My neighbor's sourdough starter rescue at the block party in Boise finally got my loaves to rise
I brought my sad flat loaf to the neighborhood block party in Boise last Saturday just to get rid of it, and my neighbor Dana grabbed it, squeezed it, and said my dough was way too cold. She ran home and came back with a jar of her starter and a thermometer. She showed me her kitchen was sitting at 68 degrees, so she parks her dough in the microwave with a mug of hot water next to it. I tried it that night on a batch of 4 loaves and every single one puffed up over the pan for the first time since I started baking in March. I'm not saying I'm a bread master now, but 3 of the 4 loaves got eaten before they even cooled down. Has anyone else had a neighbor just hand them the fix like that, or do most of you figure this stuff out alone?