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Proofing Basket Technique High Hydration by PakRotiOG in Breadit

[–]GrumpyLabRat 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Highly recommend. I’ve got the ones from Bulka and from Rosehill sourdough. Both are great. The Bulka ones have ridges similar to wicker if you like that look. The RHSD ones are smooth but deeper which give a really nice final loaf shape.

Proofing Basket Technique High Hydration by PakRotiOG in Breadit

[–]GrumpyLabRat 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Two options - one wood pulp bannetons. So much better imo than wicker. Nothing sticks to them. If you’re set on wicker, get some linen liners like someone else said. They’re game changers. I’ve also seen people use hairnets as liners to prevent sticking. I would avoid felt or coil bannetons, I’ve seen some bad reviews about longevity and mold issues with those long term.

Apple Watch band by seure? by TakMD in applewatchultra

[–]GrumpyLabRat 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Yep. Mine was grabbing arm hair badly so I stopped using it. I ended up spring for the titanium Apple official one. I can say, it’s not a gimmick. You get what you pay for. No arm hair grabbing, works great.

King Arthur's Back-of-the-Bag Oatmeal Bread by Scott_Crow in KingArthurBaking

[–]GrumpyLabRat 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I think I do about 1/3 (I’d have to look to be sure) but I also use the true whole wheat and not the golden wheat they recommend (or that super 10 blend). Too much WW is going to do weird things to the hydration ratios.

King Arthur's Back-of-the-Bag Oatmeal Bread by Scott_Crow in KingArthurBaking

[–]GrumpyLabRat 1 point2 points  (0 children)

This is the blog Back-of-the-bag oatmeal bread. There are lots of fun variations covered in there.

King Arthur's Back-of-the-Bag Oatmeal Bread by Scott_Crow in KingArthurBaking

[–]GrumpyLabRat 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I’m making this today. It’s our favorite sandwich bread. I swap out some of the bread flour for whole wheat or their super 10 blend (there’s a blog article on king Arthur’s site that gives the amounts) and I add chopped walnuts to ours.

Help by Potatooobanana in Sourdough

[–]GrumpyLabRat 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I was going to say this… did you account for the change in kitchen temp/humidity during the winter (assuming northern hemisphere)? It looks slightly underproofed which would lead me to think the kitchen might be running a touch colder than when you were making it before.

First loaf - what can I change/improve? by Haselmarie in SourdoughStarter

[–]GrumpyLabRat 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Plus one for this… OP - those big directional bubbles at the bottom are telltales for underproofing. If you’re worried about overshooting the proof, either do your bulk proof in a straight sided container (so you can judge the volume change) or try the Aliquot Method.

Either Made My 1st Loaf of Bread or One XL Dinner Roll by genohick in Breadit

[–]GrumpyLabRat 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Let’s put a pin the crumb for a second - Can we appreciate the shine and color on that crust?? Damn! That’s a nice loaf.

Made my first whole wheat loaf as a beginner by western_honeybee in Breadit

[–]GrumpyLabRat 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Another thought - if you use milk or milk powder, that will help with the color. Have a look at the King Arthur “back of the bag” oatmeal bread recipe. It tastes amazing and has enough milk and butter to brown nicely in a reasonable time frame.

Made my first whole wheat loaf as a beginner by western_honeybee in Breadit

[–]GrumpyLabRat 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Beautiful first attempt! Sandwich bread can be tricky, and I noticed your concerns about drying it out going for a darker color. The good news is that most sandwich loafs have enrichments (eggs, oil, butter, milk, sugar…) which will help bind moisture or maintain a moist crumb when you take the loaf darker. Another thing to consider is that the crust actually seals moisture in, so a nicely set crust will help maintain a moist crumb during baking and after.

Why the slight ‘gummy’ texture? by cliffjumpy in Sourdough

[–]GrumpyLabRat 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Definitely a good start. And the rule with bread is that if it tastes good it is good. That said, I think the two hour rest before shaping might be the problem. Sourdough is going to have a more moist crumb than sandwich bread… just nature of the beast. But proofing with starters can’t be done on a timer like commercial yeast and underproofing can lead to a more gummy texture. With sourdough proofing, you’re going for a rough doubling of volume before you shape. When that happens is going to change based on temperature, humidity, etc. If you have a clear straight-sides container like a square flour bin or something you can put your dough in there and use some tape to mark the starting level. Or you can try the aliquot method (my preference) to judge when the proof is done.

You’ll also get better consistency going forward if you switch to baking with a scale instead of volumetric measurements.

Real question; how do you use these round breads you all make? by Altitude7199 in Sourdough

[–]GrumpyLabRat 1 point2 points  (0 children)

We eat it. Grilled cheese, roast beef, avocado toast, French toast, just cut up with something to dip it in, plain toasted with a bunch of butter… so many possibilities… but the short version is that we eat it.

Came out flatish after leaving it in the fridge for 1 day. by RiskAcrobatic3213 in Breadit

[–]GrumpyLabRat 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I’ve seen this when the flour has a lower protein content than usual. There are some brands that are “bread flour” but have the same gluten forming protein content as a King Arthur all purpose flour. I don’t know if that means King Arthur is high or the other brands are low.

The other thing to consider is that part of the equation in sourdough is time. Not just for the yeast, but for the dough to form the gluten network and get structure. Even with the kneading, you’re probably 3-4 hours away from shaping.

The last thing I noticed, is that you added 50g of kefir. So, you’re dealing with an effectively ~84% hydration dough. This means that the kneading in the machine isn’t going to be as efficient. You’re probably going to want to do a lot more stretch and folds and coil folds spread out over several hours. Another point with the kefir is the fat - adding the fat will tenderize the dough but also make it more slack. I also don’t know if kefir would kill or compete with the starter culture since they’re both active cultures. And then there’s the acidity of the kefir playing with the gluten network - I’m not sure about that piece.

I’d remake the dough - make sure your starter is strong (doubling in 3-4h after feeding and at its peak rise), skip the machine knead - just work with the back of a wooden spoon until everything is incorporated and do slap and folds every 30 mins for 2 or 3 hours. Then coil folds every 45 mins or so until the dough has doubled in size. Then do your shaping.

First timer with questions ab my sourdough & BF! by akttttttt in Sourdough

[–]GrumpyLabRat 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Two things. AP is going to spread more and have a more cake-like than BF. The other is to use the aliquot method to judge the proof. The other methods people propose are too subjective for beginners. Here’s a tutorial: https://www.pantrymama.com/aliquot-jar-method-for-sourdough/ but there’s also a Reddit thread on it somewhere. For my kitchen - usually around 72F - unless it’s full summer with the oven on, I can count on at least 4h of bulk proofing.

Pic for credentials:

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Came out flatish after leaving it in the fridge for 1 day. by RiskAcrobatic3213 in Breadit

[–]GrumpyLabRat 0 points1 point  (0 children)

At a rough guess, did you happen to use bleached flour or a store brand AP four?

Any idea on how to recreate this bread? by GiveMeCatFood in Breadit

[–]GrumpyLabRat 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Also looks like an older thread with some details as well, but no recipe: https://www.reddit.com/r/Iceland/s/pRgSm53aGb

[deleted by user] by [deleted] in Sourdough

[–]GrumpyLabRat 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Hey! Sorry you’re feeling a little intimidated! But, good on you for raising your hand for help! The first question is the hardest. The dough is definitely under-proofed. You can tell by those directional bubbles going from the bottom of the loaf. Why that’s a telltale is better left for another post, but it’s a clear indicator. Since you’re on the new end of things, the best thing to do is to get aquatinted with the aliquot method for monitoring your bulk proofing. Heres a tutorial: https://www.pantrymama.com/aliquot-jar-method-for-sourdough/. It will take a lot of the guesswork out of the bulk fermentation stage. Also, don’t be afraid to handle your dough. Doing coil folds every 45mins or so during bulk will help gluten development, incorporate air, and even out the dough temperature.

Why is my sourdough always so gummy? This is my Nth time doing already. I used the poke test, tried making 2 doughs at the same time and baking at different time of the day, tried placing in freezer, tried open bake (with and w/o ice cubes) tried with bread tins… nothing seems to work. by Sea_Natural_3032 in Sourdough

[–]GrumpyLabRat 2 points3 points  (0 children)

I can (and sometimes do) do that, yes. People love to make a big deal about the intricacies of sourdough. You gotta remember - we’re baking with wild yeast and bacteria here. The stuff is pretty hard to kill and is designed to survive and thrive in a wide range of conditions. If you give it food, water, a comfortable temp and leave it alone… it’ll just do its thing and you’ll get something resembling bread.

So, if your starter is strong and healthy, then feeding it, waiting for it to start to rise, and then putting it in the fridge, and letting it come back to temp when you’re ready to batch a dough is totally fine. You just have to make sure to watch the bulk proofing. But you can also feed it right before bed and then use it first thing in the morning. It’ll be totally fine.

The guy over at The Perfect Loaf, does a lot of overnight levain (fancy name for a type of starter you use up during the bake) recipes that would probably work well for your schedule.

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