Sourdough bread tasted cheesy :S
Is that normal? Is it desirable to anyone? The bread was sour and had a bit of a fancy cheese taste which I found very unpleasant. the taste was the same as that of a loaf I'd bought a long time ago in which it was much stronger and kinda grossed me out. However, I've had some mild sourdough that had a delicious tangy and somewhat sour flavor that made it delicious on its own, without anything added to it, and that sourdough had no cheesiness, and that's exactly what I want. Here's the background:
Starter: 75% hydration, 3/4 white, 1/4 whole wheat, fed twice a day doubling mass, then not yet a week old
10% of total flour from starter, put in preferment
Preferment: 80% hydration, white flour, 10 hours room temp autolyse
Final dough: 60% hydration, white flour, 3 hours room temp
yeast numbers need to be brought up. Slow rising, sour, cheesy, all sound like too much bacteria and not enough yeast.
The starter was used too early and needs to ferment longer and not be rushed into the final phase of yeast growth. Take the oldest most recent starter sample you have and let the starter ferment longer (without feeding it) until you have an aroma change to yeasty, Then give it another 24 hours to just sit and get more yeasty. This is much more important than watching if it's doubled, the doubling could be bacterial in nature. Edit: Whoops, I might have misread "doubling." (bad head cold here)
With the amount of regular wheat and water % in the starter, you can get your starter to rise more than just double. Providing it smells yeasty as it ferments, Let it peak out or reach maximum heigh. level out before feeding again. This will encourage more yeast growth.
If the starter turns your stomach as it ferments, and the aromas seem unpleasant, let the starter culture sit without feeding it for several days. If you can note the temperature of the starter/preferment/dough, this would also be very helpful. :)
Thanks for the reply.
I'm definitely going to give the yeast more time to activate and "assert itself" before feeding. Funnily enough, I had a starter on my table that had not received a feeding in three days by the time you answered.
As Mini said, leave it alone without feeding, not for a specific number of days, but until it takes on a yeasty aroma.
It does sound like your starter was used prematurely. When beginning a new starter you don't feed it at all. I only "feed" or replenish my starter 8 hours before baking.