For ever I have resisted getting involved with sourdough, maintaining a starter, waiting hours upon hours for a loaf of bread. I don't view commercial yeast as inferior in any way, and probably more consistently reliable. Besides, I like only sourdough that is mild, so no good reason to get dragged in.
A friend gave me some starter which I've been using for English muffins and bagels, along with a bit of ady. Time to try a 100% sourdough loaf. Pullman the first day, round top the second. They turned out fine. No epiphany, no conversion though.
- Moe C's Blog
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Using yeast is a good way to work your way into it - it meaning the process of using a starter. My only rule is - if it tastes good - why not do it - cost aside of course. Enjoy!
Well, there is the time and bother to consider as well. It's more work than a tsp of instant yeast. I liked the taste of these loaves, so I'm still on the fence.
Davey, how come you never post pictures?
🤭🤭🤭
Yippee
Daisy Daisy give me your answer do.
It does depend - like on who you listen to. It can be as easy - it can be hard. Regardless - there's always a way. "Pictures" of starters are pretty much the same - too easy I guess. Enjoy!
...not picutres of starters, you pillock!! 😊😊Pictures of your bread.
Replace starters with bread - it's all the same. Enjoy!
For a first sourdough loaf, that's a great result Moe!
Thank you, Michael.
That is a wonderful result for a first load, much better than my initial bakes that’s for sure.
In terms of work, I feed my starter only once per week just before I want to bake. It otherwise stays in the fridge, so that is very little work. More work than commercial yeast but not a lot of work.
My recent bakes I’ve been using a lot of the flour, 40% of the total, in the levain, this allows me to reduce the time from completion of mixing to beginning of baking down to 4 hours on average. Thus far I don’t see any negatives to how the bread tastes or to the texture when eating it. I do enjoy having more time on my hands this way.
Benny
Increasing the amount of levain to cut fermentation time is something I'm looking into. It's good to know your results have been fine. I've got some 32% sticky buns on the go right now and am interested in how much the % of levain can be increased (up to baking the starter, like Tom 😊).
I suppose it's not looking after a starter so much, as the long rising times I'm not crazy about. Anyway, I'll continue and see how I like this sourdough business. The discard bagels alone are almost worth it.
You can use the longer times in sneaky ways like overnight, or you can put them on hold by refrigeration to adjust the schedule. It's not so bad once you get used to them. True, being retired like me makes things easier but don't let that stop you.
TomP
Mix ady and starter - start with 50/50 and go from there. Everything should stay the same. It is a good way to start. Enjoy!
It would cut down on rise times.
I'm retired, too, so I do have plenty of time. Perhaps I'm wrong in thinking that cold retardation makes the sourdough flavour more pronounced?
Time - like overnight - can change the dough. Is it needed - no. The next thing to do is as I've instructed. When you're used to it - or even like it - you can change it. At least you'll have some numbers to work with. And you should try it - it wont hurt anything - and you may like it. Enjoy!
More time, especially refrigerated, can make the bread more sour. For me, it deepens the flavor and I hardly ever get more than a whisper of sour taste. Maybe that's some quality of my starter, but it's been like that for years. I don't like really sour bread but that whisper usually serves to make the bread more savory in some way that I like.
Guess I won't know until I try it.
Bulk ferment took 5 hrs, proofing 1 hr, so not too bad.
Excellent loaves, Moe! Welcome to the club!
And there is so much more to sourdough flavor than just sour and not sour! The difference is apparent when acid is kept to minimum, and that's where some other fermentation flavors will reveal themselves! I hope you stay engaged and do enjoy the learning process!
And Davey, join in the fun! It's easy to criticize and patronize, but takes courage to take ownership of our craft for their positives and flaws 😁
Jay
You're a peach.