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Can someone help me diagnose my sourdough? I had some pretty good, consistent results for awhile but I think the city added a bunch of chlorine to the water and it really weakened the starter for the last four weeks or so. I switched to whole wheat and zero water-filtered water. Each loaf has been getting better, but still lots of underproofing that I couldn't overcome. Until today, when I was really happy with the action of the yeast. I also tried baking directly on a floured pizza stone instead of letting my bread rest on a peel (read: upside-down baking sheet) on parchment paper and then transferring the paper onto the stone. Thought that might be contributing to my gummy crust, like this sad attempt at a miche:  Today I was using the Pain au Levain recipe from Bread by Jeffrey Hamelman:   And I made a timelapse to try to understand better why my scoring seems to have failed so brutally. Sorry about the focus, this was just a quick and dirty thing with my phone: https://i.imgur.com/BG0prze.mp4 Here's some pics of the sad failures:   And I didn't even get a nice bottom crust from all this flour:  Any ideas? I really don't know what I'm doing wrong here.  Edit: fixed timelapse link tuyop fucked around with this message at 20:40 on Feb 14, 2023 |
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Feb 14, 2023 20:36
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EightFlyingCars posted:before i started baking my loaves in a pot, i'd have this sort of thing happen all the time because the crusts would dry out early while the bread was still rising, so instead of a nice even rise it'd break through the prematurely browned crust in random spots. they'd look pretty misshapen just like those do. Good question! For this batch I started the preheat with a roaster full of water to make steam. So like 3L of water baked at 450ish for about an hour. Trying to get some steam here but idk
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Feb 14, 2023 21:27
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Looks like some underproofing, somehow. I put this in a clear bowl and waited for it to double before shaping. It also seemed very strong so I didn’t preshape it at all 
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Feb 14, 2023 22:00
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 Yeah sorry but this is a really good idea!  Alright I think we’re getting there. I took a test blob to gauge the rise during proofing and I can tell (now, of course) that it probably should have risen like another centimeter. Other than that I used some new oval bannetons and pre-shaped into batards. Still trash at scoring.
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Feb 20, 2023 00:54
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That looks perfect and I would be overjoyed with it. But I’m sorry I don’t know how to fine tune a crumb like that.
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Feb 24, 2023 03:53
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JoshGuitar posted:Dumb bread-adjacent question: is there a brick and mortar store that sells rye flour in bigger bags at a reasonable price? I see it available online, but the only way I ever see it sold locally is in the tiny 20 oz bags from Bob's Red Mill that cost as much as a 5 pounder of all-purpose. I'm not OPPOSED to buying it online, but sometimes shipping kills the deal. Rye used to be a peasant food; a loaf of rye shouldn't be an "expensive" (by homemade bread standards) luxury! Don’t know where you live but here in Halifax I looked around for local mills. Turns out there’s a company in New Brunswick that supplies this region. I set up a credit agreement with them and just ordered big 10kg bags of all the esoteric flours I wanted. I even set up a little “bread club” at work years ago and we shared the shipments. It’s neat, a man in a van just drove by and unloaded the flour at my building on his way to dropping off like 200kg of bread flour to the pizza place down the road.
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Feb 25, 2023 16:06
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  We’re getting there I think. This took seven hours to proof and it’s still a bit under. Do I maybe need more rye or something in the dough?
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Mar 6, 2023 13:26
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Ihmemies posted:So just more time. How do you prevent the bread from turning to crisp inside too? The crust protects the moisture inside? Maybe I should just be braver and keep the bread in the oven longer. If you're worried about overcooking your bread, just check it with a probe thermometer. I put mine in for about 15 minutes to develop a crust, then stick the probe in roughly the middle of the loaf and set it to beep at 196F (sometimes I try 205F instead. I can't really tell much of a difference though). Most breads are cooked internally at like 195-210F.
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Mar 17, 2023 20:44
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Nettle Soup posted:
Has anyone tried a sourdough in one of these?
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Jul 24, 2023 20:50
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I have been trying to bake on my balcony. Even bought a propane oven that can fit a Dutch oven! https://i.imgur.com/vwMVyor.mp4
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Aug 4, 2023 19:26
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    The suggestion to follow tartine bread, the book, has been very helpful for me!
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Aug 5, 2023 20:13
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I made the olive bread from Tartine.  We also made a couple flatbreads but I don’t have photos of those. The moisture from the olives really turned the crust and crumb soft overnight. The crumb itself is really more of a custard. The bread tastes a bit sour but the strong flavour of the olives and the nuttiness of the walnuts is actually quite balanced. Next I want to do a raisin cinnamon oat version.
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Aug 13, 2023 12:56
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El Mero Mero posted:1) The dough's a lot stickier and harder to work with and it stuck to my banneton, despite it being really well seasoned with white flour. Maybe I should put cornmeal in the bottom of the banneton? I was having a hell of a time with this until I realized this is why the author recommends rice flour in Tartine Bread so much. I tried all rice flour and his 50/50 rice/all purpose mix and all rice worked very well, but the 50/50 uses less and works great too.
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Sep 10, 2023 23:30
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nwin posted:How do I make a sourdough starter? Yeah you just mix together flour and water. Say 30g of each. Then the next day, pour out 30g and add 15g of water and flour. Once you can predict its rising time, you’re ready to bake. Some starters need feeding twice a day. If you have trouble, try whole wheat flour.
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Sep 13, 2023 04:15
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Books On Tape posted:Speaking of The Perfect Loaf, I made his sourdough bagel recipe last week. Maybe the best bagels I've ever had. Braggo posted:I made the sourdough pretzel recipe from The Perfect Loaf today (here) Need to work on shaping but the recipe is a winner. The lye bath makes a huge difference and is way better than baking soda ones like I've done in the past. Just make sure to double glove so you don't get a small chemical burn like me... Wow!
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Sep 17, 2023 20:32
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First bread in the new house! The oven goes up to 500 here and I tried folding very little and finally got that “audaciously open” crumb I’ve wanted to try.  
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Sep 26, 2023 01:05
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null_pointer posted:Yeah, I subscribed to this too, but after noticing multiple times that speed 2 wasn't enough to keep the bread dough from climbing the hook all the time, and after hearing Brian Lagerstrom mention that he always kneaded his dough on 3, I tried it for myself. And it works! Gonna try this next time I use the mixer! I hate the dough climbing up the hook.
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Sep 30, 2023 22:32
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Human Tornada posted:I might have some rice flour floating around somewhere. Would a greased sheet of aluminum foil work? I’d put it in with nothing before I’d try foil. I’ve only had bread stick once going into the Dutch oven directly. But I have one with a pan for a lid so its easy to get the bread in there and score it too.
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Oct 8, 2023 01:09
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A successful bread day for me! Inspired by the Star bread discussion last week(?)  Lighting in the kitchen is not great so sorry! My bread always takes like 13 hours to make it to final proof for some reason.
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Oct 11, 2023 16:46
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Show us those crumbs! I’ve been playing with some King Arthur flour recipes, but I’m out of flour now!      
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Nov 6, 2023 22:31
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effika posted:How is that raisin bread? It looks delicious. It’s very good! https://www.kingarthurbaking.com/recipes/cinnamon-raisin-sourdough-bread-recipe It’s a discard loaf but the next time I do it I’m definitely thinking an overnight preferment and like 20% whole wheat flour. And some cinnamon in the dough. That, or a sourdough cinnamon roll recipe I like, just prepared like bread.
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Nov 7, 2023 04:17
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Anyone try making rolls in a Dutch oven to hold the steam?
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Nov 7, 2023 15:03
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Yeah I think that’s the benefit of high hydration. You can really strengthen the poo poo out of it without tearing so you get some more interesting crumb. No reason to go that way if you’re happy with lower hydration bread! There’s a whole world of very delightful breads to work with and they’re all good and delicious and worth our time. High hydration sourdough sucks to work with and getting skillful at it doesn’t really make it fun, just worth it for some people.
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Nov 17, 2023 19:31
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plester1 posted:This video really helped me get comfortable working with high hydration dough, I hope it helps some of y'all too: This is a great video, thanks!
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Nov 18, 2023 00:56
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Splinter posted:Would you guys recommend Tartine or The Perfect Loaf for getting started with a sourdough starter? I've heard FWSY is excessively wasteful in its levain instructions. Tartine, all the way
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Nov 30, 2023 12:23
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Mr. Squishy posted:What's the cause of and solution to the bread tearing as it rises? I score it but it does some extracurricular tearing. Either score better or incorporate more steam early in the bake. I couldn’t get my scoring to work no matter what until I put my loaves in a pre-heated Dutch oven for the first 20 minutes or so so they steam.
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Dec 15, 2023 20:28
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Cimber posted:So question about kneeding bread. If I'm making a basic white bread and the dough gets sticky and seems to form 'stretch marks' on the surface as I'm kneeding it, does that mean I need to kneed longer and add more flour until it isn't sticky any more, or what? I don’t work with fortified dough very often but generally if you’re kneading and the bread starts to tear it’s due to some combination of: Not enough time to proof Too dry Too much kneading In your recipe you have about 850-1000g of flour (1 cup is 120g, let’s say) for about 750g of liquid, which is 88-75% hydration so pretty reasonable. How did your proof go? Or wait, was this a recipe where you mix and then knead immediately?
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Dec 26, 2023 22:34
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Aramoro posted:I made my first loaves with freshly milled flour and they came out well, not as airy as normal ones but tasted great. This is a gorgeous bread. Love some walnut for that purple 
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Jan 5, 2024 13:49
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I think this ciabatta is my first bread with basically no recipe. I mixed the flours based on the texture and flavour I wanted (20% whole wheat, fancy), used a middle of the road formula (3% oil, 2% salt, 82% water) and only sourdough culture (20%). I didn’t do a bassinage or biga. It’s a bit too chewy for the meal I was planning of, uh, hamburgers but I assume that just means more oil or less kneading.    
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Jan 5, 2024 16:14
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Dutch oven is huge and required Rice flour is essential Proofing baskets are essential (put the rice flour in these, more than you think) Something very sharp for scoring, like a lame, is essential Weighing ingredients is helpful A probe and ir thermometer is helpful A bench scraper and bowl scraper are helpful Tartine Bread is a great book for starting out In post form, I’d say make sure your starter culture is healthy. It should rise after you feed it and roughly double in about six hours. Measure this by keeping it in a jar and putting a rubber band around the jar when it’s just been fed. When it floats in water, it’ll technically make bread. Starting dough recipe: 12 hours before you want to mix, prepare 200g of levain by adding a tablespoon of happy starter culture to 100g of water, mix with 50g whole wheat and 50g all purpose (AP) flour. In the morning, mix together in a large bowl: 850g AP flour 150g whole wheat flour 200g levain(the whole thing minus a tablespoon for maintaining your culture) 750g water (reserve a tablespoon or two) You want the dough to stay at 76F throughout. This should be the stickiest sorriest pile of white goo ever at this point, but don’t add flour unless the loaf doesn’t turn out. Now leave it to autolyze (auto-lease). It should rest in a warm place, covered with a clean wet towel, for 20-60 minutes. Longer = more strength. Add 20g of salt to the dough, using the reserved water to help incorporate it. Do this by pinching the dough apart until it starts to incorporate it again. Let it rest for 30 minutes, then fold it. Repeat this 3-6 times until the dough comes away from the sides of the bowl nicely, holds its shape and has a visible crease from the fold for awhile. Lots of guides on folding sourdough online, the perfect loaf has a good one. Once the dough is wobbly and airy and generally feels alive and warm and active, it’s ready to be divided and shaped. I recommend looking for a video for this part because it’s pretty complicated. You weigh the dough, cut it in half on the bench and flour the top of it and then use your scraper or hands a specific way to shape it into a tight ball. Takes practice but it’s a lot of fun once you get it. Wait 20-60 minutes for the dough to rest. Hard to be exact here, you have to experiment. Shape the dough into a batard (videos are good for that) or by folding each side into the middle like a package, then flour the surface and put it, seam up, into a well-floured proofing basket. Let it rest for an hour or three, preheating the oven with your Dutch oven inside about half an hour before the bake. As hot as possible for your oven. Use the IR thermometer and wait until the Dutch oven is up to like 425 before using it. Careful! Pull the bottom of the Dutch oven out and either gently dump your bread into it or onto a parchment paper cradle. Score the loaf by cutting three stripes across it or something. I like spirals. You hold the blade at a shaving angle to the dough, takes practice but super satisfying when it works. Put the top on the oven and put the oven in the oven. Bake for 20 minutes and remove the lid. Bake without a lid until your bread is dark, be assertive and get a nice crust. Takes longer than you think. Let it rest for a bit after you remove it, but don’t worry about puritans telling you to wait 12.6 hours before cutting for some reason.
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Jan 5, 2024 23:04
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Aramoro posted:I don't use one Wow, good work! I do wonder how much different ovens matter here. Like a little steam goes a long way and some ovens just don’t ventilate as quickly as others?
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Jan 6, 2024 00:15
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Hed posted:Just use the KA sourdough recipe? That looks like a great guide, yeah. Starter is the culture you make by mixing flour and water together daily for awhile. Levain is the specific preparation for leavening bread, afaik anyway.
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Jan 6, 2024 18:23
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Cimber posted:Whelp, making a sourdough starter. Today is day two. It looked like...paste. Looked like paste and nothing much else. RUINED
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Jan 7, 2024 12:49
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I have this one and I like it a lot https://cuisiland.ca/products/dutch-oven-jj510
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Jan 7, 2024 18:55
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Looks fantastic! Have you tried baguettes without the pan?
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Jan 15, 2024 21:00
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Cimber posted:So I made some sourdough bread yesterday using my starter (which took about a week or so to get going and double within 6 hours) and my new dutch oven pan. Came out...decent. Good crust, nice shape. Not as wet as I wanted and there wasn't a lot of tang taste. I figure tang will come with time/more feedings of the starter. The tangiest bread I get is usually 50/50 whole wheat/AP and I schedule it like this: Make the leaven in the morning, mix the dough and fold it a couple times in the evening, Bulk fermentation in the fridge overnight, shape it the next morning, long second proof (around 4 hours) in an oven with the light on Bake in the afternoon
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Jan 15, 2024 22:32
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Cimber posted:So yesterday when I made my first sourdough, I had actually split the dough into two parts. One part I cooked, the other part I put back into the fridge and let rest overnight. I had formed it into kinda a ball yesterday but otherwise didn't gently caress with it. Nor did I kneed it. Wow look at that! Your bread has ripped its jeans
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Jan 16, 2024 00:05
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Arsenic Lupin posted:I didn't give enough detail, and that's my fault. That seems like a lot of oil
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Feb 13, 2024 22:11
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I have a little carbon steel Pullman bread pan. How do I use it for sourdough? Should I preheat the pan like I do a Dutch oven? I currently have an olive walnut loaf proofing in the fridge in an oblong basket waiting to bake in the morning, destined for this pan.
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Mar 16, 2024 22:37
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beerinator posted:People do not typically preheat a Pullman pan. You typically do a first rise until the dough has risen enough for shaping and then you put the dough into the Pullman pan for the final proof. Moving your loaf from a basket to the pan is going to deflate a lot of the gas that you've built up so you will probably need to give it another rise period before baking. Thanks! I’ll do my best to transfer it carefully I guess 
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Mar 17, 2024 02:41
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