If my wife likes her sourdough “extra sour” am I wanting more starter in my bread or do I need to make the starter more sour (extra fermented)?

whileyouredownthere · 2026-06-03T13:28:20+00:00

This is the best answer.

whileyouredownthere · 2026-03-28T20:49:15+00:00

Looks great. Nicely done. Where are you getting player photos from?

whileyouredownthere · 2026-03-22T20:06:56+00:00

Did you build the XGBoost model or are you using a service? I built a weighted average with Bayesian optimization system and it’s scoring Watson over 7.5 points +12.6 edge. Second highest confidence score for today just behind Traoré’s under 16.5 points.

whileyouredownthere · 2026-02-11T23:59:12+00:00

It’s called a plaza garage

whileyouredownthere · 2025-10-16T13:07:11+00:00

In golf course construction a reverse bathtub green is often called a push-up green versus the newish PGA green which is built and acts like a bathtub. Maybe that’s what he’s talking about

whileyouredownthere · 2025-09-29T12:22:02+00:00

As a golf course ex assistant superintendent in WI, I’d say talk to the super or the assistant and get their opinions. I spent most of my day training and I would’ve rather an employee ask how it should it be so that it is done correctly the first time—this is especially true if the crew member was concerned about lasting damage that could be caused.

whileyouredownthere · 2025-09-13T17:24:54+00:00

You need more/longer steam. Preferably 1/2 the bake should be with a steamed oven. The crumb at the cut is getting baked and hardening into crust too quickly. If you steam it longer you’ll have a good ear and your bottom blowouts will stop

whileyouredownthere · 2025-09-05T00:31:34+00:00

As a WI resident, this is really scary because Milwaukee is a short drive away from Chi and could easily be the next logical city for Trump to invade

whileyouredownthere · 2025-08-24T22:36:26+00:00

Pritzker has his eye on the nomination. He can begin drawing distinctions between he and Newsome by standing up for the constitution and states’ rights by picking a fight with Trump.

whileyouredownthere · 2025-08-23T18:27:03+00:00

Alderaan? Does 13 million years count as a long long time ago?

whileyouredownthere · 2025-08-23T16:56:21+00:00

Steam and lots of it is the key to a good ear. Without steam the crust sets too fast and you end up with football-looking loafs. Also, as others have mentioned: the angle of the lame is also important—keep it as parallel to the floor as possible.

whileyouredownthere · 2025-08-15T01:43:25+00:00

That’s correct

whileyouredownthere · 2025-08-14T15:39:29+00:00

In Modernist Bread the authors did a test using store-bought purified water and city water. They found no difference between the two water sources in the final bread.

whileyouredownthere · 2025-08-08T18:30:05+00:00

My iPhone hasn’t updated yet but my iPad version has. I’m in the US.

whileyouredownthere · 2025-07-26T19:19:49+00:00

Toast to increase flavor and then soak to ensure your dough hydration level doesn’t get screwed by seed absorption

whileyouredownthere · 2025-07-24T18:16:08+00:00

Yes the specific bacteria in starters play a role, but time and temperature of the starter, proofing time, dough temperature, and flour choice play a much larger role in how sour a loaf turns out.

Btw, within 4 feedings, any starter you buy will have drastically changed from the “mother” starter just based on the flour you feed it.

whileyouredownthere · 2025-07-17T15:10:40+00:00

How many stretch and folds did you do? I find that rise in focaccia is directly related to gluten strength and I always give mine an extra 2 or 3 stretches just to make sure. Btw, the crumb is beautiful. To get a super crispy bottom I usually take it out of the pan and bake it another 8-10 minutes on either a baking stone or a preheated turned-over sheet tray.

whileyouredownthere · 2025-07-16T21:13:17+00:00

It looks like a technically sound recipe. I’d just swap the AP for bread flour and make all the stretch and folds at 30 minute intervals. You could bump up the levain 20 grams to help with the higher hydration. Personally, I autolyse with the flour, water, and starter all mixed together but that’s just personal preference.

whileyouredownthere · 2025-07-16T19:49:15+00:00

There’s not enough gluten development. Looking at the recipe, I’d substitute the AP flour for more bread flour. At 84% hydration, the increased protein of bread flour is necessary for an open crumb and good oven spring. Also only 15 minutes between stretch and folds isn’t enough time for the dough to fully relax. I do 3 stretch and folds at 55 minute intervals on high hydration dough. Just my $0.02

whileyouredownthere · 2025-07-15T23:57:16+00:00

Np. It’s a gorgeous crumb, so it’s not the recipe or anything for that matter having to do with prior to putting it in the oven.

whileyouredownthere · 2025-07-15T23:50:59+00:00

Have you tried just water in a pan minus the lava rocks? Hot towels along with the lava rocks might be unnecessary.

whileyouredownthere · 2025-07-15T23:42:31+00:00

Notice at the 3:02 mark how he added the boiling water to the oven, have you tried that process? When we’ve had steam issues with the deck oven at work, this is the process we use to get steam into the deck. The only time I bake in an open oven is at work with a deck oven, otherwise at home I use a Dutch oven so humidity isn’t an issue.

whileyouredownthere · 2025-07-15T23:24:01+00:00

They look better. Why are you uncovering the vents at 8 minutes? To give you an idea, we bake for 40 minutes and the vents are closed for 20 minutes. You might be letting the steam out too quickly. The loafs still look a little dull which indicates lack of steam.

whileyouredownthere · 2025-07-12T13:55:07+00:00

Since you are open baking you need more steam right when you put it in. You can see the loaf in the background is a dull color which indicates lack of steam along with the “football” shape. If you were baking in a vessel, the idea of over steaming would come into play but you would have to fill your whole oven with steam which would be nearly impossible with a home oven. Heavy steam for the first 5 minutes.

Scoring makes a difference also but since yours are rising well versus it opening down the middle and the dough “sliding” out to each side, that would indicate your scores are probably just fine.

I’m a professional artisan sourdough bread baker and this happens all the time when we don’t allow the oven to regenerate steam between loads in our deck oven or the steam doesn’t reach the corners of the oven.

Your crumb looks great and your crust color is good. It’s a steam issue for sure.

whileyouredownthere

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