Great success! Instead of going through the multi-step sponge method, I went back to starting my sourdough the night before by mixing all the ingredients in one go, kneading, and then letting it rise overnight. In the morning I have a pillowy dough ready for shaping and proofing. I don't know what the science is behind this but I get a more open crumb (left, whole wheat) this way which makes for a great morning toast with jam or lunchtime sammy with turkey, tomato and lettuce. The bread on the right is spelt bread for which I used a very coarse stone ground flour giving it the expected dense crumb, which is great for making a European style open-faced sandwich with butter, cheese and ham. This loaf could have probably been slightly more open had I not kneaded it so much before letting it rise. But alas, sometimes I just cannot help myself when it comes to kneading. It is so therapeutic in so many ways.
Speaking of therapy, I am taking an online grammar refresher course because writing is something I love to do, but grammar is something of which I am not always sure. (Boom! prepositional phrase with an old-school ending)
