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How to make sourdough bread...

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    Putting a boule into a preheated 500° Dutch Oven is not easy... for you guys baking your bread in a DO here's an interesting new wrinkle.🤗

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      Originally posted by Breadhead View Post
      Putting a boule into a preheated 500° Dutch Oven is not easy... for you guys baking your bread in a DO here's an interesting new wrinkle.🤗

      http://blog.kingarthurflour.com/2017...ld-dutch-oven/
      Interesting article from the KAF people (thanks, Brian!) ... but putting a boule into a preheated 500° dutch oven is dead easy ... if your DO is a Lodge 5 qt. and the DO "lid" (lower right) is used as the base on which to place the boule and the DO "bottom" (upper left) is the lid to cover the boule.

      Click image for larger version

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      • Breadhead
        Breadhead commented
        Editing a comment
        True that! But 500° is still hot. I rarely use a DO but I might try mine again just to test this crazy idea.🤔

      • Thunder77
        Thunder77 commented
        Editing a comment
        It works very well. Just make sure the top and bottom handles are not lined up, so it's easier to get the top off! (Ask me how I know) 😜

      • MBMorgan
        MBMorgan commented
        Editing a comment
        Ah yes ... the "handle alignment lesson". We all do it once.

      My Brother-in-Law is the sourdough bread "Guru" in our family.
      I need to have him read this thread.
      He is wanting to open a business, adding many family food favorites, my BBQ, Chili and his MOST EXCELLENT bread.
      I have no clue how to make bread, but Chili? THE BEST IN THE STATE OF ARIZONA!
      SHOULD go really well with his sourdough bread!
      S. O.

      Comment


      • HouseHomey
        HouseHomey commented
        Editing a comment
        I would love be your chili recipe if it's available.

      HouseHomey 1st, I purchase the best red Chile powder known to man and woman (in my opinion) from a kind and knowledgeable lady in New Mexico.
      It is very basic, namely
      NuMex (New Mexico) 6-4 Heritage.
      It is ripened to a beautiful red color, roasted and ground into powder by a rancher in the Hatch Valley.
      THIS is the base on which I build the red chili dish.
      HOWEVER, THIS thread is about bread.
      So...
      I will send you a private message.
      S. O.

      Comment


      • MBMorgan
        MBMorgan commented
        Editing a comment
        Gents ... be aware that the PM system is down at the moment. You might want to start a recipe thread instead.

      • BBQ_Bill
        BBQ_Bill commented
        Editing a comment
        Ah... after a very detailed message, this sad truth "slapped" me in the head.
        Thank you kind sir for the "wake-up" call.

      • HouseHomey
        HouseHomey commented
        Editing a comment
        Thank you for you effort sir. I will patiently await. Respectful Bow to you.

      Going to the thread named: What's your Chili "Base"?
      It was started by Abom back just before Christmas last year.
      Last edited by Spinaker; August 6, 2017, 08:21 PM. Reason: Added direct link :)

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      • BBQ_Bill
        BBQ_Bill commented
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        Thanks man, U Rock!

      • Spinaker
        Spinaker commented
        Editing a comment
        No problem, my friend BBQ_Bill

      I do NOT like posting on #666
      Last edited by BBQ_Bill; August 6, 2017, 10:10 PM.

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      • ComfortablyNumb
        ComfortablyNumb commented
        Editing a comment
        Reminds me of when I was once being drug tested (required for CDL holders) My SS# contains five '6` of which three are in succession. The lady performing the test did not want to do it.

      HouseHomey please click on this link > What's Your Chili "Base"?
      Then scroll down to Posts #20 thru #22 to read about the chili my Mother and I make and the story behind it.
      Last edited by BBQ_Bill; September 17, 2017, 12:55 PM. Reason: Add Link

      Comment


        The Akorn makes a great bread oven! I let these go just a bit too long, but I am still getting used to the Akorn. They were still delicious! Just a couple of standard 70% hydration loaves. I love the fact that I can bake in the summer without heating up the kitchen!
        Attached Files
        Last edited by Thunder77; September 17, 2017, 10:31 AM. Reason: added content.

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        • Thunder77
          Thunder77 commented
          Editing a comment
          I went with 500 degrees on this bake.

        • Spinaker
          Spinaker commented
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          Looks great!

        • RonB
          RonB commented
          Editing a comment
          Pass the butter please...

        I've made only a few loaves the past few months due to my travel schedule at work. I'm still visiting Salt Lake City about every other week, or every 3rd week. Quite the journey to get there, and when I'm home I'm either working, hanging with my wife, or playing with my 17 month old.

        Two nights ago, I started a preferment with 50/50 flour and water, but I added 15g of Vital Wheat Gluten. In the morning, I added the rest of the flour/water, then started to knead it. It was soupy! It was like there was too much water in it (there wasn't because I calculated it correctly), and very little gluten strands developed.

        I'm pretty sure it had to be with the amount of VWG I added. Most only recommend a table/tea spoon, but I probably doubled or tripled that (I'm guess with 15g).

        Do you think because my dough was soupy was because of the amount of VWG I added? Have you run into this issue?

        How much VWG do you use? And do you normally add it to the pre-ferment or do you add it right before you start kneading?

        By the way, I salvaged the entire thing because I dumped some out, and added a bunch more flour. Who knows what my hydration was, but it was the only way it was going to work.

        I'm also not keeping a starter any more due to my travel schedule If you all use instant yeast, how much are you putting in the pre-ferment vs. the next day?

        My son is obsessed with my bread. He calls it "Bah" and he can't get enough of it! He's going to be a junior bread head!

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        • Thunder77
          Thunder77 commented
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          Scott, as long as you are home at least every two weeks, you can maintain a starter in the fridge.

        • scottranda
          scottranda commented
          Editing a comment
          Thunder77 I know. I just am getting too lazy bc of my travel schedule. I need convenient right now. I’ll go back to sourdough eventually.

        • Thunder77
          Thunder77 commented
          Editing a comment
          I hear you! Convenient is good! 😎

        scottranda I have used VWG at 2% for a bagel recipe that used about 1,000 grams of flour, so 20 grams of VWG. It worked fine for a 57% hydration recipe--very stiff dough. I added at the 2% rate for both the pre-ferment and the final dough, treating it as if was was just part of the total flour for each addition. I can't understand how VWG would make things soupy. Maybe a measurement error?

        Edit add-on: A bit more detail: I used Reinhart's BBA ("Bread Baker''s Apprentice") bagel recipe, which calls for about half of the flour and ALL of the water to be in the pre-ferment, so, well over 100% hydration and very soupy for the PF. I treated VWG as flour, so, for 1,000 grams of 'flour", I did 980 grams of KA BF plus 20 grams of VWG. This recipe makes GREAT bagels--very chewy. I think BBA is a great book for bread bakers
        Last edited by Willy; September 27, 2017, 09:28 AM.

        Comment


        • scottranda
          scottranda commented
          Editing a comment
          Who the heck knows. One other time I ran into a very soupy dough (months and months ago), but I can't remember if I used VWG or not. I had to dump that whole batch out (didn't even try to salvage it... but I HAD to salvage yesterday's dough). I'm going to keep an eye on it for now on.

        Originally posted by scottranda View Post
        I'm also not keeping a starter any more due to my travel schedule If you all use instant yeast, how much are you putting in the pre-ferment vs. the next day?
        Scott ... Like you, I've let the starter fall by the wayside (pretty much for the same reason). When I bake a large (1750g) loaf with a preferment, I generally use 0.4g (scant 1/8 tsp) commercial yeast in the preferment and 3g (about 3/4 tsp) in the next-day dough.

        Comment


        • scottranda
          scottranda commented
          Editing a comment
          Long fermentation dough is the only way to go... glad to see you've been able to incorporate commercial yeast into the pre-ferment. I'm incorporating just a pinch, but ti doesn't seem to "bubble" much the next day. I always have to add more the 2nd day.

        • MBMorgan
          MBMorgan commented
          Editing a comment
          scottranda - If you have a copy of Forkish's FWSY, it's the "White Bread with Poolish" formula that I often bake.

        Regarding starters: I have continued to have trouble with mine becoming "acetone-y", so, I've purchased a starter from KA (I'm spending money to do an experiment for y'all--and me, too LOL ). I know the conventional wisdom is that a starter will eventually be over-taken by "local" bugs, but I'm trying this anyway, because I've read other convention wisdom that says an established starter will out compete invaders. Alas, I am skeptical of most conventional wisdom regarding bread. Anyway, so far, the KA starter has NOT become tainted with acetone, but it's only about 4 weeks old. I will post again on this as the experiment progresses. I am also doing my normal starter side-by-side as a control; it's OK so far too.

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        • scottranda
          scottranda commented
          Editing a comment
          Excellent! Looking forward to the results!

        • Potkettleblack
          Potkettleblack commented
          Editing a comment
          I went with a KA starter, and have been running it for months. It is very hearty, in that I have left it unfed in my 45-55* fridge for up to 3 weeks without killing it.
          I dunno if it's been colonized by the yeast on the KA white flour and Bob's Red Mill Whole Rye I've been feeding it, but it is robust and makes tasty bread. Since the local whatever killed my previous experiment, I'm not sure.

        • Thunder77
          Thunder77 commented
          Editing a comment
          I maintain a starter in my fridge that I feed once a week. It is very robust so far.

        Potkettleblack I think, which is to say I think I know but might be wrong, that yeasts have very little influence on flavor. It's the lactobacillus bacteria that give the sour flavors, plus, in my case, some strain of bacteria that ends up leading to the off-flavor of acetone, which is pretty strong smelling. My starters have all become very active within 3-4 days and easily pass the float test, which I attribute to yeast activity. I don't think the bacteria do much in terms of producing CO2 and I think the bacteria takes much longer to get a good foothold than does the yeast, which is why I think that whatever yields acetone is able to establish its own foothold. I am hoping the KA starter is "infected" by so many good guys that bad acetone guys don't have a chance. We shall see; my hopes have been dashed before.

        If any of y'all think differently, please chime in.

        Comment


          I think you're bailing on your starters for no reason.
          Here you will find answers to some of the common questions that arise when people start baking sourdough bread. Some of these answers refer to Bread Matters by Andrew Whitley which has extensive advice on starting sourdoughs with wheat, rye, spelt, chick peas or rice as well as suggested baking schedules and recipes.

          My starter smells of pear drops/nail varnish remover/paint stripper. Is it safe to use?

          Problem

          Starters, usually wheat and usually ones that have been kept in a not-very-cool place for a while, begin to smell rather ‘chemical’.

          What to do

          This a fairly common occurrence with wheat starters, especially in summer: they start smelling of ‘pear drops’, i.e. a bit chemical. The smell is actually acetone. Under certain conditions, the lactic acid bacteria in the sourdough produce copious amounts of acetic acid which gives the familiar vinegar smell. Another couple of chemical steps and this can turn into acetone. It can be a bit alarming to sniff your sourdough and get the aroma of nail varnish remover, but it is nothing to worry about. As soon as you dilute the sourdough by refreshing it with flour and water, the smell goes.

          If you want to delay the onset of the acetone effect, you can stiffen up your starter by adding flour to the pot of it that you keep in the fridge. A stiffer sour will work more slowly, but, in the long run, will produce more acetic than lactic acid.


          Mileage may vary.

          Comment


            Potkettleblack (I love your moniker!) Yeah, I've seen info like that and it is true that the bread made with acetone-y starter doesn't have off flavors: I've done it more than once. I have also kept starters at room temp and in a wine cooler and they have always ended up acetone-y, so, with my mileage, at least, temp has nothing to do with it. Nonetheless, the acetone just seems...WRONG!!! I have considered feeding more than once daily, but haven't tried that yet. It grates enough throwing out so much starter doing it once daily. I am now using the fridge to keep the feeding rate low. If I was baking bread daily, it wouldn't be an issue, but two people can only eat so much bread. Experimentation continues.

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