Crusty

My well-travelled sourdough starter survived the journey and the eclectic mixture of flours I've been feeding it with -- I haven't yet found anywhere here that sells wholewheat bread flour. So this is the result from Lidl strong white flour. Although the dough is sticky and hard to work with, I do like the result -- it has the airy, chewy crumb I like. Since there's no bakery nearby, I've been making bread every two or three days since we've been here, and I'm confident I can turn out good results now. Very satisfying!

Sorry, no better photos today! Yesterday evening we went to see La Bella y la Bestia, aka Beauty and the Beast, which has just come out in Spain. The magical Cocteau version from 1946, with Jean Marais as the Beast, is a very hard act to follow in my opinion. Of course nowadays you can do amazing things with CGI, and there are some jaw-droppingly beautiful scenes and effects in this one. But in places I found it a bit overdone, trying too hard to be amazing and fairytale-like. The main problem though was that Belle and the Beast didn't convince as being in love. There was no emotion there, and without that the story falls a bit flat. Oh and the weird little ET-like creatures running around the castle were a really naff idea. Still, it was a feast for the eyes, and I admired the skill involved in creating this world.