Help my non-sour sourdough
Hi All,
I've signed on to get help with my sourdough bread. A while ago I decided to develop a new hobby, and teach myself to make great sourdough bread. I have been learning all the tricks, and you should have seen my last loaf...it was a thing of beauty. I cook in an old cast iron dutch oven, and spray the loaf with water. Lovely brown blistered crust, great oven spring, moist chewy crumb with little and big holes...it was everything I have been working towards, except NO sour taste! My starter is active and strong...it floats, and I keep it stiff. I retard fermentation in the fridge o/n, and then it has a long proof after that. It should be long enough to develop the flavour, but it is not doing it. I have added some rye flour to the starter...no change. The last loaf I did, I did a double hydration, and used potato water. The double hydration seems to help with gluten development, and the potato water makes the crumb moist and chewy. What am I doing wrong? Thanks in advance for any and all help, suggestions, tips, etc.
Crumby
Crumby, if you post the recipe, you will probably get more help. I have found that longer fermentation with lower amounts of starter yield a more sour tang. I am still playing around, but have also found that the flavor changes with time. The loaf that I made on Sunday was okay on Sunday, but today has a wonderful sour tang.
can be identified more by texture than taste. However, recently I made some in a cooler kitchen (fall weather) and the rise times were extended by hours. This bread, while not excessively sour, had a definite tang to it. Now that temperatures are cooler I'll see if this can be repeated in my baking.
Please describe how you prepare your starter.
How long does the dough proof and at what temperature?