https://youtu.be/VEtU4Co08yY?si=KPFm0hKTvbt6O4lW is the recipe I used. I did 290g water instead though. Also didn't have WW flour so it's all AP.
I got a starter from an established baker in my town. 3 feeds since I got it. All of which it doubled. I made discard brownies that were fine. So I don't really have much doubts of it being healthy/active.
The dough was so weird and stiff and tearing a lot in the first stretch and fold. On the second stretch and fold I stretched it much slower and that helped but it still didn't stretch as much as it did in the video.
My house is very cold so I had it in the oven. I had to preheat the oven for 1-2 minutes twice just to get it up a couple degrees. One time, in the middle of the 2h BF, I preheated but accidentally left it on for 5 minutes and it got a tough exterior. Then I flipped it over so the tough part would at least be at the bottom and not get more dry. The rest of the dough was maybe a bit too wet. Sloppy dough never stopped being "shaggy" at all, just had tough bits from the oven mishap. Shaping was really uncooperative and it tore a lot. It was the same size before & after proofing. Taste wise it's surprisingly good and the sour isn't subtle at all so that makes me think there is enough bacteria/it's not a weak culture.
by griffin-c
11 Comments
Ok. This is common. It takes 3 consistent basic loaves to get to confidence, and before you start making changes. In your case I would call this loaf #0. So try again and work on consistency as you do it. Also, please get an instant ready thermometer and check your loaf in the oven. When the dough is 206 +/-, I remove the lid and work on browning/crispyness. There is a whole set of theories on dough temp during proofing. You are not ready for that yet, and in truth I rarely worry about that. Take heart!
You made the effort so despite the turn out your ahead many. Don’t get discouraged as this won’t be the last time sourdough making takes a left turn. We all get surprises.
This one appears under fermented and or under baked.
First on the list is to get some bread flour. AP works but the best rise comes from bread flour.
Keep doing one recipe until you can get a loaf you’re happy with. Changing things up will only make it harder overall. Bread math is easy, 100% flour, 70% water, 20% starter and 2% salt.
Keep your mixed ingredients warm. Oven with light or a closed (not on) microwave or cabinet. Even the top of the fridge might be an option. Don’t turn on the oven to warm things up.
Start a log of what you do. When you start it’s easy to get carried away trying new things. If you must change something in your process, change one thing then evaluate. Changing too much at once makes it hard to figure out what goes right or wrong.
Don’t use time to determine when bulk proof is done. Measure rise to help decide when to shape. A straight walled see through container will help with this.
Looking forward to your next loaf 😁
I started my sourdough journey two weeks ago. I’ve made one perfect loaf each weekend following this YouTube https://youtu.be/Br9ezqYPyic?si=Lg9PE9CClt5iqlYy she also has a website with a printable recipe
Not too bad for the first try! ( I sometimes still have a flop! )
Even if you warm up the oven, it won’t work as a “warm place”, because even an oven will rapidly lose ALL of it’s heat. So find some other warm spot and | or insulation. There is no substitute for a constant, even, warm-ish room temperature. Get a cheap 2nd-hand bread maker at a thrift shop for $10-20. It shouldn’t take more than 3 months of occasional thrift browsing before one shows up. A modern bread maker will use electronics to keep the dough warm while it rises. When it’s done kneading, you can remove the paddle from the machine, so it’ won’t make such a big paddle-shaped hole in the loaf, if you let the machine cook it. If you want “normal shape” bread, you can move it to regular pans after the machine lets it rise, and cook it in your oven instead.
Make sure the water you use is STILL water or DISTILLED. If you use the water from the tap too soon, the chlorine from the city water supply won’t have enough time to evaporate.
Did you add enough sugar? The yeast NEEDS it for “fast food” to generate enough gas. In the state of your loaf-lump there, you should try a piece of it. If it doesn’t taste of sweet from some sugar in this state, then you didn’t add enough, and the microbes ( yeast or bacteria ) died off before they could generate enough gas and adapt to the complex carbs as the sugar runs out.
If it IS sweet from unused sugar, then the yeast or the bacteria or both died or were too suppressed to take off. Temperature or chlorine from tap water might have killed them, or the yeast packet may have been expired, or maybe you didn’t “wake up” enough of the yeast in warm water first. And make sure your water is VERY warm when you add it to the flour, it will lose ALL of it’s heat if your flour is cold. So make sure your dry ingredients are not cold, either.
I think, per the recipe linked, your 90 minute proof is the problem. I’m relatively new to sourdough, but have been a bread baker for MANY years. The sourdough recipes I’ve had the best luck with have an overnight proof in the fridge. My favorite recipes so far are from Mauricio Leo and Emilie Raffa. Both have a “beginner” bread. Keep at it, it’ll happen one day.
Just made my first 2 successful loaves using and 8 hour same day recipe.
125 starter
362 water
12 salt
500 flour
Combine and let rest covered for 1 hr
Then do 4 sets of stretch and folds ever 30 minutes.
Let sit covered 2 hours
Do first shape. Rest 20 mins. Second shape and into the banneton.
Fridge minimum 2 hours. Can be longer, overnight etc.
Score and bake in a preheated Dutch oven. 450 30 minutes. Uncover drop to 400 for 10 mins.
Let cool at least 4 hours.
Good luck!
This is very very underproofed. I would proof it longer in a turned off oven . You can do the poke test and the float test to make sure it’s proofed enough. If you do the float test take dough that is in the center . You got this 💪🏽💪🏽💪🏽
https://preview.redd.it/kk4eldt8ox6e1.jpeg?width=1205&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=ebb570f87ca358965736425e556d43c524f980a3
Along with what others have said, the dough looks way under hydrated, it should be much wetter and sticky to the touch than what this must have been like.
I’d check out some YouTube videos [like this one](https://youtu.be/BJEHsvW2J6M?si=LgJZ4_uBVDhYa7–) that walks you through the process while pointing out common mistakes.
Good luck!
The dough looks very dry. There’s a lot of good advice here, I don’t think I have much to add, but don’t give up. You’ll look back on this and have a laugh one day, it’s a learning curve.
It gets better buddy. My first few looked like this. You’ve gotten good feedback. Just keep going no matter what, even if you begin to go mad.
Throw away the time numbers in the recipe and don’t put it oven until it’s puffy