I’ve been feeding a new starter (Janet) whole wheat flour since Oct 9, generally a 1:1:1 ratio once a day. Initially I got a false rise, then no activity for a week or so, no matter if I increased a ratio, gave her a warm spot in the oven, nada. Then TA DA! She would double easily within 12 hours. After 4 days of doubling, I started to feed her 2x a day in preparation of actually using her to bake. She got super bubbly and stringy. I was stoked!
Thought I was ready to make a Janet loaf, so when I thought I had peak starter, I used 100g starter, 350g water, 500g bread flour, and 10g salt to make my dough. She came together really well. I let her rest, and then gave her a quick knead to smooth her out a bit. It was getting late in the night, so I did 3 rounds of stretch and folds (4 folds each time, just 1 go around the bowl with 1/4 turns) every 30min at the start of my bulk fermentation. She was coming away very cleanly from the bowl, and I was optimistic. I let her rest overnight on my stove. It’s about 74° in my house. She rested for about 10 hours.
I woke up to an expanded but flat dough. I had no idea if she was underproofed or overproofed. I poked her and she had no spring back. Me? Disappointed. Confused. Frustrated. I decided to dump her out and shape her anyway. She had more bubbles than I thought, and she shaped well, so I was back to hopeful. I let her rest another hour while my oven and dutch oven preheated. Turned her out. Scored her. Put her in the oven for 20min with the lid on and a couple cubes of ice, then 40 with the lid off. She came out looking BEAUTIFUL, if I do say so myself. But I could tell something wasn’t right… she sounded hollow when tapping but felt stiff when pressing on her crust, she didn’t squish well. I knew she would be dense, and sure enough, so gummy and large caverns when I cut into her after letting her cool an hour.
Any ideas where I went wrong? Is my starter still weak? Did I underproof? Overproof? Yeast and I have never been friends in baking, so I’m struggling.
by ahsatwray
33 Comments
You made edible bread. Shouldn’t be disappointed
That looks great for your very first
Looks good! I used saran one for my bulk ferment and the same thing happened it went flat. So now I just cover it with a tea towel and it’s been better. I will start with saran fie the initial rest and stretch and folds but then switch to a towel. Idk why it made a difference for me but it did lol.
For a second thought the first slide was the finished loaf lol. You did a fantastic job!!
Yes, your starter is still young and week. Mine didn’t start really taking off until weeks 6 and now in week 8 it produces really nice loaves. Don’t worry, you’ll get there. My first loaf was really bad lol
I’m over 200 loaves now, and I can tell you with certainty, you should feel proud with this loaf! Well done! There will always be things to experiment with
Why-it’s beautiful
It’s overproved. 10 hours is way too long for bulk at room temp. That’s why it was flat when you woke up. If you had put her in the fridge overnight and then set her on the counter and let her prove the rest of the way in the morning it might have turned out better.
Car tire you say? Mmm my favorite 🤩
Just kidding!
You did amazing for the first time. Mine was a complete brick for the first time and that was 20 breads ago. Now she’s a beauty. You will get there! Strengthen your starter and bulk ferment way longer til its dome shape and jiggly. You got this 😀
That’s great for a first loaf!! Keep at it
You should be SO proud! Give yourself grace my friend, it’s the journey that matters the most 🫶
https://preview.redd.it/g0wo2il7jqyf1.jpeg?width=3024&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=6a0ef97ccc6230986a328a50f4e0b5cedad9b4ce
This was my first attempt. So ugly. It’s a process!
This is waaayyyy better than my first loaf!
74 degrees for 10 hours would be overproofed if anything but I’m thinking your starter just might not be ready yet
It gets better…then it gets worse again, before finally being slightly better 🤣
It looks great! I’ve been baking for 10 months and still can’t get a rustic loaf/boule right. So I mostly make sandwich loafs because they’re easy to make and still very delicious.
That looks way better than my first loaf.
My first 2 loaves were flat white disks. You’re doing great
I think for a first loaf it’s pretty good. Mine was really dense. My husband ate the whole loaf and was super excited for the next. Just keep going. I watched videos and practiced. I experiment all the time. I think you should be happy it came out that good.
Don’t be! It’s fine! You made Bread!
Toast it and it will be perfect!
I like holes! Nooks and crannies… But BF for 10 hours is too long. After 2-3 hours, cold proof. The longer the better as more flavor develops. Now I’m no expert! Still learning!
looks great. enjoy that bread and make some more!
Dammit! Janet!
🎶 I Love You 🎶
I couldn’t help myself.
You are trolling, right?
The starter is weak, so it is slow.
You want to give it peak to peak feeds to strengthen it up. Strong is doubling from 1:1:1 feed in 4 hours. If it takes 6 hours you can still use it to make dough, the bulk ferment will take a little longer than the recipe may suggest.
Very few people even attempt to make their own bread. So, you should be proud of yourself. It takes practice. So, just keep going.
I just have to ask why you named your starter Janet. I ask as I myself am a Janet 🙂 Lol
It looks delicious to me.
https://preview.redd.it/z7ugyk3e1ryf1.jpeg?width=1290&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=b9fffb146fdab9602deaddc420a2cb34768badd7
https://preview.redd.it/v39btdzg1ryf1.jpeg?width=1290&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=0995139ee746144afd4a802d92dd1fa328e6bfc7
https://preview.redd.it/gq28nyoo1ryf1.jpeg?width=1290&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=ab08147233a98ee3f143924159d1487639e55d36
Are you disappointed with how beautiful it looks?
Are you disappointed with there not being enough of it, and it was gone all too soon??
Did you name your starter? Did you date it’s container? Best of luck. We just started as well. We’re on loaf three. I believe. Yours looks just as good. Just as edible. And like it would last just as long – only several freaking minutes.
French salted butter or Irish unsalted butter? That’s the real question.
Toasted tan brown or black?