Sourdough success!!

[eirual]

I didn't bake a doorstop!!!:

Took me all darn day to wait for things to proof and rise, then I got wise and let the final rise happen in the oven with a few bowls of hot water in the bottom. Much warmer than our chilly house!

[snowbunny]

Nice! I still bake bricks--except when I do it no-knead style. But they're tasty bricks.

[mean_jeannie]

Excellent!!!!!

How long did it take for your sponge to proof after all?

[eirual]

I was hoping to bake Tuesday night, so I got the sponge started, but was just too tired to wait for it to proof, so I put it in the fridge until Friday when I had the chance to bake. I didn't add any more flour to the sponge, I gave it 5 hrs out in the garden to get some sun and it's wasn't OMG bubbly, but it was enough that I decided it was active enough and to give it a go. I gave the dough a few hours to rise, punched it down, and let the loaf rise just for an hour in the warm oven, baked, then voila!

Had our weather been warmer, or had I used the oven and warm water trick earlier, the process would have been much shorter.

[mean_jeannie]

Good to know that trick. I have 2 sponges proofing right now to see if I am ready to bake and judge how long it needs. I hope to bake tomorrow without making a sour, pucker up, shrivel your face beyond recognition kind of loaf.

I put one sponge in the oven, like you did, and have one on the counter to see what happens.

I'm so excited!