sourdough returns

in a bid to revive the nigella soudough starter, i fed it again and took out a chunk to make the sourdough loaf again.
i think this glass bottle is the best container for the sponge. it is so airtight, it keeps the alcohol all in, and the warmth and moisture that the yeast produces is kept within the bottle. what you get is a bubbly, alcoholic/aromatic sponge.
mixing up the dough. this time i halved the salt and used less water, because i wanted to manually knead it.
after almost 45 minutes of doing this, the dough became this. (it was actually smoother than it looks in this photo; the dough was no longer sticky, just tacky.)
following reinhart's method of giving a short rest after the kneading, i did the same, and it was very easy to shape it into a ball.
this was the first rise for the dough, and it was full of life, though not entirely due to the starter. there was actually commercial yeast in it too, but i was just following the recipe!
after taking the dough out to fold - and all the while the feel of dough was very promising - i shaped it into a torpedo.
and it puffed to such a huge size. i made many slashes happily, because the dough wasn't sticking and tugging the blade back.
i think it's always fun to sit and watch the dough bake in the oven. you get to watch it spring up, turn from wet to dry, shiny to matt, white to golden.
today, i could hear the dough crackling audibly as it cooled outside the oven. it's like pressure release on granite (maybe?), and the surface of the dough cracked in several areas, but it looked so nice.
the crumb was not as open and airy as i thought it should be, but is this called a 'creamy' crumb now? anyhow, it was delicious after slight toasting and with a healthy olive spread: lucky i halved the salt in the dough.