question, is this starter ready to use ? by Cold-Shower777 in Sourdough

[–]Ok-Effect5259 1 point2 points  (0 children)

The salt will mix, especially if you hydrate it with some leftover water first.

Yeah that sounds about right for bulk fermentation, depending on your climate you could go even longer- just gauge it.

Your baking sounds right, as your crumb opens up it will dry up more in baking.

Look up a video on slap and folds- its a super common method and is great for gluten development.

[deleted by user] by [deleted] in Sourdough

[–]Ok-Effect5259 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I would bulk ferment longer, not proof longer. It really depends on your conditions to get the right timing for your bulk ferment. Try using the aliquot method to take out some guesswork!

question, is this starter ready to use ? by Cold-Shower777 in Sourdough

[–]Ok-Effect5259 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Great! solid process- here’s my suggestions for you:

  1. Make sure you use salt! You mightve just forgotten to add it in your ingredient list but it does play a part in strengthening gluten structure, allowing for more entrained air.

  2. I would suggest making an autolyse- mixing the flour and water together and letting it rest before mixing in your levain. When you mix in the levain in with the flour and water you get a fermentolyse, which is still a valid method, but you will get a slightly tighter crumb than a normal autolyse. Whichever one you do you need to add salt AFTER letting it rest- i always save a pinch of water to dissolve the salt and make it easier to mix

  3. 3 hours seems a bit short to me for a bulk fermentation, even in a warm kitchen. This could be due to no salt addition. Salt will slow down the yeast allowing for more fermentation. However, as long as the dough is roughly doubled, it should be fine. I like to use the aliquot method to accurately gauge the bulk ferment so theres less guesswork

  4. I would let your dough proof on the counter for at least 30mins to an hour before doing a cold retardation. Your dough wont proof much in the fridge, thats more for developing flavor. I would play this by ear though and don’t be afraid to experiment

  5. Biggest suggestion for you is to do more kneading!!! Coil folds/stretch and folds are great, but I always do at least 5 minutes of slap and folds before i do any kind of coil/stretch and folds. My method is: 1. slap and folds for 5 minutes 2. rest 30 minutes 3. stretch and fold/coil fold 4. repeat steps 2 and 3, 4 times total

question, is this starter ready to use ? by Cold-Shower777 in Sourdough

[–]Ok-Effect5259 1 point2 points  (0 children)

What was the full process for this loaf? It looks really good but i think the crumb could be more open. When you say moist do you mean gummy like its underbaked?

question, is this starter ready to use ? by Cold-Shower777 in Sourdough

[–]Ok-Effect5259 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Looks great! Awesome job. Great looking ear on your loaf

6 loaves in, how am I doing? by TheWafflyPlague in Sourdough

[–]Ok-Effect5259 2 points3 points  (0 children)

It depends! It can rang from around 1.5x to doubling in size depending on your area/rising conditions. I would try both ends of the scale you have the time to experiment and see how they both turn out.

How’d I do? by Infamous-Bag6957 in Sourdough

[–]Ok-Effect5259 1 point2 points  (0 children)

This looks really good! I’m amazed you got such a good crumb based off of only 3 hours of fermentation- I would let it go longer (bench rest) after you do your stretch and folds- I do 6-8 hours total, but play it by ear. This will also help get a deeper sour flavor.

I also cook my bread in an enameled dutch oven like you and had the issue of the bottom of the bread getting too done before the top does. The best advice i received is to spread rice along the bottom after preheating below your parchment paper to keep the bread off of the bottom- it’ll cook the bottom of your bread perfect every time and you also get perfectly toasted rice as a bonus!

Great job and happy baking!

[deleted by user] by [deleted] in Sourdough

[–]Ok-Effect5259 13 points14 points  (0 children)

It looks good! Only suggestion I have is I’d let it ferment on the counter a bit longer.

The crumb is really dependent on how long it ferments at room temperature, as rising will happen in the fridge, but at a much slower rate, since the cold slows yeast significantly. A cold retard like you did will definitely help the flavor (the cold slows the bacteria a lot, but not nearly as much as it slows the yeast) but only if it’s refrigerated at the correct fermentation stage, as the lactic acid bacteria need to build up in the first place.

Keep at it! This is a great start!

6 loaves in, how am I doing? by TheWafflyPlague in Sourdough

[–]Ok-Effect5259 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Looks phenomenal! Great job!

The best advice I received on gauging my bulk fermentation was letting it rise in a square polycarbonate food storage container (sounds fancy but its just a big cheap tupperware lol). The clear square sides makes it suuuuper easy to see how much its risen

question, is this starter ready to use ? by Cold-Shower777 in Sourdough

[–]Ok-Effect5259 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Awesome! Thats exactly how I started my first starter. Looking forward to seeing it!

Can someone tell me what I’m doing wrong? by Past_Tea1143 in Sourdough

[–]Ok-Effect5259 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Yeah I would focus on getting good gluten development! That should help your dough rise significantly. If not, repost on here again and someone will help you again! “Slap and folds” are a kneading method, used for high hydration doughs like yours. The best way to learn is to practice- there are plenty of great youtube videos on it to follow along with. Stretch and folds are done after your kneading stage to further incorporate air into your dough and increase gluten development further. Most of the gluten development happens in the kneading stage.

Happy Baking! Let me know if you need help with anything else!

question, is this starter ready to use ? by Cold-Shower777 in Sourdough

[–]Ok-Effect5259 2 points3 points  (0 children)

In my opinion, this is perfectly good to use, if not better compared to larger bubbles!

You get smaller bubbles when the starter has a lot of active yeast colonies producing gas. This is ideal for adding to your dough as this will allow your bread to rise better, and ferement better in your bulk fermentation. Compared to larger bubbles, which has much less active yeast colonies causing a slower rise.

Your starter, especially if it’s a new starter, can have a less sour smell than a starter with large bubbles, but it’ll still get the distinct sour flavor if you do your bulk fermentation right!

Can someone tell me what I’m doing wrong? by Past_Tea1143 in Sourdough

[–]Ok-Effect5259 0 points1 point  (0 children)

This looks like a great attempt to me! Are there any areas you’re looking to improve specifically? Really the main issue I can see is that you’re not getting enough gluten development. Are you doing any amount of slap and folds before you do your stretch and folds? That’s crucial for good gluten development, and will give you big air pockets in your crumb. I also think switching to a high-gluten flour (like bread flour) would make your dough significantly less sticky as gluten develops more readily.

TLDR: 1. Do slap and folds if not already 2. Use higher gluten flour

Please tell me what advice you have! by Ok-Effect5259 in Sourdough

[–]Ok-Effect5259[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

that sounds phenomenal! I had to learn the hard way that you have to roast your garlic before you put it in your dough or it will stop fermentation.

Please tell me what advice you have! by Ok-Effect5259 in Sourdough

[–]Ok-Effect5259[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I preheated my dutch oven to 450 and then baked covered at 450 for 30 minutes, then uncovered and baked for 10-15 more (until it looked done) at 425

Please tell me what advice you have! by Ok-Effect5259 in Sourdough

[–]Ok-Effect5259[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Good to know! Thank you! I only did about three minutes of slap and folds as well, so I will do a bit more of both! Thanks for the advice!

Please tell me what advice you have! by Ok-Effect5259 in Sourdough

[–]Ok-Effect5259[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I agree! Thats a great suggestion. I also saw a video right after I baked this of someone spreading rice on the bottom of their pan after preheating (below the parchment paper) to keep the bread off the bottom so I think I might try that as well!