350g lukewarm water
150g active starter (this was day 7 of my starter. I was antsy lol)
9g salt
500g King Arthur unbleached bread flour
Mixed the ingredients together and covered with a damp towel for 30 minutes. Then I stretched and folded each side and covered again, let it sit on my counter for 10 hours.
Placed the dough on the counter and folded and stretched again. Rested for 10 minutes while I got my basket ready. Formed ball shape and placed in basket, pinched, and covered with towel in fridge for about two hours. Baked at 425 covered for 20 minutes, then 315 uncovered for 30.
by HotelImpressive9721
45 Comments
https://preview.redd.it/2fd5sn4blpfg1.jpeg?width=3024&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=d496cc7894b7a0fae79814b1e76c8eedbde7f6b8
Looks good, I like it a bit darker.
I don’t drop the oven temp
This is under baked. I’d never lower the oven below 400F.
315°?! Next time try 400 minimum
Good start though
Amazing first try. I would try to crank up heat. 490 pre heat Dutch oven. Back at 475 for 22-28 minutes covered and then 425 for 15-20 minutes cracked lid. I think you will see a huge difference. Amazing first loaf.
It only gets better from here! Did you enjoy it? What questions do you have?
Cutting this way seems diabolical to me.
Aside from the temps it’s a great first bake! Weirdly enough the thing that caught me was cutting parallel to the ear. Literally no difference to the bread but it was surprising to see!
Keep baking! Hope the second loaf is just as good 🙂
I would brown the top a little more if I were you
The biggest issue is the direction you cut it … oof
Better than 95% of people’s first! Great job! As others have said, it’s quite pale. Up that temp. Change nothing else.
This is a great first loaf! For a darker crust, I preheat to 450 with the Dutch oven inside. Then cook for 30 min with lid on. Remove for another 10 min with lid off all at 450. Super easy and gets the perfect crust without a heafty gas bill
Much love, great first loaf, yada yada yada but if you ever cut a loaf like that again I will banish you to the forgotten realm for all eternity
Definitely seems underbaked to me, for reference I do my loaves at 475 covered and 450 uncovered.
https://preview.redd.it/ffatxehrspfg1.jpeg?width=480&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=cdb9384070a108d8e5fa3b3d5c6e19451e3d4989
7 day starter from scratch or from a gifted/ purchased established starter? That’s incredible and extremely rare if you started a starter with just flour and water and it was ready to go in 7 days.
Looks great. How did it taste? I bought a KA sourdough starter to begin my journey and then bought another type from Etsy.
I preheat to 500, bake covered at 475 and uncovered at 450.
Nice job. I’m laughing at all the people freaking out about you cutting it parallel to the ear.. I also do that because I don’t actually enjoy the ear and would rather just eat it all in one or two slices and get it over with 🤣
That’s great for a first! Awesome job!
Nice! Congratulations!
The way that loaf was cut made me feel surprisingly uncomfortable 😳
Under baked. Cut when warm? Still quite gummy inside. Longer bake times and let cool for at least 2 hours. Bread is still cooking as it cools. Pull from oven at 206-210°F internal temperature.
Bake at 450°F.
This was almost perfect. Really nice job.
It’s so fluffy!
GREAT first loaf! congrats! As others have suggested, you may wanna try baking at a higher temp, and letting the crust get a bit darker, you’ll probably like the results.
And don’t mind some of the snarky comments, this place can be a bit salty at times(even more than the suggested 2%). They get especially snarky when beginners have loaves that look as nice as yours. Welcome to the “hobby” (addiction?). Fair warning though, if you’re like me go ahead and budget some extra time in your exercise routine, because you’re gonna start consuming a WHOLE lot more carbs in your day-to-day lol.
Good start. Log everything you can so you can tweak and reproduce the best you can. I’m in the process of looking up my notes since it has been over four years for me. I got my starter dehydrator and looking to bring it back to life.
In addition to others comments about it being under baked, whay a sick idea for cutting, you could make an absolutely massive sandwich out of that
Nice oven spring. Seems underbaked. I bake mine at 450F for 20 mins covered, then at 450F for 25 mins uncovered. Learned the timing from a bakery and sourdough class I went to.
A really good first bake. Who cares the direction of the cut – goodness!
And you did all this while taking care of a child! (We see those feet!). Good parenting. Growing up with the smell of fresh bread…..
Great first loaf! Crank that heat and let the oven really warm up. I got a like $12 Taylor oven thermometer to also double check the temps. Some ovens are way off.
Hi. Great first loaf. Well done. It does look a little blonde but other than that good job.
Itvwill get better and bulk fermentation faster as your starter matures more.
Happy baking
I thought my little one had woken up from her nap when I heard yours 😂 did she like the bread?
It needs to be cooked at a higher temperature, for longer.
Good job mom.
Honestly this would look a lot better in my belly.
I think this is an amazing result. Looks delicious – no notes. Personally, my least favorite part of sourdough is the hard crust, so a loaf like this looks perfect to me. I bet it tastes even better.
Just joining the rest saying beautiful loaf but should toast at 400°f+. You got this!
I can’t keep up with all the comments! Thought this would fly under the radar. I hear the feedback about the oven temp, thank you! Again, I’m very new to this and have LOTS to learn! I’m excited to keep going.
Gotta be rage bait 😉
Don’t lower the heat
Did you bake this over a candle?
This is approximately 1,000x better than my first effort. Two things to consider:
1. Bake for longer. Depending if you like a crust, but personally I’d want it quite a bit darker.
2. Cut across the ear for better looking slices.
Nice work!
I am impressed with how well this turned out for your first bake! My thought as you cut it “wow, I’m surprised at the oven spring with such a low temp!” That is gonna make some delicious toast! Have you done a lot of non-sourdough baking?
I bet your next loaf (with a higher temp) will be even better! I’ve found 450-480F at 20min covered + 20 mins uncovered works pretty well for crust color. The only issue I sometimes have with cooking it in that range is a burnt bottom, which is easily remedied with a cookie sheet on the bottom rack shielding the heat a bit.
Looks like it needs more baking , looks a little soft and anemic, but looks like you’re right on with the process. Excellent start
Wow. Amazing. I agree about the higher temp recommendations. Even 500F. You can test doneness with a thermometer until you get timing perfect.