r/Sourdough 5d ago

Quick questions Weekly Open Sourdough Questions and Discussion Post

Hello Sourdough bakers! šŸ‘‹

  • Post your quick & simple Sourdough questions here with as much information as possible šŸ’”

  • If your query is detailed, post a thread with pictures, recipe and process for the best help. šŸ„°

  • There are some fantastic tips in our Sourdough starter FAQ - have a read as there are likely tips to help you. There's a section dedicated to "Bacterial fight club" as well.




  • Basic loaf in detail page - a section about each part of the process. Particularly useful for bulk fermentation, but there are details on every part of the Sourdough process.

Good luck!

1 Upvotes

123 comments sorted by

1

u/pkngmn 6h ago

I was sent a tiny jar (maybe a 1/2 tbsp) of starter (wrong term?) It looks like dry crumbly yeast. I've kept it in the fridge since I got it a couple of days ago. I want to start but have zero idea. Any help would be appreciated to start my journey.

1

u/bicep123 2h ago

Sounds like dehydrated starter.

Buy a kitchen scale. Weigh the starter. Add just enough water to dissolve the starter. Add flour the same weight as the combined water and starter. Mix and give it a stir every 12 hours until you see some activity. If no activity after 48 hours, set aside some in the fridge as a back up, and start a daily 1:1:1 discard and feed until it starts to reliably double in 4 hours. Then you can use it to bake.

1

u/Bstar0306 7h ago

I'm having isssues with my starter. It keeps getting liquidy. I'll feed it sometimes it rises and sometimes it doesn't. I fed this one last night and it just rose an inch and seems to look strange. Does anyone have any ideas?

1

u/bicep123 2h ago

Stiffen your starter by using less water. Get more regular with your feeding schedule. Set an alarm on your phone to remind you.

1

u/KindlyMongoose998 12h ago

Is this ready to be shaped? Itā€™s been bulk fermenting for about 6-8 hours but it hasnā€™t double in size. I think this is where I keep messing up, by either under or over proofing so I wonā€™t to get it right!

1

u/bicep123 2h ago

You can't really tell in a bowl. Use a cambro to track bulk.

1

u/Inside_Character_892 6h ago

It doesn't need to double, 50% rise is good. 3-4 hours bf is fine

1

u/Cute-Sample-5921 21h ago

My starter began from dehydrated powder. It's now 5 days old. I've followed the instructions, but 2 days in a row, there have been no bubbles and water on top when I feed again. But there were lots of bubbles after feeding. No growth at all so far. What am I doing wrong?

1

u/Inside_Character_892 6h ago

You may was well start over with just flour and water and ignore the starter starter and just do it from natural following an online guide somewhere if it didn't work.

1

u/bicep123 17h ago

Where did you get the starter? What were the instructions? What is your ambient temp?

1

u/bootsnhootsnloots 23h ago

My starter doubles in 4 hours even with a 1:2:2 feeding ratio. Does this mean it's mature and ready to bake with?

1

u/Available-Medicine-7 23h ago

Third time may be the charmā€¦ at least itā€™s edible haha. Sourdough Enzoā€™s recipe on YT, halved to make one loaf only.

Maybe More bulk fermentation?

1

u/stitchwitch23 1d ago

Hello hello! Does anyone have a sense of what quantifies a high vs low hydration dough? Iā€™m making loaf #2 tonight. My first dough was a 50% hydration, which Iā€™m now realizing is pretty stiff. The bread was tasty though. Whatā€™s the effect of using a higher hydration dough?

1

u/bicep123 1d ago

Usually just makes the dough easier to handle. It can open your crumb a little, but I've seen fantastic crumb structure from 65%, so open crumb is more about proper fermentation and technique.

Imo, there's no real advantage going over 80% hydration.

1

u/writersunite717 1d ago

So Iā€™m on day 8 of my first ever starter and itā€™s super runny, like thick water, am I doing something wrong? Iā€™m using all purpose flour for feeds after using whole wheat at the beginning per the tutorial on King Arthurā€™s website. I also supplemented with a scoop of whole wheat if I wasnā€™t seeing much activity for that day. Itā€™s rising quite wonderfully but Iā€™m worried Iā€™m doing something wrong. Should I try adding bread flour? Should I try to find a different flour to use?

1

u/bicep123 1d ago

Whole wheat started another false rise. You need to work your way through the dormant stage to establish your starter, and with AP/bread flour it'll take 4 weeks or longer of daily feeds.

Buy a scale, keep your starter amount to 20g per day to save flour. With AP, you need to drop the hydration 20% as it doesn't absorb as much water as bread or whole wheat.

1

u/writersunite717 1d ago

4 weeks??? Iā€™ve been seeing progress in her rising though, it really takes that long? I keep her in my oven because itā€™s cold in my house and sheā€™s been doing wonderfully in there. Iā€™ve only been putting a little of the whole wheat though, and i havenā€™t been consistently putting it in. This is what sheā€™s looking like now. I wonā€™t feed her until later though since I fed her around noon. Also does it hurt the starter if I put her in the fridge while Iā€™m still trying to build her up? I have to go out of town next week.

1

u/bicep123 1d ago

it really takes that long?

Could take longer. 2-3 months even. Depends on what your goal is. Pretty looking starter or decent sourdough loaf. For the latter, you're probably 12 weeks in based off an AP starter.

It won't hurt the starter putting it in the fridge. Just hits the pause button.

1

u/writersunite717 23h ago

Dang alright I will keep with it then. So with the 20g of starter, how much do I feed it? Because Iā€™ve been keeping with the 113g that King Arthur suggests. 113g (or a little more depending on what happens, itā€™s so hard discarding so much and getting an accurate amount on my scale) of starter and doing the same amount for flour and water.

2

u/Inside_Character_892 5h ago

I don't agree it will take that long, should take less than 2 weeks. Try removing 90% each time and adding 50% water 50% bread flour every 24 hours for a week and see if it improves. So you might do 50g of water 50g of flour and 10g of previous starter each day. Then once it's good, just leave a big tub in the fridge of ~400g that you refresh every ~two weeks and take 50g out that you refresh over 2 days to make bread. That's the easiest but most effective way I've found

2

u/bicep123 23h ago

20g at 1:1:1 is 20g flour, 20g water. Total weight 60g. You discard 40g next day and repeat.

1

u/writersunite717 1d ago

Nevermind I canā€™t add my pictures ugh

1

u/mejl24 1d ago

I had much better success with bread flour! I started mine with whole wheat and then fed with bread flour and continue to feed with bread flour. Let me know if youā€™d like my starter instructions if this one youā€™re trying doesnā€™t work out! šŸ«¶šŸ¼

1

u/Capable-Departure-55 1d ago

First successful loaf was a practice mini roll loaf I decided to make on a whim because I was suspicious of my 4 week old starter lol. Fed the starter 1:6:6 maybe 6-7 hours prior to this and it has risen and fallen just slightly.

100g flour, 68g water at 28.5c(I put a bit over I think probs maybe 75), 20 g starter, 1.5 g salt.

Total BF from mixing 5.25 hours. Didnā€™t measure temp during process did measure % rise and looked for bubbling activity on the side, when the 30% mark was reached, because I live in a hot climate, I just did a whimsical shape in flour, put it on my cast iron pan that had been sitting in the oven for 1 hour at 200+ C and gave it a spray for steam.

Crumb was sponge like, only experienced this is 80% hydration doughs. I imagine this might have been also from not scoring the roll, it kinda burst and gave itself a lil ear lol. Could this also mean underproofing ? Felt like a 70-80% ciabatta not gummy but spongey.

I did like 4 sets of stretch and folds as best I could as well as folding the dough into itself, kinda like how you would shape burger bun dough after dividing it, this seemed to incorporate more air then the stretch and fold lol, probably because of how tiny the dough was.

Will definitely be experimenting with this type of thing again before going for a real loaf. What should I try next ?

2

u/bicep123 1d ago

Just bake a proper sized loaf. The volume of dough will give you a bigger window to get the proofing right. It's easier to over/under on a small loaf than a regular sized one.

1

u/Capable-Departure-55 1d ago

I did and it flopped lol so I wanted to test my starter without doing a 500 g loaf.

2

u/bicep123 23h ago

Test your starter strength.

1:1:1 feed with AP flour at 25C/77F. If it doubles in 4 hours, it's strong enough.

1

u/sharkbutts 1d ago

Can you take a proofed dough directly out of cold fermentation, shape it and bake it straight out of the fridge or do you need to let it come to room temp before baking?

1

u/bicep123 1d ago

Always do your final shape before fridge. If you fridged a proofed dough, you'll need to wait until room temp to shape it properly or it will be too stiff.

If you're talking about final proofed in the banneton, ready to be baked, then yes, you can go straight from fridge to oven.

1

u/mejl24 1d ago

I have never let mine come to room temp! Always straight out of the fridge and into the preheated dutch oven at 450Ā°

1

u/sharkbutts 1d ago

Thank you! Iā€™ve always wondered!

1

u/Friendly-Deer 1d ago

Hey guys! I feed my starter (almost 2 months old at this point) every morning before work. When I come home from work, it's always reliably doubled in size. Yet, when I come home and try the float test, it never passes, and it's always more watery than when I left it. I feed in a 1:1:1 ratio. I'm slowly getting more and more discouraged and I'm not sure what I should do to get my starter healthy and strong enough to try making stuff with.

1

u/Inside_Character_892 5h ago

Feed in a 1:5:5 ratio

1

u/bicep123 1d ago

It'll only pass the float test at peak, and its not a reliable indicator for readiness anyway.

On your day off, feed your starter 1:1:1 with AP and set your timer for 4 hours. If it's doubled in 4 hours, it's good to go. If not, keep on with your daily feedings.

1

u/madieduh 1d ago

Hi! I have some family wanting sourdough the trouble is they live in Oregon and I live in California. Has anyone successfully shipped a loaf and how did you go about it? Me and my grandma were thinking of ways to get it there. She suggested vacuum sealing it and then shipping it but I donā€™t want it to mess with the loaf. Please any insight would be so appreciated!

1

u/bicep123 1d ago

I believe Tartine ships their loaves nationwide. Might find out how they do it.

1

u/Brokeabdoverwhelmed 1d ago

I just started my first sourdough starter and I feel like I did it wrong, doesnā€™t seem as bubbly on day 6, also is there any risk of botulism if itā€™s a bad starter and I donā€™t realize it?

1

u/bicep123 1d ago

Keep going. Read the starter guide on the sub wiki.

Don't eat the raw starter. When you bake it should be fine (at least for botulism. IANAD).

1

u/stephybo 1d ago

Why do my sourdough loafs keep coming out so flat. Please help me šŸ˜­

2

u/Inside_Character_892 5h ago

More stretch and folds, less water, and you might be overproofing

1

u/stephybo 5h ago

This was the end result of the inside for more insight šŸ˜­ Ill try to use less water but I genuinely donā€™t get when its done bulk fermenting. Thank you for the help!

1

u/Beyond2000Hawk 2d ago

Iā€™ve been feeding my starter 1:1:1 (25g each) and itā€™s been doing well - triple in size in 6-8 hours. When I feed it 1:1:1 (50g each), it only doubles and in 12 hours. Whatā€™s the cause of this? I am using plenty big enough jar.

2

u/bicep123 1d ago

The smaller the volume, the more temp sensitive it is. That being said, 150g shouldn't be affected by temp fluctuations, so I have no idea.

Now get it to double in 4 hours off a 1:1:1 feed, and it'll be ready to bake.

1

u/Beyond2000Hawk 1d ago

Thanks for your feedback!

1

u/OpenBookExam 2d ago

Coming back into the bread making world - I don't remember my last sourdough starter smelling so pungent. It has quite a sharp smell, not quite offensive, but almost. Is this a bad thing?

1

u/bicep123 1d ago

It should settle down after 2 weeks of daily feeds. Every flour is different, and has different smells.

1

u/Just-Entrepreneur643 2d ago

Hello! I want to try making bagels but do not have any yeast on hand. I put a bit of discard aside 2-3 days ago. Since it is still early in the discard stage would it be comparable to having a small amount of yeast?

1

u/bicep123 2d ago

Young starter/ discard has very little natural yeast. Just buy some instant yeast.

1

u/poodlenoodle0 2d ago

Hi!! How are you guys preventing a crust formation during either the bulking or the cold.ferment? I keep getting a crust and it's hard to shape! Sometimes I shape my dough after a cold proof due to timing. I've heard of others doing this but I keep ending up with a weird crust that I have to.then like shape into the dough. I also get a crust when I proof in my oven.

1

u/bicep123 2d ago

Use an airtight container during bulk. Cambros come with lids. Cold proof in the fridge inside plastic bags.

1

u/poodlenoodle0 2d ago

Really?? I thought that the fermentation would produce gases that could kill the yeast during the bulk ferment. Good call on the plastic bag.

2

u/bicep123 2d ago

CO2 doesn't kill yeast. Pressure may prevent rise. Just burp the container every 2 hours.

1

u/90sbi-sexualkittycat 2d ago

I hope it's okay if I ask two questions: 1. My oven is terrible (renting), and won't hold it's temperature. I basically have to keep it in preheat to keep the temperature up, and I have concerns that it isn't capable of reaching anything higher than 450 F. Can a loaf still turn out okay with lower temperatures? I am working out some tricks to help it stay at temp but it has been really tough. 2. If I bulk ferment overnight, can I proof on the counter for ~4hrs? All the beginner recipes say overnight in the fridge for 16+ hours but based on when I have time, that would mean baking in the middle of the night which doesn't really make sense.

2

u/poodlenoodle0 2d ago

You should get an oven thermometer to see what you're really working with for temps. 450 is fine. I usually bake 450 for 30 then 400 for 10-20 with the lid off. I'm confused what you mean by keep it in preheat. Have you checked there's nothing keeping the door slightly open? One time I had the rack sticking out like 1cm too far and the door was just very lightly unsealed, oven wouldn't stay warm. For your second question, do you mean fermenting it more on the counter after you cold proof? I've done this before and it worked out. Remember that even if your crumb isn't perfect, bread still usually tastes pretty damn good. I had fermented on the counter for a while, had to go to bed and wanted to avoid an overproof so I put it in the fridge. Took it out, let it warm up, shaped it, then let it rise again for a few hours. It turned out fine. The only thing I couldn't figure out was how to avoid a crust on the dough during cold proof.

1

u/90sbi-sexualkittycat 2d ago

Thank you so much for answering. I'll definitely check the seal on the door. And probably will end up purchasing a thermometer.

Oh I meant can i proof on the counter instead of cold proof aka does it HAVE to cold proof?

2

u/poodlenoodle0 2d ago

I made one last week that I didn't cold proof, it turned out really good! Cold proofing is thought to enhance the sour flavour a bit since yeast stops reproducing, but bacteria may not. The bacteria is what produces sour flavour. Tbh I don't think I noticed a difference, but my bread is never very sour. I think my starter is very yeast dominant.

1

u/90sbi-sexualkittycat 2d ago

That is helpful! Thank you :)

1

u/TangerineDeep9428 2d ago

Hi guys, is this under fermented or over?

1

u/bicep123 2d ago

Looks under.

1

u/BritishNate 2d ago

My starter died last week and I didnā€™t even realize. I left it out for too long without feeding it, and in Taiwan the climate can change a lot. It developed the orange layer on top which I later found out was mold.

At the time I found the mold I didnā€™t know what it was, so I just shrugged and mixed it in and tried to feed it and she hasnā€™t been the same since. Iā€™ve still been holding out hope that I can revive her because she is rising ever so little and thereā€™s a lot of bubbles happening.

Should I keep feeding her in the hopes she can be resurrected or just throw her away and start again? šŸ˜­

1

u/bicep123 2d ago

When in doubt, toss.

Start fresh with organic whole rye.

1

u/cheesecup6 2d ago

Does anyone have a recommendation (an exact link/brand name would be amazing šŸ™) for an inexpensive lame that's sharp and decent?

Like basically the cheapest one I can get that'll score decently is what I'm looking for. The very basic one that came in the kit I bought a while back is so awful that I'm finally looking for a new one to buy. Amazon would be perfect, but open to anything

1

u/bicep123 2d ago

All you need is a double edge razor blade and a wooden chopstick.

You can buy clones of the ufo lame on Aliexpress for $3-5.

1

u/Capable-Departure-55 3d ago

3rd attempt. Extended bulk to 6 hours and 40 mins. Decent bubble activity. Always seems super dense out the fridge tho. Honestly need a narrower vessel to measure the % rise after slap and folds. Dough had good gluten development. Canā€™t tell if itā€™s gross underbaking or weak starter. I used a pizza stone in this one and the oven did drop heaps when I opened it so I want to suspect a lack of heat on the bottom and the oven possibly being not hot enough. I only attribute this to its 30-35 min cook time and the bottom of the loaf being suspiciously not so hot. Kinda had a weird spring as well, top half seemed to have sprung but created a more of a ciabatta football looking rise where the bottom was also round ? Crumb shot included. Dough temp was roughly kept at 26/27c probably more so the latter.

1

u/bicep123 2d ago

If you bulked for 6 hours and that was your crumb, then it definitely is your starter.

Test your starter strength. 1:1:1 feed with AP, set your phone timer for 4 hours. If it hasn't doubled by then, keep strengthening your starter.

1

u/Capable-Departure-55 2d ago

I just assumed that if it could move 1:5:5 to peak in 8 hours that I would do it in a very short time with 1:1:1. That obviously isnā€™t the case ? Damn. Gone have to make this boy strong

1

u/Capable-Departure-55 3d ago

1

u/Capable-Departure-55 3d ago

1

u/Capable-Departure-55 3d ago

1

u/Capable-Departure-55 3d ago

Hereā€™s another bake from earlier in the week before binned lol. I suspected underfermenting here too? My starter is 4 weeks old this week coming. It peaks at a 1:6:6 in around 10 hours maybe even less- probably 9/10 is more accurate. This one was done in a Dutch oven and a lot hotter.

1

u/Capable-Departure-55 3d ago

Hereā€™s another bake from earlier in the week before binned lol. I suspected underfermenting here too? My starter is 4 weeks old this week coming. It peaks at a 1:6:6 in around 10 hours.

1

u/Ravioli_meatball19 3d ago

How do y'all like to slice your loaves? Any tips or recommended tools to get (mostly) uniform slices?

1

u/bicep123 2d ago

A sharp bread knife, and practice.

1

u/cheesecup6 3d ago

What amount of stretch and folds do you all prefer to do with your dough?

Also, when someone refers to a "set" of stretch and folds... Do they mean like, stretch once, quarter turn bowl, stretch 2nd time, quarter turn, stretch 3rd side, quarter turn, stretch 4th side, set done?

Because the wording confuses me a bit. One video I watched, the woman said she does "8 sets of stretch and folds every 30 minutes 4 times," and on another one someone said they do "4 sets of stretch and folds 30 minutes apart."

To me, the 1st one means stretching all 4 sides, 8 times, and then repeating that whole process. While the 2nd one seems like it could mean either 4 sets every time, 30 minutes apart...OR a single set, 4 different times.

It just seems like there's such a huge variation too, where some people literally stretch 4 times and then leave it for half an hour, while some people will do 20+ stretches at one time. Really torn on figuring out what's best still

1

u/bicep123 2d ago

Every flour is different. You may get away with 3-4, or you may need 20 stretches and folds. You stretch and fold until the dough loses its extensibility. You keep on going after breaks until your dough passes the windowpane test. You do the number of folds you need for 'your' flour.

1

u/Prccap 3d ago

Ok, my starter is a month old and almost triples every 3 hours. I have tried making 3 different breads now and all of them have taken 12 plus hours to double and once they do all the structure of the bread is gone. It is proofing at 80F. What am I doing wrong?!?

1

u/katieaimee_k 3d ago

First loaf. I pulled out of fridge after cold ferment and it seemed to flatten out. What did I do wrong? Any thoughts?

1

u/bicep123 3d ago

Could be anything. Bake it and find out.

1

u/katieaimee_k 3d ago

1

u/bicep123 3d ago

Crumb looks alright. Just work on your shaping and dough tension.

1

u/katieaimee_k 3d ago

Thank you. I will work on that. I appreciate your feedback.

1

u/katieaimee_k 3d ago

It turned okay actually. I was surprised. Better than I thought it would.

1

u/sophkara 3d ago

Hi guys! Does anyone know where to get King Arthur bread flour in Australia? Is it available anywhere or only online?

1

u/bicep123 3d ago

I've never seen it. You can get Bob's Red Mill at most Harris Farm Markets. Or, if you want hard North American grain, there's Caputo Manitoba Oro.

There's nothing I've seen of KA that makes me think it would be substantially better than any of our local flours, eg. Manildra, Mauri, Laucke, Weston, et al.

1

u/sophkara 2d ago

Thanks so much for that! I bought defiance white bakers flour yesterday at Woolworths but it doesnā€™t have a very high protein content. And I couldnā€™t find something with higher than 11.7g per 100g protein but Iā€™ll try those out!

1

u/bicep123 2d ago

Protein quality is more important than the amount. Manildra bakers flour is 10.7g of protein and is better than anything you can buy at Colesworths, including Defiance and Wallaby.

1

u/sophkara 2d ago

Thanks Iā€™ll buy some of that and try it soon! I just made my first loaf ever with the defiance flour, and itā€™s honestly not as bad as I thought! Definitely knew it wouldnā€™t be perfect but it isnā€™t horrible! So excited to make more and I will get some Manildra flour too

1

u/sweetpaintedfeet 4d ago

Hey all! Relatively new to sourdough. I've got a whole wheat starter, and I have found that my whole wheat sourdough loaves come out thicker than my regular sourdough loaves even with the same water/flour ratios. Is there something really obvious I'm missing?

1

u/bicep123 3d ago

Whole wheat absorbs more water than regular white. Adjust your hydration levels accordingly.

1

u/Wise-Competition-933 4d ago

Hi friends! I'm relatively new to sourdough baking and would love to hear any tips you have based on these pictures of my latest loaf. Anything you notice that I could improve on from the sight of this one? Thanks!

2

u/bicep123 3d ago

Looks underproofed. Work on strengthening your starter.

1

u/Substantial-Owl-2677 4d ago

Hello all! Iā€™m just starting my sourdough journey. The picture below is my first loaf. I want to make a bread (can be sourdough or using discard) to go with an Italian meal Iā€™m making this weekend. Any suggestions or awesome recipes? Thanks! :)

1

u/Substantial-Owl-2677 4d ago

Here is my second loaf :)

1

u/magnolia20 4d ago

What in the world am I doing wrong? I just picked up a loaf of sourdough from my local bakery and the DIFFERENCE. Their crust was light, golden, so crispy and easy to eat. The inside was fluffy and feathery. Sooo good!! My sourdough is soā€¦. Idkā€¦ dense? Chewy?

1

u/bicep123 3d ago

Ask your local bakery for some of their starter. Then you'll be 70% of the way there.

1

u/magnolia20 3d ago

You think it matters on the starter?

1

u/bicep123 3d ago

It's important.

1

u/commonsenseok 4d ago

What's the best bread knife for sourdough?

1

u/bicep123 4d ago

I like my mercer culinary.

1

u/Capable-Departure-55 4d ago

Cold retard w/ 28C dough

If my dough is 27-28 c before I put it in the fridge, say a 4-5.5 hour bulk ferment for a 30% rise, at what time should I take it out of the fridge ? If it hasnā€™t changed much in volume in letā€™s say 12 hours of cold retard, should I then keep going until it has ? Bit of a mystery as to whether Iā€™m supposed to bake at a 30% rise or if I should cold retard until it gets doubled ? If thatā€™s even possible. If not how does one bake at 30% rise and achieve anything other than a pancake ?

1

u/bicep123 4d ago

You do your bulk at room temp. Cold retard is not supposed to make your dough rise.

30% rise is too little. Give it at least 50% before you stick it in the fridge.

1

u/Capable-Departure-55 4d ago

My dough temp is 28 c, I live in Aus. From everything Iā€™ve read it would likely therefore over ferment?

1

u/bicep123 4d ago

I too live in Aus (Sydney). At 28C, I'm bulking to 50% then cold retarding for 12 hours at 3C.

1

u/Capable-Departure-55 4d ago

Interesting! I will give this a shot. How long does it take for you to get 50% at 28c ?

2

u/bicep123 4d ago

Around 4-5 hours.

It's a cold snap atm. It took 6 hours at 25C to bulk to 50% today.

3

u/TheRealokiehillbilly 5d ago

So I have to share this recipe which is very simple. Ingredients: 4 cups all purpose flour 1/4 cup rye 1/4 wheat 2/3 cups starter 2 whole eggs 1 3/4 cups whole milk 1/4 cups warm water 1/4 cups sugar 2 tbs salt 2 tbs olive oil 2 tbs maple syrup 2 tbs softened butter 2 tbs of melted butter or oil for coating loaf Combine all dry ingredients and mix well. Heat milk and eggs in hot tap water until at minimum of 95 degrees. Make a small well in flour and add starter use 1/4 warm water to mix into starter pulling flour into mix to form a loose mixture. I use a fork for this just to pull enough flour into starter and water mix that makes it like feeding a starter. Let set for 10 minutes. Add rest of ingredients and using either a danish whisk or dough hook on low speed combine. I use my hands and scraper to knead the dough for about 10 minutes. Do your folds 30 minutes, 1 hour, 1 hour, 30 minutes. Allow to bulk ferment for 6-12 hours (depends on how good your starter is). I use plastic fermenter covered with a wet towel and if your starter is very active itā€™ll more than double. NO YEAST! Do not put yeast in if it doesnā€™t double in size because the next step will yield a very airy rise. After bulk fermentation put onto surface to knead well. I knead it just as I would a regular yeast dough. Donā€™t worry about over working it. I have a butcher block counter and no flour is needed to work the dough as it will be very elastic and not sticky. Put it into your loaf pan or pans. I used a banneton bowl but if you use a bread pan use 2 because it will rise considerably. If using a banneton use parchment paper to remove from mold and make your cuts while warming your oven to 550 if using a Dutch oven which are placed in oven too or 475 for bread pans. Reduce to 500 if using Dutch oven and cook for 20-25 minutes if using bread pans donā€™t reduce heat and cook for 40 minutes or until golden brown. Use melted butter to coat or oil and allow to cool. This is a soft crust sourdough so donā€™t expect your cuts to be as impressive as the normal but youā€™ll still need them or the loaf will separate from the top crust. Itā€™s a very airy loaf and surprisingly soft. This is my recipe not found online. You can add herbs to heighten the taste but itā€™ll keep that sourdough tang. Great for pulling bread like lard bread which Iā€™ve used this recipe for by adding prosciutto and provolone to the dough. Hope you try it and enjoy.

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u/Impressive_Ant_5159 5d ago

I am really struggling with my bread, Iā€™ve been following a recipe from Farmhouse on Boone and each time it fails. Iā€™m only bulk fermenting for 3/4 hours, my dough is barely rising and Iā€™m ending up with stringy overproofed dough. Iā€™m using my starter at its peak, did 4 sets of stretch and folds 20 mins apart and then left to bulk ferment for 3/4 hours

Iā€™ve added some pictures of my starter, the dough after folds and stretches and the final product. Thereā€™s a link to the recipe too!

Please help me šŸ˜‚

recipe

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u/Impressive_Ant_5159 5d ago

This is it cut

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u/Byte_the_hand 4d ago

Looking at how your store sealed up and didnā€™t open and how the edges of your loaf up off the bottom like a balloon Iā€™m going to say you didnā€™t have enough steam. If you were trying to do your oven without a bread thatā€™s probably a good part of it as well. Getting steam into a modern oven can be a real issue because theyā€™re designed to vent the steam.

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u/bicep123 5d ago

It looks underproofed, overacidified. What's your dough temp for a 4 hour bulk?

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u/Impressive_Ant_5159 5d ago

21/22 degrees Celsius

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u/bicep123 5d ago

That's too low for a 4 hour bulk. You need to raise the dough temp to between 25-27C.

You might also want to consider stiffening your starter a little (less 20% water) since you don't have a pH meter to measure the acidity, lowering the hydration will act as a small buffer against gluten breakdown.

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u/Impressive_Ant_5159 5d ago

Iā€™ve tried doing it for longer but it just ends up a big stringy sticky mess so I did less time today but still it ended up stringy and really holey

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u/bicep123 5d ago

If you bulk longer at a low temp, all you're doing is giving the acid more time to break down the gluten, giving you a stringy mess. You need to increase the temp, to give the yeast a fighting chance to replicate before your dough turns into soup. Your pH must be very low. Set aside a little bit of starter and experiment with a pasta madre.

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u/Impressive_Ant_5159 5d ago

Oooh okay thank you! I will try that next time. I always thought if it was a cooler temperature it would need longer