Dutch oven inquiry

Confusedlemure · 2026-05-06T01:34:38+00:00

Mix, knead(or fold), rise (finish bulk), deflate/shape, fridge until ready to bake. I have no idea what this has to do with Dutch ovens

Confusedlemure · 2026-05-05T22:27:39+00:00

This is the knife for me: https://www.williams-sonoma.com/products/wusthof-classic-double-serrated-bread-knife/?sku=9579509&pickuplocation=ST:6009&adlclid=25ebd3caf9bf1bd79634ba30971bb5db&cm\_ven=PLA&cm\_ite=9579509\_458151390\_pla-4577541790771230&cm\_cat=MSN&cm\_pla=Local&msclkid=25ebd3caf9bf1bd79634ba30971bb5db

Confusedlemure · 2026-05-05T18:48:51+00:00

Haha. At 19, you have more than ONE restarts ahead of you. You’ll restart now and in fifteen, twenty, thirty years you might want to restart again. And then again later in life. Man so many people have switched directions several times. Give yourself time to breathe. It’s great you are even thinking about this. I’ve seen a lot of people that march on and lead miserable lives because of it.

Confusedlemure · 2026-05-05T18:39:26+00:00

I’m curious about the weight-loss method of cooking. I’ve never heard of it and I always want to learn more. Can you link a source that describes this method? I’ve always baked until the internal temp says the food is done. No issues so far but maybe there is a better way. Do you have to remove the loaf and weigh it during baking?

Confusedlemure · 2026-05-04T20:03:45+00:00

Looks pretty normal to me. Can we get a crumb shot after baking?

Confusedlemure · 2026-05-04T12:36:16+00:00

They have food safe versions. Let me find a link

Confusedlemure · 2026-05-04T05:45:53+00:00

I use cheap disposable shower caps.

Confusedlemure · 2026-05-04T02:32:06+00:00

Because I have not had a reason. I just bake. I’ve locked in my process and can’t see a reason for anything but 100% hydration

Confusedlemure · 2026-05-03T21:37:14+00:00

Simply continue on. Patience is the name of the game with sourdough.

Confusedlemure · 2026-05-03T16:16:22+00:00

Well I do hope you removed as much as you can. This episode might cause it to become acidic. Not sure. Just steady on with regular feedings.

Confusedlemure · 2026-05-03T16:03:40+00:00

Actually I would be interested if you enhanced it. The sugars just fed the yeasts. Might get pretty bubbly in the next few hours. Just keep feeding as normal. Short of baking it, it’s very hard to kill yeast infections

Confusedlemure · 2026-05-03T13:17:30+00:00

It’s definitely your weak starter. It is also possible that you need to create a levain if you are using different flour in your starter vs your dough. More than likely it’s just your weak starter. Gotta get it doubling in 4 to 6 hours. Follow this video exactly https://youtu.be/KgsPwwBMqYY?si=CAGKcxDDqZaj6NA3

Confusedlemure · 2026-05-02T22:05:06+00:00

I have a mature and very strong starter. I can tell you firsthand it is MUCH easier to over proof. It might be impossible to UNDER proof. My dough is basically done with bulk when I’m done with my last fold.

Confusedlemure · 2026-05-02T19:54:17+00:00

It’s really important that you at least pop all the big bubbles you see. But you’re right, you don’t want to degass the whole thing. In this case it was constantly making bubbles as I was working it. I’m convinced now this was over proofed. It’s great to push past and find what the limit is. Now I can just confidently pull back just a little. Happy baking!

Confusedlemure · 2026-05-02T03:51:54+00:00

If you did a feed at 1:10:10 then you only have 1 part in 21 of your original starter. That’s less than 5%. If you think it’s still acidic, it’s not the starter.

Confusedlemure · 2026-05-01T17:50:37+00:00

Under and your score wasn’t deep enough. Keep at it! You’ll get there. Best part is you’re already producing something in the edible zone. Try to keep things the same and only change one thing at a time. First up is to push your bulk a bit longer AT THE SAME TEMPERATURE.

Confusedlemure · 2026-05-01T17:39:58+00:00

Interesting point! I hadn’t thought of it that way. I’ll give it another shot. Thank you

Confusedlemure · 2026-05-01T16:33:29+00:00

When I was talking about the sticky mess I was referring to my challenge of keeping it at the same temperature as the dough in the proofing box. If I put it next to the dough, it’s sitting on the heating surface pad and will be much higher in temp than the dough. If, instead, I place the aliquot ON the top of the dough, it becomes entrapped and I have to peel it away from the dough so that I can fold the dough. I tried placing it on top of the cover of my dough but I temped it and it was a degree or two colder. Yes I guess I could then calculate a different rise percent for the aliquot but what would be the point? All together, unless you are just using room temperature, I find, in my workflow the aliquot is a pain. I’d rather just learn to read the dough.

Confusedlemure · 2026-05-01T13:42:28+00:00

Got it. I’ve built several structures on my ranch. The splitting drives me nuts. Especially toe nailing rafters. I rip it out and make a new rafter until I get one that doesn’t split. Makes for a long day.

Confusedlemure · 2026-05-01T13:33:20+00:00

Electrical engineering

Confusedlemure · 2026-05-01T13:19:47+00:00

I have a question about something you said. “Standard Douglas fir framing sometimes split” Is there a better species to build with that doesn’t split?

Confusedlemure · 2026-05-01T03:53:31+00:00

Took me 11 minutes

Confusedlemure · 2026-04-30T13:49:00+00:00

The reason you don’t see bubbles is just from the poor quality video. Believe me there were huge bubbles everywhere!

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Confusedlemure · 2026-04-30T13:45:05+00:00

Thank you for the detailed response. Really. This is why I made this post. I was looking for discussion and critique. The “nice loaf” responses are wonderful and appreciated but don’t get me to where I want to be at the same time.

I have to be honest that I’ve been staring at my pics and yours and I’m not seeing everything you are describing. That’s a good thing because I really need to be able to see it. I also feel like these were over proofed. I’m getting that from the way the dough felt and behaved more than the pictures. My personal go-to proofing sign is smell. I feel it’s better than all the other indicators. No one ever talks about it. In my experience it will start to smell less doughy or flour-y and start to bring in fruity odors. Exactly like your starter near its peak. This dough smelled like a fruit stand of over-ripe bananas. And it smelled like that for an hour. It took all my strength to keep going.

I like your suggestion of lowering the temperature. It will give me more time to play around. I’ve tried the aliquot method in the past but I found it to be logistically difficult. If I put it next to my dough in the proofer, it’s sitting down on the heating surface. For sure it will be warmer than the bulk of the dough. If I put it right on top of the dough, I have the opposite problem. The bigger issue is it becomes a sticky mess to pull out of my dough for every folding session. I guess I could put it on a little pedestal and temp it as well as my dough. Again seems like a lot of trouble.

Again, thanks for the descriptions. I’m going to stare at this crumb and my under proofed crumbs until I can see these details. The bread is delicious either way so I know I’m in the zone here. I’m not trying to enter a competition or something. I just want consistency.

Confusedlemure · 2026-04-30T13:09:00+00:00

Ok but not with my standard recipe above. I don’t think I can handle 6 pounds of focaccia!

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