… there’s been a bit of a tragedy in Belleau Kitchen… you may want to sit down for this…
… Lucretia died…
… pour, dear, clearly neglected Lucretia, my delicious sourdough pet, who has provided many a loaf, went horribly sour and died. I had sadly neglected to feed her and after a week of very warm weather the wrong kind of bacteria began to form and all I can say is that when I opened her she stank so badly of the worst kind of blue-cheese that I nearly gagged and had to pour her down the sink… followed by a heck of a lot of bleach!
… not to worry, I will start again with another… and she will be better, and airier, and sourer!
… and this will be no mausoleum to Lucretia… instead I have made two very simple loafs of yeast bread in her honour.
A Farmhouse Loaf for Richard and a Walnut and Honey Loaf for Peter
the boys are here for a fun weekend and I thought I’d show off a little with some home baking. I’ve made the Farmhouse Loaf before, it’s pretty fail safe and the walnut one uses the same recipe but I’ve added olive oil instead of butter and honey instead of sugar… towards the end of the kneading process I threw in a handful of chopped walnuts… and will you look at these beauties!
an interesting note is that the plain white loaf was baked in my silicone mold, which clearly sags slightly creating a wider loaf, whereas the walnut loaf I baked in my lovely new retro blue loaf tin, which, with it’s rigid sides, pushed the loaf upwards… fascinating stuff!
… and I have a couple of winners to announce… a copy of Gwyneth Paltrow’s new cook book will be flying off to the lucky Bellini from More than Burnt Toast and Judith from A Trifle Rushed… well done and happy cooking!
eat and of course, enjoy!
well, you know i saw r.i.p. and my heart sank…
i think my starter is headed for a similiar fate…i haven't fed it in weeks…but right now i have anadama rising on my drainboard ….
happy to stop by today, my friend
kary and teddy
🙂
rip indeed. i was actually thinking about her yesterday when i was watching an old episode of river cottage…showing how to start a sourdough starter. so sad..x 🙂
Nooooo. RIP Lucretia. Roll on the next starter (after suitable mourning period, naturally). x
Poor Lucretia.
You starting from scratch?
If you're down this way, we could make you an offspring of our Levi Levain?
Oh no…Sorry fr your Lucretia…but I'm sure the next one will be better!!!! These two lofs anyway they are very good….!!!! Ciao Dom
🙁 RIP Lucretia. I had a starter called Gerry who I was really quite attached to, and when he died I never felt like starting a new one. Perhaps I should get over poor Gerry and get on with it.
Bread looks yummy!
The circle of life.
What will you name the next one?
OMG, the r.i.p. scared the life out of me!
Pour dear, sounds like you gave her a proper burial! So, what will you name your next dough-girl? I think you should have a blog contest! LOL!!!
BTW, the bread looks fabulous!
oh poor you. I agree you should have a contest to suggest name for the next incarnation …
Well your yeast loaves look beautiful, good luck with your new starter.
And thanks for the book, I'm so excited!!!
Oh dear … my condolences on Lucretia's untimely demise … all this talk of bread, though, has got me thinking on a loaf or two.
Best of luck on your next starter friend, Dom! What will you name this next ?
Poor Lucretia. I don't know if you should be allowed the responsibility of looking after another one.
Ha ha – says me – my starter lasted only about 4 loaves of bread! And that was the one I paid a ridiculous amount of money for. The one I made myself lasted one loaf before getting ditched.
These loaves look wonderful and I love walnut bread. Now I'm craving some blue cheese. Gotta go track some down.
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Poor Lucretia: always upper crust and never ever loafed around. RIP
“Who is Lucretia?” I thought, when I saw your title. Cat? Budgie? Goldfish? Oh no! Not your sourdough starter – noooooooooooo! That is too tragic.
I have a suggestion for a different type of starter . . . the only problem is that it takes a few months to really get going and you have to remember not to cook it . . . go down the pate fermente route (i.e. keeping a handful of the old dough back and putting it into the next loaf). Havings said that . . . I have loads if you want me to post you some or hand it over in person next time you're in London. I am really serious Dom – my “old dough” is about 6 years old now and makes beautifully sour loaves. I am more than happy to share!
oh MS… that would be so lovely!
Poor Lucretia. Does it comfort you to know that my starter (for the 4th or 5th time!) has also gone the way of the dodo and never even made it into a bread in the first place!
Ehehehe….when good sourdough starter goes bad. 😉 Gorgeous loaves.
Oh dear I am so sorry- I am consoled though that other too have had sourdough deaths – mine have never got beyond toddlerdom never mind puberty…look forward to hearing about the birth of Lucretia 2
Oh, I am so sorry Dom…
How tragic. I hope you'll have a new lucretia soon.
pour Lucretia, now she rest in peace! what a shame, she was so adorable.