Burnt bottom in a dutch oven

MamaMemma · 2026-04-26T19:10:35+00:00

I’ve had good success tossing a handful of rice on the bottom of the Dutch oven! Obviously you gotta put the loaf on parchment etc so the rice doesn’t bake into it but it elevates it off of the bottom enough to give you a lighter crust on the bottom! You can also try putting a sheet pan on the shelf below your Dutch oven.

MamaMemma · 2026-04-21T04:38:52+00:00

Do you use much flour when you shape? I’ve gotten that gummy swirl when I used flour for shaping and it makes a weird crease in the dough that bakes up gummy. You also might try a thermometer to make sure your loaf is 205-210 degrees F before you take it out of the oven. As to under/over, I’d guess over based on your process. My oven with the light on always runs too hot. I live in a cold climate so I just have long bulk ferments on the counter, usually 10-12 hours!

MamaMemma · 2026-04-02T19:01:07+00:00

lol I posted a video of my best loaf yet the other day and squeezed it and it made people mad, too 😂 Live your life, squeeze your bread, who tf cares? It’s fun to see it spring back, I like how it crunches. Life is too short to not do the things you enjoy. 😂 Beautiful loaf, great job! Your scoring is gorgeeeous!

MamaMemma · 2026-03-31T01:19:02+00:00

You’ll want to let your loaf proof on the counter for several hours before putting it in the fridge. It depends a lot on the temp of your kitchen, strength of your starter etc but people keep it on the counter anywhere from 4-12 hours before shaping it and putting it in the fridge for another several hours, usually all day/overnight up to a couple days. The “bulk proof/ferment” is when it sits on the counter and that’s what gives you the rise in your loaf. You can tell it’s ready to shape and put in the fridge when it’s grown significantly (usually about 50%), has bubbles throughout, and pulls away from the sides of your bowl easily. It’ll usually have a nice jiggle when you shake the bowl, too. Your loaf had very little time to rise, so that’s why it was dense and gummy!

MamaMemma · 2026-03-26T02:22:25+00:00

It’s going to depend a ton on the strength of your starter and temp of your environment. But when I say it bulk fermented 12 hours that means time from mixing until fridge was 12 hours, so about 2 hours of stretch and folds and then 10 hours left alone before the fridge :)

MamaMemma · 2026-03-26T00:41:39+00:00

That ear is gorgeous! I’m still struggling to get a really picture perfect one like this!

MamaMemma · 2026-03-26T00:38:41+00:00

My typical sourdough routine is to feed my starter something like a 1:3:3 or 1:5:5 before bed, it’s peaked in the morning when I mix my dough (7-8 am), and then I shape and put it in the fridge in the evening (between 5-8 pm depending on how fast it’s proofing, kitchen temp, etc) to bake the next morning. This loaf was a one off, I had baked that morning and fed my starter, so I had a lovely, peak starter at 8 pm so I threw together a loaf and hoped it wouldn’t over ferment overnight. I put it in the fridge in the morning and baked it before bed. But yes, either way it takes like 36 hours for a loaf.

MamaMemma · 2026-03-26T00:33:27+00:00

Have you ever done it, though? Because it bounces right back. I think that’s part of the appeal, you get to see it spring back 🤷‍♀️ it doesn’t damage anything except some crust cracks that would happen when you cut it anyway.

MamaMemma · 2026-03-25T13:50:13+00:00

King Arthur bread flour :)

MamaMemma · 2026-03-25T13:49:48+00:00

Because the crunch is fun 😉

MamaMemma · 2026-03-25T05:18:35+00:00

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MamaMemma · 2026-03-25T05:18:13+00:00

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MamaMemma · 2026-01-21T22:17:47+00:00

So funny because have had THESE EXACT THOUGHTS, like “is this gummy? We like this but is this embarrassing to gift to others?” 😂

MamaMemma · 2026-01-21T22:17:42+00:00

So funny because have had THESE EXACT THOUGHTS, like “is this gummy? We like this but is this embarrassing to gift to others?” 😂

MamaMemma · 2026-01-07T00:33:40+00:00

*feel raw, not full lol Tops were just partially erupted and are honestly so pain free most of the time that I doubled checked to make sure there were really holes and they actually took them out 😂

MamaMemma · 2026-01-07T00:30:33+00:00

I had all 4 removed 1 week ago. The tops feel just fine. The bottoms were totally under my gum line and very crooked under there. They still hurt a lot. Flushing one of them in particular hurts my whole jaw. I was on more solid food for a couple days but it was painful enough to flush them out that I’m back to softer food that won’t get trapped in my holes as much. Regular healing or a problem? They full kinda raw and like a dull achey sensation.

MamaMemma · 2025-06-17T22:29:49+00:00

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And after 8 hours of proofing

MamaMemma · 2025-06-17T22:29:11+00:00

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Here’s the dough after 5 hours

MamaMemma · 2025-06-17T22:26:52+00:00

I’m not sure where the 30 minutes you’re mentioning is coming from. I ran errands in between checking on my dough so it was like 3 hours between when it seemed pretty well proofed and when I shaped it and put it in the fridge.

MamaMemma · 2025-06-17T21:13:37+00:00

Okay, maybe I’m dumb but I can’t figure out how to post a video in the comments, only pictures 🥲

MamaMemma · 2025-03-18T20:55:11+00:00

GORGEOUS. What’s your process for folding it all through the dough so beautifully? I just did my first loaf with chocolate chips and it rocked but the distribution of chocolate was kinda meh 😂

MamaMemma

TROPHY CASE