I finally nailed it!

After many tries I feel like I finally got it! I have been baking sourdough for a while now, but never getting the perfect results. One time I had a lucky shot and got a perfect round loaf, but after that my loafs kept turning out quite flat. Still delicious, but not how I wanted it.

Then when the weather got warmer my starter really went south! She was totally acidic and super sluggish. I had to put her through extensive rehab to get her back in shape 😂 But she came back stronger than ever!

So you would think I finally get a nice round loaf again, right? Wrong! Still stayed flat and a super slow bulk rise, like 10 hours and still not doubled slow. In a moment of pure desperation I asked ChatGPT and it suggested to increase the amount of starter and improve my shaping.

I did that yesterday and baked it this morning and wow! This is the nice round shape I wanted. I’m super happy and it tastes soooo good! Can’t wait to bake again 🤩

In hindsight the struggle with my starter and all those flat loafs really helped me troubleshoot and understand the whole process better. Maybe it was a blessing in disguise! 🥸

Recipe:
450 g flour
125 g starter
260 g water
9 g salt
(Before this I used 100g starter, 270g water)

• 8.00: Mix starter, flour, and water
• 9.00: add in salt and knead for couple of mins to really incorporate it
• 9.45: stretch and fold
• 10.30: stretch and fold
• 15.15: dough has doubled, preshape and bench rest for 20 mins
• 15.45: final shaping, into banneton, into fridge overnight
• Next morning baked at 240 C with lid for 25 mins and ~20 mins on ~230 without lid