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How to make sourdough bread...

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    I absolutely adore craft breads. You guys are awesome, gotta get into this.

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      After making my first starter over a seven day period, everything was looking good. I'd been carrying it from house to house and feeding it twice per day per Hamelman. I had a short window of time to bake and was ready to go. Then came the screw up. Instead of making the build to bake in the morning, I did a feed. Oops. So the next morning I took the ripe starter and made sourdough pancakes.

      Sometimes mistakes have a silver lining! Anyway, won't have an opportunity to try baking sourdough for a month or so it's back to pan bread for me.

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        I’m now using 100% commercial yeast, and not sourdough because it’s too complicated to keep up with my travel schedule. My question is: Am I sacrificing flavor by using commercial (jar) yeast? Even if I’m letting the water and flour saturate overnight? Do I need to add a pinch of commercial yeast overnight to build the flavor, or am I just sacrificing the long fermentation flavor by going commercial?

        My bread still tastes pretty daggone good!

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        • Skip
          Skip commented
          Editing a comment
          Hi scottranda. I say if you like the taste as is and don't have time to mess with SD Starter then you have already won. Save SD for when you have more time to work at it. Good job.

        • gwschenk
          gwschenk commented
          Editing a comment
          I think you should add yeast to your overnight sponge. Slow fermentation builds flavor.

        As long as you are happy...

        However, I don't recall seeing a recipe that doesn't call for some yeast in the overnight ferment. Think about it - the yeast causes chemical reactions that are going all night. That has to have some effect on flavor. My thought is that once the water wets the flour any reaction stops - the flour's wet. This is not a scientific observation - just my thoughts. It sounds like it's time for a side by side comparison. You need to make two overnight loaves - with and without yeast, and report your findings here. Forkish has a good recipe for an overnight ferment that is now my go to recipe.

        As far a using a sourdough starter, that will definitely change the flavor. Whether or not that is good is up to you. I personally don't care for sour bread. I have tried to make non-sour sourdough bread, but have not been successful. I may try again if the mood strikes me, but I do enjoy the bread I make now.

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        • scottranda
          scottranda commented
          Editing a comment
          How much is "some" for you? I’ve used a pinch of jar yeast and maaaybe produces a few bubbles by the morning. I’ve just been using jar yeast for the rise. I still let water and flour overnight. Better that way 😃

        I use the yeast below, and Forkish sez 1/4 tsp for a two boule recipe for overnight. With that I get somewhere between double and triple rise overnight, and it's nice and bubbly the next morning.

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          70% hydration. 10% buckwheat flour, 90% KA white bread flour. Preferment the entire dough with 1/8 teaspoon of yeast last night. Added 1.5 teaspoon of yeast this morning. I didn’t add anymore flour this morning since I added it all last night. What do you think of that method?

          I only kind of like the buckwheat. I really want to get into grain bread, but having trouble finding the flour for that. I’ve found an artisan flour maker outside of Asheville and Durham, but that’s a small drive for me.
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          • scottranda
            scottranda commented
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            Tasted great if you absolutely love buckwheat!! I like semolina better.

          You can't ALWAYS win, right?? I bought some local NC flour last week when I was in Asheville. Picked it up at the local Co-Op (community grocery store). Here's the flour I used:

          Fresh 75 bread flour cold stone milled from organic wheat grown locally in the South. Best for breads, pizza, bagels, and pasta.


          I used my standard 70% hydration with that bread flour linked above. I figured I was good. Then I started mixing it, then shaping it, and realized it was extremely sticky. I gave it a shot since I've never used that flour before. So, do I just need to reduce the hydration? I had plenty of yeast activity, and I figured just not enough gluten development due to too much hydration.

          Your thoughts? What would you do differently? I did pick up some of the 85-bread flour + whole wheat flour (Carolina Ground brand), so I can mix it if needed.

          (You have my permission to LAUGH at my loaf. I nearly fell over from laughter when I took the stainless steel bowl off!)
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          • MBMorgan
            MBMorgan commented
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            I suggest that you call it "Sourdough Ciabatta" and declare victory ... ...

          • Willy
            Willy commented
            Editing a comment
            My first Forkish loaf looked like that. Yeah, cut back on hydration would be my guess.

          I have been away from artisan breads for a while, just doing regular yeast-raised same day breads. So I just went with two small boules. 70% hydration, overnight ferment with 400 grams of starter, and 80% of the flour. Added the remaining flour in the morning, and baked yesterday evening. In the one picture you can see I got more oven spring on one side. I must have misted that one a little better! The crust was out of this world good!
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          Last edited by Thunder77; April 24, 2018, 09:34 AM.

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          • scottranda
            scottranda commented
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            Very nice! I’ve been too busy traveling to make bread.

          • Thunder77
            Thunder77 commented
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            scottranda, me too! I finally had a chance this weekend, so I grabbed it.

          70% hydration. ~20% semolina. ~30% of that local flour from Asheville, NC. The rest is King Arthur regular bread flour.

          Preferment the night before.

          Awesome rise! Perhaps I’ve been over proofing? I’m experimenting on that now. The taste was outstanding! Crumb was perfect, but I have no pics of that. Ate it too fast!
          Attached Files

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          • scottranda
            scottranda commented
            Editing a comment
            And I know that’s a loaded question based on yeast activity and ambient temp!

          • Pequod
            Pequod commented
            Editing a comment
            I'm no Thunder77, but I've played one on TV. For me, 1-2 hours in a banneton for an 800-900g boule at room temperature is about right for proofing.

          • RonB
            RonB commented
            Editing a comment
            A great lookin' boule Scott. When I get around to makin' bread, it usually takes about an hour for the final rise.

            I somehow lost track of this thread, so I haven't commented here in a while.

          Nailed another boule! Pretty much the same recipe as before. I kept my final proofing to about an hour, but I tell you the poke test just doesn’t work for me. I could’ve left it for 2 MORE hours and it would finally not spring back so fast. But alas, I tried it for 1 hour, it rose just a little bit, and put that sucker in. BOOM POW. He is resin!

          One thing I did yesterday (during my successful boule) and tried again today, is take a SV container turned upside down overtop the banneton. Yesterday, it was out of pure "speed things up" but it worked so well, I tried again. I’m trying to trap the heat from the stove during the heat soak of the pizza stone and stainless steel bowl to wake up the yeast. I’m going to continue to do that until it fails me.

          I got a small mouse hole in my crumb, but I’m ok with that

          Ya’ll said about an hour for the final proof. Surprises me. Mine has only risen just a little bit after an hour. But, I’m going to stick with it. I know I shouldn’t go by time but by the poke test, but man, these last two boules have been spectacular!
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          • Spinaker
            Spinaker commented
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            Well I hope you keep it going, there is a TON of amazing info here. Probably some of the best on the web, when it comes to outdoor cooking.

          • Potkettleblack
            Potkettleblack commented
            Editing a comment
            I've been watching a bit of GBBO, and Masterclass, and Paul Hollywood likes to cover his loaves to keep the airflow off them, which creates a skin, according to him. I watch him knead, and I suspect he knows of what he speaks, though no levain activity on the show.

          • Thunder77
            Thunder77 commented
            Editing a comment
            Beautiful bread, Scott! There are a lot of factors that go into oven spring, so just keep doing what works for you!

          Whatever happened to Breadhead, why was he banned? Apparently I missed that whole episode.

          Comment


          • Pequod
            Pequod commented
            Editing a comment
            Well...ummm...there was a brouhaha. ‘Nuff said.

          • scottranda
            scottranda commented
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            Yeaaaah, he was askin’ for it. Yup, ‘nuff said

          I don't think I posted these when I made them for a party we were attending. They were a big hit with no leftovers, and I still get asked when I'm makin' more.

          Forkish - white with poolish.

          Annnnd the gremlins have messed with the colors again. These were a very nice golden brown...
          Click image for larger version

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          • Spinaker
            Spinaker commented
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            Looks like a pro did these! Oh wait.......

          • scottranda
            scottranda commented
            Editing a comment
            I’m a sucker for sesame seeds. Wife ain’t so much!

          • Skip
            Skip commented
            Editing a comment
            Nice loaves. Good job.

          48 hour sourdough baguettes freshly baked on my KK steam oven. This involved a 12 hour autolyse and 24 hour cold, bulk ferment before shaping and proofing. Fantastic flavor and texture!
          Click image for larger version  Name:	BD2B35C4-0C4B-4539-8906-8364BF66001D.jpeg Views:	2 Size:	2.98 MB ID:	551269
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          It occurs to me that many don’t know what I mean by "KK steam oven". This large cast iron pan and spools of stainless steel chain weighs 30 lbs and preheats with the baking stone. Can you say, "heat capacity?" Sure...I knew you could! When I put the bread on the baking stone, I also drop a 400g sheet of ice frozen flat into that thermal cast iron and steel mass. The ice gives me time to close the lid before it turns the ice into steam, thus preventing major injury. The steam lasts for the first 5 to 10 minutes of the bake, which is all you need. The results are superb.
          Click image for larger version  Name:	D05453FD-2675-46B4-AAC7-6BCF40E9A7A0.jpeg Views:	1 Size:	3.38 MB ID:	551270

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          • scottranda
            scottranda commented
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            Intensely good!

          • Thunder77
            Thunder77 commented
            Editing a comment
            Aww man, you're killing me! I have got to bake some bread soon. Beautiful loaves.

          • Spinaker
            Spinaker commented
            Editing a comment
            THIS IS AWESOME!! I don't know how I missed this.

          Another successful bread! We are going to eat it tonight with lasagna. I forgot to do the overnight pre ferment, but I started it early this morning. It’s nice to know some science behind it so I can speed things up or slow it down.

          Question for you folks: how long and at what temp do you bake bread AFTER the ~20 steam session? (For me, stainless steel bowl on for 20 minutes, then I’m experimenting with time and temp after that bowl is removed). I desire more of a bite through crust 😁
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          • RonB
            RonB commented
            Editing a comment
            That's a great lookin' boule Scott. I bake till golden brown after removing the lid on the CI pot.

          • scottranda
            scottranda commented
            Editing a comment
            Thanks RonB Approx 8 min at 450... or are we talking like 20 min at 425? Or 30 min? I can get golden brown at 8 min at 450, but it’s not bite through. The last bread (posted), I did probably 20 min at 425, plus removed the pizza stone, turned off the oven, and cracked the oven door to slowly cool off. It was much better that way. I had crumbs all over the place (a good thing in my book)!

          • Thunder77
            Thunder77 commented
            Editing a comment
            Beautimous!! You are on a roll!

          That's the way to do it for crisp crust. I also do it that way when I remember. Normally I'll remove it from the CI and let it sit on the oven rack to cool.

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