The Fresh Loaf

A Community of Amateur Bakers and Artisan Bread Enthusiasts.

My third sourdough - getting there

Brian Gardner's picture
Brian Gardner

My third sourdough - getting there

So, I had posted a couple of weeks ago about my second attempt at a sourdough bread. See the post "My sourdough ran like water" in this forum for background. 

After receiving some wonderful advice from people on this forum I changed my recipe. 

  • 150g levain
  • 900g all purpose white flour
  • 600g water
  • 21g salt

I proofed in a cool room (60F) for longer than last time, about 14 hours. The volume of the loaves looked a little scant to me, but I had company coming and couldn't let them rise more. The poke test said that they were ready to bake. The loaves shaped better with the lower hydration from the previous ones, but they were still a little "sloppy" when I picked them up to place them in the Dutch ovens. Much better than before where I felt they would run through my hands as I tried to place them. 

The end result tasted good, the crumb was tighter, without the big open holes that I had before. Both loaves were gone by the next day, so I guess that says something. More pics are (hopefully) below. 

leslieruf's picture
leslieruf

no wonder they were gone in no time.

well done and keep it up

Leslie

hreik's picture
hreik

It's addicting, isn't it?  Beautiful loaves.

hester

DanAyo's picture
DanAyo

I’m impressed. They look outstanding!  Look like you got some great bloom.

Dan

not.a.crumb.left's picture
not.a.crumb.left

Lovely looking loaves! Kat

Filomatic's picture
Filomatic

You're not getting there, you're there.  Really nice work.  Anyone here would be happy with that result.

Brian Gardner's picture
Brian Gardner

I know that my post seemed like I wasn't happy, which isn't true. I felt I could have gotten a better rise, for one thing. The increase in volume before dividing and proofing was not really double or triple. There was some increase during proofing, but not as much as I hoped. I think my next batch this weekend will have a longer first rise, and we'll see if the volume goes up. 

Thanks for all the encouragement. I am having tremendous fun. 

Brian