I sorted of cheated with my sourdough just to see what it tastes like, and I found it interesting but sour ! ( never had a sourdough bread before as I come from a well rooted background of store bought sliced white bread,so this was a very novel experience). It was sort of tangy, but quite nice with a bit of jam. I know sourdough is an acquired taste, but I'm wondering how long it takes to acquire the taste for it ( in different people's experience) and also what I can do to make it less sour - is at straight forward as use less of it next time?
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I forgot to say what I meant by "cheated" ....I have a starter that's been going for a few weeks now and looks and smells right, but doesn't double in size .....I'm still working on building up the feeds. I added what I took out from the last feed (about a half cup) to some poolish plus my dough for the bread I made....purely to test for taste.
Are there any health benefits, and health risks, to sourdough? Family members who have tasted it today say it tastes "off" and that it may not be safe to eat (!).
There can be many variables involved with sourdough. I'm still very much a beginner myself. There are some real sourdough experts on here who I'm sure will be able to help you further. From what you have written, I'm guessing there might be an issue with how you maintain/use the starter.
Could you give us an idea of how you are maintaining your starter. How often are you feeding it? What are you feeding it? How much are you feeding it (ie ratio of old starter to new flour and water? Under what conditions are you storing it (esp. temperature)?
The degree of 'sourness' that you can get from a loaf depends on many things. If you are finding results too sour you may want to try and keep the dough in a cooler place (not refrigerator) - around the 65F mark. Too warm (eg >80F) or very cold (eg refrigerated) can also give sour results.
Generally speaking, the longer you leave the dough to ferment, the more sour you can build up (depending of course on how much you used in the first place). Though it may sound counterintuitive, I find that using a higher proportion of starter in the final dough combined with shorter bulk ferment time gives me the mildest results (though the bread often ends up lacking more complex flavour).
The type of flour used and how wet your dough and starter are can also affect sourness. Wholegrain flours favour sour results as do stiff doughs and starters.
Gosh I'm being horribly vague and general here and possibly not very helpful I'm afraid. Please do use the search function on this site. There have been numerous threads about exactly this topic. As you can probably gather, I'm still learning myself.
Perhaps the most important lesson I've learned in the short time I've been working with sourdough is to make sure your starter is 'ripe' before you use it. 'Harvest' it when it is at peak performance - not too early, not too late. If you are using starter from the refrigerator, then let it come up to room temperature before refreshing. Once refreshed, set aside what you need for baking and allow it to reach peak activity before using it. The rest should be left for a few hours before returning to the refrigerator.
Hope that helps. I'm sure if you stick at it, you'll find a sourdough bread that suits you, and your family's tastes.
--FP