To all the #
sourdough enthusiasts of the fediverse: I'm working on getting a viable starter going. Can anyone recommend a beginner-friendly bread recipe. Given how much trouble I'm having just with the starter, I probably need something relatively easy.
#
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Sourdough2021
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Jonathan Lamothe
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Sourdough2021
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in reply to Jonathan Lamothe • • •Jeff Rizzo
in reply to Jonathan Lamothe • • •Regarding a simple recipe, the one i often use is about as simple as it gets:
200g of starter (should be bubbly and active)
190g of water
9g of salt
350g of bread flour (aka "strong flour") all-purpose flour will work in a pinch.
Mix all the ingredients until you get a shaggy dough, then put in a clean bowl (ideally coated with a little olive oil to prevent sticking) to rise for 2-8 hours (depending on temperature). Once it's doubled, stretch the corners and fold over the center (this is in place of kneading) until the dough stops wanting to stretch easily. Form a loaf in a banneton or a loaf pan or small bowl and let rise until doubled again (1.5-4h, depend on temperature). Bake at 450F in a covered dutch oven for about 30-35min, then remove the cover for another 5-10 until the color is pleasing.
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Jonathan Lamothe
in reply to Jeff Rizzo • •I'm going to try a fresh batch with the bread flour I have (I was previously using all purpose because the recipe called for either).
I'm told by @Sourdough2021 that I should look for 15g of protein per 100g. The bread flour I have only has 4g per 30g, which works out to 13 1/3 per 100. Hopefully that's sufficient. If not, I'm off to buy another bag of flour.
It's funny. I started doing this because I wanted to bake bread without having to buy yeast, and all it's cost me is like a dozen bags of flour to figure out how to get it right. 🙃
At this point though, it's the principle of the thing.
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Sourdough2021
in reply to Jonathan Lamothe • • •Try rye for a starter or buy a starter.
Jonathan Lamothe
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in reply to Jonathan Lamothe • • •Chelle (she/her) 🐸☕
in reply to Sourdough2021 • • •Love my Alaskan starter! He's like 11 yrs old at this point or something. I keep him in the fridge when I'm not actively using.
Feed 1:1:1 by weight water, unbleached flour, starter
Very not fussy. No special flour or w/e.
Sourdough2021
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Jeff Rizzo
in reply to Jonathan Lamothe • • •My flour is about what yours is - 12.7% protein according to the bag (4g per 30g, probably rounded). It's "King Arthur bread flour" (I'm in the US) - and I've had good success even with an all-purpose flour with less protein, though it's not quite as nice.
What does "not rising properly" mean? Is the crumb especially dense? I've found that my kitchen is cold enough (65F/18C currently) that I have to let it rise a loooooong time - which is one reason why I started experimenting with a proofing box (aka, a big styrofoam container with some warm stuff to keep the temperature up to 75-82F (24-27C) which makes the whole thing take a lot less time. If it's really not rising at all, you could try adding some commercial yeast to your starter - I've done that in the past... usually takes a few batches to settle back down but can help in a pinch.
Sourdough2021
in reply to Jeff Rizzo • • •I have one of these. Expensive but worth it! https://brodandtaylor.uk/?gclid=Cj0KCQjwiZqhBhCJARIsACHHEH8RLrW6-8vTP7M3AQMQi-8zAna3uc8Rnbb3BjYhSbY338v6L17hUv0aArXcEALw_wcB
Brod & Taylor | Folding Dehydrator | Folding Proofer & Slow Cooker
Michael Jadzinski (Brod&Taylor UK)Jeff Rizzo
in reply to Sourdough2021 • • •Mine is this, it came free with a shipment of something kept cold. Much less fancy but very very cheap 😀
Jonathan Lamothe
in reply to Jeff Rizzo • •FWIW, I'm following this recipe, though I'm ignoring brand names.
I used whole weat flour for the initial starter, and have been feeding it with unbleached all purpose. On the first feeding, it actually spilled out of the jar, but has been fairly inactive on subsequent feedings. I actually marked the outside of the jar with a dry-erase marker to see if it was rising at all. The last one rose perhaps a few milimeters, though I am getting bubbles.
I'm not concerned about my kitchen being too cold. I don't have control over the heat in this apartment, but it's usually pretty warm, probably well within the range you mentioned.
Jonathan Lamothe
in reply to Jonathan Lamothe • •Jeff Rizzo
in reply to Jonathan Lamothe • • •Only thing i can think of is maybe your kitchen is warm enough that it's super-active and exhausts the flour too quickly. Maybe try feeding it with whole wheat if you have any left...
Scratching my head here. You seem to be doing it right!
Jonathan Lamothe
in reply to Jeff Rizzo • •Chelle (she/her) 🐸☕
in reply to Jonathan Lamothe • • •I'm in Canada. I use Rogers unbleached flour (I don't use bread flour and it works fine).
Rhevian
in reply to Jonathan Lamothe • • •Links — BAKINGJAMES
BAKINGJAMESsilverwizard
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Bob Jonkman
in reply to silverwizard • • •Would love to get started with sourdough. $ONESON tried growing starter from scratch, but no luck.
And would love to get into some exotic breads, cheese, onion, and especially Groninger Koek.
There's a cob oven in the community garden across from Schneider Haus on Queen St. We should see about having a bakeout in the summer, followed by a loaf swap!
@waterlooregion may be interested in this too...
@silverwizard @me
silverwizard
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silverwizard
in reply to Bob Jonkman • • •So 1 cup water and 1 cup flour, wait 3 days, more flour and water, wait 4 more days, had a nice Bread Goo
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Bob Jonkman
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James Harris
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Bob Jonkman
in reply to James Harris • • •But I have the idea it's not the hardness of the flour that matters, but the fact that store-bought flour is mostly sterile.
@jbwharris @silverwizard @me
silverwizard
in reply to Bob Jonkman • • •My first starter I used like Robin Hood flour
My last starter I used some locally grown organic weird flour, and they both seemed to work fine?
James Harris
in reply to silverwizard • • •joeDoe
in reply to Bob Jonkman • • •I haven't made bread in over 20 years, so I can't fill you in on the details of the ingredients. But, I do remember that making my own sourdough starter was dead simple.
Flour, water and whatever, maybe nothing, else the recipe said into a jar, covered with something to keep out bugs and dust (loose lid? cheese cloth?) and put it on top of the fridge for X days. Bingo.
What are you folks trying?
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Jonathan Lamothe
in reply to silverwizard • •Chelle (she/her) 🐸☕
in reply to Jonathan Lamothe • • •I make the plain loaf and bagels regularly!
Walt Bobrowski
in reply to Jonathan Lamothe • • •https://www.kingarthurbaking.com/recipes/sourdough-starter-recipe
Sourdough Starter
King Arthur BakingJonathan Lamothe
in reply to Jonathan Lamothe • •The recipe called for the second feeding to be 24 hours after the first, and then every 12 hours thereafter.
I'm going to try at the 12 hour mark though, since I think the problem was that it had starved by the 24h mark. I'm also using bread flour this time instead of all purpose. I started with whole wheat, because it's what I had on hand, and my wife might murder me if I tell her I need to get yet another variety of flour. 🙃
Is this common for a first feeding? My apartment tends to be quite warm, FWIW.
#sourdough
silverwizard
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in reply to silverwizard • •Justin Stach
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in reply to Jonathan Lamothe • •Haelwenn /элвэн/ :triskell: likes this.
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joeDoe
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Virgile Andreani
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Virgile Andreani
in reply to Virgile Andreani • • •Jonathan Lamothe
in reply to Jonathan Lamothe • •I've started keeping it in an insulated bag after feeding, but only since the last two feedings. I'm wondering if it's possibly due to the fact that instead of putting it back in the same glass jar, I put it in a freshly washed one after every feeding (because I tend to spill starter all over the jar making a mess of it when I measure it out).
The proportions I'm using to feed it are: 113g of starter, 1 cup of bread flour, 1/2 cup of warm water. I do this every 12 hours (+/-15 minutes or so).
The recipe says it should be good to go after 5 or 6 days, but I've heard of people needing up to three weeks to get a viable starter going.
#AskFedi
Virgile Andreani
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Jonathan Lamothe
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