There is ONE thing thats the most critical thing above all else. BULK FERMENTATION. Please delete all the noise about active starters, number of stretch and folds, lamination, final shaping etc. I’m not saying these are irrelevant, BUT, your bulk fermentation will make or break you at the end of the day. To put things into perspective, i used a discard sourdough starter that was sitting in the fridge for over a week to make the bread in the pics. A helpful tip for bulk fermentation is using warm water (i live in canada and its cold right now, i used 110F water for this recipe) and did the BF in the oven with the light on. It took me 5-6 hours this way. If i had under fermented it (which ive done a million times) no starter, shaping technique, flour type, etc .. would’ve saved me.
Recipe: 70% hydration (110F water), using 450g Bread Flour + 50g Wholewheat flour. 2% salt. 10% stiff starter. NO AUTLOYSE. Mix water and starter until starter is broken up, immediately add salt then water then mix until fully incorporated. Let rest for 30min. Do 3 sets of stretch and folds 30min apart. Bulk Ferment (mine was 5-6 hours using the oven method). You want the dough to be bouncy, bubbly, roughly doubled in size and it shouldnt be too sticky. (A little is okay) after this i do a lamination (see pic where the dough is flat) because i think its fun to do. Then fold it over and do a bench rest for 20-30min before the final shape and placing it in the banneton. I let it sit for another 20-30min before throwing it in the fridge. I baked it 2 days later using the dutch oven method but slightly modified. Bake lid on at 450F for 10min THEN remove and do an expansion score, and add 1-2 ice cubes. Put the lid back on and bake for another 15min. Then take the lid off and bake at 400F for 25min, or do what you want for desired colour. Let rest for 1-2 hours before cutting.
CHEERS. i love you
by headbiscuitss
15 Comments
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Looks fabbbuuuuloussss!!!
Beautiful looking loaf, congratulations. I’ve got to try that delayed scoring technique.
Thank you, besos
For scoring, what difference do you see vs scoring before going into oven?
Lovely loaf.
You can do things like this with a mature, healthy starter (using unrefreshed starter). And I agree, proper bulk fermentation is more important than all the other stuff.
In fact properly fermented dough does not need a 7 minute/10 minute score in a screaming hot DO. What led you to adopt that practice?
And no ice cubes needed either if you are at 70%+ water.
Autolyse vs not depends on the flour you are using. Home milled or fresh milled flour or high whole wheat content flour performs better with autolyse. In fact one new flour I am working with definitely needs autolyse. I get totally different results with that flour than my typical grocery store flours so that was eye opening with my early breads using it.
There are many ways to get to happy bread 😀
Beautiful loaf! Thank you for taking the time to share:)! Can’t wait to give this a try. Inspired!!
Will definitely try your method for baking! How did you know your dough wasn’t over proofed in the cold bulk?
The crumb and oven spring here show the fermentation was handled well.
Nice loaf but really this genre of advice only really applies to baking with all or almost all bread flour, which is sourdough easy mode. The factors you want people to tune out very much come into play when using more flavorful and weaker flours, which are less forgiving in that they don’t develop a strong and resilient gluten network almost automatically like bread flour. So I’d say beginners would do well to learn best practices with starter maintenance, handling, etc to maximize odds of success down the road.
I use the aliquot jar method to find where I want to stop the bulk… takes out a lot of the guess work and delivers consistent results. Often takes 5-7 hours to bulk…but in the summer it might take 3 or even 2. This way you’re not basing it on time alone but have a very accurate volume measurement. I start with warm water too.
You listed 500g flour, but didn’t see water or starter amounts. Did I miss them?
Great tips for making good bread. Focusing on proper fermentation can really elevate the flavor and texture. Happy baking!
Beautiful loaf. Going to try your method next round.
How would your method change if adding inclusions like cranberries and walnuts, and when would you add inclusions using your method?
This loaf is beautiful. How did you shape?