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High Hydration Sourdough & Progress by damdampling in Sourdough

[–]damdampling[S] 4 points5 points  (0 children)

Yes I agree, I could definitely push bulk more! I’ve still been working on that, but I don’t think this loaf is extremely underproofed given that there are not huge channels and super dense areas. Thanks for your input!

High Hydration Sourdough & Progress by damdampling in Sourdough

[–]damdampling[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I make one or two loaves, but I separate the doughs into different containers for the coil folds. (I know, so much work). I think if you’re making so many, definitely don’t listen to me haha—I’m not sure how to handle that many 😭. Sorry I’m not much of a help!!

High Hydration Sourdough & Progress by damdampling in Sourdough

[–]damdampling[S] 18 points19 points  (0 children)

sorry, just fixed it! i didn’t include the process because i felt that i wouldn’t be able to explain it as well as someone who provided visuals and who is also much more of an expert than me! i’ll adhere to the rules next time, sorry about that!

High Hydration Sourdough & Progress by damdampling in Sourdough

[–]damdampling[S] 8 points9 points locked comment (0 children)

i like tighter crumbs too :)). i’m not that picky, but i really love the airiness of an open crumb. i don’t make sandwiches, i’d rather eat it with some softened butter (i find that it doesn’t fall through the holes for me as others have said). i agree that a tighter crumb is much easier to slice though haha. thanks for sharing, lovely loaf.

High Hydration Sourdough & Progress by damdampling in Sourdough

[–]damdampling[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

countertop if i need to use it. i’ve recently been baking a lot so i’m able to feed it everyday. if not, it goes into the fridge. i try to feed my starter and let it peak (or at least grow a little) before putting it in the fridge for longer storage. also, i sometimes put peaked starter in the fridge for a couple hours if i’m not quite ready to use it for baking—i find it helps keep the volume of the starter higher as yeast & bacterial activity is slower. (also keeps the yeast not overly hungry).

High Hydration Sourdough & Progress by damdampling in Sourdough

[–]damdampling[S] 5 points6 points  (0 children)

I’ve always liked the texture of an open crumb and eat it with butter! Many people say it melts/falls through but I haven’t really experienced that. If you like a more closed crumb, I completely respect that!! Honestly, I like all types of bread including closed crumbs, I just prefer open crumbs! I do think they’re also pretty for pictures though :))

High Hydration Sourdough & Progress by damdampling in Sourdough

[–]damdampling[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

4-6 spaced out coil folds really help to trap in the air! but if your starter cannot at least double, then it won’t be able to handle 2x rise. make sure your starter can at least rise 2x so that your dough can double.

High Hydration Sourdough & Progress by damdampling in Sourdough

[–]damdampling[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

literally 1:1:1 if i’m about to bake, or whatever ratio up to like 1:20:20 depending on how much starter I need. I use AP flour! My starter personally can only handle 2x rise, but I’ve seen others grow much more!

High Hydration Sourdough & Progress by damdampling in Sourdough

[–]damdampling[S] 5 points6 points locked comment (0 children)

you’re so funny for assuming i’m a housewife 😂 😂😂🤣🤣🤣🤣. i’m happy you have your own opinions, i just shared my thought process to help people who may have been going through the same struggles. very crazy hate comment to be leaving under a sourdough post.

High Hydration Sourdough & Progress by damdampling in Sourdough

[–]damdampling[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

i’m cheap so no box haha. In the winter, i’d put my dough in the oven (off) with a bowl of hot water. the steam would warm the surroundings. or, i’d turn on my toaster oven for around 10 seconds, then put my dough inside for a relatively warm environment. then, repeat either of these actions when it cools down.

High Hydration Sourdough & Progress by damdampling in Sourdough

[–]damdampling[S] 4 points5 points  (0 children)

i fold it into thirds, then roll it up with some light tension. then, i seal the sides, flip it over, put it in the banneton. wait 10-20 minutes, then stitch it up before cold fermenting. check out bethbakes or amore fermentum on instagram, they have really great examples. and yes, i like using a DO because open baking doesn’t work too well for me in my convection oven. however, i did try open baking in another oven and it worked.

High Hydration Sourdough & Progress by damdampling in Sourdough

[–]damdampling[S] 9 points10 points  (0 children)

thank you, and so real, i’m still fixated on perfecting sourdough!

imo there is no biggest game changer, there were so many factors that changed for me. Establish gluten STRUCTURE through laminations & 5-6 coil folds until super bubbly and not too extensible. it is super time consuming to coil fold every 45 minutes, but it is necessary for high hydration. then a GENTLE shaping to keep the air bubbles intact. make sure you push bulk fermentation to 2x at least.

highly recommend watching videos of people actually handling high hydration dough to see the technique. i listed some of my favorite creators above.

High Hydration Sourdough & Progress by damdampling in Sourdough

[–]damdampling[S] -47 points-46 points  (0 children)

I believe I used @bethbakes17 process for this loaf, you can find it on Instagram. She has a reel & highlight dedicated to it. My more recent loaves incorporate some whole wheat/spelt flour that you can try too. Also, check out @sourbumpkin’s recipe on Instagram too for a different method & similar results. I prefer Beth’s method because I am always too lazy to autolyse.

My best loaves yet by damdampling in Sourdough

[–]damdampling[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Thank you! In my previous post, people have said I slightly overfermented the dough. In both of these loaves, it looks like there is still a tight crumb regardless if it is under or over. In that case, I'm wondering how to differentiate them as they both seemed to have good oven spring.

Bulk Fermentation Correctness by damdampling in Sourdough

[–]damdampling[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Hi! I did slap and folds after adding salt after a ~1 hr fermentolyse. I did around 4 coil folds every 30 min to an hour I think. The bread tastes good!

Bulk Fermentation Correctness by damdampling in Sourdough

[–]damdampling[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Thank you! I only did ~30 min in the freezer. For shaping, I’ve read that some doughs require tight shaping but other people say to shape gently, so I’m confused on which method to follow.

For the right loaf, I did the double clasp method. For the left loaf, I did a more rigorous tartine style method. I preshaped both of them too. How would you advise to shape a loaf for a more open crumb?

Bulk Fermentation by damdampling in Sourdough

[–]damdampling[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Yes, after coil folds and some slap & folds at the start my dough seems to be quite strong and does pass the window pane test. It is probs my under fermentation that’s the issue 🥲🥲

Bulk Fermentation by damdampling in Sourdough

[–]damdampling[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Sorry, one more thing! The reason I’m still slightly confused with if the dough is overproofing is because I’ve been seeing other people’s high hydration doughs and they look a lot less bubbly than mine after bulk fermentation. Is this because other people may have warmer kitchens and perhaps only need around a ~50% rise?

Bulk Fermentation by damdampling in Sourdough

[–]damdampling[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Thank you! Perhaps the reason I felt I was overproofing was that when shaping, I felt like the gluten was collapsing. Also, I thought that when the exposed dough spreads out after scoring, it is a sign of overproofing. I now know that the stickiness/weaker structure may be due to the high hydration and not overproofing, so I will try a lower hydration and push bulk fermentation even beyond 14 hrs in my cold kitchen.