I got started with sourdough being very precise with the King Arthur recipes and instructions. Once I got the hang of it and understood the reason behind each instruction, I got a bit more freewheeling. I’m more like @Sybylla now, but I think that following “rules” when you first start out with sourdough help ensure the good results you need to encourage you to continue. It’s like learning to ride a bike–you rely on the training wheels to get a feel for the ride and increase confidence. Eventually, the training wheels come off, and you’re sailing on your own. In this case, you’ll be using and refreshing your starter without thinking about rules; you’ll just know what to do. For now, though, follow the instructions.
ETA: Also, I learned a ton about bread-making in general from this excellent “instruction” manual:
My latest attempt of the no knead bread went much better. Best loaf yet!
I read up on some tips and I think they helped. The recipe I used had a little less water than my other attempts and 1T of vinegar. The dough was not as wet and even though it was sticky after it rose, it was easier to work with.
I let it rise 18 hours and then I formed the dough into a ball. I put the ball on a greased piece of parchment paper and let it rise another 2 hours in the Dutch oven.
I put the Dutch oven in a cold oven and set to 450 degrees for 30 minutes. Took off the lid for another 20 minutes.
I think the key was the second rise. I did use my new Dutch oven, it’s very nice. Not sure if it made a difference or not.
But the bread was much better, yea.
And I stopped by the natural food store today. They had bread flour and whole wheat flour. Got 5 pounds of each. They also had bags of yeast, I should have looked there first. But happy to get what I did today.
@PrdMomto1 & @Madison85 - I made the spicy cheese bread again and added around half a cup of kalamata olives cut into small pieces. Oh, is it good! I kept to the original recipe and just added the olives in with the cheese. My only problem was that I bought olives with pits by mistake. That was annoying. Anyway, try it!
I’ve done that before with the olives with the pits. Super annoying! Funny enough I bought a jar of olives and used 1/2 of them today in a salad so I have the other 1/2 left. And I was planning to make that bread this week. So I think I’ll have to try the olives in it too!
I worked too many years in a lab and can’t be bothered with exact instructions for my starter. But it’s mostly working. And the new kitchen scale makes things easier.
I take my starter out of the fridge, pour off extra and refeed right away. Wait 2-3 hours until growth is at its peak (highest rise point in the Mason jar), then use that discard to start my loaf. While I wait, I’ve been autolysing the flour for my loaf (mix most of flour to a shaggy dough, with time this helps get a headstart on forming gluten, I think).
Sourdough experts: I switched away from bread or AP flour to a sprouted flour, because that’s what I have to work with now. So, it’s a darker, less fine flour. My starter adapted fine and grows well. In previous weeks, my bread had not been sour, which the kiddos prefer anyway. With this new flour, the loaves are decidedly sour. Does the culture for these starters come from yeast/bacteria in my kitchen? Or from the flour?
I’m about ready to give up on the sourdough starter. It started out well but for the last five days has not done much of anything. I am feeding it approximately every 12 hours. It gets bubbles but doesn’t rise. I’m on day 9.
@mom60 When I started mine I only fed it once a day. Perhaps it’s slow to get started and you’re overfeeding it? Are you using lukewarm water when you feed it? The bubbles are a good sign.
@mom60 , On various sourdough baking sites, I have read recommendations to use whole wheat or whole grain rye flour for starter, switching over to all purpose flour when feeding, if desired. I started mine a few weeks ago using rye, and I feed it with 1/2 rye and 1/2 all purpose flours, and had success.
My house ranges in temp from 65-70ish at the moment. I didn’t get much bubbling until day 3, after I put the jar in the cabinet above the fridge, where it is a little warmer. I have also read recommendations to use distilled or filtered water, since too much chlorine in tap water might inhibit the growth of yeast.
I fed once a day, discarding 1/2 (makes great pancakes, waffles). For amounts, I began with 1 cup flour and 1/2 cup water, and fed once per day with 1/2 cup flour, 1/4 cup water. After a week, I put it in the fridge.
I am a total sourdough novice, but managed to bake a very yummy boule last weekend, and it came out great. I followed this no knead recipe for sourdough beginners:
@mamag2855 I discovered that website a few days ago. It was helpful. I realized I was over feeding and not having it in a warm enough spot. I went with the suggestion I found somewhere of putting it in an I heated oven with the light on. I also went back to using a bit of rye flour. It started growing and doubling in size immediately. I’m going to start my first loaf using that recipe tonight.
I’ve made a banana bread and crackers so far with my discard.
Am in the process of making my first loaf of whole wheat sandwich bread. Yeast supplies aside, we go through two loaves a week these days so I thought making it might be a better solution. Time will tell!
I’ve always just let the dough rest before rolling it out. Resting causes the gluten to unwind so that it isn’t so springy. It also helps to use a lower-gluten flour for pizza dough-- not bread flour. A couple of pizzas ago I used whole wheat flour for the crust, which is naturally lower in gluten, and I was able to spread the dough easily in the pan just using my fingers.
Just got a text from D2 who is not a baker. She just made her first batch of homemade cinnamon rolls this afternoon and is raving at how good they are. She’s only made the kind that come out a tube.
Breaking news guys! I mentioned a couple of weeks ago that my kind SIL in NYC tried to send ME yeast packets (so kind!) through USPS but when I received the padded envelope it was slit and the yeast was gone.
Today I received a package from UPS - she was not to be outdone! She sent me a one pound package of yeast! I am so excited and can now not just read my bread baking book I bought but start at the beginning and bake my way through the book!
It was so very, very kind of her - to take the time to send it (along with some smokehouse almonds from Sahadi’s in Bklyn and Manoa dark chocolate!) when they themselves have had to be very creative to secure the food they need and stay safe.
The yeast that I sent to my daughter that was stolen. I sent her another package and filed a claim for the replacement cost. USPS sent me a check for the full replacement cost! No questions asked. I was delighted.
@mamag2855 the bread was delicious. Both my H and I enjoyed it. I’m so glad I didn’t give up on my starter. @abasket Glad you got yeast. I have a 1 lb package of yeast I haven’t opened yet. Between that and my starter I’m pretty set. I do need to start looking for flour again. The one drawback of starting the sourdough starter is that it used up a lot of my flour.
So glad to hear your sourdough bread was a big success! @mom60 I think I mught try adding some whole grain flour to the next loaf, and add a topping of seeds., or maybe some cheese and spices, variations are endless!
Sourdough seemed so intimidating when I first decided to try it. Although the time required from start to finish is longer, the hands on time is similar to baking with added yeast.
My 3 kids, who are in 3 different states right now, are also baking a lot. We have been exchanging photos of baked goods and sharing recipes. Baking has been a fun distraction for all of us!
