House of Alcina

sourdough journey

  • Charcoal Dusted Boulé

    Thought I would share another one of my Black Boulès.  I love using this as an aesthetic scoring method, but let me say this- While Activated Charcoal does have a lot of great benefits in consumption, it is also very… Continue reading

  • Whoa, Bl🖤ck Betty

    My first time using Coconut Charcoal on my Sourdough. It gave it a nice smokey flavor. We had it for breakfast and we both really liked it. 🖤 Continue reading

  • Buttermilk Sourdough

    I decided to replace my water in my sourdough with Buttermilk and it did not disappoint. The fat and butter made it so soft. What a beautiful result. I did some research to make sure it was safe to let… Continue reading

  • Higher Heat Bakes

    I tried a higher heat to get a faster bake today. The boule on the right is smoked Cheddar and it’s seasoned thoroughly with Dan O’s Cheesoning. I preheated my oven to 500, and baked covered for 25 minutes and… Continue reading

  • Blackberry & Brie

    Ok, I tried the blackberry grilled cheese that went viral a few weeks ago with some store bought blackberries, but I decided to do it My way and I liked it so much better! I thought the jalepenos and Swiss… Continue reading

  • Sourdough English Muffins

    I made these yesterday and they were phenomenal !!! We all loved them. I had one reheated with avocado and spinach for breakfast this morning and they were just as good as last night! Here’s the recipe from the Heartbeetkitchen!… Continue reading

  • Small Sourdough Boule

    So, this is the size I have been making for us recently and we just prefer it. It doesn’t make such large sandwich slices and I’d rather bake more often so it’s fresh. I tried to just half the ingredients… Continue reading

  • Green Chili and Smoked Cheddar

    This is delicious! 1 small can of drained green hatch chilies and 8 oz of diced smoked cheddar cheese. Fold in during your final shaping. You will not regret it! Continue reading

  • Cleaning Sourdough Jars

    Such a pain, right? Well, here’s a few things I have learned. Use COLD Water. I have no idea why, but it works so much better. Switch into clean jars once a week. It’s almost impossible to do daily, and… Continue reading

  • Simple Focaccia 🤍

    I over proofed my bread today so I decided to make delicious Focaccia. I’m typically a “bake the bread anyway” kind of gal, but I had 2 loaves and figured I’d just do one of each. I have zero regrets… Continue reading

  • Quick Rise Sourdough Sandwich Bread

    This recipe makes 2 loaves. You’ll be using both leaven and Yeast. If you do not have sourdough starter, you can still use this recipe but omit the autoalyse process. Just mix ALL ingredients for 5-6 minutes and allow to… Continue reading

  • Le Creuset All the Way

    Okay, I can’t speak for everyone, but there’s an incredible difference in my bread using this bread oven. The texture is better. It’s softer and has a crispy but far less dense crust, and the bottom is lightly toasted (not… Continue reading

  • Sourdough Inclusion Favorite 💛

    This is my new sourdough inclusion I’ve been using, and it’s fantastic. It’s very strong though, so a little bit will do. When I do my final shaping I pull my dough in a rectangle and give it a little… Continue reading

  • Cold Bake vs. Heated Vessel

    Ok, I’ll be doing a few tests for comparison, but today I went back and forth on whether I wanted to preheat my Bread Oven. I know it can be hard on the cast iron and enamel over time, but… Continue reading

  • Failure to Launch

    I’m in troubleshooting mode. I’ll obviously have to cut into this loaf and look at the structure when it cools, but it produced a giant belly and a tiny ear. A small amount of spring but not like my usual… Continue reading

  • More Inclusion Ideas 🤍

    Jalapeño & Feta, Green Chili & Cheese, Garlic & Cheddar, and Cheese & Onion.😍😍😍 Gorgeous gals! And isn’t my new chopping block awesome? You can find it here! It’s soooo beautiful. Continue reading

  • Jalapeño Cheddar and Feta Sourdough

    These came out wonderful. For 2 loaves: I decided to Autolyse this batch, so I added flour and water only and let sit covered for 1 hour Then I added the starter and salt, and started my Stretch and Folds… Continue reading

  • Common Sourdough Q & A’s

    Do I need to put ice cubes in my Dutch Oven before baking ? No. In fact, I found that it produced too much steam and make a thicker crust. Your DO should provide enough steam. Not only that, but… Continue reading

  • Get your Starter Started!

    The first thing required to begin on this Journey is a healthy Sourdough Starter. There are a million ways to go about this, but I continuously remind myself that our ancestors made bread by candlelight with very little resources. Let’s… Continue reading