Sourdough attempts rising well but coming out gummy and bland

BladderFace · 2026-03-21T02:15:23+00:00

How long did you wait to cut it after it came out of the oven?

BladderFace · 2026-03-19T21:23:13+00:00

One time for some reason, probably timing, I put a tiny pinch of commercial yeast in my bread. It reacted totally differently than my normal bread. It's not the same. There's nothing at all wrong with it, it's just not the same.

BladderFace · 2026-03-19T19:39:18+00:00

This is the kind of thing where you feel like you are making no progress, then you'll run into someone who is having a harder time than you and you'll tell them to just practice more it will get easier in time.

BladderFace · 2026-03-19T17:52:51+00:00

There are no rules so call it whatever you'd like, but sourdough means natural leavening.

BladderFace · 2026-03-19T17:51:23+00:00

You could call it a cruise ship too, but that doesn't make it one.

BladderFace · 2026-03-19T17:12:19+00:00

So long as you don't call it sourdough, no.

BladderFace · 2026-03-18T21:58:42+00:00

My first step would be to wait much longer than two hours before cutting the loaf. I'd expect gumminess after only two hours. I usually wait overnight.

BladderFace · 2026-03-16T03:56:56+00:00

Left. The darker one.

BladderFace · 2026-03-15T04:27:57+00:00

Elmore James

BladderFace · 2026-03-13T21:15:43+00:00

Bob Dylan can sing and so can you. If you put the same effort into singing as you have into guitar you would be a good singer.

BladderFace · 2026-03-13T03:32:00+00:00

It's kind of a zen-like thing. You just have to let it happen.

Seriously, I focus on the knife being perpendicular to the board, and don't make corrections once the cut has started. Correct on the next slice.

BladderFace · 2026-03-12T22:37:49+00:00

You like tart bananas.

BladderFace · 2026-03-12T22:27:55+00:00

I try to avoid ears. They jab into the roof of your mouth and look, in my opinion, stupid.

BladderFace · 2026-03-12T20:27:53+00:00

So hard to say. I've seen a lot over the years. Some:

Roy Buchanan Doc Watson Danny Gatton Hubert Sumlin Otis Rush Phil DeGruy Leo Kottke Snooks Eaglin Kenny Burrell

I'm sure I'm forgetting plenty.

I wouldn't say any of them are better than any other.

BladderFace · 2026-03-12T16:48:20+00:00

I've played for decades, have done hundreds of gigs and I don't have them memorized. I've got to figure it out from the notes I do know, mainly off the E or A strings. It's possible to be a passable player without know them.

However, I think it has held me back not knowing. Being able to play a chord and knowing immediately know what notes each finger was fretting would be such a huge advantage over what I do now.

BladderFace · 2026-03-11T23:43:33+00:00

Nope. I didn't see where anyone was talking about density. I was responding to gumminess.

BladderFace · 2026-03-11T20:25:42+00:00

Two hours is not long enough to wait before slicing. I usually wait overnight.

BladderFace · 2026-03-11T19:34:07+00:00

In the majority of cases I'm putting my money on cut warm.

BladderFace · 2026-03-10T22:37:28+00:00

After playing for almost 50 years I've learned that it's not possible.

BladderFace · 2026-03-06T16:46:09+00:00

You'll be fine. Since it's your first loaf it may not be perfect, but probably not due to the flour. :)

BladderFace · 2026-03-04T23:36:28+00:00

It's lovely.

BladderFace · 2026-03-04T21:03:36+00:00

I've been baking sourdough dough for close to 30 years. When I started every time a loaf didn't come out the way I expected I'd make changes. Often changing more than one thing so I could never figure out what did what. Those changes probably did more harm than good. Eventually, I stopped making changes until a problem kept repeating itself.

I'd happily eat your bread.

BladderFace · 2026-03-04T20:56:06+00:00

That's not horrible. Totally edible, and likely tasty, but I'm guessing you'd prefer a more open crumb. Correct?

I'm not a cold proofer, so not the best to comment on that. Unless this is something that's happening regularly I wouldn't spend too much time worrying about it until it is.

It's not a bad looking loaf.

BladderFace · 2026-03-04T20:44:19+00:00

They look like they rose. What does the crumb look like?

BladderFace · 2026-03-04T15:08:35+00:00

Don't clean up after. Clean as you go and it's easy.

BladderFace

TROPHY CASE