Northwest sourdough boules

The last we saw of the NorthWest sponge was three days ago when it was transferred to a plastic storage tub having outgrown my largest bowl and was set outside on the balcony because it wouldn't fit in the refrigerator, whereupon it was moved back and forth, outside then inside, then outside then inside, again and agin over three days, regulating its temperature above freezing but below temperature high enough to signal exuberant growth. This wasn't much of a chore because the sponge mass itself acted as something of an insulating material, it just took a little added attention and care. I wish only the lid had fit more tightly, I might buy a container similar to this for this specific purpose.

The sponge was drier than I would prefer. The top was altogether too dry. I wanted it to be sticky but it was nearly proper dough. I painted the top with water, then folded the flattened mass into thirds. Divided the entire dough mass into six pieces and did that repeatedly, paint with water then fold each segment into thirds, stretch again, paint with water again, fold in thirds again. Paint, fold, stretch, paint, fold, stretch, paint, fold stretch, until 10 ounces of water had been absorbed and the masses had become sticky and spongy again. This would allow the boules to expand once placed in the oven. The spelt affected the dough seriously. The spelt darkened the loaves considerably, it made the finished boules tighter and more dense than they'd be otherwise. The three day proofing and the addition of spelt produced exceedingly unique loaves with a positively addictive flavor. Especially good with aged Manchego cheese. This simple snack is every bit as good, if not better, than the two pizzas.

For the record, San Francisco sourdough has got absolutely nuth'n on this. The entire North Pacific coast all the way up through Alaska produces sourdough cultures that are better tasting, and better baking, better proofing, better handling and all around more reliable, more healthy and active as cultures, and more hearty in storage than the San Francisco culture. I've owned three SF cultures since I began baking bread, still do own it, actually, in dry form, and they've all been flaky, difficult, and unreliable compared to all the others, no matter what their precise source. Just say'n. I attribute the world-wide renown of SF culture to more thorough marketing. As far as the organism lactobacillus sanfracisco, known to give the culture its unique characteristic, and an organism known to repel invading organisms, it's been found inside the mouths of children as remote from San Francisco as Egypt who had no chance of ever having eaten any SF bread. So how do you explain that? Huh? You can't. Not without accepting first the organism is not unique to San Francisco, as has been long believed.

The culture my brother collected in Concord, inland from San Francisco but nearby, is my all-time favorite Pacific coast culture, even over Maui, Sitka, and Oregon. (I tried to trade a culture with a woman in Australia but she was afraid to mail it. Spoil sport. I could buy it from another source but that's less fun. )