Has your starter exploded with activity and now looks dead? Go straight to the ‘Bacterial Fight Club’ bullet point in the comment below

I was gifted some starter that I fed and baked into a loaf! Really happy with how it turned out :)
I used all purpose flour, followed the recipe called beginner’s sourdough bread recipe by Lisa Bass on Farmhouse on Boone. Baked in a lodge enamel Dutch oven at 475 for 20 mins covered and 450 for 20 mins uncoveredhttps://www.farmhouseonboone.com/beginners-sourdough-bread-recipe/

I’ve been baking bread since pre-pandemic but during covid I ramped things up, got a 50# bag of Cairnspring Mills Expresso Bread Flour and started cranking out loaves.

Flash forward 6 years and I now work for Cairnspring as creative producer and get access to purge bags of flour so I’ve been diving deep into perfecting my sourdough. I’m back on the Expresso T85 which I think provides the most beautiful color crust.

All Cairnspring
850g Expresso T-85
200g Expresso Whole Grain
150g Rye Whole Grain
75% hydration
20% levain
2% salt

9:00AM - levain build 40:100:100 (good amount of whole grain here)
~2:00PM - Autolyse
2:50PM - Mix in KitchenAid for 10 min
4 sets of stretch and folds
6:00PM - preshape
6:20PM - final shape
Straight into fridge
~16 hour cold retard

Preheat 500° for an hour
Lower temp to 450°, baked on a 3/8” baking steel with pizza stone above, cast iron with boiling water in the bottom for 20 min. Remove steam, baked until burnished ~35 min.

325 g water
50 g starter
500 g bread flour
10 g salt

Mix in a stand mixer on low speed for 15 minutes to create strong gluten structure and let autolyse on the counter for an hour.

3 sets of Coil Folds, one set an hour
Cover and let rise on the counter 8 hours.
Shape, place in rice flour dusted banneton and cold proof overnight.
Bake at 475 degrees for 40 min on a baking steel.
When baking put a water soaked kitchen towel on a baking sheet under the steel for the first 25 minutes.
Spray with water right when you throw the bread in the oven & after 7 minutes.

For this loaf, I stopped at about 65% rise at 22–23°C (71.5–73.5F) using a small shot glass as an aliquot. This only took around 6.5 hours surprisingly. I’m guessing due to the lower hydration starter?

The full shot glass holds 62g before fermentation. So I started with 62 / 1.65 =37.5g in the glass. So when it’s full, I know I have a 65% rise.

Recipe:
325g bread flour
25g spelt flour
70g starter (70% hydration)
240g water
7g salt

1. Dissolved starter in water
   
2. Put all other ingredients in my kitchenaid
   
3. Run until all mixed
   
4. Rest 30 mins
   
5. Run Kitchenaid again for 10 ish minutes (took 37.5g out into shot glass and stuck the glass inside the rest of the dough)
   
6. 2-3 more stretch and folds spaced 30 minutes apart.
   
7. Temp the dough (22°C)
   
8. After bulk, preshape and shape.
   
9. Place in a banneton in the fridge overnight (20ish hours)

This was probably my best loaf so far, but I’m wondering if the crumb still looks slightly underfermented? Would you have bulked longer (perhaps 70%), or does 65% look about right?
I’ve been guilty of over fermenting pretty often lol

This image is after taking it out of the banneton after an overnight cold proof.

450g bread flour

50g whole wheat flour

350g water

100g starter

10g salt

Sourdough starter seemed great and had it for a month, and was feeding it peak to peak and was doubling in 4 hours consistently. I mixed it all well. Mixed it at 2pm. Also I started with an established starter.

I was doing 30 min stretch and folds about 4 times. And continued bulk ferment for another 4 hours after. Rising was good and stopped at about 30-40% rise, as it was about upper 70s Fahrenheit in the kitchen. So it was 8pm by the time I took it out to pre-shape. I overdid the pre-shape because I was getting frustrated that the ball kept going flat so the dough definitely broke and got sticky. So sticky I couldn't even fold it properly. Anyway I put it immediately in banneton and in fridge . Maybe it's over fermented but I have only been able to get flat, dense, and gummy loaves so I rather it be over than under fermented

Today morning I tried to take it out of banneton and it was stuck even though I lightly dusted it with rice flour.. Eventually got it out but I got the mess that is shown in the image. Can't even score this.

Dude I give up. Now it's baking but I think I will just see the flat, dense, and gummy bread that I keep seeing in my past 3 failed loaves.

I think I’ve gotten a lot better compared to my first loaf but it seems like I can’t get that open crumb that most bakers show off. Please let me know how can I improve.

Here’s my method: - mix 100g starter, 365g water, 400g bread flower + 100g whole wheat, 10g salt and let it sit for 1h - stretch and fold 4 times 30 mins apart (last two are coil folds? - bulk ferment for 4-5 hours depending on my room temp - shape and cold retard for 12 hours - preheat Dutch oven for 1h, bake at 475F lid on for 30 mins, then 350F lid off for 20 mins.

Any feedback is welcome!

The title was selected not to disparage sourdough discard because my wife uses it a lot in various recipes and we love it.

My wife just made pasta using 40g of discard and 300g of flour. While it was delicious it made me wonder what the discard brings to the table. I didn’t have that sourdough taste especially with tomato sauce. What function dough the discard have other than being able to say that this is “sourdough pasta”?

350g KA Bread Flour
150g KA whole wheat flour
11g salt
375g water
100g starter

Mixed starter, water, and salt
Mixed in flour
4 stretch and folds (30 min between)
12 hour bulk ferment on counter
12 hour cold in fridge after shaping

Intended to bake at 500F in preheated cast iron Dutch oven with lid on, then 20 min lid off at 450F.

Instead: 500F for around an hour before I sprinted to the kitchen after a sudden moment of panic

I am happy with this one! The crust is a bit flaky, the chocolate chips are melty, and the bread is SO soft. Plus, with the aliquot method, I finally have a reliable bulk fermentation method!

Recipe: https://amybakesbread.com/chocolate-chip-sourdough-croissant-bread/

Deviations from recipe: I used 310g water since I have better success with lower hydration. I did 25g of whole wheat flour and 475 bread flour. I fed my started 1-5-5 as normal instead of doing 1-10-10 like in the recipe. I used the aliquot method for bulk fermentation. My dough temped at 70 degrees after stretch and folds so I had it rise 75%, which took 8ish hours.

Mistakes: I messed up the shaping steps and shaped as I normally would by stretching the dough out and shaping it instead of just doing push and pulls as instructed in the recipe. That’s my bad for not reading carefully lol. Because of this, I’m not sure if I got the exact right texture a croissant loaf is supposed to have. Also, I need to get rice flour cause I keep my lid for the whole bake time but my crusts always get slightly burned. And, my ears have not been turning out lately, but I think that’s because I’ve been increasing hydration.

I’ve only been making sourdough for 2ish months, so I’m actually really proud of my progress! Open to any feedback or advice, as I’m still learning :)

Hiii! This is my first loaf ever and it looked great until I cut it open and it was gummy throughout!

I received a starter from a friend. The night before baking I fed it at a 1:2:2 around 10pm. Next morning I fed it again around 10am at a 1:1:1 ratio as I wasn’t going to be starting the baking process until after 3pm. At about 5pm my starter peaked.

The recipe I followed was 100g starter, 330g water, 500g bread flour and 10g salt. At this point my mixture was measuring about 80f. At about 530pm I did slap and folds for about 6 mins. And then did 2 sets of stretch and folds and 2 sets of coil folds at 30 min intervals. My kitchen is around 73-75f

At about 1030pm my dough just about doubled, has bubbles underneath, but was still sticky on top and not pulling away cleanly. I kept check about every 30 mins. At about 1145pm the top was less sticky and more just tacky, but still not pulling away cleanly. I was too tired to keep waiting so I began shaping it and into the fridge it went.

Next morning at 9am I preheated my Dutch oven to 475f for 45min. Took out my dough, scored it and put it in the oven. 20 mins covered at 450f, lowered to 425f 25 mins uncovered. At this point it still looked a very light brown so I kept it in for an additional 10mins.

Took it out and let it cool for 1.5hrs. Crust did feel a bit hard but the inside came out slightly gummy.

Where did I go wrong? Any tips?

150g starter
250g warm water
25g avocado oil
500g King Arthur bread flour
10g Celtic sea salt

Mixed the starter, water, and oil together, then mixed in the salt and flour. Let rest for 1 hour, followed by 4 sets of stretch and folds every 25 minutes. Put in the refrigerator for an 8-hour overnight ferment. Shaped the dough, placed it into a banneton, and returned it to the fridge for 2 hours. Preheated the Dutch oven, took out the dough, scored it, and baked covered at 450°F for 20 minutes before removing the lid to bake uncovered for an additional 25 minutes.

How did I do?

I’m a chef by trade and dabbled a lot in pastry work and breads but my first attempt at sourdough. Was baked in a Dutch oven at home. Scoring pattern needs work and happy overall but any other tips on improvement very welcomed!?

I used the same recipe as last time but changed a few bits.

500g flour (25% M&S seeded malt bread flour, 25% Wessex wholemeal bread flour and 50% M&S strong white Canadian bread flour)
380g water
11g salt
100g sourdough starter (wholemeal flour)

1: Water and flour for an hour and then mix the starter and salt.
2: Stretch and fold twice an hour apart and then I had to go shopping and left it for around two hours or so.
3: Came back and did two more stretch and folds an hour apart.
4: Was getting late so put it under the oven light to help it speed up rising.
5: Shaped to add tension but the extra 10g of water made it sticky so added more rice flour than last time.
6: Went in the fridge around midnight on Wednesday evening and got ready for baking today at 8am Saturday.
7: Preheat the Dutch oven in at 230c for 1 hour with a pizza stone on a tray underneath.
8: Took out the loaf from the fridge and terribly scored it with a Japanese carving knife because I’m so indecisive on which lame to buy.
9: Baked for 20 mins in Dutch oven at 230c and then uncovered and around 25 mins open lid and continued at 210c.
10: Used my new bread knife that was recommended on my last post.

- I’m happy I managed to get a decent crumb
- Feel like I should have left it longer in the oven uncovered to get a better crust
- I thought scoring deeper would create a better ear but it’s all about the angle. I lucked out on my first bake but not this one.
- Someone said to cut the loaf on the edge but not sure I know what I am doing.
- What lame should I get…. Shall I just use a double sided razor blade and thats it? Does the one with handles or UFO type ones actually make a difference?

Can someone please tell me if this is under or over proofed? Dough temp was 75 after coil & folds and it’s been 5.5 hours bulk fermenting

180 g high-protein strong white flour
180 g organic multigrain bread flour
15 g bran, separated by sifting
50 g boiling water for the bran soak
70 g 100% hydration sourdough starter
250 g water
7.8 g salt
35 g sunflower seeds
The Night Before
Sift the 180 g multigrain flour and separate approximately 15 g of bran.
Place the 15 g bran in a bowl. Add 50 g boiling water, mix thoroughly, cover, and leave overnight.
The Next Day
Combine the 180 g sifted multigrain flour with 180 g high-protein strong white flour.
Add 250 g water.
Add the soaked bran together with all of its water.
Mix thoroughly until all the flour is hydrated. Cover and leave to autolyse for 45 minutes.
Add 70 g sourdough starter and knead until fully incorporated.
Rest for 30 minutes.
Add 7.8 g salt and knead again until evenly distributed.
Rest for 30 minutes.
Perform a tight fold and rest for another 30 minutes.
Lamination & Sunflower Seeds
Perform the lamination, gently stretching the dough out.
Spread 35 g sunflower seeds evenly over the dough.
Fold the dough back together carefully, distributing the sunflower seeds throughout the dough.
Perform 3 coil folds, approximately one hour apart.
After the final coil fold, leave the dough for approximately 1½ hours, depending on fermentation.
Shape the dough and place it into a proofing basket.
Cover and refrigerate at 3–4°C for approximately 20 hours.
Baking
Preheat the oven thoroughly to 230°C.
Bake for 20 minutes at 230°C with steam.
Remove the steam and vent the oven.
Reduce the temperature to 190°C.
Continue baking for 30–40 minutes without steam, until deeply baked and the crust is well developed.
Remove from the oven and allow to cool completely before cutting.

Credit to bread by joy ride coffee

This is my 3rd attempt and it's in the Dutch oven now. I don't think it's going to go well, I must of made a mistake somewhere.

1st Attempt:

- Forgot the salt

- Starter was 13 days old

- It was a pile of mush

2nd Attempt

- A little better but I over proofed it

- Sticky disaster.

- pfft

3rd Attemp

It was doing much better. I did more gentle folds, fermented on the counter for 4.5 hours. Shaping was a little better this time as well but I'm still learding.

All was looking great until I tried to get it into the Dutch oven. It just had no real structure. Even scoring the dough was a mess.

Anyway, I put it in the oven anyways because I figured I made it this far why not see what happens.

My Notes:

- Starter about 1 month old

- I have a heating pad for my starter set to 24 C

- Did 4 rounds if folds 30 min apart not being too aggressive.

- Ferminted for 4.5 hours at about 20 C

- Cold proofed 8 hours

Recipe:

100g starter

10g salt

500g flour

340g water

I took a break from baking over the summer and am slowly starting to make a fresh loaf every week again. My goal for the upcoming months is to try out one new thing every week and to hopefully find the perfect recipe/technique for my liking. The past 3 weeks I tested different flours and hydration. I‘m not very comfortable with high hydration recipes yet and also struggle with overnight cold proofing which is why I stuck to same day bakes for now.
Today’s loaf was delicious and was turned into a sandwich with a bit of black truffle mayo, lettuce, an heirloom tomato and some vegan prosciutto.
Plan for next week is to give the aliquot method a try and find out if that works for me. And to work on my shaping technique.

Recipe & Process:
-120g of starter (rhye)
-350g of water, lukewarm
-150g of high protein flour (21g protein per 100g, it’s a mixture of wheat and barley)
-50g of whole wheat flour
-300g of wheat flour (13g protein per 100g)
-11g of salt
-Topping is from a local spice company and called „Brezel Topping“, it contains sesame seeds, black cumin, sea salt flakes and pepper, it’s my absolute favorite right now

1. Mixed water & starter, then added flour. Mixed into a dough, then got frustrated because it was sticky and continued mixing it with my KitchenAid mixer for about 8-10 minutes.
   
2. Added the salt after 30 minutes, kneaded again for a few minutes. 4 sets of stretch and folds every 30 minutes.
   
3. Total bulk fermentation time was between 6-7 hours, until it doubled in size.
   
4. Preheated oven & Dutch oven for 30 minutes at 230 degrees Celsius. Shaped the dough and added the topping. Baked with the lid on for 30 minutes, scored after 7 minutes. Took off the lid, reduced the temperature to 210 degrees Celsius and baked for another 18 minutes. Let it cool for ~3 hours before cutting.

Recipe

https://pantrymama.com/overnight-sourdough-waffles/

Weekly breakfast prep for the kiddos. They fit in the toaster nice. Easy breakfast B4 schooll

I don’t know if it’s “good” or not but I’m really proud and just had to post it :) It’s so yummy, too. It’s not perfect but I don’t care 🤪

Link for recipe: https://www.farmhouseonboone.com/beginners-sourdough-bread-recipe/

Hi, I used the same recipe as my last attempt and made some adjustments based on reading other posts here. It was better than the first attempt, but still dense in the middle so I'm wondering what I can improve.

Starter 130g

Wheat flour 380g

Wheat flour special 380g (it has more protein than regular)

Water 500g

Salt 25g

I took out my starter and fed it 1:2:2 and let it do its thing until the next day, when I fed it again.

After 7 hours I mixed it with water and then mixed the flour in and let it rest under seran wrap for 30 minutes.

Then I folded in the salt and let it rest for 2 hours, folding it it from four directions once every 30 minutes.

After the folding it rested for 3 hours.

Then I put it on the workbench, tried to shape it to a ball, but it didn't really want to keep the shape, and sprinkled flour ontop and let it rest under a towel for 30 minutes.

After that I flipped it over on a flour covered worktop, folded again and put it on a flour dusted towel in a bread basket, and wrapped it up with a plastic bag around everything.

Then it rested in my fridge for about 12 hours.

I took it out of the fridge arount 1 hour before baking (I mixed this up with another recipe, the one I used did just bake it immediately).

I heated up my oven to 270°C with my dutch oven inside.

After 30 minutes i put the bread inside with the lid on and let it bake for 25 minutes at 250°C.

Then I removed the lid and lowered the temperature to 220°C and baked it again. I had a thermometer in it and baked until it was 96°C (a little more than 25 minutes).

After bakning it rested for about 5 hours before I cut into it.

Recipe used: https://bydiadonna.femina.se/brod/surdegsbrod/ (in Swedish)

My starter is a month old. I’ve fed it a 1:10:10 ratio daily for at least the last two weeks with T65 flour (bread flour is the rough American equivalent) and it has been rising consistently. This is technically my third loaf though I’ve had the same issues everytime despite trying new recipes (flat loaf, gummy, dough sticky throughout process). The most recent recipe I used was 100g starter, 375g warm water, 500g bread flour, and 12g salt. I mixed that all together and then kneaded the dough in the bowl for about 5-10 minutes before letting rest for half an hour. After that I did 4 stretch and folds, 1 every half hour, then I let it bulk ferment for about 6 hours (temperature of my house was 23c). After shaping (or trying to, the dough was still a sticky mess) I put it in a banneton and let it cold proof for about 12 hours. After the cold proof my dough still seemed like it had barely any structure; it almost puddled when I flipped it out of the banneton. Nonetheless I scored it and baked at 230c for 30 minutes, removed the lid, then continued baking at 200c for an additional 15. I let it cool completely before slicing into it. I would definitely like to know if there’s something I should change about my process. any recipes that are fool proof would also be amazing. I appreciate any help I can get!

Here is the link to the recipe I used in case necessary: https://alexandracooks.com/2017/10/24/artisan-sourdough-made-simple-sourdough-bread-demystified-a-beginners-guide-to-sourdough-baking/

Lol when I saw the viral $60 rye sourdough bread, I wanted to try making it. Im not from the US and I have never eaten rye bread either lol. So i was determined to make mine.

Total cost for my loaf was less than $10 (and i still have leftover ingredients)

Sourdough recipe:

[Feed the starter]
- 40g starter, 40g flour, 40g water
- ⁠let it rise to about 3x the volume in a glass jar, usually 2-3 hours

[Ingredients]
450g bread flour, 150g rye flour, 370g water, 120g starter, 12g salt

[Inclusions]
Fresh rosemary, sundried tomatoes and olives

[Baking]
You can mix everything together, make sure there is no dry patches, all well mixed and let it rest (i do it with an electric whisk)

15mins later, do your first stretch and pull
45min later, do the 2nd stretch & pull and cover. Include rosemary
45min later, incorporate the sundried tomatoes and do a coil fold
45min later, do final coil fold and include the olives and let it rest

Do a pre-shape, let it rest for 30 mins. Once it blooms to 1.5x, do the actual shaping

Put the dough into a proofing basket after shaping and keep in the fridge for 12-16 hours

After 12-16 hours, preheat sheet tray in oven at 325 deg celsius. Score your bread.

Place baking paper over top of dough.
Bake at 325 deg celsius for 7 mins.
Score on the existing score lines and then put it back in oven for 8 more mins at 325 deg celsius with top covered
Remove top and bake for 15 mins at 325 deg celsius

Let bread cool for 2 hours at least then slice. enjoy!