More Failed Sourdough!

How mature is your starter?  

I agree with Josh about the final proof.  That is extremely short for sourdough.  

Hiya anshaw,

It's hard to pinpoint exactly where your process is going "wrong," but I think that Josh has offered some great suggestions. While reading your recipe, I too was immediately struck by the 45-minute final proof, which seems possible for a bread made with commercial yeast, but pretty unfeasible for a good naturally leavened loaf, even with a slightly longer bench rest.

I would like to add a few possible culprits to the line-up, as well as ask some more specific questions with regard to your process.

First, a 40-minute bench rest seems excessive. Obviously, I can't tell exactly what your circumstances are, but I usually don't push a bench rest much past the 30-minute mark, otherwise it begins to spill a little bit, especially if the gluten is delicate (as it usually is for loaves à la Tartine). If you think your dough NEEDS that long of a bench rest, then it is likely that your pre-shape is too strong and involved. Just gently coax it into a round, and--as long as you're not living in the tundra--it should relax in less than a half-hour.

Second, I would like to add a caveat to one of Josh's prescriptions: "Fermentation itself will add strength." Absolutely correct, IF it is done correctly. The acidity from fermentation will help to strengthen the dough, but too much fermentation--which you risk by adding too much leaven--will compromise the integrity of the gluten bonds and generally yield puddly dough, which in turn yields hockey pucks. No fun for anyone. Regrettably, there is no hard, fast rule to determine when bulk fermentation is complete; it's a skill that one picks up after a lot of time working with his or her starter.

Lastly, I would inquire, like Michael G, into the condition of your starter; two questions specifically: what is your feeding regiment for your starter leading up to the bake? And how long after the final feeding do you add the leaven to the dough? (Note: I am using starter and leaven interchangeably; don't turn me in!). Both of these things influence the fermentation process immensely.

What's most important is that you stick with it and continue to make bread ! I can't tell you how many ugly loaves I've pulled from my oven even after years of working with sourdough. But eventually one finds a rhythm.

There is a million and one ways to make sourdough breads and although I'm not a follower of the Tartine methods myself your method seems mostly ok (an hour in the oven though? wow) - I've never had the weird bumps on-top like you have though - however that's also a very wet dough (assuming a 100% hydration starter - just guessing here). If it is a 100% hydration starter then you have 730+100 = 830g of water and 1000 + 100 = 1100g of flour - the final hydration is 75%. I'm wondering if shaping is more of an issue here?

So my first suggestion would be to reduce the water - which might seem heresy in the land of wetter is better, but it might also make handling and shaping easier to start with. And more water means bigger holes and holes don't hold marmalade as someone said... You can always gradually bump up the water once you've got a good baseline to work from.

So less water and sleep on it ...

and by that I mean let the bulk ferment happen overnight while you're tucked up in bed dreaming of sourdough toast for breakfast... (in 2 days time)

So... Prepare the starter in the afternoon - take some mother and bulk it up by whatever way you like to get to the final quantity and let that "mature" for 5-6 hours. In the evening (lets say 9pm, as that's when I do it), you add the starter to the flour, salt and water, mix it in the bowl to the "shaggy" stage, turn it out and do that pushing it round the bench kneading thing, but hey, lifes too short, so 5 minutes is enough. Put it back in the bowl, and leave it covered overnight. Let the slow sourdough yeastie beasties do the work for you...

In the morning tip it out, scale it (if you need to), pre-shape it, leave it to rest on the bench while you get the bannetons out and dust them with flour, then shape and transfer into the bannetons and leave covered in a nice warm place (24C if you can) for 1-2 hours. Test at 1 hour and keep going for another hour, possibly more if you have the time.

Meanwhile get the oven hot - 250C if you can with a tray in the bottom also heating up. Heat up the dutch oven if you want to use it - I don't.

So when the dough has proven itself, get everything ready. Flip the banneton over to get the dough out - into the DO, or onto some parchment which you can transfer into the DO (or slide onto a flat baking sheet already in the oven, getting hot) A bold slash or 2, etc. then into the oven followed immediately by a cup of water into the tray at the bottom. (if not using a DO). 11 minutes at 250 then down to 210 for another 22 minutes. And there you go.

My favourite recipe has: 800g flour (500g white, 300g wholemeal), 320g active starter (at 100% hydration), 460g water and 12g salt. (And throw in a handful of seeds if you like - see: http://www.thefreshloaf.com/node/41469/end-packet-sourdough

That recipe makes 2 medium sized loaves.

-Gordon (gone 10pm here, going to bed soon, with 2 loads of dough slowly doing their overnight thing - spelt & 'granary' - they'll be 6 loaves in the shop by 9:30 tomorrow!)

ps. your flours are fine - won't mean anything to anyone not in the UK though, but they're good strong bread flours. I use Shipton Mill No 4 and wholemeal from my local mill in Devon.

If you have access to a Waitrose store then try Waitrose Very Strong Canadian flour. It is superb and now it forms a large proportion of all my flour blends.  Just give it a go, I am sure you will notice a big difference.