Describe the most ambitious DIY project you’ve ever taken on.

My DIY project involved making sourdough bread. As I mentioned, I love to bake, and my biggest challenge was making my own bread.

Three years ago, I made my first starter, and as soon as it was strong enough, I dared my first attempt to make my bread. Making bread is very delicate, especially sourdough bread, since you have to be very careful with the quantity of ingredients. How much starter, water, and flour, and what kind of flour? Another question is, at what temperature should I bake it, and for how long? So, there are many variables you need to take into consideration.

For that reason, I tried many recipes but still couldn’t achieve the goal of making good bread. However, I didn’t give up, and after some research on the internet, I decided to invest money in more professional equipment. I purchased these banneton baskets, where you lay bread dough to rest overnight before putting it in the oven. Moreover, I found on YouTube a guy who wonderfully showed and explained every step of making sourdough bread.

On Monday, the day before yesterday, I decided to make bread and followed every step of that recipe. Everything went well. Then, yesterday morning, after my dough had rested well in the refrigerator, I put my bread into the oven. I was surprised; my bread had risen so much for the first time. It had only to get some color at the top, but unfortunately, it didn’t. My oven gave more lower heat than upper heat. In the last second, I saved my bread from being burnt from the underside. Unlucky, it didn’t have that nice brown color on the top. I was upset and disappointed because it was the first time it had risen so much, and it finally failed due to the baking process in the oven.

The electrician came in the afternoon and checked the oven. The heating element was broken. Yuhhu!

I will make my next attempt next week, and I hope it will be crowned with success.

For those also interested in making their own bread, here’s the link from the YouTube guy I followed.