Guyssssss
It's here, my first sourdough bread is done. 🤩
Even if i am new to this i do see it is a little over fermented. ( I think )I had a problem with very little bubbles, so it was fermenting 11h. It is a little sticky but not much. The only thing that I don't like a little bit is the taste, it is sour. I can really taste it. Little unpleasant.
My starter is over 4 and a half weeks it is whole-wheat flour and a little bread flour. I did beginner recipe 100g starter, 500g bread flour, 325g water, 10g salt.
I did mix it well with my hands and did 2 stretch and fold every 30 min and 2 coil folds every 30 min. However it did not rise well even after 8h. Because my house is on the cold side. So i did one more coil fold, and after that it did helped a lot. After 2 hours little bubbles and it was nice and jiggly and it had a dome and was not sticky.
And it was in the fridge for 12h. Over night.
I let it cool for 2h.
All tips for next bread is needed and welcomed 🙏😊
by miroslav887
4 Comments
Hey I have the same issue as you, my kitchen is also cold and I believe this is the main reason for the sour taste. If you want to fix it, you’ll need to find a warm spot for the bulk fermentation. You can put it in the oven and keep the oven light on. Or you can put the dough in the oven with a boiling cup of water (but pay close attention because it can become too hot with this method and can kill the yeast). Good luck with your next bake!
Looks pretty good for your first loaf. that’s a nice ear, good color, not burnt. Pretty good for your first loaf. From the outside, it does not look over fermented.
However, the inside tells more of the story. you have some irregular alveoli and larger pockets in your crumb. Maybe a bit glossy and tacky in places?
This may not necessarily have been over fermented, but it definitely sounds like it was over acidified. That can occur with a long fermentation period and a weak starter or alternatively, it could have just been the cold environment.
11 hours room temperature bulk fermentation followed by a 12 hour cold proof, with a whole wheat starter? That will definitely contribute to the flavor being sour. The cold temperatures will slow fermentation, but it will not slow the buildup of flavor.
I would say this is mostly successful. I have done similar recipes where the bulk fermentation is eight hours at 75° followed by a 38° fridge proof. I would only get maybe 25 or 30% rise by the time I shaped it those loaves turned out beautifully. It is hard to be quantitative with flavor, but I would not describe my loaves with this recipe as sour. I don’t use a whole wheat starter, though, I use a bread flour starter.
So my recommendation would be to control your temperature a little bit more, get a temperature probe so you know the actual temperature of your dough.
That looks amazing for a first loaf. You’ve got a great sourdough journey ahead of you. What you’re describing sounds very similar to when my starter isn’t strong enough. It could be a combination of colder temperatures and the starter. You might try feeding your starter a couple times before using it maybe use the discard to make stuff like banana bread or pizza dough. As far as the cool temperature goes, sometimes when it’s cold, I keep my dough close to an oven, especially when I’m cooking, or put it in my microwave. It seems to stabilize the temperature a little more. Another option is oven with light on. I like to keep my dough in a straight sided clear container so it’s easier for me to observe the fermentation.
Look into starter strengthening to de-acidify. Peak to peak discard and feeding 2-3x (1:2:2 or higher ratio). https://thesourdoughjourney.com/encyclopedia/