Sourdough bread

[socks]

On 9/17/2020 at 4:32 PM, Stayed Too Long said:

My bread hasn’t been rising and browning in the over as it should. Thinking the temperature in the oven may not be accurate, I purchased a thermometer. With the oven temp set to 400 degrees, it read 350. This seemed quite a bit so I bought another thermometer and it read 370 degrees. 

I don’t know which reading to trust, but am pretty sure the oven temp control needs to be set higher. Fun time learning to get things just right.

So here we are a year or so later....

I stopped for the summer, this year, too hot. And I'm finding sourdough does a lot better for me in the winter. I just got a new batch of starter going, the old was in the back of the fridge and probably would have worked eventually ("c'mon! it's a strong starter, it wants to bake!...3 -2 - 1...CLEAR!!! again! charging.....!!!") but I just started over.

2 tblspoons white flour,  squirt of water, stir, wait, repeat, build it up, etc. More flour, water, stir and poke, wait. Etc. I end up moving it from a small starter jar to a bigger glass jar and adding a 1/2 cup of flour at a time so as it rises it ends up 2, 3, 4 cups of starter, at least. 

What I've learned - the starter I've worked with at times is too thin and the chemical process, gas, will bubble but the bubbles just rise to the top and escape. That kind of starter mix doesn't proof and rise at a big enough rate to make a big porous tasty loaf of bread (but it will come out denser, which may be what someone wants). For more classic sourdough I found it needs to be thicker than I usually thought it should be. 

When the early starter is thicker the bubbling occurs inside the starter dough but "stays inside", pushing the starter dough up and out. Lots of bubbles show at the top surface too - that's the starter "rising" and being active. Starter in that early fermenting stage should be increasing in actual size in the jar container, even doubling in size. Mines looks like a big porous sponge when it's peaking. 

At that point I take a 1/4 - 1/2 cup of starter, add a little water and thin it out for making the dough ball and mix with my flour and make my loaf. I add a teaspoon of salt at most and whatever I want to go in if I do - like some garlic or dried herbs, etc. Mostly I don't put a lot in it though. I do a not-so-much-knead kneading  and I only do it once, for about 3 - 4 minutes to get it mixed into the classic 'ball' and fold it over and into an oval loaf shape. I then let it rise for 8 hours or so directly in the baking loaf pan, pre greased, that it will bake in, once, I  haven't been taking it out and refolding and doing a second rise. I go for about a 1 - 1.5 lb loaf, not that big, and muffins I make in standard cupcake trays, 6 to a tray.

They bake at 350 edges for 25 - 35 minutes. I start checking at 25 minutes. I do the score cut at the top and might brush some oil or butter on top, sprinkle salt, etc. Nothing fancy. 

What makes it fly when it does, is getting that initial starter into a mixture where I can stir it with my fork (I took an old table fork and cut out the two center tines, so I have a two pronged fork thingie, works great) and it sort of pulls a little as I stir - not soupy or like pancake mix, and not so thick it balls up, but mid way, almost like fudge. 

My starter's been blowing up and really active, so I'm getting decent loaves. No pix, but so far so good. I call it my "No Stress-EZ Sourdough Bread" recipe. 

 

 

 

Edited November 2, 2021 by socks
Royale with cheese. What'd they call a Big Mac?... Big Mac's a Big Mac, but they call it Le Big Mac.

[socks]

Just pulled this out of the oven tonight. I started with my usual proofing period but at about 7 hours it had risen some but not a lot. So I did a second knead, about 6 -7 folds and reshaped it and then let it proof in the baking pan for about 4 1/2 hours - and it really rose that second time. EVOO across the top, sprinkled some salt, and put it in a preheated oven at 350 degrees, 30 minutes. At 20 minutes I checked it and it had risen up into a nice round top.  I sprinkled some cheese across the top. It came out feeling really light and airy, it's cooling, so we'll see when I cut it. 

[socks]

It came out light, airy, thin crust. Still working on the rise but this tastes really good. 

[Twinky]

Looks great, Socks.  

My one attempt at sourdough didn't work too well.  I was given the starter dough by an Irish lass who used it lots, so I don't doubt the starter, just my ability with it.

Might try again some day but I like making bread with my breadmaker and also have access to a source of lots of free bread (all delicious).  So not making my own much at the moment.

[socks]

5 hours ago, Twinky said:

Looks great, Socks.  

My one attempt at sourdough didn't work too well.  I was given the starter dough by an Irish lass who used it lots, so I don't doubt the starter, just my ability with it.

Might try again some day but I like making bread with my breadmaker and also have access to a source of lots of free bread (all delicious).  So not making my own much at the moment.

Sounds good. I go in spurts. It's fun to play with, I may end up doing mostly muffins and biscuits and not so much loaves, with the occasional pancake or waffle mix.