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.
What Clovis said. Also, try just pouring a bit of water in the bottom of the oven every mini for the first 5.
A couple questions:
- what temp did you cook it at? Was this the temp rec’d in the recipe?
- did you use convection or still air?
- what kind of oven do you have?
- was there any steam added during cooking process?
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Lodge also makes pretty reasonably priced Dutch ovens that work well. I use the heck out of ours. Having one is amazing for stews and braises, not just bread.
Dude start checking at least 15 minutes earlier. You have a meat thermometer? If it’s north of 180 it’s done, the rest is just coloring the crust. Also your oven may run hot.
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Got it. Based on the photo, I would say that the oven temp was too high for the size of bread you shaped. Like, the outside overcooked before the inside was (presumably) cooked correctly.
I know a lot about cooking but I hesitate to wade into the baking waters due to lack of expertise…
I asked about the oven because convection is circulated air by way of fan, whereas still air is fan off. Commonly, you bake with still air (or reduced fan speed) and roast with circulated/convection air. I wonder if maybe your oven is using convection, but based on your answer it sounds unlikely.
Re water, another strategy for crust is to spritz with a squirt bottle. It’s slightly more effective at developing that rocky crust on rustic loaves, like what it appears you’re going for.
I wonder if maybe you consider starting at 450F for ~20 mins and then reducing temp to 350F to finish baking all the way through? That’s what my chef mind tells me. However I’d be interested to hear what the bread experts itt think of that.
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Yeah this is sound too. Once it rises in the oven as much as it’s going to you have some leeway.
Just buy some bread dude
I love these posts. It’s like in academics nobody publishes research that doesn’t work. The failures are as important for learning as the successes.
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Maybe try baguettes instead. I’m going to give this guy’s technique a shot soon:
Seconding this, and additionally based on:
I’d say I’m stoked to see the progress you’ll make over the next week or two. Imagine how much better your fifth or sixth go around will be compared to your second!
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