Heather Iles Loc: UK, Somerset

Absolutely authentic and I would be pleased if mine looked like yours. I too have tried my hand at making Sourdough and I am not quite there with mine yet after my 6th loaf. My aim is to have large holes in the dough and I achieved that last week but there is no guarantee that the next dough will have large holes. Sourdough bread making is surely a labour of love.

What I would like to know is where do you put yours to proof/rise? I put mine in front of the radiator which registers 70 degrees but it is said that the ideal temperature should be about 75 to 80 degrees but the price of a proofing machine is over £100. Would you care to share your secrets, please?

What do you bake your loaves in? Did you use a Dutch Oven?

H

Flying Three Loc: Berthoud, CO

Yum!!!

CHG_CANON Loc: the Windy City

Thank you Hereford! The Sager Cafe is just a joke / pet name for my home kitchen efforts. Most every 'dish' captured with a picture has a corresponding meme.

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CHG_CANON Loc: the Windy City

Thank you Heather! This is only my third and fourth loaves, 2nd batch overall. I used a warm oven this time, heating the oven to 180F and then turning off and using the oven for what my instructions call 'resting'. I don't have deep experience at baking bread and similar, so I caution at a 1 to 1 translation of my terms to other instructions / methods. In my process, the dough 'rests' in 30-minute increments for 2- to 3-hours, and every 30-minutes I kneed in the bowl, pulling and stretching the dough, flipping the ball over within the bowl and returning to the oven to rest. My instructions don't have the term 'proofing', although that's maybe what is happening. I have a 4 liter mixing bowl and when the bread rises to the point it reaches a plate covering the bowl in the oven, that's when I divide and shape the balls that will become the two loaves. It was about 2.5 hours to rise to that size on Monday.

I know I used more starter in these two loaves and I think the starter was of a better quality too, where it's reaction to feeding was more pronounced than when used the first time in August. The starter had been in an airtight container in my fridge for 6-weeks, at least, between using for the first loaves. I didn't know I was suppose to feed it weekly during that time. I just fed it 3 or 4 times until it would double in size after the cast-off in about 4 hours and then considered it ready for bread baking. I have a few yummy recipes for using the cast-off.

I used a 6-liter stock pot rather than a dutch oven, using foil under the lid to create a tighter seal.

The instructions and coaching I found in the internet said you can measure down to the gram and check the temp of everything, or you can just get the general ratios / amounts. The general ratio / amount is more my style, so my recipe includes 'about' and 'generous' cup-based measures rather than precise grams and milliliters. I just use the oven's own reading rather than a thermometer in the oven, starting at 500F when placing the bread into the oven and lowering immediately to 450F for 20 minutes with the lid on and 25 minutes with the lid off.

The holes in these new loaves were much better, again where I think the needing and resting and the final shaping were all done better this time than my earlier attempt. These are all the best details I can give you. I just read a few recipes online, and they're all different than mine in the details and the times, although the overall steps are similar. After shaping the loaves, the two dough balls sat in their brotforms overnight from mid-afternoon to the next morning for baking. They seemed to have more a 'skin' that what I remember from the first effort.

CHG_CANON Loc: the Windy City

Thank you williejoha, srg, Hereford, Karin, Ernesto, FotoHog, mffox, Heather, Flying Three! It seems there's as many similar but unique ways to make sour dough as bakers writing versions. I guess I found the first one that seemed to fit my style and then tweaked from there. I guess probably a few more times are needed to assure I have a workable and repeatable process. Too bad the sharing opportunities are limited.

williejoha

Paul, what is your minimum order size. Looks great.
WJH

srfmhg Loc: Marin County, CA

Great shots Paul. Did you get the starter from SF?

junglejim1949 Loc: Sacramento,CA

Classy logo!

Heather Iles Loc: UK, Somerset

Thank you Paul for your response which is very much appreciated.

The detailed information that you gave on rising the dough in the oven and providing the temperature is really helpful and I will give that a try. I have watched lots of videos and a couple mentioned using the oven light to proof the dough but when I used the thermometer it didn't reach the required temperature so I abandoned that idea, but the information that you have given me is very important and thank you.

I have a breadmaking machine and bake seeded bread every other week but that is easy and is a success every time. I only wish my photography was as good as my baking and cooking, but like sourdough bread, I will have to practice more. I hate being beaten.

You are quite right that the starter can be left for a long time and provided a little is taken out and the same amount is put back in equal amounts of flour and water the starter will stay alive.

I have also found that the secret is in the folding and stretching and maintaining a dough that feels like a pillow which is the secret of trapping the air in the dough.

It is interesting that you use a mixing bowl throughout the process until you are ready to bake the loaves. The videos that I have seen transferred the dough to a long dish for the folding process and until the dough is ready to be baked. It obviously doesn't matter which method is used and it is the rising of the dough that is most important and the trapping of the air in the loaf, so it doesn't matter which method is used.

Would you please share the recipes that you use for your castoffs as I throw mine in the trash bin. You don't have to give the full recipes just the name of the recipes and I will look them up. I make scones regularly and I dare say that I could use the castoffs to make the scones. Also, someone said that Rosemary in the Sourdough is delicious and I will try that as I have Rosemary growing in the garden.

I am really looking forward to baking my next Sourdough loaf, but I will have to feed my starter again as it hasn't risen since last Saturday when I fed it. I think that it is too thick. Sourdough is tougher than we think and so it is difficult to kill it.

H

CHG_CANON Loc: the Windy City

Hey Heather, I started with a sour dough recipe from the Washington Post. They had a separate instruction for making the starter and some recipes for the cast off. That gave me the ideas to google for more sour dough recipes / cast off ideas. I came away with pancakes, soft pretzels, English muffins, cinnamon rolls, and tortillas. The WashPost from Mar 18, 2020 referenced their source as Tom Edwards of Artisan Bread Camp. Nearly all these recipes take some work or merging with other similar recipes to reach what I consider my version. The cinnamon rolls for example took parts of three different recipes to get the frosting and the filling to merge / taste how I think a cinnamon roll should taste.

CHG_CANON Loc: the Windy City

Thank you Mark! The starter is home made from King Arthur flour and Chicago tap water.

digit-up Loc: Flushing, Michigan

I wonder if making a "Poolish or a BIgah" pre-ferment, is almost as good as PARENTING/Babysitting sour-dough?? They seem similar in concept. Ive never really TENDED to a sour-dough STARTER, I don't have the patience, but love the bread.. Our local bakery makes GREAT sour-dough, but charges DEARLY for it...............................RJM oooh! Chicago Tap water, that's the secret...Scarey!!

digit-up Loc: Flushing, Michigan

Thats something like using Chicago tap water in the starter. Imagine letting it(the dough) ferment in SanFran air along with an ingredient being :chicago tap water?? whoa!!!!..................................................................RJM

Heather Iles Loc: UK, Somerset

Thank you Paul. I will look up a few recipes.

Isn't it strange that in one of the videos that I watched it was said not to use tap water, but of course I do and so do you.
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]H

DougS Loc: Central Arkansas

Welcome to bread(s) making!
I got my start from my wife's grandmother. She made absolutely the best homemade yeast rolls! So soft, and flavorful!!! And she cooked on a wood fired cook stove. After she passed away in 1980, I started trying to make them using 'her' recipe. I just couldn't get them to turn out the same. Same results with her five sisters.
I bought a bread book by Sharon Tyler Herbst; https://www.amazon.com/Breads-Sharon-Herbst/dp/0895862190
which did not get me the success I desired, except for one recipe, Grandmothers Cinnamon Rolls. It will ruin your taste for ALL other cinnamon rolls! It is simply... OUTSTANDING! I do use light brown sugar and add 1/4 cup more in the 'filling', than her recipe, and add chopped pecans.
Back to the yeast rolls, I have done searches for tips, tricks, etc., and came upon this interesting info: Not all flours are made alike(!). Different brands have interesting differences, mostly in the protein content. A lady from the south, ran into the same issue, for biscuits. She finally discovered her mothers 'secret'; it was the flour BRAND. White Lilly, almost exclusively sold in the south, with a low protein content (its made with soft wheat, grown in the south). Next best is 'Gold Medal'. I made my first batch using the White Lilly, two weeks ago, Big improvement in tenderness. Will be trying it in the cinnamon rolls next.
P.S. I prefer 'Active Dry Yeast' over Rapid Rise, it just tastes better to me. Good luck with your baking!