Don’t laugh.
I think she’s DEFINITELY under fermented for one… tragic.
90g starter
315g water
450g flour
9g salt
Bulk ferment 3.5 hours after 2 hours of stretch and folds
Cold proof 15 hours
So yeah I’m gonna try again on Friday and let her bulk ferment like all day! Give me tips
by FluffyHedgehog3277
30 Comments
Lower your water content to 270g, which is about 60%. Lower hydration is much more forgiving for beginners especially when you don’t know how to gauge the fermentation time.
Pretty sure you’re right about not fermenting enough! I would give it at least 2 more hours on the counter, 3 if your kitchen runs cold.
How did you bake the bread? If you’re using a Dutch oven, you can also throw a few ice cubes in to create steam and it will help the rise
Your starter might also be too young and therefore not active enough! Keep feeding, making it stronger everyday.
At least the scoring is pretty! Hehe
How old is your starter
I’ve made many a loaf like this 😂 If you aren’t already, I highly recommend bulk fermenting in a clear container with relatively vertical sides so you can monitor the rise.
It can be tricky to prescribe a specific amount of time for BF because many minor variations like your starter maturity, dough temp, hydration, and room temp will effect it. Eventually you’ll get to know your starter and microenvironment well enough to nail down the timing, but I found that it really helped me to be able to see the rise while I was first figuring it out.
Try 50g starter, 500g flour, 330g water, 9g salt. Has always worked for me! You can find the recipe on clever carrot
I was so confused on the first pic with your title and then swiped to the second.. and was like oooh I see what you mean.. 😢
I’m confused. I’m brand new at this but I let my dough bulk ferment for like 15 hours, no fridge
Your recipe is using 20% starter and overnight cold proof. It is close enough to recipe that this chart may be helpful to you. It is a check of dough temperature vs what rise you want during bulk fermentation. It also lists a general time to expect bulk fermentation, but they all seem too long for what my starter does, so be cautious about relying on the time.
https://thesourdoughjourney.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/TSJ-Dough-Temping-Guide.pdf
And this link is a more comprehensive guide to using the chart including a video going through the concept:
https://thesourdoughjourney.com/dough-temping-for-perfect-sourdough-fermentation/
If this is tragic, I don’t even want to know what my loaves count as.
Did you shape it before putting it in the fridge? Learning proper shaping technique was a game changer for me. (Also it’s underfermented but you said that)
How old is your starter?
I started mixing my doughs in the evening and letting them bf all night on the counter (it’s 67F in my kitchen). Sometimes they go as long as 13 hours, and I haven’t over-proofed yet, but of course, your actual mileage may vary. Anyway, don’t be nervous about extending the bf time. Look for the signs: doming, bubbling on top, bubbles glimpsed through the sides of your bf vessel, and so on. Someone else here has linked the Sourdough Journey bf temperature guide, and you should look at that, too.
My first loaf looked exactly like that. A day later, I re-fed my starter so that its peak would coincide with when I was ready to mix it. The loaf came out twice as tall. I also now realize that at the time, my starter was probably a couple of days from really being mature enough to use. It’s hard to imagine that that couple days could’ve made a difference, but I could tell that after feeding the rise was much greater and much quicker.
I suggest starting again with the basics, the attention to the aesthetic scoring is misplaced effort at this stage.
Judging from the pictures alone:
1. The bread seems underfermented severely (fools’ crumb up top, very noticable gumminess and not enough bubble development)
2. You wrote that the dough had 15 (!!!) cold retard hours, unless it was in the freezer, that starter is far from being active enough, especially at a 90g starter for a 460g flour recipe which is more than 20% starter. My starter would be already flirting with over fermentation at that ratio after 8 hours of cold retard.
3. I saw people advice you to drop your hydration, i don’t believe it’s going to do anything for you outside of making the initial mixing and stretch and folds more manageable. You’re already struggling with way too long of a fermentation window, dropping the hydration will only make it slower.
How young is your starter? Have you fed it well prior?
My first 12 loaves looked like this
I don’t understand how I seem to have absolutely nailed my first sourdough bread considering everything I didn’t do as intended. Low key forgetting to put it in the fridge, then having it in the fridge less than most, not owning a proper Dutch oven thingy and then not scoring or time the oven time correctly.
Seems I got lucky as hell and will probably understand everyone else’s misery next time 😅
it looked so perfect at first, how flat is was caught me off guard LMFAO
I mean, there are enough variables in bread-making that it’s hard to say *exactly* based on the picture and info given, but if you happen to be a beginner, I’d say most don’t build enough strength in the earlier stages and it can really affect your rise. Scoring looks great though!
Brian Lagerstrom’s YouTube channel has golden bread videos if you want more resources.
You’re on the right track. It will make wonderful croutons or garlic toast or breadcrumbs.
That bulk ferment time would be ok if you were at high elevation. I’m at 5000’ and that timing works for me. I believe your starter is acidic. How are you maintaining it?
How warm is your kitchen usually?
When I first started, someone told me to always err on the side of overproofing, as long as it isn’t wayyyy over. Then you’ll still get a lovely loaf, just not perfect. When it’s under it’s more likely to be flat, dense, gummy and flavors not developed. Better to go over if you aren’t sure and then start dialing it back once you get to know what correctly proofed dough looks and feels like.
The scoring is cute
Everyone else mentioned not enough fermentation, which is a problem I used to have. One thing that’s really helped me is utilizing my bread proof function on my oven! I do it for about an hour during the initial bulk ferment, before or after the folds, and it’s really helped me
My recipe is pretty close to that but my bulk ferment is about 10 hours, especially in winter
try using more starter
Check out King Arthur’s website; they have some great tips and tricks and you can even call their hotline.
Thats beautiful