I do not cold proof.
I do not do more than about 5 stretch and folds.
Many times I wait until just before baking to do *any* stretch and folds.
I don’t feed my starter daily. Just once before I’m ready to make dough. Could be weeks in between feeds.
Btw my Dutch is square so my loaves turn out square shaped when they spring. This is why this loaf is cut this way lol
150g starter
300g water
500g flour
10g salt
Parm and Asiago. As much as I could grate and fold in. Probably total 1 cup
450°F
25 min covered
15 min uncovered
by rizzo1717
43 Comments
I don’t measure my starter
I put my ingredients in my bread machine on the dough cycle and then cold proof then bake! Zero stretch & folds!
In a thread a while back people said they changed their starter jar every feed.
Nope.
Every other few months for me.
Do you find the bread less sour with no cold proofing? I usually opt for a longer cold proof because I’ve heard that makes it more sour.
No dutch oven. No banneton. No Lame. No rice flour.
I use more water than flour for my starter
Ok, don’t downvote me, but I mostly do everything wrong. FWIW, I followed the rules and tried lots of recipes at the beginning, but I didn’t get consistently good results until I started breaking the rules. That’s my disclaimer.
I don’t often discard. I bake regularly and usually only discard when I want to accumulate discard for a recipe.
I also feed approximately scant a half cup (dry measure) of flour (quarter cup of unbleached, quarter cup rye-wholewheat blend) and about a quarter to a third cup water. I weighed it at the beginning to establish the benchmark but have now ended up doubling the flour to get a thick batter texture.
I don’t use a timer for bulk ferment and rarely put my dough in the fridge. Bulk ferment and a few very gentle stretch and folds until it’s doubled-ish and puffy, then shape it with lots of folding to create some tension, and then into banneton until it looks puffy, smooth, jiggly. Upsidedown onto parchment, score, and into preheated Dutch oven, covered initially
It usually turns out great, fairly open crumb, blisters, etc. the only thing is that without fridge time, the scoring is a bit messy, so the bread always looks a bit… rustic lol. However, I tried cold before and while it was better for scoring, I generally got either the same rise or less rise in the end; I once got the perfect rise and crumb that way, but I was never able to duplicate it.
I bake mine in a toaster oven
https://preview.redd.it/wttpbwu4v8pg1.jpeg?width=3024&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=a06fcbe99de66b1b8b858687c6d25cbfe9e9c449
For sourdough I just eyeball the measurements and let the kitchen aid do all the work. I don’t stretch and fold since the loaves I make are pretty tiny, if I had to guess around 400g. The shaping at the end does enough. Also stiff starter FTW!
I eat it while it’s still hot!
I am loving the square DO. Gonna look for one of those
It’s no man’s land in my kitchen. I just kinda do what I want now. I like grabbing some formulas and tweaking them heavily cuz I’ve found there’s negligible difference between the sourdough rain dance and just throw it in a bowl.
I put my bread in a cold oven and crank it to 450. No prewarming the oven or the pot I cook it in.
https://preview.redd.it/kzsj4bqtw8pg1.jpeg?width=1439&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=75b7dd377c46feb4d1e1550985811adb73209f8d
I also dont like my bread to have a lot of holes so I lean a little on the dense side.
I like a thick piece of toast.
The feeding schedules people make up. I just feed it when it’s low. I make delicious, beautiful bread with unfed starter, cold from the fridge.
I don’t measure..anything.. I’ve kinda just gotten used to the look and feel of my dough and starter I just dump things in a bowl and call it a day. I also have never used a scale for anything I learned with cup measurements.
Hmmm… I don’t measure water and flour for my starter. Nor do I measure the amount of starter I add to the dough.
I don’t discard. I machine knead. I add all ingredients at once. I use, like, 4-5% salt. I don’t use rice flour. I don’t pre-shape. I usually use a baking tin.
I only cold proof if I want to bake my loaf at a specific time. I think that’s it.
Oh yeah, forgot to add: I often don’t feed my starter before baking, unless it’s seriously unhappy (has a layer of hooch and smells like acetone). Starter lives in the fridge ofc.
I only stretch and fold like once or twice during the bulk rise and i putv the shaped dough directory into the baskets without the cloth.
I feed my starter based on eyeballing and consistency, and not every day. It’s about 2 years old though and pretty resilient.
I don’t feed my starter for months unless I’m baking and then I do it the day before
Cold-start baking for me – no preheating a Dutch oven.
Learnt this from following Elaine Boddy of Foodbod sourdough fame 🍞💪😍
Straight into a cold enamel casserole dish, few ice cubes, lame next, then quick spray of water on the top of the unbaked dough. Lid on. Oven set to fanbake at 220°c, 50 minutes, remove lid for the final 5 mins.
Always works for me.
This is a great thread, OP. Making me think about other aspects of my obsession! Thank you 🫶
What rules? 🤣😁😁🤣
I put the salt in right away
I bake with starter straight out of the fridge. When I’m mixing up dough I use my stand mixer and dough hook to knead it until the dough is smooth
I don’t measure when I feed my starter. After I feed, I put my starter in the fridge. When I’m ready to make dough, I take it out of the fridge and use it right away. It doesn’t need time, heat, or another feeding to “reactivate” unless it hasn’t been used for more than 3 weeks or so. I also don’t produce any discard unless I pass that 3 week mark. I use what I need and mix the rest in with the new (unmeasured) flour and water. Works just fine for me, and my kids hate eating store bought bread any more.
I was gonna comment on the cuts lol. I’m all for the butt end of the bread, but to have it first is a crime.
I do most of my gluten building in the first set of stretch and folds. I don’t do a set number, just until it seems done. I will toss my dough in the fridge at any point if I need to, and finish the proof at a later time
I add a tiny pinch of yeast. I don’t think it makes it not-sourdough but it gives me a consistent rise and I don’t really have to worry about wasting a loaf.
I don’t discard. I feed starter and start baking an hour later, no matter what. Change starter jar once every 6 months or so. Bread perfectly yummy.
My starter is not a baby. It’ll be neglected in the fridge for ages when I don’t bake. It comes back to life just fine.
It doesn’t need to be peaked, it needs to be active. On the way up or down isn’t important. If it’s full of gas, it’s good to go.
I have recently been using my stand mixer to mix up the dough for 5-6 minutes & then for my 1st stretch & fold a half hour later. I will then only do one more stretch & fold by hand then let it rest (ferment) 3-4 hours before shaping & putting in the refrigerator overnight. My loaves have risen nicely & look and taste great.
I do ZERO stretch and folds or coil folds. I put all the ingredients in my Kitchenaid. I use the paddle attachment. I start on ‘stir’ until everything is thoroughly combined. Then, I crank it to ‘2’ and let it go until I get a fantastic window pane and obvious gluten. I put it in a glass bowl, and cover it.
At the same time, I feed my starter. I do a 1-3-3 feed. Set it next to my bowl of dough. When the starter has peaked, the dough is done. I shape the hell out of it, pop it in the fridge. This method has completely changed how my doughs behave and increased my oven spring.
I don’t weigh anything and only loosely measure ingredients when feeding starter and preparing a loaf. I base everything on feel and appearance and I guess dumb luck
https://preview.redd.it/a8nhr9p749pg1.jpeg?width=4284&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=fd43f1cd86c28441154c4a2ec9ac28da8db356ad
I don’t do stretch and folds, ever.
I don’t wait to add my salt.
I only cold proof the second or third loaf each week (I mix a double or triple batch and bake as I need more bread).
I don’t measure my feeds.
I don’t ferment for more than 4 hours, I make my dough warm so it rises faster.
Turns out I don’t do much that I’m “supposed” to lol
I use my dough scraper to do my folds. My hands are weird so I can’t do it the “normal” way so I just fold the dough in with the scraper, flip it over, and repeat as needed. I did a whole big post about my process yesterday so if you’re interested check my profile.
No bannetons. I just shape & cold proof in the same greased, plastic rubbermaid bowl I used for bulk fermentation.
I clean my jar and never have and never will do a float test
I don’t preheat my oven for an hour, once it gets to temp then it’s go time. And I don’t preheat my Dutch oven.
I almost never pre shape or bench rest. Just straight from bulk to final shape and in the fridge
I don’t cut the loaf in half and spread it open to brag about my crumb.
Most of them. people make sourdough sound so hard and you see recipes from ppl like Maurizio Leo and Ken Forkish where it’s like ‘I was so delicate for 46 days with my starter and spend 4 days stretching and folding. Handle the bread with a whisper and it will come out great’
Those guys are professional bakers and maybe it really does make a difference but outside of standard weights and percentages I try not to stress about it. People were doing this on the Oregon Trail in a f*#king wagon, let’s stop with all the insanity
I don’t use a Danish wisk or weck jar! The horror!
I ALMOST ALWAYS CUT IT BEFORE ITS COMPLETELY COOLED
My starter is always in the fridge. I do not have any discard or waste. I only feed what I plan to use.
I do not measure when I feed my starter.
I do not time anything or temp anything.
I have no clue what hydration levels are.