I assume you mean actually making the meat and cheese and not just cutting it up on a board which is what I mean when I tell people “I made charcuterie”. 
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Ok so this motivated me to try a higher hydration dough. 80%, 20% levain. Also went with a long autolyse – overnight so like 7 hours.
Overproved I think, very little oven spring. Taste is fantastic though. The long autolyse gives it the sweet nuttiness, faster fermentation keeps it from getting too sour. Plenty of lactic acid production but not enough time for much acetic acid production is what I think is going on.
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Looks ok, maybe more than halfway there? take a teaspoon out and see if it floats. How much flour vs water (by weight)? Also seems like a lot? Mine is just 50g starter, 100g flour & water.
I wouldn’t sweat the temperature. As long as it’s below 100, warmer → faster rise, less sour. If it floats well it’s time to add it to the dough.
Feeding directly into the starter never worked out well for me but ymmv.
W/r/t timings & temps, not sure about the growth rate /temp curves for the yeast. Maybe @Danspartan or the google does. The important thing is to get a feel for what the dough looks/feels like when it’s over/under/properly proved.
Roughly 3 hours or a little less to double at room temp. Given there is some self heat generation assume 2.5 hours.
So if you starter is
1/2 then 2.5h
1/4 then 5h
1/8 then 10h
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How does that compare to say, 90f and 40f?
I’m sure geeking out about every little aspect of the process helps make better sourdough – it’s certainly the case with beer – but don’t let that intimidate you from giving it a shot. I made it for a couple of years without ever using a thermometer or worrying about precise water measurements or anything like that. And I made some damn good bread while also having a few clunkers. Give it a shot and then decide just how deep you want to get into controlling the process.
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Jesus it’s like porn? Man those look good.
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Are you giving some of these away on the regular? They look fantastic, but I’m not sure how you could possibly eat as much bread as you seem to make.
Bread geeks,
I don’t know what the technical terms are, but when you cut into a bread what kind of holes are you looking for. Is there something that is considered optimal, or is it personal preference. I really haven’t given it much thought, but I think I prefer more numerous and smaller holes, but maybe that’s just what I’m used to from non home-made breads.
This is exactly my problem. Everyone is drooling over these breads, and I’m thinking, how the hell am I supposed to eat that without mangling it.
90f Is 32c. 40f is 4.5c. Only the top solid curve for S cerevasiae is relevant.
Ln(2)/growth rate = doubling time.
Ln(2)=0.693
Looks like 32c is near the peak which is pushing a 40 minute doubling time.
You have to guard against operating too close to the max temp as the growth reaction itself generates heat and it is possible to damage the culture if there is no way to remove heat.
At refrigeration it grows very slowly. Would take on the order of 3 days to double.
Agree why the hell would I want bread with a bunch of huge craters in it??? Give me something like this over most of these bread nerd pics
Yeah, that first one that looks like something that I can actually use and enjoy.
Also, speaking of practicality, any reason you do these round boules, instead of loaves. I’d think the latter is more versatile.
Bread Geeks,
All of my (rare) bread making is done with a bread maker (Zojirushi). What exactly is the downside of that?
The same article I got my graph poo pood the C Milleri data as not relevant as it’s only a minor component of sourdough. Lactobacillus is relevant for yogurt and the sour part of sourdough but not the leavening. (Have the acidity helps keep other bacteria from growing, but yeast have no problem). More important for warmer climates and pre-refrigeration times.
I am assuming activity is proportional to growth rate. Whether it is direct or not I don’t know.
Growth rate Is how fast it grows per hour so the units are /h. Since it’s based on an exponential we need to go through the natural log of 2 (0.693) to convert to the more readily understood doubling time.
If the growth rate is .21 then the doubling time is .693/.21 or roughly 3 hours.
As long as you have active sourdough starter you just need the doubling time and the number of doublings you need to calculate the time. So if you do 1/8, you need to double 3 times to get whole dough back up to the amount of yeast present in your starter dough.
I havent done sourdough in years but iirc you should allow the starter to warm up and show activity before mixing it in.
If it takes 3 hours to double then 3x3=9.
You can also experiment with just adding straight gluten
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Great job with the experiment.
I think it’s ideal to make the levain and feed the starter when the starter peaks. That’s when you have the most live and active yeast. I’ll usually wait a few hours more because I can’t be bothered and it turns out fine as long as the levain is peaking when you add it to the dough. I’ll feed it in the morning, and like 11 or 12 at night I’ll feed again and make the levain, it’s a bit overdone by 7 am but still plenty active. Use 100g for the bread and fry the rest for breakfast.
Since I don’t have a sourdough starter and have no intention of ever making/getting/maintaining one, can I be the “fold pre” guy?
except…I think I might make a loaf of beer bread today
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sorry, was trying to be in character. I bet I could search every single NL strat post on 2p2 and not find a single “fold pre” meme post by a known female poster.
Ok Imma try that slap/fold next time.
And this. @goofyballer the reason you want the levain to have risen isn’t for the air yet, it’s just as a sign the yeast is active enough.