I have been so frustrated with my starter and the first few hockey pucks disguised as bread. I just made a loaf with Claire Saffitz’s NYT recipe. (Below)
I know it’s not perfect, but it’s edible and rose enough that I can’t slide it under a door!
Now it’s time to start fine tuning. Should I have let this BF longer? I’m happy to hear any criticism you have!
Thanks!
Recipe:
200 g starter
700 g bread flour
300 g whole wheat
20 g salt.
I BF and stretched and folded once an hour four about six hours in a 78° proofer. The dough ended up at 90°, so I ended the BF at about a 30% rise and let it cold proof overnight. Then baked at 500° covered for 20 minutes and 450° uncovered for 25 more.
by capnbuttcrack
3 Comments
Oops. 750 g water.
Love your name 😂😂😂😂
Try this recipe out
https://www.kingarthurbaking.com/recipes/pain-de-campagne-country-bread-recipe
If you’re getting loafs that are dinnerplatesq in nature, it might be your BF is too long and it’s over proofing. Try doing a set and forget method at room temperature with minimal work. You won’t get bread that day unless you start super early in the morning, but it has been the recipe that’s given me confidence to keep going with this.
A couple of modifications I’ve done to this recipe is I’ll let it autolyse without salt and a touch of reserved water for an hour before dimpling in my salt and reserved water and doing my 3 sets of stretch and folds. After those stretch and folds, I’ll also come back to add 2 sets of coil folds if I have the time, but they’re not even necessary, they just make for a tighter surface for shaping and help gluten development.
I’ll usually let this BF for at least 12 hours at room temperature (I keep it ~ 70°f in my house) and then throw it in the oven with the light on if it needs more time and I’m not seeing the results I want. I’ll usually just do this until it “looks” right (it’ll look alive, but not so alive that you think it’s gonna stand up and walk out of your fermenting container). I’ll pre-shape with an additional set of coil folds in my bowl, let it rest for 15 minutes and then do the final shape.
I’ll let it cold proof from here in the fridge in my makeshift bannoton (typically the bowl I used for the BF and a flour sack linen lined with rice flour) for at least 8 hours, but I prefer to do it more like 24 hours for that tangy goodness.
If you’re doing the Dutch oven method, adding some additional ice cubes under my parchment paper has given me better oven spring and crust.
Now take everything I’ve said with a grain of salt. I’m a newbie myself, and so far I’ve only made 5 loaves of sourdough and maybe 15 loaves of bread in general. I just wanted to give you an idea of what I’ve done that’s produced results that I’m extremely happy with as a newbie and takes minimal effort.