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Deflation!
Looking for a little help here. I'm doing sourdough. I've got a healthy starter, and when I ferment without refrigeration, my loaves are fine. When I refrigerate, however, they deflate when I place them in the oven. My recipe and procedures are:170g Starter300 g Water424g Red Mill Bread Flour70g King Art... | Over proofed
You allow it to fully proof then refrigerate. It'll over proof in the fridge. Refrigerate straight after shaping into the banneton. Should be ready the next morning. If not you can always finish off at room temperature. |
Sourdough (from all purpose flour) turning runny after two days
Hi all, I am a complete newby to sourdough baking, I am trying to make a starter from nothing more than white flour (type 405) - the steps I have been following are as follows:Day 1, 4oz of flour + 4oz of (filtered) waterDay 2, 4oz of flour + 4oz of water... | Keep feeding it!
Don't stop feeding it, the vinegary smell is the right one. The bubbles will come with development of yeast what will take a while - a day or two more. I would suggest that you use just half of the existing starter for next feeding, so you will keep the initial quantity. I feed mine with 30g of flour m... |
Sourdough Pizza Crust STICKING to aluminum deep dish pans
I put it in caps because these crusts become so stuck that it takes a good 20 minutes to get all of it off of a small personal pan dish.Here's our procedure:-the usual folding every 50 minutes 3 times-oil the pans very well (pizza hut style hard coat anodized al... | Try this
You could try this http://yumarama.com/952/home-made-cake-release-recipe/ I normally am too lazy to make it though so instead I oil my pans and then dust them with flour before I put my dough in. I haven’t tried this with pizza dough, but I have with a really wet focaccia and it worked well. |
Dan Lepard Baker's % does't count the starter (??)
I recently got this book and I can't make sense of the baker's % he is using for the recipes.I've been told that if you have a 100% starter, then 500g Flour325g Water200 starter (100 flour + 100 water) So 600g flour425g water That's a 75% hydration. But not, Dan Lepard... | Different ways to use baker's percentage
Yes, you are correct. Many bakers don't calculate the flour and water in the starter when they use baker's percentage. So either you recalculate it yourself (if you feel you need to know), or you just get a feel for how hydrated the dough is when you make that bread and adjust a... |
DoughRight sourdough and bread iPhone app
Hi - In case anybody is interested - I just released an iPhone app ($3.99) for the major bread making calculations called DoughRight:https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/doughright/id1096435330?mt=8It calculateswater temperature with and without pre-fermentsourdough culture elaborat... | Android?
Any chance you can release on android as well? Would love to try it out! :) |
fruit water yeast science question
Hi, I would like to know if the starter from fruit water, and specifically grapes is as healthy as a sourdough starter. Is it just a natural yeast, or does it also contain healthful bacteria? Does anyone know the science of it? Thank you in advance, Rohini | My understanding is
It's just another type of yeast. Not as complex as a sourdough and i'm not sure if it has the same health benefits. However it is tasty and gives great oven spring. |
Toasting/Browning Flour and Gluten
Hi All, I am relatively new to the baking scene - been doing it for a little over 2 years now, using sourdough and my beloved starter as a spring board into other adventures. Those adventures have lead me to toying with flavors and ways to treat the wheat etc which brings me to the qu... | Pre-cooking flour
There has been a lot of previous discussion about such things here on TFL. Try searching to see what you come up with. Probably one of the most interesting threads about it is here. You can also search for scalds (roasting flour mixed with water in the oven until brown) and Tangzhong (a Japanese metho... |
Starter Help
I've been lurking and reading, and trying to learn. Today, I stumbled across a little Mennonite bakery/diner, and the ladies were kind enough to give me some sourdough starter to take home. I was all excited, but didn't really pay attention to it as the woman tucked the jar in a paper bag and gave it to ... | Here is what I would do...
I would split the starter and put at least half of it in the refrigerator. The take out some of it and play with it. If all else fails, you can go back to the chilled starter and try something else. Use the chilled starter as back-up.Then take any amount of starter, let's say 1/4 cup start... |
Starter smells good, like doughnuts dough. Thoughts?
This is my first starter. It's two weeks old and I already used it three times. It worked quite well. I'm just curious because it leaves a slightly smells like doughnuts dough. Smells really good but I didn't expected this smell. It's a 100% hidratation starter. I f... | If you feed it often
and with a higher ratio of flour and water to starter, you don't let the acid build up and you end up with a sweet smelling starter. I believe that temperature has something to do with it as well. If you want a sour starter, you do the reverse. There are lots of posts on this site that explain how ... |
Juvenile starter, born Sunday August 21st
Good afternoon all,I've played around with SD for the last couple of years or so, and once again Igot the itch to start again over the weekend. Where I have followed Rose Levy Beranbaums recipe in the bread bible, however I used white flour rather than whole wheat. The progress... | I wouldn't worry about it but you need to thicken
it up so the culture diesn't go though all the food so quickly and the separation doesn't happen |
Baking and baking and not improving!
I think I bake sourdough bread for 2 years now and I have never had a perfect oven spring or big ear. Basically, my bread doesn't grow up, sideways only. Now, I am trying to analyze what goes wrong. My recipe: 80g starter, 300g water, 360g bread flour, 40g whole wheat flour.1. I am ... | beautiful bread
I am no expert, but that bread picture at the bottom looks beautiful. Nice open Crumb. As far as an ear goes, perhaps score a little deeper at a 45ﾟ angle. |
Starter too active?
Hi all, Newb here. I've been trying, and failing for some time to create a decent loaf of sourdough bread. But I have managed, for the past 9 months, to keep and feed my starter.It has been living in the icebox for about 3 weeks, but I want to try baking again this Saturday, so Wednesday morning, I ... | The older the better
Sounds like you are doing something right, esp. if it smells yeasty. It will raise your bread faster when it is in this condition, so keep an eye on the dough and not the clock.Congratulations! |
Anyone with sourdough starter near Ann Arbor, MI?
Hello fellow bakers,I am visiting my mom near Ann Arbor and brought her a loaf of sourdough bread that she loves and she is interested in learning how to make it while I am here. Unfortunately I didn't bring any starter with me and wanted to see if there happens to be a... | For sure
I'd be happy to give you some. I'm in Jackson, though, don't know if that's too far for you. |
Is my starter contaminated? How to tell?
my starter is about 3 months old. I kept it in the fridge for about the last two months feeding it weekly(forgot to feed it once for about two or three weeks). THere were instances where the dried up starter on the sides of the jar turned dark (might be molds). was about to th... | My initial thought
If it made bread then it's fine.A good feed is a 1:1 ratio of starter to flour. So feeding your starter with at least it's own weight with fresh flour, or higher, will make a healthy starter. As for water... it depends on how hydrated you keep your starter.Perhaps treat your starter to a few good fee... |
Kafir and Kafir Whey
First of all, I do not use a 'starter'. I make fermented bread but add 1/4 teaspoon of yeast to my dough before letting it ferment on the counter for 24 hours. Recently, I've started adding some of my kafir whey to my water quantity. It adds a little something to the bread. When I use the actua... | Search "Kefir"
On this forum it is usually spelled "kefir". Use the search box with this spelling and you will get a list with a LOT of past posts.Sounds delicious! |
Air Travel (short flights) with SD starter and kefir grains
Being an avid kefir drinker and sourdough baker, I couldn't imagine going a week without when we went on a much needed vacation! So my husband thought I was crazy but I did manage to vacation with both!I air-travelled in the US where we have security checks th... | Great!
Thanks a lot for these tips! I hope my kefir makes it through the 18 hours from Barcelona to Uruguay :) |
Converting instant yeast recipe to sourdough
I am pretty new to sourdough baking, but have done a some occasional baking using instant yeast over the past few years (mostly pizza dough). I created my own sourdough starter a month or so ago and have produced quite a few successful sourdough boules with great oven spring... | Did some experiments
I've had some success with experimenting and converting a simple loaf bread recipe to use sourdough, but it was frustrating and I was basically winging it the whole time. I found that natural yeast dough became more liquid and difficult to handle over time, whereas the commercial yeast dough retain... |
Cook's Illustrated sourdough article
I am wondering if other bakers here on TFL have seen the article in the latest Cook's Illustrated magazine on sourdough. I think it is a great primer on creating a starter and baking sourdough breads. The instructions are very clear and even advanced bakers can pick up some ideas. T... | I saw it when I flipped
I saw it when I flipped through the latest issue at the library, but did not read it - just did not feel like I'd have much to learn there. |
Refrigerating spelt/rye shaped loafs
Hi all,I have been a bit of a lurker, having read numerous posts and experimenting with our bread baking over the last 6 months to the point we now have a repeatable process to make 2 loaves of Spelt/Rye sourdough.We start off with a levain of 1 cup of rye starter straight from the ... | Have you tried letting it rise
for a half hour or an hour before putting it into the fridge? You might need to do some trial and error problem solving before you can figure out the optimal time to let it rise before putting it in the fridge. Then once you have that figured out, be sure to bake your loaves directly from... |
Uneven crumb — large holes around edges
Hello, all. I'm working on Tartine-style loaves and have recently had a few with an uneven crumb, with largish holes appearing around the edges, along the sides and top. I think the picture explains it best. Does this look like a proofing issue, a shaping issue, or perhaps someth... | I think it is a degassing issue
needs more degassing while shaping. Thoroughly degas before shaping when retarding in the refrigerator. With the whole grains, the gas bubbles will come back, not to worry.The crust looks a little tight like it dried too much in the fridge. How did it feel when you flipped it out and ... |
How To Bake With Refrigerated Starter?
Hey y'all!So I have an established starter and I've had it in the fridge now for about a week. I would like to bake with it tomorrow. I'm not sure when I should take it out and feed it? I was thinking of taking it out now (about 3pm) and let it come to room temperature then feed i... | That should work
If your starter is healthy, that should work. |
Does this look underfermented ?
Image 2022-01-08 at 12.51 PM.jpeg | It looks....
very small, so rather difficult to diagnose. I suggest you check your uploaded picture size. 650 pixels wide is usually about right.Lance |
Sourdough ciabatta help!
Hello fellow TFL’ers!This is my first post (although I have been using TFL for over a year now - it really is such an invaluable resource and has really helped me on my baking journey so far :) )I have been baking with sourdough for over a year now and have recently started to branch out trying... | Underproofed
Your leaven wasn't ready. Simple as that. I am 100% positive and there's nothing more to it at this point. |
Starter maintenance, quality, and odors
I'll start off with the questions, and give the background below:QuestionsIs there a way to cultivate the starter so it goes toward an odor of that nice yogurt-like quality?Does that odor indicate how well the starter will leaven and perform?Can you tell how a starter will behave... | starter smells
I do pretty much what you do to get the starter going in terms of hydration, etc. After 14 days or so, mine has a beer-like odor. I start adding a bit more spring water, as a thinner, flavorful starter seems to work for me in terms of a more open crumb. |
Starter has no acidity
So I have been saving the starter I discard to make crumpets with and last night I had enough to make a batch. So I removed the left over starter from the fridge and added some baking soda - it did not react at all - not even a hint of a reaction.So I got to thinking maybe my baking soda is bad ... | I tried your experiment
with a half mature starter. I took two blobs of starter and sprinkled soda on one... hardly any reactionI took the second blob and put it into a shot glass and added water to thin it. Then added soda, and stirred, it foamed, nothing to write mom about and not as much as vinegar or lemon juic... |
Sour dough starter
I was recently given a sour dough starter. I've been doing the daily feeding, but haven't discarded the recommended amount, because if I discard I won't have enough to make a loaf of bread. This morning I was going to discard, but if I had, there was only a small amount left for baking. I'm new to th... | You should feed it the amount
You should feed it the amount you need for your bake in the feed prior to your bake. So if you need 150g starter you feed it 75g flour, 75g water (or whatever your hydration ratio is) wait for it to double/peak then take the 50g and make your dough with it. |
Can commercial yeast take over an established sourdough starter?
I've read that one must keep the starter separate from dough that contains commercial yeast. According to that article (I can't remember exactly where I read that) - commercial yeast might take a foothold in the sourdough starter, and eventually out-comp... | The acidity of the starter
should keep the commercial yeast from establishing a foothold, the wild yeast likes this environment while the commercial yeast doesn't.Gerhard |
Using mixer with high hydration sourdoughs?
Greetings folks! I have been making high hydration sourdoughs using the FWSY method and am trying to convert this to a mixer. I am making his Overnight Country Brown and substituting a grain blend for the whole wheat. I'm making a batch that is 150% by weight of the original ... | Withhold Water
Withhold some of the water to get a lower hydration dough, develop the gluten in the mixer and then add the rest of the water to the desired hydration. |
Sourdough Woes :(
So I have been nursing a starter now for almost a month and I have tried to make about 5 loaves with it over the past 2 weeks and they have all been pretty disastrous. First couple were bricks and the last couple of attempts have baked but the crumb is very heavy, I have no oven spring and despite th... | Nothing sticks
to rice flour! I used to proof my dough in basket lined with a linen cloth dusted with regular flour. It worked sometimes, but i didn't like how much flour i ended up with on the outside of the loaf. Now i lightly dust the cloth with rice flour, I haven't had a single sticking incident since! I think you... |
A good laugh
I was going through my old recipe files (I have LOTS of 3x5 cards and folded papers) and came across my recipe from my original experience with sourdough. What a hoot! To give you an idea, it started out ......" In a 4 GALLON crock.....".Holy cow that was a lot of starter! I do remember making a lot of pan... | Four GALLONS!
Jeepers! I'm glad I started learning on TFL first! :)Murph |
Overnight proving, baking @7am question
Hi allI've been experimenting midweek with proving overnight on the counter top. I started using a large bag and leaving in the kitchen but it kept over proving and making a huge need! (Still edible though :) )I was then proving in the conservatory as it was colder with a tea to... | Times are iffy
It is difficult to set precise timing, because slight differences in the activities of the leaven and the temperatures. However since you can do the refrigerator proofing on weekends, try putting the dough into the refrigerator for the same length of time that it is in there over the weekend so that it ... |
blisters and caves
Guessing my problems lie in the shaping or pre-shaping but it's only a guess, maybe you folks could offer some words of wisdom.Hopefully the pictures will help to show what I am asking...the first is of what I would call a blister on the outside of the loaf. The second is what I sometimes find in my ... | Crumb says it's a shaping issue
Try deflating it more before shaping. Rest of the crumb looks great!The blisters look more like crumbs on the surface... How are you doing it? Got more details? :) |
Help to troubleshoot sourdough loaf, tasted nice but very flat.
So after failing many times before, I decided to go back to sourdough baking. Although I do have theoretical knowledge of sourdough, I considered this a first-timer experience on a practical level.The recipe I used was from this forum: https://www.thefresh... | Oven spring
First, I think you’ve managed to get a nice open crumb! You’re going to get better oven spring baking on a pre-heated baking stone as opposed to baking on a cookie sheet. The spring happens quickly and the high heat on the bottom of the loaf drives this. |
Autolyse with or without levain?
I see recipes with an autolyse that include a starter/preferment and some that are just flour and water. Does anyone know the difference between the two methods? Has anyone done a side-by-side experiment to test if there is a noticeable difference? I have been including the starter in m... | Flexibility
An autolyse without the starter permits you to extend it almost indefinitely . . . you could conceivably mix just flour and water and let that soak overnight at room temperature without any problems. If you forgot about it for an extra four or six hours, chances are it would forgive you. However, once you i... |
Time and Space problem
I am still having scheduling problems with making my sourdough. I am following Ed Wood's sourdough recipe and it calls for an initial proof of 8-12, doubling in size. I wonder if it takes that long? Do I wait for the doubling or the time?Also I followed a friend's recipe of an initial proof of 12... | Watch the dough and not the
Watch the dough and not the clock. Whether your dough doubles in 2 hours or 6 hours, when it doubles (for most recipes) it's done.Also kneading is not really necessary; the stretch and fold (S&F) technique takes so little effort and yields wonderful results. I do one S&F every 30 minutes 3-... |
My first sourdough starter and bread questions
Hi so my sourdough starter is looking great,it's day 10 and it's really bubbly and plenty of "pockets" in the glass jar.It is a 50g white wheat starter,i discard so that 50g is left then i add 50g flour and 50g h20.My starter is now switched to a 12 hour feeding cycle afte... | There a thousand ways to keep a starter.
I am old, very thrifty and lazy so I don't want to maintain a starter, be chained to it or discard any of it either, So I do the No Muss No Fuss starter where I only have to feed it every 20- 24 weeks or when I run out of it.No Muss No Fuss Starter |
No Oven Spring
Hi from Sri Lanka. Please help troubleshoot my latest loaves. :)Been tinkering with Sourdough for a bit. Hit a snag the other day and couldn't figure out what the cause was. It looked like i wasn't getting much oven spring. even though it had a kind of open crumb. the loaf was very flat, the scores weren... | My two cents
I would say it's probably the hydration coupled with environmental conditions. Whole wheat has a little more trouble getting great oven spring with high hydration when baked unsupported in an oven ; tends to spread out quite a bit.Though it lacks oven spring, the loaf you've posted looks absolutely delicio... |
Regarding starter volumes - how low can I go?
I must say I'm getting a lot of information on this forum!To qualify - my starter is still in the developing phase. It has been about a month now, and it's still a struggle to make it double in volume. The problem: I am accumulating a lot of starter discards. I am quite ... | Try 10:20:20
or 10 20:30 :) When feeding for a recipe increase the water as needed. I think your starter is long overdue to test for making bread. |
Taking my levain to spain and back
Anybody know if it's ok to take my culture to spain from Canada and back in 3 months? | okay in what sense?
Not sure if you're asking whether it's okay for your starter, i.e., if it can survive the trip, or if it's okay in terms of customs regulations or airport security. In terms of customs, you'd have to check with the Spanish government to be sure about any forbidden imports, but I've never heard of pr... |
starter slow to revive
I use to be able to leave my starter in the ref. for extended periods of time pull it out at bedtime mix a 50/50 water flour by weight and in the morning I was good to go for pancakes or what ever. Now even after 2 weeks its lazy takes a couple days to get it working. I can't think of anything I... | Not sure, but
Here's what I do to revive my starter. First I use water filtered by a Brita. I've never used distilled water. I live in the San Francisco Bay area, and the water is great, so I only want to remove the yeast-killing chlorine.If the starter has been in the fridge awhile, and/or you've been experiencing ... |
Sourdough starter from stiff to liquid
I read that i can turn my liquid starter to a stiff starter to take on a flight but i did it completely wrong. I basically added 2x as much flour and didn't do anything else. Is there anyway i can turn it back to a liquid starter? | Yep!
Just take 25 g of what you have now and add 25 g of water and 25 g of flour. Feed as per usual once it has risen to at least double. The amounts I gave you are arbitrary. 1:2:2 portions is what you are looking for. |
What about Laurel Robertson's Desem Starter ... ?
I recently bought Laurel Robertson's 'Bread Book' and I thought that the 'incredible' desem starter sounded like a very complicated,odd and wasteful way to make a sourdough starter - although, so it is claimed, the desem would be 'better' than a sourdough starter. Howe... | Desem
I like the Laurel's Kitchen Bread Book an awful lot. It helped me more than any other book I've read to make good-tasting, high rising 100% whole wheat bread.I also love making Desem bread, but I'll also be the first to admit that sourdough is not the book's strong suit. When they speak about sourdough starters o... |
softer crust
Is there anything that can be added to make a soft crust? I prefer recipes using only starter, flour, water, and salt. I would like to keep ingredients to a minimum and without the use of dairy. | Yes, steam to the end of the bake...
...and bake for a shorter time. Also, store it in a linen or cotton bag. |
Experience of using refined flour vs whole wheat flour
Started with whole wheat flour, what I have found is that whole wheat flour gives more acetic acid and bitter taste upon fermentation(which is reduced by toasting), here fermentation taste is not that special, though after toasting it feels alright, with refined fl... | Are you using commercially
Are you using commercially milled atta flour or are you milking your own? While I have baked with atta I haven’t used it for western style bread loaves. I generally mill my own flour from whole berries and I don’t have issues with bitterness. |
Lehay's (New York Times) Sourdough Bread Recipe Disaster
Yikes! Followed the recipe exactly, left to ferment correct amount of time, and when I tried to rest then shape it, it was full of a million holes. Impossible to shape, so threw it out. Recipe said to use active starter. Any ideas? | Ehrm, Temperature?
Sounds like it was warm and humid. Need to know the temperature. Sounds like the dough overproofed.Wild-Yeast |
Gifting Sourdough Starter
HelloI am going to an English friends wedding in a month and would like to give her some of my (still 3 months young, but hey) starter as a little part of our present. I'm sure I can follow directions online re how to dry it and send it etc, does anyone have any recommendations about a brief, ... | How about self published
If she is a busy lady, then something short and sweet may be appreciated. Print instructions for maintaining the culture and then perhaps a recipe for sourdough pancakes (very easy), a sweet or tea bread like a banana bread using the starter and a simple bread like a 1-2-3 sourdough bread.There... |
Lehay's (New York Times) Sourdough Bread Recipe Disaster
Yikes! Followed the recipe exactly, left to ferment correct amount of time, and when I tried to rest then shape it, it was full of a million holes. Impossible to shape, so threw it out. Recipe said to use active starter. Any ideas? | Try again
You are doing one or more things wrong. I have made hundreds of no kneads and they turn out well. Go to Breadtopia.com, watch the videos and you will do fine. |
Some doctoring please. Bad shaping? Under/Over proofed?
Hello. Here are some photos of this weekend result. It's a 70% white flour sourdough with some chia.The result is good. Tastes delicious. It's soft and chewy. Very good bread to me. But I got some cracks in the bottom. And I'm always willing to improve...So by th... | the cracks on the bottom
don't worry me in the slightest! Hubby gave me the "is she serious?" look.The crumb however looks heavy and loaf crust rather pale, try upping the oven temp on the bake. The larger loaf looks like it could ferment longer before a final proof. Was the loaf cold when first cut?Would like to m... |
Desem?
Does anyone make desem and if so, do you have any photos, especially of the crumb that you could post here? I read the version of the technique and recipe in the Laurel's Kitchen Bread Book and I'm intrigued, but not sure it is worth all the effort for me to try it. I would like to see what it looks like, and wh... | I made it from 2 sources
And 2-3 years ago as well, but 2 years ago I got the recipe and detailed instructions here http://www.justhungry.com/2003/12/desem_day_89_th.html, the author having taken it form Laurels book too. I had come across it earlier in Kiko Denzer's Cob oven book but he instructions were too simple an... |
Desem problem
I have been trying to make desem bread. my starter seems stuck. it is having problems maturing. it smells a little sour kind of like vinegar. i have followed the formula in laurel's kitchen Bread Book and got a 2 brick loaves after the first week. I am assuming my desem isn't mature.
I used 100% Organic H... | Hi rc
Hi rc, and welcome to TFL!
From your description, it doesn't sound as if your starter ever achieved the level of yeast activity necessary to raise bread. I could be wrong of course, as your post is short.
Another TFLer, gaaarp has posted a very good tutorial on getting your starter started:
http://www.thefreshloa... |
New Video and Post at Breadwerx
Hey folks, just thought I'd let you all know that I've put up a new video and blog post. This one features a Tartine style loaf made with a fairly wet dough and a third wholegrain flour. Nothing too fancy, but should be interesting for those who like playing around with higher hydration ... | Great! Nice to see you here
Great! Nice to see you here too on TFL.Tim (timbox18) |
EFFECT OF BAKING WITH VERY HARD WATER
I HAVE BEEN BAKING SD BREAD FOR 5 YEARS OR MORE AND ALWAYS HAD DIFFICULTY IN GETTING MUCH OVEN SPRING -- SO,, OVER THE LAST FEW MONTHS I VARIED EACH OF THE INGREDIENTS TO SEE THE EFFECT THEY HAD AND I STILL GOT FLAT LOAVES --- I FINALLY GOT AROUND TO THE WATER --- I LIVE ON A RANC... | I live in Taiwan where no one
I live in Taiwan where no one drinks tap water. Everyone buys water from water stations which sell reverse osmosis water or they have their own RO filtration units under the kitchen sink. I only use RO water for all my bread baking and get really good results! |
Baking with high hydration, transfer to dutch oven
I've been experimenting with higher hydration doughs and wonder if someone got some input on baking them.The one in the oven right now I did two hours of slap/stretch & fold before shaping and retard for 24 hours. After that I let it heat up and ferment a for a few hou... | I think the short answer is yes
It probably would have been far easier to handle if you had bulk fermented the dough for longer before shaping. I usually retard mine (in the fridge overnight) in bulk after stretching, folding, and bulk proofing at room temperature for a few hours (time depends on how well the dough is ... |
Never toss discarded starter again! Book recommendation.
I have had this book for a LONG time. When I started making sourdough bread successfully, I turned up my nose because she made most of her starter with a packet of yeast. Also, the quick breads and muffins didn't use the starter as leavening. What a snob I was! I... | Book title
Didn't see a link to the book. I highlighted the softcover ISBN and right click for a google search. Got this page.http://www.abebooks.com/book-search/isbn/0912656638/page-1/Is this the book?Tom |
Gummy Interior on Sourdough
I am baking KAF's "Artisan Sourdough Bread made with a stiff starter" https://www.kingarthurbaking.com/recipes/artisan-sourdough-bread-made-with-a-stiff-starter-recipeA friend and I both make the same recipe with these changes:Set oven to 500 degrees F. 1 hour before baking with Dutch Oven (... | Gummy breads baked in DOs is
Gummy breads baked in DOs is a common problem. Happens to me. One possibility is that the bread was sliced before cooling completely. Another possibility is my own theory that baking in an enclosed DO traps some of the moisture. Try this: After all the other baking is done, turn off the ove... |
Converting yeast recipes to sourdough
hello all. This is the question, how to convert yeast recipes to sourdough?thanks | a preferment is between 10-30% prefernented
flour . The less pre-fermented flour the longer the bread will take to ferment and proof. How much starter you use fpr the levain depends on the kind of starter you have. I have No Muss No Fuss starter so I use between 5-10 g of stiff rye starter. I also like the levain t... |
Adding soaker to rye sourdough
Hi! I'm a new member but I've been following this site for a while. Got my start with sourdough baking thanks to the excellent post: Wild Yeast sourdough starter and have been baking sourdough breads for a few months. Here's my problem: I found some rye bread recipes that have worked w... | Have you tried cooking
the berries in a rice cooker and letting all the water evaporate when done? ( Or boil in minimum amount of water, drain well and partially air dry.) In this semi dry condition, chop up the berries and add to the dough like nuts, either with the flour or fold in while deflating or shaping the d... |
Using whole-wheat pastry flour
Is it possible to use whole-wheat pastry flour for my sourdough starter? If it is possible, does it make it more difficult?Thanks. | Sure, it is possible.
Sure, it is possible. I don't see why it'd make keeping a starter alive much more difficult as their should be plenty of nutrients in there to sustain it, but you're going to need something with more protein when it comes to turning it into a loaf.Good luck! |
Help! Starter Bubbles and Doubles but fails float test.
Help! I am very new to bread baking and made the mistake of using all of my first starter in a loaf, My second starter (about two weeks old) is bubbly and is doubling within a few hours, but it still sinks when I do a float test. How do I strengthen it enough f... | Questions
I wouldn't worry about float tests with starter, as opposed to levain. I've never float tested my starter, though. Make a levain with your starter, and see what happens.I'm curious to know, what ratio of starter:water:flour are you feeding this starter? If you are feeding it 1:2:2 and it is reliably doubli... |
Fermented field corn
Look what the Laotian cat dragged home? A lonely sack sitting in the corner since yesterday, finally had time to investigate. Don't quite know what I will find... could be tamarind and chilli treats ... or something fried from the camp kitchen... raw vegetables. I think I see a squash or water... | wait, not rice
looks like a thin slice of young coconut in the bags. Torrential rain. I'll get soaked to the bone. I'm trapped until it lets up. I spent more time hanging on to the lawn furniture than getting information... wind very strong. |
Health Qualities of Sourdough Bread
Check out this article on the nutritional qualities of sourdough bread.http://cookusinterruptus.com/blog/?p=4245 | That's just a bunch of pseudo
That's just a bunch of pseudo-scientific nonsense, all of it. |
Use Rainwater to make sourdough?
Ok, this may be an odd idea, but it just hit me this morning. I have a rainwater collection system that I use to water the garden. I was mixing up a batch of dough, and I wondered "What if I use the rainwater instead of the tap water that I normally use?".So a couple of followup th... | If you live in a smog-free area,
If you live in a smog-free area, then the water is probably fine. But if the air contains pollutants, then don't use rain water.Ford |
Cheese & garlic sourdough baguette?
I tried out a recipe yesterday for baguettes. Made two and they were devoured by the family in one sitting so they were a success. Now I'm thinking of making one of the two with cheese & garlic in the middle. Google just gives me recipes where the cheese & garlic is added to a ready-... | Garlic Water
Although I haven't tried this, I read where bakers steep garlic in the same water they will use in their bread formula. This way the garlic flavor permeates the entire loaf. As to the cheese... probably doesn't steep very well :-)I see much experimentation in your future. |
Dough won't develop
Hi everyone,I tried to make this basic sourdough loaf from Ken Forkish's book: White flour804 g6¼ cups96 g900 g90%Whole wheat flour26 g3 tbsp24 g50 g5%Rye flour50 g⅓ cup + 1 tbsp050 g5%Water684 g, 90ºF to 95ºF (32ºC to 35ºC)Scant 3 cups96 g780 g78%Fine sea salt22 g1 tbsp + 1 tsp022 g2.2%Levain216 g*... | That looks very wet for 78%.
That looks very wet for 78%. Did you perhaps measure wrong?What kind of flour did you use? |
Keep getting closed crumb on High hydration (85%) dough
A00A7E71-56EE-4538-A43F-D707063CC6B9.jpeg
How is everyone doing? My high hydration sourdoughs never seem to get those big open holes in the crumb even with a high hydration like this. I use 350 grams of flour, sometimes I add in some whole wheat sometime... | Expectations?
To me, that looks like a great crumb; random alveoli sizes and distribution, plenty of larger bubbles. If the crumb were any more open, you couldn’t butter it. There’s a lot to be happy with in the pictured loaf. Paul |
Interesting Sweet Stiff Levain pH data
If you read my blog here you may have noticed my use of sweet stiff levains (sugar added to the levain) for my enriched doughs in particular the Hokkaido milk bread. I had never bothered to measure pH of the dough or levains that I’ve made for this type of bread but decided I sho... | "Sweet" Stiff Starter
After my initial read through your comment, Benny, my first thought is what is meant by a "sweet" starter? A sweet stiff starter doesn't necessarily mean sweet but rather through a special maintenance the tang is kept at bay. This might be a 1:1 feeding over a day at 3 hourly intervals. That's a b... |
Holiday/rejuvenating starter
Hi allMy starter lives on the worktop as I use it daily but I'm off on holiday soon (yay sunshine!!) So I was planning on putting it in the fridge whilst I'm away.My query is, if I remove it the day I get back and feed it in the morning, can I use some that evening to prove overnight and ba... | Rejuvenation
Before you store your starter in the fridge, you should consider packing in as much flour into your portion of starter as possible. Look at it as a piece of low hydration starter at that point, around 60%. You can surround that with the flour of your choice so it doesn't stick to the container.I'd suggest ... |
Combining preferments with autolyse method
Hello Fresh Loafers,I am experimenting with different techniques for baking with and managing my sourdough starter.I've had a lot of success using a recipe from Trevor Wilson that involves mixing all the flour, water and salt the night before, and just adding a small amount of... | 500g starter
Hi!Most home bakers maintain a mini "mother starter" of around 100g or less and store it in the refrigerator. That's because they're doing one or two loaves a week, if that. Then, they'll scoop out a small portion of that and build it up to the amount of "bake starter" they need for the pre-ferment or fina... |
Stickiest dough you've ever seen.
Hi everyone,I'm learning how to bake sourdough bread and I find it very interesting, however I'm starting to lose my patience with it...Even after finding many people with my same problem and some nice answers, nothing really works. I have watched many youtube tutorials on how to handl... | I agree.
That is very sticky dough. Did you weigh the ingredients? What were your measurements? I suspect there is an error in the water to flour ratio.Fird |
Starter not Finishing
I bought Emmanuel Hadjiandreou's book "How do make bread" I loved the idea of a small little jar mother that you take a tablespoon out and that becomes your sponge. I tried it, with amazing results. Nothing in my life bubbled and foamed like that starter did. I used whole wheat flour, and my cup e... | A bit of clarification
Does anyone have any experience using Emmanuel Hadjiandreou's 'tiny' starter, one that goes uses tablespoons from the mother rather than cups? I tried it and my bread did not rise. Advice? |
Salt in starter?
Just wondering, is it OK to have a bit of salt in the sourdough starter?This recipe, linked below, mixes all the starter, plus flour, water and salt, into a dough and then takes some of that to put back in the fridge for next time. So that means there would be a little bit of salt in the sourdough star... | Don't do that
Hi, debsch!Salt inhibits yeast and bacterial growth. You want both of those to grow abundantly. Generally, salt is only added at the final mixing of all your ingredients and right before your pre-shape or final shape and into the oven it goes.Have fun!Murph |
Sourdough starter woes
A couple months ago my fridge defrost timer went out and my the temp slowly started rising. When I finally realized what was going on my sourdough starter that I captured like 8 years ago was dead. I tried for weeks to revive it to no avail. And I had this starter down. The timing of when to ... | There are many different LAB and yeast that could
be in any SD starter and most are due to where the grain was grown and what kind of flour. Each has its own characteristics. It takes about 4 week for a new starter to start really revealing itself. They are so easy to make I just tell people if you don't like what y... |
Jump starting yeast water.
Hi All, I haven't posted for a while - hope everybody's doing well.I've read through about 80% of RonRay's posts about yeast water and I was curious about one of the techniques he mentioned. He said a very tiny quantity of sourdough culture (I think it was 1/4 teaspoon) could be added t... | almost...
It is so easy to start your yeast water with apples. Way easier even than with raisins which I found to be problematic. It only takes a nice warm ,85 degrees or so, area and 4-5 days and you will have a really lovely sweet smelling AYW. Then take some of it and add it to some of your culture and voila you hav... |
keeping small quantity of starter
Hello.I started baking using recipes from weekendbakery.com They use to keep a small amount of starter, and aways use a "poolish" to build a preferment. So this is what I've being doing.But I'm finding recipes asking for larger amounts of starter. So two questions:1- If I want to build... | So many ways ...
and how large is large?For my little microbakery the biggest I've needed so-far has been about 5-6Kg of starter and I've had to build that in 2 stages...So to get to 5Kg, in 2 stages with 100% starter (100% target) then I divide by 5 to get 1Kg, so the last stage is 1Kg starter plus 2Kg flour and anoth... |
Dead bread :(
The short version: My healthy starter wont leaven my bread Longer version: I used to bake sourdough bread with much success after reading the tartine book 1. I would usually use levain and poolish (wild starter and commercial yeast starter) and was cranking out beauties. After switching to levain only I h... | Here is my plan for tomorrow.
Here is my plan for tomorrow. I'll put together the same recipe, but this time I'll start by waiting much longer to add the salt. My starter doesn't usually start getting active till around the 1.5 hour mark. I'll wait to see sure signs of active fermentation from a 1 hour autolyse and may... |
How many stretch and folds? - dough elasticity and extensiblity
I understand that good sour dough should be both elastic and extensible. I should be able to stretch it far without the gluten breaking, but it still wants to tug back. I bake in the UK using 90%white flour 10% Wholemeal and a 30-60 min autolyse with star... | You've discovered ...
... my "low impact" bread making method :-)Even for yeasted breads, I mix it all together with salt & starter (no cheating, use hands - if I'm going to use a mixer, I just let it run for 10 minutes with a dough hook and be done with it). then leave for half an hour, then a few "rock & roll" type k... |
My very first ear, but why did the crust split?
Ear picture Split picture What did I do wrong? Bread is currently cooling, so have not sliced yet. | Shaping?
Sometimes when doing the final shaping I have seen a overlap of the dough that appears to “repair” itself during the final proof, but actually leaves a weak point in the gluten network. In your “ear” photo the split seems to continue opposite the bloom which is why I suggest shaping. The top dough surface want... |
Refrigerating Starter
Help! I'm not a frequent baker, thus have been storing my starter in the fridge between bakings (about once a month). The last time I was able to salvage my rather hard, crusty starter. However, this time my starter has turned to concrete and is very very hard. I leave it in the back of my fridge ... | don't leave it uncovered
I have mine in a plastic yogurt container with the lid loose on it. You don't need to leave it open to air. Covered is best but not air tight. Mine has been like this for years. It comes right back when taken out at room temp. Also you should add enough flour to make a solid dough if you are g... |
sour dough
Feedback was right! It is much better baked longer. The crust is crunchy, did not over-bake the inside. Thanks to those who gave me good counsel. | Looks great!!
Good job!! |
Not Sour Enough
So, I have read that for a more sour bread to use less starter. I did just that but, the bread was not as sour as others I have made nor the one I made the day before with 5x the starter.Recipes used:500g flour314g water50g starer10g salt 500g flour344g water250g starter12g salt -Mix rest 1 hr, mix it s... | Have you tried tasting the starter?
The more mature, the colder the conditions it's kept in, the longer the gap between builds, etc. etc., the stronger it will be.Was the starter ripe when you used it? What flour did you use? Have you tried a lower hydration? There's a long list of factors that can influence sourness.I... |
old starter uses
Hi: Some people save up old starter and make stuff like waffles and pancakes, and some people make bread, too. I wanted to try it as well!Three weeks' worth came out of the fridge, totalling 800 grams of 100% starter (various apf, rye, ww). It was mixed with 200g bread flour and 12g salt (my preferr... | For better results, reverse the proportions next time
With that much old starter and so little new flour, the dough started out overproofed with damaged gluten and didn't have a chance to do well. I'm impressed that it came out as well as it did. Paul |
starter moldy after 24 hours?
I cannot figure out what is going on with my starter. I forgot to feed it one night and after two days it had mold. I figured that happened from going too long between feeds. Fine. Scraped off the top, took some fresh starter from near the bottom of the jar, and put it in a clean jar, fed ... | Mold
The fuzzy stuff you see is merely the top of the mold organism. The rest of it has presumably colonized your starter, so you're probably stuck with it now. I'd suggest starting all over again with a new culture (maybe the pineapple juice method, though I've never tried that myself).I know in our MarketSafe course ... |
Suggestions for measuring out dough into dutch oven
First time poster, long time lurker.I recently acquired a small Le Creuset vintage 70's dutch oven pot that's about 4qt in size (apprx). I'm following a no knead bread recipe from King Arthur's website and just wondering how much dough would anyone suggest using for m... | One to one and a half pounds
should work just fine for that size. |
First sourdough loaves
Hi all,Yesterday I tried my first couple of sourdough loaves. I used the following recipe from Josey Baker’s book:1. Preferment (Saturday 9am)· 30g starter· 240g water· 210 rye flour2. Final dough (Sunday 9am)· 480g water· 750g all-purpose flour· ... | Any pictures?
Any pictures? |
Eek! Dropped myself in it...
My eldest (year 8) daughter has been sharing her sourdough bread round in the classroom at lunchtime. Next week they're off on a school camping trip and she's volunteered me to make bread to take for her class! Her teacher is really looking forward to it too...So no pressure then!! If it... | I think that is very cool!
I think that is very cool! good luck and good baking! |
Sourdough starter - what's going on?
Hi,I've embarked on a second attempt to create a sourdough starter from scratch. This time I've gone as far as building a proofing box with a temperature control which will come in handy for proofing the bread later on.I need a bit of advice as I can't figure out what happened or wh... | not an expert
This week, I made my first batch of starter that actually worked! The instructions I used this time specified odd amounts of flour:pineapple juice. I say odd because they were by-weight amounts translated into tablespoons. Getting that yeasty smell and all-over bubbling on the 4th-5th day was very excitin... |
How much commercial yeast to add to the final dough when using pre-ferments?
Hi to everybody,I was wondering...How much commercial yeast (if any) do I need to add to the final dough when using pre-ferments?Let´s say I want to bake a recipe that calls for a poolish or a biga.The questions are:1. Do I also need to add co... | Ultimately it depends on how
Ultimately it depends on how fast you want the final dough to ferment. It will be affected by how long long your poolish fermented and what percentage it forms of the final dough.When making sourdough, for instance, the preferments contain all the yeast that your final dough will ever have.... |
Sourdough starter is bubbling but not rising !!!!!
I am using dry sourdough starter it is bubbling from the begging but not rising, and after 2 days no bubbles no activities | Dry starter?
more detail needed pleasetemperatures? age? how thin is it? any additional ingredients? How much?aromas? I take it that being a dry starter, water was added to it. Is it purchased or a DIY "back up" starter? What amounts are we talking about? I normally add water to cover and let it stand to hydrate... |
My 1st Tartine country loaf and 2nd try baking bread...
I just baked my first Tartine country loaf, and while I was pleasantly surprised at the result, (it was only my 2nd time baking bread), I thought I had missed on several qualities I had wanted in this bread and now wonder how I might approach my next try any diffe... | I think you had a highly successful bake
To respond to some of your comments, Chad Robertson Tartine recipes don't result in highly sour bread. And increasing the amount of Levain will not make the bread more sour. If you search on here for more sour bread, you will discover a number of techniques that will help you nu... |
Dumbfounded and frustrated
Hi, I am at a total loss. I have baked sour dough bread for the last 4 years and have to say I never had a failure. I kinda did a formula from Hammelman with some deviations : added some rye flour to the KA AP and adjusted the hydration. i put the dough in the fridge for 24 hours, took it out... | The solstice is coming
Make a bonfire and dance around it 13 times while holding your starter and chanting "rise, rise, rise!" Then throw most of the starter into the fire, save a tiny bit, clean out its vessel, and give it an XXL feeding. Whenever I've had a slow/no rise, a good refreshing of the starter corrected the... |
Seasoned kitchen (air yeast)
I read somewhere that the more you bake, the more "seasoned" your kitchen becomes, producing a better and faster rise and predictable results. This seemed to be the case when I moved into a new kitchen... All of my old ways and recipes didn't seem to work, until months later... But now I ... | Your skills improved. No
Your skills improved. No other reason. |
Is my sarter ready ? (pics included)
how is this starter looking guys, I try to throw 50%-80% of it away then feed with equal parts rye flour and water. I know its doubling in size, but I rely wanted to see if I could get it to triple. P.S. Also when building a leavin from a pure rye starter do you use rye flour in th... | Looks good, how old is it?
Looks good to me. If it is well established I would stop throwing half away if I were you, why waste good flour?The choice of flour is all the fun, take your pick! I like to keep a pure rye starter in the fridge and then build up to what ever ratio I fancy. One of my 'faves' is 80% white w... |
Newbie wondering where to start. Have tried kombucha for starter
HiIve made a handful of sourdough loaves and would like to perfect it! I made a starter by adding rye flour to kombucha. Is this reliable or should i get ahold of some 'real' starterAll these different terms like hydration and proofing...where can I lear... | The answers to your questions
The answers to your questions can be found on TFL if you do a little searching. Once a starter is going it is "real" no matter what method was used to get it going. You can find detailed information on a lot of the terms. I am pretty sure there is even a glossary page - but the for the two... |
Question about experimenting different final proof times with Tartine country loaf
hi all i was hoping i'll get some great insight from all the experts here :)I've been practicing the tartine bread for a couple weeks and been consistently getting decent and similar results.This past weekend as usual I made my leaven fr... | Anyone?
Really would appreciate any feedback! Thank ya! |
Help! Sourdough not sour
Yes, another new baker unable to make sour sourdough. lol.I started my sourdough using what I learned from This youtube channel. I chose the Whole Grain and Pineapple path and ended up with a good starter after about 10 days.http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BIFPzoFeioQFast forward a few months an... | I think you can find plenty
I think you can find plenty of information right her on TFL. It isn't so much about the flour you use but rather creating an environment for the Lactobacillales or lactic acid bacteria (LAB) to produce the acid that gives that tang. The temperature that it thrives at is different than that o... |
HELP! "Gummy" dough
Hi There, I am pretty new to making sourdough, and having made quite a few loaves over the last few months, I seem to always encounter the same problem - my dough, after baking, is what I can only describe as 'gummy'. I'm trying to perfect high hydration dough, and normally go for 60-70% hydration. ... | 375g strong white flour100g
375g strong white flour100g starter250g water1tsb saltI mix the flour, water and starter together, and leave for 30-40 mins for autolyse, before adding the salt. Once I do that I knead for 5-10 mins. After that I do at around 2-3 folds every 30 mins before shaping and leaving to prove. Somet... |
I'm hoping to gain an understanding of what happened to this loaf of mine.
Greetings, people that also like ground up grains mixed with water.As the subject of this post makes evident, I'm trying to understand what happened to this loaf. I use a 100% KA whole grain whole wheat starter at about 122% Hydrati... | Tell us about the handling
of the dough from mixing onward. Was the dough only sitting through the bulk rise or was extra shaping and handling involved? Sorry, see the folding during the first 3 hours. To me those first three hours are not so important, once the dough is rising, then get those folds going. Same wit... |
It's all gone wrong :(
Hi allI've been following the 1:2:3 recipe from here and it was all really well... nicely shaped bread, good crumb and a lovely crust :)Then this last week it's all gone sticky...I'm starting my loaf at the same time, leaving it for the same time but it's not working (although it is still edible... | Just thinking more...
I wonder if it's because I'm not refreshing my starter daily now.Whereas before I was using a lot of starter I'd refresh it most days, now I'm using a lot less I'm not feeding it every day. So it could be that I guess... might do a couple of loaves tomorrow and then try to reduce the amount of st... |
Forgotten dough during bulk! What would you do?
I’ve been baking sourdough bread for about 2.5 years now and yesterday for the first time, I completely forgot about my dough. I started the process as usual, mixing the flours and water at 1pm, adding the levain, salt and a little more water at 2:30, then completing 6 s... | Focaccia is a good shout for
Focaccia is a good shout for overproofed dough. Also just baking in a loaf pan can work pretty well. Alternatively, use it as a preferment and double the recipe by adding fresh flour/water/salt! But you'll get a lot of bread :) |
Beautiful Crust, Great Flavor, Terrible Crumb/No Oven Spring (Tartine)
I've recently delved into sourdough baking after feeling I'd gotten a good handle on yeast baking. I was getting incredible loaves with yeast. Using very little yeast and a long rise time I had these chewy, delicious works of bread that tasted so gr... | How did the pictured loaf taste?
I have had similar results, and I came to the conclusion that it had over-fermented and broken down the gluten totally. The taste was very sour at that point, but still edible. That happened in room temp over-night fermenting of the dough, so I now do the bulk fermentation in the fridge... |
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