Hooray!!!
Those look fantastic. Awaiting crumb shots. Wait til they cool like you’re supposed to 
May I suggest a nice ripe triple cream or some softened Irish butter to accompany.
1 Like
2 Likes
ok. fine. I’ll put together a couple of loaves when I’m back from Chicago, mid October.
Might even try a pizza crust. I also promised some friends some Oktoberfest pretzels. I’ve only ever used regular yeast with them. I wonder how they’d do w/ starter? hmmmmm…
3 Likes
I read everywhere that 80-85 is a good temp for fermentation, but my starter seems to do better at, like, low 70s. Has anyone ever heard/tried that? My dough also seems to grow SO slow at first and then much more rapidly toward the end of the process. Is that normal? I feel like I have to watch it much more toward the end to prevent over proving.
It’s been over a year since I’ve baked bread. @Nemroz, you are inspiring me to pull out the starter soon…
that’s quite low! mine struggles around 70. 80-90 is what i keep reading as the target. Guess it seems logical that it bulks faster later as it reaches a certain load / threshold. I thought mine overproofed this time and wouldnt oven spring, but i was wrong!
I know, that’s why I’m wondering if I’m doing something wrong. The thing is that, when I try 80-85, I consistently get a goop-y, slack messes. My theory is that I created my starter in the dead of winter, so I captured the yeast that, relatively speaking, like the cold. 
I’ll try some loaves in the next few wks to see what happens. I think my oven light hits 90, though. 
Instant Pot is also way too warm.
What recipe did you use for your loaves??? They look beautiful.
I don’t think 90 is an issue but yea, everyone’s starter acts differently. It might be a function of your flour and/or hydration rate too.
I sort of ended up augmenting a bunch of recipes i tried and am currently on
25 / 50 / 50 feed night before mixing
125 / 168 / 168 morning refreshment, at same time autolyse 476g warm water, 100 g whole wheat (Red Fife now), 568g of artisan craft from king’s roost (similar to bread flour), and this time 1 cup of KR’s 9 whole grains mix.
when starter is ready (floats), i incorporate into autolise with hand squeezing motions, no kneading, no folding. when done i add the salt on top… about 20g.
rest for 30 minutes, Ribaud mix to incorporate salt and blend in starter with autolyse more
then i did 4 sets of folds at 30 minute intervals - 2 stretch and folds and 2 coil folds
then i bulk fermented for 2.5 hours (was likely a bit long given the oven temp)
separate 2 boules, preshape very lightly, just creating a package really, almost top to bottom, bottom to top, sides to sides
30 minutes later final shape, and not as aggressively as i used to with tension, basic tartine way works for me.
into fridge overnight for cold ferment, if all looking health will do fine for 2 days.
morning of i just score and bake at 475 with an ice cube and cover first 18 minutes and then cover off 21 minutes.
2 Likes
It’s just my first effort but I’ll be doing it more. We always have leftovers even after freezing a loaf and enjoying a fresh one for a couple of days. I’m sure I’ll nail the recipe down more but here’s what I did this time. Super basic
I got rid of some of the denser bottom crust and some of the sides. I soaked the cubes overnight in a mixture of milk, butter, condensed milk and baking spices (just vanilla and cinnamon this time)
Then I just baked it off next day in a somewhat thin layer at 400 until a bit crusty and no visible liquid was present. Very good.
Kid wouldn’t eat it as a new thing but once it was called French toast and maple syrup was an option the bowl was licked
3 Likes
Those make for excellent croutons; or if thoroughly dried out can be run through the food processor for bread crumbs.
2 Likes
Looks great!
I’ve been working on. Sourdough boules for about a year with wildly varying results. My most recent method, from a British baker on a Facebook group, called for overnight autolyse (8-12 hours) and proofing in the fridge for 24 hours. The taste is great but the oven spring was minimal so the crumb was pretty dense.
I’ve been using a wetted kitchen towel to cover the bowl and then the banneton but the dough seemed pretty dry at the end of proofing this time (maybe due to longer timing). The British baker said the towel was the issue and said to use a shower cap, because the dryness was. ‘skin’ that retarded the spring. Any thoughts here on that……. or in general.
1 Like
I would agree regarding plastic or a mixing bowl with a tight lid. I dont have a dryness issue, but you could also dial up the hydration %. That can only help!
I have found that by far the biggest contributor to a lazy starter and/or a poor oven spring is temperature control. When sourdough refreshment and bulk fermentation are done in that sweet spot of 85-90 a vastly better performance happens. Also we must be better at spotting when things are ready. If sourdough isnt’ floating, it’s too early to mix in. If bulk ferment isn’t big enough it’s not ready for the fridge. If it’s overproofed there will be issues too. So time isnt’ what’s important
This was all done based on a specific method I was following. I fully agree that visual is the real test but temp control is a challenge. Next time I’ll try autolysing in the oven instead of on the counter. The baker whose method I’m using is in England so temps aren’t comparable to SoCal anyway. I just never thought they were that critical until now. Her comment on the dry ‘skin’ makes some sense too.
Each time I bake sourdough boules my results are somewhat different but heaviness is most often the concern.
Do you score b/f baking? That might help if there’s some sort of skin. But will make things worse, if it’s overproved.
What is the purpose of such a long autolyse? Just to clarify, the autolyse is only the flour and water, right?
Makes it easier to work with wet dough ime it starts the gluten formation
Yes, I always score. The long period is just from the method I used which came from the British baker. It’s a resting period for the complete dough following stretch and folds over a couple of hours. Perhaps ‘autolyse’ is the wrong term.
If you have breville smart oven they have proof function. Many people don’t even know it exists
Great discussion here. Agree with everything that’s being said esp the long fermentation. Water temp is also a great way to control dough temp—if I really want To hit the sweet spot of 78-80 def dough temp, I microwave the water to about 90 degrees and check with instant probe thermometer. Play around until you get that desired dough temp.
I really like 48-72 hr cold fermented pizza dough. It gives the best leoparding for the oven I’m using.
3 Likes
But would you do two long fermentations like that? (see what I write below) Recipes I’ve seen are long cold fermentation, shaping, and then resting for a much short period b/f baking.
Oh, so the yeast HAS already been added then? I wouldn’t call that autolyse. I’d call that bulk fermentation. If that’s so, that’s a weird recipe, IMHO. I imagine some (many?) starters don’t have the strength for 2 long fermentations, even in the fridge. It actually makes complete sense to me why the finished product tastes good but has no oven spring. I assume it’s totally overproved.
Would like to see what @ebethsdad has to say.
1 Like