Bread Baking (sourdough)

[~mikey b]

You use part of it and feed it. I just use a couple of mason jars but that crock looks nice. Their starter is good.

[Mazderati]

Sourdough may make the best grilled cheese.

[~mikey b]

[KQ]

Sourdough may make the best grilled cheese.

I just had a BLT on fresh sourdough. So good! Had to eat several pieced of bread with butter while the bacon was cooking just to make sure it was good.

[KQ]

So I googled around but what is the deal with a starter? I get it is a living critter(like yeasties for beer).

Do you use the whole thing or just part of it and keep some back for the next batch?

I love sourdough and think I may give this a go.

I see KA has a starter and a crock set, for it to live in the fridge? Is that a good set to start with?

https://www.kingarthurflour.com/shop...-and-crock-set

I have that set been feeding it for a couple years now. I like the crock and the starter is great. Use it weekly for pancakes and bread.

[~mikey b]

Oh HELLZ yeah!

[~mikey b]

[~mikey b]

My starter game.

[KQ]

If you wouldn't mind - could you walk me through your bread making process?

[~mikey b]

Yes in a bit

[Flyoverland Captive]

Pro tip: Keep a rubber band around the starter jar so you can easily track the rise.

[~mikey b]

Mine invaded the fridge last week.

[sb]

Nice, my pizza stuff just showed up this AM.

Might order the KA sourdough starter set this coming week.

[~mikey b]

I need to figure out pizza dough.

[sb]

I need to figure out pizza dough.

good info here in case you missed it

https://www.tetongravity.com/forums/...e-Pizza-thread

[~mikey b]

Missed that one.

[~mikey b]

KQ

I’ve been busy dealing with race training, a sick kid and personal stuff.

I baked a loaf of bread today. It usually takes me all day if I start in the morning. If I mix the dough the night before I can do it quicker. But I had a lot of time and a lot of things going on today so I made bread nice and slow.

This just came out of the oven 12 hours after I started it.

[~mikey b]

I’m still using these directions, but I just use Bob’s Red Mill organic all purpose flour. I’m not using whole wheat flour. I tried the recipe and I tried all whole wheat and no whole wheat. We like the all purpose flour version the best so that’s what I do.


🥖🥖🥖🥖🥖🥖🥖


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!

[MakersTeleMark]

That there is why I want to learn to bake well.

[~mikey b]

Stay tuned

[~mikey b]

I keep 2 jars of starter going because I make 2-4 loaves a week. Sometimes 2 at once. And I want to be able to give starter away to folks.





We are talking about live yeastie beasties here. Keep them fed. Warm them up to wake them up.

I alternate them if I can so they have time to grow. Look back in the thread and you’ll see that The Beast sometimes grows out of its jar. After I take the starter out I feed it with equal weights of water and flour. Usually 150-200 grams each. I might leave it out at room temp for a bit or I might just stick it in the fridge. Sometimes there are dry clumps of flour if I don’t mix it properly.


If I have time I take the jar of starter out before I use it so it can start starting. You’ll see it expand and bubble a bit if you do this. That is a good thing. It’s starting.

I mix 1 cup of starter with 1 cup of water. I actually probably use a bit more than a cup of starter. I use room temp or a little bit warmer water. It keeps it started starting. Cold water would slow it down. Hot water might kill it.

[~mikey b]

Add 1 cup of flour and the salt and mix it up. I tried the big mixer but I prefer to do it by hand.

Then add 1 1/2 cups of flour and stir until you need to knead it. I use a bit more to keep it from getting sticky. If my hands are wet, the dough doesn’t stick to them when I need to knead.



I put mine in a glass bowl with a shower cap on it in the fridge for 3 hours. A shower cap is one of those bowl covers yer granny had.



It came out of the fridge looking like this.

[~mikey b]

Then I pulled it out and kneaded it again and put it back in the fridge with the shower cap on it.





Twice.

[~mikey b]

Then I pulled it out and kneaded it again and put it in the bowl with the cap on it out on the counter. My house is a steady 70 with the wood stove going. It sat out longer than I intended because of dinner.







Meanwhile, the Dutch oven was heating up on the wood stove. When I pulled dinner out, I bumped the oven up to 450 and put the Dutch oven in there to heat up.

[~mikey b]

I put the loaf in the Dutch oven with the lid on for 20 minutes.



After 20 minutes I took the lid off and turned the oven down to 425. It usually takes 2-3 minutes longer to get it how I like it.