Bake your first sourdough 🤤

[MDalton]

After nearly two weeks, having had to put Brenda on emergency treatment a couple of times I’ve finally produced a loaf today. Although I’ve followed the principles from several websites and blogs, not sure I really followed any specific recipe in the end. I guess it’s like brewing, so long as you keep it clean, most things are recoverable.
This tastes bloody brilliant. Thank you, to whoever started this thread, for getting me back into bread baking. I was starting to go stir crazy!

 

[goodolpete]

I mix my starter flour water and salt together in a large jug with a spoon for 2 minutes. I then use my bread maker to knead for 20 minutes. I then transfer to a lined bread tin and let it rise for 12 to 16 hours, before baking at 200 deg C for approx 15 minutes. Very happy with the results I am getting.

I’m surprised you say 15 min baking. The OP says 50-55 min, Paul Hollywood says 45-50 min.

 

[bobukbrewer]

Goodolpete - i meant 55 minutes, I plead old age (75) and stupidity - but I make great bread aand great beer. For tonights loaf I have soaked 100 gm whole crystal malt in around 250 gm of water. Later today I will strain and use the liquor for my loaf, and will pat dry the grain and add it for the last minute of kneading.....

 

[RichardM]

I’m surprised you say 15 min baking. The OP says 50-55 min, Paul Hollywood says 45-50 min.

And that's a low temperature for bread

 

[bobukbrewer]

200 deg C setting I think my oven is a wee bit hotter than that....

 

[Pezza24]

Kevin finally roused himself from the dead this morning after much meddling. I broke the original jar he was living in so moved him and I don't think he liked the new jar.

Anyway I've mixed up a very sticky dough to the OP's recipe so should be baking tomorrow.

For the Dutch oven do I just need to put that in the oven for a while and then tip the dough in before the bake?

 

[UKSkydiver]

For the Dutch oven do I just need to put that in the oven for a while and then tip the dough in before the bake?

That's what I do. Heat oven and pot for 10-15 mins about 240c.
Take pot out, add dough (I line the pot with baking parchment) and reduce heat to 220c-ish, bake for 35-40 mins.
Then remove lid and bake for another 10ish mins

 

[foxy]

Goodolpete - i meant 55 minutes, I plead old age (75) and stupidity - but I make great bread aand great beer. For tonights loaf I have soaked 100 gm whole crystal malt in around 250 gm of water. Later today I will strain and use the liquor for my loaf, and will pat dry the grain and add it for the last minute of kneading.....

I like that idea with the crystal, I always tend to think of dry ingredients as 'dry' it has given me more food for thought now. I have some passata bottles which I keep for my yeast starters. I am now thinking of using that sweet wort, though quite heavily hopped, for the liquid content of the loaf.

 

[matt76]

I like that idea with the crystal, I always tend to think of dry ingredients as 'dry' it has given me more food for thought now. I have some passata bottles which I keep for my yeast starters. I am now thinking of using that sweet wort, though quite heavily hopped, for the liquid content of the loaf.
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If you're using hopped wort wouldn't the hops inhibit the microbes in your sour culture?

 

[foxy]

If you're using hopped wort wouldn't the hops inhibit the microbes in your sour culture?

I don't think so, it doesn't inhibit the yeast in beer. I usually do 1.000 g at a time this one I will do the one loaf first, I am quite looking forward to a hoppy loaf.
That is if the hops come through I doubt whether they will.

 

[bobukbrewer]

Foxy - collect your spare wort at end of mash as hops may impart unwanted flavours in the beer - UPDATE - baked the loaf with added crystal malt an hour ago - looks fantastic - but malt grains would not enter the dough in bread machine so I hand kneaded and folded until they were incorporated.....

 

[Pezza24]

Really pleased with how this bad boy turned out. Don't even care if it's **** inside. I might not even cut it just so Im'm not dissapointed. Cheers for all the help and for starting the thread.

 

[SamBrewster]

Took Jeffrey out of the fridge yesterday to get him going today. Big mistake. Smells like my offish wild plum beer today. In the bin and a new starter made. Other daughter this time and I think she is going to name it Alfie. Hopefully a better effort this time

 

[bobukbrewer]

My current home made wild sourdough starter is 4 months old, kept in a bowl, clingfilmed, room temperature, fed with 50 gm bottled water and 50 gm sainsburys taste the difference very strong white bread flour, what's the problem....?

 

[foxy]

Foxy - collect your spare wort at end of mash as hops may impart unwanted flavours in the beer - UPDATE - baked the loaf with added crystal malt an hour ago - looks fantastic - but malt grains would not enter the dough in bread machine so I hand kneaded and folded until they were incorporated.....

I doubt the hops would come through, no different to using beer in place of water. I never have had any wort to spare before the boil.
The strongest thing I have put in bread is kalonji seeds, tastes really good at the right amount, doesn't take much over the limit to make the taste go down hill.

 

[JFB]

My current home made wild sourdough starter is 4 months old, kept in a bowl, clingfilmed, room temperature, fed with 50 gm bottled water and 50 gm sainsburys taste the difference very strong white bread flour, what's the problem....?

Not sure, what's wrong or right with it?

 

[trummy]

Baked my first loaf yesterday, thought it would be stress-less after spending the morning try to fit a new sealed bottom bracket to my bike without the correct spanner(failed)
Mixed up the ingredients in the morning forgetting the salt. Added later. Left to rise, not much action, gave it a few twists and folds, not much action. Heating came on - one hour later had real growth! Put it in the cast iron pot which was worryingly a bit small. (I had rubbed olive oil over the baking paper as well) Banged in the oven 9.30 pm for 55 min (checked after 35 and the bread had reached the lid so had to discard that and loosely place over a piece of alu foil. Took that off and see the results! Bit too moist and I didnt want a thick crust as my mouth was still suffering after eating the wife's soda bread so all things considering not a bad first attempt.

Been to Lidl today bought one of theirs to compare - No contest , theirs tasteless by comparison

Thanks JFB for leading me down the path to a tasty morsel (that's all that's left after the Mrs has had her fill.

 

[JFB]

Baked my first loaf yesterday, thought it would be stress-less after spending the morning try to fit a new sealed bottom bracket to my bike without the correct spanner(failed)
Mixed up the ingredients in the morning forgetting the salt. Added later. Left to rise, not much action, gave it a few twists and folds, not much action. Heating came on - one hour later had real growth! Put it in the cast iron pot which was worryingly a bit small. (I had rubbed olive oil over the baking paper as well) Banged in the oven 9.30 pm for 55 min (checked after 35 and the bread had reached the lid so had to discard that and loosely place over a piece of alu foil. Took that off and see the results! Bit too moist and I didnt want a thick crust as my mouth was still suffering after eating the wife's soda bread so all things considering not a bad first attempt.

Been to Lidl today bought one of theirs to compare - No contest , theirs tasteless by comparison

Thanks JFB for leading me down the path to a tasty morsel (that's all that's left after the Mrs has had her fill.






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Brilliant mate that crumb looks lush
There's nothing as tasty as your own bread

 

[Vancouver_Brewer]

I made a sourdough loaf using the trub left over from fermentation as a starter.

To be precise, it was a dry hopped extract amber ale, racked to a new carboy after fermentation of about 7 days, then left to clear some for another 7 to 10 days before bottling, after bottling I used the sludge as a starter.

Mixed about half cup of sludge with some water and a full cup of bread flour, left covered in cupboard and fed it every day for about a week until I had a healthy starter going, then proceed with normal sourdough recipe/technique.

It was pretty spectacular bread - it had an amazing hoppy taste and was excellent with cheese.
You could really taste the beer!

Possibly not to everyone's tastes but I loved it and so did my wife who doesn't drink much beer.

 

[Zephyr259]

Starter has begun! Rye flour and water mixed and sitting in a jar on the kitchen counter.