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Inconsistent crumb
I'm new to this whole sourdough baking thing. I was hoping to get some advice on my crumb. I made my first 2 loaves the other day and both were nearly identical.
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I was honestly pleasantly surprised by the outcome, but would really like to imp... | EM, my best guess would be
EM, my best guess would be grossly under proofed. Fermentation timing is dependent upon the flours, hydration, the activity of the levain, and most important the temperature. 3-3.5 hr @ 69F is most probably not long enough. It is common for a dough to have a lag time (little to no visible fer... |
Does starter happen because of stuff in the air or in the flour?
I always thought it was about the air, and that's why San Francisco sourdough is a thing--it's because only they have that air. But I've also heard everything you need is already in the flour itself. By "heard" I mean on a King Arthur video (I feel like... | The yeast and bacteria
You need exists on the grain you use. The closer to unprocessed, the better. That’s while wholegrain flours generally work better than bleached all purpose flour. |
Need help (beginner) - Sourdough starter with water and cheesy smell
So, I've been trying to make a sourdough starter for a few weeks now and every time I try it gets a really strong cheesy smell and some slightly orange/yellow water in the bottom of the starter. It always happens after the second feed and, after I dis... | First off, what is the temperature
Of the starter?It acts normally. You might want to wait a day between day one and day two. Just let day one be 48 hours long. Don't discard what you have now, do not feed it, just give it a day to sit and do nothing,then continue. |
Making a levain vs using the starter directly
I've seen several posts on this and my understanding is that unless the recipe calls for different hydration or flour, a portion of the starter can be used instead of making a separate levain. This all makes sense to me, however, the "ideal" state for feeding a starter and ... | I am new to sourdough...
, but I made a levain from my refrigerated fed starter (early yesterday morning; close to tripled in 3 hours). I removed my starter from the fridge and scooped out what I needed for the levain at 8pm. It's now 9.5 hours later and looks like this with about 3 hours to go (per pretzel recipe it... |
First Rye in 15 years or so
Many years ago I ventured into rye baking. Because I had no idea about the special requirements I failed miserably. The breads tasted good but boy, did they look bad.In hindsight a good decision was made to purchase the book, The Rye Baker, by Stan Ginsberg, aka TFL User “Elagins”. A great d... | That turned out well!
Good work, Danny. And welcome to the rye side. You'll work your way up to 100% rye before you know it. Paul |
No gas in bulk fermentation
Hi,I have been trying to bake sourdough and have never succeeded. I tried with all purpose flour and mixed rye and all purpose flour. I read online that I can use using all purpose flour making sourdough. All Purpose FlourI did 70% hydration with 100% all purpose flour. Dough was shaggy, ver... | Rye doesn’t have much
gluten so that’s a high percentage of rye in your second recipe. What’s the temperature that you are fermenting at? It could be too cool. If so a warm spot can be the oven with the light on. And go by the look of your dough rather than times to determine if your bulk fermentation is done. Also usi... |
Ratios for refreshing
So I’ve been fooling with sourdough starter for several months. I started with Forkish’s 100% hydration starter. 25g starter, 100g each flour and water.It is doubling after about 12-16 hours at 75 degrees. At 85, it’ll double in 12, maybe a bit less.My questions are:1) Does keeping starter at 85 d... | Ratios
My understanding is that the smaller the refreshment, the more sour the bread will be. You can double (very sour) your starter, or increase it as much as quadrupling (hardly sour, at all) your starter, according to your taste preferences. Also, if you prefer a less sour bread, the more frequently you use & ref... |
Xanthan gum in wheat sourdough
I remember months ago reading about using xanthan gum to make bread less crumbly. Well I've finally got my hands on some and I'm wondering how much to use in a regular sized loaf of sourdough. The recipe I use has about 4.5 cups of flour plus 1/2 cup starter. Thanks. | Search for it - a few
Search for it - a few interesting threads come up. |
Thinking of bringing my sourdough starter w me on an International flight
I'm going to visit my family in June, while I'm there I want to make some bread, but I don't want to start all over again with a new starter, so I'm thinking of just bringing some on a carry-on bag. The flight would be Canada ---> U.S. I read the... | found an old post
Okay, I just found an old post saying I should just clearly label it https://www.thefreshloaf.com/node/18710/taking-sourdough-starter-airplane-interstate I guess TSA likes their labels, /s. |
Flours Used for Starter
So that last few attempts at bread went through some changes. I'll be trying a different recipe, but more on that in another thread later. My question for today is what flours do you use for your starters? I have been giving one of the two loaves each attempt at bread produces to some friends, a... | Had a thought
after I wrote the above, and I asked myself if it would be fine to just use the starter I have and use the WW/Rye mix in just making the bread rather than go to the trouble of making two starters. |
How do I create a large quantity of starter?
I would like to create a large quantity of starter. My starter now is 100% rye and currently weighs about 100g. I’m looking for enough starter for say, a total of 4Kg dough (bread flour). How should I go about creating more starter? I ask because I usually bake a single loaf... | Miller, many of us keep less
Miller, many of us keep less than 50 grams of starter. This eliminates wasted flour. When a starter is made larger in preparation for baking it is called a levain. Levain is simply a large starter.If your starter is active you can easily mix it 1 part starter to 5 parts flour. Watch how fas... |
Buttermilk starter . . . can I keep it going ?
Hello Fabulous Bread Bakers ...
Being the humble novice that I am, I come before you (AGAIN) for advice.
I made a buttermilk sourdough starter ... it sat out for a few days ... first loaf is now on the first rise.
But HERE'S MY QUESTION ...
Can I treat a buttermilk start... | buttermilk starter
Hi Nevie,
I'm not totally familiar with a "buttermilk starter" but to me it sounds more like a "sponge" as in, something you make once to use in a particular recipe. Personally, I would be uncomfortable with perpetuating the sponge beyond one loaf of bread as it is not a sourdough starter with the ye... |
ready to give up
like many, I am taking my first stab at sourdough starter during this COVID crisis. (but was particularly prompted when our grocery store shelves were absolutely bare of dried yeast.)but dried yeast is back on the shelves and I am getting fed up (no starter pun intended) staring at my pot of sourdough ... | Thick and thin
If you don't have a scale to measure equal parts water and flour then try making a thick paste. Any bubbles will escape if it is too runny. Whole grain flour has more life in it and is better to start with and water without chlorine is vital at first. |
My Best Sourdough Yet - No more Einkorn
I started my yeasty journey 8 months ago when I learned about Einkorn flour and the health benefits over regular American wheat. So I started baking with sourdough with Einkorn and had good tasting results but the dough was wet, slack, and didn't have the nice open structure I wa... | Oven temp?
Do you start the oven at 500ºF and turn it down to 450ºF when the bread goes in, or 450ºF/425ºF? |
Is this even bread?
Okay so I have made zero breads in my life, and after today's attempt I believe that number remains. I followed online instructions for making a starter and then followed instructions my friend sent me to make the bread. I'm posting some photos of the instructions and the end result. The very edge o... | It looks like
It looks like my first loaf so you are on the right track! LOLThere does not appear to be enough water, you might want to increase the hydration.It appears to me that it was not baked all the way through.The best thug to do is to use a thermometer and do not remove the loaf until it is somewhere between 2... |
First starter, no action after 5 days but clear hooch
Shortage of commercial yeast in my area has prompted me to try my hand at a sourdough starter.I found a simple recipe on line, 2 tbsp whole wheat flour, 2 tbsp water, 12 hours apart.I'm on day 5 and still no action. A clear liquid (that I now know is hooch) started... | You will definitely increase
You will definitely increase your chances if you can increase the temperature. Would you by any chance have a sous vide machine? |
1st Starter Smells Bad
Hi Everyone,I was looking for some advice please, I am completely new to baking and have tried to make a sourdough starter using Strong White Bread Flour 200g, warm tap water 200ml and rightly or wrongly 1 tea spoon of natural yogurt. I have fed it daily, discarding half and adding 100 g strong w... | I have no experience with
I have no experience with yogurt in starters, but from all indications it seems your starter is on track. The vigorous initial activity and accompanying bad smell is often normal and is a result of bad bacteria that dies off in a few days. You described this occurrence exactly. The reason it i... |
100% or 166% starter
Hi. I'm not new to sourdough, but I've not baked with it in over 10 years. Last time I developed and kept sourdough, it was 100% hydration starter. And, all my recipes were based off that.Ten years later, I've lost all those recipes and I'm starting to feel the urge to start again. The question is,... | Depends on what you
like to use. Start with 100% by weight and go from there. I rarely measure the starter feeds any more going by rough measurements keeping my mother a little thicker than 100%. I mix flour and water to a consistency I like but build for recipes according to weight and temp. I find a firm starter s... |
What did I just do?
So I'm making a sourdough starter...I took the day 1 throw away and decided to bake some bread with it...I'm using the Ken Forkish "White Bread with Poolish" method which states I need to make a poolish with equal parts flour and water and .4g of yeast. I scaled down the recipe to make 1 loaf.Instea... | WNWN
If there is an official name for it, I have no idea. But WNWN (just say each letter name, it’s not short for win-win) is the term we use, in our house. It was coined by my father-in-law, a WWII D-Day vet. Times were hard, and you couldn't justify waste on any level. It stands for Waste Not Want Not. |
NMNF-esque question
I have what seems to me to be a very stupid question but nevertheless, I ask it: why does anyone use a starter method that requires you to throw away so much flour? People are all "I feed my starter 2x/day!" and like that is so much waste!I know a lot of you use dabrownman's No Muss No Fuss method, ... | You aren’t missing a thing!
I think it’s just one of those things that people have done forever and it’s become tradition. Just like proofing yeast to make sure it’s active. I keep my starter like you do except for one thing. I use builds to get the amount of levain I need for a bake. Reason being is that it dilutes th... |
scoring a boule
Hi thereIf I do a single slash score to try to get an ear on a boule, much like the one done for batards, will the boule maintain its round shape? | Depends.
If you bake on an open surface, then ... it is likely to not maintain a round shape.See: https://www.thefreshloaf.com/node/70781/losing-boule-shape-during-bakingwhich talks about symmetrical scoring.However, even for a non-symmetrical score....If you bake in a dutch oven ... and ...the pre-baked dough is size... |
How much starter for a "standard" loaf
I think I have a pretty good starter going - have been feeding one somebody gave me. So now if I'd just like to make a loaf of sourdough bread - say based on 3 (391 gr) cups of flour - how much starter is to be used?I know there are a million recipes out there - I have some good ... | Hi Alan! I strongly recommend
Hi Alan! I strongly recommend you start with a know good formula and method. SD bread can be somewhat challenging and a bread with a great track record makes the most sense, IMO.If you are open to this, I have a couple of tried and true suggestions for your consideration.1-2-3 SD - No Knea... |
Real Ground Wheat = Brown dense brick shaped loaves (little rise) in my experience. Is something else possible?
Let me start by saying I'm a HUGE Sourdough and Italian bread fan so I'm basing this as my basis to whether or not fresh ground wheat is the way to go for my tastes. I grew up in a town with a large Italian p... | Have you searched, here and
Have you searched, here and elsewhere, for images and descriptions of the type breads you are looking to make. There are almost certainly some. Maybe whoever was making those "bitter bricks" were making what they liked, or were just bad at making that bread.Some people just don't like the ta... |
Dough Spreading out!
Hello,Looking for some advice, my sourdough while pretty tasty is lacking height and I'm not getting any ears. I've had a few thoughts about what I can do differently but thought I would get some advice. Thanks in advanceThe Bread:So I developed this recipe in Australia, where I used to live, it ... | Ovenspring?
Do you get some ovenspring?If not it could be over proofed if you do get some oven spring it could be to wet. But it looks tasty enough. |
Newbie questions!
I was just gifted a sourdough starter from a well maintained batch. I have done extensive research and I put some in the fridge and some on the counter so I can experiment. I think I’ve got a good handle on it, but still have so many questions! I’ll start with a couple basics:1) my “counter” starter d... | 1. When you starter has at
1. When you starter has at least doubled in size and just starts collapsing, that's the optimal time to feed or use it. It doesn't mean it's weak, it just means the food for the yeasts is about to run out and they are excited for more.2. Yes, the bubbles anyway collapse when you feed or use i... |
Is it possible to do a sprouted grain starter?
If so can someone point me in the direction of some info on this?
I'd do rye, wheat, or spelt, but I would like to have a spelt starter if possible for the gluten free members of my family and friends.
Thanks,
Mike | You can actually make a starter using
a non gluten flour. You just have to be aware that it will act a little differently.
http://www.thefreshloaf.com/node/14476/excellent-gluten-free-bread
Part of this thread has been deleted however you will get an idea. Spelt does contain gluten. I had to move away from my flour... |
Starter advice needed, pls and thank you :)
Hello there! I'm very new with the sourdough realm but have been itching to try for many years now. I'm not sure if I am on the right track with my starter that I began last Sunday and would love some pointers.I'm currently trying this 100% hydration recipe.The picture attach... | You are doing just fine!
Keep feeding it like your last day. It takes time for a starter to mature. |
Scoring? Drying out bread?
Hey everyone,I've had great scoring success when using my bannetons but moving into baguettes and proofing en couche has made my dough stickier than normal when scoring and causing my blade to stick rather than glide through. Thoughts and suggestions? Hydration is 70 (same as my breads en ban... | Use water
Put the blade in water before you score. |
Sourdough starter
Hey guys! First time bread maker here, been working on a sourdough starter and I’m currently on day 3 of feeding, just wondering if it looks normal! I fed it about 4 hours ago it the band around the bottle is where it was after feeding. | It looks like a beast. How
It looks like a beast. How does it smell?What king of flour?What is the temperature of the room?What is you feed ratios? |
Starter Help - bubbles, no rise
Hi, this is another “need help with my starter” post.BLUF/TL;DR: Even after 2-3 weeks, I have been getting bubbles but no rise and definitely no doubling.Full story: I’m new to this but have read many threads on this site to try and fix any mistakes I’ve made.I wanted to make my own star... | It looks perfect
What is it that makes you think it’s not working?If you think it’s too thin, try feeding using less starter in a 1:4:4 ratio. Or add more flour 1:4:5 (starter:water:flour) as a lower hydration will usually rise more. There is no one perfect way that works in all situations and there are lots of option... |
Ruin with "fast rise" yeast?
About a week ago I was adding some starter to a dough that had some grocery store "fast rise" yeast in it. I don't remember exactly what I did, but something like wipe or stir the spoon in the dough and the return the spoon to the starter, and then immediately I was like "Oh maybe I shouldn... | Probably ok.
WW ferments a lot quicker than AP. That could explain your starter's rapid growth.It's likely the commercial yeast will die off in the acidic environment of the starter. they aren't designed for it. It may take a few days. |
Read my crumb please
B907941A-45E7-459B-B132-785AB7DB3DE8.jpeg | Hi all!can anyone tell me if
Hi all!This was the loaf where I used starter straight from the fridge after it had peaked at room temperature. And I found it really hard to know when to stop bulking since it was taking soooo long to rise to the normal level. I started to shape it when it hadn’t quite reached the height ... |
Gloppy wet dough won't hold shape! 3rd attempt with this starter
Hello Fresh Loaf Community!This is my 3rd sourdough attempt with a starter a friend gave me. Each time the dough turns out the same. It's way too wet and gloppy, and won't hold shape, and when I bake it, it stays pretty flat and doesn't rise. Here's the r... | 10 hours!?!
That’s a lot of bulk fermentation for the amount of levain. I would think for a recipe like yours another 1 or 2 hours after the folds would be sufficient for a normally vigorous starter. The 10 hours probably should have been refrigerated and it would have been fine. This is something that comes up fairly ... |
Am I on the right track?
I'm about two and a half weeks in on my starter. I followed: https://www.kingarthurflour.com/recipes/sourdough-starter-recipe. I had rapid rising and bubbling on the second day, but after that there has been almost no rising. The bubbling had stopped almost completely (maybe 2-5 bubbles on the ... | If you can put your starter
If you can put your starter somewhere it is warm (less than 82F) you should see the starter come to life. It looks viable to me.do you have a warm spot on top of your hot water heaterwhat about on the top and near the back of your refrigerator maybe in your oven with the door craCked open an... |
Bleached flour ok for feeding (only)?
Hi Folks:I'm still waiting on bread flour to arrive, and in the meantime I am running out of flour to feed my starter. The starter itself is 100% organic whole wheat, 15 days old, it's had ups and downs but is still alive for sure. I do have a sack of bleached AP sitting around tha... | You could try to take a
You could try to take a little of your original starter and feed that portion with the bleached flour to test the results. |
Was given a startere
A person in town gave me a 100 year old San Francisco strain called Bella. I am not new and there is a ton of info here. Can anyone give me a should catch first video on preserving this starter so I don't kill it. Thanks,Don | ERROR: type should be string, got "https://www.youtube.com\nhttps://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=how+to+maintain+a+starterFood52, Joshua Weissman, Breadtopia, Cultures For Health, and King Arthur Flour are reputable sources." |
Sourdough Hydration Calculator
Hello All, new here, and not sure this is the correct topic to place under.I created a sourdough hydration calculator here: https://hydrationcalculator.herokuapp.com/Its just a quick reference calculator so you don't have to do the math by hand anymore for lean loaves only.Please let me k... | User interface
Nice job. The sliders are a bit tricky to use on a ipad. And the balloons wel hmm. |
How to calculate Levain?
How is the formula below calculated in respect to the levain?################################RECIPE Ingredients100% whole rye flour70% water2% salt15% sourdough starter (fed at least twice, best to feed it before use with rye, and make it a bit on the stiff side, about 60% hydration)##r########... | 72%?
How are you calculating that? |
Why did my sourdough breads not get much oven spring?
HI all I just finished two breads. As you can see in the picture, they didnt get much pop when placed in the oven.What I have read, when I searched this site, is that one of the many reasons is that the dough is overproofed.Here are some of the (minor?) changes I ma... | We're gonna need a bit more info
Recipe along with method. |
when is my starter ready?
Hi All!I've been baking the Ken Forkish overnight white bread for years, but with now that I'm home all the time b/c of the current crisis I'm giving sourdough starter a try (like half of America, I think!).I've had it going for 6 days now. Here's what I've been doing:4oz flour / 4oz water, st... | Mix dough and bake
would be my suggestion. If the culture is alive as you describe, add a cup of water and 2 cups of flour. Wait overnight or so, the use a cup or some other amount to leaven a bread dough to your liking. See how the bread comes out. Meanwhile, add flour and water to the remainder of your culture to kee... |
Lumps from dry autolyse
Total beginner here.i was following a recipe for simple sourdough and my flour must have been extra dry because I don’t think I added enough water during autolyse. As a result, I believe there are dry lumps in my dough. I went ahead with the stretching and folding and forming, and they are cur... | There could be multiple
There could be multiple reasons, but in most cases it's either insufficient mixing time, too low hydration or just the flour. Not every wheat flour absorbs equal amounts of water. Sifting the flour also helps with the lumps. Maybe it also just dried out a little during autolyse.Next time just mi... |
Looking for a basic 100% Rye SD
It's been years since I tried my hand at 100% Rye SD. I am looking for a basic formula and method that provides the best chance of success.I may or may not use a bread pan. Open to suggestions.Thanks in Advance...Danny | This video by Patrick Ryan
This video by Patrick Ryan https://youtu.be/H-8bZpQOM58 |
Another “newbie “ question 😬
Hi againCan someone tell me why my less voluminous and poorer oven spring loaves have almost as nice (or very similar) of a crumb as my rare tall plump loaves. I use the same formula every time. I would expect a more compact crumb with my smaller loaves. | Would need to see crumb
Would need to see crumb photos, but if I had to guess, the smaller loaves have more dense crumb between the larger holes. The crumb may have similar large holes and look the same, but the space between them is more dense. But that’s just a guess… |
Should i store starter in a SEALED jar in the fridge?
I am new to sourdough but have been baking with commercial yeast for years. This is really different!I have heard that one must store it where it can breathe or else the jar will explode....doesn't seem plausible to me, but I defer to those that know more than this... | In most cases, it won't
In most cases, it won't explode, but it can develop a lot of lift . I use a plastic container , with the lid screwed on, so I don't think it needs to breathe. Note that some recipes, like Forkish, call for tremendous amounts of starter, and I guess it is possible that it could break a jar. ... |
Sourdough starter won't rise
Hi all,I'm very new to sourdough and made my first starter 12 days ago. Everyday I have been discarding all but 50g and feeding 100g flour (50/50 mix wholemeal/white) and 100g water. My starter is bubbling a bit each day, but not rising AT ALL. It won't float at all either. What am I doing ... | Leave it alone
For a few days aside from stirring it. You are probably throwing away half of your beasties and not giving them time to reproduce enough to build up the population. Once you see lots of activity, begin to feed again. |
question about viability of my new starter
Hi. Thanks in advance for any help. I'm on day 9 of my starter, which is 3 days of letting it sit and 6 days of feeding. ((I used Alton Brown's instructions.) I did not discard any until day 4 of feeding (forgot that step.) My starter has some bubbles but no rising. Good news ... | Here at TFL,
We feed by weight. Feeding by volume makes the starter too liquidy. Try giving your starter a stir and cut back on the frequency of feeding. When it has lots of bubbles and starts rising, then you can go back to feeding it more often. Be aware that when it gets going, you might need to increase the amount ... |
No movement in first 24 hours
Followed the sourdough starter recipe from the perfect loaf. Somehow seems like I managed to screw up even the first 24 hours :)I used Central Milling Organic Whole Dark Rye Flour and mineral water. I don't have a dough proofer so just stuck it in the oven with the light on. I live in SoCa... | Nope!
It will be fine! Just give it a stir to redistribute the food for the growing beasties. Do check one thing though, how hot does it get in that oven? If it’s around 82F then it will be fine. If it’s much hotter than that, beasties won’t grow. You could leave it at room temperature. 73 F is fine. Oh by the way, all... |
My starter haven't risen since the second day
So I started a new starter about a week ago using all King Arthur whole wheat flour. Day 1 I mixed 100g flour and 100g water at 90F. day 2 I discarded all but 50g of my starter and mixed in the same 100g of flour and water, the water being around 92F. For that day 2, and es... | Okay, there have been
Tons of posts on this lately so I am giving you the Coles notes:1. You are diluting the beasties by feeding too often. 2. Stop feeding and stir. Let the beasties grow. 3. Start feeding when you see lots of activity. Ie lots of bubbles. 4. Only feed once it starts receding from peak. Your starter w... |
Starter Issues, Please Help
Hello Fresh Loaf Community!First, I apologize if the information I need has already been stated. I have searched and searched, but haven't found solution.Starter History:Used this site's instructions to cultivate the starter approximately 6 months ago: Clever Carrot - StarterMaintained the s... | Sounds like it's ok
just slower due to the cooler temps. Just add more time if you can't find a warm spot to ferment the starter and/or dough. You can even increase the amount of starter in the recipe this time of year. Watch out when the weather changes and things warm up! Meanwhile don't rush things in cooler t... |
Starter at 12 days is slowing down
Hey Folks:Here's a digest of the first 10 days: http://www.thefreshloaf.com/node/62865/help-starter-10-daysBasically I had a starter that was doubling nicely every 10-12 hours from days 7-9. Then when I increased the feeding ratio from 1:1:1 to 1:2:2 the growth slowed severely. Seems ... | I'm not 100% sure what you
I'm not 100% sure what you mean by 1:2:2.. do you mean 1 part flour to 2 parts water? Please clarify.Based on my experiences, if you are working at 100% hydration for your starter, it will not necessarily "double" in size though it may still be active enough to bake with it.It sounds like it'... |
Starter was growing, now it's not
Hi,I started my first starter 5 days ago with 1/2 cup hard well water and 1 cup old whole wheat flour. Discarded all but 1/2 cup starter and fed 1 cup old AP flour and 1/2 cup well water every 24 hours for day 2. Got some activity and rise during the first 48 hours. Day 3, went to twic... | Hi, Camilla
Sorry to hear that your starter isn't bubbling along. For an in-depth understanding of how a starter functions, read The Pineapple Juice Solution, Part 1. Then, for one of the most reliable methods to get a starter started, read The Pineapple Juice Solution, Part 2.For a shorter answer: Your starter behav... |
Back to Basics - Why Rise Twice?
Hi everyone,A while back, before I started getting into sourdough baking, a friend of mine shared her "lazy" recipe which essentially involved mixing everything, 1 long bulk rise, and then baking. No second rise/proof.I've done a bit of research on the topic, and different sources say d... | Nina, I have no experience
Nina, I have no experience with your proposed method but I do have a thought.It seems one of the big benefits of a second proof (final proof after shaping) is that the dough is shaped into the final form before it enters proofing. This final shaping is an opportunity to give strength and stru... |
Spelt - where to start?
So I bought some spelt a couple of weeks ago and am keen to bake with it. However, from what I've heard about it, it can be a challenging grain to work with. What would be a good recipe to start with so as not to risk wasting it? | Several formulas are on TFL,
Several formulas are on TFL, and can be found using the search box: "spelt recipe" or "spelt formula"I dabbled in whole spelt and was not able to get a good loaf with anything using over 1/4 or 1/3 spelt flour. (I was using spelt grain that had been sealed and stored for about 8 years; old... |
Community Bake - Pt2 The Bread - Hamelman's Swiss Farmhouse
Swiss Farmhouse YW by Jeffrey HamelmanJeffrey Hamelman has given us permission to post his copyrighted formula and instructions. The Swiss Farmhouse bread is taken from his book, BREAD: A Baker's Book of Techniques and Recipes (second edition), by Jeffrey Ham... | The flavor of this bread is remarkable!
In preparation for the CB, I baked the following bread. It was not difficult at all, the YW was a breeze. My only deviation from the instructions was incorporating the raisins and walnuts using the lamination process. Oh, I also added some cinnamon during the lamnation, but ... |
starter problem
In started into sourdough after reading a article in Outdoor Life this was around 50 years ago. Back then I didn't weigh I didn't use unbleached flour I used tap water. I could leave the starter weeks- even months bring it out add some water and flour and next morning I was good to go. Now 2 weeks in re... | HERE is a LINK to loads of
HERE is a LINK to loads of information relating to starters. |
Help/Critique
hello!i’m new-ish to sourdough baking, this is my second loaf - i made a loaf three years ago but after that kind of stopped. now with all of the quarantine baking going on i’m getting back into it. i just made this loaf but have a couple of questions:1. The bottom of the loaf didn’t bake flat. It kind of... | Looks pretty good to me!
The large air pockets are probably due to shaping since the rest of your loaf looks great! And my loaves have the same curves at the bottom. |
Sourdough Swamp Thing
Help!! I’m very new to sourdough so I’m struggling. I’ve read a lot of posts about it and I feel confident about it but the dough isn’t cooperating.My starter is almost 2 weeks old, but it checks off all of boxes: i used it when it had doubled in size, it had bubbles and the right smell, it floate... | Instead of adding flour,
Take water away. Recipes are based on the flour amount but the water quantity is variable according to the absorbency of the flour. If your flour really doesn’t absorb water, try for 60-65% hydration (that includes the water in the starter). If it’s too dry add tiny amount until you have a doug... |
Starter not thriving
I started my sourdough 10 days ago. Equal parts water and all purpose flour. I had some dry instant yeast from 12 years ago and added about a teaspoon full. I figured the Yeast wouldn't grow because I had put some in sugar water and there was barely any activity. The 1st 2 days the jar filled up ni... | Starter not thriving
The photo is two hours after feeding 40g flour and 40g water |
Sourdough Starter not rising - totally bewildered ! Any advice welcome !
Hello everybody !If anyone can offer me a little help, I'd be so grateful ... I'm going a bit nuts with my starter, Bob. The back story : I created Bob a year ago, he worked well, came on tour with me (I'm a classical musician), and I baked some n... | Lydia, you may be over
Lydia, you may be over feeding Bob.Think of it this way. You fed him yesterday, but he is feeling sluggish and didn’t eat. Today you removed a lot of Bob along with some of the uneaten food and threw him back in with more food that he may or may not want at this time. You are inadvertently diluti... |
new here
hey everyone new here, I've got a starter and I like to bake sourdough.recently its slowed down any ideas? | Welcome!
You are off to a good start. It is normal to have a starter slow down after a couple of days. I’ll spare you the details why but if you really want to know, do a search on this site. Back to your starter, stop feeding and just give it a good stir every once in a while. When it is good and bubbly, start feeding... |
Having difficulty with high hydration sourdough
Hi bread lovers,I've been baking sourdough up to 80% hydration for some time now, with great results.
20200327_134308.jpg
Recently I've attempted to up the hydration of my bread to 85% but the bread comes out the oven, looks and feels fully cooked but when I cut ... | How long did you wait to
How long did you wait to slice it? The crumb looks really good to me. |
From brand new Starter to Bread in 72 hr.
Believe it or not, a virgin, brand new starter made bread in 3 days. It took 72 hours from the initial mixing of the rye and water to removing the baked bread from the oven. If I were you I wouldn’t believe this either.My former starter seemed to lack the vigor it once had, so ... | Yeast friendly
The wild yeast that live in your kitchen moved into their new home quickly, found a job and went to work. Does it have that new car smell? The bread looks great. May your new starter live long and prosper. |
Starter doubling and then goes inactive - feed or no?
I tried making starter a year ago and gave up because it never rose. I finally decided to attempt another a few days ago and much to my surprise, 2 days in, my rye starter looked gorgeous just 7 hrs after feeding 1:1:1 (73 degrees inside)! I was so excited. Well...I... | Wait for it...
That's classic infant starter behavior: an initial burst of activity driven by bacteria followed by a quiet phase with no visible activity. It's kind of like a duck; all calm on the exterior but lots going on below the surface. Wait for it to make some more bubbles before you feed it again. Stir it on... |
how to make sourdough starter from scratch without a scale
I'm in quarantine and left my scale and starter behind in my apartment. I'm making a starter from scratch without a scale, and it's working out quite well! Next project will be sourdough without a scale. Here is the link to my post with a video, may you find it... | Beware the leuconostocs
First of all, isn’t baking a comfort in these unusual times? And hat’s off to you for making a go of it without scales... I’m sure it will work out really well :)It reminds me of the first few times I tried to make a starter... everything always seemed to go well for the first few days, but then... |
Me vs. The Bread, part 3
So I am now on my third attempt to get some good loaves. Things I have done differently this time:Used a smaller weight of levain, using a 1:2:2 ratio with 10g starter and 20g each water and flour. Let it set overnight. Oven temp set to 475F (mistake number 2, did not lower the temp after remov... | Proofing
I forgot to mention that this time I used my oven's proofing setting. I hadn't done that in the previous ones, letting it proof on the counter. When I pulled it out after 90 minutes I thought the bowl felt a bit too warm, so I may not do that next time. But, it's getting cooler here but not so much that I've t... |
Sourdough with cheese, potatoes, onions and herbs?
I'm really starting to get the hang of sourdough and wanted to try something new. There is a bakery in Northern California called Wild Flour Bakery that makes an incredible sourdough (everything they make is great) that changes every week and has a combination of herb... | These two ladies....
These two ladies do exactly that. So read their blogs to see how they do it.http://www.thefreshloaf.com/user/danni3ll3https://www.thefreshloaf.com/user/elsie-iuSee middle column for their recent blog entries.How they can throw so much "stuff" in the dough and come out with still gorgeous bread is a... |
Baking for the Neighborhood?
Is there an interest to start a collective post (semi CB) targeted towards baking in larger volumes for the neighborhood? Danni, has agreed to help, since for years she has been giving away lots of bread.A loaf of bread won’t change the world, but what better way to let our neighbors know ... | Danni gave me a good idea.
Danni gave me a good idea. From the book, “Artisan Bread in 5 Minutes”. The book recommends making a large dough that is retarded in bulk. Then day by day the dough can be removed as need and shaped and baked. |
Hamelman Pain au Levain with WW: newish starter/bread flour
Hi All,I am returning to baking sour-dough bread after a long hiatus (quarantine is the mother of invention). I created a new starter 1 week ago and have baked 2 loaves with it (day 5,6 on the starter timeline). The recipe calls for AP but I only have bread ... | Welcome.
-- Just now saw the photo. Under-fermented.-- Yes, your new starter can raise a loaf, but the strength and "balance" (lactic acid bacteria versus yeast) is going to change in these early stages. It has neither "matured" nor has the balance been stabilized. The time-table of when the maturing and balancing h... |
Question about irregular crumb
Hi all! I've been baking bread for around 2 months now, and due to self-isolation and lockdown, I've had enough time recently to give sourdough a shot. I'm using the Beginner's Sourdough recipe from The Perfect Loaf website (https://www.theperfectloaf.com/beginners-sourdough-bread/), and ... | Looks pretty good
and it makes me hungry. I can see you got some pretty big holes. I think just one little tweak would help out:Degassing thoroughly before and while shaping before the long retard. That should knock the large bubbles down to size and help distribute the cell sizes before allowing them to grow again ... |
Total failure after moving
Back at home in Boston, I was churning out fairly successful tartine style loaves every weekend, following recipe in tartine book 1. See an example below. I've since moved to durham NC, started a new starter, and following the same recipe, am producing terrible loaves, with seemingly no yeast... | How old is your new starter
How old is your new starter compared to your old one in Boston? Are you using the same brands of flour for the starter and the loaves? Did you bring your appliances, stove and fridge, with you? If not a likely suspect would be the temperature in those appliances and I'd make sure that they'r... |
Covid-19 positive, is my starter affected?
I am wondering if in feeding my starter have I spread the germs to it and will the virus live in the starter if it is present? Thanks y'all. | Sorry to hear about you
but your starter will be fine.COVID-19 is a virus and needs a host in order to survive...an animal, and as we know so far, seems to prefer mammals.Wishing you a speedy recovery. |
Bannetons, Dutch ovens and wet sourdough
I use the Food52 no-knead sourdough recipe with my homemade starter to bake bread. The starter, I believe, is 100% hydration. I had been doing the second rise on the countertop and between that and the large size Dutch oven I’d been using, my loaves are perhaps more squat than I... | I have a Lodge...
3.2 quart "combo cooker." https://www.amazon.com/Lodge-Cooker-Pre-seasoned-Skillet-Convertible/dp/B0009JKG9M?tag=froglallabout-20 Here's what I did: I measured the inside diameter at the _bottom_ of the pot, 8". (Used a sewing type of tape measure.) And since it's a "combo" and you can flip... |
Rise, Fall and Float Questions
Hello,I have about a week old starter that is rising and falling predictably I would say and I feed it one a day.Yesterday I wanted to test when it would pass the float test so I took a scoop from it every two hours but even after 12 hours it wasn't floating, which surprised me. (room tem... | Hi Theodor, I have to say
Hi Theodor, I have to say that I’ve never tried a float test on my starter. Whether a starter can pass a float test will partially depend on the hydration of the starter. I more liquid starter like the one I keep at 100% hydration may not pass the float test even though it is quite active an... |
Levain build query! - First ever sourdough bake
Hi,I am attempting my first ever sourdough bake this week. My starter is 6 days old and has some really nice activity and had it's first rise and fall today .I am planning on doing a small loaf using the 1:2:3 method. My query is ratios for my levain build. I want 120g of... | The 120g should be mature
The 120g should be mature starter. Regardless of the feed ratios, it would need time to reach maturity. |
First Sourdough Starters, 10 days in, little activity, nowhere near complete, not even rising, what could be the problem?
Please check this link for more images: LINK Dear Readers, bread lovers, I am asking for your experience, knowledge and help. I started Batch Alpha on 03.20, 21:30I started with 50g Wholemeal and 50... | I would try leaving off the
I would try leaving off the wheat flour and just feeding ap. That is what my starter does best on. |
Sticking to wood board
Sourdoughpals:I have a really nice wood pastry board I use to make bread. Trouble is, the dough really sticks to it, making it much harder to form loaves. Yes, I do the usual things with dusting with flour. I find that the granite countertop works so much better. Is there anything I can do to use... | More flour...
Or perhaps semolina which is commonly used to keep pizzas from sticking to the peel when launching them into the oven |
Starting my first "Starter" a few questions
During thiese difficuilt times I plan on making some sourdough bread. But I have a few questions regarding creating my first starter.- Most of the starter recipes I find on the internet begin with Whole Wheat flour. I gather this is because it is easier to start. Unfortuna... | White wheat starter options
My suggestion would be to start with a whole flour but if not possible, use an unbleached wheat flour. You want a flour that will contain as many microbes from the field as possible. These yeasts and bacteria you want to encourage to grow are found naturally in a wheat field. Bleached flo... |
Have I boiled my starter?
Hi everyone, I'm new to this website and hope to learn some new things about bread. So, nice to meet you all!This morning I was incredibly tired (newborn baby in the house), and while I was feeding my 5th version of my starter I accidentally poured freshly boiled water on it. I usually pour th... | I would NOT trash it
I'd leave it alone for a few days while I start up another one. Even if you killed it, the dead beasties can feed the live ones and the lower pH that you've worked hard to lower is still there. You could just add ( no discard) a spoonful of flour for some fresh beasties and a little water if need... |
Starter not rising consistently
Hi all,I know that this topic has been covered at length, but I have been unable to find any solutions that fit my situation. I created a starter last week using this feeding schedule. On days 2-4, my starter more than doubled in volume each day. The past few days, it has been bubbling, ... | can someone pls virus check this file?
Could one of the TFL regulars, who is also an IT expert, check that file for trojans/virus, please? |
I'm an intellectual learner, need help with practical learning...
This starter (coming from my neighbor's bakery to me) is doubling in 3-4 hours. Whaaaaa? No wonder it had sunk when I fed in the evening and checked it in the morning. I sincerely was told to feed the starter every 24 hours on the counter. I was taught h... | Vonilda, the time it takes
Vonilda, the time it takes for a starter to mature differs from starter to starter. It seems you may have a very active one.Doubling in 3-4 hours is good, but the one thing you left out was the temperature. Especially with sourdough, the temperature is as important as anything else. What woul... |
Teenage Mutant Ninja Starter (or total gluten destruction)
Hi all,Thank you to the experts for helping us baking newbies out!I've been baking with a rye starter for about a year but recently ran out of rye flour and started to use just normal bread flour. However, once I changed flour types my starter turned into a com... | Just a wild guess here
But I wonder if your feeding routine is 1:1:1. If it is, try throwing half of it out and feed it 1:3:3 (one part starter to 3 parts each water and flour by weight) or something even higher. The acid build up might be killing your dough. If that’s the problem, it needs to be highly diluted by larg... |
zero waste sourdough starter
https://youtu.be/Uj6YpNCUYYQbaking with jack tip # 71I have been baking with sourdough for decades. Initially, I followed bread cookbook recipes that would have me discard 70% or more of the starter.Serendipitously, One bread baking day, I forgot to save some of my starter for the next bake... | Yep!
Been doing the same thing for several years. Check out the No Fuss No Muss or NFNM posts that Dabrownman has put up. We keep our starter in the fridge and then use small amount of that to build up for a bake. |
Full Hibernation of starter
Apologies, just found an earlier thread on exactly this.With shortages of flour affecting a lot of us could someone share any tips on putting starters into full hibernation until the supplies of flour return to normal in supermarkets and stores?I only started with sourdough 7 months ago and ... | My best advise would be to
My best advise would be to dehydrate some of it. We often use this to “backup” our starters.To dehydrate smear thinly some of your freshly fed and matured starter on a piece of parchment paper, wax paper, silicone baking mat, etc. let it completely dry, then remove, crumble, and store for lat... |
Real Sourdough Not Poilâne style
I reactivated some starter that had been in the refrigerator since July 2019. I'm pleased with the results. FWSY Overnight Country Brown. I used commercial WW flour, rather than the home-milled wheat berries. Next batch I'll use home-milled WW.Much better crust and crumb than the 'pseud... | I'm intrigued
Your bread does look great.
I have never read any Poilâne book, so I'm intrigued to know what the starter method they advocate is. I see nothing but praise heaped on Poilâne; I think this is the first time I have ever seen anything negative. |
Never made sourdough before, trying for whole-wheat
So...I bought some AP starter from the baker across the street. :) I want to switch it to whole wheat. She said, just feed it every day. 100 g starter, 100 g ww flour, 100 g water. Day one: the starter rose more than double then sank. Day two: doubled perfectly. Days ... | Try this
You should not have any problem going from AP to WW. Just don’t let the starter deflate. Feed it again while it is at its most vigorous. The more starter relative to flour, the quicker the yeast will use up the new flour. Also, you don’t have to waste so much flour. Try using 25 grams starter to 50 grams flour... |
Boy am I a sourdough newbie
So I like how this starter more than doubled in size. But see how there are almost no bubbles? (At least at the top) What do I need to do? | It might look like there are
It might look like there are no bubbles, but that doesn't mean there isn't activity. It more than doubled in size, ,it's super alive! You can dig in with a spoon and then you will find a very holesome (pun intended) gluten network.Keep going, couldn't be better! |
Levain Ratio
Hi! My name is Fausto, I have made bread at home using Levain for a few years, always in a very homemade way, I stopped for a period and I'm coming back again with the breads and Levains, but I'm studying more, reviewing some recipes, proportions, procedures, etc.I always used the 1:2:2 ratio in preparing ... | Ratios
You’re asking several questions, so I‘ll take a whack at ratios. The way I use ratios is to extend or shorten my levain build. I usually plan a 3-generation levain build over 36 hours. If my starter is really lively (which it has been lately), I will use 1:2:2 or 1:3:3 in order to get peak activity in 10-12 hou... |
Sourdough newbie first bake
Any ideas for formulas/recipes that a sourdough newbie can use easily for the first time? I am trying for whole wheat. Want to get my feet under me before I try some of these beautiful loaves I see pictured and discussed here. #soexcitedBlessings,Voni | Give this one a shot.
It is the simplest recipe I could find out there for my friends while we are self isolating. https://foodgeek.dk/en/worlds-easiest-sourdough-bread/ |
Sourdough starter confusion
Hi,I'm baking bread for about a year from Biga and Poolish, and now i want to start sourdough. For most of my experience i'm using Jeffrey Hamelman's book, and here is my confusion.To prepare stiff levain starter using Hamelman's approach we are feeding it for 5 days, and then we end up with... | First, you are in a great
First, you are in a great place with Hamelman, I think that is the best book to work from. OTOH, he does not spend many pages on sourdough. Also, if you ask a question about sourdough to a 100 bakers, you will likely get several hundred different answers. Here are mine.Many people use the... |
Brand new starter
Hello all,New to baking bread. I created a starter yesterday: 2 1/4 tsp active yeast, 3 1/2 cup flour, 2 cups warm water, and 2 tbsp sugar. As of this morning, there is a decently strong alcohol odor. It's been doubling in size, bubbling nicely, and I've been storing it in a cool dark area, covered, ... | Does your recipe call
to use it into another recipe?There are different kinds of starters. They get started in different ways. Starting a starter with yeast is one way and if you want to hang onto it you will have to feed it or end up with beer. |
How much rise during bulk fermentation?
I'm troubleshooting an issue with my sourdough, and I'm trying to isolate it to each stage. Doing by times called for in a recipe is pointless because of temperature differences, amount of starter, activeness of starter and type of flour. I can roughly tell when the final proof i... | Sounds like ya got part.
Right and part reversed. The bulk ferment is very important for several reasons and often this is cut too short. One needs to let the yeast multiply and populate the dough in order to raise it later on. The final proof usually comes out better, especially with sourdoughs, when the volume is ... |
Do I start over? sluggish, almost liquid starter
A week ago Monday, I did a starter with APF, water and some 12 year old yeast that I found. Over the next few days, feeding it morning and evening, it bubbled, looked lively, and on Saturday last week I made a loaf of bread and it turned out beautifully. I once again ... | Your starter is shifting to a wild starter
as the commercial yeast are dying out. The foam is from the bacteria increasing acid in the starter. Soon the wild yeast will take over and this is common. Just be gentle with it and perhaps feed only once a day until you see more action. You can also thicken it up instead... |
STARTER LEVELS Vs PROOFING TIMES AND TASTE
Namaste from Nepal. I would really like to know if there is marked difference regarding a) length of final proofb) levels of sourness in breaddepending on level of activity you incorporate your stater into the dough. I have read somewhere that using a young starter will decrea... | Some previous discussions on the topic:
Some really good previous discussions: (be sure to read through the comments)https://www.thefreshloaf.com/node/49800/looking-more-sour-sd-recipehttps://www.thefreshloaf.com/node/62064/want-more-sour-- and then:https://www.thefreshloaf.com/node/14913/very-liquid-sourdough (read... |
Tartine recipe in a loaf pan, huge camel hump
In an effort to experiment, I made the classic tartine recipe and decided to shape one loaf into a batard, and shape and place the other ~1kg of dough into a loaf pan. The result was good bread, but an unusual shape. I let the final rise happen in the fridge, and it was lik... | Looks good to me!
Enjoy your camel bread! ?Oops, that should have been dromedary bread. Camels have two humps! ? |
Hard, thick crusts
Hi everyone,I've been enjoying the sourdough life for about 2 years ... of course I think I made the first loaf that I was happy with about a year in (that's a lot of sinkers and loaves that went into our food waste bin), and for about the last 6 months I feel I've really got it, and have been making... | see this discussion...
Some folks were just talking about the topic, here: http://www.thefreshloaf.com/node/62682/combo-cookerSeveral possibilities to consider in the comments.Welcome to TFL. (I joined in Sep 2019.) |
Restarting after a loooong hibernation
Hi allIt's been a long time since I've been sourdough baking and now we are in isolation, I think it's time to get back on the baking, at least so I have some bread to eat.I got my two starters out of the fridge. Sadly one is dead. :( smelt of sick and had loads of green mould all... | Pattern
Is the starter behaving the way it did when it was being fed on a regular basis before refrigeration? I routinely put my starter in the fridge when I am not going to bake for a while (maybe a week, maybe three weeks), and when I bring it out I feed it a couple of times a day until it returns to its old pattern... |
King Aurthur Alaskan Sourdough Mix or General Purpose Flour
Hello everyone - New to the forum and finding new hobbies to keep myself busy and healthy during this COVID lockdown.I've decided to make a starter but not being able/wanting to leave the house for better quality flour (whole wheat or rye) i have two options i... | Your AP is bleached, and the
Your AP is bleached, and the KA bread mix has salt, neither of which are optimum for starting a starter.Can you order from Amazon or from a local grocery delivery service and get whole wheat flour, and unbleached AP/bread flour?But... maybe... If you have raisins or fresh fruit, you might ... |
What am I doing wrong?
Hello,I don't know what I'd doing wrong. This is the second time I've tried to make a starter, the first was the recipe off King Arthur, and then The Clever Carrot. I followed both recipes to the T, and after the initial feed the starter doubled, and thereafter, absolutely nothing, apart from the... | Temperature?
water? Tap, boiled tap, bottled, etc.flour type?location? Aprox.How many days? |
When to refrigerate
Hi there,I am new to sourdough baking and have finally, after three weeks of (un)patiently waiting, got my starter going. Just yesterday was the first time after feeding it, that it actually got little bubbles and doubled in size; it did take 16 hours though. So after 24 hours I fed it again, and af... | 1. I would recommend leaving
1. I would recommend leaving it at room temp and feed for a few more days (maybe 3-4) to give it some rhythm and stabilize it.2. Give it a couple of hours before you refrigerate it, until it starts showing activity (growth or bubbles).3. While for a spontaneous bake you can use it right out... |
A Latvian-style Sourdough Rye Bread
Greetings from Aotearoa New Zealand. I've been making bread for about six months now. Back in March my cousin gave me a sourdough starter and a recipe for a white wheat sourdough loaf with a bit of rye, and that got me hooked. My mother is from Latvia, and I remember the marvellous "... | Welcome to the site!Would you
Welcome to the site!Would you mind if I featured this post in one of the feature blocks on the homepage for a bit? I haven't seen a good formula for a bread like this in a long time. |
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