I only started to feel settled here in Sydney when we figured out where to get decent flour. It was an outright quest for us, slowed only by the oppressive heat of summer, but we found it in the end: high-protein, good quality bread flour, with sufficient gluten to make a proper, self-supporting loaf. With it, we discovered rye, hard whole wheat, spelt, semolina, all the ingredients we needed to make the bread we missed, and perhaps try a few new ones along the way.
This loaf here? It’s a new favorite. The raisins give it a subtle sweetness while the coriander turns this bread into something decidedly adult. And the semolina? It makes this amazing toast without messing with Tartine Bakery’s characteristic open crumb. In short, it’s the kind of sourdough loaf I’ve been trying to create since James and I became interested in baking so many years ago.
The only fault I can find with this bread is that it takes some planning to make. But now that it’s dark when I leave work, I don’t mind this so much. It gives me something to look forward to on the long drive home.