Hello all.
I’ve spent the last three weeks trying to make one decent loaf of sourdough bread. I grew up in San Francisco were we love our bread really sour. The first couple attempts were nice and sour but had zero structure because my starter had past its peak. Then I guess I also bulk fermented out of the fridge for 24 hrs 😂. Anyway looked more stuff up and poured out a lot of my started and used it to seed a new starter which I fed and let rise for intervals in a warm place and then at room temp which in the netherlands is cold so it slows fermentation. The bread I made from that had a passable structure. I wasn’t thrilled it also had 0 flour flavor. I am now at the stage where have my starter smelling really sour again but it won’t have any strength. I have been trying different recipes so I don’t have something specific to offer. I am hoping for someone to give me a recipe to follow along with technique
https://www.thefreshloaf.com/node/8884/susan039s-original-sourdough-3262007
This was the first sourdough I ever made—simple and straightforward, just like her other recipes. They’re all beginner-friendly. Highly recommend!
Yippee
Thanks for this! Looks amazing! Do you know what your rough room temp is? It’s just kinda chilly here and I’ve been struggling to get a decent rise.
Hi,
I made my bread on May 25, 2009, during the day. According to ChatGPT, in my area “on May 25, 2009, you could reasonably expect daytime temperatures around 20°C to 24°C (68°F–75°F), with morning or evening lows near 10°C to 12°C (50°F–54°F).”
You can use any makeshift proofer to speed up the rise. Just a few examples: an electric blanket, an oven with the door ajar so the light stays on, or a preheated microwave with a bowl of warm water in place. Or even your toaster oven if it’s roomy enough.
Yippee
.
https://www.thefreshloaf.com/node/70065/24hour-san-fransisco-style-sourdough-method
From her blog:
How to Make Sourdough Bread More Sour https://glutenfreegourmand.blogspot.com/2023/02/how-to-make-sourdough-bread-more-sour.html
Use yeast - add the "flavoring" later. From there - experiment. Eventually you'll have a bread you like. Enjoy!
dmsnyder, a highly respected baker here on The Fresh Loaf, invested some serious effort into replicating San Francisco Sourdough: just what you are looking for. You might want to like at this link to for some insight into his methods.
In addition, his personal "recipe index", linked here, contains several additional links that you might find helpful in your specific quest, as well as a wealth of other bread baking challenges.
Best of Luck
OldWoodenSpoon
This is great thank you for the help!
about 20 % rye in my dough and seems to have really improved the flavour. I use 7% dark rye flour, 7% cracked rye, 7% rye flakes. I buy the wheat and rye products from Arva flour mills.
As an aside, Gerhard did you get the e-mail from Arva with their best sourdough loaf ever? It requires emmer flour.
Feyglio: This link might also be of interest. Read the posts from dabrownman. He has a couple novel ideas for producing a more sour levain.
I'm also trying to reproduce a strongly sour sourdough bread. I have tried a few of the recommendations I found on the web (higher temperature, wetter, more whole grain, etc.) and none have really captured the flavor of a strong San Francisco sourdough (SFSD). The closest I've come has been the Extra-Tangy Sourdough at King Arthur Baking (https://www.kingarthurbaking.com/recipes/extra-tangy-sourdough-bread-recipe).
Fresh Loaf member doughooker (https://www.thefreshloaf.com/user/doughooker) has posted a number of attempts at SFSD. I have had similar results—inconsistent results or dough proteolysis.
If you have any success, please post here as I would be very interested in your method.