Six lessons learned

I have been trying to bake with sourdough in the last few weeks. These are some of the lessons that I learned and I thought that I could share them with you.

Lesson number 1: Do not follow recipes to the letter!

Bread making is a science and an art combined. Every recipe that one comes across was made under specific conditions that you most probably cannot replicate exactly. There are too many variables involved even though the ingredients on the face of it are so few and simple. Take for example, the room temperature and humidity where the dough making and bread baking took place in the original recipe, the type of flour and the starter used and, why not, the baker’s knowledge and skill. Therefore, what should one do?

In my opinion the answer is that recipes should be used as a rough guide about the process involved each time. I like the phrase “watch the dough, not the clock” which I’ve seen being used here and I also read it in a book about bread baking.

 Lesson number 2: Watch and learn.

Watch as many video clips as possible or look at photos of bread being made and pay particular attention to the consistency of the dough etc. during every stage, because this is what you should aim to replicate using your own judgment. It took quite some effort by me to gain sufficient self confidence and realize that any recipe that I read is not meant to be replicated and that I should use common sense and judgment concerning water needed for the dough and the time to be allocated to bulk feeding and dough proofing. All this was because I was trying to copy recipes blindly right down to the last detail.

 Lesson number 3: Learn by trial and error and keep notes about your bakes.

Do not give up even if you are experiencing a constant stream of failed bakes. By learning from your mistakes you will gradually avoid them and notice a big improvement in your baking. I used to bake very rarely and every time I would forget what I did the last time. Therefore, skills were not developed and any knowledge gained was soon forgotten. I thought that the practice of keeping notes would be an overkill. However, it comes down to the fact that your notes help you remember when and where you were successful and where things may have gone wrong.

 Lesson number 4: Be patient and enjoy the journey.

The learning process is usually fairly slow unless you have a mentor close at hand to guide and teach you. Whatever applies in your circumstances, enjoy what you are doing.

 Lesson number 5: It’s not over!

Baking is a calming, healthy and overall and beneficial experience and you should ensure that it will remain with you for the rest of your life.

 Lesson number 6: Seek advice.

I left this for last, but it’s by no means the least important. Taking for example The Fresh Loaf community, I would never get to where I am now without the advice that I received from so many helpful persons here. To me this help and support was most valuable.