Any Sourdough Bread Bakers here? I have questions.

[DeniseM]

I am jumping into the world of sourdough bread, and I'd like to ask an experienced baker a few questions:

- I bought a dehydrated starter from a reputable source, and it's growing really well. I started it on Sunday, so today is the 4th day, and this morning it doubled in volume in 2 hours. I've been feeding and discarding twice a day as the instructions recommend.

Question 1: Is it ready to bake with now, or should I let it mature for a few more days?

Question 2: Can I use the discards now - some sources advise not using the early discards?

 

[RonB]

I don't bake sourdough, but I have in the past. I do know people who make things like pancakes with the discard.

Here's a good site for sourdough bread - you will get better info than I can give:

The Perfect Loaf | Bake Sourdough Bread

Learn to bake sourdough bread and make your own sourdough starter from scratch. Bake healthy and delicious bread right from home!

www.theperfectloaf.com

 

[DrQ]

Question 2: Can I use the discards now - some sources advise not using the early discards?

What's the harm if it doesn't turn out perfect? Some flour, some time?

I would think that you would have a good idea after the first rise. Odor, volume ...

 

[Passepartout]

I baked a fair bunch of sourdough at the beginning of Covid, but had to quit- I was my own best 'customer'.
Denise, give it a try with the discards. If your dough proofs, *SUCCESS*!

It's satisfying to gift a loaf to friends. There's no better host(ess) gift.

My GoTo reference book is Flour Water Salt Yeast by Ken Forkish.

Jim

 

[DeniseM]

Thanks, Jim! I think I'm going to start with some easy Focaccia.

 

[Passepartout]

Pro tip: I don't know how commercial bakeries make quality sourdough and sell it for the price they do. When I was baking, the ingredients were more costly than what I could buy a loaf for! I use nothing but King Arthur flour, and was getting my yeast from a local specialty pizza/breakfast bakery. Toss in the Dutch oven to bake it in and some parchment, if you value your time at all, the $7 bucks or so for a good loaf is a bargain. Anyway, there's nothing better than a warm-from-the-oven slice, slathered with Kerrygold Irish butter and honey from our backyard bees. It might be time to crank out a few loaves.

Jim

 

[DeniseM]

The dough has been made and it's doing the first rise. (So easy with a Kitchenaid!) I'm doing slow-rise recipes, because of the increased digestibility, so it won't be baked until tomorrow night. If it rises well, it will be shaped into a loaf of bread. If it doesn't rise well, it will be made into focaccia!

 

[amycurl]

@DeniseM, we have sourdough starter in my family that dates back to the Alaskan Gold Rush. We make bread (I tend to make boules/ovals; my mom makes more traditional sandwhich loaves); pizza dough; pancakes; biscuits; and the best English muffins ever. I have no idea what “discard” is, but feel free to ask me any questions you may have. Sourdough is pretty indestructible, as long as you always remember to take some starter out before you begin the recipe.


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

 

[DeniseM]

Hi Amy - With a new starter, you have to feed it twice a day, so pretty soon you have too much immature baby starter, so you discard half of it before you feed it each time. Depending on how often you feed your starter, and how often you use it, you may have discard with mature starter too, because you aren't using it as fast as you are making it. I've been reading about a lot of methods and I'm going for a no-discard method.

* Your antique starter is very impressive!

 

[DeniseM]

My first boule:



Maybe pizza next...

 

[Passepartout]

My first boule:

View attachment 105140

Maybe pizza next...

Beautiful!

 

[DeniseM]

Thank you! I am gluten sensitive, but bread made with this long-rise sourdough method does not give me digestive issues, so I'm excited about making sourdough bread!

 

[DrQ]

Thank you! I am gluten sensitive, but bread made with this long-rise sourdough method does not give me digestive issues, so I'm excited about making sourdough bread!

Do you use a "no knead" mixing method to hydrate the dough?

 

[Passepartout]

This is the recipe I use for one boule of sourdough. I'm lazy and use parchment paper in a Dutch oven so cleanup is minimal.
https://www.kingarthurbaking.com/recipes/no-knead-sourdough-bread-recipe If you need starter, there's a 'make starter' recipe here, too.

Jim

 

[Superchief]

My first boule:

View attachment 105140

Maybe pizza next...

This looks great. One thing I really miss about living in the Bay area was the great sourdough bread. We recently found that Jungle Jim's in Cincinnati area has good, authentic sourdough bread, but you have to be lucky to be there when it is first baked. A half round loaf is $3.99 which is a good bargain.

 

[billymach4]

We are going to give this sourdough thing a try. Being rather chilly around the kitchen this time of year I am going to incubate the starter on top of our gas furnace where the temp is around 75 - 80 F.
Ultimately I want to make pizza with this dough.

 

[Passepartout]

We are going to give this sourdough thing a try. Being rather chilly around the kitchen this time of year I am going to incubate the starter on top of our gas furnace where the temp is around 75 - 80 F.
Ultimately I want to make pizza with this dough.

Good Luck! Actually. there's no luck to it. It's all science, and that's right down your alley.

Jim

 

[DrQ]

We are going to give this sourdough thing a try. Being rather chilly around the kitchen this time of year I am going to incubate the starter on top of our gas furnace where the temp is around 75 - 80 F.
Ultimately I want to make pizza with this dough.

You could get a large tote and put a lamp with a 40W incandescent bulb to act as a proofing oven. You can also use a container of water and an aquarium heater to provide a warm moist environment for proofing as incandescent bulbs are getting harder to find.