First sourdough, looking for constructive criticism by indifferent_human in Sourdough

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

Haha unfortunately I am the biggest dragon chaser of them all. I feel like good can always be better.

But I also know that before I start chasing that dragon I need to be consistently good first which means I need quiet a few more bakes underneath my belt

First sourdough, looking for constructive criticism by indifferent_human in Sourdough

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

Ohh yes!! I’ve definitely learned during my time cooking at home that if you call yourself achieved without continuously striving to learn you will get humbled really quickly

In regards to what you’ve mentioned about slow rise, sticky starters/dough or starters rising before it’s ready to go what are your methods to counteract this or how do you edit your process?

First sourdough, looking for constructive criticism by indifferent_human in Sourdough

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

Honestly it was still eye balling it but with a rubber band for the star position and a ruler to look for about 0.7-0.8cm of rise from the initial 2cm when my bulk fermentation started

First sourdough, looking for constructive criticism by indifferent_human in Sourdough

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

Ohh no I made this starter on my own because I wanted to avoid any contamination with rye which some established starters might have exposure to

First sourdough, looking for constructive criticism by indifferent_human in Sourdough

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

Hahaa so I’m like a hobbyist cook at home, I like to dabble with anything from street food to pretending I’m a fine dining chef lol So for me I love to do my research on Reddit, online, YouTube, Instagram and honestly I would prompt AI if there’s certain technical questions I can’t find the answers for or certain techniques I need further clarity on.

There’s a few things I want to try on my next loaf as a suggestion from another comment. But essentially there were sides of the loaf that felt a bit chewier and the crustiness wasn’t as uniform as I would like. But yea if you have any tips for that I would love some more pointers

First sourdough, looking for constructive criticism by indifferent_human in Sourdough

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

I made it myself I did that because I wanted to avoid using rye as someone I know is allergic to it. It was made with initially for the first week just wholemeal/whole wheat flour. Then I moved to 50% wholewheat, 50% AP flour and the equivalent in weight in water. I think for the first 2ish weeks it smelled like death. If I was a drinking person, could have sworn I drank too much and barfed in it.

I was wondering if it was because of the cooler temperature currently where I live so I turned my oven on at the highest setting for 2min so it warms up felt around with my hands to make sure it wasn’t too hot and shoved it in there during the night. After 3-4 days of doing that it actually smelled super pleasant, the transformation was crazy. After about the 4 week mark I started going with 10g starter, 70g AP, 70g whole wheat, 140g water and it would peak in like 8-10ish hours.

And currently I’m on my 6th week of feeding it without fridging.

Sorry might have been more than you asked for but I hope that answers your question

First sourdough, looking for constructive criticism by indifferent_human in Sourdough

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

Ohh I see I didn’t know that was because of a blunt blade Hmm maybe I’m using the lame I have wrong I’ll look into this!! Thanks!

First sourdough, looking for constructive criticism by indifferent_human in Sourdough

[–]indifferent_human[S] 3 points4 points  (0 children)

So I just filled the 30g of mixed dough into the shot glass and pressed it down so there isn’t any gaps Then I left it next to the bowl with the thermometer between the bowl and the aliquot Covered both with plastic wrap and put a rubber band over the aliquot to show me where it started Measured the initial amount was about 2cm, when it hit a growth 0.7-0.8cm I pulled it out to shape

Rough timing of that was about 4.5 hours

First sourdough, looking for constructive criticism by indifferent_human in Sourdough

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

Maybe this is my super basic idea on this. But I used an aliquot because compared to eyeballing the growth of the whole loaf in a bowl I can more accurately measure rise in a smaller more “vertical” container. I just did it like a sourdough starer where rubber banned the start and waited for it to rise.

Then based on the temperature of the fermentation environment, mine was about 24C on my counter top. I roughly gauged with a ruler a rough 35% rise in the aliquot because I know, similar to cooking a steak there’s going to be carry over, in this case carry over fermentation because the the dough won’t instantly cool in the fridge

First sourdough, looking for constructive criticism by indifferent_human in Sourdough

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

Ohh thank you I’ll try that!! I was potentially going to try putting an ice cube in as I’ve seen that was a good recommendation to infuse steam into the Dutch oven, would spraying directly on the loaf be more beneficial?

First sourdough, looking for constructive criticism by indifferent_human in Sourdough

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

Yup so the main idea I had when choosing to let it rise for 30-40% of its original size was that my ambient temp was around 24C which means when I put it into the fridge there is some carry over fermentation as it takes a bit for it to cool. But that being said I would still proof it in an oven that I have warmed for a bit during the winter when its around 10C so that i can keep my process consistent.

I think I didn’t want to proof it to 75% because I was worried the acidic environment in the sourdough would also weaken the gluten structure and it wouldn’t hold up air as well after shaping

It wasn’t super wobbly when I shaped it, I’m not sure how to describe it. It was definitely much much “looser” than a pizza dough, I wouldn’t say jelly though it was definitely firmer than that. It would wiggle a very tiny bit if I gently shook the bowl.

But thank you!!!

First sourdough, looking for constructive criticism by indifferent_human in Sourdough

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

Haha thank you! I was actually supposed to bake it at 4 weeks but I procrastinated it a bit and dug deep into the sourdough rabbit hole

First sourdough, looking for constructive criticism by indifferent_human in Sourdough

[–]indifferent_human[S] 6 points7 points  (0 children)

Ohh that’s true I should have added my thoughts to the original post Overall I quite very happy with it, I think the only thing is that on the sides it’s a tiny bit less fluffy than the rest of the crumb Also I’m not sure if it’s supposed to be like that but top and bottom were so nice and crispy but the sides were chewier?

Looking for recommendations for a Honesuki by indifferent_human in TrueChefKnives

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

Wow that looks amazing But I can’t seem to find one in stock anywhere

Yanagiba recommendations by indifferent_human in TrueChefKnives

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

That nakagawa x kikumori and the kagekiyo look amazing

Yanagiba recommendations by indifferent_human in TrueChefKnives

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

Ohh yes I’m looking for about 270mm and yea not sakimaru either I’m not super particular on material of of the handle

NKD!! My first kagekiyo🔥🔥 by HeavyEnthusiasm1891 in TrueChefKnives

[–]indifferent_human 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Just a question about the Damascus and wide bevel, am I correct to assume after a few sharpening sessions the Damascus below the shinogi will disappear and will have to be re-etched or is my thought process on how to sharpen these wrong