Bake your first sourdough 🤤

[UKSkydiver]

Mine smelled of socks about day 3-4 which did chill out a bit by day 7.
My mother starter? been in the fridge for a few days and it smells like grapes now bizarrely

 

[foxy]

Don't be afraid to add other ingredients.

Olives and Rosemary bread.

 

[JFB]

Another question for you @JFB - how should it smelled at this stage (Day 3)?

Instead of the kinda pleasant sour small I was expecting it was more... I dunno... cheesy feet or maybe baby Maybe not totally vile but still not particularly pleasant either.

As you pointed out earlier, it certainly looked pretty bubbly on the top. And texture wise it was a gloopy, sticky, gluey mess, maybe a bit like porridge.

Fingers crossed...

I think it sounds fine
It will definitely smell different through the cycle of feeding off the fresh flour to being spent.

 

[JFB]

Don't be afraid to add other ingredients.
View attachment 39406
View attachment 39407
Olives and Rosemary bread.

Very nice

 

[JFB]

May favourite recipe at the moment is simple bread flour and 10% spelt.
Definitely going to try @RichardM stout bread next

 

[matt76]

@JFB just checking, is the procedure for Day 4 (and 5) basically the same as Day 3?

I.e. I take about 60g of the starter currently on the kitchen side, and add another 60g water & 60g flour to that?

Still looks bubbly on top but also still smells of socks!

 

[JFB]

@JFB just checking, is the procedure for Day 4 (and 5) basically the same as Day 3?

I.e. I take about 60g of the starter currently on the kitchen side, and add another 60g water & 60g flour to that?

Still looks bubbly on top but also still smells of socks!

Yep that's it I find it smells nice near the start of the feed and gets a little more weird towards the end

 

[trummy]

Thanks for taking the trouble to do this JFB - I am way behind and the house is not that warm so I have 'built' a 'warmer'. Heat pad with a container of water on it covered by a cardboard box and plugged it into a timer, so now it comes on every couple of hours for 15 min. I have put a thermometer in the box so I can check that its not getting too hot.
Looking forward to trying the stout bread !

 

[JFB]

Thanks for taking the trouble to do this JFB - I am way behind and the house is not that warm so I have 'built' a 'warmer'. Heat pad with a container of water on it covered by a cardboard box and plugged it into a timer, so now it comes on every couple of hours for 15 min. I have put a thermometer in the box so I can check that its not getting too hot.
Looking forward to trying the stout bread !

Crikey that's dedication!
I keep my starter feeding in the kitchen, probably around 14c most of the time
My misses is northern so apart from the fire not really aloud heating

 

[JFB]

Mixing a dough up tonight for pizza tomorrow

 

[JFB]

Nice healthy starter will float on the water

 

[JFB]

Today's offer..

 

[matt76]

Right, I'm really on the fence about Sven the starter...

I'm on Day 5 or 6 now (lost count) and he still smells like old socks. I'm seeing a little rise overnight and a lots of little bubbles on the top so something is certainly happening.

The consistency just prior to adding my next 60/60 flour & water has gone from sticky and gluey to a bit more runny.

I'm struggling to believe something that smells like this is going to make tasty bread...

Do I keep going?

Or do I start again, maybe adding a drop of lactic acid to acidify, along with a pinch of bread yeast and lactobacillus (all of which I have on hand) to give it a push in the right direction?

(God, this is as bad as when we were all newbie brewers and asking why our airlock isn't bubbling withing 30s of yeast pitch! )?

 

[JFB]

Right, I'm really on the fence about Sven the starter...

View attachment 39550

I'm on Day 5 or 6 now (lost count) and he still smells like old socks. I'm seeing a little rise overnight and a lots of little bubbles on the top so something is certainly happening.

The consistency just prior to adding my next 60/60 flour & water has gone from sticky and gluey to a bit more runny.

I'm struggling to believe something that smells like this is going to make tasty bread...

Do I keep going?

Or do I start again, maybe adding a drop of lactic acid to acidify, along with a pinch of bread yeast and lactobacillus (all of which I have on hand) to give it a push in the right direction?

(God, this is as bad as when we were all newbie brewers and asking why our airlock isn't bubbling withing 30s of yeast pitch! )?

So your mixing 60 Sven 60 bread flour 60water that has been boiled and aloud to cool down? If so should be good.
Try baking a loaf
Or just pan fry a couple blobs of Sven and see how he tastes

 

[matt76]

So your mixing 60 Sven 60 bread flour 60water that has been boiled and aloud to cool down? If so should be good.
Try baking a loaf
Or just pan fry a couple blobs of Sven and see how he tastes

YOU WANT ME TO COOK MY BUDDY SVEN AND EAT HIM??? YOU MONSTER!!!



Yeah, I'm taking 60g of Sven and mixing 60g cooled boiled water + 60g flour (half white flour, half wholemeal).

Will give it a whirl - thanks

 

[Alastair70]

Thank-you @JFB for an awesome thread.

Starter 2.0 is up and running, but not sure how much vigour it has. Tonight ive made my usual levain but with a bit more starter in it (usual quantities - 40g white + 10g whole meal flour with 40g water and 10g starter) and we’ll see how it looks in the morning. Will make some bread dough if it’s active enough.
I’ve re-fed the starter in preparation for Sunday’s pizza dough.

Also have an American Amber lined up to brew tomorrow too, lockdown has to have the odd silver lining

 

[trummy]

This is fascinating! Mine does not rise much but it is bubbling away and I have had 'hooch' form. I tried floating 'Percy' on water and he sinks. However today, (curry day) I used some of the spent mixture, mixed with a little flour, left it to rise, knocked it back, rolled and fried to make a 'Nan' bread - It was really good! Much better than the rubbery bought things that need heating up.

 

[Alastair70]

I tried floating 'Percy' on water and he sinks.

I never knew that floating starters was a thing. If it was bubbly and and came close to doubling in volume at some point after feeding then as far as I was concerned it was as good to go as it was going to get for a while.
I just made the bread anyway, some came out like pancakes and some blew out a side in the oven. Either way I still ended up with ugly but tasty bread .
As time went on, the starter stabilsed and my timings and quantities fell into line. Now I'm back to square one on the starter front and my wife will have to put up with rubber banded shotglasses full of proving dough littering the kitchen every time I bulk prove a main batch for a few weeks while starter No.2 and I get to know each other a bit better!

 

[matt76]

This is fascinating! Mine does not rise much but it is bubbling away and I have had 'hooch' form. I tried floating 'Percy' on water and he sinks. However today, (curry day) I used some of the spent mixture, mixed with a little flour, left it to rise, knocked it back, rolled and fried to make a 'Nan' bread - It was really good! Much better than the rubbery bought things that need heating up.

Erm... "Hooch"? What's that? I did a swimming test with Sven but he's not a floater yet either.

However, after I did my step up this evening I went ahead and fried myself up a little Svencake:

I nuked it good and proper in the frying pan just to be sure but actually it tasted pretty good (will check back in in a couple of days just to confirm that )...

It had kind of a sweet aftertaste which I'm willing to be persuaded is something a little sour or acidic perhaps.

So, fingers crossed I'll be set for my first loaf in a few days

 

[matt76]

I never knew that floating starters was a thing. If it was bubbly and and came close to doubling in volume at some point after feeding then as far as I was concerned it was as good to go as it was going to get for a while.

That's just me me think - I wonder if mine is rising more overnight and then sinking back down by morning . Ho hum...