Sourdough Chronicles

[paranoidgarliclover]

Tonight’s loaf. This is promising:

Not sure if the image processing got changed in the latest iOS update, but the crusts are darker in real life than the pics make it seem (although not as dark as I often bake it). And oven spring also not quite as good as in the pic.

I was originally quite worried about this loaf b/c I was using new bowls (w/ measurement markings) and was transferring dough from one to the other. I didn’t understand why it seemed why my dough seemed to be rising much faster than usual, according to the markings. It was only after I removed the dough for pre-shaping that I checked and discovered that, not only are the markings inaccurate from one bowl to the other (they were purchased as a nesting set), but the markings w/i a single bowl are also inaccurate! Meant to give it 40% rise in the bowl, and it was prob closer to 25%

Oh, well, that means that the dough pre-shaped and shaped very easily. Maybe TOO easily. When I put it in the banneton, I didn’t center it, and one side of the dough was fully against the short edge, while the opposite end only reached about half way to the other side of the banneton! Thankfully, it evened out overnight, and, when I pulled it out of the fridge, it looked to have good tension.

I also dispensed w/ the lame and just decided to use a serrated knife for scoring. Way easier.

As usual, will cut into tomorrow. If this is a good loaf, I think this will mark the first time I’ve had 2 consecutive good loaves!

[paranoidgarliclover]

Crumb shots:

So even though this rose less and had a shorter bulk ferment (I think), the crumb appearance is nearly identical to my last loaf.

The texture, though, is quite different. Far less wet (partner spontaneously remarked, “It’s a lot drier!”), which is a good thing b/c my crumb tends to be pretty gummy. No gumminess here at all. Crumb is also almost… fluffy? Somewhere btw creamy and fluffy.

I think the flavor is also less sour?

Such a fascinating thing, bread.

Now I’m wondering how I can get a more open crumb (just for appearance; I’m actually very happy w/ this otherwise).

Yay! Two perfectly decent loaves back-to-back! Woo-hoo!

[js76wisco]

I laughed. Scroll down for the video.

[paranoidgarliclover]

I feel her (although I assume some of her rant was more performance art…. I hope).

Honestly, when I tried the recipes for the Tartine Bread and from Ken Forkish when I was first starting, I felt like I had totally been punked. Admittedly, maybe it was just b/c I was reading the recipes from a random site and not buying the book, but there was so little discussion about important gluten development is, about how essential temp is (I only got that from another book that discussion how temp is actually an ingredient), and then watching a bunch of videos (recommended here).

I was only relatively recently (past 1–2 yrs?) that I found info about how not all flours can tolerate the same amt of hydration and how the temp you’re proofing at affects not just how LONG you are proofing and the DEGREE of rise, as well. So Forkish’s rec to let the bulk ferment go until the dough has doubled only works if you are proofing at the same < 70 deg temp that his home kitchen is at in the Pacific NW. And, even then, maybe doubling is still too much, if you’re going to do an overnight fridge proof.

[Nemroz]

my last effort….. having committed to not doing regular bakes for a good long stretch (i’m leavening around the mid section) … now that i’ve run out of both 00 and bread flour… soaked a lot of 9 whole grain mix… rye starter… average bread flour… lots of sesame seed inside and out.

[paranoidgarliclover]

Where’s the pics???

[Nemroz]

wow you’re fast.. i type on computer then bring it up on the phone and upload pics.

[paranoidgarliclover]

I just happened to be on this page when you posted the message (work break). I can go hrs btw checking.

[paranoidgarliclover]

Okay, so I thought I was getting decent at sourdough b/c I had some quite respectable loaves earlier this year. And then the last 3 were a dud. The very last one very clearly did not have enough time during bulk fermentation.

I remembered that, early in this journey, I used to use Ken Forkish’s recipe for overnight country blonde but could never figure out the final proof part (this was b/f I started tossing the dough into the fridge for overnight final proof and b/f I started building more gluten during mixing).

I did recall reading once on the Fresh Loaf forum that someone surmised that Forkish recommended an overnight bulk ferment w/ the dough doubling (or even TRIPLING!!!) b/c his home kitchen in Portland likely ran very cool.

Hmmm… so does my kitchen.

And guy posted by @Midlife (https://thesourdoughjourney.com) actually has a table that says that, the colder the temp during bulk ferment, the higher the degree of rise you need.

So I thought I’d put away the cheap, crappy proofer I have (which seemed to not be warming the dough consistently for at least the last 2 times) and just try an overnight bulk (kitchen ran anywhere btw 64 – 68 overnight, from what I can tell). Dough temp after mixing but b/f folding was ~67 deg.

Dough was ~75% hydration (w/o starter, it was ~73% hydration, but started was 100% hydration). 80/20 for Central Milling Artisan Baker’s Craft (not the Plus b/c I was planning for long bulk + cold proof) and King Arthur’s Whole Wheat (made the dough SO wet). 14 hr bulk ferment (slightly more than 100% rise), 20 hr cold proof.

Dough held shape pretty decently after I removed it from the banneton and scored really easily.

As always, the phone camera distorts and makes the loaf look taller than it actually is. However, I still think this looks quite promising. Not sure why one side is so much higher than the other. Could be shaping? The side that didn’t rise as much is, I think, the side I have an esp deep score accidentally).

I’ll cut into it later and post pics.

[paranoidgarliclover]

Crumb shots. Still kind of wet but thankfully not gummy.

Crust flavor is yummy but still a bit (overly) chewy.

[aaqjr]

Looks great! What flour did you use? Your bread crumb looks darker than usual -more whole wheat or am i imagining it?

[paranoidgarliclover]

Thanks!

It is darker, but not more whole wheat than what I’ve doing for ~1 yr.

(Edit: the bread flour was Artisan Baker’s Craft [not Artisan Baker’s Craft Plus[ from Central Milling].

The last (tiny) bag of King Arthur whole wheat took me a fe yrs (!!!) to go through. I just bought a new bag maybe 1–2 wks ago. Not sure why, but the starter (20% WW) and loaf (10% WW) do seem darker (I assume it has to do w/ the WW from the new bag obviously way fresher)… and wetter.

I’m bringing bread as an annual ritual to a holiday part on the 12/20. Not sure if I’ll dial down the WW to 5% of the dough or leave it as is.

I actually think the bulk ferment could’ve even go longer (!!!) at that cold temp, so I think next step will be using the Brod and Taylor proofer I just bought and trying to get dough temp to around 70 deg (which still allow for an overnight bulk ferment but not require, like, 15+ hrs).

[aaqjr]

Personally I love high amounts of whole wheat or spelt but you seem to be on a roll with bread baking

[paranoidgarliclover]

The flour I’m using (thanks for @aaqjr and @Nemroz for talking about Central Milling) results in good flavor, and the strong mixing I’ve been doing has helped w/ gluten formation. But I still wanted more oven spring, so I started playing around more w/ temp (incl temping my dough) and time during bulk fermentation

I was sure if I was under or over-proofing, so I decided to let bulk ferment go longer since my experience is that, if you over-proof, you still get an edible loaf (even if it’s quite flat) vs. under-proofing (wher it’s gummy and gross).

So I really pushed the bulk ferment and, uh, let’s say that those experiments didn’t go well.

I also think that the Artisan Baker’s Craft (ABC) doesn’t sustain longer fermentation times as well as Artisan Baker’s Craft Plus; ABC seems to poop out really fast and not get the same rise.

So I’m back to Craft Plus and, for whatever reason, I decided to try a few coil folds for the first time for my last bake.

I really like the coil folds! Stretch and fold seems to deflate my dough, but the coil folds really stretch the dough while keeping it bouncy and full! For the first time, my dough matched the descriptions of what I’m reading well-fermented dough should be (somewhat bubbly and full but still strong; pulling away from the sides of the proofing container). I think I will try con’t this method in the future.

I’ve also read that gluten formation is distinct from dough structure. I don’t quite get the difference, but Trevor Wilson says that you get more bang for your buck doing folds later in the bulk ferment, and I ended up doing this (mainly by accident b/c I was really enjoying the new Game of Thrones spin off).

I also tried a more angled score to see if it help the dough to rise upward, rather than across.

I think this is still a touched overproof (it was rising even in the short time it took to dust the counter w/ flour), but I’m pretty happy.

Result:

[aaqjr]

Did you bake that darker than usual? Looks good Nice to see you are getting closer to your ideal

[robert]

https://www.nytimes.com/2026/01/26/dining/home-bakers-sourdough-microbakeries.html

Gift link:

https://www.nytimes.com/2026/01/26/dining/home-bakers-sourdough-microbakeries.html?unlocked_article_code=1.HVA.O9yI.fwTQunS_DDVq&smid=url-share

[paranoidgarliclover]

I sort of baked it darker on purpose. Often times it looks quite dark in the oven but then lighter when I pull it out and see it in the full light. So I let this one go more and then I also put it back into the oven (turned off) to cool.

I don’t think the back-in-the-oven trick does much for my loaves, alas.

One trick I really want to try is the ice cubes in cast iron to see if I get things really steamy. I’ve been search for un-enameled carbon steel roasting pans w/ a lid b/c the Challenger Bread Oven is too much $$$, too big, and too heavy (21 lbs)…

@robert

Gift link

I can’t even imagine making multiple loaves at once, let alone enough for a FM’s!

The section about the woman started making bread for her son w/ autism was quite touching.

The real product I’d love to turn into a micro-business is partner’s banana pudding (a family recipe). His sister move to TN, and the neighbors didn’t believe she was Southern California after trying the banana pudding. And the work flow is, how shall we say, less prone to random failure. But partner is content to simply make it a few times a year for family gatherings…

[rohto]

@paranoidgarliclover

is partner’s banana pudding (a family recipe)

I love banana pudding and would gladly buy some and drive to wherever you are for pick up if your partner is open to making some extra the next time it gets whipped up.

[paranoidgarliclover]

Ohmigod, I’m totally happy to give you some (no payment needed… at least for now ).

When partner makes a batch, he makes enough to feed a small army. During the holidays, we had bowls and bowls of the stuff taking over our fridge, and we def don’t need to eat all the leftovers!

I’ll let you know when he’s next making some (which could be awhile).

[yogachik]

I forgot this thread existed! I bake bread at least once a week, usually focaccia. Here’s the latest:

all sourdough, using starter. No yeast. Added tomatoes, shallot, rosemary, Maldon salt on top