Bread Baking (sourdough)

[lerxst]

My starter came and I made some decent, yet dense, bread. I'd post pics but the forum says my account isn't active and doesn't recognize my password.

Going to try a higher hydration recipe tonight.

[KQ]

My starter came and I made some decent, yet dense, bread. I'd post pics but the forum says my account isn't active and doesn't recognize my password.

Going to try a higher hydration recipe tonight.

Did you try that "24hr" recipe I posted or another one? I live in a drier climate and had issues getting my dough to rise to its full potential because I couldn't find a warm draft free spot in my house so I picked up a bread proofer which worked wonders. I can control both heat and humidity with it.

Not sourdough but I made this the other night - very good! I made according to the recipe but obviously you can add toppings. It went great with the Minestrone soup I made and the next night I made chicken parm with marinara sauce that was perfect for dipping it in.





Pizza Bianca
SERVES 6 TO 8

INGREDIENTS

3cups unbleached all-purpose flour (15 ounces)
1 ⅔cups water (13 ½ ounces), room temperature
1 ¼teaspoons table salt
1 ½teaspoons instant yeast
1 ¼teaspoons sugar
5tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
1teaspoon kosher salt
2tablespoons fresh rosemary (whole leaves)

INSTRUCTIONS

Serve the pizza by itself as a snack or with soup or salad for a light meal. Once the dough has been placed in the oiled bowl, it can be transferred to the refrigerator and kept for up to 24 hours. Bring the dough to room temperature, 2 to 2 1/2 hours, before proceeding with step 4. When kneading the dough on high speed, the mixer tends to wobble and move on the counter. Place a towel or shelf liner under the mixer and watch it at all times during mixing. Handle the dough with slightly oiled hands. Resist flouring your fingers or the dough might stick. This recipe was developed using an 18- by 13-inch baking sheet. Smaller baking sheets can be used, but because the pizza will be thicker, baking times will be longer. If not using a pizza stone, increase the oven temperature to 500 degrees and set the rack to the lowest position; the cooking time might increase by 3 to 5 minutes and the exterior won’t be as crisp.

1. Place towel or shelf liner beneath stand mixer to prevent wobbling. Mix flour, water, and table salt in bowl of stand mixer fitted with dough hook on low speed until no patches of dry flour remain, 3 to 4 minutes, occasionally scraping sides and bottom of bowl. Turn off mixer and let dough rest 20 minutes.

2. Sprinkle yeast and sugar over dough. Knead on low speed until fully combined, 1 to 2 minutes, occasionally scraping sides and bottom of bowl. Increase mixer speed to high and knead until dough is glossy, smooth, and pulls away from sides of bowl, 6 to 10 minutes. (Dough will only pull away from sides while mixer is on. When mixer is off, dough will fall back to sides.)

3. Using fingers, coat large bowl with 1 tablespoon oil, rubbing excess oil from fingers onto blade of rubber spatula. Using oiled spatula, transfer dough to bowl and pour 1 tablespoon oil over top. Flip dough over once so it is well coated with oil; cover tightly with plastic wrap. Let dough rise at room temperature until nearly tripled in volume and large bubbles have formed, 2 to 2 1/2 hours.

4. One hour before baking pizza, adjust oven rack to middle position, place pizza stone on rack, and heat oven to 450 degrees.

5. Coat rimmed baking sheet with 2 tablespoons oil. Using rubber spatula, turn dough out onto baking sheet along with any oil in bowl. Using fingertips, press dough out toward edges of pan, taking care not to tear it. (Dough will not fit snugly into corners. If dough resists stretching, let it relax for 5 to 10 minutes before trying to stretch again.) Let dough rest in pan until slightly bubbly, 5 to 10 minutes. Using dinner fork, poke surface of dough 30 to 40 times and sprinkle with kosher salt.

6. Bake until golden brown, 20 to 30 minutes, sprinkling rosemary over top and rotating baking sheet halfway through baking. Using metal spatula, transfer pizza to cutting board. Brush dough lightly with remaining tablespoon oil. Slice and serve immediately.

[lerxst]

Did you try that "24hr" recipe I posted or another one? I live in a drier climate and had issues getting my dough to rise to its full potential because I couldn't find a warm draft free spot in my house so I picked up a bread proofer which worked wonders. I can control both heat and humidity with it.

I used the basic sourdough recipe from KA. I'm proofing a Tartine recipe 70% hydration now. Hope to bake tonight. I'm in the cold/dry NE. Totally winging it on time. Rising nicely though.

[lerxst]

Well, it came out spectacular. I'd post a pic but apparently I don't have an account. Who do I contact here with tech issues?

[Mazderati]

PM Rontele.

[KQ]

Well, it came out spectacular. I'd post a pic but apparently I don't have an account. Who do I contact here with tech issues?

Yay! Can't wait for you to post pics.

[lerxst]

[KQ]

Nice! Now for a couple pieces of sourdough toast slathered in butter with eggs and bacon and maybe another piece of toast with strawberry preserves after that all washed down with a hot cup of strong coffee.

[KQ]

So far so good with my sourdough starter. I've managed to keep it alive and on a once a week feeding schedule. I did add rye flour to it once to up the tang (fed it with 1/2c rye & 1/2c all purpose). Have discovered that the starter is more resilient than I originally thought - often when I'm feeding it I leave the discard in a container on the counter for a couple days without feeding it in case I want it for something. When I'm ready I take what I need, feed it and it perks right back up. It's a nice alternative to having to plan to warm up (get to room temp) the refrigerated starter before using it and it works well for Sunday sourdough blueberry pancakes as that recipe calls for "unfed" starter (I feed on Fridays so the discard sits on the counter until Saturday night when I make the sponge which is then ready Sunday morning).

I've really been enjoying the ability to bake my own sourdough turning out two boules about every 10 days or so (I eat a lot of bread... yummy carbs). Pretty much have the 24hr recipe down and have got the feel for shaping them so they get height to them. Crumb has been excellent - very fine.

One thing I've noted about the boules I bake vs. the ones I use to buy in town is how much moisture mine have. The ones I use to buy from a local bakery (baked fresh daily) need to be stored in paper then plastic to keep the crust crisp. This storage method worked well but the bread would only stay fresh (i.e. not mold) for about a week. The bread I bake cannot be stored that way as the crust will get soft and mooshie and the boule shrinks. They do best if I leave them out even when they've been cut (I put the cut bread on a plate with parchment paper cut side down). My bread resists molding too. I can't believe how long they last.

BTW - I can't say enough about my proofing box - so nice they way I can control the temp and humidity without worry. I can see it coming in esp. handy during the summer when the AC is on 24/7.

[KQ]

Hey there bread baking fans - now that the temps have cooled I'm back to baking bread on a regular basis. Managed to keep my started fed and happy for this last year.

Got some sourdough sponge on the rise right now for fresh loaves tomorrow. Broa is next on the list later this week with a big pot of Caldo Verde. Fall is the best time of year!






BTW - Big raves for the proofing box I bought last year. It has made all the difference for my bread baking - house tends to be on the cool side with inconsistent heat distribution. The proofing box give me consistent temp and humidity every time.

[SB]

Yum

[Dantheman]

Such a tease. Show us your crumb!

[alpinevibes]

My wife's been baking out of Tartine for the last couple years. She's got it quite dialed and bakes 2-3 loaves at a time. It's a process to carry out when she's ready to bake, but the results are incredible. Amazing bread. She started with our big Le Creuset dutch oven, but got a Lodge combo cooker (https://www.lodgemfg.com/deep-skille...mbo-cooker.asp) that she now uses.

[Cruiser]

That right there is one sexy loaf of bread

[bushman]

Bob the baker on sabbatical?

[KQ]

Such a tease. Show us your crumb!

Those loaves went to two friends so I couldn't cut them. I'll be baking some for myself tomorrow but here is a prior loaf:

[Kenny Satch]

That right there is one sexy loaf of bread

KQ...Baking is Hot....so are you loafs

[KQ]

One of the loaves I've got rising this morning has a fissure that has opened up on it and as it continues to rise it's getting bigger. Never had this happen before. I've had air bubble just below the surface but never one deep enough to go spelunking in. What do you think it's going to do when it bakes?

I wonder what would happen if I tried to pinch it shut.

[~mikey b]

Got my starter!



It came from my friend's father. She says it's 20 years old. She makes 2-4 rounds a week for a family of 4.

🥖🥖🥖

Her directions:

Sourdough Directions / Ideas

To feed the starter:
-Leave a couple tablespoons of starter in the container when you make bread.

-To the saved starter, add equal weights water and flour. I use about 4-5 ounces of each (enough to start the next loaf of bread and have a little left over to feed next time). If you don't have a scale, you can use the ratio of 2/3 cup water to 1 cup whole wheat flour, but if you have a scale, use it. I've been feeding the starter with whole wheat flour, but you can transition it to what you like (be aware that different flours have different weights per volume, though).

-Stir to combine; then leave out, covered, at room temperature for 3-4 hours.

-Refrigerate until ready to use again.

-Feed at least once a week. I have found if I occasionally wait a couple weeks before feeding, it still does fine.

To make bread:

-Measure 1 cup of starter and 1 cup of water into a bowl.

-Add 1 1/2 tsp salt, 1/2 cup whole wheat flour, and 1/2 cup bread or all-purpose flour.

-Stir together until smooth.

-Add an additional 1 1/2 cups bread or all-purpose flour and stir, switching to kneading (in the bowl) when it gets too stiff to stir. Continue kneading until the dough is consitent in texture, adding flour as necessary to prevent stickiness. I generally knead it for a minute or two.

-Cover the bowl, and leave at room temperature for between 2 1/2 (summer) and 3 1/2 (winter) hours, until it has not quite doubled in volume. I've found it rises more in the oven if it rises a little less on the counter. Consider letting it rise a second time (see Variations below), as it improves the texture of the bread a lot.

-About 30 minutes before the dough is done rising, put your dutch oven and lid in the oven and preheat to 450 degrees.

-When oven has preheated and dough is ready, lightly flour an area on the counter and invert the bowl over it, using your hand to gently peel the dough out of the bowl (trying to keep it all together as a lump). Pinch the edges of the lump together in a line to create a loaf shape, and lift the loaf into the dutch oven.

-Bake covered at 450 degrees for 20 minutes, then uncovered at 425 degrees for 20 minutes. Remove from the dutch oven and cool (slices better when it's been cooled at least 30 minutes). Enjoy!
(see back for variations)
Variations:

-Feed the starter with different flour.

-Use different flours or proportions of flour when making the bread.

-Use less or more flour to create a stickier or stiffer dough.

-Let the bread rise (for a few hours, or overnight) in the refrigerator. Let come to room temperature before baking.

-Let the bread rise more than once (punch down after each rise). Each rise will generally be shorter than the one before it (I have found a second rise takes a little less than 2 hours). The second rise can be after a refrigerator rise, as well (punch down when removing from the refrigerator). Longer/more rises cause the bread to be more sour, and the gluten to be broken down more.

-To bake in a loaf pan, after the first rise, form the dough into a loaf shape (flatten into a rectangle, and roll up to fit in your loaf pan). Fit into your buttered loaf pan, cover, let rise another 2 hours or so, then bake for 40 minutes at 350 degrees.

-Let me know what you come up with!

[~mikey b]

Made the dough and fed the starter. Dough in the fridge overnight. Will do second rise tomorrow morning while I'm out and about at farmers market and bake it when I get home.

[SB]

Now I is hungry, may have to run to the Aldi to get a loaf of sd.

Or I might just start drinking beer instead.

Need to train up the liver for a Belgian tasting this weekend.

[~mikey b]

My first try.

[KQ]

Looks good! Interesting that she uses WW flour exclusively when feeding her starter. Early on I added a bit of rye flour to my starter to make it a little tangier but since then I've only use white. I have a scale and do 4oz. starter, 4oz. distilled H2O and 4oz. flour.

This time of year my sourdough use is restricted to blueberry pancakes every Sunday (make a sponge the night before with buttermilk, flour, starter and sugar). Way too hot to think about baking when it's 100 degrees out so I let the W2 bread company do it for me with locally grown and milled flour from Smalls Family Farm down the road.

[~mikey b]

I used Bob's all purpose flour since I didn't have whole wheat. Bought some ww today so next time I'll feed with that.

I'm thinking I oughta just do another loaf today to get in the groove. It's hot here but I'm in and out so it's not too bad.

[reckless toboggan]

My dyslexia makes me keep reading this thread title as "Breaking Bad (sourdough)".

Like if he made sourdough instead of meth.