Welcome!


This is a membership forum. Guests can view 5 pages for free. To participate, please join.

[ Pitmaster Club Information | Join Now | Login | Contact Us ]

Only 4 free page views remaining.

Announcement

Collapse
No announcement yet.

How to make sourdough bread...

Collapse
This is a sticky topic.
X
X
 
  • Filter
  • Time
  • Show
Clear All
new posts

    Sunday morning
    Attached Files

    Comment


      This the first pure levain dough I've made. We were at the doctors office this morning and he was an hour late, so I am fairly certain it over-proofed. But it is by far the best tasting bread I've made. It's the overnight country blond from the Forkish book. Just fabulous flavor, and texture, even though it seems to have collapsed.


      Click image for larger version

Name:	IMG_3793.jpg
Views:	226
Size:	147.7 KB
ID:	1267305 Click image for larger version

Name:	IMG_3792.jpg
Views:	219
Size:	136.4 KB
ID:	1267304

      Comment


      • hoovarmin
        hoovarmin commented
        Editing a comment
        Richard Chrz yes, I usually get almost double that rise with the previous cooks.

      • Richard Chrz
        Richard Chrz commented
        Editing a comment
        hoovarmin, I would not worry about it. If it repeats over and over, then we need to look at what is happening.

      • hoovarmin
        hoovarmin commented
        Editing a comment
        Richard Chrz sounds like a plan to me.

      Originally posted by hoovarmin View Post
      This the first pure levain dough I've made. We were at the doctors office this morning and he was an hour late, so I am fairly certain it over-proofed. But it is by far the best tasting bread I've made. It's the overnight country blond from the Forkish book. Just fabulous flavor, and texture, even though it seems to have collapsed.

      hoovarmin -

      Scoring will help let the top open up since it gives the expanding dough a place to go without having to get to the point where it forces through the crust.

      On convection - if you're just steaming the oven, the convection will remove the steam and can prematurely set the top crust. Another thing to consider is if there's a top element that radiates onto the crust. If the loaf is covered in a dutch oven until sprung these effects are lessened, perhaps to the point of not mattering.

      I'd try turning off convection if you can and scoring it and see how it goes. One of the fun but also frustrating things about baking is that lots of things can affect something like oven spring, but zeroing in on what that is in any particular case just takes trial and error. I mean, there's also how you preshape and shape, etc.

      PS: I used to worry a lot about overproofing but it's actually pretty hard to do with a sourdough in reasonable temps since the fermentation is slower than yeast doughs. The way I judge it now is are there visible bubbles, does the dough feel light and jiggly, and does it seem to do well with the poke test (though that test is... not 100%). For a point of reference, my doughs seem to be fully fermented in about 4-6 hours at temps in the mid-70s with 10% of levain (i.e. 70g starter when using 700g of flour).
      Last edited by rickgregory; August 5, 2022, 10:05 AM.

      Comment


        This mornings bakes.

        Click image for larger version

Name:	233AA63A-A14D-4B8C-A007-EA20E27BE767.jpg
Views:	201
Size:	256.7 KB
ID:	1273236

        Comment


        • hoovarmin
          hoovarmin commented
          Editing a comment
          Spectacular as usual.

        Sunday morning
        Attached Files

        Comment


        • hoovarmin
          hoovarmin commented
          Editing a comment
          They look great

        • jhapka
          jhapka commented
          Editing a comment
          hoovarmin thanks! I’ve switched final shaping techniques and it’s solving a lot of consistency headaches I’ve been dealing with

        • hoovarmin
          hoovarmin commented
          Editing a comment
          jhapka please elaborate. My shaping techniques are primitive and clumsy.

        hoovarmin I figured I’d do a post instead of a comment. Usually I pre shape on the bench and ~30 min later I final shape by making a square with rounded edges preround is upside down on bench. Before I was folding the near side 1/3 the way up the square toward the far side and then folding the right side over the left, stitching the left and right sides of these flaps and finally rolling it away to form the loaf.

        the dough was too elastic for this approach. Meaning as I understand it: when the dough was stretched it was eager to return to it’s original position.

        I switched to folding 1/3 of the preround from right to left and then fold the other side slightly overlapping. Then I roll it away from me and sort of cloak it on the bench to seal the seams.

        Comment


        My inaugural sourdough cook. Decided about 2 weeks ago to make a sourdough starter. Took about 8 or so days till I was happy with it and then moved to the fridge and waiting a week and then re-fed it a few times before making this loaf.

        Used the beginner sourdough technique from the Perfect Loaf (levain, autolyse, bulk ferment and then cold proof overnight). Cooked in a Dutch oven. Not bad for a beginner. I’m pretty happy with the results. I also used some of the discard to make waffles this morning.

        Click image for larger version

Name:	5FA6D9B5-AFDB-4F8A-B074-09A4DAF51D28.jpg
Views:	184
Size:	267.4 KB
ID:	1275410

        Comment


        • shify
          shify commented
          Editing a comment
          MBMorgan - Didn't get a picture as I didn't cut the loaf til much later in the day but the crumb was good. Nothing dense or gummy and some good big holes in the crumb. Some room for improvement as expected but cannot complain about anything - whether i can keep it up or make bread regularly remains to be seen

        • hoovarmin
          hoovarmin commented
          Editing a comment
          Bro that is on helluva first cook. Congratulations, you clearly nailed it.

        • Allon
          Allon commented
          Editing a comment
          Damn. That looks good enough to eat!

        Sourdough baguettes this morning. Both are just about 18 inches.

        Click image for larger version

Name:	11D9DF83-9733-46D9-A80C-6DD8477647A3.jpg
Views:	180
Size:	186.8 KB
ID:	1277144
        Click image for larger version

Name:	BD672DC4-8536-4FCD-B3D8-F05FFDA99F34.jpg
Views:	167
Size:	214.4 KB
ID:	1277145

        Comment


        • hoovarmin
          hoovarmin commented
          Editing a comment
          Gorgeous

        • RonB
          RonB commented
          Editing a comment
          Really sweet sourdough.

        Sunday Morning
        Attached Files

        Comment


        • hoovarmin
          hoovarmin commented
          Editing a comment
          Looks great

        This was some damn good bread. I made two boules and a friend dropped by so we gave one to her to take home. I think I'm ready to begin scoring the tops pre-cook, but when I turned these out of the proofing baskets they were cracked on the top already. Not sure what causes that.

        Click image for larger version  Name:	IMG_3884.jpg Views:	0 Size:	5.25 MB ID:	1279409 Click image for larger version  Name:	IMG_3887.jpg Views:	0 Size:	5.36 MB ID:	1279408
        Last edited by hoovarmin; August 22, 2022, 10:18 AM. Reason: spelling error corrected

        Comment


        • Richard Chrz
          Richard Chrz commented
          Editing a comment
          Beautiful loaf and crumb!

        • RonB
          RonB commented
          Editing a comment
          Great job.The crust is great, and I love the crumb.

        • hoovarmin
          hoovarmin commented
          Editing a comment
          Richard Chrz and RonB thank you

        Some of you who've been around for a while may remember that I've been known to occasionally post a hopefully-helpful spreadsheet to facilitate the equally occasionally challenging process of baking bread. Well ... here comes another one.

        I know that lately, there's been some discussion about levain's and this spreadsheet is a calculator designed to help out with the process of creating one. The Excel spreadsheet is online and available from the following link to dropbox:



        Please let me know if you have problems accessing it. Also, even though it's intended to be pretty much self-explanatory, feel free to let me know if you need any help with it.

        Comment


        • Allon
          Allon commented
          Editing a comment
          Excellent job @MBMorgan!

          We need one of those to automate the cooking logbook.
          I have trouble writing these days...

          Just a thought

        • hoovarmin
          hoovarmin commented
          Editing a comment
          MBMorgan no problems at all.

        • MBMorgan
          MBMorgan commented
          Editing a comment
          Allon - Thanks! If you're looking for an Excel version of Meathead's cooking log, there's a link to it on this page: https://amazingribs.com/use-cooking-log-or-diary/

        I still have a long ways to go before I feel successful in baguettes, but, maybe after about another 100 or 200 of them I will have worked out most my questions. Here was 4 18 inch baguettes from this morning.

        Click image for larger version

Name:	612A63F8-1A0C-418D-9E5A-00AB54DF7914.jpg
Views:	119
Size:	186.6 KB
ID:	1281186


        Click image for larger version  Name:	7FB4E770-3BB1-465C-BF60-6C5A10191E7E.jpg Views:	10 Size:	5.96 MB ID:	1281165
        Last edited by Richard Chrz; August 25, 2022, 10:44 AM.

        Comment


        • SheilaAnn
          SheilaAnn commented
          Editing a comment
          Since we can’t taste them and judging by the looks, I’d say you are incorrect, good man. As always, winners!
          Last edited by SheilaAnn; August 25, 2022, 03:17 PM. Reason: Stupid autocorrect

        Ran a 5K Saturday so my Sunday morning bread became my Monday evening bread. First time doing both at simultaneously in Dutch ovens.
        Attached Files
        Last edited by jhapka; August 29, 2022, 06:21 PM.

        Comment


        • hoovarmin
          hoovarmin commented
          Editing a comment
          Fantastic

        • MBMorgan
          MBMorgan commented
          Editing a comment
          That’s a fine looking crumb right there …

        After a week away, had to feed my starter so decided to take the opportunity to make another loaf following The Perfect Loaf. My times are slightly longer than listed as my house is kept cooler so need for time for proofing. Between the levain, bulk fermentation and shaping, the bread took about 12 hours at room temp and then cold proofed about 16 hours.

        Did a poor job with the lame this time but otherwise another pretty good loaf

        Click image for larger version

Name:	EE144DE8-7630-4125-877B-70DF3F779882.jpg
Views:	121
Size:	274.3 KB
ID:	1284054

        Click image for larger version

Name:	81CBDE8B-8DF5-4CB0-850A-5C87DE6447CB.jpg
Views:	112
Size:	154.0 KB
ID:	1284055

        Comment


        • hoovarmin
          hoovarmin commented
          Editing a comment
          Looks damn fine to me!

        A baguette and a French loaf baked this morning.


        Click image for larger version

Name:	7381C086-6DAC-4592-99D7-6E264578273E.jpg
Views:	130
Size:	129.2 KB
ID:	1285784

        Click image for larger version

Name:	5EF91346-FD85-45CD-A1B3-6CDED626B3E2.jpg
Views:	119
Size:	279.9 KB
ID:	1285785

        Comment

        Announcement

        Collapse
        No announcement yet.
        Working...
        X
        false
        0
        Guest
        Guest
        500
        ["pitmaster-my-membership","login","join-pitmaster","lostpw","reset-password","special-offers","help","nojs","meat-ups","gifts","authaau-alpha","ebooklogin-start","alpha","start"]
        false
        false
        {"count":0,"link":"/forum/announcements/","debug":""}
        Yes
        ["\/forum\/free-deep-dive-guide-ebook-downloads","\/forum\/free-deep-dive-guide-ebook-downloads\/1157845-paid-members-download-your-6-deep-dive-guide-ebooks-for-free-here","\/forum\/the-pitcast","\/forum\/national-barbecue-news-magazine","\/forum\/national-barbecue-news-magazine\/national-barbecue-news-magazine-aa","\/forum\/national-barbecue-news-magazine\/national-barbecue-news-magazine-aa\/bbq-news-magazine-2019-issues","\/forum\/national-barbecue-news-magazine\/national-barbecue-news-magazine-aa\/bbq-news-magazine-2020-issues","\/forum\/national-barbecue-news-magazine\/national-barbecue-news-magazine-aa\/bbq-news-magazine-2021-issues","\/forum\/national-barbecue-news-magazine\/national-barbecue-news-magazine-aa\/bbq-news-magazine-2022-issues","\/forum\/national-barbecue-news-magazine\/national-barbecue-news-magazine-aa\/current-2023-issues","\/forum\/national-barbecue-news-magazine\/national-barbecue-news-magazine-aa\/current-2024-issues","\/forum\/free-deep-dive-guide-ebook-downloads\/1165909-trial-members-download-your-free-deep-dive-guide-ebook-here"]
        /forum/free-deep-dive-guide-ebook-downloads/1165909-trial-members-download-your-free-deep-dive-guide-ebook-here