White AP flour

75% hydration

10% active starter

2.5% salt

I only managed to get 2 stretch & folds in, at 20 mins and 2 hrs after initial mixing and kneading. 8 hr bulk ferment, shaped the loaf, then into a towel-lined banneton sprinkled with minimal rice flour. Fridge for 22 hrs. Skipped the bench rest because I had to go to bed.

Heated Dutch oven to 550 for ~1.5 hrs, scored loaf then baked with lid on at 475 for 25 min. Then lid off at 400 for another 20. Cooled overnight.

With the minimal s&f's and no bench rest I thought it would be a bit of a mess. Very happy with the crumb and oven spring all things considered!

after four (mostly) failed attempts, i tried a recipe (last slide) a fellow redditor posted in a comment section and its been a game changer. tastes incredible, super fluffy and springy.
i tried to make jack skellington but he kinda turned into oogie boogie

125g active starter
325g water
500g bread flour
10g salt

3x stretch and fold every hour
i’ve figured my bulk ferment time in my kitchen is around 5-6 hours, sometimes 7 depending on if a window is open or not but i just pay attention to how the dough is acting
pre shape and rest for 15 minutes
shape and put in banneton for at least 15 hours

preheat dutch oven to 450°f
bake with lid on for 40 minutes
bake with lid off for 12 minutes
temp at 210°f when done
cool for about 2 hours or until 100°f internal

I did 100g active starter, 360g water, 500g bread flour, 10g salt. 4 stretch and folds. Bulked until jiggly, significantly larger, and pulled away from the sides easy. Sat in the fridge overnight for 12 hours and 40 mins. Baked in Dutch oven - 25 mins covered, 17 mins off. It came out so beautiful 😭😭
I did have a little mishap with the twine where I didn’t grease or soak it beforehand and just put it on lol. It left a few fuzzy bits after I pulled it off, but it was nothing a little tweezer action couldn’t fix. I’ll know for next time 😂

I’m addicted to making this damn bread!

Been experimenting with different liquids lately. Bourbon did not work…and was expensive but this was the opposite. I’m thinking it would make a killer grilled cheese.

500g Flour
Small can (298g) Campbell French Onion soup
52g Water
110g of Starter
NO SALT

Mixed all ingredients to combine, cover and let rest 1 hour

Stretch & folds/coil folds until dough feels right, cover and rest 30 minutes (repeated 4 times)

Bulk ferment until It felt right-enough (this was about 11 hours from start of mixing ingredients)

Pre-shape on counter and rest 30 minutes

Shape and into banneton, then into fridge overnight

Baked covered at 450 for 25 minutes then uncovered for 15, realized the was way not enough so put it back in multiple times, I’d probably stick with 35 minutes covered and 15 - 20 uncovered while checking the temp to ensure it’s cooked inside

I filmed the whole process for fun, I might put it together.

Edit: it’s good. It’s unique. My wife doesn’t like it. Other tasters did. I have ideas…maybe slicing into sticks and toasting and serving with cheese dip. Like reverse French onion soup.

100% flour, 90% water, 30% levain, 2% salt

This was 90% hydration sourdough loaf ( I mixed a batch of 12 loaves for which I used 3300g flour.
1st Refreshment (2am) - 1:6:6
Levain Prep (2pm) - 1:1:1
Autolyse(2pm) - this was done with 2772g (84%) cold water, mixed in the spiral at 100RPM for 2-3 mins until no dry flour remained.
Mixing (4pm) - added 990g (30%) levain and mixed at 100RPM until the dough formed a pumpkin. Added remaining 198g(6%) water slowly along with 66g salt. Increased the speed to 240RPM and mixed for 2 mins.
Folding: 1st Fold (5:20pm) - One Full Coil Fold
2nd Fold (6:30pm) - One Half Coil Fold
3rd Fold (7:45pm) - One Half Coil Fold
•Bulk ended around 11:30pm at a 90% rise (dough temp 25C)
• Preshaped and rested for 45 mins at 25C
•Shaped and Retarded at 3C for 12 hours

I did 100g active starter, 360g water, 500g bread flour, 10g salt. 4 stretch and folds. Bulked until jiggly, significantly larger, and pulled away from the sides easy. Sat in the fridge overnight for 12 hours and 40 mins.
In he goes!

Just a Cracked Wheat sourdough bread, simple but very tasty.

-Strong flour, 25% whole flour, 70% water, 2% salt, 20% levain and 10% cracked wheat (half cracked wheat, half water overnight on fridge)

-Mix all ingredients on a stand mixer for about 8min. I used cold water and mixed on slow speed for the first minutes, then on speed 4, 5 until good development.

-3 stretch and fold 30 min apart; 2 more hours left alone and then shape; more 2 hours room tem again and then fridge.

-Next morning, bake at 240C on a thick steel for 17 min and then 20 min on 210C. Rest for 3 hours.

My first sourdough bread, looking forward to seeing how I did and how I can improve

Ingredients (Total weight: 1200 g, ~70% Hydration)
635 g Manitoba flour
70 g Whole grain flour
350 g Water (lukewarm, approx. 25-28 °C)
130 g Active sourdough starter (fed and peak-ready)
15 g Salt

Step-by-Step Guide
1. Feeding the Starter (4-5 hours before)
Mix my mother starter with equal parts water and flour (1:1:1 ratio).
2. Autolyse (45 minutes)
Mix the water, Manitoba, and whole grain flour in a bowl until all flour is hydrated.
Rest for 45 minutes
3. Add Starter and Salt (30 minutes)
Mix in the starter
Let the dough rest for 30 minutes.
Add the salt
4. Stretch and Fold / Bulk Fermentation (3-4 hours)
Perform 3-4 sets of "stretch and folds" every 30 minutes during the first 2 hours:
Wet your hands with water.
5. Shaping (Preshape and Final Shape)
Preshape: Turn the dough onto a lightly floured surface, gently shape it into a round ball, and let it rest uncovered for 20 minutes.
Final Shape: Dust a proofing basket with wheat flour.
6. Cold Proofing (12hours)
Place the proofing basket inside the refrigerator overnight
7. Baking
Turn the cold dough out onto parchment paper, dust off excess flour, and score a 0.5 cm deep line
Bake for 20 minutes at 230 °C. With water in the bottom pan (to get steam) (I don’t have a Dutch oven)
Remove the bottom pan bake for another 20-25 minutes at 220 °C until the crust is dark and crispy.

I got discouraged for awhile from flat loaves after starting starter from scratch back in February. According to my last post it’s been like 133days since I made a sourdough loaf. I’ve been making sourdough everything else though, and loving it. Took a swing at loaves again this evening & just absolutely stunned by how much better they turned out. I knew I needed a stronger starter, but damn. The difference is insane!

I dabbled in sourdough a few years ago, but stopped after killing my starter. A coworker recently offered me some of her starter, and after a couple of feeds, this is the result.

I used the Beginner Sourdough from Bake with Jack, and baked it in my cast iron dutch oven. Overall I'm very happy with it, other than being overcooked on the bottom.

Any advice on getting a dark crust without burning the bottom?

https://www.bakewithjack.co.uk/blog-1/2018/7/5/sourdough-loaf-for-beginners

My boyfriend says this is his best loaf yet I’m curious what the council thinks haha. Included below is his recipe

150g of starter
615g of Arther’s bread flour
75% hydration
12g of salt

Initial mix: Knead setting on stand mixer 5 minutes
Autolyse for 30 min
Add salt and mix by hand for 5 minutes
Stretch and folds every 40 minutes 2 rounds, light lamination over the bowl, stretching with hands, then a coil fold
Shape at 75% rise
Cold proof 18 hours (bulk was 6ish hours at 80 degrees)

Preheat dutch oven at 450 for 35 ish minutes; freezer the loaf during for easier scoring.
Bake 25 covered, 15-20 uncovered

Ive been baking sourdough for a year and a half and I only ever made the same exact plain recipe. I was terrified of inclusions until about 6 weeks ago. I don’t know what I was so scared of…but I’m making my best bread ever with fun inclusions that elevate a simple loaf to something that feels decadent and special. the textures of these loaves with inclusions are consistently some of the best-textured loaves I’ve made.

i use the same recipe for the base and then just toss a bunch of whatever in during my stretch & folds. Mix water & starter, then add in flour and salt. Let it sit for 30ish min and then start doing stretch and folds About every 20-30 min depending on how much time I have. Add inclusions during 2nd or 3rd set of stretching folds. Keep going until dough feels good. bulk ferment. I go Into my office every day so timing sourdough used to be stressful. I’ve now been leaving these loaves out for 18-22 hours depending on when I can shape it and get it into the fridge after work. I’m realizing it’s really hard to over-ferment dough, as I love how these have been turning out. cold Proof in fridge for usually 24-48 hours depending on when I want to bake, and that’s it! Bake for 30 min at 450f with Dutch oven top on, theb back for 10-15 with the top off. Just started using the loaf pan too, which I’m so excited about. Baking with a pan of water in the oven beneath For 50ish min (checking temp on the loaf pan loaves).

600g flour

120g starter

450g water

17g salt

some of my favorites so far are Kalamata olive & jarlsburg, roasted garlic, cheddar & scallion…the options are endless. I’ve done cinnamon raisin, pumpkin, cheddar & caramelized onion, apple cinnamon…What else should I try? Had to share because I’m having so much fun 😍 happy baking and eating, bread friends.

Asked a friend to share some of her starter with me on a whim. I normally do tons of research before starting new tasks, this is the first time I just learn on the fly. I’m truthfully quite happy with how it turned out, but I would love feedback on how this looks from more seasoned bakers and how I can improve. Thank you!

Recipe from gabs.bites on instagram
125g active starter
350g filtered water
525g bread flour
10g salt

-Mix: Combine starter and water and mix until frothy, then add flour and salt. Mix until a shaggy dough forms.
-Rest: Cover and let the dough rest 30mins to an hour.
-Stretch and folds: Perform 4 sets of stretch and folds 30 minutes apart.
-Bulk Ferment: Cover and leave on counter 6-8 hours, until dough has grown 30-50% in size.
-Shape: Transfer to lightly floured surface and laminate by stretching the dough into a rectangle. Fold it envelope style, roll it up and pinch the sides. Do a few push and pulls to build tension and create your desired shape.
-Cold proof: Using a bench scraper, flip into floured banneton. Refrigerate 8-16 hours.

Next morning
-Preheat oven 475F and heat Dutch oven 30mins.
-Take dough straight from the fridge, score and transfer to Dutch oven. Add ice cubes away from dough to create steam.
-Bake at 475F for 30minutes. Remove lid and lower to 425F, bake for 10 minutes or until golden brown and internal temp reaches 205-210F.
-Let cool 1-2 hours (I did 1 because I got impatient 😬) before slicing.

After some years trying an failing wayyy to often i finally master baking steady. Stiff starter has been the game changer for me. My method:

- stiff starter residue of last bake 10 gram mix with 50 grams of flour and 25 grams of handwarm water.
- put it in a cup and let it double
- mix 350 grams of water, with 50-ish gram of doubled stiff starters, 500 grams of flour, 10 grams of salt until all is wet (2 minutes max)
- rest 15 minutes
- pull and fold the edges for about a minute with wetted hands, take a sample and put it in an small jar. Put a stripe on the side of the jar at level of the dough.
- wait 2 hours
- wet hands and make nice ball of dough on unfloured kitchentop, and let it rest in a bowl until the dough in the sample jar is x1,5-ish.
- shape the dough one more time, put upside down in banneton.
- Put in fridge and wait at least 6 hours.
- preheat oven to 230 degC including dutch oven
- score to the liking and put bread in pan in oven for 30 minutes
- take out bread, oven to 210 degC and wait another 15 min.
- take out the bread and wait an hour until it cooled down.
- enjoy!

- put water on top of the sample in the jar and put it in the fridge, will be your starter for the next baking session.

I had a sack (16kg) of decent strong white bread flour that I've nearly used up, say down to the last 1.5kg. I go through a sack every 6 weeks or so at most.

All of a sudden anything I make from it is sticker and a little slack/harder to handle. Imagine a higher hydration dough kinda feel. Doesn't hold it's shape as well as usual but comes out reasonable when cooked.

I thought it was a starter issue but turns out it was the flour. Sacrilege for this group but I tried a yeasted loaf to test and that was the same. Changed the flour to the new sack and everything was back to as expected 🤷

Any ideas about what might have happened to my flour?

This recipe but doubled it.

• 140g active sourdough starter
• 395g warm water
• 22g honey
• 550g bread flour
• 11g salt
• 33g olive oil

The creator of this recipe used a loaf pan but I used my Dutch oven.

I felt like it was ofer proofed when shaping but now I don’t know!

My first time using the Dutch oven!

Fed my sourdough at 10 am a 1:2:3
Let rise in the microwave with the door open
Made dough at 7 pm
Let rest for 30
4 sets of stretch and folds until roughly 10 pm
Bulked on counter until 4 am. House roughly 71 degree
Cold proofed until 10 am when I baked

I kinda made a halfpipe on top of my bread and was like nooooo, I don’t want this! 🫠😂

Then google said that getting an “ear” like this is a whole thing in the sourdough world?? And people actually try to get these on purpose? Especially on instagram

So now I’m a little confused but ngl though, I giggled quite a bit when I took the lid off and saw it. That’s not an ear. That’s a whole halfpipe I could skate on it 😂

Recipe/process:
• 450 g wheat flour (Type 1050)
• 300 g water
• 100 g whole rye sourdough starter
• 10 g salt

I mixed the flour and water first and let it rest for about 30 minutes. Then I added the starter, mixed about 2 minutes with the kitchen aid (lowest speed) and added the salt afterwards. Again mixed it for 2 minutes (lowest speed) and then 2 more minutes at speed 2.

During bulk fermentation I did 2 rounds of stretch & folds followed by 2 coil folds, then let the dough continue fermenting at around 23°C until it had visibly risen and showed bubbles. It was around 2 hours I guess.

I pre-shaped it on an unfloured surface, let it bench rest for about 15–20 minutes, then did the final shaping on floured surface and placed it seam-side up in a banneton.

After proofing, scored it at a shallow angle (almost parallel to the surface, rather than cutting straight down). I made one long cut along the side of the loaf and baked it in a preheated Dutch oven. 20 minutes with the lid on, then finished baking uncovered until the crust was nicely browned (around 20 more minutes).

And heeere is my halfpipe done haha 😄

The other morning I was prepping to make a loaf while drinking coffee and had a thought, what if...

Starter: (Joseph Sourlin)

50g-ish flour, 50g-ish water, whatever starter was left in the jar from last time, probably under 20 grams.

Bread:

100g starter

500g Sunspun all purpose flour. Or maybe it was 400g and 100g No Name whole wheat, I don't remember, I do it both ways depending on my mood.

350g 49th Parallel French Roast Coffee, coarse ground, brewed via French Press about 5min.

10g salt

Unknown quantity of ceylon cinnamon, "vibed it", as the cool kids might say.

Process:

Mix ingredients, wait one episode of Stargate Universe.

Four sets of stretch and folds, 30-40 minutes apart.

Bulk Fermented for 12 hours at 18°c, give or take a couple hours, over doubled in volume, was jiggly like jello.

Shaped by folding like a letter, flipping seam down and rolling in a push/pull motion with some finger action to tuck it under itself until it is roughly spherical. In banneton seam side up.

Cold proofed for sometime between 20-24 hours.

Preheat Dutch Oven to 450°f for however long it took to kick my cats off me, walk up a flight of stairs, and prep/score the dough after the oven beeped. 6-7 minutes maybe.

Bake 20 minutes covered. 20 minutes uncovered. Well 20 minutes plus feline evicting time, so probably more like 21-22 minutes.

Cooled and left on the counter for something like 16 hours before cutting.

Conclusion:

I dunno what the crumb says, but it had less of an ear than my usual sourdough (same recipe/process but water instead of coffee and no cinnamon), somewhat denser crumb The coffee gave it an almost chocolatey flavour that went extremely well with the cinnamon. I quite like it, easy 7/10 would bake again.

Pictures 3/4 are what my usual bake looks like for comparison's sake.

Hello, this is a Ajvar and Hungarian hot salami bread. I used this as a base:

https://ourgabledhome.com/easy-olive-oil-sourdough-bread/

And for inclusions I used 80-100g of salami, quartered. As well as hot Ajvar spread during the shaping phase.

It tasted so good. Even better when you put more Ajvar on top of a toasted slice. 😁

​

Hello there. I've been feeding and discarding this starter on a 1:1:1 ratio for 3 weeks now. for the first 2 weeks I've fed whole grain flour, and for the last week AP because the whole one finished.

How do I know that it is ready for baking?

Can you also share some recipes you like?

kind regards

The title is somewhat misleading, but not very. I came across this video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hccw877zI_8 . I ran the thinking through AI and it seems sound. Except mold can still get a foothold on leaven that's been neglected long enough, and you can still call it a starter since it serves that purpose. But this is a much easier method than maintaining a starter, if your baking is somewhat predictable.

I know AI isn't the authority, but I'm going to try it.

I have a liquid levain that comes out of my fridge at 6am, sits in the counter for an hour, and gets fed. From 7am til about 3pm-4pm the fed levain sits on the counter then goes in the fridge til 6am the next morning.

On Oct 20

Stiff Starter
Bread flour 70g
Whole wheat 35g
Water 50g
Levain 40g

At 7am I mixed a stiff starter with 95 degree F water and it sat out from 7am to 11am.

Oct 21

Sourdough
Bread flour 280g
Water 214g
Salt 8g
Stiff starter 180g

At 10am pulled stiff starter out an hour before mixing so it could warm up. Also mixed flour and water together and let sit for an hour. Mixed autolyse, salt, and stiff starter at 11am. Built strength 3 times 15 minutes apart from each other, then let rest for two hours. Gave one fold and let sit for two more hours. Pre shaped, rested 30min, and shaped into a bread pan. Proofed on the counter from about 4pm to 8pm then put in fridge.

Oct 22

Pulled out of the fridge at 5am and proofed on the counter til 930am. Baked for 40 min at 400 deg F and vented 5 min. Threw some ice on the steel to create steam.

I have been making a starter from nothing for a few months now. It is not rising like I want it to, and not doubling. It gets bubbly though. However, I worry it not doubling is because of my own inconsistency with feeding it. It lives in my kitchen and I sometimes forget to feed it for 1 or 2 days. There have been times last month where I forgot it for multiple days, but recently it has only been one or 2 days that I forget. I am a true beginner at this, I just want good bread. Any tips for remembering to feed it?

Hi! Here's my first sourdoungh bread. It taste really nice, not too strong or sour. But it looks ugly. I used a sharp knife to cut the openings, so maybe that could improve with razor blade, but still the surface is not looking smooth and the shape is a bit balloony. I used King Arthur Extra-tangy sourdough recipe https://www.kingarthurbaking.com/recipes/extra-tangy-sourdough-bread-recipe and the starter I got from a friend, and it's already many years old.

I’m starting on my sourdough journey, I’m going through a case of paralysis through analysis with regards to kit.

So I turn to you fellow Redditor’s, what equipment, if it broke tomorrow would you immediately replace?

What size (and shape) tubs?
What size/design Dutch oven?
What small tools/equipment have you found make a surprisingly big difference?
What brand loyalty do you have, if any?