5 sourdough loaves, 3 of which were decent, 2 of which weren't. 4 photos of 4 loaves.
I tend to bake a few loaves per batch because I don't feel like cleaning the proofing bowl, plus the starter's already active and fed...
Loaf 1
Loaf 2
Loaf 3
Loaf 4
Espresso
Bonus: kinda-sorta managed a fern on a macchiato.
PS mk there's still the (very minor) #bugski (or is it a #featureski) of every title being auto-sentence-cased (I submitted this originally with an all lowercase title, and it changed it to "Breadcrazy". I had to edit it later.)
Yours came out nicely! Looking like the Panera bread bowls for soup. I've got my sourdough starter going. Have you ever tried a liquid starter? Ran a test with some of the starter I first discarded for feeding to make some small sourdough bois, which ended up liquid and odd. Paging Devac and scissortail as well on a couple tips I haven't been able to sort out: 1. Glass or plastic container? (Just noticed a crack in my mason jar) 2. Thoughts on 'keepers vs. discarders' method? I don't like the idea of throwing out so much. Am I reading this wrong, or you can feed once a week without refrigerating? 3. Any tried and trued ratios of flour to water in attempts to get the starter back to a solid state (it became liquid).
Hey there! Great to hear you've got a starter going. I am perhaps the laziest, least scientific baker on the continent, but here are my answers anyway: 1. I use glass, but am unsure if it matters or not. I cap it with a clean cloth, attached with a rubber band. 2. I am a discarder, though I haven't done much reading on the opposing perspective (in fact, hadn't heard of it before reading that post). I always use the discarded starter to help me make other things like pancakes, flatbreads, or quickbreads (adding some to a banana bread is my go-to). As I understanding, leaving the starter at room temperature and only feeding it once a week is not feasible. What I do is keep it in the fridge, then pull it out at room temp when I'm thinking about a loaf. I feed it two to three times before making a levain, and toss it back into the fridge after I replace the flour and water from the levain pull. 3. I deal with a fairly runny starter, and use a roughly 1:1 flour:water ratio (by volume). I'll usually do half wheat, half rye for the flour. It ends up the consistency of a thick milkshake--pourable, but still viscous. If you want a more solid starter, I would probably increase it to 1.5:1, then 2:1 if it's still too thin for you. The 1:1 starter has been cash money for me in a fairly warm climate. Hope that's helpful. I did end up making a loaf last week by the way, but am waiting to post it with today's loaf, which I am coaching my SO through. It's her first time making bread!
This was the first time I had heard of it as well. Also, I wassn't clear on once-a-week required refrigeration. To the fridge it goes, then. Attempting a banana-bread sourdough tonight. Good luck to your loaves!As I understanding, leaving the starter at room temperature and only feeding it once a week is not feasible. What I do is keep it in the fridge, then pull it out at room temp when I'm thinking about a loaf. I feed it two to three times before making a levain, and toss it back into the fridge after I replace the flour and water from the levain pull.
1. I've tried both. Just switched back to plastic. In general I'm a fan of the 32 oz deli containers because they've got a really wide opening so it's easier to feed without spilling flour everywhere, but right now I've got my starter in a reused Talenti pint gelato container because I don't have a ton of fridge space at the moment. 2. I'm a discarder but I manage this in a few ways. I feed once a week while refrigerating when I'm not baking. When I am baking, I'll feed the starter as usual, but use what I would have discarded to make the proper amount of starter I need for my loaves of bread--this way I end up with two containers of starter. One will go back in the fridge, the other will be used for bread. The starter I keep in the fridge isn't that big--it's only 180 grams, so I'm only feeding it 40 grams of flour every week, which I think is a reasonable amount. You could always use the discard for delicious things like sourdough pancakes, waffles, or sourdough english muffins! 3. With a liquid state, try feeding it in a ratio of 1 (starter) to 2 (water) to 2 (flour) for a bit until it thickens up again.
My kitchen has been a lowkey mess as a result of a small mouthed mason jar. Going to try this with my main starter jar. I transferred to 2 jars for exactly your point in #2. Greatly appreciate the feedback in the thread. :-)In general I'm a fan of the 32 oz deli containers because they've got a really wide opening so it's easier to feed without spilling flour everywhere
With a liquid state, try feeding it in a ratio of 1 (starter) to 2 (water) to 2 (flour) for a bit until it thickens up again.
On 2 - here's what I do: I have had starters get a bit too runny when they have gone too long without feeding at room temperature without feeding. When I feed it I roughly double volume of the starter so there's a lot of fresh flour and it doesn't start breaking down the protein. Ratios - somewhere around 1:1 by weight or 2:1 by volume. Unless I'm about to bake and building up the starter I throw out half before doubling, so it stays the same size. I also keep the starter really small, a couple heaping tablespoons total, so I'm not using a lot of flour to maintain it. And if I'm not baking in the next few days I put it in the fridge where it can go a couple weeks without feeding.
TIL, I’m going to quarter my volume and try from there. Should make playing with your ratios easier. I clearly used too much to maintain since i ran out to get more flour already. I also keep the starter really small, a couple heaping tablespoons total, so I'm not using a lot of flour to maintain it. And if I'm not baking in the next few days I put it in the fridge where it can go a couple weeks without feeding.
Not gonna be much help, but here it goes: I'd been only using glass out of convenience, don't think it can affect much, but it's just a hunch. Never tried the 'keeper' method. I'm starting with the ol' 1 to 1, never had it gone too runny. Maybe bacteria outcompete the yeast? Heard that can happen in larger containers.1. Glass or plastic container? (Just noticed a crack in my mason jar)
2. Thoughts on 'keepers vs. discarders' method? I don't like the idea of throwing out so much. Am I reading this wrong, or you can feed once a week without refrigerating?
3. Any tried and trued ratios of flour to water in attempts to get the starter back to a solid state (it became liquid).
I really can’t find much info on the “keeper” method, though it could be something with my keyword searches. This could be an issue. Going to place the discarded starter today into a smaller jar... for science! Heard that can happen in larger containers.
they look great! which one was the bad one, and why?
this was the bad one, whose picture I didn't post above. Grapefruit for scale. It's a super dense loaf that didn't rise that much :( Think it was either because I overproofed it or because it was too cold in my apartment and the gluten didn't develop fully.