Bake your first sourdough 🤤

[matt76]

Matt76 - how long do you allow loaf to rise before baking - it should be 12 to 18 hours

It was about 18 hours

 

[RichardM]

My starters never look like this - I mean there's bubbly and then there's that!

On the other hand I did make sourdough loaf #4 yesterday:
View attachment 41246
For some reason odd numbers seem to go a bit awry but I get lucky with the even numbered loaves.

It's tasty and soft, maybe just a wee bit underdone again but I'm pleased

One thing I've noticed is for some reason I don't seem to get those big open bubbles inside that I see from a lot of the other pictures on here

It might not have the holes but it looks like a good sandwich loaf

 

[JFB]

Also the hydration plays a big part in bubbles.. try say a extra 20ml of water..
I'm just about to bake and I've had mine second proving over night in a cold place

 

[JFB]

Pleased with this one

 

[trummy]

Now this is getting too classy.
Had to show the wife.
Off to the delicatessen tomorrow for a range of flours

 

[UKSkydiver]

Pleased with this one

Nice ear(s)

 

[moto748]

IMG_20210210_110735.jpg

 

[steve123]

Made my first loaf, it didn’t quite go as I wanted it to, and I was about to give up on it. Left the dough overnight to proof, put in my make shift proving basket on a muslin cloth with flour on, dough was very moist and I had to rip it off leaving it a sorry state. Put it in my Dutch oven. I wasn’t expecting it to turn out as well as it did! It tastes amazing, it does have a very thick crust. Going to do my second one today, I did add 100g of the yeast starter, going to stick to the 50g you say and make less moist

 

[JFB]

Made my first loaf, it didn’t quite go as I wanted it to, and I was about to give up on it. Left the dough overnight to proof, put in my make shift proving basket on a muslin cloth with flour on, dough was very moist and I had to rip it off leaving it a sorry state. Put it in my Dutch oven. I wasn’t expecting it to turn out as well as it did! It tastes amazing, it does have a very thick crust. Going to do my second one today, I did add 100g of the yeast starter, going to stick to the 50g you say and make less moist

Awesome crumb mate
Maybe try a tea towel over muslin.
The dough should be moist.
And if you have it, either gluten free of rice flour for dusting before going in your proving basket as it's very none stick.
Looking forward to your next one

 

[JFB]

IMG_20210210_110735.jpg

She's a beaut mate..

 

[moto748]

Thanks! It's taken me quite a while to get to that point, but I reckon I've cracked it now.

 

[steve123]

Well me and the wife have got quite into this been making a loaf everyday since I started some days 2, the starter is definitely active, big difference between one week and now.
Many thanks for posting this it’s been very useful.

my wife is of the opinion that after we have taken out 50-60g of starter she will just feed it leaving in what is left and leaving in the same vessel.
I’ve been following your instructions and doing 60/60/60.

does it matter which way we do it?

 

[moto748]

I have found it makes a lot of difference to start a "pre-ferment". Typically (like today) I put 50-60 g of strong white in a small bowl, add one and half tablespoonful full of gloopy starter, and add water. If you zero the scales for your bowl, then add the 55 g and the starter, and top up to around 230 g, that should give you about the right consistency. Then I loosely cover that with a saucepan lid, and sit it on top of a radiator for four or five hours, by which time it should be bubbling like crazy. Then I put 250 g of flour in a bigger bowl and add the preferment and extra water. The dough wants to be wet. I aim for the consistency of a lump of cold porridge! Then that is kneaded and stretched on a well-floured board and put back in the bowl in a plastic bag. Left for two or three hours and the knead and stretch again, this time adding half a teaspoonful of salt (don't forget that, but it goes in the second knead!) sprinkled onto the stretched dough. Fold it, turn it, stretch it again. and repeat. Then I finally knead it into a ball, cover a bowl with a tea-towel and dredge it generously with flour,, drop the dough in and fold the floured tea-towel over it. put the bowl in a warm place for another couple of hours, then turn oven on full blast to pre-heat fully, and bake. I lift the tea-towel out of the bowl and drop the dough into the baking tin, deeply slashing it with a sharp knife twice vertically and horizontally to make a 'noughts and crosses' shape. I actually use an old no-stick milk-pan that the handle has broken off, which suits these quantities. I guess you could use a small cake tin. These quantities make a small 'cob'sized load as in the pic I posted upthread. I find it best to bake for 10 mins, turn the loaf around and replace, making a judgement about much longer to bake for, typically I do another 18-19 minutes. But ovens vary of course.

It might all sound a faff, but I find it easy to incorporate into my daily routine, it only requires a few minutes attention at a time.

 

[trummy]

Now this is getting silly! Made a couple of loaves a couple of days ago using the whey from my cheese making and a cup full of 'Cwtch' beer.
Really worked it, and managed to cut the top at last - it tasted great, really great, but was pretty dense and didn't rise much. Today I thought I would attempt Naan bread using the discarded starter. Found a recipe using veg oil, flour, sugar and egg. Mixed it up adding a really good dollop of old starter. Ended up far too wet, added a load more flour, still wet but stuck it on a wine heat pad to proof. I thought it was going to explode! It was bubbling like a hot spring!
There was no way I could think of to control it, so worked it a bit and then split it into two loaf tins. on removing the foil cover the 'bread' was touching the it. Cooked and one loaf eaten, perfect texture but without the flavour of other loaves (I used mainly ordinary plain flour.)

I do hope to 'crack it' before the inevitable kitchen ban prevails - the wife has just had both eyes cataracts done, corecting a severe astigmatism at the same time, so for the first time in her life she can see the mess I unwittingly leave behind (I do try) Thinking about it her poor eye sight probably explains how she ended up with me! .
.

 

[Pennine]

I am about 5 days into doing this. I tried 2 a white and whole wheat starter. The whole wheat one did not have a pleasant smell so I tossed it. Anyway I used my day 4 discard to make some bread, a bit early I know but came out with this beauty. I also don't have a stone or ducth oven and cooked it on a metal sheet covered with a stock pot.

Thanks for the inspiration JFB

 

[UKSkydiver]

Thanks to @Pennine for bumping this thread.

I have had a starter on the go for months since this thead started and I've probably made 8-10 small loaves.

Thanks for the instructions and I've been spreading the sourdough love too.

Here is this weekends effort. With chilli and fennel.

 

[H-Lowe]

View attachment 41290
Pleased with this one

Oh yeah, i like the look of that one.

Crispy crust?

 

[moto748]

This thread reminds me: I left my pre-ferment out in the garden in the sunshine this afternoon. I'd better go and rescue it!

 

[UKSkydiver]

My starter hadn't really bulked up after feeeding, so I added a teaspoon of CML Hog Norsk into the dough for sh!t5 and giggles.

Let's see how that turns out.

 

[UKSkydiver]

Let's see how that turns out.

Well something's happening