot. It’s all packaged in cellophane - rumour has it that there was never a flour shortage but only a shortage of household sized bags.
6 Likes
I read this, but it was people to pack the bags
That’s great for first go - to be honest it took me ages to get to a point where I am happy with 90% of my bakes. It is as much of an art as it is of science…
The shortage of flour is down to the wholesale market switching from supplying large bags aimed at the restaurant and hospitality sector to smaller bags aimed at the likes of you and me. The production capacity just wasn’t there apparently - whether is was labour, machinery or actual bags…
Now I’ve got my flour, the starter can come out of hibernation! Here’s a trial run, cooked in a Dutch oven. I’m pretty pleased with the texture and crust, but the very sticky dough was a pain to shape!
8 Likes
I got lucky at Sainsbury’s Bell Green on Monday (was there about 3pm). I managed to get the last packet of strong while bread flour, a packet of wholemeal bread flour and the last packet of yeast. They also had gluten free flour in stock. But no plain or self-raising. It looks like stocks are reaching the supermarkets again albeit in smaller quantities, it’s just a matter of being there at the right time.
As a keen home baker, I now tend to buy ingredients if they have them in stock, safe in the knowledge I will use them.
1 Like
Aldi had 10 kg bags of plain flour for 3.99 yestrrday
2 Likes
I’d buy big bags, but I’m terrified of weevils. I have some containers but nothing big enough for huge stocks. How do you and other bakers keep yours?