Northwest sourdough buns





These rolls are so delicious I cannot stand it. I could sit here and eat them all until they're gone. But then I'd be a big fat cow and that will not do. So I must pace myself. 

They were baked in the hotdog bun pan and an ordinary brownie pan, large size that is rectangular not square. It is about 1/2 again as large as a square brownie pan. All three pans are heavy-gauge steel. 

I suppose I rushed this a little. The starter is shown rehydrated but not all of that was used. Heat from a warm stove was channeled to a covered jar overnight to kickstart the rejuvenation from slumber. Then the rest was carried out at room temperature. 

Starting with 1/4 cup of rehydrated starter from the above bowl with a few tablespoons flour for fresh food, doubled to half a cup water +flour,  then doubled again to an additional one cup water with enough flour to bring the mixture to a thick wet slurry. 

This starter was not fermented except for the 8-12 hour increments between feeding, which is a form of fermentation. At the end of the final proofing period, a mere 1/2 cup fresh water was added (instead of 2 cups which would have been the natural amount per increment), along with olive oil and salt in amounts that seemed right for the mass at hand, which mathematically was very close to  2+1/4 cup liquid and I don't know how much flour. 

The final cup of flour was added in increments of 1/4 cup as the dough was kneaded. It remained fairly wet and a little more sticky than I prefer. The final proof lasted longer than I imagined it would take and this is what makes me think I rushed the process (it didn't blast to full expansion). I think that maybe I should have ensured the culture was going full-bore before beginning the final lead-up to dough. But even so, I must say, the flavor of these rolls is simply outstanding without being overly sour or acidic and the interior crumb is admirable. Had they been baked in a cloche they no doubt would be loftier, and I do have enough clay cloches to do that for this amount of rolls. 

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