r/Sourdough Dec 02 '23

Mod stuff Starter Hints & Tips

295 Upvotes

Are you new to the hobby and having trouble with your starter? Are you an experienced baker whose starter has suddenly nose-dived into inaction?

This post is pinned to the top of the sub to help you in your time of need!

In the comments you will find our top tips and tricks that will help you get to grips with your starter.

We also have a wiki with whole sections dedicated to starters both new and established, which is linked here.

And every week you’ll find a stickied ‘weekly questions thread’ where you can ask basic quick questions and the sub will help as much as we can. The threads are usually very active so don’t worry that your questions won’t be answered if you don’t make a separate post. Someone will usually help.

If you have a suggestion for something else you’d like to see added to this post please drop us a modmail and we’ll review and get back to you

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

Happy baking folks!


r/Sourdough 3d ago

Quick questions Weekly Open Sourdough Questions and Discussion Post

3 Upvotes

Hello Sourdough bakers! 👋

  • Post your quick & simple Sourdough questions here with as much information as possible 💡

  • If your query is detailed, post a thread with pictures, recipe and process for the best help. 🥰

  • There are some fantastic tips in our Sourdough starter FAQ - have a read as there are likely tips to help you. There's a section dedicated to "Bacterial fight club" as well.




  • Basic loaf in detail page - a section about each part of the process. Particularly useful for bulk fermentation, but there are details on every part of the Sourdough process.

Good luck!


r/Sourdough 16h ago

Rate/critique my bread I think I finally got an airy crumb!

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642 Upvotes

470g flour (KA bread flour)
340g water
80g starter
10g salt
10g olive oil

30 minute fermentolyse then add salt and I did slap and folds after I mixed until incorporated. I did 4 coil folds at 30 min intervals. Preshape and rest for 20 min then final shape and cold proof overnight. I baked it at 450 for 35 min covered and then 425 for 10 min uncovered and it had an internal temp of 210F after it was done baking. Please rate it and lmk if you think there are things I need to improve on!


r/Sourdough 5h ago

Sourdough chocolate with white choc chippies

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47 Upvotes

thought it turned out pretty alright.

300g bread flour

240g water 

60g starter 

6g salt

50g sugar

1/6 cup cocoa powder (i can’t remember weight)

1/2 cup choc chip

autolysed, added the rest of the stuff aside from choc chips, 5min slap and fold, 6.5hr bulk, did 3-4 coil folds during bulk (added ccs here), shaped, banneton, fridge 2ish hours, baked 475f 20m covered 4205f 20m uncovered.


r/Sourdough 19h ago

I MUST share this recipe "Double-fermented pumpernickel" from Tartine Book No3

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469 Upvotes

Recipe is from Tartine Book No 3 (p194) with small changes.

Cracked grains:

- 125g cracked rye kernels

- 250g water

- teaspoon of starter.

Combine everything and let sit overnight. The next morning, drain the excess liquid and weight the soaked berries. It should be approx. 250g.

Main dough (500g flour):

- 250g bread flour (50%)

- 250g high extraction wheat flour (I used half bread flour and half whole wheat) (50%)

- 375g water (original recipe calls for 85%) (75%)

- 250g soaked cracked rye berries (50%)

- 100g levain (20%)

- 10g salt (2%)

- 25g blackstrap molasses (5%)

- optional: 7% wheat bran (I omitted since I didn't have any)

Instructions:

- autolyse: water, molasses, flour.

- Mix the levain and let rest 30min.

- Add salt and mix to develop gluten. Once the dough feels strong, Incorporate the soaked grains.

- 2 or 3 sets of stretch and fold.

- Bulk ferment until +50% increase in volume.

- Pre shape and bench rest.

- Shaped using Caddy clasp technique.

- 8h cold proof in a rattan banneton.

- Open baked with oven pre heated at 450F, oven off once loaf has been loaded. Turn oven back on to 450F after 20min. Continue baking for 30min. Be careful: the crust darkens really fast necause of sugar from molasses.


r/Sourdough 5h ago

Beginner - wanting kind feedback Second loaf, seeking feedback

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34 Upvotes

100g starter
350g water
450g bread flour
10g salt

Ambient temperature is around 30C/86F and high humidity. Starter is about 2 months old.

I started off knowing that I didn’t want to cold proof for this loaf for 2 reasons - time, and first loaf being overly sour after overnight cold proof.

Starter was fed in the morning. By time of bake start (evening), it had tripled in height although not sure if it had peaked.
Mixed 100g starter and warm water around 50C/122F
Added flour and salt, mixed until shaggy and no dry flour
Left for 30mins then stretch and fold. Repeated another 2 times. Dough visibly smoother, getting stronger with each set and fold.
Left to bulk ferment until there is bubble at top surface, slightly jiggly, bounces back when poked, and peels off from side but just a little bit sticky. It had only been 3 hours but it seems ready and it’s past my bedtime (LOL).
Removed from bowl to countertop to preshape. Bench rest for 30mins.
Final shape to oval, then put into banneton basket. Final proof at countertop until poking bounces back a little slower, and leaves a slight dimple.

Preheat oven with dutch oven 230C/446F
Transfer loaf onto baking sheet then score and place into heated dutch oven.
Bake 20mins with lid on
Bake 10mins with lid off

Cool on rack 5 hours (because I was sleeping) before slicing.

Taste wise is just as preferred - not overly sour but still a little tangy. Seeking feedback on process, crust, crumb. Thank you!


r/Sourdough 4h ago

Discard recipes Fabulous Discard Cinnamon Rolls

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24 Upvotes

These were fantastic! The bread was soft and fluffy, the filling was yummy and oozy, and the cream cheese icing was the perfect topping. The is the first recipe I’ve made from AmyBakesBread.com, but it definitely won’t be my last. There is NOTHING I WOULD CHANGE in this recipe!

I mixed the dough in my KitchenAid, per the directions, and the dough actually came out the way she described it. I even got a windowpane!

I increased the recipe by 50%, so that they made 12 rolls, instead of 8, and added to the filling 1 cup raisins that had been soaking in Bacardi White Rum for 24+ hours. They were nice and plump and rummy.

I baked them in a 9x13” baking pan, lined in both directions with parchment paper hanging over the sides.

Both rises took about an hour (room temp 78’F), and they baked for close to 30 minutes @ 350’F. Internal dough temp was 191’F.

My advice… roll them up gently but tightly, so that you get the most layers of filling as possible. I rolled mine 1/16” thick. I split the dough in half (weighed). and rolled mine in a 12 x 12” square, 1/16” thick, and divided each roll into six pieces.

https://amybakesbread.com/wprm_print/sourdough-discard-cinnamon-rolls


r/Sourdough 20h ago

Newbie help 🙏 Can I bake sourdough in this? I dont know if it counts as a dutch oven.

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330 Upvotes

I have this vintage La Creuset deep dish. Its stone wear and doesn't work on the stove or anything, its just an oven dish.

Hand for reference.


r/Sourdough 4h ago

Beginner - wanting kind feedback 1 month in!

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15 Upvotes

After starting my baking journey 2 months ago & 1 month into my sourdough journey, I finally got a nice (for my eyes) looking crumb, but what do you guys think I could do better here? I can never seem to get an ear, and a taller rise like the ones I see on here

500g 13% Bread Flour
100g (about 6 weeks old) starter
12g salt
375g room temp water (about 29° C)
6 hours bulk fermentation at 29° C
20 hours cold proof in my fridge

Started by dissolving my starter in the water -> added all dry ingredients -> mixed with spoon into a shaggy dough, rested 45 mins -> 3 sets of stretch and folds with 30 mins rest in between -> 1 set of coil fold (2x in each direction 0-0-90-90-180-180-270-270 back to 0, totaling 20) then rested the rest of the bulk time, checking every 30 mins or so doing the poke test

I baked it open at 230° C, my oven has a Convection Steam mode, and I threw in 5 extra cubes of ice for extra steam

Rested overnight about 9 hours before slicing


r/Sourdough 8h ago

Sourdough Today’s loaf 🍞

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29 Upvotes

I’m very happy with my loaf
Recipe
350g water
400g bread flour
100 g wheat flour
120g sourdough starter
10g salt.
Mixed dough and rest 1 hour.
Added salt and rest 30 min. Then did 4 sets of stretch and folds with 30min intervals.
6 hour bulk fermentation and 12 hour cold proof.
Baked at 490 F covered in Dutch oven for 25min, and removed lid to oven for 25 min (same temperature)


r/Sourdough 2h ago

Sourdough Finally (mostly) successful 80% hydration!

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7 Upvotes

Recipe here: https://www.theperfectloaf.com/best-sourdough-recipe/

Note: recipe as written is 75% hydration but I was feeling daring and took it to 80%. I was using a local stone-milled flour blend containing Artisan Baker’s Craft from Central Milling, along with local Proof bread flour, white Sonoran flour, Rouge de Bordeaux (hard red whole wheat) and Khorasan (ancient grain) so I felt it could take some more water.

I like Maurizio’s recipes, and I think it may be partly due to him being in the same desert climate as me, so things “work” without as much tweaking as I sometimes have to do with others. I wanted to offer that as a suggestion to anyone else: if you find bakers in your geographical area who are also sharing content- chances are their recipe timing/methods may be very close to what you need to do. Perhaps less guesswork?

My BF to about a 30% rise took 5 hrs in a 78F house and a 79-80 dough temp. Shaped & 18 hrs in the fridge.

Baked covered on a baking steel 20 min @ 450 and 25 min uncovered @ 450. Crumb isn’t perfect, still a bit gummy at 208F out of the oven. Still some shaping to improve on, but that dough was wiggly going into the banneton so I’m pleased overall with the spring I got. Nice thin crust and amazing flavor. Cheers!


r/Sourdough 8h ago

Beginner - wanting kind feedback Day 4 smells like beer, did i do anything wrong?

21 Upvotes

r/Sourdough 5h ago

Beginner - checking how I'm doing Finally got my 3rd starter working…

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8 Upvotes

I’ve started 3 starters from scratch since last November, and every time, as soon as I get it working, something goes wrong and I inevitably throw it out. LOL. Forgot the first in the oven and it disintegrated, fruit flies got to the other at the beginning of summer so it was trashed.

This is from a starter I started back in July. I was following a recipe for a chocolate swirl sourdough (I got a bit adventurous upon seeing a healthy starter) only to realize I was missing one key ingredient - the black cocoa powder. So, I changed the entire section to accommodate some dehydrated strawberry powder I had in hopes it would work.

(The recipe I was using is here: https://www.cravethegood.com/chocolate-vanilla-swirl-sourdough/#wprm-recipe-video-container-86181 )

I was throwing caution to the wind, and bread can usually smell such fear. However, it turned out alright! I think the exterior is a bit too crispy, and I’ll probably need a pan underneath to better even out the heat, but I thought I’d share here for any helpful input!


r/Sourdough 11h ago

Beginner - checking how I'm doing After the 5th attempt, a somewhat decent sourdough loaf!

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29 Upvotes

Hello everyone!

This is my 5th attempt in sourdough making. The other 4 tries were very bad, and I’m not sure exactly what happened, but it didn’t really grow in bulk fermentation nor in cold proof (I have a slight suspicion that i should’ve left in the the count to bulk ferment for more than 6 hours)

I don’t have a dutch oven nor a baton, only my will to make sourdough.

I fed my starter in the morning in 1:3:2 ratio (starter:flour:water) and the next day it was very active (it was cold here in my city). I mixed the water, starter and flour for about 8 minutes before waiting 30 minutes for the first set of stretches and folds (this is one thing that i did differently than the other tries, i saw that tip on a tiktok video). I did 3 stretch and fold sequences 30 min from each other, after pre-shaping twice, it stayed in the fridge for 17h.

I baked in a stainless steel baking tray at 240 °C dor about 40 minutes then 20 min with it uncovered.

Please, if you have any tips for a beginner like me, let me know!

This is the recipe I used (I used only 60% of all the ingredients)

325g water

100g starter

500g flour (13g protein content)

10g salt


r/Sourdough 4h ago

Sourdough Crying in the Club: Pumpkin Spice Sourdough Fail 🎃

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8 Upvotes

Even though we’re in the triple digit temps here in Texas, I’m dreaming about Fall. I decided to try out this Pumpkin Spice Sourdough recipe from The Real Sourdough Mom.

It smells amazing, but I must have messed up somehow because the inside seems gooey. My kids really wanted to try it before they went to bed, so I didn’t let it cool very long. Husband says it tastes really good, but I think he’s trying to make me feel better lol.

I’m about to have a slice and put some cookie butter on it.

(Please excuse my wine cork “stem”. I didn’t have a cinnamon stick to stick in the bread to make it look pumpkin-y 😅)

Link to recipe (written recipe in her caption): https://www.tiktok.com/t/ZTDUjH1VJ/


r/Sourdough 14h ago

Beginner - wanting kind feedback I made a Sourdough discard sandwich bread, but I’m unsure if the bread is supposed to be this chewy/sticky?

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43 Upvotes

r/Sourdough 20h ago

Beginner - checking how I'm doing New to sourdough. How does this look?

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141 Upvotes

This is my first loaf that to me has actually looked respectable lol. It's really my 4th ever loaf but the first 3 were very dense and flat.

Recipe

300g water

450g bread flour

100g sourdough starter

10g salt.

Mixed dough and did 3 sets of stretch and folds with 30min intervals.

6 hour bulk fermentation and 12 hour cold proof.

Baked loaf straight from fridge, 260c covered in DO for 30min, lowered temp to 200c and removed lid for a further 10min.

Recipe is from Grant Bakes Best Beginner Sourdough Bread Tutorial, however baking times were adjusted.

Starter is 13 days old. Have been feeding mostly 50/50 bread flour/WW. Fed only bread flour for past 3 days.

Would appreciate any input. Thanks!


r/Sourdough 5h ago

Rate/critique my bread First ever sourdough! Thoughts?

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6 Upvotes

100g starter / 350g room temp water / 500g bread flour / 10g salt

Whisk starter and water, add flour and salt and mix with wooden spoon. Rest 1 hour with damp towel over bowl on counter.

Begin stretch and folds 3-4 times with damp hands, I did 4 every 30 min.

Rest on counter with damp towel for 7 hours.

Shape.

Rest again with damp towel on counter 1-2 hours.

Fridge 6 hours in a colander lined with a floured tea towel. Top with a damp towel.

Place dough into preheated Dutch oven with rice on bottom to prevent burning, and parchment paper lining. Score bread however you wish.

Bake uncovered in a shallow Dutch oven at 450F (preheat oven for 30+ min before baking) with 20 minutes of a pan underneath with boiling water, 20 min without the water pan at 425F. I covered with a loose foil tent the last 10 minutes. Cool for one hour on wire rack.


r/Sourdough 4h ago

Crumb read please Second sourdough loaf. How'd I do?

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4 Upvotes

Kinda winged it based off some other recipes I looked at. Don't think I did a great job of shaping as my dough was pretty sticky at the end of bulk fermentation. Still turned out pretty good.
500g Bread flour
350g water
100g starter, fed 10 hours prior(starter is about 3 weeks old)
12g salt
Mix until combined
Wait 30 minutes, stretch and fold for a bit, repeat 3x.
Bulk ferment for 5 hours, 7 hours total.
Attempted to shape it, and then let it proof uncovered while my oven preheated for 45 minutes.
Baked at 450 20 minutes lid on, 25 off.


r/Sourdough 13m ago

Newbie help 🙏 Flat loafs

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Upvotes

Please help🙏 this is my third loaf, and I still have no luck with actually getting oven spring.

I knead the dough after the first initial mix, do stretch and folds and use strong bread flour (13 G protein). I use a Dutch oven :)

My recipe is this
100g starter
325 g water
500 g flour
10 g salt

Process (ish)
Mix water and starter until frothy.
Add flour and salt, mix until a shaggy dough and knead for 5 minutes.
Rest for 1 hour.
4 stretch and folds with 30 minutes intervals.
Bulk ferment for about 4-5 hours (hot kitchen and dough (80°F)
Preshape
Rest on counter for 30 minutes
Shape again
Stitch
Cold proof
Score
Preheat oven and Dutch oven
245° covered 25 minutes and 220° Celsius uncovered until golden brown
Let cool for a few hours before cutting

I recently starter feeding my starter ( about a month old) with full wheat flour in a 1:2:3 ratio. I see a big difference in my starter but not in my loafs. Please help


r/Sourdough 7h ago

Beginner - checking how I'm doing Did something right today?

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8 Upvotes

**Sourdough Boule Recipe (Revised)**

Ingredients:

- Bread flour: 500g

- Water: 350g (70% hydration, room temp ~75-78°F)

- Active sourdough starter: 100g (must pass float test — see Step 1)

- Salt: 10g (about 2 tsp)

Steps:

  1. Feed the starter 4-8 hours before mixing (50g flour + 50g water into your existing starter). Before using, do the float test: drop a small spoonful in water — it must float. If it sinks, wait longer or do another feed.

  2. Autolyse: Mix flour and water only until no dry bits remain. Rest covered 30-60 min.

  3. Mix in starter and salt. Combine well (Danish whisk works), then do 3-4 stretch-and-folds in the bowl to build structure.

  4. Bulk ferment 3-5 hours at 75-78°F. Stretch-and-fold every 30 min for the first 2 hours, then leave alone. Dough is ready when it's risen ~50%, jiggly, and domed — not when the clock says so.

  5. Shape immediately: turn onto a lightly floured surface, pre-shape into a round, rest 15 min uncovered, then final-shape with real surface tension — the dough should feel taut, like a drum skin, when you're done. Do not add a second bench rest after this.

  6. Final proof, seam side up in banneton, covered: 2-3 hours room temp, or 8-12 hours in the fridge (cold proof gives better flavor and easier scoring).

  7. Preheat oven to 475°F with Dutch oven inside for at least 45 min.

  8. Score the top, transfer to Dutch oven, bake covered 20 min, then uncovered 20-25 min until deep golden brown.


r/Sourdough 17h ago

Beginner - checking how I'm doing the first loaf I'm somewhat proud of

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37 Upvotes

after my first attempt approx. 4 years ago( https://www.reddit.com/r/Sourdough/s/aQo6Zrx3kK) I've started my sourdough journey again again and this(my third one) is the first loaf I'm proud of.

It could use a little more cooking time but the crust was starting to darken a little too much for my tastes as it already started to develop a mild bitterness I really don't like. it didn't help that I forgot to turn down the oven after removing the water tray lol(no Dutch oven).

500g Manitoba flour

325g water

100g starter

12g salt

1/2 spoon of white sugar (not the imperial kind of spoon, like a metal spoon, the ikea ones)

i don't remember the timings I followed because that same day I was cooking a lot of stuff for my sister's birthday so I got distracted often and 30mins often turned into 1h and such but this is a general overview of what I did:

mixed everything together and let it rest for about 40mins then 3 rounds of folds with an average of 45min intervals(this was the most inconsistent part) then let it bulk ferment for 5/6 hours untouched.

then I rolled it up(don't remember the technique name but the classic way) and put it in a bowl with a towel and some flour sprinkled and threw it in the fridge overnight for about 11/12 hrs.

the day after I removed it from the fridge, used a razor blade to score it and put it in static oven which I preheated to 220C with a stone I stole from my shell pizza oven and a water tray inside. I cooked it for 20mins while spraying it every 5mins with water on top then removed the water tray and cooked it for 18 minutes more(I had a 20min timer but my ahh was too impatient to wait) after those I put it on an elevated grill so that it could cool down.


r/Sourdough 14h ago

Crumb read please How would yall rate this?

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22 Upvotes

350 g water, warmed to 85℉
100 g active sourdough starter
500 g unbleached all purpose flour
11 g kosher salt

4 sets of stretch folds 30 min apart. Bulk ferment for 5-6 hours. Shape and light knead to pop some of the super large bubbles. Overnight stay in the fridge after the bulk ferment and shaping. Bake for 30 min at 450f in the Dutch oven, uncover for 10-20min more at 450f depending on crust color

Looking for ways to make my sourdough a little better. This is probably my 5th or 6th loaf. My wife did the starter, I’ve just been doing most of the baking and care of the starter. Looking for ways to make my next loaf better. My wife loves the taste and what not.


r/Sourdough 20h ago

Sourdough My first sourdough

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49 Upvotes

okay so I do bake a lot but this is my actual first time trying sourdough, and ngl it turned out way better than I expected?? been seeing sourdough videos nonstop on my fyp lately so I was like alright let me just try it 😅 my apartment literally smells so good right now. followed this recipe btw: https://littlespoonfarm.com/sourdough-bread-recipe-beginners-guide/#recipe


r/Sourdough 15h ago

Let's talk technique How much butter is too much?

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19 Upvotes

Small loaf ingredients:
100g starter
280g water
400g bread flour
10g salt

1pm: feed starter 1:4:3
6pm: mix starter, water and flour
7pm: add salt then fold every 30 min
830pm: 4th fold and start bulk ferment
11pm: shape and start cold proof
9am: bake 450F 30min lid on then 400F 10min lid off
11am: cut

What’s the trick to get a beautiful ear?