Questions tagged [sourdough]
Questions regarding baking and working with wild yeasts and starters (also known as levains or chefs).
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How to determine amount of mother starter to use to build a levain for STIFF/dry sourdough starter?
I have a healthy, active dry sourdough starter (50% hydration). Most of the recipes I want to use it in, ask for anywhere between 100 g, 150g and 200 g. How much of the starter would I have to use in ...
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1answer
35 views
Different sourdough starter behavior based on starter composition?
In general, what are the different "behaviours" of sourdough starter, based on their composition, all other things being equal?For instance a 100% white flour starter vs. 100% wholewheat flour starter ...
3
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1answer
112 views
How to have a weekly baking sourdough starter plan
I want to start baking 2 loaves of sourdough bread every Sunday evening.
I have to start from scratch. So I do not have any starter yet.
Can someone please help me with a plan to do it?
How and ...
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1answer
142 views
Sourdough starter gone wild
Why is my starter bubbling out of the container within minutes of mixing. I used 2 c. bread flour, 2 c. water and 2.25 tsp active dry yeast.
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0answers
129 views
Why are sourdough crusts thicker?
I'm used to the crust on sourdough bread being thick and chewy, but had always attributed that to the longer rise, and baking with steam, that one normally does with sourdough. However, this week I ...
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2answers
86 views
how to correct a problem with my sourdough starter
My boss gave me a sourdough starter that I've had on my counter for a week. I"ve fed it with just equal parts of flour and water without wasting the starter in order to increase the amount. it has ...
2
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1answer
143 views
How do you know if your starter is powered mainly by yeast or bacteria?
One quick follow-up question to this postMy sourdough starter is bubbling but not rising, suggestions?: How do you know if your starter is bubbling because of yeast (and not bacteria)?
I've been ...
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0answers
31 views
How should I adapt recipes according to the amount of sourdough starter?
I use the starter irregularly, therefore the amount I take to make the dough changes every time: I work by taking a fixed amount of starter to feed further, and by using all the rest in the recipe.
...
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0answers
45 views
Underside of dough in proofing basket pulls apart
When I form a loaf out of dough and put it upside-down into a proofing basket, the bottom of the loaf sometimes begins to pull apart from itself, as if the dough isn't sticking to itself as much as it ...
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1answer
66 views
Does package yeast inhibit wild fermentation?
I baked my first “sourdough” boules today and there was zero detectable sour or tartness.
After about day four of zero activity in my baby starter I added a packet of packaged yeast I bloomed ...
2
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0answers
54 views
Can one use a mix of white rice flour with regular white flour sourdough to make a pizza crust? If so then what ratio might be the best?
I have a regular active sourdough (comprising 50% fermented white wheat flour and 50% water by weight) which is obviously not really malleable as a dough but rather liquid-ish, and I did not like the ...
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0answers
92 views
My homemade sourdough bread tastes bitter after letting it stay for one day
I do sourdough bread at home, and through the process, I've tasted lots of not-yet-baked breads. Also, tasted someone else's sourdough bread, which was quite good.
Now, I'm in the stage where I can ...
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2answers
1k views
Vinegar Smell from Sourdough Starter
I am in the process of creating my sour-dough starter.
I've been mixing in water and "strong bread flour" around a 1:1 ratio (100g of each, slightly more water to make the mixture wetter).
The ...
2
votes
2answers
106 views
What does sourdough starter REALLY need?
I have one of these fancy french baking books that says that the sourdough needs to be feed with a 2:1:3 ratio of water, starter and flour. But a lot of videos I see online basically just pour a ...
2
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1answer
127 views
What type of flour is ideal for sourdough?
I have found a recipe for sourdough starter culture that calls for 50 grams of flour with 50 ml of water, but the recipe does not state what specific type of flour you should use. Can you use any type ...
2
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2answers
478 views
Over proofed dough still good?
I decided to make a 2.5kg sourdough to make bread and pizza out of it. I used the following formula: 76% hydration, 2% salt, 20% of starter (100%).
I mixed the flour and water and let it autolyse for ...
3
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1answer
169 views
Why is my gluten so weak?
I’ve been making sourdough bread regularly for over a year now. But since about half a year ago, the bread has consistently come out badly because the gluten doesn’t seem to develop properly:
the ...
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1answer
238 views
Pros and Cons of Sourdough
What are the pros and cons of making bread at home using sourdough starter vs. commercial yeast other than cost?
I am NOT at all interested in the answers a Google search yields which all appear to ...
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0answers
59 views
Wheat sourdough starter - “swamp” smell
Some time ago I have grown my own sourdough starter fed with 50/50 wholemeal rye & all-purpose wheat flour (with 100% hydration). It turned out great, it normally grows a bit over 2x in volume ...
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1answer
97 views
How do I make my sourdough crust thinner?
I have been playing around with my sourdough recipes, and I can't figure out how to make my crust thinner.
Only things I do out of the ordinary are when baking I have a pot of hot water in the oven ...
2
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3answers
769 views
Not feeding sourdough starter enough?
I'm new to the whole baking thing, so I'm learning as I go along. In that regard, there may be a host of things wrong with my bread baking process, but I'm mostly curious at this point about my ...
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2answers
311 views
Small black spot on sourdough starter
I haven't fed my sourdough in about a month so I was going to feed it and I saw a black spot on the dough. I scooped it out and fed the sourdough.I'm worried if this could possibly be black mold and ...
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2answers
655 views
When to add salt in sourdough bread mix?
I was reading around and seems that a lot of forums are saying to delay adding the salt in your sourdough mix.
I dissolved the salt in water and then I poured the sourdough starter in the water and ...
2
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2answers
138 views
Sourdough starter - Have I been doing it wrong?
I made my own starter a couple weeks ago: flour and water, and left it on the top of the fridge. I have been feeding the starter each day for the past two weeks.
I have not discarded any. Now the ...
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3answers
453 views
Sourdough starter stopped growing, is it normal?
I posted a question a few days ago. This was my first sourdough starter: My sourdough starter split in 2 on the 3rd day. What should I do?
and I decided to only keep the foamy part and throw the ...
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1answer
290 views
My sourdough starter split in 2 on the 3rd day. What should I do?
I have fed it first after 24h and it grew nicely. And on the 2nd morning after I woke up I saw this:
Should I keep the upper half? or simply start a new batch?
I have used the following formula: ...
3
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1answer
760 views
Sourdough Starter Black Spots
Hi All! I tried to make a sourdough starter, and after 24 hours I uncovered it and discovered black spots and 2 white fluffy areas. The black spots are only at the top layer so can I still use it ...
4
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1answer
209 views
What is the difference between a wild yeast starter and a sourdough starter?
Many people only seem to distinguish between 'regular' bread (made with store bought commercial strains of yeast) and sourdough (made with 'wild' yeast). If this is the only distinction - was all ...
4
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2answers
298 views
What went wrong with this bread?
I just baked this bread using sour dough. Why is there a large hole in it? What can I do to prevent this from happening next time?
Pre oven:
Post oven:
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1answer
1k views
My sourdough starter stopped growing after day two
I've tried making my own sourdough starter.
On the first day I added a cup of whole rye flour with 3/4 of cool filtered water. After 24 hours it already started smelling a little sour and had a few ...
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2answers
447 views
What's the point of long/complex sourdough feeding techniques?
About a year ago, a friend taught me how she makes her sourdough bread and gave me a portion of her starter. It works great and makes fantastic loaves. I've started to look at other recipes online ...
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1answer
601 views
Sourdough starter not buoyant
If my sourdough starter does not float in water, does that mean it is not ready?
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1answer
119 views
Artisan sourdough bread
We buy artisan white sourdough bread from a baker. when we first got it the loaves were lovely for sandwiches. Lately for a couple months now the loaves having been coming with large holes maybe in ...
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2answers
154 views
Sourdough starter hydration
I’m making my first sourdough starter. Actually my second; the first one dried up and turned into cement. I figured that it wasn’t hydrated enough (the original directions called for 35g rye flour, ...
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1answer
411 views
Making sourdough bread with just flour and water (and no starter)
Suppose I do not have a starter and I am not interested in creating one. Would the following recipe work to create an edible sourdough bread? If not, why not?
Recipe:
Mix 10 cups of flour with ...
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1answer
180 views
Storing fresh sourdough [duplicate]
I would like to know what is the best way to store fresh baked sourdough so that it maintains a nice crunchy crust and a nice soft, slightly moist, light texture? I usually store it at room ...
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2answers
1k views
Working with a slack (sticky) sourdough
My background is in microbiology and I have fairly recently started making sourdough.
I have been working up my sourdough recipe getting lots of information from friends and the internet.
The recipe ...
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1answer
1k views
Sourdough recipe with vinegar
I use a sourdough starter to bake my breads. I read somewhere that adding a touch of vinegar will help with the oven rise.
What are the implications of adding vinegar to my recipe?
3
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1answer
869 views
Sourdough starter and long term feeding
I have a sourdough starter that I started about 3-4 months ago with bread flour and it's done really well. I am not baking a lot right now and would like to refrigerate it knowing that I need to feed ...
4
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1answer
3k views
Sourdough starter bubbling but not rising after months of feeding
I have successfully made sourdough whilst living in Texas - USA then back in Australia and now i am currently living in Nashville - USA.
Since moving to Nashville i began a new starter and have ...
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2answers
294 views
Making Sourdough starter in the UAE
I live in the UAE where the climate is hot and humid.
I started making a sourdough starter on the 28th of October and today, 30th October it seems to be doubling quickly. It has a strong acidic ...
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4answers
6k views
Traveling with sourdough starter
We recently got a sourdough starter, and have loved trying out many different recipes with it.
In a few weeks we will by flying home (after spending the summer in Alaska), and we would really like to ...
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2answers
2k views
Revive sourdough starter after 2 months in fridge
I have a sourdough starter in fridge for nearly two months and have not fed it. Haven't even looked at it. So two questions: if it smells ok, for a starter, that is, can I use it if I feed it and ...
4
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1answer
309 views
Scoring medium hydration dough after it's been in the oven
I've been using this setup for 60% hydration dough:
20 mins in cloche, covered, 500°
10 mins in cloche, covered, 450°
20+ mins uncovered, 450°
For all intents and purposes, the cloche works like a ...
2
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3answers
381 views
making a sourdough starter in desert like conditions
It's finally summer and the daily temperature here is between 75-85 - which I figure is finally good for making my first starter. My concern, though, is that the overnight temperature drops to the 50s....
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1answer
746 views
For how long can you let dough sit there to rise without yeast?
I read that you can make a dough without yeast and have it sit at room temperature for 12 hours and it will rise due to bacteria found in the air.
It didn't rise after 12 hrs, so I was wondering if I ...
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1answer
363 views
Sourdough more rise in the oven
It is a while sinse I baked any sourdough. After 6 days of feeding the starter and 2 12 hour proofs the rise in the loaf was not fantastic but about doubled when I baked it. Is this normal?
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4answers
648 views
Is there such thing as “active dry sourdough-variety yeast”?
Apologies in advance if this is a stupid question, or if it doesn't sound coherent, but: Is it possible to buy sourdough yeast, ready to use?
You can easily find "active dry yeast" for sale in ...
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2answers
847 views
Sourdough Breadmaking: Adding Water to Dutch Oven to create more steam?
Is there any benefit to adding some boiling water to a preheated dutch oven (under some parchment paper) just before putting the lid back on?
EDIT:
Well I did it. It seems to improve oven spring. ...
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4answers
2k views
How do I properly substitute flour and water for sourdough starter?
I have a sourdough bread recipe that I want to try. The recipe calls for 2 cups starter but I do not have that much. It says I can use less and to just make up the difference with equal parts flour ...
