re: Baking Bread 101: Beginning a sourdough starter (pics)

Once my saturdays get freed up in March, I am going to start this journey too. I love fresh baked bread and I always have wanted to try it. Please post as many pics or tips as you feel appropriate!!

I’m about to bake off 3 loaves.

Overworking can squash out some of the air, but if your culture is lively, it should still have decent oven spring. You want to be gentle, but not newborn baby gentle.

RE: pics, I’m too lazy to upload to a host site & then link. Would rather bake more than do that.

Probably baking scones today....cheese/smoked paprika & a batch of something sweet. Scones are nice b/c you can mix & shape, then freeze. Makes it easy to bake 1 or 2 whenever you want.

Three hours isn’t very long for a sourdough loaf. Let it rise until it doubles....might take 5-7 hrs.

Ok, so it did open up some, but it spread rather than rise. Biggest issue is the bottom is burnt hard:





I feel like it wasxnt overcooked, the top and inside were perfect. Possible too much flour on the bottom? I cooked it in the pyrex dish. 25m covered at 445, 25m uncovered at 445.

Thoughts?

Might be a shaping issue. How tightly did you shape it?

I've been only using the folding, no knead bread recipes so not much experience with kneaded bread.

Did you use the window pane test after kneading?

Flour Water Salt Yeast by Ken Forkish

This is only $2.99 for the digital version. Great recipes in the four all kinds of bread, and goes over all the techniques, times, tests, temperatures, etc.

I highly recommend it.

Gluten development is easily checked by the windowpane test. Pinch off a little dough and stretch it between your fingers—-you want to see it stretch to form a translucent membrane (the windowpane).

Your loaf shows some shaping issues—that big eyehole is the giveaway. It’s called “the tunnel where the baker sleeps” as an allusion to a lazy baker who didn’t properly shape the loaf. When you divide the dough and shape, you want to do it in three stages: first is to get it out of the container in one big hunk....second is to divide and roughly pre-shape into rounds. Let those rest for 20-30 mins, then do your final shape: you want to pull the round out a bit on four sides, making a sort of flattened disk. Then fold the opposite compass points toward each other/toward the center, pressing firmly. Pinch all the folded edges together, then flip the loaf over. Using firm pressure, cup your hands around the loaf and roll it against the countertop.

It is hard to describe in words, but there are excellent videos showing the movements. I took a class w/Jeffrey Hamelman of King Arthur flour, and he emphasized that proper shaping plays a huge role in the appearance, texture, and oven spring of a loaf.

Shaping happens after bulk rise and just before you put it into the banneton. Once a loaf goes into the banneton (basket), the only thing you do is turn it out, score, and bake.

Get Forkish’s book, he will explain much and your loaves will continue to improve. Easiest way to make better bread is time. Try proofing your sourdough for 3-5 hrs at room temp, then refrigerate overnight. Take it out & shape it cold, put into a banneton & let it rise another 3-4 hrs before baking. Also, baking inside a granite ware roaster or cast iron Dutch oven will definitely improve oven spring & crust texture.

Speed is the enemy of good bread.