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Just a simple loaf again - I added 20% wholemeal as I have a bag I’m trying to use up. I found it always needs a touch more water (as does any spelt or rye addition over 10%) than my regular recipe, but the hydration on this loaf was still only 78% so quite manageable.

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Had a go at decorating sourdough. My starter is as old as the lockdown. Started second 16kg bag of flour... my lot does not seem to get enough of it, even purchased baking steel as my baking stone was not up to the job. Tried one loaf in my wood fired pizza oven, inside Dutch oven and it turned out fine, however it’s too much of a worry about the loaf...
 

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Doing a bit of a cheats sourdough... get my bread machine do the kneading work.
300g starter
500g Canadian bread flour
2 tsp salt
(2tbs olive oil...)
250-300ml water depending
Put it in bread machine on dough cycle in evening. Take it out when done- into bowl covered with cling film and in the fridge overnight. Take out of fridge first thing in morning. After two hours final shape for the bread basket
Leave for an hour to proof. Turn on the oven to max with steel in. Give it 45minutes to get hot. Turn out bread on floured peel, slash and bake for 45 minutes.
 
Doing a bit of a cheats sourdough... get my bread machine do the kneading work.
300g starter
500g Canadian bread flour
2 tsp salt
(2tbs olive oil...)
250-300ml water depending
Put it in bread machine on dough cycle in evening. Take it out when done- into bowl covered with cling film and in the fridge overnight. Take out of fridge first thing in morning. After two hours final shape for the bread basket
Leave for an hour to proof. Turn on the oven to max with steel in. Give it 45minutes to get hot. Turn out bread on floured peel, slash and bake for 45 minutes.
Can I ask some questions?
“Take it out when done”. Is that when the dough cycle ends? How long is that?
“After two hours final shape” you leave it at room temp for two hours?
How hot does your oven go up to?
Thanks In Advance,
GOP
 
Can I ask some questions?
“Take it out when done”. Is that when the dough cycle ends? How long is that?
“After two hours final shape” you leave it at room temp for two hours?
How hot does your oven go up to?
Thanks In Advance,
GOP
Hello, I just run the bread machine on dough cycle. I think it’s about 2hours in my machine with resting, or put it through pizza dough cycle - that one is 45 minutes. Put the dough in bowl after dough cycle finish and cling film it and then pop into the fridge. In morning take it out and let it get to room temperature - about two hours- I get up at about 5:30 or 6 so by 8 is ready to final shape/ proof in the basket - Turn out onto floured board and pull and fold to get air out and to form taut ball, into basket for final proof for about an hour. Oven goes to 220, got baking steel in there that helps with the bottom crust. Preheat for 45 minutes because of the steel so it accumulates heat.
 
My cheat's sourdough:

4 hours after feeding starter, put 400g of tepid water in a bowl. Add 200g of starter and mix in. Add 650g bread flour. Mix until just combined.

Half hour later, add 20g salt and 'pull over' the dough (pinch from one side, pull over to opposite side. Not flipping mixture over), moving round the bowl. Takes 20 seconds?

Half hour later, pull dough over again.

Do the same every 45 mins for 3 more hours.

After this, empty out onto floured surface, stretch dough from outside and bring it into the centre all the way around. Place into tea towel lined bowl. Put in fridge overnight.

In the morning, preheat oven with Dutch oven in (any casserole with lid will do) to max oven temp. Score bread, put into Dutch oven lined with baking parchment, covered, for 35 mins. Reduce temp to 220 when putting bread in.

Remove from Dutch oven and put in oven until crust as desired (another 15 mins for me).

No kneading, no nuffin. Just need to get off the sofa to pull the bread across once every 45 mins. My kind of baking!
 
“4 hours after feeding starter, put 400g of tepid water in a bowl. Add 200g of starter and mix in. Add 650g bread flour. Mix until just combined.”
Obviously this works for you, but that’s the heaviest list of ingredients in a recipe I have seen.
How big is the finished loaf? (I use 750g of ingredients, and they rise to fill a 3lb loaf tin.)
 
“4 hours after feeding starter, put 400g of tepid water in a bowl. Add 200g of starter and mix in. Add 650g bread flour. Mix until just combined.”
Obviously this works for you, but that’s the heaviest list of ingredients in a recipe I have seen.
How big is the finished loaf? (I use 750g of ingredients, and they rise to fill a 3lb loaf tin.)

It doesn't really lose any weight, so finished loaf is approx 1250g. Possible to make a half loaf, and take about a third off the baking time, but it makes a good loaf and lasts 3 or 4 days. I also make them for my grandparents, and they use half and freeze half.
 
I've also been trying my hand at sourdough. I'm on my 3rd 12.5kg bag since lockdown began (been baking for friends and family too) and the bread it produces is so tasty now. I had a piece of white sandwich bread the other day and I'm not sure I can ever go back.

It's almost embarrassingly easy to make, too.

Not too big.
 
Not strictly bread but did anybody use their sourdough to make pizza base? Absolutely wonderful!! What a revelation.
 
Trying a few different techniques to improve my sourdough games today. I have been struggling to get sufficient strength to my dough using 75% hydration and have had a few disheartening loaves go pancake on me (possibly because of the warmer weather).

Today I’ve autolysised (?) 465g of Sainsbury’s bread flour (13.4% protein), 30g of ground spent brewing grains and 5g vital wheat gluten (to up the protein by ~1%) 30 minutes later I added 10g salt, 100g of 100% hydration leaven which had doubled in size and not fallen back (I also put a small sample of dough at this stage in a small jar to monitor when bulk fermentation has doubled in size and I can shape and put in the fridge for baking in the morning).

I‘ve completed a good bench kneading, a lamination and am now resting it in preparation for a series of coil foldings.

Hopefully tomorrows loaf will be a bit more presentable than the sorry excuses I’ve experienced recently!

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All the extra attention was definitely worth it. Best loaf so far today and would happily have paid money in an artisan bakery for it. Crisp not crunchy crust, light and fluffy crumb with a nice chew. Oven spring got a bit restricted by my casserole dish/baking sheet setup which flattened the ears a bit and my decoration needs work, but it tastes great. Might repeat this whole thing again exactly for a Thursday picnic and make sure it wasn't a fluke!

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Not strictly bread but did anybody use their sourdough to make pizza base? Absolutely wonderful!! What a revelation.
I may have to try this, do you use a standard white sourdough recipe?

I use this recipe for pizza dough (makes 4 bases). Dead easy, no kneading, just plan ahead and leave it in the fridge for days. If you're used to dealing with sourdough, shaping into a boule with a scraper and not knocking out any air helps. Tastes amazing cooked on a stone in the chimnea fired up with birch wood. Cooks in 90 seconds. Since going plant-based I've had some very nice mozzarella substitute but actually prefer traditional cheese-less marinara. Tomato sauce (concentrated puree, sweet smoked paprika and olive oil), fresh garlic oil and fresh basil. I also add black olives and mushrooms if the mood takes me!
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https://www.seriouseats.com/recipes/2012/07/basic-neapolitan-pizza-dough-recipe.html
 
Most recent yeasted tin loaf, used a sponge as I forgot to do a poolish
rRgSIL2.jpg

about 20% whole wheat, 5% semolina used in a water roux, the rest mathews organic white bread flour
 
I need to get my sourdough starter going again, I've not touched it in months.

I like sourdough pizza, it's very good if you use about 5% starter in an 18 hour room temperature ferment. I almost always just use instant yeast though, I'm a bit lazy

Here's some of my recent pizzas and a focaccia
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I may have to try this, do you use a standard white sourdough recipe?

I use this recipe for pizza dough (makes 4 bases). Dead easy, no kneading, just plan ahead and leave it in the fridge for days. If you're used to dealing with sourdough, shaping into a boule with a scraper and not knocking out any air helps. Tastes amazing cooked on a stone in the chimnea fired up with birch wood. Cooks in 90 seconds. Since going plant-based I've had some very nice mozzarella substitute but actually prefer traditional cheese-less marinara. Tomato sauce (concentrated puree, sweet smoked paprika and olive oil), fresh garlic oil and fresh basil. I also add black olives and mushrooms if the mood takes me!
View attachment 30356

https://www.seriouseats.com/recipes/2012/07/basic-neapolitan-pizza-dough-recipe.html
Indeed basic sourdough recipe. Just scale it down a bit. Leave it in fridge overnight but works well even when done in morning. Absolutely lovely pizza base. Gives it a nice tang and lovely crunch. And after pizza is done the oven still hot enough to do some crumble or roast in :)
 

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